Talking with kids about royalty

I had an advance call from Pidgeon's about another funeral in two weeks time, details to follow when the family have visited to make the rest of the arrangements. An early booking either means the family need that amount of time to gather, or that the booking schedule is getting busy, as it often does at this time of year.

I haven't yet risked the journey to St German's through the city centre, now that two way traffic has been restored after a very annoying period of more than a year, knowing how congested Newport Road can be in all conditions. Now that the pressure is taken off diversionary routes around the city centre, the drive can be as quick on a weekday morning as it is on a Sunday. 

When I arrived twenty five minutes early, a class of three dozen children was queuing outside waiting for the doors to open, arriving much earlier than was a planned. We waited  to start the Mass until the handful of regular congregation members turned up on time, but I took advantage of the opportunity to chat to the children about Kings and Queens before we got started with celebrating Christ the King with them, and that worked quite well. 

I didn't stop for coffee and a chat as I had to drive back to keep a blood test appointment at the surgery. It's now receiving patients for appointments inside again, with a one way system using front and side doors, a lot easier for staff to manage, with only a couple of waiting spaces, and times strictly controlled. When I job was done, I collected the weekly veggie bag appointment. then returned home. I cooked lunch for us, then went out to the shops to buy some food-bank items ready to take to St John's tomorrow. Again, I fell asleep in the chair for over an hour, but managed to rouse myself to get out and walk again before sunset.

I worked on next week's Morning Prayer and accompanying reflection and recorded it before supper. Ideas came to me easily again. It must be all the fresh air. We watched The Repair Shop together, then I watched the final episode of 'Shetland', which left you in no doubt there's be another series, ending with a dramatic hiatus, after the crime was solved. It's interesting seeing the Scottish legal system at work, as it's much like the European legal system with an investigating magistrate - the Procurator Fiscal - scrutinising cases and deciding on grounds for prosecution. It has much to commend it.