So ..what's The Curate doing while I kick up my heels?

The Curate at work.

One of the problems of being a teacher is that, unless your partner is also a teacher, you find yourself with holiday time on your hands - which is great. - Not so great for my other half  - The Curate. He was at work this morning (- and not looking at motorbikes on E Bay) so I thought I'd capture it for the records. He was so engrossed, he didn't even notice I had taken the photo. 

The Curate is finding his feet in the parish and covering a number of services as his Boss is on holiday. Finding how the parish works and who does what and when - all takes time. He has had me up at 7.15 on a Sunday morning to help him prepare for the early BCP service because he didn't know if anyone would be there to help. He should have known better as this is an extremely well organised parish and  two people were ready and waiting at the church door. But I didn't mind as it was good to meet another groupof church members.

One of The Curate's roles in the last parish was to visit and offer home communion to those that requested it. This is something that does not seem to happen here but The Curate is still exploring the possibilities because he felt so much was gained during these visits. He also went into schools and spent time within a class - hearing readers and getting to know the children. I had suggested this as the first school assembly can be a frightening affair if there are no allies in the crowd. It also meant that the children could really get to know him and would recognise him as a familiar face should they venture into church . I was most impressed when he regularly spent time in a reception class as well as year 6. He was amazed how the children learned through play and were guided by a very talented teacher. In this parish, he has had to go straight into taking assemblies but the time spent with the children on the North Coast has served him well.

With time on my hands, I have decided to improve my fitness and have joined a sort of gym which is ladies only and you do three circuits of various machines and that's it! Up beat music and a bit of fun as well, might make a bit of difference to my shape - but it also gets me out of the house. It takes some getting used to having The Curate working from home - I mean I can't sit and watch day time TV without feeling guilty (as if I would!)