May Day

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May Day in Britain was first celebrated in 1978 with a Bank Holiday on the first Monday in May. Celebrations these days revolve round dancing, singing and drinking and of course cake. Originally it arose to mark the historical struggles and gains of workers in the 1890’s. They were fighting for an 8 hour working day. In the past they had been exploited by their bosses. Maypoles were just part of the festivities, though they are really seen these days. Today it is an excuse for having fun, though our fun will be limited this year.

The word ‘mayday’ has quite another meaning for many. It was first used as an emergency destress signal in 1920. Any sailor or pilot will shudder on hearing the words ‘mayday, mayday.’

Visit to the Dentist

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Who would have ever thought that a visit to the dentist would be exciting! Yes, I’ve been to the dentist, only for a check-up and nothing had to be done., so no pain. We can now visit the opticians, chiropodist and other places which are so important for our well-being. It is the thought of careful freedom which is most important.

No-one likes being told what to do and what not to do. That is the position we have been in. It is such a blessing that some restrictions are now being eased. I do hope that everyone will continue to be careful. We don’t want to go back in any way. I hope we have come out of this period older and wiser. Definitely older, but what about wiser?

Conversation

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Since going into ‘you know what’, our conversations have changed. Now we ask ”Have you had your vaccine?’ ‘Have you had your second jab?’ ‘When will you have your hair cut?’ ‘Have you had covid?’ ‘Did you have bad effects from the vaccine?’ Questions that would never have been uttered in the past.

We are also interpreting the rules differently. Some think its OK to travel 250 miles to a beauty spot, while others hardly leave their homes. There are those who have family to stay when some won’t even let people visit their gardens.

My prayer is that whatever our behaviour, the virus does not increase. I think we are all getting to the end of our endurance. Thinking of others should still be our tope priority.

Another First

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It’s a week since I had another ‘first’. I had a coffee outside a cafe in my local city with a friend. It was such a treat. Because the shops are now open there was a buzz of people around. The sun was shining and the breeze was very light. We went to a place I’d never visited before. The coffee was lovely and the staff most welcoming. (They must be desperate for custom after such a long shutdown.)

But the best thing was seeing my friend, June. It was many months since we’d met. We had telephoned but as we know that’s not the same. We had so much so say, so much news to catch up on. She has serious health problems in her family, so it was also a sad time.

I realised once again that God has made us to be in families. We are not meant to be alone as we have been so much during the last few months. Does this time make us appreciate friends and family more? I do trust so.

Snow in April

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It might be April but we can still have snow. I planned to do some gardening the other day but it proved too cold and then we had a snow storm. As I was contacting other people on Zoom round the country we were comparing depths of snow. I definitely lost the competition. But it was good to see cars driving by, some with only a small piece of their windscreens cleared of the snow.

Thinking back to last year we had a lovely spring. But in 2020 we needed it as we had a rocky road ahead of us. Now that we are coming out of lockdown, maybe we don’t need the warm weather. Maybe, but maybe not.

Short Flowering Lawn

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With the help of my gardener I’m starting on a Short Flowering Lawn. (Not sure whether the flowers will flower for a short time, whether the flowers will be short in height or whether the comment refers to the length of my lawn!)In two weeks time he will scarify the lawn(is it scared because it belongs to me!) and I will have bought some seeds by then.

I hope it won’t involve too much work but I want to encourage and butterflies, ladybirds and insects. I live in a horticultural oasis, with roads on two sides, an immaculate no weeds garden on one side and a pesticide enthusiast on the other. Roll on my insect friendly garden.

All in an April Evening

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Lambs are so symbolic with Easter. Most of my life I’ve lived in a part of England where we did not see lambs. Therefore I’m so excited, now that I’ve moved as I can see them every time I go out. That is good as I can’t travel far at the moment. I’m told there are many different breeds but to me a sheep is a sheep is a sheep!

We think of our Lord going willingly as a lamb to the slaughter for us. It is such an enormous concept that it’s difficult to take it in. But it is true; let us rejoice and be thankful this Easter.

Old Emails

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I spent time looking at the emails I received twelve months ago, prior to deleting them. What interesting reading they made. We were so innocent about what the future held. We had no idea of the restrictions that would be made. The new words which we are now so familiar with were unknown to us then.

We didn’t know what lockdown, shielding, zooming, and social distance meant. I thought they meant what happened when one went to prison, wrapping up against the wind, rushing around everywhere and keeping away from people who had colds. We are now older and wiser!

Sitting in Gardens

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In the first five days when we in England were allowed to have friends and neighbours sitting in our gardens, I had six friends visiting on three different occasions. It was so wonderful, especially as the sun was shining every time, except one. On that occasion the wind was blowing a gale, so we sat with coats, hats and gloves. But it was still so exciting.

With one friend we sat looking at the butterflies flying around and the ladybirds crawling along a blade of grass. So relaxing. On another occasion we discussed my visitors families in Germany and the fact that they couldn’t visit. Lovely to sit at a distance and not wear masks. I am so grateful to have a garden and now to be able to share it with others.

CHURCH

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It is exciting in England to be able to go to church again in person. Admittedly we can’t sing and need to continue wearing masks, but it is wonderful to be able to worship with other Christians as we are instructed to do in the Bible. But I have to admit being saddened. We are allowed to have thirty people in our service. Even with the leaders we were only about 16.

When lockdown is over, will we be returning to church or will we stay at home and watch Zoom or live video? Yes, Zoom saves time, having to get dressed, saves petrol and we can cook the dinner at the same time. But we are missing out. Virtual services will not keep the church going. We need to meet and be thankful we do not have the restrictions the early church or some countries round the world have today.

It reminds me of what learned as a teenager. What is missing from the middle of church. CH UR CH what is missing – U R.