Wedding Anniversary

For this year's wedding anniversary, Margaret and I went to Derbyshire for the day. It was cool and cloudy but we wandered over the hills overlooking Calver and Cliff College to be greeted by these placid residents of the hillside. It was an exhilerating walk and a good preparation for our coffee later that morning.

We enjoyed coffee in the quaint little cafe and craft shop in Calver village. This is a must for any tourists in this region. The pleasant surroundings and well-stocked gift shop make for a welcome break from the day's walking. Calver is a typical village in this part of Derbyshire and being only a couple of miles from Chatsworth House, it is a good place to stop off whilst in the vicinity.

Having then visited the Chatsworth House Farm Shop at Pilsley, we went for the first time to the church in the grounds of Chatsworth House at Edensor. The stained-glass windows were a rare treat and we sat meditatively for a while.

Sinking

This is a comedy clip.

Blades

On the main raod through the Lady Bay area of West Bridgford is a Methodist Chapel which was bought by a sports equipment firm a few years ago after closure. It is now a beautifully designed café on two storeys. It is an excellent place to chill out and meet with friends. Most mornings it is full of mothers and toddlers.

Having led services in the chapel over many years it was a revelation to see how the building has been transformed by its new owners. The churhes are still involved with the café in that Carol Services are held at Christmas.

My wife, Margaret, who works for the nearby Cheshire Home, organised a visit to Blades for the residents. They enjoyed a morning drinking coffee and relaxing together at the World's Biggest Coffee Morning.

It is really satisfying to know that a building which has served the community for so many years as a church is still acting as a spiritual oasis.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007

Well the results have been published. Our son, Andrew was again the top analogue photographer but had slipped from 3rd overall to 17th. I was not quite so fortunate, achieving a ranking of 253rd. Anyway, the experience was really good and there's always next year.

Andrew's photos can be viewed on his web site. Click on the Fotomarathon 2007 link on the left.

The winning entry can be viewed here.

CARGO by Paul Field

The Brewhouse Theatre, Burton on Trent was the venue for the musical production, CARGO by Paul Field. The production commemorates the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, a movement pioneered by William Wilberforce. The concert took place on Friday October 5th at 7:30pm.

Paul has written a number of musicals and has also written and produced songs for Cliff Richard and many other top artists. Paul's web site gives more details of CARGO.

It was a memorable evening with the theatre packed out. Graham Meers had organised a backing choir of 24 local singers. They performed magnificently. We were delighted to welcome Councillor Liz Stapeles, the Deputy Mayor of the East Staffordshire Borough Council (pictured here with Paul Field and Sue Nickson).

This was an occasion of which the local Methodists can be proud.

Ruddington Framework Knitters' Museum

It's not every Sunday that I'm invited to lead worship in a museum but last Sunday I found myself in the Ruddington Framework Knitters' Museum where the congregation of Ruddington Methodist Church are meeting during the refurbishment of their church in Nottingham. It was a wonderful setting and I really felt a closeness with the worshippers. Something of the historic surroundings added to the message of Abraham and 'Living by Faith'.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007

The Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 took place on September 8th. There were around 1,000 entrants, all descending upon the Rathaus at 9:30am for registration. The following set of pictures are my attempts at trying to win.

The themes we had to take were as follows:-

1. Action
2. Life is just a game
3. AWD "money rules the world"
4. Architecture around Schwarzenbergplatz
5. All different types of people around Naschmarkt
6. Sweet - Sour
7. Spittelberg
8. Today - Tomorrow
9. Music in Vienna
10. Holidays in Africa
11. Q19 - More than shopping
12. Municipal Tenement
13. Passion and Love
14. Gösser placed in nature
15. Environmental protection concerns all of us
16. Faith
17. Soccer and the European Cup
18. Red is Hot
19. Autumn Impressions
20. Insights - Lookouts
21. Musings
22. Plays of light
23. Happy drinking
24. Fernwärmer Wien - Duet of energy, waste and art

These themes had to be shot in order during a 12 hour period.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 1

1. Action As it happened, there was a game of 5-a-side football taking place outside the Rathaus.

2. Life is just a game This table football game was also outside the Rathaus.

3. AWD "money rules the world" AWD sponsored the event and this picture was taken outside the Parliament building.

4. Architecture around Schwarzenbergplatz Obviously, this was taken in Schwarzenbergplatz.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 2

5. All different types of people around Naschmarkt Naschmarktwas very busy that day but finding the right people was difficult.

6. Sweet - Sour This was also taken at the Naschmarkt.

7. Spittelberg Spittelberg is the waste recycling station in Vienna, lavishly decorated by Hundertwasser.

8. Today - Tomorrow A really tricky one. All we could find was this programme of events.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 3

9. Music in Vienna This music group were performing on a stage which, the following day, would be host to the Pope during his visit to Vienna.

10. Holidays in Africa We had to find a shop with African goods. A little creativity was needed here too.

11. Q19 - More than shopping This shopping centre was our lunch stop. We needed it!

12. Municipal Tenement The light was beginning to fade along with our energy levels.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 4

13. Passion and Love Well - sort of!

14. Gösser placed in nature How did this get there?

15. Environmental protection concerns all of us Even the dogs...

16. Faith St. Peter's Church in the centre of Vienna.

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 5

17. Soccer and the European Cup Lucky mascot - but who will win?

18. Red is Hot The fire brigade are always ready.

19. Autumn Impressions An autumn display in one of Vienna's shops.

20. Insights - Lookouts Who's this peculiar character?

Vienna Fotomarathon 2007 - 6

21. Musings An idle conversation after a hard day's work.

22. Plays of light Imaginative scenes in Vienna's shopping area - Kärntner Straße.

23. Happy drinking Downing a welcome pint.

24. Fernwärmer Wien - Duet of energy, waste and art Back at Spittelau, the final destination for the marathon.