Author: Carol Purves

Still with me.  Good.  A visit to the Dead Sea meant it was imperative to ‘swim’ in it.  Not as gungy as I thought it would be; I just laid in the water.  My main concern was walking on the stones; my feet aren’t made for stones.

Having seen where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found at Qumran we then visited the Israel Museum and saw the actual scrolls.  Fascinating and brilliant museum.

Bethlehem was our next stop.  Oh dear, I didn’t like it at all.  The Church of the Nativity was very ornate (though I had expected that) and the supposed place of birth was marked with a star where people were kneeling and kissing it.  I didn’t feel any sense of wonder (though fortunately my friends did) ( I think I need to concentrate on what actually did take place, Jesus was indeed born for me and you)

A 15 ft high concrete wall is being built around the city to cope with the sucidal bombers (and this is working)  Unfortunately, it is also affecting the economy of the place, especially for those living in Bethlehem and working in Jerusalem.  The check points can be impenitratable  barriers.

Stay with me for more.

Carol, the by now quite tired traveller.

Coaching from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea area was quite an experience.  The Judean Desert was so vast, so bleak, so empty and so dry.  It’s easy to imagine John the Baptist hanging out there.  The intense heat seemed to bounce off the shimmering sand.  Not the place to be without water!  We stopped at various places and read relevant Biblical passages, as we sheltered from the blazing sun under convenient shelters. (No good having the tourists dying of sun stroke!)

Qumran was where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, high up the hillside in caves not usually reached.  I wondered if there were any more scrolls there, but no doubt they have been thoroughly searched.  Qumran was hot, hot.

Our next visit was to Masada, an isolated rock plateau where Herod the Great built one of his fortresses.  About forty years previously a group of Jewish rebels, the Sicarii, committed mass suicide rather than be captured by the Romans.  Stirring stuff.  We travelled up and down by cable car, though some tough members of our party walked down. Again it was hot, hot.

Keep reading, there is more to come.

Carol, still travelling in the Holy Land.

When I’ve finished posting this, I’m going to sit in the sun enjoying the summer which has eventually arrived.  Hot in the sun, but nothing like Israel.  It reached 41-42 degrees most days.  I didn’t come home sun burnt as I had to cover up with large sun-hat, long sleeves and crop trousers.

Each morning at home I pull back the curtains to see what the weather is.  In Israel, every morning as I pulled the curtains back, I remarked to my friend ‘It’s hot and sunny again’.

The time spent in Jerusalem involved a great deal of walking; there was so much to see.  After we’d seen most of one side of the city, we went through one of the Gates and followed the alleyways up and down the uneven steps in areas where the light seldom penetrated past the tall buildings.  It was not the Via Dolorosa but nearby; not so touristy. 

It was on these steps that I could imagine Jesus toiling with his cross on his back; the unevenness, the jostling crowds pressing on every side and the concentrated noise.

Goodness, I haven’t got very far in my narrative.  I’m only on the second day.

Carol, on her travels in Israel

Off on holiday again.  This time to Israel.  It was probably more an experience than a holiday.  I had been warned it would be energetic and it certainly was.  In the 9 days we packed in about 12 days worth of sight-seeing. 

Holiday memories soon fade away, but I don’t think these memories will ever fade.  Not only were there many interesting places to see but I now read my Bible with more understanding.  I read this morning that Jesus was in Galilee.  I’ve been there too.  Although the buildings and some of the landscape have changed, the sea hasn’t.  I can truly imagine Jesus being there.

We started in Jerusalem with two walking tours, so much to see.  I did opt out of one of the tours but still saw plenty.  One of the best memories was the view from the Mount of Olives (No longer just a name, but now a place to me)  The view down to the Kidron Valley and up to Jerusalem was unforgetable.

Unfortunately on the Mount there was a church of the Teardrop, the place where Jesus was supposed to have cried over the fate of Jerusalem.  (Wherever anything Biblical has happened, a church has been erected) 

More to follow

Carol on her visit to Israel.

The Carlisle Christian Writers had a great afternoon with a few exercises and readings of our homework ‘Windows’.

Some gave wonderful  expositions on windows, glimpses of heaven and the difference between looking out and looking in.

One  beautiful poem was submitted entitled ‘I can’t hear the blackbird sing’, explaining that with double-glazing we insulate our lives against the plights of others, we don’t hear the cries of those in need, don’t hear the sirens signalling people in distress.  We don’t see the troubles of others with our spiritual double-glazing and it finished with the cry ‘ I want to hear the blackbird sing’.

One member cheated a bit by writing about glass and mirrors, ending with the Biblical quote ‘Now we see a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face’.  And finally quoted a verse by George Herbert, ‘A man may look on glass , on it may stay his eye.  Or if he pleases through it pass and then the heaven espy.’

The subject for the next meeting is ‘What is time?’ 

Keep watching.

Carol, the windowless

Home beckons – walk, train, plane, plane, train, train, taxi.  The walk to the first train was 15 minutes uphill, made worse because my case was so heavy; containing wellies, which I had used a lot, a jacket, shoes and a skirt, which I didn’t use at all.  Everyone, but everyone wore boots, trousers and thick coats. 

The first plane was belatedly scheduled to take off 15 minutes later and the second plane was belatedly scheduled to take off 20 minutes earlier.  I will keep my secret as to how I managed it across Frankfurt airport.

The time gap between the train and the train here in England was 5 minutes.  Managed to make the connection with help.  The taxi, well it was just a very welcome taxi.

Carol, the European traveller

Sorry I’ve been off the air for a while.  Computer trouble.  Solved by good friends.  Thankyou.

During my nine day visit to Austria I did a great deal of child minding (18 month old & 4 1/2 years).  I was able to red to them in German although I didn’t really know what I was reading.  They listened well.  Maybe they were fascinated by my pronounciation.

We spent one day in Weithoven, full of memorials, especially those to record the defeat of the Turks.  Train journeyed to the other set of grandparents and my friends own home, Voecklabruck.  Right opposite a park, ideal for the children.

No tourist shops, so my home friend got no presents.  Sorry.  To be in Austria at Easter was fascinating.  At the Lutherian church there were services Friday, Sunday and Monday.  Managed two services, but the local dialect of German meant I could only join with the lords Prayer and a collect, quietly in English.  Good Friday hymns slow and sombre so I followed with my finger.  Easter Sunday fast and lively, so I didn’t stand a chance.

The shops and homes I visited all had decorations of small eggs suspended from twigs of pussy willow and winter jasmine.   I hope to create my own.

Culinarywise , I discovered that each meal consisted of just one course (at least where I was staying) either savory or sweet.  I didn’t have a chance to visit famous Austrian cake shops

To be concluded ……………

Carol, the non-German dialect speaking English woman

One of the advantages of having friends in other countries is it gives an excuse for them to be visited.  Two friends with their two small boys living between Salzburg and Vienna necessitated a visit.

As the plane rose up from Manchester Airport the brilliant white snow-covered mountains soon blended with the brilliant white clouds.  Beautiful and I ws still in England.

My German is limited but I found that a smile and a few ‘danke sehns’ could get me through anything.  Changing planes at the large Frankfurt Airport I arrived at the small Salzberg Airport.

The views from the train on the way to Amstetten revealed Christmas card views of Austrian villas deeply covered in snow.  My wellies were going to be useful (good, as they were very heavy)  Darkness had fallen when I was met by my friend and her father and driven a further 15 miles (you can work it out in kilometres) where we stayed at her isolated parents home high up in the mountains.  They laughed at me for calling it high up, as when daylight arrived the next morning, I could see why; there was much more up and up.

to be continued ………..

Carol, the European traveller

The Carlisle Christian Writers meetings are fun and we hope beneficial to our writing. 

Our  speaker this time was one of our members, who spoke on the ‘mechanics of poetry’ and introduced us to different styles of poetry, where the metre, stress and rhythm vary.  We all learnt a great deal and personally I realised how difficult poetry writing is.

Space, was the subject of our homework which we approached in different ways.   One member played a CD by Thomas in Alium, centuries old yet relevant for today.  We likened it to angels singing.

One member wrote of the teenagers plea ‘I just want my own space’, no doubt a long suffering parent.  Another observant person wrote of two dog walkers passing daily in the park and shouting ‘hello’ whenever they met and yet when they saw each other on the train, ignoring each other.  The lack of space seemed to make a difference.

A prose poem was offered and ‘If I could rent a space’ and ‘What is space?’ were the titles of two other pieces of work.  ‘There is space in a matchbox’ observed another.  That needed thinking about.

Our exercise for the afternoon was to write a book review on one of the books of the Bible and the others guess which.  – Job, Ruth, Esther, Habakkuk, Psalms, Jeremiah and others were tackled.

It’s a pity some of you don’t live nearer; you would have enjoyed the afternoon.

Carol, the co-ordinator

‘The red of the rust blended with the red of the blood that was dripping down the handle of the axe, over the fist that held it and down to mingle with the dirt on the ground.

Gladys stared into the demented eyes of the axeman.If ever she needed the protection of her God it was now.  Thoughts of Moses, Gideon, Daniel, Samson all floated through her mind.  God had saved them, the same God whom she worshipped.  Her simple logic told her, He would save her, but she was afraid.

‘God help me, help me now’.  She held out a shaking hand, her dark brown eyes still firmly fixed on the man.

‘Give – it – to – me’.

In a quiet authoritative voice she spoke the words slowly in her best Mandarin.

She waited.  The prisoners huddled round the walls waited.  The governor and officials outside the locked door waited.  Even the birds seemed to hush their song and the wind paused on its journey across the mountains.  Would the axeman obey the simple order or would he add Gladys to his victims?’

What happens next?  To find out you can buy my book Chinese Whispers from www.dayone.co.uk  01568 613 740

Carol, the author