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Still loads of stories to blog when I get five minutes to do it, but some interesting events at the top and tail of the day today.

Breakfast – a bowl of cereal was being prepared, and it was one of those mornings when I was trying to focus with just one eye open – been there?  I poured some nut and fruit clusters, and then emptied the last of a plastic carton of skimmed milk, and crushed the bottle and put it in the recycling bin.  I then reached into the fridge and pulled out another plastic carton, and emptied a good slosh on the cereal.  I then realised that the contents were in fact a bottle of elderflower cordial – a gift from a friend who had run out of glass bottles and decanted some into a washed plastic milk carton!  I tasted the cereal, and in fact it tasted pretty good – so I enjoyed a bowl of cereal with a fruity flavoured milk.  Try it?  Up to you!

At the end of the day, I found myself at Sarum College, where we had a Ramsbury Forum meeting.  I’d taken the MG and with the roof down edged out into the Close.  A couple of young men, short haired, dressed in scruffy clothes ambled past, and said, “Woah – nice car!”  Then they followed it with “Crikey, a vicar!  Bless me father!!!”  I replied, yes of course, but what should we pray for?  A brief but meaningful exchange and using their Christian names, I pronounced God’s blessing on both Aaron and James.

And somewhere it says that we should crave spiritual milk… whatever the taste.

It has been a while since we blogged some recipes, and I have been fortunate to have as a Father’s Day gift a great new book on Moroccan cookery – so be prepared for some exotic dishes to come.

Broccoli, Spinach and Fennel soup

A rummage through the fridge the other day provided an interesting range of ingredients which had to be tried out.  I found a hand of broccoli, some spinach leaves, and a fennel bulb.  Hmm! Would it work?  I chopped up a brown onion, and fried gently in a saucepan with a little olive oil.  I trimmed off the broccoli heads, and added them together with the spinach leaves, rolled up and sliced.  I trimmed up the fennel and thinly sliced the bulb, and again added to the saucepan.  After a couple of minutes I added some chicken stock, about a pint or so, and left the pan to simmer for around 20 mins, or until the broccoli was cooked.  Add a little seasoning of salt and ground black pepper. A blitz with the hand-blender, and the most beautiful green soup appears, which has a really good flavour.  Some crusty bread to mop up the remains, and a light dry white wine to complete the lunch.  Summer’s here – enjoy!

Well, these past few days have been a whirl of social activities and festivities, as we come together and celebrate good things around the Area. 

Friday evening most of the Team were in Burbage to toast the very successful Pilgrims in Mission week in the Pewsey Deanery.  I was at another social event in the south of the County, as part of the Friends of Wiltshire Churches initiative, which seeks to provide a new source of funding for the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust, of which I am Chairman.  We met at a beautiful house just north of Salisbury in the Woodford Valley, and raised a good sum of money which the Trustees will allocate to churches seeking to maintain and enhance their church fabric.  Check out the site at: http://www.wiltshirehistoricchurches.org.uk/Home.html We are looking for new members, and it’s very cheap to join, and we get so much fun from being a member – think about it?

Saturday morning, I attended the Salisbury Cathedral Open Day, and at 1000 hrs when the cathedral opened its Great West Doors, there were 400 people waiting to go in.  There was a real carnival atmosphere as people saw various exhibitions of the life of the cathedral and diocese, and tried their hands at various workshops.  The museums were open and free too – a great day out.

Saturday evening, we in the Learning for Discipleship and Ministry Team, gathered at our home in Bemerton to celebrate the mid-year and to enjoy one another’s company.  It was a good party, a little cold for outside dining, but a few braved it, and the conversation and laughter went on well into the night.  As I was preparing the outside tables a candle, in a large glass container caught the tablecloth which had been whipped up in the wind – just turn your back for a moment, and the cloth, and table supporting it, was an inferno!  I flipped the cloth onto the ground and smothered the flames – but it is true what the advertisements say – don’t leave naked lights unattended – even for a minute!

Sunday morning and I was attending a service in Pitton school, for both the church and school communities, who were gathering to say farewell to David Morgan, the Headteacher.  The service was quite superb – with a lay member of the church, leading a wonderful act of worship.  We had a dramatic reading of a passage of scripture, which helped us all understand how meeting Jesus transforms people’s lives.  We heard about Jairus, his daughter, an unclean woman, and one of the disciples – brilliant!  We also heard from three members of the Bristol University Christian Union, who were supported by the parish of Pitton last year.  Their witness and testimony of their work within the university and the city of Bristol was truly inspiring.

Back home and after Sunday lunch, the Bemerton Community Group Open Gardens event started, with yes, our home and garden taking part.  We had a steady stream of around 100 people come through – many of whom enjoyed a cup of tea  with us, and walked around the garden, and many good conversations were held.

Late afternoon, and I was back in the cathedral for Vespers, and a service of thanksgiving for the work of our  Foundation School Governors.  Tea with the Dean afterwards, and I came home, fully alive, and full of a weekend’s experiences of saying thank you, and raising both the profile and some money for important aspects of our common life here in this part of Wiltshire.

Fortified by our cooked breakfast and early morning climb, John and I went over to Great Bedwyn Church where we had some coffee and biscuits [there will be a theme emerging - just you wait] and an amazing collection of photographs were available within the church.  Some thousands of photos were shot by the residents in the run up to Millennium year, and these are now carefully catalogued and available for memories and as a snapshot of the village caught in time.

The walk planned for this stage of the pilgrimage was a triangular route from Gt Bedwyn, to St Katherines’ Savernake, and lunch, and then on to Little Bedwyn, via the ancient chapel of ease at St Martin’s Chisbury, now in the care of English Heritage’ and onto Little Bedwyn, for  tea, and back along the canal to Gt Bedwyn.  It was perfect walking weather, and the conversations, the food and the fine stretch of our legs made for a really good day out.  The photos will speak for themselves – a mix from my own camera, and those from the Unite FC website:

Friday morning – it was 0700, and around 25 men gathered at the foot of Martinsell hill near Wootton Rivers.  Various bits of kitchen kit were unloaded from vehicles and soon we were walking up the hill.  It was a glorious morning, and great views across the Pewsey Vale.  Soon the smell of bacon and sausages was drifting through our conversations, and then tomatoes too were sizzling in the pan.  Baps were filled and hungrily consumed, merely causing the conversations to become drawn out, rather the ceasing.  Well fed, and orange juice, coffee and teas washed down, we sat on rugs or chairs and listened to an inspiring talk from Bishop Stephen about encountering the risen Jesus in our daily lives.  We ended with some helpful prayer. At 0830, a scampering from the working men back down the hill and into their workplaces indicated that it was time for us to pack up and clear off.  A great start to the day; good companions and thoughts for the road.

Like the others I have been preparing for the forthcoming pilgrimage. Today I went to sit, on a sunny afternoon, in a meadow attached to Standen House in Chute Standen to watch a group of people who had written and were performing their play.

The basic story is of a journey of self discovery – I won’t tell you any more as I hope that you will go tomorrow (Sunday) to see it yourself (cost is £10 and tickets can be brought on the gate). There were actors but also wonderful puppets of wolves, dogs and other animals; there were birds of all sorts of shapes and colours including a wonderful peacock with a proper tail; snails, rabbits and a bee. There was a nod towards Harry Potter with birds bringing messages and one to Monty Python involving a parrot. Unfortunately I didn’t think of taking a photo to add to this post.

It was a wonderful afternoon finishing with cream teas at the village hall, highly recommended.

May has always been a busy month in our family for birthdays, and that of course means lots of pressies, and not a few parties.  This year I have noticed that the fashion is to bake lots of small cakes and put a candle on each, rather than one large cake. 

I’ve been thinking about this, and it does seem a good idea – you can simply bake enough little cakes for the guests; you can bake different cakes for those who have allergies or preferences, and you can avoid all that “how much cake do you want”, and avoid the need to divvy up the cake in order to fill party bags.  I’ve seen plates of cupcakes, chocolate brownies, and assorted cakes.  The picture is a photo of a pile of cupcakes one daughter baked for another, just before the candles went on.  They look really lovely don’t they?  Think of the love and generosity that went into making those! I can confirm that they tasted delicious too, and the plate was soon empty.

Most Monday mornings see the team at meetings. We begin with the morning office from 0900 – 0930 hrs and then a staff meeting. We follow an agenda and some where have a break for coffee and hope to finish by 1200hrs.
This Monday was no different but I came away wondering how we got from the June Pilgrimage in the Pewsey Deanery to rhubarb sticks and aniseed via squirty cream. I have a feeling that I will never know but Alan may come up with a recipe for us to try – could you have rhubarb and aniseed crumble with cream? or what about rhubarb and aniseed sorbet?
On the agenda was the fact that we are going to alter the use of space in the office which will mean at least 24 hours if not 48 hours when we won’t be available but more about that once we know the date.
In the mean time I wait with bated breath for next Monday’s meeting – where will it lead us?

Today I was privileged to visit Dilton Marsh C of E  VA Primary School.  I met the Headteacher some while ago, at a meeting in the Rectory, whilst making a Parish Pastoral Visit to the White Horse Team based around Westbury.  I asked if I could visit the school, and I duly received a kind invitation to visit the school for a tour and lunch.

I was greeted at the school reception, after properly signing in, and showing photo ID, and wearing a Visitor Badge.  A short while later my two student escorts arrived and introduced themselves.  Year six students [10/11 years of age in old money!], who explained that they would show me around the inside of the school, then sit me down with another guest to a meal which the students had cooked, and then a short tour around the outside of the school.

I was very impressed with the care and attention that these two ambassadors took of me, carefully showing me into classrooms, school hall, library and IT suites, explaining displays, introducing me to teaching staff, and detailing answers to my questions.  Then came the biggest surprise of all!  I was shown into a small room, which usually doubles as a music practice room, or small group room, where a table had been set for four hosts, two guests and a teaching assistant.  The food was carefully served, I was asked to say grace, and we all tucked into lasagna, home made bread rolls, mixed salad,and that was followed by custard tarts decorated with sliced strawberries.  All cooked and made by the four pupils, and interesting conversation was followed by clearing up, and a polite request to know whether we were ready to continue our outside tour of the school!  What great kids, great food, and great host/tess/ing!

Their website offers their own description: Dilton Marsh Church of England Primary School is fortunate to occupy a modern building in a beautiful rural setting, next to the village church of Holy Trinity. The facilities are modern and spacious, creatively furnished and decorated, providing a perfect environment for learning of all kinds. We are fortunate enough to have a large amount of space inside and out. Inside we have 6 large classrooms. We also have a large well equipped purpose built Media Suite. We cater for the whole child in every sense, within a caring ethos sensitively developed and with regard given to Christian values. We aim for academic excellence and personal growth, always fostering a child’s individuality and self-belief.

As we concluded our visit, the guests were invited to sign the visitors’ book, and at that moment the Headteacher arrived to ask if we had enjoyed our visit and then showed us to the reception again.  Apparently, the school try to do this each week, offering the year 6 students a chance to meet, greet, and cater for guests around four times each during their final year.  Cooking, entertaining, and engaging in adult conversation.  Worked for me!  Thank you Dilton Marsh, and may God bless you all.

A simple meal – or was it?  I needed to cook a relatively simple meal recently, a few prawns, some salmon fillets, and some vegetables – cooked indian style from a new cook book my family had treated me to!  Such is life!

I called into a cheaper high street supermarket, to purchase the goodies, and usually I always try and source local produce.  Time was tight, and so I did a trolley dash, collecting the fish, prawns, cauliflower, green beans and spices as I went.  I was amazed when  I came home and unpacked the food.  The prawns were from China, the salmon from Finland, the cauli from France, green beans from Israel, and the chillies from Zambia.  The goods may have been cheaper but at what cost to the carbon footprint and the Fair-trade world?  I’ll try and shop more wisely next time, and even so, the dishes were very nice and all gobbled up!