9. Day 26: Joy Is Relaxing
We had one of our most relaxing days on Christmas day yesterday. There is zero public transport on Christmas (and also very limited on Boxing Day) so felt no pull whatsoever to go out for any reason. We luxuriated in pj’s all day, starting with coffee and Christmas cake and finishing with port from Fortum & Mason’s. We talked, laughed, colored in our fancy coloring books from the Derwent Pencil Museum and prepared a yummy feast with what we found at the M & S Express (the small corner store version of Marks & Spencer’s). We had a breakfast of eggs, toast and...
Read More9. Day 25: The Joy Of Christmas Presence
This holiday to England has been all about presence. Presence with our own hearts, presence with each one we were privileged to spend time with and presence with what gifts life brought to us each and every day. Christmas Presence is that time when we all join together in that beautiful presence of love that is always within us. We have met numerous people who celebrate Christmas and the deeper meaning of “God-With-Us” in Emmanuel’s birth without knowing very much about the original Christmas story. The Bible tells us “You will know them by their love.”...
Read More9. Day 24: Silent Night, Holy Night
Our plan for the day included lunch with some BNI Connect friends, a carol service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, dinner and the West End play “The Play That Goes Wrong”. It also ended up including letting the maintenance guy in to repair the washing machine, grocery shopping for a Christmas Cake and walking for miles. The thronging crowds reminded me it was also one of the last shopping days before Christmas. I had a little cough on the Underground which blew up into another coughing fit at the wonderful Indian restaurant where we were meeting friends known previously only in...
Read More9. Day 23: Tidings Of Comfort & Joy
On this very busy, full day leading up to our delicious celebration of Christmas let us take time to breathe and extend much love to our thoughts. What instantly came to my mind was the carol “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. I just started singining, humming really, this hymn to my teaming thoughts of “Why can’t I get the washing machine door open?” to “Where will we have Christmas lunch?” to “I still miss my loved ones who are not right here with me even though everything is perfect.” Try this yourself. Hold your thoughts (anything you...
Read More9. Day 22: My Flat In London
We have arrived in our flat in London for Christmas. It is wonderful, sumptuous and feels like a real home. I do not know the owners but they take the magazines I would if I lived here. They love art, family and good furniture and have great lighting. I am sending them all kinds of love and joy for Christmas just for the warm welcoming flat (including tea in the cupboard). It was an arduous journey made with mostly cheerful faces though by the end of the day we were exhausted. Our day started in Carnforth with a sassy female Cabbie who could have been a character in a novel. She had a...
Read More9. Day 21: Joy Is God-speed
The siege in a cafe in the CBD in Sydney last week by a Muslim radical has led to a flurry of Muslim/anti-Muslim interviews, news stories here in the UK and overheard casual commentary on trains and in coffee houses. The act of violence and spectacle again raises the issue of conflict, distrust and even hatred between “us” and “them”. This fear and distrust is uncomfortable especially when it is in your face. I noticed while traveling by train from Lancaster to London on surely one of the busiest train travel days of the year (the weekend before Christmas) a large...
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