21st February

Today was my day off and at last we managed to get in a really good walk up Whernside, one of the great Three Peaks of N. Yorks. The weather was far from brilliant and the views were a bit limited at first by low cloud and mist. We finally had some better weather and the picture shows the mountain as being a little clearer than it had been all day. To the foreground you can see the Ribbleshead Viaduct, along which runs the Settle to Carlisle line. We both enjoyed the walk and it restored our appetite for more of the same in the coming weeks. We both felt quite strong and completed the walk in the prescribed three and a half hours. However, we both now feel a little weary and our feet especially are sore.

19th February

The beginning of another week. I wonder what it holds for us; what highs and what lows? Maybe it's better that we don't know. We had a lovely day yesteday. Dan and Kim brought Dominic over to LDC to introduce him to the church and then came back with us for lunch with Owen and Kim. It was quite a significant moment at one point as nearly three quarters of the row of seats were taken up with our family. Someone at the end of the meeting told me I ought to be really proud of our family, and I most certainly am. What an absolutley awesome bunch of sons, daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law to be and grandson. Mary and I must be one of the most blessed couples on earth. I must remember this when I feel fed up with life in a few days time.
It is only a week since we last saw Dominic but even in that time we notice changes. He is getting far more alert now, following you around with his eyes and even turning his head around to look at things that attract him. We will have to be careful over the coming months not to miss an important development or change which could come and go so quickly.
Today I finish off preparation for tonight's Bible Study, prepare my submission for church news / bulletin and take said Bible Study this evening. There will be other phone calls to take and make along with e-mails etc to be written. Nothing exceptional - a relatively quiet day - we'll see what things look like at the other end of the day.

17th February

I've included a few photos taken in and around N. Yorkshire, the one of Knaresborough Bridge being about half a mile from where we live. Mary and I went for coffee to a little riverside cafe near there this morning. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country. Click on the Flickr URL and you will get through to other photos, to which I will be adding in the future.
I managed to get back to the gym today after a lay off of about three weeks due to this cold/cough. I ran on the treadmill for about twenty minutes which I was very pleased about and then did some upper body work on the other machines. Feeling good apart from a slight twinge in my achilles tendon, hopefully not too serious. Later in the afternoon I checked over my bicycle to make sure it was standing up to the aweful weather we have been having recently. I wasn't convinced that a nylon bike cover would offer adequate protection from the weather, but so far it seems to have done a good job.

Scenes from N. Yorkshire

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/13615080@N00/

15th February

Today, for the first time in about twenty years, I went rock climbing, and I loved it. I actually went to an artificial indoor climbing wall in Leeds and spent an hour there with an instructor who put me through my paces. He showed me how to tie on and belay another climber and then let me climb about six routes. We started on a gentle slope and then when he saw that I could manage that he moved me on to some more difficult pitches. The adrenalin buzz was awesome as was the sense of accomplishment and I drove home with a grin from ear to ear. I am thoroughly hooked and will be going back next week for another session with the instructor. When he is convinced that I can belay properly and am competent I will be allowed to register as a regular climber and climb without instruction.
It's great! I've always wanted to start climbing again but never managed to get round to it. Now that I am slimmer, lighter and fitter than I have been for some years I wanted to do something with all that fitness other than just keep going to the gym. The climbing is also a a part of the "get out of your chair and do something different philosophy" that I am trying to cultivate within myself. Judging from today's experience I also think that the climbing will lift my fitness to another level.
Later in the evening we went back to the Church Offices to see the Youth Groups Fashion Show. Absolutely stunning display of professionalism and commitment. The aim of the show was to communicate to older generations the different categories that young people fit into; such as "Moshers", "Emos", "Geeks" and so on. They also detailed the different problems like drug and alcohol abuse the young people have to encounter as well. I found it very moving but was really impressed by the quality and character of the young people in our church.

10th February

A few days ago I visited HMV store in Harrogate - rare purchase of a CD. Didn't go in with anything particular in mind but I was determined not to buy Eric Clapton, McCartney, the Stones or anything else that panders to the middle aged person's tastes and needs. After spending 30 or so minutes trying to look cool and trendy by looking at "Arctic Monkeys", "Zutons", "Scissor Sisters", Amy Whinehouse and a load of others I came away with "the Best of Sting and The Police" and "the Esential Bob Dylan" - still pandering to my middle age needs or just good taste? Even as I am writing this I am listening to Sting's "Englishman in New York" and there seems to be a timeless quality about the music. Same with the "Who's" re-emergence over the last few years, not only playing new, great material but even managing to make their old songs sound even better with new versions and add ons.
About three years ago I went to see Paul McCartney's concert in Liverpool. He played non stop for about 4 hours with no support band and was awesome. What is it about the older musicians who cut their teeth in the 60's and are still going strong and in some cases getting better all the time? I guess though, that there are scores of bands and musicians that played in the 60's and 70's that didn't survive because they just didn't have, or didn't want that something extra. Having said that some of the music, lyrics of younger and more recent bands like the Arctic Monkeys, McFly, Lily Allen, Coldplay and so on, is superb and I guess many of them will still be on the scene in 30 years time, having made a lot more money than me!!

2nd February

This must be the 4th or 5th day I have had to stay off work over the last two weeks with this cold / virus / cough thing; beginning to get me down as I hate inactivity for any length of time. Inactivity for a few hours can occasionally be very nice - even using one of our days off for doing nothing can be refreshing - but enough is enough and I've had enough. Mary's had to go to work, Lucy's gone to college, so I'm on my own, thinking.
And that I suppose is one of the great advantages of enforced inactivity, it does give you time to think. One of the things that has been reinforced in my thinking is that I really want to make the most of the little free time that I have at my disposal. It seems that a lot of people spend much of their leisure time watching TV, but I honestly and passionately dislike so much of today's television. Soaps, celebrity ice skating and ballroom dancing, big brother and so on is just mind numbingly banal. I don't get that many evenings in, well not as many as most people do, so when I do get a night at home I feel it is a waste of my time watching something on TV which is not developing me or taking me forward in someway. In addition, where is the sense of adventure or accomplishment in sitting down and watching a night's TV, most of which is .........!
I really don't want to get to the end of my life and have to say that I spent hundreds of hours watching "Casualty" or "Emmerdale" and have very little to show for my life. The problem is what can you do on long, dark winter's evenings in the UK apart from watch TV. I spend a lot of my working day reading books so find an evening reading more books a little too much. However, that is often what I do, changing the type of reading from theology or Christian literature to a travelogue or an occasional novel. I'm also becoming more selective about what I will make a point of watching on TV. I go out of my way to watch a Michael Palin type - documentary about travel in another part of the world. Or I enjoy watching certain sports events and there are one or two programmes like "Judge John Deed" which I have enjoyed recently. Occasional comedy programmes like "Green Wing" are therapeutic - and my daughter in law has just lent me the DVD "Spooks" (espionage thriller) which is just about right - enough to stimulate the grey matter without being too demanding - but that just about sums it up.
I have recently started going back to the gym in the evenings for about an hour, once or twice a week, having a really hard workout and then going home feeling more satisfied with myself and life in general. I occasionaly go to see a film in the local cinema. I have considered joining a choir or the local photography club, but my evening work would make any continuity or commitment impossible. There are climbing walls in Leeds and an artificial ski slope near Castleford, and now that I am quite a bit lighter and fitter than I was I may give something like this a shot in the not too distant future. I'll keep you posted!
Something entirely different - Mary and I are going to Kenya in March! We had planned for Mary to visit her brother David and his wife Liz, who have been working out there for the last year; but for a number of reasons didn't think it would be viable for me to travel with her. Over the last few days, again for a number of reasons, we have decided that it is possible for me to go with her and we are now getting quite excited about the prospect. Over the last 10 years or so I have made innumerable flights to India, Israel, Brazil etc. and always wished that Mary was with me to enjoy the experience. It's brilliant that I will be able to be with her when she has her first experience of flying. We travel from Manchester to Mombasa on the 12th March and will be away for 14 nights, during which time we will stay with David and Liz in Watamu, a village in the coastal district of Malindi, where they work for A Rocha , 100 km north of Mombasa, and do a safari and other exciting African things. I will write more about the work of A Rocha in future. posts.
Enough for today - goodnight!