"Day off" Week 39

The luxury of a day off is not always possible and so it has proved this week. What I did was to stagger it across Monday Tuesday - not ideal but better than nothing. I had hospital visits (just tests) on both days and those took up a chunk of time as did a visit to Kensington to pick up a visa for a forthcoming trip. One good thing was that the fitbit 1000 steps were easily achieved and more on both days. Otherwise, I did some reading (Nobel winner J M Coetzee's 1999 Booker prize winning novel Disgraced is a bit tawdry in its subject matter but well written and thought provoking with regards to South Africa and the wider world) and put together a Billy bookcase over in my study and watched the latest episodes of Vanity Fair (excellent) and Strangers (not so hot) as well as doing some blogging. Interleaved with all this was the beginnings of sermon preparation and a basic Bible study on the Tuesday night (only one person extra made it). Coffee and crossword puzzles also had their place as ever.

A Trip to see Focus and my family in Wales

A short while ago I noticed that Focus were playing in Swansea on November 24 so I decided on a trip to see them and my boys. My attachment to Focus goes back to my teenage years when I was converted and wanted to find a rock band that would not corrupt me. It is a little like paying homage.

I had duties here on Monday afternoon and so didn't get away as early as I hoped and with traffic and so on did not reach the venue (The Scene) until just after Focus had started.

They were just coming to the end of House of the King when I got there. I guess they would have started with Focus 1. The first half was all the old stuff including a brilliant Eruption, including Tommy, Sylvia and so on. The newer stuff didn't get played until the second half. It is hard to put into words what a brilliant band this is. The only low point for me was at the end of a ripping Harem Scarem where Menno Gootjes was left more or less to himself. It left me rather cold. Interestingly, because it was like something out of the seventies. Focus were never like something out of the seventies but always transcended the decade.

One treat at the concert was seeing just a few people dancing at the front to the rock numbers. The flute passages were also an immense treat. During the interval I bought the new double helping of Swung where the band minus Van Leer jam. Interesting stuff. Van Leer's wife Anneliese runs the shops. She has no English (and I no Dutch). I said Thank you very Dutch. She said "What is Dutch?"!

The main set closed with an excellent Hocus Pocus, which now includes a second extended drum solo for the amazing Pierre Van Der Linden. As I watched him endlessly work his way round the kit it made me wonder have I ever preached at all? Here is a man who knows his drums better than I know any text I've preached. Surely I should be immersing myself in the texts week by week. Yes, you may not be appreciated (a Van Der Linden drum break is not to everybody's liking) but you will be thorough.

So by the end of the concert I was pretty impressed and would have been happy to leave. There was some enthusiasm for an encore, however, and the band returned with Focus 3, a beautiful number that has grown and grown on me over the years, and its partner Answers Questions Questions Answers. The flute playing at this point was beyond beautiful and I was gone. Amazing.

*

I then needed to find my car which I had parked in haste in a city I don't know well and head for my son Dewi's. I had a nice session with him (fresh back from a weekend away with the CU in Pembrokeshire plus a trip to Cardiff where another son was preaching). He's doing fine. We went out for breakfast the next morning and had a fry up (not a good idea). I then headed on to Cardiff where I had lunch with Dylan who is working with UCCF this year and doing fine. I also popped up to Cwmbran to see my sister as she has been in hospital for a short op. She seemed well. I also met her kind neighbour and then my nephew Will came back with tales of how a friend had here handbag stolen when they were walking in Newport last Saturday (part of a haul of 13 I understand). I did start to feel a little ill before I left but only indigestion.

*

Anyway on the journey home I felt increasingly unwell and eventually pulled off the M$ in Reading and headed for the A&E of The Royal Berkshire. By this time I was pretty sure I must be having a heart attack. They rushed me straight in and gave me an ecg, etc. Anyway it wasn't that and after they had given me an intravenous pain killer I was fine. After being seen by a doctor I was able to go. It was quite late by then and when I tried to rejoin the M4 it was closed. It was a bit of a nightmare getting home but I was in bed by 2 am, shattered. I'm still not quite right so I'm heading for the doctor's next.

 

Dr D M Lloyd-Jones

https://www.monergism.com/effectual-calling-and-regeneration

I've been doing these rehabilitation classes at the Royal Free, which are helpful. One funny thing has been the presence of a Lloyd-Jones lookalike. He's not a dead ringer and certainly no soundalike but reminiscent of and he dresses the part regardless of the fact the first hour is exercise.

My Sabbatical is drawing to a close and I spent a good deal of yesterday doing one of the things I had promised myself to do - sitting in the Lloyd-Jones Library at LTS and perusing the contents. No major surprises but worth doing I hope. I need to write it up now.

Charles Wesley

Philafrenzy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

I had to go down to the Heart Hospital and I noticed that the grave and memorial for Charles Wesley and his family is in a memorial garden in Marylebone High Street near the Parish Church. I've seen John's grave (at the back of the Wesley museum near Bunhill Fields but never this one of his brothers - although I know that area a little - Chiltern Street where the Evangelical Library used to be is nearby).

At the base of the memorial, on its east face, is inscribed:

In 1950 this monument was
removed from its original
position in the graveyard
and finally placed here in
1952

Above this, on the main body of the plinth, is inscribed:

Here lie
the remains of
the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
who departed this life
the 29th March 1788
aged 80 years.

With poverty of spirit blessed
Rest happy saint in Jesus rest.
A sinner saved through grace forgiven
Redeemd from earth to reign in heaven
And labours of unwearied love
By thee forgot are crownd above.
Crownd through the mercy of thy Lord
With a free full immense reward

On the south face of the main body of the plinth is inscribed:

In memory of
Sarah
wife of the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
who departed this life
the 28th of December 1822
aged 96 years.

Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord for they rest from
their labours and their works
do follow them.

On the west face of the main body of the plinth is inscribed:

This monument was erected
ADMDCCCLVIM
by the Methodist Conference
to replace the stone
originally covering
this grave
and which has decayed
In token of their
reverence and respect
for the memory of the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
brother of the Revd
John Wesley, MA
the founder under God
of the Methodist Connexion

On the lower part of the north face of the plinth is inscribed:

Also of
Samuel Wesley Esq
The eminent musical composer and organist
their second son
who died in October 1837
aged 74 years

Above this on the main body of the plinth is inscribed:

In memory of
Charles Wesley Esq
son of
the before mentioned
Charles & Sarah Wesley
who departed this life
the 23rd of May 1834
aged 77 years.

Lord's Days April 13 and 20 2014

I actually preached on the Sunday morning of the 13th. I got out of hospital on the 9th and then learned that I needed to report to the Heart Hospital on the afternoon of the 13th. We had booked a family holiday in Hampshire for the 12-19 with our boys and others. So I had a nice afternoon and evening down in Hampshire on the Saturday and then for various reasons we had our own service in the cottage (Eleri, me, the five boys, Sibyl (plus junior in utero), Eleri's sister, husband and son). At the last minute I thought of hymns and realised that we had enough devices between us to email or Facebook three hymns out for acapella use in the service. I preached on 1 Kings 3:1-15. After a quick lunch Eleri drove me back to London and to the hospital. No evening service for ne then (I think they  used stuff from Youtube to keep them in tune and listened to Mark Raines on Sermonaudio).

I believe my elder Robert Strivens and fellow minister Andrew Hill preached at Childs Hill. I am very grateful to them.

I had the operation on Monday 14, of which I remember very little thankfully and came home on Saturday 19. Both morning and evening I went to the Met Tab - virtually not literally, of course. Dr Masters has been unwell and so his assistant Ibrahim Ag Mohammed preached. He spoke on Matthew 28:6 in the morning on the resurrection and from Mark 5 and the raising of Jairus's daughter in the evening. The two services were identical in format, the evening on being evangelistic and shorter. Both services are solid, straightforward, heart warming and carefully though out. It was a joy to be "there".

I probably haven't looked properly but I could not see anyone else in the UK offering the same public facility - not even only in audio. There must be others I'm sure.

Robert preached again in Childs hill with Halbo Chou, assistant at Kensit Evangelical, preaching in the evening. Again I am very thankful to them and to those who have arranged this.

Psalm 30

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you favoured me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.”

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God,
I will praise you forever.

 

(Home again at last. I read this yesterday).

My operation

I have to ring the hospital tomorrow to confirm my place for a heart bypass at The Heart Hospital on Monday. Do pray for me as I face this. I expect to be in the hospital for the next week.

I'm home!

So I am home from hospital. No, I'm not planning anything silly like basketball but I am glad to be back here. They were a good bunch in the ward I was on and the professional staff brilliant but I just needed to get out after a week away. I now have to await a date for the big op. Hope it's soon. Thanks for all the emails, Facebook thingies, texts, cards, visits, etc, etc.

Lord's Day April 6 2014

This Lord's Day turned out to be rather different to what I was expecting. Even last Friday afternoon I was expecting to preach on 1 Corinthians 13 and Isaiah 6. That was not the Lord's will, however. Since I became a Christian in the early seventies I have only missed gathering with the Lord's people  a handful of times. This was one of those rare occasions. I didn't aim very high at keeping the day to the Lord given the circumstances. I left the newspapers for a change and read the bitesize biography of Charles Hodge that has recently appeared. There were visitors in the afternoon which was very nice. My assistant Andrew and fellow elder Robert kindly stood in for me (Andrew also took a funeral and spoke to the kids in the evening on Friday!) - providences abound. Some of the congregation were a little shocked to hear the news but are adjusting. So not a great day in some ways but pretty good considering.

A Spell in Hospital

So, where were we? I was having these mild chest pains when I walked which seemed to me must be indigestion. Then on the evening of March 14 I had what I thought was a really bad bout. I was able to preach on the Sunday (see this blog) but was then convinced a visit to the GP was wise. So I got here last Wednesday to the clinic for an ecg. Anyway they were not pleased - they think I have had a heart attack. So it was from there to A&E and on the ward where I have been ever since. They gave me an angiogram and it confirmed the worst. So I am sat here with three other blokes (all very different and very interesting Londoners) waiting for one or two procedures and then a trip to the heart hospital for a bypass. It was a bit of a shock at first but the mind adjusts. So I am trying to look to the Lord and not be too apprehensive. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch. Much appreciated. Sorry it's bad news but it helps us all to think about eternity I hope.

Out and about 02

On Friday we took Owain to hospital to have five milk teeth extracted. Obviously it was rather traumatic but he's come through it fine. I was impressed with the thorough and straightforward way most of it was done. Various people come and speak to you before the operation all asking whether he has eaten that morning. He hadn't but his patience was wearing thin by the time he was ready to go in. They must do them in batches of six and he was last for some reason (because he was the oldest or the one having most out?). It took a little while to get through the general anaesthetic. He was distracted by visiting cousins over the weekend but we kept him off school Monday just to help him. He is a brave boy.

Visiting Dad 19

Last Tuesday I went down to South Wales to see my dad again. He continues to cling on. The journey seemed to be a waste of time in many ways as he was able to make little response. Perhaps if I had been in a better spiritual state of mind it would have seemed less useless.

Visiting Dad 18

So while I was in Bounds Green yesterday (Monday) helping Ian Densham to lay cable for the computer system in the new library and receiving the books as they came up from Chiltern Street, I had a 'phone call saying that my dad had taken a turn for the worse and that my sister had been called from work to the hospital. So I drove down to Pontypool and spent the rest of the day there.

I didn't rush there so I must have arrived in Panteg around 3 pm (I came via the Membury services [where there was a fire alarm just as I was leaving] and the old bridge once again - the wind was quite strong). When I arrived my sister Gail was at my dad's bed with her daughter Vikki. He certainly did look worse and Gail said that the night before they had thought he was gone. My dad slept for most of the time I was there but did stir a little between six and seven and we managed to get some blackcurrant squash into him. My dad's brother, my Uncle John had arrived about an hour before that (yes, John from Penperlleni). He's always a breath of fresh air so we chatted about everything and everything for while and he tried to rouse my dad. one of the things that came up that I'd forgotten and that I should have mentioned when I did that post about the old Severn Bridge was how when it first opened my grandad arranged with the local bookmaker (Derek Pugh) a coach trip to see it. He also moaned about how noisy people are and the way that people swear in public, etc. There was also a story of being in school in the fifties and being told that people in the northern hemisphere were all bigger and superior. When he had noted that Zulus were hardly small people he got a good clouting.

So I headed back this way. My dad has spent much of the day with dad today too and if anything he's rallied a little. We need to be patient again then.

Visiting Dad 17

Last Tuesday I headed off to see my dad in hospital once again. I drove this time as now my dad is in the Panteg hospital public transport is inadequate. That seemed to suit me better. Certainly not being in Newport or Cwmbran where there are so many people was less depressing I think. I also listened to music and not the radio so much, which may have helped. There were a lot of nice little providences on the way too.

I've been having some problems with my ears recently but as I entered Wales my ears popped, which was nice.

I also arrived just after my dad had woken up and he was having a good day. I was able to chat a little and we read to the end of Mark Chapter 5 and I prayed.

Just as I was ready to go my dad's face brightened. It was my eldest niece Vicky. It was nice to see her and to see how positive she is with my dad. She kept supplying him with fruit pastilles and seemed to communicate with him better than I could, although sometimes she failed too. She has done a lovely drawing of my dad. I must get a copy. It was a reminder to me to be a bit less negative. I think I get a bit nervous, which doesn't help.

Then after the hospital visit I saw a post office and popped in as I had a parcel to post. There happened to be a second hand book shop there. I glanced to see if they had Joseph Heller's Catch-22 as I have been looking out for it recently. And there it was! A snip at £2.99.

Then on the way home I arrived at a services, bought a coffee and saw someone I thought I recognised. "Peter Fearnley?" I asked. He knew who I was too, which was good. We overlapped by a year when I began at Aber and only know each other a little. He is a member at the Grace Baptist church in Yateley. He had been up to WEST to give a lecture on education. Well, we had a lovely chat for half an hour or so. It especially encouraged me when he mentioned how he had gone to Aber a nominal Christian and heard the gospel through my father-in-law. Also, how he and his wife Wendy have been involved in the young people's work these many years.

Of course, not all providences are so nice. I manged to smash the tail light on the car at one point - a reminder not to suppose I lead a charmed life.

When I started recounting these visits to my dad I had assumed it would not be too many I'd be recording but I note that this is the seventeenth visit now. May be there'll be quite a few more, we'll see.

Tuesday was the tenth anniversary of my mother's death. It was in my mind throughout the day. I couldn't talk to my dad about her but I enjoyed listening to the Kinks' "Thank you for the days" (which I thought was a bout a dead sister but may be not) and noticed there was an article on mothers in The Times, but I didn't get round to reading it. It strikes me that one feature of family life is getting closer and closer to people only to have them taken from you in the end. Hopefully my dad will be the last. There are no guarantees. So much for my plan to be more positive.

Visiting Dad 14

I managed to get down to see my dad again last Thursday. I went down by bus and basically just saw him with not much time for anything else. It was a pleasant surprise to find him very well and we had a good conversation. I even plied hm with questions about the family tree and he was able to answer quite well.

He even told me a story (though not a great one) from the war time of how my grandad was with Jonesy from Fielding Street or Witham Street and they had a midnight feast of spuds and two ducks. The punch line was concerning these ducks. When my grandad asked where they came from Jonesy told him not to mind where they came from , what really mattered where they were going - ie inside them.

We had a bit more of Mark's Gospel. We've reached the end of Chapter 4 now. I also prayed.

This bout of good health was short lived I understand and he has been more sleepy and more vague since. I found the whole saga of dying especially with all there is in the news at present most fascinating. I do fear some would have written my dad off a while ago and even now are not that enthusiastic about helping him to get better. If we weren't there rejecting suggestions like putting a DNR (Do not resuscitate) sign on him, who knows where he would be. He might live a few years yet. I know it is costing a fortune but what sort of a society wants people dead just to save money?

This and that

The younger boys were dressed up for school again today. Last Friday it was St David's Day waistcoats and breeches and today they were Sirius Black and Dennis the Menace for World Book Day.

As for me this week has included rare visits to the hospital and (even rarer) the magistrates court. Someone I know had got in trouble with the law and wanted some moral support as he faced the magistrates. That went off as well as could be expected. One of the ladies I visit fortnightly at Spring Court had fallen and broken her hip when a motorised contraption had hit her while in the bank on Monday. They seem to be looking after her very well in the Royal Free.

There's plenty to complain about in this country but certainly some things work as they should. In the first case the detection and justice seemed to work well and in the second the doctors, nurses and therapists seemed to be working well to aid recovery. We have a lot to be thankful for in the UK.

Never a dull moment

There certainly seem to be few dull moments here. Let me see. Last Thursday I was in the garden with Eleri and I noted how one of our two female rabbits looked larger than the other and was rather aggressive. That should have warned me. Anyway by Saturday the larger one (Minnie) had produced a litter of about five! So we've sorted out who is who (thanks to a friend who grew up on a farm - we're townies and know nothing) and Peppa's off to the vet tomorrow. Till then he's in quarantine which is a bit mean but there we are. Baby rabbit anyone?

Meanwhile Eleri's finger has been swelling up making the ring on it even tighter. Anyway enough was enough this morning and so I took her (with her knitting and two newspapers) to the A & E at the Royal Free. Well, in two minutes they had this special machine in and the ring was off!

One of the benefits of the internet is to realise that you're hardly alone in these things. You also gain an education of sorts - 31 days is the gestation period for rabbits, window cleaner can be a good aid in removing a stuck ring, etc. For more info - rabbits (also), rings.