And now it's all over

So that's it ! That was summer! Next week I am back at work and autumn is well and truly heading our way. It has been the wettest summer for a hundred years but the Curate and I have had a great time. What has made it so fantastic? The public celebrations set the tone, from the Royal Jubilee to the Olympics and now the Paralympics.  On a personal level, perhaps it is because The Curate knows he is at the end of his training and we can begin to look forward. Perhaps it is because I have made decisions regarding my work. Perhaps it is because both sons are back in the UK.  Perhaps it is because we have managed some stress free time away, we have caught up with family and managed to take two very well behaved dogs with us. Perhaps it is because I have taken full advantage of living near the moor and have been able to ride regularly. All in all - an excellent summer!

So now what? Job adverts and applications become The Curate's focal points while he carries on serving in his present parish. After a summer of officiating at weddings, he is fully wedding trained and he has become quite an expert on the practicalities of various wedding dress designs. He has managed to not drop the rings or step on the wedding dress. He has lost his sermon and had to go looking for it during the hymn singing and managed to conceal his panic. He has calmed excited bridesmaids and handed hankies to bridegrooms.

Perhaps the secret to the success of this summer has been to ignore the weather and totally immerse ourselves in all that has been going on. After all, skin is waterproof!

As I walked out.....all the bells rang

As I walked out this morning towards the moor all the church bells rang. Bells all around the country rang at 8.12 for 3 minutes, to mark the official start of the Olympics. Even Big Ben in London rang for the 3 minutes. Martin Creed had the brilliant idea for this mass bell ring and what a wonderful way to wish all the athletes success.  

There is something wonderfully English to hear church bells near and far, tolling across the open countryside. As I walked The Collie along the footpath to the moor, passing the grazing sheep, I felt stirred by the peel of bells from our local church. The resonance  of the sound signified the excitement and importance of the London Olympics, even for those of us that live so far away from the venues.

Today has a far more British feel to it, we have lost the Mediterranean heat that made the road surfaces shimmer even at 8 o'clock in the morning. The burst of welcome continental heat broke the wet weather that was draining away our summer but it has now lost its intensity. The farmers have taken advantage of this break in the weather and  been frantically harvesting hay crops and ripened wheat and barley fields. We have heard the tractors working late into the night.

I quickened my pace towards the open space because I was sure I could hear other church bells - one, maybe two other churches were ringing out across the countryside. It was a wonderful experience to stand under a blue sky, surrounded by ponies and sheep (and a collie dog) and have the air reverberate with bells ringing. It truly felt like a celebration.

We have just returned from a two week holiday in Norfolk where there is the largest concentration of medieval churches in the world. Norfolk is  a very flat county  and the church towers stand out. We could count six churches when we stood on the sand dunes near to where we were staying. We visited many of these churches and climbed Ranworth and Happisburgh church towers. While the climbs seemed a little perilous( the towers were narrow and the steps plentiful!) both climbs were worth it for the view. At Ranworth you can get a proper understanding of the Norfolk Broads and a sense of their size. At Happisburgh (which we visited just before a thunderstorm) you can appreciate how flat Norfolk is and see the effects of  coastal erosion and coastal tourism.

Ranworth

Happisburgh

Happisburgh

   

Happisburgh

 Our focus is now on the Olympic Games and all the competitors - I hope it is a successful and happy time for all involved.