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!!