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!!