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| Wrestling with the big fish |
Andrew & Becky arrived back from the cinema late last night having seen The Great Gatsby. Matthew slept for the entire evening and I was worried because he was so quiet. I didn't sleep until they got back. It is another hot and sunny day and we are now waiting for A&B to emerge so that we can plan the day.
The decision is taken and we are off to Divonne les Bains so that Matthew can go to the thermal baths. M and I walked around Divonne stopping off at Les Quatre Vents for a slowly served coffee. Wen we met up again with Andrew and co. we went to Lake Divonne and walked around.
When we got to the other side of the lake we saw a man fishing and standing up to his waste in the water. A crowd had gathered around to watch and so we joined them, iPads ready. It was clear that he had a large fish on the other end of his line and he waded further into the water until he was up to his neck. After several minutes of wrestling he finally landed a 49lb carp. He told us this was his life-time's ambition and is the biggest he has ever caught. A few years ago it would have been a British record. We discovered that this man was Simon Coombs, the president and CEO of Shaza Hotels. He has connections also with the Kempinski Hotel in Geneva and he invited us to come for a free meal for all our efforts to film his big catch.
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| What a whopper! |
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| Simon Coombs Success at last! |
After several minutes of struggle, he landed the big fish. He was clearly delighted and grateful for all the photos and videos we had taken and gave us his card. We had no idea he was such a high profile executive. With only one more day over here it could be difficult to take up his offer of a free meal but we will keep in touch.
When we got back to Challex, the rain and thunder started. It was not too bad though. We processed our photos and videos of Simon Coombs and I uploaded some to YouTube. We amused Matthew while Andrew and Becky went shopping.
2 Samuel 11:26-12:19 &13-15 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned over her husband. 27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, “Two men were in a certain city; one was rich and the other was poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. And a visitor came to the rich man, but he ⌊was reluctant⌋a to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then ⌊the anger of David was kindled⌋b against the man, and he said to Nathan, “⌊As Yahweh lives⌋,c the man who has done this ⌊deserves to die⌋!d 6 He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to him, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if that had been too little, I would have added to you much more. Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes?f Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the ⌊Ammonites⌋!g 10 So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!’
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh!”j Nathan said to David, “Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. But because you have ⌊utterly scorned⌋k Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you ⌊will certainly die⌋.”l 15 Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.
A familiar story of a man whose power goes to his head. He feels he can get away with murder because of who he is but justice (God) catches up with him through Nathan, the prophet, who tells him a parable. Nathan pronounces God's forgiveness but takes the life of the child.
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