UK Soon!

I noticed a church a short walk from here. Two years ago at Christmas and advent I was walking miles to the churches in town.

So this morning I thought I would get myself some church, as my Black Preacher at Faith Temple used to say, now he is a Bishop, who I had the honor of caring for when he had a cerebral aneurysm years back.

Back to the story, the church is in the neighborhood, and very old and warm..Altho there seemed to be an active group of programs in the basement, like a cafeteria and various people having lunch there, I asked if there was a coffee for ladies, and the manager said it was upstairs in the church.

The sign on the outside panel had said it was Mondays and Wednesdays 10am-noon.  I couldn’t have asked for a nicer situation. Women of all ages sitting around a table talking. I was immediately offered coffee or tea, and the pies and biscuits.

First things first, the pie was amazing. The crust was plentiful and flaky. The lady who later said she made it said nearly everyone liked apple so she brought a pie each coffee. Her friend told me she made all kinds of pies all the times and mentioned various bazaars she had contributed to. When a man joined us and made an effort to get all the loose crust on his plate, she glanced at  me with a twinkle in her eye, what a pie!

I answered some greetings saying I was here to be a nurse, the feedback was totally encouraging and said they really needed nurses. I got some details on a girlfriend who was a nurse and the procedure she went through for training. The tea was delicious, there was a dog that came to all the coffees and to church who cuddled up to my cold feet when I petted him.

The lady sitting by me told me it was a lovely church and the children played in the back of the church during the service. It was a nice chapel with stained glass and lots of light. Some ladies discussing mulled cider, Christmas, new tables, why wasn’t somebody there. etc. Some of the accents I totally understood but one lady has such a heavy accent I had no idea what she was saying. Lucky she was telling me something and it didn’t seem to involve an answer back, I did tell her it was hard for me to understand , being at the end of a long table also.

The best topic was a Teddy Bear they were using for a fund raising and a woman walked in almost at noon saying she needed teddy bear names because the kids were to draw a name after their donation, and if their name matched the one she had in her pocket, they would win the bear. So we were invited to offer Teddy bear names. She had some like Paddington, I suggested Brownie the name of my first teddy, but then the suggestions were definitely old and related to stories I had heard when I was little-Ruby Bear, Millie, Arthur, Lizzy, Lilly, Henry, Sunny, George, Holly (my suggestion again) and now my mind is a blank because so many of the names were charming and of years past.

I am sure I will go to the next coffee, Friday sounded good, and on Saturday it is clean up day for Sunday,they said I didn’t have to clean. There was something going on there each day, just to socialize at the church. I walked home in the rather heavy rain, my trousers soaked. There were people in pubs and coffeeshops talk talk talk, a rarity to me from where I have lived now, how relaxing and blessed to have this place to find friends and conversations.

The waves were higher than ever, and the wind and rain so hard it was difficult to watch the sea. I usually don’t cross the street to get closer, because it is a wide main street and more often than not, I am looking the wrong way as they drive on the left, and the steering wheels are on the right. How odd it has been to sit in the left front seat and not have a wheel in front of me. Of course I always try to get in the drivers seat on the right, but I have at least figured out which side to go into now.

I have to wash some clothes that I will leaving behind. The clothes racks are slow to dry, so I will pack my things in a basket so as not to have them damp.

The BBC tv news is on, town up north has 26 bridges closed, 6 collapsed, water had been 8 feet high, some of the old bridges are holding up better than the new ones, but the roads on the old ones have cracks. Some of the freezers in the shops were lifted by the rain and floods, and in this wreckage, the people are still saying Christmas in this town would be alot different. Heartening to know they plan to go ahead and decorate the town. These people have only been in the town an hour to check on their places. How sad, but it is good lengthy reporting.

The reporter is rushing about asking if they can let their cameraman in to get a view so in they go and have a chat. What a mess, and how pretty is that town with the rivers.

One more thing, the church I visited this morning has a big yard with picnic tables. I imagine it is there for us who have no yard or other nearby parks. I could see myself there having a lunch, donating a chair and going back to read in the grassy area. However there are lots of big parks and greenways and beachfronts and a 15 minute walk to town with fountains and greenways in the streets, and also huge grounds where Queen Victoria’s summer home is, still there.

Time to plan more appointments and plans.