Blog June-July 2017
The Boy behind the Curtain
One of the joys of the summer months is the change of rhythm of life in and around the cathedral, especially in the evenings and the opportunity to read a little more widely. Having spent the last week of our sabbatical in Western Australia, I have enjoyed reading Tim Winton’s The Boy behind the Curtain. The title comes from his opening chapter following a move to Albany at the age of thirteen, and clearly finding it difficult to settle in his new environment, he took his unloaded parents gun and, from behind a curtain, would line up people in the sights…. “Anything could have happened, none of it good. And just in time … before anything irreparable could come of this impulse, I found words.”
He writes exquisitely on a range of subjects including his parents coming to faith following the care of a stranger who looked after his father following a horrific motorbike accident, his love of surfing and his passion to preserve the environment for future generations, which has led him to political action confronting the power of big industry. I look forward to reading more of his novels.
Summer Programme of weekly activities
With the summer exodus, it is hard to sustain many weekly activities, so we arrange one weekly event – mostly Wednesdays – and the first was a Thai meal at the Banana Leaf Restaurant on the last day of the Eid Public Holiday: excellent food at a reasonable price. It was good to welcome Kennedy who had arrived from Nigeria just a week before and was looking for an Anglican Church as a priority. Eighteen of us gathered for the meal, though several were leaving Bahrain on summer leave within a few days.
Week two and we were invited to a bbq- bring your own meat, and a salad or dessert to share – around a small, but surprisingly deep, pool. This time forty people came and especially families from our Tamil-speaking congregation who clearly enjoyed the pool. It was good to see members of all five of our weekly congregations present and many meeting for the first time. A big thank you to Anthony for arranging the event and to his elves Del and Jade, members of our small Sunday morning congregation who work in the hospitality industry here, so hardly a day-off for them.
Farewell to the Holland Family: Wednesday 28th June, 2017
This is the particular season for farewells as we said good-bye to Andy and Jo Holland with Michael, Shauna and Kathleen, heading for Belfast. We had a relaxed meal at the Dilmun Club and caught up with their next moves: Jo to work with the charity Saphara, seeking to open the eyes of young people to change the world through working together in projects in India; and Andy still exploring options, but with opportunities to teach or a training role.
And Farewell to the Hoff family: Friday 7th July, 2017
Another week and another family leaving us: Aaron, Brooke and Philip Hoff. When we came to their commissioning prayer we could find a kneeler with St Philip but not St Aaron or St Brooke, but a challenging time ahead with Aaron heading to Tunis and the rest of the family back to home in Kansas and we wish them all well, grateful for the year that they have journeyed with us.