Thursday, 19 January 2012

A less stressful day!

Another day of reading writing and above everything reflecting. 

Took Sue to work, and picked her up, had a coffee with my curate Caroline, where she did her very best not to answer my questions about how things were going in the parish.

Think after today I would have done all the reflecting I need to do on Northern Ireland, and next week after finishing the book I'm reading, I will “blog” my reflection on last week.

Also today I have been putting the final preparations to my rail trip around Britain, and all that remains is for the trains to be running on time!  We'll see-- there are some quick changes involved though!   It has taken me a great deal of time to plan, but again I have enjoyed doing it very much indeed.

This evening I'm going to begin to sort out my trip to France and Belgium -- everything is booked, that is the ferry and the bed and breakfast -- but I need to plan my days there so that I can make best use of the time.  

I haven't felt stressed today -- I think Caroline coming this morning helped.  

What I have realised is that I do miss the day-to-day engagement with people and the parish, for good and for bad, which of course has been a feature of my life the past 22 years. Today has reminded me a bit of the time when I was off work ill, except that today I have been able to get out and about and also do some work on my computer, which I couldn't do two years ago.

Tomorrow my two sisters are coming to visit from Grimsby, and I shall take them shopping in the wonderful metropolis of Mansfield.  I am not sure which is worse -- Grimsby or Mansfield, but then my sisters and my mother always said a town with a Debenhams was always worth a visit -- Mansfield has a Debenhams, Grimsby doesn't.   Looking forward to their visit very much.

It is too early at this stage of my Sabbatical to come to any firm conclusions, but one thing I will say is that I am not looking forward to retirement, whether that be forced on me through ill-health, or in five years time in the natural course of things.

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