Three Grey Leaves

I have been a long time subscriber to the excellent Spectator magazine. And I was so pleased to find this poem by Alison Brackenbury (one of my favourite contemporary poets) in the current magazine:

Lost 
by Alison Brackenbury

By Coate Water, my mind believes
rain finds no end. Like three grey leaves
wet herons nestle the far shore
fearful, fond or listening for
rain’s hiss to cease. While my heart grieves
wet herons wait. Like three grey leaves.

I seemed to spend most of Saturday on the phone.  Himself left very very early to trek to the Badlands of Hampshire for metal detecting purposes, and I got the bed linen changed, a veggie chile made and the meeting attended in the morning - and the afternoon was mainly phone calls, Jen, Jean, Pat, Bea, Jackie.

And I began on these lovely apple teabags - which are very nice.  But better still a Scripture has been personally sent with each one.  A thoughtful present from a kind friend.  And I read this:

 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers  nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38,39

I can't tell my blog how appropriate and comforting those words are at this moment.   

Not sure where Sunday went to, beyond the meeting, with an excellent talk, in which the speaker used the powerful image of the sinking ship and the lifeboat - and the purser trying to alert everyone to the fact that the ship is sinking and directing them to the lifeboat.  He wants them to listen to him urgently, and hurry to that lifeboat, get in and stay in, even if it is taking the ship a while to go down.  And we got more excellent teaching about how to teach others - how to get them to the lifeboat.

And I feel like a bit of a sinking ship myself - a sinking pedalo perhaps - a rather old and battered one.  I will be spending all afternoon at the Dentist's for the first, and presumably shortest, of my upcoming appointments.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear...

Oh and I did get a magazine and card parcelled up for one of Jean's calls, and also I replied to card from old Uni friends.  So I got a little bit of witnessing done, and must get back to my assigned roads this week - which is going to mean asking Captain B to order me some more stamps and some envelopes.  Oh dear oh dear oh dear - again.

The Captain's Sunday metal detecting trip was cancelled, due to the sudden new Covid restrictions.  Think: Bear with Sore Head (only crosser).The tabloids are speaking of a mass exodus from London to beat the midnight deadline as London moves into Tier 4. Which should help the spread no end. But it might make London nice and peaceful for Christmas.