Ask the expert.

It is surprising just how many thoughts, fly through this empty head of mine during the course of the week. Then it comes time to write a little and it is nowhere to be found! I believe I am not alone with this? I am not too good at giving straight answers and if you were to ask me a question I would probably first find you another one and then go away to check it out.

Imagine my embarrassment, I am in my element, spotting birds in the wilds of the North York Moors; equipped with my new hi tech scope and camera, when along come some walkers. "Hi, have you seen anything"? I clearly look like the real thing, an expert, with all the trimmings. It is at this time I wish my Italian was better, I could say something and they would just pass by. Yes I had just seen this amazing bird but I don't know what it is till I get back home and look at the book, quite common really, a redshank. What would it be like to be invisible?

I guess we assume great knowledge from those who have the gadgets and the dress. Priests, Doctors, Garage mechanics and Teachers; would we ask a man in the street, when is the next eclipse of the moon? Does God really know how many hairs left on my head? Yet, bump into an "expert" and out pop these questions.
Note to evening office: Give thanks for not being an expert, and not being invisible.

.

Crib & Child

Resting in the hearth of the front room, amid tea light candles; Mum's crib and figures. The crib is quite new, replaced by one of my younger cousins (Gregory); the old one as I remember was nowt but a box (very fitting for a stable). The figures though must be over 50 years old, I remember the year poor Joseph lost his head. No such thing as super glue, so he was put together with some rubber solution - seems to have worked well though.
.

Outwood bound

An afternoon walk across the moors found me the other side of Ugthorpe mill (above). The mill is pictured a few blogs ago withh all it's sails; today it is a converted dwelling. As I drew close on the moor road so many years ago, I would shout "I can see the minwill".

I took with me my new spotting scope and later headed towards the water, here I found a Redshank, some ducks and geese. Perhaps nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed the walk and oh yes, the scope works fine.

Note to evening office; Take a walk on the wild side (often).
.

A Journey a far

My wanderings have not taken me far recently, though I feel I have been a million miles from where I should have been; have you ever felt like that? We are close to Christmas too (or when you read this it may be all over); such hype and fuss. Today as I walked past the railway station and I over heard adults speaking in strange tounges, about Star wars, Dr Who and Ben 10 figures; DS and Wee; and would they be able to get any? What is it all about, I wonder? A simple message on the Drop-in centre window - "One light, in the streets" and a single candle cut out in crepe paper and white card. So many lights in the town, flashing colours and a strange blue that defies a name, you know the one. We used to say psychedelic, but it is not even that. I do love Christmas, really; it's just that it seems to bring stress and pain instead of peace and love.

Exercise is still on the agenda and evening walks up into the village despite the wind and cold. I listen out for the owls and have not heard them for some time now. Last weekend (Friday) I was on my usual route and came down past the bungalows for the elderly. As I came round the corner I heard in the distance a dull sound, there seemed to be a rhythm to it but the source confused me (I had passed the pub earlier). It became clear as I got got closer, an elderly gentleman had got himself a karaoke and was indulging in a Country and Western sing along. He was obviously on his own and enjoying every minute of it; I chuckled to myself and wandered on.

Santa Clause has for many years visited the friary when all is still and brothers asleep, leaving gifts of clothing, food and drink. I have indulged this year in a telescope and I am under instructions to wrap it up and open it only on Christmas day. The difficulty is that the sky is quite clear at the moment and sure to be cloudy by Christmas. I think I would be about 12-years old when I got my first telescope for Christmas. Quite a basic model and though the pictures on the side of the box showed Saturn's rings and large craters on the moon, I didn't experience any astronomical marvels; in fact Eston nab beacon was about the best I could get. Still, things must be better - more powerful these days? I love to read and look at pictures of distant galaxies, planets and stars; but to see these things with our own eyes, to pull them into focus and in the centre of the eyepiece, must be amazing! I am looking forward to connecting a camera so I can record the images of light traveling towards my telescope, of distant stars so long ago. Watch this space for developments.

Note to evening office: Faith is found often without seeing, but how our faith grows when we see. Such a simple thing as a piece of glass, which in itself - we need to look through and not at.

Lots of love
Every blessing for this Christmas time, receive Love - Peace - Hope.
.

Heavenly Bodies

A slow drive home last week and the skys were still clear. It was around tea time and there, just a little above the horizon, I could see two bright stars. They were of course planets as they did not twinkle twinkle like a little star. The sky was quite beautiful that evening and to have two planets so close together was spectacular.

I think I mentioned before about my interest in astronomy due to my walks around the gas works with the night watchman, George. I would be about 12-years old then; we lived in the gas works managers house but I hasten to add, in the old servant quarters. We moved to this house when I was 8-years old and it was a great adventure; the gas works, then disused except for storage, was my playground also the garden with it's tennis court, green house, vine shed, garage and workshop. The manager that lived next door was not a gardener or handy man so we had the use of the garden and it's out houses. Dad dug up half the tennis court and planted potatoes and vegetables and I threw a rope over a branch and made a swing in the trees.

During our 10-years there I went from a kid in short trousers to a young man at technical college. Family was important and there would often be uncles, aunts, cousins and extended family visiting. We didn't have much but there was always enough to go round; conversation at adult level, was mostly reminiscing - stories about themselves and other family members, it was good to listen in, even if I had heard it before. Mum & Dad often had visitors (family and friends) who would come for adult talks, they were good listeners to anyone in need.

The gas works also had a row of terraced houses and it was here that Luap and Nephets lived, we used to reverse our names; this was down to uncle Pip, one of the watchmen. He would tell fantastic stories and recite nonsense poems, we would sit for hours in the boiler room and listen to him. Uncle Pip used to work in the iron ore mines in Eston hills, he was was a huge man but gentle and full of fun. He would stoke the furnace with coke, which heated the water; this would stop the gas storage tanks from freezing. Every hour measurements of the two large gasometers were taken and recorded in the "big book". Measurements were taken by counting the number of gas tank levels fully extended and number of plates and bolts visible. The volume of gas could then be calculated.

Perhaps more about my time at South Bank another day; so what about these two planets? What a beautiful sight. I did wonder if one of them was Mars as this planet is often seen just above the horizon, but no, my first thoughts were correct it was Jupiter and Venus (very bright). I did Google this when I got home; it seems that Jupiter and Venus come within 2 degrees of each other and on the 1st December just after sunset they are joined by the smallest part of the moon. I hope the sky is clear and I remember my tripod. All this is happening in the constellation of Sagittarius. So what does all this mean? The names of the planets, the position in this constellation at this time of year and the moon? Nothing, it is just a beautiful sight to be gazed upon and marveled at, reminisced upon and valued. This time of year, as we pull ourselves in and keep warm, it is good to reminisce and value our family and friends, past and present.

Note to evening office: I am who I am because of others.
.

Night Light

As I walk around the friary these November evenings, I am greeted by shafts of light through the windows. We have been treated by some clear skys recently and a full moon. Moon light has that pure silvery light, making our rooms look rather grand (hiding the dust and clutter). Saturday evening I stopped the car at the sea front and took a few photos, wish I had my tripod as many came out blurred but I liked the one above. The halogen lights from the car park lit up the beach as the moonlight skipped across the water; a ship on the horizon and stars breaking through, the dark crest of Huntciff to the right. The moon rose from the sea, quite red and I watched it breaking through the cloud. Mum used to tell me about the Hunters moon, named so the hunters could go out without torches and a blood red moon, not giving off too much light. The Hunters moon follows the Harvest moon (also red) and is the next full moon following the autumnal equinox (Hunters moon.14th October this year) I don't believe it was a clear night at all.

On the other hand, our days have changed too. The low sun this time of year casts light into most of our rooms, reaching corners and shelves that I now notice in a different way. I could imagine looking into rooms and seeing them for the first time, feeling like a stranger in my own home. Again there is a beauty, this silvery light, more direct and clean. The rooms look larger too.

The moon of course (some would say) has no real beauty of it's own; it is really just a large mirror reflecting the glory of the sun. We cannot look straight into the sun so we gaze at the moon and upon what it reveals with its light. I was passing these comments today to a novice, George, I am sure he thought I was quite mad (until he met brother Cyril). I hope he comes and visits again; I enjoyed his company, a tall young man who was not afraid to say what he felt.

Note to morning office: Try to notice how different things look in the changing light, don't assume you know anything.
.

Taken advantage

October already; and the clocks are adjusted to to give a little more light in the evening, albeit for a short while. All this year I have been promising myself a keep fit programme, a personal exercise routine. It has not materialised and only occasionally have I attempted press-ups and physical jerks. Only today on the radio we were reminded about the winter months and a feeling of, needing to stay in bed (oh that it was possible)! Evidently we need to Up our physical exercise to combat the lethargy caused by short daylight hours. Perhaps I should re-think my fitness strategy to help me through these winter months; we are assured that within 1-2 weeks we will feel a benefit in our alertness and motivation.

I disappear often enough from the friary so I really ought to focus my exercise time within the friary boundaries, but where? and would a jogging suit and trainers help? I doubt if there is a suitable book in our library so I ought to call into the local library, or talk to those nice people at the wellbeing centre; this is all getting very scary. Brother Timothy may be interested in joining me, we could do this together and encourage each other. Maybe by March I will have a programme sorted out. It seems life fills up with so many things and those that are important float to the top of the bucket and spill over the edge.

Arthur is a kind old gentleman (widower) who lives close by, I was walking back from the village yesterday when I saw him coming up the hill, the wind was against him as he stumbled and regained his balance leaning against the wall of the terraced houses. I moved quickly towards him and asked if he was alright, "I'm jiggered" he said. As I spoke to him he recognised me and I suggested we walked back to his house together. "No, I will be alright - I just need a few things from the shop". Suggestions of my going to the shop for him or taking him in the car brought the same answer. "No, I might take advantage of you". What do you do, it was very windy and Arthur is frail, seeing him fall in the street did not bare thinking of, yet he was insistent; what do you do?

I understand a persons independence and also when they come to a stage of frailty, it was so hard to let him go on. Back at the friary I busied myself with simple chores within sight of the road, watching for Arthur's return; he told me, the wind will be behind me on my way back, and he was right. I walked out to meet him and saw him to his door reminding him of our help when he needs us. He looked much better than earlier and said he fancied a cup of tea.

Note to evening office: Is it wrong to be taken advantage of?
.