Diary w/e 6 Jan 2018

New Years Eve.

Paul Levy top rate on Martha and Mary -why the best thing to does to pay attention to Jesus. I cooked my signature dish - tandoori chicken for the family - ten of us Weeks six and four Littles. Well attended evening service with preacher Lawrence Duplessis from South Africa, a student at Oak Hill. Saw in the New year after a fashion. I was too tired. lay down an hour. Rose to the abominable MacIntyre on ITV followed by rubbish singing on BBC1. The former would have been switched off but I was too polite to my guests watching. The latter was a poor substitute for anything from the land of Hogmanay. The family had the fireworks on TV. I was on line instead. I did not want to watch my taxes going up in smoke. I loathe the GLA as a totally unnecessary layer of government. St Margaret proved that. Since her we have had nothing but a succession of plonkers or worse called Mayor of London. I should send the present one a gift of ties for the New Year.

New Year's Day

Katy pointed out we used to have but one night of bangs a year - the popish plot. The second custom came at the millennium - midnight New Year's Eve. Then in these parts we endure the Western Front replayed from India aka Diwali. Of course we could be rid of the last by moving to English England. To be free of the others we would have to live in countryside Isolation. Oh the joys of urban life.
   Barka da sabuwar shekara ga dukan masu ji. Those suffering monolingual myopia will have to wonder.
   I am having a hypocritical start to the year. Two long blog posts one of which contains a resolution to spend less time in cyberspace and more in reality.
   Our Cambridge family here until the evening. Played Aggravation and the Logo game.I lost in both. Good for character building humility.
   17 nights cruise from Southampton to the Med, Spain, Canaries, Italy, Gibraltar October next year.Our Golden Wedding cruise booked with P&O, There will be a celebration for family and friends near the actual anniversary in August next year so family and friends try and avoid holiday on/near 9th Aug 2019.
   There is now a frankincense diffuser on the windowsill in the loo/restroom. It no longer pongs of stables in there. I have now posted three bilingual posts using three different language and my arithmetic is correct.
   I have a new girlfriend, Alexa (aka Echo dot). She is of limited intelligence, yea even limited knowledge. Rubbish in, rubbish out. But unlike the sat nav/GPS she responds adversely if you call her stupid.

Tues Jan 2

Led U3A World religions on Anabaptists, Mennonites and Amish. It went well and I resisted the argument of a Czech member who wanted to tell me they were persecuted and their behaviour was due to their socially due to their egalitarian philosophy. I said the egalitarianism came from their theology of a gathered church; not accepting the contemporary view that as the prince so must believe the subjects. They by and large were not part of the Peasant's Revolt.After the meeting I had a pastoral visit to a church member recently discharged from hospital. Pleased there is a good care plan for her but sad to see her memory is failing. But she knows our church is showing love from the Lord.Cooked supper for the two of us for Debbie, returned from New Year in Wales was not hungry for green Thai.

Wed Jan 3

Had an excellent U3A Current Affairs on Economics - a subject where I claim to have no real knowledge. Is it a science or an art? Our conclusion is it is an incomplete science for though it can at times predict events it often fails. The number of unknown contingencies render forecasts very difficult.We did though agree that economics rules the world. World powers rule for economic advantage. It is their motivation for domination. We also agreed to my surprise that the motive for having the EU was peace in Europe, especially between France and Germany, and that could only be achieved by first having economic union before one moves to political. It was never only about economics ( though I say in 1960s UK, that is how it was (dishonestly)packaged and sold). BTW members  attending the meeting were English, German and Czech. 
   Good IPC prayer meeting, encouraging as ever.  Found Ian Hamilton on ' The Lips of the Faithful' deeply convincing and convicting on sins of the tongue (The Faith Shaped Life p121)

Thu Jan 4

The Ealing Hospital dentistry ad no working Xray so I am to return in two weeks to be xrayed and see if I need three extractions. Geoffrey and Sara down from Harrogae. We enjoyed an international buffet at the Park Grand Hotel Honslow.

Fri Jan 5

IPC Ealing day of prayer and fasting. Fast to be broken together 6:30 with the Lord's Supper. I am back from the second jab into my eye. This time treated by staff from Egypt, India, UK, Caribbean, Nigeria and Cameroons. We broke the fast with pizza for Weeks and Littles. Littles left before the Lord's Supper and prayer. Not as many as previous years, probably because with no cooking facility at Dean Hall it had to be a bring your own meal which was not so appealing.
   I had no trouble with the fast even though the family were eating. Their food was no temptation. My brother having some single malt was more of an assault on the senses. But that brief loss was more than compensated before bedtime. Quote of the day, 'I think Fasting is such a help, if nothing else it reminds us we need God more than we need food.' - Paul Levy, https://ealinglevy.wordpress.com/2018/01/06/yr-2-day-127/ 

Sat Jan 6

Early E10 before breakfast to Greenford Post Office. It is hidden away in a W H Smith shop which we have passed many times but never seen from the road. I was there before it opened and kept warm with a look round the RC church, Our Lady of Visitation - modern, light, no awful bleeding hearts but some statues asking for prayer to saints , four modern confessional boxes and a magnificent display of white flowers for the Christmas season. back home for breakfast then out to Hampton Court.
   The royal palace is magnificent. We saw less than half of the palace and none of the gardens so will return. We visited the Chapel Royal, the Cumberland Gallery for the royal art collection selection, William III's apartments then Henry VIII's where the highlight for me was finding A Protestant Allegory, the painting the king commissioned after he broke with Rome. It shows the four gospel writers stoning the pope. I reckon it to be the ultimate in Reformation Protestant painting. Henry was the first king of Brexit!
   On our way out Sara my sister in law stumbled and fell over a step to a gift shop. The staff were magnificent. First aiders treated her. Alice from London and Paulo from Mexico, pale staff. They stayed with sara and I while Katy and Geoffrey went for the car parked half a mile away. The car was driven into the palace and the gate radioed the first aiders who waited with us and escorted us to the car. Right royal first aid.
   We visited the Littles. Stan is saving for a £130 Lego set for his birthday and I suggested ways he could earn some money to save for his big kitten his birthday.
  Dinner was at The Grapes, Hayes, a pleasant if slow steakhouse pub.