Remembrance Sunday

Graeme and John Reid went in uniform this year.  John laid a wreath for the RAF.

 Madam Hannah

 Hannah with a "sad face"

 Watching the "goings on" 

 The Cenotaph

 We are safe, because he is on duty....  Our Arthur

 The police that were on duty at the service

 John, Graeme, Danny, Hannah, Brenda (Nanny)

Graeme's Garden

Gardening/farming provides us with a lot of spiritual lessons, and Graeme's garden has been no exception.  He has put a lot of effort into it, and we have enjoyed the fruit of his labours.  We have eaten broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, chillis, parsley, lettuce, tomatoes, beet root, carrots, spring onions, pumpkin, spinach, basil, egg plant.  The cats enjoy the garden, and enjoy being with him when he works in it.  HOWEVER, the nasties (white fly, caterpillars, aphids, powdery mildew, snails, etc) also enjoy the fruit of Graeme's labour, and for the moment, he has given in to them.  The garden is in "recess" while he digs everything up, before starting over again.

A broccoli plant in flower, with a few ripe chillies in the background

Huge tomato plants held up with ties

Dash, the cat, enjoying the grass and the sun

2014 Carnival

Here are some pics of this year's carnival parade, that, very conveniently, passes our front door each year.

                                                Hazel, trying to get into the mood.                                        

     

Danny

                                                       

Hannah, watching all the strange people walk down the street

                             

Sunday School

I have had one young teenager who has been a faithful attendee (and often the only one) for the past year.  Tiffany Herne.  Our activities after the lesson are random, but we enjoy them.  We have made pencil cases, iced biscuits, made paper mache bowls, and now we have completed a minature trinket box out of match boxes covered in fancy fabric and glued together to make drawers.

Hannah's First Day at School

Hannah was allowed to start school early.  She only turns 3 yrs on 18 Dec, but she seemed to be ready for the Big Step.  She goes to the Harford Primary School at Longwood.  One of the lovely things about St Helena, is the safety.  Can you imagine putting your 2 yr old on a bus, and waving good bye as she goes to school, with no anxiety in your heart?  Well, that is normal on St Helena.

Hannah

I just love interacting with little people when they first start talking and letting you know what is going on in their little brains.  Here are some of my favourite incidents with Hannah - bear in mind that she was between 2 years and 3 to 6 months at the time : -

Hannah rushed out of the manse into the road without looking out for oncoming traffic.  Arthur was a little ahead of her, and reprimanded her saying, "You know you must always hold a hand when you walk in the street!"  She stood there, thought a little, then clasped her left hand with her right hand, and carried on walking....

She is learning all about big things, vs small ones, and constantly tells you that something is bigger or smaller than another.  The other day I was on the toilet, when she walked in.  She stood looking at me for a moment or two, then announced,  "You've got a big bum; I've got a little bum".

One day, she was acting up, and being difficult.  I picked her up and told her, "You're just a little rubbish".  To my surprise, she replied, "Not rubbish -- The Best".  I later on found out that Arthur tells her "Hannah is the Best".

Hannah loves feeling Graeme's beard.  The other Sunday, she was sitting at the back of the church with me, when Graeme left the pulpit, came forward, and announced, "Let us pray."  Like a shot, she ran down the aisle to Gampa, and held up her arms for him to pick her up, which he did.  She quickly ran her little fingers up and down his beard, jumped out of his arms, and ran back to me.....  (One wonders what went through her mind at that particular moment.)  Graeme just carried on praying as if nothing unusual had happened.

1 month old

Our Dutch/Ukranian grandchild, Amy, is one month old today.  How I wish that I could see her, and hold her.  At least I have photos.

Near miss

Preaching can be dangerous- as Arthur discovered this morning.  After the service at Knollcombes, he was standing in the entrance speaking to some folk, while Danny and Hannah were experimenting with ringing the bell.  Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise.  The clapper from the bell (weighing approximately 10 lbs) had rusted off, and missed Arthur's head and shoulders by a few inches...

Other than having his wife and child trying to arrange an "accidental death" (just kidding), Arthur is quite involved in "Uplift" - the name that they have given the group that meets each Sunday in the Knollcombes chapel.  They have a regular group of about 8 people that attend.  It is a much free-er and more casual kind of meeting than the "regular" churches, but the message of Christ remains the same.

The Garden

Graeme has been doing well with his new hobby (to my great delight).  We are starting to reap the benefits of his labour in our little vegetable garden at the back of the manse.  Here he is with a bunch of lovely butternuts.  Behind him are chilies, broccoli and sweet potatoes.  On another level we have spinach and carrots.  There are tomato plants, lovely baby leaf lettuce (my favourite), sweet basil, parsley, turnips, spring onions.  It takes a lot of effort, patience and perseverance to fight the bugs and disease that also want to share our garden, but Graeme is beginning to get the hang of things.

Amy Liv Beckett

Early this morning, we became richer by another grandchild.  Our son, John and Tetyana became the proud parents of Amy Liv Beckett. She was born in The Hague, and mother and daughter were back home in Delft on the same day!!

Oliver Gabriel Drabble

Edyta Drabble had an emergency C-section today, and instead of a little girl (according to the scans and assurances of the medical staff) out came a lovely little boy!!  They are calling him Oliver Gabriel Drabble.  We are looking forward to seeing the little chap.

"Uplift"

The new outreach, called "Uplift", is well on its way!  Today was the 2nd meeting.  The meetings are informal, the singing is lively and the preaching is simple but true.
Anthony Hopkins is no longer involved, but Gareth, Arthur and Wendy Henry have accepted responsibility to run with this new venture.

The path leading to Knollcombes Chapel

The inside of the chapel at the first "Uplift" meeting

Arthur, Danny and Hannah outside the Knollcombes chapel

The Way Forward

Our Gospel Outreach Committee feel strongly that we, as a church, must change our focus to be more actively reaching out to others, rather than just caring for our own congregation.  One of the exciting decisions taken, was to start "youth friendly" church services in our Knollcombes Chapel.  This chapel has not been used for some time, and is very close to the most densely populated area on the island (i.e. Half Tree Hollow)  Arthur and Gareth will be heavily involved - Arthur in preaching, and Gareth in leading the singing.  Anthony Hopkins and Charles Schwartz (from Basil Read) will also be involved.   The first meeting is planned for this coming Sunday.

First Hair Cut

Hannah had her first hair cut.   She went from this :

Just pretty

Pretty in pig tails

To this:

Posing with fridge magnet in mouth

Oh Dear!  What have we done?

  

A fruitful voyage

Graeme spoke to Erroll and Joe via skype today.  They arrived in Cape Town last night, and were now happily back in their respective homes.  On the voyage home, they had a lot of time to talk to passengers, and they told us that a few people had responded to the gospel while on the voyage to Cape Town.

We, as a church, now have the responsibility of caring for, and nurturing these new believers, and putting into practice the things that we learnt from "The Three" while they were with us.

Goodbye

"The Three" were packed and ready to leave at 7.15am sharp.  After handing their luggage in, we went to have coffee at the coffee shop near the wharf.  It is the custom on St Helena to meet there for a final cuppa before bidding friends and family "bon voyage" on the RMS.

Errol and Claudia handing in their uggage

 Joe - happy to be going home to his beloved Christine

Claudia did not want to leave - she joined us ladies in waving goodbye to Errol and Joe

A final farewell

I learnt a lot from these 3 lovely people in the short 8 days that they spent with us.  I was especially impressed by their constant, genuine interest in people.  Always thinking of others and how to minister to them.  I also enjoyed the playful banter between us around the breakfast table, and the SA slang that just crept back into my language while speaking to them.  A truly blessed time for me.

Day 8

The last day with the Terrible Trio.  Errol and Joe decided that they could not leave the island without having conquered Jacob's ladder.  By the time that I came down for breakfast at 8 am, the 2 rather happy (but tired) men came had just returned.

 699 steps to the top

 The last few steps

Piece of old Tacky!!

Joe then stood us to breakfast at the Consulate

10 am Errol, Claudia, Graeme and I visited SHAPE - the place of sheltered employment for the handicapped.  Errol preached

One of several hair pin bends on the road back to Jamestown

On the way home we stopped at the top of Jacob's Ladder to impress Claudia with her husband's achievement that morning.

Errol and Claudia standing at the top of Jacob's Ladder with the RMS in the background, ready to take them back to SA the next day

Claudia at the top of Jacob's ladder

Jamestown as seen from the top of Jacob's Ladder

While we were doing "the tourist thing" at the top of the Ladder, one of the Saints was watching us.  We asked him whether he climbed the ladder on a regular basis.  He said that as a child he often slid down the ladder, and he then showed us how it is done.

Next we had lunch with Adrian and Verline at their fast food outlet

The scrummiest ribs you can imagine

For our final 7pm meetings, I took Joe to the Levelwood community centre, and Graeme took Errol and Claudia to the Sandy Bay Community centre.

Only 5 ladies came to the Levelwood meeting, but, together with Arthur, Danny, Hannah, Edyta and Gareth, it was a lovely intimate time, where Joe had much liberty in preaching.  Gareth and Edyta led the singing, and Arthur gave his testimony.

 After the meeting, Arthur and Danny (who live very close by) rushed home to get cups, kettle, tea and biscuits.  Here Joe is serving the ladies

Hannah "smiling" for the camera

 Hannah listening

 There was a good turn out at the Sandy Bay Community centre.  A young girl, Alex, was asked to play the tambourine, while the musicians played on their key boards.

 There was a good response to Errol's preaching

On a lighter note - here is a picture of the 2 creatures that had Joe impressed/amused/guessing every night when he walked past our bedroom - which is a bit of a family room. (Graeme and I and the 2 pugs sleep there all night, and the 3 cats wander in and out at various stages.)  Joe said that he would hear this dreadful sawing noise - sometimes in various keys - coming from our room.  He could not be sure which of the creatures sleeping there were making the noise.

Pugs seldom bark, but make constant snorting, snuffling, snoring noises - even when they are awake.