Colourful Dreamer

This IPTOC was my last, as I said a long time ago when I started blogging about it. On the last full day I left the room where IPTOC was meeting for the last session, leaving Michael to lead it. It was all his responsibility now. I spent that time editing as many of the minutes of each of our sessions as had been uploaded. They were not all there, but it still took nearly 2 hours. There was a lot. And it felt good to get it done, and to hand it over. I had done as much as I could. It was Michael's to look after now. I had done what was mine to do, and I felt good handing it on. Then it was time for the final service and farewell. The next days Bonnie and I joined the small group for morning prayer, then after breakfast we left High Leigh. What a gift this time was for me. It did not all go as smoothly as I would have wanted. But I am grateful for those days, and for those years as Minister General. The next week was spent with family. Bonnie and I spent the next couple of days with...

I had booked my wee car until Friday night, and had originally intended to return to London then. But because Rebekah was doing it hard I thought I would return a day earlier and spend more time with her. It turned out that she was moving flat on the Thursday and if I took the car into London I could help her move. That became the plan. In hindsight I am not sure it was a great plan, but it was the plan. When I looked on google maps on Wednesday night it was going to take about three hours to get to where I was staying on Isle of Dogs. So I thought I had time to detour and explore. But lunchtime on Thursday that time was out to four hours and getting longer by the minute. So I stayed for midday Eucharist and lunch, and then headed off past Stonehenge once again. I am still grateful to google maps who got me back there. How did we do this navigating thing before such apps? I arrive on the outskirts of London just after 4pm. I got to drive through London at peak hour. I got to drive down...

Sunday was a gift of a day. I trained back into London, and had planned to stay with the sisters at St Alphege's. But they had COVID, so I booked a fairly cheap place on Hotel.com. The Euro Hotel is one of quite a few guest houses/hotels on Cartwright Gardens in a pretty central part of London. They are on a curve, and each one has a slice of the what looks like one building around one edge of the garden. I had a private bathroom, which meant my bathroom was at the other end of the passageway and I was the only one with the key. Not what a older male who has to get up during the night wants. Hei aha! But is was quaint, old and lovely. The staff were super helpful. I enjoyed my stay. Initially I was going to spend the day with Rebekah, but she had a work trial, which was awesome for her, so I ended up with this quiet gift of an afternoon to rest, do some work on the computer, stroll about and enjoy some coffee. I did some of the things I had not finished for IPTOC. I sorted some pho...