Holidays
We are conscious of just how well we have done for weather on
our recent holidays. In the middle of October last year, we enjoyed an
excellent week walking the North York Moors and coast: a mix of warm sunshine,
low cloud and mist one day but only light touches of drizzle, and a bitter wind
on the final day, but nothing to spoil our getting out every day. In May this
year, we spent a week in North Wales. We did climb into cloud one day and there
were no views, but the only rain during the week came overnight or whilst we
were in the car. Then in October this year we paid a family visit to Cornwall,
spending a week there on a wonderful summer holiday with not a spot of rain.
Home
There certainly has been rain this year. We bought a new water butt
which collects water off the roof of the green house, and since it was
installed we have never managed to empty it – as there has been no prolonged
dry period over the summer. In January we found a damp patch in the boxing
around the water pipes in the kitchen: and we suspected that we had a leak from
the pipes. However, when we called in a tradesman, he diagnosed a broken tile
vent on the roof. The boxing is where the original boiler used to be, and it
hides the old redundant flue pipe – rain was coming through the tile vent, down
the pipe, and into the kitchen! Then in the spring, we noted that a damp patch
in the corner of the garage roof seemed to be getting more noticeable – we
opted to call in Everest before the damp patch developed into a leak, and we
had the flat roof replaced. We also had the kitchen radiator replaced before
its rusty blisters got any worse: the new radiator has made the kitchen the
warmest room in the house!
We had an interesting day out of a different kind in August. A friend
had fallen out of a tree, incurring serious injury, and was in hospital in
Sheffield. His poor wife was making daily trips from home in Macclesfield to
visit him in Sheffield; so we took a day off work and drove her over. It was a
really nice drive over the Peak District (through Castleton). We found Mike in
the process of moving wards, and it was almost funny to see him racing about in
his wheelchair getting everything organised – he was in good spirits. We are
pleased to see him back in church now.
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| Lud’s Church, Gradbach, Staffordshire |
We are getting old! On August Bank Holiday we decided to do a walk over
Shutlingsloe (our local hill) and a circuit around the south Cheshire / north
Staffordshire borders. It was over 15 miles – not really strenuous climbing,
but not much of the walk was flat. Our hips and thighs really felt the hammering
with each step along the latter stretch of the walk, along roads into
Macclesfield Forest. It was a good day out, but we have rarely been so relieved
to get back to the car. We have done the walk before, though from a different
starting point and a rather shorter route. It has a number of highlights,
including the summit of Shutlingsloe, and the amazing Lud’s Church: a
passageway between walls of rock where a persecuted saint used to worship.
The nice people in Dylys’ office gave her two garden plants for her
birthday. Sadly, the Hattie’s Pincushion was enjoyed by unwelcome predators.
The Passion Flower has proved much more domineering: it has helped itself to a
large section of the tall fence down the side of the garden, and has produced
some nice flowers!
Church
At church this year we have
stepped down from some official duties. Dylys had served as Deacon for six
years, and Graham as Church Secretary for six years. The constitution obliged
Dylys to take a break after this time period, and Graham was ready for a break
too. But we have both got involved in Hope Mission Action Groups: Hope being
the banner that unites most of the churches in North East Cheshire, and the
action groups being the practical outworking of different types of mission. We
were both looking after tables at the Hope Expo day in the Town Hall in
November.
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