As I understand it, Easter is the time when most families in Georgia gather for celebration and part of that celebration is to visit the graves of those who have died. Families take a whole feast to the graveside and share the time with their deceased family members. Not at all the ‘ It’s SundayContinue reading “Honouring the dead on Easter Monday”
Category Archives: Life
Could the answer to my ‘Why?’, at least in part, be here.
Lots to think about here, as in the statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York: ‘Our life is going to be less characterised by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterised by the prayer and service we offer each day. “We may not be able to pray with people in the ways thatContinue reading “Could the answer to my ‘Why?’, at least in part, be here.”
Another overnight trip: we’re off to Chiang Rai
A couple of days back in Lampang doing some very enjoyable catching-up and making new discoveries and we were off in the trusty Vios I had hired again, heading north east to Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai Province borders the Mekong and it’s a short longtail ferry ride across the river to Laos. There is alsoContinue reading “Another overnight trip: we’re off to Chiang Rai”
Sukhothai: an overnight trip from Lampang
Lampang is a railway town in northern Thailand. It was where I first discovered Thai culture and was welcomed into a family home in 1997. Here I met the boy who was to make me understand Thai and who would become the bridegroom in that very modern Thai wedding I attended in Nakhon Si ThammaratContinue reading “Sukhothai: an overnight trip from Lampang”
A Thai Obsession: Air Quality
Had I been in England – or probably any other part of the UK or Europe right now – I guess the topic to crop up in most, if not all, conversations would be the ever present BREXIT. Here in Thailand, especially in the northern provinces, the obsession is much more environmental: it’s air quality.Continue reading “A Thai Obsession: Air Quality”
A Very Modern Thai Wedding
And so the day dawned when we would attend the wedding. The celebration was not until 6p.m. so we had all day to prepare – or be lazy! Or both!! We had found a hairdresser the day before and I confess I had expected a simple wash and blow-dry when we arrived at the salonContinue reading “A Very Modern Thai Wedding”
A Southern interlude
Within 48 hrs of arriving in Chiangmai, I was at the airport again, this time flying. To Nakhon Si Thammarat for the wedding that brought about this whole visit. The bridegroom’s mother, her sister and niece met me at the airport and her brother and two nephews will meet us in the south having drivenContinue reading “A Southern interlude”
One final visit to the Wall
Not quite such an early morning – but a really interesting one which started even before I had really left the hotel. The Sephardic House is extremely well situated for a quick stroll down to the Wall. Strange how, biblically, all the Psalms talk of going UP to Jerusalem! I certainly felt the need toContinue reading “One final visit to the Wall”
Another day in the maze of Jerusalem’s Old City
I remember my mother, having read the diary I wrote during my first visit to Jerusalem in 1978, saying, ‘It feels as if you’ve been somewhere special’. She was a gifted singer one of whose favourite sacred songs was “Holy City” and this visit has reminded me of the scenarios it presents. You can findContinue reading “Another day in the maze of Jerusalem’s Old City”
Walking the Old City
One of the things I love about the Old City of Jerusalem is its size: it’s easy to get everywhere and the longer you walk the more shortcuts you find. Apparently Thursday and Monday are the busiest days at the Western Wall as they are the favoured Bar Mitzvah days – that very important ceremonyContinue reading “Walking the Old City”
Living the Journey 