It has been a busy few days and the jetlag/carlag is starting to take hold even if I haven't crossed any time zones or international borders.

Thursday morning was a 5a.m. start - I have long forgotten what these look like, though once they were a regular part of life when I used to join the Monday morning long distance commute which sees people travel half the length of the country to do their work (no, I don't understand the logic either).  East Midlands airport was incredibly busy with a queue for security the entire length of the check-in halls (so probably about quarter of a mile) despite the fact that all channels were open and staffed.  Progress through the queue was slow but steady apart from punctuations to allow those who had purchased queue-jumping tickets at £3 to push in ahead of us before being whisked through a dedicated security channel.  I'm not sure of the morality of money buying queue jumps - it just seems like someone cashing in on impatience and/or misery.  Anyway, the queue kept moving, via a very Alton Towers style maze (whereby you feel you're almost at the front of the queue then it twists and turns away again) and I passed through security just in time for the 'go to gate' message to appear - the furthest away gate of course which was probably quarter of a mile or so up and down stairs and along corridors.  I arrived at gate with about 2 mintues to spare - having arrived 90 minutes before boarding time!  Hey ho.  A good couple of days in and around Glasgow, sorting paperwork, looking at temporary accommodation and so on.  Amazing weather - I returned south (without the enormous queues for once) with more sun tan and more midge bites!

Saturday's wedding went well and apart from some light drizzle the weather stayed fairly good  even some sunshine at one point.  Bride and groom enjoyed the ceremony and only managed to muff words with no legal significance (though the groom did say something about becoming the wife at one point!).  Some fun gifts illustrated my talk including an orange triangular boomerang - to symbolise the loyalty, love and trust that the couple pledged each other in their vows - a wedding candle and a Welsh love spoon (not to stir with!).  Decided I must be getting old as I found the disco way too loud, but it was a fun and joyful occasion.

Yesterday I began a short series of sermons I am calling 'well-loved tales revisited' which picks up some of the best known parables and miracles of Jesus and looks at them afresh.  It's a bit of a cheat really - I looked at the lectionary and could not face preaching on the execution of John the Baptist so I used the Year C reading (the good Samaritan) for this week, and then spotted that next week year B has feeding the 5000.  My sermon used an idea pinched from the racial justice course of a week or two back, and had each character (except the donkey) justifying their actions and the man wondering why they each acted as they did.  I pointed out that in telling the tale Jesus did not judge the religious folk for behaving as they did, that is our eisegesis (reading in), and in telling their perspectives I drew on Torah references to priests and Levites, however our challenge is examine our own motives - are we more worried about the letter of the law than the spirit of the law?  As I had the man in the story say, 'why is it that sometimes religious people behave in ways that seem inhuman?'  Hmm.  It went down well and one of the folk who is a primary school teacher asked for a copy of it to adapt for her class assembly next term... wow!

Two and a half hours driving later I arrived in Manchester to attend the service of the little church closing their building.  I took with me a card my folk had signed as a token of support.  It was a lovely service, rich in symbolism and reflecting the character of the fellowship there.  It was good to see some of the folk whose lives have been touched by this little congregation with a big heart, and a privilege to share this moment with them.  Any church that sings 'I am the church, you are the church' ('the church is not a building...') must have a healthy grasp of ecclesiology in my book!

So, home again.  Today involves a 'pastoral lunch', contacting a potential preacher for my induction service at the church which isn't in Balamory (a suggestion made yesterday!) nor yet Glen Bogle or Brigadoon, and drawing up a massive 'to do' list for the process of moving.  All good fun - even if what I really feel like is sleeping for a week...