The blog has been quiet because … yes, you guessed it – I snuck off for another brief holiday. August tends to be a holiday month usually and this year has been the same as others where I have slept more in the caravan than I have in my own house.

I will be back into the swing of writing and reflecting soon – and after only being back in the pioneering setting for a few hours it has been an interesting time. The blog has been quiet, hence the title, but the ‘ssshhhhhh’ refers to meeting up with and hearing from friends that I have not really seen for a while.

The holiday was great – being away in Dorset, New Forest and then Ashford with friends has reminded me how privileged I am and what great opportunities we have as a family. It has also shown how much I have missed being with friends and how I really want to sort out how I can ensure that I don’t have to wait a whole year before speaking and laughing with friends and family again. It is possible but just seems so easy for us all to sink back into work and ministry mode and for that to become all absorbing.

Over the summer has also been interesting facebook wise with 3 friends from school days making contact. It’s quite exciting to hear what people have been doing in that 30 year gap since we last spent any time together. It’s weird to think as well that I used to spend the majority of my time with these people and yet moving away, meeting new people seems to mean losing touch with others. The moving away and, again, the immersing myself into other stuff, has resulted in losing touch. In such ways it is easy to forget where you have come from. Personally i think that is sad as my roots are quite a large part of what makes me me.

As I reflect on that I’m off to wander to meet another good friend in Rochester Coffee Co – have I told you they serve the best coffee in Rochester … apart from at my house of course!

Got back from holiday at the weekend and just been relaxing a bit before getting back into the swing of things.
While in Poole I bought a boat – the pic is my boat. Actually, you need to click on the pic to see her in her glory!

ok ok … I know … in my dreams ….. normal service will be resumed soonish!

The long haired prophet has started blogging.
Not sure where he got inspiration for his name from.

A good friend, Ben, was out on detached work in Gillingham the other week and found ‘my tag’.
Clearly I’m famous!
Despite the rumours I am not the creator!
If it was me it would have been far more subtle and creative!
Nice to know someone loves me enough to pspray my name though 😉

In case you didn’t know …
We are going to Wembley today!
C’mon you Gilllllllsssssssss!

I love the simplicity that children sometimes exhibit which expresses itself in how they observe and report on things.

I remember a few years back when the Tate Modern exhibited Shibboleth – the famous crack in the floor of the turbine hall. I was struck then by how adults tried to explain to themselves how it had been created and whether it was a trick while the children simply enjoyed it and played with it.

There was a lesson to be learned from children there in how we approach new stuff and stuff that challenges us.

For similar reasons I love this account told by Jean following the sweeps festival:
a family came in to see ‘the baby Jesus’ who jean explained had grown up. She took them to see our outstanding baptism fresco and asked what was happening and the conversation went like this:

Jean: what can you see happening?
child: Jesus is walking on the water
Jean: why do you think that is?
Child: because he can’t swim

Sometimes the way children see things can cause us to re-connect with our imaginations again.

I am chair of governors of New Brompton College which means I get a chance to interact with our excellent staff and very talented students.

Today was one of those days when I had the pleasure of going to the Brook Theatre in Chatham to watch their production of ‘Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass’ which was an excellent production.

I loved the dark side of the story which was acted to a fantastic standard. These students were fantastic and showed their gifts and talents brilliantly on the stage.

I left wishing people could see this side of young people’s attitude rather than the overwhelming negative stuff that appears in the national press. Today I saw examples of the behaviour of the majority of young people: talented, enthusiastic, keen, gifted and wanting to be creative and do things to the best of their ability.

Today the students were not just a fantastic credit to NBC, they were a fantastic credit to young people full stop!

Today I met up with Richard for a catch up and to chat about the role I am still doing for a day a month with YFC. It was great to meet up and we met in a cool coffee bar just off Brick Lane called Nude Espresso. I love these places where you can chill, have a drink, hang around and feel no pressure to move on. I want church to feel that comfortable, inclusive and welcoming. Free wifi as well is an added bonus (I want church to have that as well!) – but the best bit was that the coffee was decent coffee (yes … church should have that too!) …. it reminded how long it has been since I have had a proper decent coffee!

YFC is entering exciting and challenging times with a new National Director and a forecast drop in income due to the current financial situation – so if you have any spare dosh pass it their was as they do a superb job – and NO I am not biased at all.

I have one regret though – and that is that I did not have enough time. It’s been years since I’ve been to the Brick lane area and I had forgotten the real appeal of the place to me. It reminds me so much of my teenage holidays spent wandering the Souqs and streets of Qatar while my step fatehr worked there.

As soon as I got out of my car I was hungry for a curry and so here is an appeal – who would like to meet up in Brick lane over the next month or so for a decent meal?

There are a lot of flags of St George around today in Rochester. I even walked down the road with St George himself … well someone dressed as him!

On my return from my ‘daily rounds’ I found an interesting article, which ends with this comment from Nick Page:

For all that, he’s nothing to do with England at all. But maybe that’s the point. Like so many things, St George shows the English talent for taking something strange, something undeniably foreign, and weaving it into their daily life. St George is the saint version of Chicken Tikka Masala: foreign in origin, but oh so magically English.

You can read the whole thing here