Halloween v Light Party

As a church we are not happy with the increasing influence of Halloween. Our objections would be based around its focus on witches and the devil, these are viewed as innocent fun but there is a sinister side as it can create an appetite for the dark side of supernatural activities. People are drawn into fringe occult practices and can quickly be drawn into bondage with real goodness taken from them.

Well, despite our views, rather than bang a drum just condemning Halloween, we choose to put on a good exciting alternative night based around the fact that Jesus is the Light of the World. Our desire is that children will find a Divine source of light and life which will transform their lives for good!

We had a huge number of helpers, some to set up all the lights and equipment, others to prepare and serve food, some to help supervise or take part by organising games, putting on a light show or just to enjoy the experience.

Over 30 children came along, they played games, had a treasure hunt and did various craft activities. The girls made picture frames, the boys made catapults to fire marshmallows and the little ones decorated gingerbread men.

Prizes were given for the best fancy dress costumes, and glow sticks were given out. Every child took home prizes, party bags and memories of a great night out. The local paper, the Pocklington Post did a large report (about a third of a page) on the Light Party.

My home (16) Chestnut Avenue, Liverpool

I lived at Chestnut Avenue longer than in any other home. Liverpool may have a poor reputation in some quarters, but to us, as a family it has been a huge blessing! We moved to Merseyside to help pioneer a new church; Liverpool Christian Life Centre (LCLC), led by John Partington who earlier this year became the National Leader of the Assemblies of God.

When we arrived in Merseyside, I worked in engineering for ten years, at two different companies; Winstanley’s in Birkenhead (now gone) and Kirkby Jig and Tool, Knowsley. In 1999, I was made redundant, I was given just a week’s notice, I left the factory the next day to go to the Job Centre. As I was leaving two of the older engineers said I would find nothing; I replied that I would not return empty handed because God would open a door for me! They laughed and said ‘We will see?’

There was nothing suitable at the Job Centre, so from there I went to the Careers Office and was interviewed by a lady called Maggie Hatcher. She suggested two new possible career paths that I could take. When I returned to the factory late in the afternoon, everyone was totally amazed as I told them that I would be starting a BA Degree the next week and would go on the take a PGCE, to become a Primary School Teacher! God certainly supplied my need in an amazing way – again!

So, from working machines to fine tolerances on day, I went into academic study the next. My degree was joint honours in Theology and European Studies, I worked hard and prayed hard and gained a 2:1 and the university Sweeting Prize for the best European Studies Project. I gained a place on the PGCE and graduated a year later. After twelve months doing supply teaching, I was accepted on a years contract at a school and passed my induction year.

As we arrived in Huyton in the August, we needed to find a school for the children, eventually they were both offered places at what is the local CE Primary school. It just happened to be the same school that a young Steven Gerrard also went to! With the children in school, it was time for Marjorie to find a new role. With a little encouragement she applied to go back into teaching – on her first day she nervously left home and has never looked back, (I think there’s a joke in there somewhere), her career has gone from strength to strength.

The children did well at High School and both went on to gain good degree’s, Joe’s in Computer Animation and Special Effects; he returned home and started his own business. Esther did a joint honours (like her dad) and went on to pass a PGCE and find a position teaching Maths.

During our time in Liverpool it was an honour and priviledge to be involved with LCLC, it was exciting to see peoples lives being transformed as they found the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour, the church grew to a congregation of around 400. We served the fellowship in various ways and it was a time when we learnt so many things and saw our faith and expectation rise. A year or so before we moved on, LCLC had declined and was ‘taken over’ by Hope City Church (Sheffield), to my knowledge they are still doing well.

Istanbul (cruise stop 4)

Fishing from the bridge in Istanbul

Istanbul was the place on the cruise itinerary that caught our attention. Not being very widely traveled, this was our opportunity to experience a whole new culture and to make the most of this we walked! We walked and we walked, we

A lot of traffic and a lot of people in Istanbul

walked all day long! From the ship we walked along to the port entrance where we were met by dozens of taxi drivers looking for work – one driver was particularly persuasive, eventually we convinced him that we didn’t want a lift -  he seemed a little

Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul.

annoyed when as he turned to walk away I asked him which way we needed to walk for the city centre. He tried to keep a straight face as he pointed us in the right direction.

We have found that finding your way around a place gives a

Egyptian obelisk, the Hippodrome, Istanbul

much better feel to the city, there were all sorts of shops and businesses and people to keep our interest high. We had to cross the river to get into the city and it was quite a surprise to see the bridge full of men and boys fishing with rods and lines! A the other end of the bridge is the new mosque; another one of many that fill this muslim city. (We had been recommended by a Turkish waiter in Scarborough, to visit the Blue Mosque). So that was one of our targets as well as the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market.

The city was so busy, is was amazing to just be in the centre of such a host of people, and I don’t think we ever felt threatened. Without really knowing it we arrived at the Blue Mosque and it was quite a magnificent place. The day was hot and we enjoyed sitting near to the fountains as the breeze caused a spray to cool us. The

The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Hippodrome which is next to the Mosque was most interesting, especially the Egyptian obelisk which had Hieroglyphs on four sides. The Grand Bazaar was where we encountered the famous Turkish traders, we manged to leave with no carpets but we did buy

The spice Market, Istanbul

two bowls as gifts for the children.

Our final destination before the long, hot walk back to the Oriana, was the Spice Market. Of all the places we visited in Istanbul, this was the most Asian, the most atmospheric, it was heaving with people it was full of a variety of aromas and it was noisy. Here we bought Turkish Delight and spices as gifts, and for ourselves.

Mytilene (cruise stop 3)

'Safe' underground rooms

The day after Athens we stopped at a Greek island; Mytilene (Lesbos). We were taken ashore by the ships tenders (lifeboats) because the harbours was not deep enough for our ship. We walked up the hill to have a look at the castle and

Islamic university

decided to pay the entrance fee.

We were not disappointed, it was fascinating, we had a wonderful time exploring and finding all sorts of interesting places, like the extensive underground vaulted rooms where people would shelter

Mytilini

when the castle was under attack, the Islamic college, the walls, the prison, the water supply and many other rooms and houses.

From there we walked around the town before finding an excellent beach, where we had a swim in the

Oriana from the beach

mediterranean – it was very cold! We had a lovely relaxing day on the island which was really good, after spending the day before walking around Athens.

My home (15) Derwent Road, Bedworth

The House in Derwent Road was our briefest stay anywhere, we lived in the house for just 15 months. I initially worked at the Bedworth Church’s Community Programme. The move came about when I was struggling to find a job in Scarborough. At the time I had been working for a few years as a window cleaner, this had caused me to have ‘tennis elbow’ and ‘golfers elbow’ in both arms, it was agony to do the job, but I had no choice having two young children and a mortgage.

The situation had resulted in my being ‘down’ to put it mildly. One particular day when the pain was at its worst I came home (Marj and the kids were out), I went upstairs and prayed. I said in my prayer that I would determine to do the job without grumbling but that the Lord would have to give me the strength to carry on. I apologised for my poor attitude and asked the Lord to forgive me. As I got up the phone rang, it was a lady, Tracey Spicer, who I had never met or even heard of, Tracey told me she had a job which she hoped I would consider taking! What an amazing thing to happen straight after I ‘repented’ of my bad attitude.

I commuted to Bedworth for six months before we moved from Scarborough, when God is in something amazing things happen. How about this, the first time that Marj went into the house we bought in Bedworth, was the day we moved in! Joseph went to school literally across the road, Marj would watch him at playtime from our front room. Esther started  at All Saints Nursery School, she loved it and was a hit with both the teachers and the other children, we did have a happy time there.

After a few months into what I was told would be a three year possibly permanent position, Norman Fowler scraped Community Programme and I was out of work! Amazingly I went back into engineering, 12 years after I left it behind, a local company was having trouble filling a position with someone who had experience working with ‘injection mould tools’, that was what I served my apprenticeship doing; they gave me a month to prove myself which I must have done because they kept me on.

The most significant part of our Bedworth sojourn was being a part of Bedworth AoG church, where we were able to make a lot of friends especially John and Andrene Partington. When we came to leave Bedworth, it was the beginning of a major recession and we sold just before it hit, God’s timing was perfect!

Athens (Cruise stop 2)

Scenic route to the acropolis

There were three venues on our cruise which we identified as potential highlights, one of the being Athens. We sailed into Piraeus, where we had to take a train to Athens it was about a twenty minute brisk walk to the station and the fare cost just 1euro.

The Roman Agora

Upon arriving we simply started walking up hill to the acropolis, it was a very enjoyable and picturesque route where we encountered no traffic.

The ruins were most impressive, although it was a little like hard work in the heat, shortly after we

Greek soldiers guard the Parliament building

arrived home they had the Athens fires. Just below the Acropolis was the Roman Agora, a recently excavated area of an unknown community, everywhere you turned there were ruins in the city (almost everywhere!).

Oriana and neighbour

After a rest at a cafe we made our way through the city to see the guards near the Parliament building, they were very interesting and quite entertaining, in a comical sort of way.

Our cabin window

On our way back to the ship, we noticed that a smaller cargo ship had moored alongside us. Our cabin was just hidden by the red ship at the side, I noticed dirty black marks later on the side of the Oriana, no doubt they would be cleaned before the next cruise began.

Greek modern art

For those art lovers out there, we passed this fountain as we walked around Athens. I took the photo because it was so unusual, I hope you like it, if you don’t thanks for taking the time out to read my ramblings about it anyway.  It was on the main drag up the hill to the war memorial with the silly guards.

The British on holiday (Cruise stop 1)

Bull ring, Malaga

Malaga

On our cruise the first port of call after two days at sea, was a half day in Malaga. Marj and I set off on foot to explore. We made our way up the the highest point before the heat got up, then had a look around the town before going to the beach and walking around the harbour back to the ship.

The British media always appears to have a lot to say about Bull fighting. I don’t want to

Donkey ride

particularly add to that, except to say that after taking the picture above, we walked down to the ring and were amazed to see the length of the queue of people waiting to buy tickets for the fights. I have the opinion that most were Spanish, however, there could have been tourists among them. It appears to be an amazingly popular event, at least in Malaga!

Most of the time I stay behind the camera but occasionally I agree to ‘pose’ for pictures, here is such a moment – I could never resist the chance to have a donkey ride – perhaps the nearest British equivalent to bull fighting?

Malaga is a pretty place, but I will not be rushing to go back there.

Indiana Jones look alike?

This week we returned home from an exciting holiday in the Mediterranean. We had a number of sea days, we also visited some exceptional places. As we entered the castle at Mytilene I noticed my silhouette, with the hat that Marj bought me I looked just like an adventure hero!

In advance let me apologise as I expect our holiday adventures may feature a lot in the next few blogs writings. Anyway, Marj didn’t seem to be too impressed with my photographs, I know it’s a bit of a fantasy – but look at those shadows!!! What do you think? Is my profile more exciting than me?

Aviary in Pocklington

Arguably, Pocklington’s main tourist attraction are the Burnby Hall Gardens; I have mentioned them previously in other blogs. A small part of the gardens experience is the aviary which is a reasonable size and is well stocked, with what appear to be happy and contented birds.