Once a warrior ....

I woke up in time for 'Thought for the Day' and posted today's prayer video link to WhatsApp. By the time I'd caught up with myself it was too late to go to the St John's Eucharist so I retrieved and edited the text for the Grace to say at the United Services Mess dinner tomorrow evening. I started preparing lunch early, then with time in hand, and wanting to be sure what I'd written was appropriate for the resumption of this veterans' dinner, the first since 2019, I caught the bus into town to visit the Mess building and consult Mess chairman Tony Lewis. Once I had his approval, I returned home to continue with lunch. A split pea stew was on the menu. Although it tasted fine, the split peas were undercooked. They would have been better after ten minutes in the pressure cooker. Ah well, we live and learn.

After lunch I listened again to Rachel's new recording, and wrote a few short verses for her to try speaking as a voiceover to accompany the music as an experiment. I wonder what she'll make of this? Then I started preparing next week's Morning Prayer video slideshow before realising I'd not yet recorded and edited the audio file, so I did that before going out for a walk as it was getting dark. After supper I watched the last episode of 'SAS Rogue' heroes. 

A remarkable series about ruthless, determined, anarchic violent cut-throat characters directing all their energies to the strategic aim of defeating the Nazis, no matter what the cost. Although anachronistic, the desert warfare scenes depicted to a high octane punk rock sound track. Appropriate for rogue heroes. The SAS played a pivotal part in sabotaging Rommel's North African campaign, preventing his advance right through southern Europe. Their methods were unconventional, militarily speaking, resembling fast moving guerilla warfare, but better resourced. 

Their leader Major David Stirling was captured and spent the rest of the war on active service as a POW in Colditz Castle, where he was instrumental in four escape attempts from the impregnable Saxon fortress, responsible for gathering intelligence and transmitting it by means of a secret radio. A remarkable patriotic warrior, of what would be considered far right persuasion today. In later life he was architect of a plan to launch a military takeover of the government if Britain's leadership ever fell in into what he thought of as the wrong hands. A minor media furore at the time, changing nothing. He died in 1990. I can't imagine him being anything other than a brexiteer, but how would he have coped with covid, or Boris, I wonder?

Wet weekend hospitality

Another day for rain. Sara Clare and I got wet walking to St Catherine's for the Parish Eucharist. We were thirty adults and four children. Not bad for a wet half term Sunday. I don't know if I have a hearing deficit, but I had difficulty following Mother Frances when she preached this morning. She naturally speaks fast, so decoding what she says in the pulpit requires full attention, and I still fail to grasp the point. I find this a bit distressing, as I can't work out whether I agree with what she says or not.

For Sara, it was a rare chance to worship in English again, which she says she prefers to her mother tongue Swedish. Sara is fluently bi-lingual and so is her daughter Ebba, remarkably so for a fifteen year old, whose default pronunciation style is American, but can with concentration speak English decently with an English accent also. Now and then she needs to check a word she doesn't understand or ask for an English equivalent to something in Swedish. I guess they converse in English as well as Swedish at home.

After lunch, I drove them to the airport in the pouring rain. We hugged a farewell in the car park and they made the hundred metre dash to the departures entrance, then I headed home, listening again to Choral Vespers for the Dead from Leeds Cathedral on Radio Four. Lovely. The rain stopped, and after a cup of tea Clare and I went out for a walk in the park. By the time we were on the return leg it started to rain again. Twice wet in a day.

I worked on the video slideshow for next Thursday's Morning Prayer before and after supper, taking a break to watch this week's episode of 'SAS Rogue Heroes' before uploading the finished product. It's very well conceived, though I can't help but think that much of the dialogue is anachronistic in phraseology. 

I had a text message from Sara at ten to say they'd just landed in Gothenburg. The outbound flight from Cardiff was fifteen minutes late departing, but there was enough of a wait at Schiphol not to endanger their homebound connection. All's well that ends well. A good time was had by all, despite the weather.

As the rain stopped and sky cleared after dark, I went out for a moonlit walk in the park before turning in for the night. Although not yet full moon, it shone brightly enough to cast moving shadows of trees on the path. Enchanting!