Today the tree surgeons came and took down a tree at the end of our garden that had started to lean rather precariously.
Here it is before they did their stuff:
And here is a short video of the tree coming down ending with a lovely clip of the tree surgeon’s local accent.
We’re glad the tree’s now safe. And particularly pleased at the fuel it’s supplied for next winter…
Posted in Garden, Vicarage | Tagged felling, garden, surgeon, surgery, tree, Vicarage | Leave a Comment »
This recipe is the favourite of Surfer, who is Godfather to the Joker. I used to make it when he came to pray with the Vicar back in the relaxed days of theological college. It’s loosely based on minestrone, but without the pasta. Pasta is a pain in soup cos it goes revoltingly soggy if you have leftovers, or want to freeze it. So this has beans instead and is easily made from things I normally have in the fridge and pantry.
Ingredients
Fry your onion in a little olive oil and then add the bacon and cook until the fat begins to crisp. Then add other veggies, fry a little and add tomatoes and tinful of water or more to dilute to a soupy consistency.
Bring it to the boil and simmer for 10-15mins until the vegetables are tender. Rinse the beans and add to the soup, along with a smattering of mixed herbs or just oregano. Heat through and serve with crusty bread. This is good for May lunches, given the temperatures this year!
Posted in Food | Tagged bacon, beans, cooking, filling, Food, frugal, Italian, lunch, recipe, soup, tomato, vegetables, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »
Last week I was on Junior Church duty. As usual, we are using the excellent TNT resource On The Way, and we were beginning a series of four sessions from 1 Samuel on King Saul.
One of the reasons that we like On The Way is that bible stories are taught in full – not just the purple favourite parts. So we’re not just teaching the kids about Samuel anointing Saul, but other parts of the story leading to that point, and beyond it. Last Sunday my teaching was about the people of Israel asking for a king, and then Saul turning up at Samuel’s house whilst he was searching for missing donkeys. We did a lot of thinking about the temptation to want to be like the “nations” around, even when we really know that it’s not good for us.
It seems that the passage I was teaching (1 Samuel 8v1-9v26) is not a favourite one for Sunday school. On The Way has great resources and we used their printout to make little card Sauls and Samuels. But I always like the kids to have a colouring sheet and wordsearch to keep their fingers occupied as I tell the bible story.
And, even though I looked through the WHOLE of the internet (approximately), I couldn’t find a picture of Saul looking for donkeys, nor of the people of Israel whinging at Samuel about wanting a king. So I had to improvise with a simple picture of donkeys. And I made my own wordsearch, which meant I was able to use the exact words from the Good News Bible that we have in Junior Church.
Surprisingly, the kids quite enjoyed colouring two rather boring looking donkeys. And listened very well. Samuel will do the anointing in our next session, so that will be an easier surf for resources.
Posted in Church, Kids | Tagged 1 Samuel 8, 1 Samuel 9, activities, Children, Christianity, Church, colouring, crafts, donkeys, faith, Junior Church, Kids, Old Testament, On The Way, resources, Samuel, Saul, Sunday school, TNT, wordsearch | 2 Comments »
Some more masonry fell off our church tower sometime between yesterday evening and this morning. Into our car park. Good thing the prayer meeting (when cars were parked out there – and people coming and going) was yesterday. Looks like the continuous rain has been loosening the sandstone. Seems like there’ll be some more work for the steeplejacks. In the meantime Rocky and our hardworking lay reader have been out with stripey tape, putting the carpark out of action.
Posted in Church | Tagged building, carpark, Church, dangerous, falling, masonry, rain, steeplejacks, stone, upkeep of buildings | 4 Comments »
Fridge cake aka tiffin is a very useful no-bake Vicarage staple. It uses store cupboard ingredients and can be made quickly, although it needs a few hours to set in your fridge – if you’re overeager to consume it, it can be rather too crumbly and sticky.
Ingredients
Place the butter, cocoa powder, golden syrup, sugar and dried fruit in a large microwaveable bowl with lid and heat on full power for 2-3 minutes. If you don’t have a microwave, you can do this over a low heat in a saucepan. Once the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, add the crushed biscuits and mix thoroughly.
Place the mixture in a small roasting tin (about 20cmx30cm) that has been lined with cling film and level it out into the corners. Cling film is the best way to avoid sticking AND excessive washing up. Place the tin in the fridge whilst you melt the chocolate topping.
I usually use 200g white chocolate for the topping for this, but it is a little skimpy – 400g would give you a really good layer on top. I melt the chocolate in a jug on defrost in the microwave, but also sometimes use the old method of a bowl on top of a pan of boiling water. Usually when the last lot of chocolate was burnt in the microwave, alas. Using a knife, spread the chocolate over the now slightly cooled base and then refrigerate the lot for a couple of hours – preferably overnight. Use a sharp knife to cut it into pieces to serve with strong coffee.
Posted in Food | Tagged baking, chocolate, coffee morning, cooking, dried fruit, easy, Food, fridge cake, no bake, quick, recipe, store cupboard, tiffin, traybake, treat | 1 Comment »
Back into a crazy summer term already. This great kinetic typography clip from Out The Box reminds me about how I can keep on the right track when the doorbell and phone are ringing and I’m trying to get the kids out to swimming…
Posted in Church, Faith | Tagged Bible, Christ, faith, Fix your thoughts on Jesus, focus, Hebrews 3v1, kinetic typography, mind, Out the Box, scripture jam, thinking | Leave a Comment »
Upupstairs (as it’s called) is beginning to take proper shape now. Our recent days have been filled with carpet quoters and a succession of tradesmen hefting new firedoors in and about. It’s looking lovely. The kitchen has almost more work surface than mine. The Vicar and I have been talking about moving up there and leaving the MTs to it with the kids on the lower floors. Rocky mentioned that he’d then have the woodburning stoves on the ground floor, which I must admit is still a bit of a draw for living in our allocated space rather than heading skywards.
Posted in Vicarage | Tagged attic, building, kitchen, ministry trainees, pictures, renovations, shower room, Vicarage | 4 Comments »
On our return journey from Scotland, we were delighted to be able to make a pitstop in Leyland in Lancashire. Leyland is a smallish town with a lively church in the centre. And for one day only, timed perfectly for our return south, the maker of the soundtrack to our lives since children have joined us, Colin Buchanan, was playing a concert.
Colin has a new album out – God Rock – which we had already listened to for most of the journey. It was great to hear the new material – and some old favourites – live and presented with lots of laughs. He still has eight UK dates left to play so you might be able to catch him live yourself. Highly recommended for primary school aged kids. The Queen is in Year 6 and enjoyed herself immensely. On the clip below there are a few samples of songs from the new album. I really think Bear Grylls should hear the Survival Man song. We also have a lovely pic of the kids with Colin but we haven’t quite worked out how to transmit it from the Vicar’s new phone, so you may have to wait for that one.
Posted in Family, Fun | Tagged Australia, Christian, Colin Buchanan, faith, Family, Fun, God Rock, Kids, music, songs, tour, UK | 2 Comments »
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