365:009

Today was all about a pre-recorded programme for Radio Ulster - to be broadcast on Burns Night. This toast came at the end of the addressing - and stabbing of - the haggis.

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The skating rink outside the office at sunrise... cleverly disguised as a junction. Yick photo, but it was a busy day.

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Now that's cold. Brrrr.

365:006b

A week is sadly, a very long time in politics, but how often do we hear words like repentance, forgiveness and mercy used in public life?

365:006a

Distractions. Today was full of them. I kept, uh, losing the thread of what I was doing......

My father made this for me a while back and it's just one of those quirky things I really love.

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This evening was the annual trip to the panto for my cousin's children. (Oh yes it was....) Dan Gordon has to be the funniest dame in the business.

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Hmmm..... first day back after the Christmas break. Glad to have a job...no, really!

"Rejoice in all things".....?!!!!

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One Sunday a month I help out with the music at a local church. This evening, the heating put up a pretty feeble resistance to the -4 temps outside. My hands were freezing cold and it made for a few interesting chords.

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The harbour at Donaghadee - lovely, relaxing end of the holiday lunch at Pier 36 with friends - chilly day, so snapped this one before getting back into friend's car (landrover....yum.)

365:001

Yikes... nearly missed the boat and not because the cove was moonlit - couldn't get the new camera software to load without jiggering the entire system. Will have to re think the download method or this 365 melarkey will last a week at most. Anyway - pretty wick pic, out an upstairs window (baltic outside) but a corker of a moon reflecting on the cove and it sort of worked for me anyway.

For the curious, Ali's to blame - again. 365 photos for 2010.... 1 a day I gather, so can't buck them all into one post! Tempting!!! Check out the links on the right for others doing the project - and they'll link you to others if you're interested.

29 Christmas Diners

...and before someone wise cracks that I've turned into the Vicar of Dibley (comparisons have been made) I didn't eat all the turkey meals.... it's the number gobbled in this house in the space of a few days.

I love my family and my friends, but next year, it will be different.

We'd the seasonal gathering of my favourite people over the space of five days and it was great - though exhausting. Pictured below, "the second day of Christmas" crowd - that's boxing day up north and St Stephen's to my republican listeners.. not sure what the three Welsh folk call it.

Ever...

...get tired of pink?

The tall ships came....

...and the tall ships left. And while it would have been lovely to sail up Belfast Lough on one... and maybe out to some heavier seas (oooooh that would have been good), we had to settle with the "big" departure which, if you'll pardon the Belfastism, turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.

The best shots (taken to amuse myself) were through Dave's telescope... I think it makes the ships look like paintings!

.... despite living this close to the coast it was hard to see anything.

Anyway, the point of this blog is short and sweet - I'm heading west again - this time with company - lots of it! Can anyone recommend good churches in Nashville, Knoxville /Gatlinburg and Boston?!!! We'll be around these places mainly in September. Also, what d'you reckon the chances are of seeing some fall colour around the end of Sept?

Oh yes... and hippo burdy to my mum and Jennifer - how cool is it that my mother and my friend share a birthday.

I'm SO (never) bored that...

... I haven't blogged about the latest trip west to the States (great to see Jennifer and co) ... or the exam at the end of the first unit in the Certificate of Theology course some of us are loving.... or progress in "God's Garden" (yummy produce and sheds like men... ie - none for ages then two arrive at once....) or a certain boy's first birthday.... or even the fact that this year's "colour" isn't sun kissed skin but a mix of rust and mould. Welcome to summer NI style.

We did have a lovely day however for the Craven clan picnic ...(half the family.) If you didn't make it - WE MISSED YOU - please come next year! So without further ado.... a few snaps.

If you're in them, you'll know the who, what, where and when stuff. If you're not - it's a mix of the north coast of NI and Easton PA. Enjoy peeps.

Race for life.

So it was the hottest day of the year so far.... but WE DID IT. The girls from the the Book and Pudding Group Raced for Life... though it really was too hot to do the sprint we intended..... (no, really...)

Ali, Ali, Wils and JJ/DD (not in photo) made it round the 5km course in about 70 minutes (with essential pauses on the hill to Parliament Buildings).

And we got medals to prove it!

For our American friends - Parliament Building, Stormont - it's where our elected representatives run Northern Ireland from.... I'll leave the political comments on how well they do it for another time!

The grounds are beautiful - woodland, open lawns and lovely walks... it's just on the outskirts of Belfast.

I'm not sure how many people took part but we saw walker number 5248 along the way. It was really well organised and there was a fantastic atmosphere.

Best of all was the finish line! Dad came to cheer us on as did Ali's husband and son.

The fundraising target was a whopping 389 thousand pounds (over 630 thousand dollars) but I've no idea how much money has been raised overall. I know I'm well over target so far, and to everyone who dug deep into their pockets and wallets, THANK YOU. We can all feel proud to have done something very good today. (If you haven't chipped in yet and would still like to.... it's not too late - I'll leave the "sponsor me" button on the blog for a few more days.)

I'll let the snaps speak for themselves.

Allow me to introduce.... Jennifer

I have a friend called Jennifer.

We've been friends since we were eight, when she'd come to Northern Ireland from the USA to stay with her grandmother who lived in the sweetest little village in Co Down.

It was home to many families over the summer months when I was a child. The moment school finished in June, the car was packed and we drove to the caravan park to be surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, grand- parents and friends until the end of August.

It was bliss.


On good days, the children escaped after breakfast and only returned throughout the day for food. When the light faded at night, we were exhausted and we headed "home" to the "van". The gas mantles hissed, the curtains were drawn, and the air full of the smell of hot buttered toast and tea which kept body and soul together until breakfast.

There were so many friends. We spent our days on the beach poking around rockpools, jumping into the sea at the harbour, cycling, wandering up the coastal path to Orlock to see the seals and talking, talking, talking.

On colder damp days, all the cousins piled into one caravan for a marathon game of Monopoly that kept us going till evening.

Now, the caravans have gone, and there are houses. I moved here in 1995 and my parents followed in 2002 and we're still surrounded by old friends. I've written about it before here.

Anyway, back to Jennifer. We met at CSSM - the Children's Mission... maybe in 1970 or '71? To this day I can never remember if the middle bit of CSSM meant Sea Side or Special Service. For two weeks every summer, the CSSM team moved in, the guitars were tuned, the sandcastle pulpit built and decorated every morning with shells and flowers and we got down to some serious chorus singing and Bible teaching.


The year we both turned 21, Jennifer joined us to be part of the team in Derry and we had a blast. My friends HJ & M who are now married and live close by, were also on that team, and HJ hosted Jennifer's 21st birthday party that August. We've all been friends a long time.

As soon as they heard I was to have surgery for breast cancer at the end of December 07, Jennifer and her family booked flights and came to visit. We had a great new year's eve in HJ and M's house with lots of friends. It was a tough year, made easier by her phonecalls, bandana mailings and prayers.

She isn't just an old friend from America, she's my sister minus the DNA and now she's on the same journey. This time, it's me booking the flights....

Jennifer, a walk on the beach, a mug of tea and a good giggle are called for... but they'll have to wait a while. It was balmy this evening - the hottest day of the year so far, and after a late tea, Robo, Rosebud and I hit the beach for a dander - we recorded this about 9pm. (What were you doing at 4pm girl??!!)

We can't send you the smell of the sea, but this is the next best thing sis, so put your feet up and visit for a moment or two.... and enjoy!



















Now to the rest of you.... we need to stuff this sodding disease once and for all.

Tomorrow is the "Race for life" and there's still time to put your hand in your pocket - the button for sponsoring me is on the top right hand side of this page..... go on, go on, go on. I might even let you walk on the beach next time you come by!


I'm doing this for mum and dad, and Anne and Eileen and Clemmie and Eric and Carrie and Jacky..... and now for Jennifer. Oh yes, and me too. Go on.....!

Ah yes.... sponsorship

Ali is putting me to shame. So since I'm the only one in the Book and Pudding Club team (to the best of my knowledge!) that has acutally had boob rot (cancer) I guess I need to make more of an effort to fund raise! Ta to everyone in the lovely world of work who's chipped in. Anyone else who'd like to.... it's such a good cause.

(Just as long as we clarify that when it comes to the "race" bit, think more "tortoise" than "hare". And as for the book and pud club gals... the pudding bit of our evenings sometimes (?!) gets more attention than what we've been reading... hence the previous sentence. Now, as Ali would say, we're clear when it comes to the Trades Description Act.)

NOW!!!! See the big blue rectangle to the side ... the one with the pink and white bit that says "RACE FOR LIFE - SPONSOR ME"? Well, all you need is a bit of plastic and the will to do something to share a few pounds/dollars/yen/shekels/euro whatever. All gladly received! Honestly! And thanks.

Cue Vacuum cleaner noises

Anyone know where I can buy glue on hair?!

I discovered an old school friend has a hairdressers near home, and since I needed a TRIM (ie - "just take the ends off please - I'm happy coming every few weeks....") but I think we talked a little too much. Rather, she talked and my eyes watered at the pain of watching my folicles disappear - couldn't have done a cleaner job if she'd used a vacuum cleaner.

Thing was, there was no point in stopping her, because once one bit's done..........

If you see a bucket on two shoulders waltz down the street... it's me. See you uh... maybe in September?

(Now where did I leave those chemo hats............)

How many friends...

...can you hope for in one day? (Not including Robo and Angela who were slaving away in the kitchen a few doors away!) I seriously love it when people either just pop in because they were passing by or call to say they hope you're in because they're on their way. Had lots of visitors today which put a smile on everyone's face here.

Ali wanted an update on the plot.... seeds in trays, spuds chitting, soil broken up (borrowed a bit of machinery from a friend, ) and more to do tomorrow. Thanks Dad, Phil and L - sometimes a bit of muscle is very much needed! Looking forward to your help tomorrow Doodle ;o)

On the lookout for a 10ft gate if anyone has a spare lurking behind the shed?

Allow me to introduce...

... my dad and his chums. They've been in the Boys' Brigade pretty much all their lives. Dad's 76 now and the others are in the same age bracket - give or take a decade. As kids they played football together, cycled about Ireland, camped here and in GB. -Dad sang in a quartet that I'm told was pretty amazing.

They've all been members of the BB Old Boys' Association for years too - meeting EVERY week for Bible Class on a Sunday afternoon, Friday night for indoor bowls and snooker and on Saturdays in the summer for outdoor bowls. A lot of them are in the BB Centenary Choir - dad loves it - and they sound great as they visit churches to sing at special services.

This wee video clip of the Old Boys was taken at the end of the annual district parade last Sunday afternoon - right after the service. All the young members of the BB had already passed by, but I love this bunch right at the end of the parade. They just never give up. I can't begin to imagine how many artificial knees and hips and heart pacemakers are helping these guys along, but I take my hat off to them.

For those who know Belfast, they'd just passed by the City Hall and the High Sherrif had taken the salute - they were on their way back to May St Presbyterian. The band is the Symington Memorial. (My dad's the happy chap on the far side - he waves at the camera as he passes...)