23rd January

This week I had my first skiing lesson on the slope in Xscape at Castleford. I learned about putting the skis on, basic movement and snow ploughing down the slope. My first two attempts to ski down a slope resulted in me falling over about 2/3rds of the way down. But then I started to get the feel of it and made several controlled descents. It was a bigger buzz than motorcycling or climbing, partly because I didn't feel completely in control. The instructor was an older man called Jim who was brilliant and made you feel you were doing well even when you weren't. There was only one other person in the group so it was almost personal instruction. Next time I must get some bigger boots, I just about managed to get them on but had an awful time trying to get them back off. My plan is to pass the next three levels of instruction until I am able to ski on the slope at "recreational standard". I will continue to use the slope throughout the rest of the year and then organise a skiing trip to Europe next winter. That's the plan anyway.

I climbed on the Wall in Leeds last week and for some strange reason did much better than usual. I can't really understand why. I'm not aware that I am any fitter than I have been or any other positive reason, but I did feel as though I was climbing better; using smaller holds and trusting the boots more than normal.

I put on about three pounds over Christmas but when I was weighed yesterday I had lost a pound and a half. I want to keep my weight down to about 10 st 6lb, so I need to lose another 5lbs over the next month.

19th January

Yesterday was such a very sad day. Lucy and I attended the funeral of Dr David Hudson the former headmaster of our local comprehensive school, who died of advanced bowel cancer. Before the funeral I knew that he was an exceptional man in every way. He was highly professional, enigmatic, very creative and obviously had great affection for his students. But after all the comments and accolades that were made during the funeral it became even clearer what a unique man he was and so how sad his premature death is for his family, his school and all who knew him. Not many men are as multi-talented as Dr Hudson. To be able to lead the staff of his school in the professional and very able way that he did whilst still exercising an excellent sense of humour and a delight in surprising his students during assemblies with all sorts of technical wizardry, speaks of an exceptionally gifted man.
During the 10 years that our church used the school as a meeting place I always found Dr Hudson to be helpful, accommodating and courteous. He was also always up for a chat about education, his students, our church and whatever else was topical at the time.
Despite the "Boss's order that his successor should make us all laugh during his funeral service, which his skillful anecdotes succeeded in doing, and despite being told by the hospice chaplain that Dr Hudson had "ordered" the chaplain to pray for him a few days before he had died, despite all of this and the fact that he had no regrets over his life, including developing the cancer which had prompted such kindness and care from so many people, despite all of this and more, there was an overwhelming sense of awful loss and sadness. It certainly overwhelmed me as it has done more frequently in recent funerals attended by myself. Perhaps as you get older you become more aware of your own frailty and mortality; perhaps the immensity of the loss of a gifted or loved individual becomes more important as the years pass; perhaps the lack of the truly great and good invites deeper mourning and pain when one such individual leaves this world; perhaps there is regret that all that I know now about this man I didn't know and enjoy earlier when he was with us.
It seems that this man of enormous ability and intellect had a simple belief in God, and therein lies our hope and even joy which eventually overcomes even the most painful of experiences.

12th January

On Saturday's Mary is out at work until 1.00am and Lucy is at work all day. This means I have the morning alone, I have to entertain myself, find something to do which I will not view as a wasted opportunity when my time of solitude comes to an end. Over the last month I have begun to get into the habit of taking Mary and Lucy to work for 8.00am and then driving on to the gym for an hours workout. This I did this morning and managed to run on the treadmill for 50 mins; 10 minutes longer than I have run for over ten years at least. Throughout the rest of the day I have felt slightly tired but in a nice healthy sort of way. As the weather starts to improve I will take the bicycle out into the Dales for a morning's ride and I might even try and get to an indoor ski slope and take some ski lessons.

Last Wednesday Mary and I, fed up of not getting in our weekly walk in the Dales because of threatening weather forecasts which usually come to nothing, decided to ignore the threat of unsettled weather and head for a quick sprint up Pen Y Ghent, one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. I said a quick sprint because I know we can get to the top in an hour and back down in 40 minutes. On the journey to the mountain we had one or two hail storms but they were very short lived as were the gentle hailstorms on our walk up to the summit of the mountain. However as we approached the ridge, just about 15 minutes of climbing below the summit, all hell broke loose and we had to take shelter behind a dry stone wall from what I have described as some of the worst weather I have ever encountered anywhere. The wind was far greater than gale force and the hail flowed over the wall like a river. We sheltered behind the wall thinking that something that ferocious would soon blow itself out, but it didn't. The wind was screaming and we knew we couldn't have climbed even the few hundred feet to the summit so after ten minutes we decided that we needed to try and get down and climbed the wall following the track back down. After having walked for about 200 metres the storm started to calm down and walking became easier. Over the last 30 years I have walked and climbed in all sorts of weather in Snowdonia and the Lakes and am fully aware of how quickly the weather can change, but I have never seen it change that quickly or ferociously with such dramatic effect.

Ironically, just before we started the climb we had been parked in the car park and next to us was a car with "Mountain Rescue" sticker on its windscreen. I asked the driver if they had many call outs this winter and we got talking. His parting comments were, "Take care up there, you don't want to be seeing me again too soon."

7th January 2008

Christmas and the New Year came and went and all very nice it was. We had lots of time with our family even managing a first sleep over in Huddersfield with Dan, Kim and Dominic, who is walking now. Another first was to be entertained to lunch by Owen and Kim on December 30th. We have had a fairly good time during 2007. A wedding, a birth, a visit to Kenya and India; life certainly hasn't been dull. The church has grown slightly over the last twelve months and feels quite healthy at the moment. Our last Sunday morning service was one of the best attended we have ever had - approximately 130 people. We are still waiting for the tipping point to be reached which may happen this year. Family wise I am not sure what is going to happen in 2008. Nobody other than Mary's niece, Katherine, is getting married this year. I am not aware of any births in the near future, but who knows what may be announced in the coming months. I may pay another visit to India in the Autumn and I am trying to sort out a holiday in the French Alps or Jura for Mary and me in the summer.

The weather is not quite as cold as it has been over the last few days but there is the constant threat / promise of snow, so I may try and get to Snowdonia over the next week or so if there is going to be a good covering. I am still enjoying running at the gym and have upped my running time to 40 minutes on a regular basis. I am still managing to cycle to work on a fairly regular basis but strong winds and wet cold weather have been a bit of a discouragement over the last week.
I rarely make New Year Resolutions but I would like to see / do the following in 2008

- Move the church on to a place where we are expereincing some rapid, ongoing growth.
- Maintain and improve my fitness levels
- Take my weight down from 10st 12lbs to about 10st 5lbs
- Take a holiday in the French Alps / Jura this summer
- Complete some long cycle and motorbike rides in the UK and possible in France
- Run a half marathon