Day Off Week 5 2025

Proper day off today. Dressed for it in t shirt and trainers, I headed off for a walk on the Heath quite early and had an early cuppa too, reading David Copperfield. Read quite a bit of that through the day (it's brilliant, of course) but also found time to watch the latest University Challenge, do some blogging and write a letter for someone, etc. Got some cheese in Waitrose to write up on my cheese blog. Near the end of the day I had bottle of pear cider that I bought from Marks and Spencer. Very nice.Reading Dickens description of Copperfield and the waiter brought back a memory of school days and acting out the scene in class (Year 8?). I was the waiter and sought to extract as much comedy from it as I could.

Day Off Week 3 2025

More of a traditional day off this week after holidays and Carey in the first two weeks. It was unsual in that I have agreed to lead a discussion at the Pastors Academy on January 27 so I needed to finish the book and draw uo a set of questions which took up my morning. The book is by Leonardo de Chirico and is an introduction to Thomas Aquinas for evangelicals. This meant I had to postpone my walk on the Heath until the afternoon but I managed to get it done by sundown. Bumped into George Platt pastor of neighbouring Highgate Road Chapel with his new baby, Teddy. In the evening we watched the first two Silent Witnesses of the new season. It's an odd programme, quite pro-life in its own way.

Reading The Tree Leaves

November 11

November 27

On my weekly walk I see these three trees regularly. I was surprised to see today

how quicky the leaves had all removed. Only two weeks between the pictures!

Snake Pareidolia

 

Saw this on Hampstead Heath today

Fraternal Week Again

As I have mentioned before on this blog I attend two quite different fraternals and they often end up in the same week (Monday and Wednesday). That is what happened this week. Last Monday it was the fairly traditional Westminster Fellowship at Westminster Baptist Church. This time John Benton was speaking to us on this thorny subject of pastoral abuse in churches. As ever, John was very helpful. About 20 of us were there. Then last Wednesday five of us met to go for a walk on Hampstead Heath. We meet at Hampstead Heath Station, walk to Kenwood for a coffee (kindly paid for by Aaron this time) and then on to Gospel Oak Station where we part. So no formality, just chatting about what we wish with whom we wish. It works well, though it would be nice to see more along.

Day Off Week 26 2023

I went for a walk on the Heath early in the day. I often do that but need to do it more often. I saw a sign outside the Chipotle in West Hampstead that I assumed meant chicken for a pastor so I went and had some. I also bought some Stilton for my cheese blog (see here). Plenty of reading, of course. A book on Paul Klee arrived and I read that. Not a Klee fan, I guess. A copy of the face on the front of the book (his best work I would say) used to hang in the chapel kitchen when I first got here. It was next to a portrait of the first pastor and so the then deacons used to joke that the first portrait was of the first pastor while the Klee was the one before me. Tres droll. I also read Gavin Ortlind's excellent book on humility and almost finished the book on Hitler and art by Charlie English I have been reading. Watched some TV in the evening.

Day Off Week 48 2022

I try and do a walk at least once a week. As I was planning to be out all day the next day, I decided lat Tuesday to do a walk on my day off, which I should be doing every time I guess. Anyway, I was up a little late but got a good walk in. Also made some phone calls. When I got to Golders Green Caffe Nero's coffee machine was broken so I had to go to Costa. First world problems, eh? Through the day I read all the essays in Christmas Lore and Legend by Llewelyn Powys. I've read some of them before but it was nice to read them all consecutively. Powys died in 1939 and his style is very much of its age. He is no Christian but he is sympathetic to many aspect of Christmas. Quite stimulating little collection.

Of course, Wales played England in the evening and that was fairly painful. Wales did well to hold them to 0-0 in the first half. Once Rashford scored, however, it was a blessing that we only conceded three. It has been good that Wales made the finals. At the very least people now know we exist. It is very interesting how Yma o hyd has taken off with the fans. I think there is probably greater cohesion between Welsh speakers and monoglots than ever. We all agree that the language is ours even though most of us don't speak it. We are more one nation than we have been in a long time and things like the football help. Having said that, Welsh society is as rotten through and through as English society and sport will never satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst that is destroying is.

The fraternal again

It was good last Wednesday to meet up again with minister friends for our monthly fraternal, when we walk across the Heath. I think we were about nine this time round, including someone I'd not really met before. It was also someone's birthday and he very kindly stood us all drinks at the cafe halfway along. Good times.

Day Off Week 13 2022

Tuesday March 29 was more like a traditional day off with coffee, a little walking and plenty of reading, although there was a church officers meeting in the evening and one or two little things I needed to do. I enjoyed the art book on the wonderful van Gogh, however, and carrying on with Hunter Davies's lovely relaxed book about nearby Hampstead Heath. Oh yeah I also put a new door knobs on the bathroom door - the easiest task of several that need doing in there.

Days Off Weeks 6-8 2022

"What's happened to your day off reports?" I hear you ask. Well, the truth is that I have been having plenty of time off over the last three weeks but it has been rather bitty due to circumstances.

Week 6 (February 7-13) we had a German friend, Stefan Beyer, staying with us and so I spent time chatting with him and on two evenings we had guests over. He also led our Wednesday night meeting so I did not need to prepare for that in the same way. On the Wednesday morning, we walked up to and onto Hampstead Heath and then had a look inside Kenwood House. Always good to see those paintings, now including the Suffolk Collection, which if not composed of very good or famous pictures is at least historically interesting.

Then the next week, Week 7 (February 14-20) was pencilled in for my two days of the week off, which were to be spent in Wales. As it turned out the storm meant it was wiser to leave London on the Thursday so it was on that afternoon that Owain and I headed off from Paddington. I can't remember when I was last on a train. When we got to Cardiff we took a train up to Llandaf, where Eleri picked us up. She had been in Aber for the week. We stayed with my middle son. His daughter turned one recently and Owain was 21 so we celebrated those birthdays with a pizza evening at Eleri's sister's on the Friday, after twelve of them played football (not including me) and a gathering at the Emmanuel church on the Saturday morning. In between times, there was time to catch up with family and friends. Great time. Got to see my sister and her husband too as their flight to N Ireland was cancelled. We came home to a blown over front garden fence.

Then this week, Week 8 (Feb 21-27) my Uncle Peter, now 80, flew in from Canada yesterday and so we spent time with him. My sister and I picked him up from Heathrow and we spent a chunk of the day here drinking coffee and chatting. He is my dad's youngest brother, one of only two surviving uncles on either side. His wife sadly died last year. He lives on Vancouver Island.

Fraternal Week

I was going to put a post called Fraternal week last month but there didn't seem to be time. The way things work for me is that the first Monday and the first Wednesday of each month are fraternal days and so the first week of the month tends to be busy. On the Monday I go to a traditional fraternal, the Westminster Fellowship which now meets in Westminster Baptist Church. Then on the Wednesday a number of us go for a walk on Hampstead Heath. We meet at a station, walk to a coffee place then on to another station. So there is no formality, we just talk about what we wish with whom we wish. It works well though. As for the Westminster Fellowship, last month we had Andy Young speaking very helpfully on evangelism and this month Dr Philip Sampson speaking on the very topical subject of creation care. Dr Sampson works at the Animal Ethics Centre in Oxford and is a Schaefferite. He gave a very interesting presentation on caring for creation, backed up by a range of excellent quotations from all the good guys (Calvin, the Puritans, Spurgeon, etc).

Ministers Fraternals

Ministers fraternals are a great thing especially for ministers in independent churches. I go to two very different fraternals more or less once a month. It is a pity they fall in the same three days but there we are. I have mentioned both here before now. First, there's the Westminster Fellowship which is an all day affair (10.30 am-3 pm with a short break for lunch plus time to travel there and back). Last Monday we had a speaker, which we often do. Robert Strivens addressed us on what to sing and gave us some useful historical and biblical material to chew over. He was keen to point out that the modern way of thinking is not just about using modern hymns but about a certain understanding of worship too. About 20 of us gathered and we had a good session. There are one or two psalm singers among us which slowed down proceedings but they have to think about these subjects too as you still have to decide which psam version to use and which tune. (PS we use New Christian Hymns in book form and are accompanied by a piano). Then today I joined nine other men at Hampstead Heath station to walk over the Heath and get a coffee before heading down to Gospel Oak, talking all the way. This is a much looser way of doing things but means I get my 10,000 steps in, get to know some of my fellow ministers (better than I would at Westminster, although this time I shared a bus ride with two different ones coming and going, which was good).

The Heatwave

 

This picture of Hampstead Heath appeared in The Times today

Hampstead

We finally got to see the film Hampstead last night. Knowing it is based in our neighbourhood we were curious to see. I remember seeing them filming it from time to time a year or two back. We went to see the film in the JW3 Centre, which we had not been to before. It's a cultural centre with restaurant, cinema, etc. It currently features a large sanded area with deckchairs and a Tel Aviv backdrop. There are security guards on the gates but it has a nice voluntary Israeli feel. Anyway the film is a nice gentle romance featuring two older people not convinced about the rat race. It is nice to be reminded of what a lovely area we live in (as ever in such films the geography is fictional and you know where things really are). It is sad that the only only alternatives offered in this set up are rat race, moan at the race or drop out. There are other alternatives. We managed to exit the cinema just as it was about to rain. I've rarely seen such a storm.

10 Minutes from my door

This is why so many people pay a fortune to live in this part of London

Whitefield in Hampstead

I was looking at a map on* Hampstead Heath the other day and noticed Preachers hill marked on it. Apparently a grove stood near Hampstead with a large green and an old village tree. In 1739 (Thursday May 17) George Whitfield preached there. Hence Preacher's Hill. Preachers Hill is situated off East Heath Road, opposite the top of Pryors Field.

 'Preached, after several invitations thither, at Hampstead Heath, about five miles from London. The audience was of the politer sort, and I preached very near the horse course, which gave me occasion to speak home to the souls concerning our spiritual race. Most were attentive, but some mocked. Thus the Word of God is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. God's Spirit bloweth when, and where it listeth.'

His visit is said to have led to the founding of a Congregationalist church.
* sic

Silence is golden

Had a lovely walk on Hampstead Heath with two of the boys last Sunday afternoon.

Taith Cerdded

We were on our annual walk this morning. Ostensibly it is a sponsored walk for the Welsh School but we mainly enjoy the walking and talking. It has been on nearby Hampstead Heath in recent years. It is not normally this late but the weather was so pleasant out there no one complained. The Autumn colours are wonderful. Whenever I go on the Heath I think to myself I must use it more. Perhaps I will. We always see someone famous up there. Last year it was broadcaster Melvyn Bragg. This time it was the actor and comedian Les Dannis. More on the heath here. And here. London Welsh School here. And here.