Iona

Quotations on the Abbey wall

My elder daughter is called Iona and it has been our intention, ever since she was born, to introduce her to the island after which she was named.  Well it took 21 year,s but last summer we finally made it.

Our visit was part of a mini tour of the Inner Hebrides.  We spent a few days in Tobermory before catching two buses and a ferry to the island.  The scenery was spectacular and the fine mist only added to the atmosphere.  

Iona Hostel

We were booked into the eco award winning Iona Hostel, at the north end of the island.  You can just about see it in the photographs, nestling under the hill.  There was no one around when we arrived, but the door was open and there was a message on the front desk inviting us to kick off our boots and make ourselves at home in the kitchen.  Which we did, and the memory of that cup of tea on a comfy sofa looking out over the sea to the Dutchman's cap and beyond will stay with me to end of my days.

View north from Iona Hostel

It wasn't long before the other residents began to drift back in after their day's adventures, followed closely by John, the affable owner, who showed us to our room and gave us a tour of the facilities.  The room was basic, two sets of timber bunk beds.  That was it.  The toilets and shower rooms were equally minimalist.  But the walls were dotted with poems!

The kitchen/dining/living room ran the length of the hostel and was very much the heart of it.  Visitors were encouraged to make full use of anything and everything on the communal shelves and although we ate separately there was much sharing of tasks.  While drying dishes I met a woman who knew folk I hadn't seen since I was a child in India over forty years ago.  We bumped into a French family we'd first met a couple of days earlier in Tobermory.  We played Articulate late into the night with a young couple from the north of England and the two resident hostel helpers.  And on our final night we were entertained by the arrival of a large Scottish/Italian famiily who filled the hostel with laughter, the pattering of little feet and the aroma of herbs and tomatoes.

With only two full days on the island we couldn't hope to cover it all, so we picked out a few sights.  On our first day we braved the mist to walk right down the island to St Columba's Bay at its southernmost tip.

Dun I

St Columba's Bay

The next day, as bright and sunny as the first was cold and wet, we headed for the abbey.  To celebrate its 350th anniversary Historic Scotland has produced an excellent audio guide which allowed each of us to explore the site at our own pace.

Iona Abbey

St Martin's Cross

St Martin's Cross

St John's Cross

St Columba

Descent of the Spirit by Jacques Lipchitz

Afterwards we took advantage of the weather to climb Dun I for a bird's eye view of the island, including our hostel and the island of Colonsay to the south, our next destination.

Iona Hostel from Dun I

But of course, no visit to Iona would have been complete without a pilgrimage to John Smith's grave, perhaps one of the best Prime Ministers we never had.

Next stop Colonsay!

This Weekend ...

On Saturday I attended the 2014 Global Aware Conference.  The highlight of the day was listening to Ruth Valerio, who describes herself as a 'community activist, Christian, academic, eco-warrior, mum, author, veg grower, wife and pig keeper rolled into one'.  She inspired me with her passion for food and her recipe for virtuous eating (humility, frugality, generosity, justice, hope & patience and love).  I was particularly struck by a quote from Wendell Berry "The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition.  One reason to eat responsibly is to live free".  I came away resolved to make changes to my food habits, more of which later.

On Sunday I saw 12 Years a Slave.  It was a hard film to watch, and the exquisitely beautiful lingering shots of Louisiana only served to highlight the brutal injustice of the subject matter.  I was struck by the dehumanising effect that the system had on the slaves, stripping them of their natural instinct to come to the aid of their fellows, and the overwhelming feeling of utter hopelessness. 

Out with the Old. In with the New.

Time for the annual roundup of the year's highlights.

Top of the list has to be our summer holiday in the Inner Hebrides, when we finally introduced our Iona to her island namesake.  I've been meaning to blog about it ever since we returned but have never got round to it.  But I'm determined to do so, so until then all I'll say is that the photograph is of the view from the living room of our lodge on Colonsay where I spent many happy hours reading and knitting (that's when I wasn't spending many equally happy hours exploring the island by bike).

On 6 January I attended my first Quaker meeting and have been going ever since.  After years of searching for somewhere I can continue my spiritual journey I believe I may have found it with the Friends.

My younger daughter was offered the university place of her dreams, at Falmouth, to study illustration.  After a year of travelling up and down the country attending open days and returning for interviews, this came as a great relief to all of us, although I did enjoy the opportunity to visit/reacquaint myself with several lovely cities.

In May I accepted the challenge to live on £1 per day for 5 days.  I am grateful for the generosity of the friends who sponsored me and the opportunity to raise the profile of extreme poverty in Bristol via two interviews on BBC local radio.

I continue to volunteer for the Bristol Pound and in the autumn was elected to the Board of Directors to represent the individual account holders.  The local currency is over a year old now and I'm really looking forward to playing my part in its continuing success.

Now that the girls have both left home I've been doing more singing.  In the summer I took part in the biennial Sing for Water on Bristol's harbourside and then I finally plucked up the courage to join the Gasworks Singers.  This is an offshoot of the Gasworks choir (of which I've been a member for many years) and is a much smaller group who sing more often at festivals and charitable events.  There was a fairly long list of songs to master before our first gig at the North Bristol Arts Trail but I managed and can now relax and enjoy the music, the friendship and the spectacular shared lunches.

There have, of course, been occasions on which to try and set the world right.  In April I paid my first visit to Aldermaston to protest against the obscenity of nuclear weapons.  In June I was in London to highlight world hunger, a week after I helped feed 5,000 people with food that might otherwise have been send to a landfill site.  It does sometimes feel as if we're bashing our heads against a brick wall but if that's what it takes to create a better world for everyone then I for one am prepared to carry on.

Fortunately there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful and that's what I plan to concentrate on in 2014.

I'm looking forward to:

• taking my elder daughter on a European city break (Prague?) after she sits her final degree exam and then to attending her graduation ceremony in the summer
• campaigning for the Green Party in this year's local and European elections and persuading people to consider the environmental impact of their vote
• getting my head around Quaker faith and practice and perhaps attending the Yearly Meeting Gathering in Bath (even if it's only for a day or so)
• helping to convince more individuals and businesses of the merits of the Bristol Pound
• listening to the debate on Scottish independence and (hopefully?) witnessing the birth of an independent Scotland in September
• carrying on baking, campaigning, composting, crocheting, gardening, knitting, protesting, reading, recycling, singing, walking,  ...

Happy New Year to all of you!

47/365

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
 and their spears into pruning hooks:
 nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,
 neither shall they learn war any more

If I had £100 billion would I spend it on ...

... building more hospitals, employing more doctors and nurses, ensuring that every child had access to a good school, investing in the public transport infrastructure, supporting individuals and their families with physical and mental needs, sponsoring medical research, providing shelter for the homeless, funding research into sustainable energy, ensuring that everyone is paid a living wage, eradicating extreme poverty ...

or would I spend it all on a nuclear deterrent?

Hmmm.

Fasting for Lent

Prompted by Sue's post over at The Quince Tree I have decided to give the 5:2 Fast Diet a go this Lent.

Lent crept up on me this year and caught me unprepared.  A weekend in Scotland and my defection to the Quakers, who do not observe the Christian calendar, meant no pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and  no conclusion on what to 'give up' or 'take up' in preparation for the great feast of Easter.

So thanks, Sue.

For those of you who have not heard of the Fast Diet, click here for all the details.

This week I fasted on Monday and Friday.  It should have been Monday and Wednesday, but I swapped Wednesday for Friday when I decided to go out on Wednesday evening.  That's one of the advantages of this diet.  Provided they're not consecutive, fast days can be observed on any day of the week.

Another advantage is the freedom to eat pretty much what you want, even on fast days.  There are no expensive ingredients, no 'diet' foods, no 'sins', no 'red/green' days to choose between and very little in the way of calorie counting.

Dieters can not only decide what to eat, but when to eat it.  So far I've chosen to skip breakfast, lunch on a bowl of soup and save the bulk of my calories for an evening meal.  Vegetable soups are not only quick and easy to prepare and delicious to eat, but they also help stave off hunger pangs.  Eating normally at the end of the day saves me from having to cook a separate meal for the rest of the family or having to watch them tuck in while I nibble on a stick of celery!

There is a book to accompany the documentary but I've found as much as I need to know from the website. I'm indebted to a variety of bloggers who have posted calorie counted recipes for fast days (London Unattached, The Frugal Cook and Tinned Tomatoes).  I've collected my favourites on my Pinterest board (link to the left) and can recommend the One Pot Southern Style Rice we ate last night.

New Friends

Since the beginning of the year I have been attending a Quaker meeting.

I like the silence
I like listening to what people feel moved to say during the meeting
I like the opportunity to share thoughts after the meeting is over
I like the emphasis on spiritual experience rather than adherence to particular doctrines
I like the openness to other beliefs
I like the commitment to peace and justice
I like the people

It's early days, but I think I may have found what I've been looking for for some time now.

This Weekend ...

... I discussed Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss at Reading Group

(interesting account of a year in Iceland at a momentous time, but I'm not converted to non-fiction)

... I accompanied my younger daughter to an interview at Plymouth University
(very successful!)

... I made kartoffelsalat  for a shared lunch following this morning's Quaker meeting
(eating together is the best way to get to know people and should be compulsory in all organisations)

... I entered the Observer's Viewfinder competition
(I'm sure I have the correct answer but I'm equally sure I'm not alone)

This evening I shall be eating roast lamb (lovingly prepared by my husband) and catching up on Borgen 

Christmas Eve/Day - A Review

Love Actually DVD

New pyjamas

Midnight Mass

Christmas stockings laid out (and filled!)

Refreshments for Santa & Rudolph

Lie in (the joys of teenage children!)

Bucks Fizz and Nigella's Christmas Morning Muffins

Emptying stockings

Unwrapping presents

Walk around the harbourside in the sunshine

Smoked salmon on Mark's ciabatta while dinner cooks

Phonecall to sister in Edinburgh

Prawn toast and Vietnamese spring rolls

Crispy duck wrapped in pancakes with plum sauce

Sticky belly pork with egg fried rice

No room for pudding

Dr Who Christmas special

A glass of Baileys Irish Cream

Bed

Merry Christmas!

On the Twelfth Day of December

I liked today's reference to the bishop who suggested that his clergy fill the aisles of their churches with cow dung and horse manure to remind worshipers of the reality of the nativity.  I do wonder what Jesus would make of Christmas in 21st century Britain.  It's so far removed from the stable in Bethlehem that I sometimes struggle to appreciate the impact of the event.  So replacing the incense with an 'eau d'ecurie' might not be such a bad idea after all.

Meanwhile, I attended our local church's Carols by Candlelight service this evening.  We were asked to contribute mince pies.  I didn't have time to faff around with shortcrust pastry so I opted for these palmiers which allowed me to cheat with ready-rolled puff pastry.  The mincemeat, however, was my own, made at the weekend.  You can find the recipe for the palmiers here.

On the First Day of December ...

We're reading Stephen Cotterell's Do Nothing Christmas is Coming, described as an Advent calendar with a difference.

Every day we're offered a thought on one page and a list of practical suggestions on the other - the perfect balance between theology and real life.

Today we're invited to compile a Christmas wish list - 'not things you want to consume or purchase, but things to believe in, things to hope for'.

There are three items on my list:

• Take time to enjoy each other's company
  My elder daughter's coming home for a fortnight.  It'll be the first time we're all together since the summer and I'd like us to create a bank of happy memories to draw on until we meet again at Easter.
• Get out and about as much as possible.
  When it's cold and wet the temptation is to stay indoors and watch too much telly.  We could always switch it off and play a game or work on our traditional Christmas jigsaw, and I hope we'll find time for both.  But I'd like us to try and get out of the house at least once a day - for a tramp through Leigh Woods, a stroll around the harbourside, a visit to a museum or an art gallery, an outdoor event ...
• Concentrate on what really matters
  I've become increasingly overwhelmed by the pressure to deliver the perfect Christmas experience - the most sustainable sourced turkey, the most artistically decorated tree, the most politically correct cards,  the most appropriate gifts, the most tasteful wrapping, the happiest family...  The media bombards us with visions to aspire to.  I often feel as if I've already failed before I even begin.  I've got to keep reminding myself that none of this really matters.  So I'm holding on to the baby, but some of the bathwater is going to have to go!

That's my list.  What's on yours?

PS  Sorry about the quality of the photo.  I've tried and failed to achieve a higher resolution.  Hey ho!

Trinity

Yesterday revolved around food.

I left work on the stroke of midday and hared up the road to Bristol University's Great Hall to listen to one of my heroes, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.  The talk was part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas and Hugh was using it to promote his new book Three Good Things.  He shared his observation that some of the best dishes he cooked at home or enjoyed eating out were 'little more,and little less than three good things on a plate'.  He cited fish and chips and mushy peas; scones, jam and clotted cream; rhubarb, crumble and custard ...  I have come up with a few of my own: the classic French steak, frites et salade; rice, dal and pickle; haggis, neeps and tatties ...  Feel free to share your own personal favourites.

I admire Hugh not just for his culinary skills, but for his passion, his language and his efforts to persuade us to  consider where the food on our plates comes from.  And I'm not alone.  The Great Hall was packed to capacity.

Then it was back down the hill to so some cooking of my own.

For some time now I have been cooking for our local church's Messy Church, which is best described as an extended Sunday School on Friday afternoon with tea attached!  Parents bring their children along after school for a carousel of crafty activities, followed by singing, a story and a simple meal.  Which is where I come in.  I arrive shortly before the children, offer a welcome cuppa to the mums and dads and set about preparing tea.

Yesterday I abandonned the relative safety of supermarket convenience food to cook from scratch.  I was rather nervous at having to produce two plates of food for up to 30 children, so I decided to keep it simple.  The menu consisted of pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese followed by  pear and apple crumble with ice cream (from a tub!).  (Coincidentally three good things each!)  The sauce and crumble topping were prepared the evening before so all I needed to do was to cook the pasta and prepare the fruit.

Despite a few moments of panic when I leaned that there were in fact 44 children to feed I managed (with the help of a willing parent) to get the food on the table in time.  What's more, it went down a treat, with children - and adults - coming back for seconds.

I've now got a month to come up with another suitably versatile menu.  Any suggestions?

Day 4 - Bedside

I don't have a bedside table,  Normally this pile would have been on the floor, but I've been engaged in a bit of spring cleaning lately and it has been moved to sit atop a stack of Ikea storage boxes.

The collection includes my battered Bible (an RSV which I've had since I was a teenager), Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day (I am an admirer of both his writing and the film of the same name), Through Wood by Alison Swinfen which I once used for a woodland meditation, a graphic biography of Darwin(?), a copy of the Liberal Democrats' manifesto reduced to 10p which I bought for a laugh, Jim Crace's Arcadia which I've struggled with (having enjoyed Quarantine), a notebook, last year's lectionary, a book on happiness which came free with the Observer, my glasses and a badge which I found during my cleaning.

I wonder what these random(?) items say about me.

Ash Wednesday

So, the party's over and the season of penitence has begun!

This year I've decided to give up eating meat (specifically red meat and chicken, as I'll continue to eat fish a couple of times a week).  I don't see the value in depriving oneself of something just for the sake of it, so  I've chosen meat because I believe that I probably eat more meat than is good for either me or the planet.  The concession to fish is mainly to accommodate my younger daughter who is fairly horrified at the thought of having to eat nothing but vegetables for 40 days.  I shall also make sure that there is a selection of sausages, chicken, fish fingers etc for her to supplement the veggie dishes.  It is, after all, my fast, not hers.

I also think it's helpful to do something positive to complement the negative, to take up alongside the giving up.  So I'll be reading chapter a day of  Lent for Everyone - Mark by Tom Wright.

This hasn't been a particularly easy day to begin, a busy one, not ending until almost eight.  My daughter was eating leftover chilli with a baked potato, which I couldn't share.  So I took advantage of a £1 deal on a carton of New Covent Garden leek and potato soup, which wasn't nearly as good as my own but was quick and filling.

I shall read my first chapter before bed tonight.

Infinitas Gracias

On the recommendation of my younger daughter's art teacher, we took a coach up to London yesterday to visit three of its lesser known museums housing 'collections'.  The first was Sir John Soane's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, the second the Hunterian just across the square and the third the Wellcome collection on Euston Road.  Three fascinating collections of classical art, natural specimens, medical equipment, and art inspired by the human body.  If you haven't seen them and are ever given the opportunity to do so, then I highly recommend all or any of them.

The highlight for me was the Infinitas Gracias exhibition at the Wellcome, featuring over 100 Mexican votive images.  These are specially commissioned pieces of art, painted on tin roof tiles or plaques, offered to a saint as a sign of gratitude for a miracle.  The votives date from the 18th century to the present day and commemorate the answer to prayer in a variety of situations from ill health, to sexual infertility, to operations, to accidents, to criminal incidents, to sickness or loss of animals, to natural disasters, to revolutionary acts - a unique insight into the life of ordinary Mexican people and the faith that has enabled them to deal with its trials and tribulations.  The paintings vary from childlike pictures to sophisticated scenes but are all bold and brightly coloured, featuring characteristic depictions of the saints and a written description of the events along with their names and dates.  There were also audio visual interviews with some of the people involved, including the delightful Maria Isabel Cuellar who recalled her failure to cook a decent tortilla as a child.  In despair she prayed to Senor de Villaseca who eventually rewarded her faith, whereupon she presented him with her first successful tortilla as a votive offering.  As someone who has tried and failed, on several occasions, to make a passable mayonnaise, she had my sympathies. 

I found the simple faith portrayed by these poor Mexicans deeply moving, as was their compulsion to give thanks.  The website offers the opportunity to commission your own 'ex voto' and it has got me thinking of what I might like to give thanks for and how I would illustrate it.  I wonder ...

Virtual Advent Calendars

It's been a while since I had an Advent calendar to open, probably not since the girls were born, but this year I have three 'virtual' Advent calendars to count me down to Christmas. 

The first, and only overtly religious one, is a joint project between Ian Adams, who wrote the text, and Si Smith, who drew the pictures.  Advent is traditionally a season of prepration and I can't think of a better person to help focus the mind on what is to come than Ian.  It is available to download, for £3.50, at Proost.

The second is a very bright and cheery one designed by Hannah Broadway and can be found on her blog, Hannah's Pictures.  I love her insights into the wonders of everyday life.

The third is the most original, featuring photographs of celebrities wearing knitted jumpers!  Pop over to Twee as Volk and be prepared to be entertained.

Have you come across a virtual calendar that you'd like to share?

Food for the Soul

Last night was Curry Night at my local church (St Aldhelm's, Bedminster). Under the direction of one of our members, a group of us transformed the rear end of our church into a restaurant where we served chicken and vegetable curries, rice, naan bread, a trio of side dishes, gulab jamuns and pista kulfi.

It was hard work but well worth it, judging by all the compliments we've received. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. There was a healthy mixture of ages, backgrounds and religious persuasions. Diners lingered over their drinks and their conversations mingled with the bhangra music.

The church had a distinctly spicy aroma as we walked in this morning.

However, our efforts were a mere foretaste of what is to come. Watch this space for details of a pop up restaurant coming this way!

Letters from the Desert

I'm a big fan of Peter Owen Jones. I admire him greatly and enjoyed his first two television series (Around the World in 80 Faiths and Extreme Pilgrim). He approaches his subjects with an enthusiasm and honesty that infects and inspires. So I was rather disappointed in his latest series (How to Live a Simple Life), in which Peter attempts to follow in the footsteps of St Francis by giving up money and relying on the generosity of his parishioners and the strangers he meets on his pilgrimage across the south of England.

Peter was as charming as ever and introduced us to some extraordinary people. The problem is I can't see what's wrong with money. As far as I'm concerned it's neither good nor evil, just a more sophisticated form of barter. It's how we come by it, and what we do with it that matters. This seemed to be the conclusion he came to at the end of the final programme, which made me thankful that I'd persisted with it.

I was therefore very grateful to have my faith in him restored by the reading of his latest book (Letters from an Extreme Pilgrim). This is a collection of letters written to friends, family, and a unusual assortment of others, during a period spent in a hermit's cave in the Sinai desert. The letters are lyrically written and disarmingly personal. Peter bares his soul as he narrates the events of his life; his adopted childhood, his wild youth, his broken marriage, his friends and lovers, his career as a parish priest, his faith, and how they have all shaped him into the man he is.

I borrowed the book from my friends Steve and Moira and read it in one sitting this morning, but I have realised I'm going to have to buy my own copy to read and mark for future reference.

If you can lay your hands on a copy, read it and let me know what you think.

'Giving up' v 'Taking up' for Lent

It is the custom, and not just in religious circles, to 'give up' something for Lent. Based on Jesus' 40 day fast in the wilderness there is undoubtedly something to be said for foregoing the physical in pursuit of the spiritual. However it can be frustrating and often leaves you feeling smug, if you've managed, or disheartened, if you haven't.

The CSMV nuns who ran St Mary's School in Pune encouraged us to 'take up' something for Lent instead. I remember sewing a romper suit for a child in their orphanage. It required time and effort on my part and made a material difference to someone's life. Besides which, positive actions are always more satisfying than negative ones.

In previous years I have followed, albeit sporadically, the Love Life Live Lent booklets produced by the Church of England, which encouraged readers to engage in a variety of random acts of kindness etc. I couldn't find any sign of these booklets this year so I turned to Christian Aid, who have an excellent project entitled Count Your Blessings. Every day you are given a statistic relating to world poverty followed by an appropriate action to take. For example, today I have learned that wasted food costs the average family £420 a year. I have then been asked to give 42p for each type of food I bin this week. By the time I reach Easter Sunday I shall not only be more aware of the plight of those less fortunate than myself, but I shall also have a jarful of coins to put towards making our world a better place for everyone.

Old habits die hard though, and I have also pledged to give up biscuits and cakes between meals.

Through Leigh Woods

This afternoon Alan and I joined Steve and Moira for a walk through Leigh Woods. It being a mellow autumn day was a good enough reason in itself, but we were on a mission. In November we are hosting an Earth Abbey event and this afternoon's stroll was by way of a rekkie.

The event in question is a meditation on trees. As we follow the path through the woods we will occasionally pause to observe a tree. One of us will read a short passage describing its history, or properties or religious links, followed by a poem. We will then move on to the next one. At some point along the route there will be a break for a hot drink, a piece of cake and a chance to discuss our thoughts. We are hoping it will offer us an opportunity to reconnect with nature and reflect on its significance in our urban lives.

The idea was a collective one but we are indebted to Alison Swinfen for the readings from her book 'Through Wood'.

Rediscovering our Humanity

Yesterday evening the Archbishop of Canterbury addressed a gathering in Southwark Cathedral organised by Operation Noah. My husband, who was in London for work, stayed on after his meeting and went to hear him. He was very impressed and so this afternoon I logged on to read what he'd said.

"People should use the climate change crisis as an opportunity to become human again, setting aside the addictive and self-destructive behaviour that has damaged their souls."

Rowan Williams is so right. If, instead of regarding the lifestyle changes that have to be made to save our planet, as curtailments of our liberty, we were instead to welcome them as the means of a deeper understanding of ourselves, our neighbours and our God then, not only would we have prevented a catastrophe, but we would have rediscovered our humanity.

The archbishop made reference to CRAGS, carbon reduction action groups, which reminded me that I was once quite keen to initiate one locally. A timely reminder to revisit my plans.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who may belong to such a group and who would like to share their experience.