Oh dear, this morning I was meant to meet a friend for coffee... I sat down to check a few emails, got side-tracked and this fact fell out of my mind, and would have remained do had they not contacted me to say they'd missed me.  Oh the guilt!  Oh the shame!  Hopefully a re-schedule will prove possible... but it's back to the drawing board on memory stretching games.

Off south tomorrow to visit family - so better make sure I remember that!!

The time spent in Morcambe was fun.  But this is a more serious post, arsnig one from one of the things we encountered that was less than helpful.

As we strolled along the prom on a lovely sunny morniong, I looked ahead and saw a huge banner/flag thing (the kind you get at  garages or outside shops) that said HEALING.  I turned to the other 'vicar' and said 'does that say what I think it says?'   'Yes,' she replied, 'and it's almost certainly dodgy.'  As we reached them, we were approached by someone holding out a leaflet, and politely declined.  The same happened as we strolled back an hour later, and a third time as we were on our way to afternoon tea.

This third time, the man tried to engage us in conversation, saying 'I knew you'd say that' (i.e. no thanks) 'so who are you?'  So I told him adding '... and two of us are vicars.'  I walked on further and yet another person tried to offer us a leaflet.  When we reached our destination, 'Vicar 2' said that she too had been stopped and had given more or less the same answer, adding 'and by the way, I'm a hospital chaplain'... at which point evidently said man scurried off rather quickly.

The instincts these folk had - that there are hurting and sick people who might appreciate prayer and might experience some form of healing through that - were good; their ideas and approach were bad.  Since I got home I googled the organsiation of which they were part, and found the website, which included prayers for good weather and that the wind was 'not to strong' (sic) as this would make things difficult.  I admire anyone who has the courage of their convictions to the extent that they will stand up in a public place and risk ridicule or rejection.  But I don't admire the daft, dodgy and downright dangerous theology that is peddled, often by innocent and ignorant well-meaning people caught in the aura of some charismatic leader.

This week I spent a couple of days in Morecambe with some of the friends I have made as a result of shared experiences of cancer diagnoses.  I am always aware that my non-cancer friends prboably find these mentions odd and/or feel that I really ought to put it all in the past and forget about it.  One of the many things I've learned, though, is that some health conditions can only be understood from 'inside' and that often once the life-saving bit is done, there is a shortage of places/spaces to discuss the long-term after effects.

Anyhoo...

Eight of us travelled from all corners of the UK to Morecambe where we ate fish 'n' chips, had afternoon tea at a posh hotel, posed with Eric Morecambe, strolled on the prom, drank countless cups of tea and sorted the world out, at least briefly.  Yes, we talked about cnacer stuff, but we also talked about family, friends, work, faith, holidays, etc.

I had a great time, laughed lots and shared the sunshine with true friends...

Bring me Sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,

Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Bring me Sunshine, in your eyes,
Bring me rainbows, from the skies,
Life's too short to be spent having anything but fun,
We can be so content, if we gather little sunbeams,

Be light-hearted, all day long,
Keep me singing, happy songs,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Sylvia Dee

Today has been busy but fun - morning coffee with a friend, who had baked peanut butter cookies specially and then home to bake another large batch of cupcakes - two dozen to go with me tomorrow to meet some friends, and a dozen to go with me on Saturday to my Mum's (the latter being kept in the fridge).  Lots of train rides through lots of familiar stations, some new people to meet, lots of laughter and food and friendship to be shared.

So, a week of mostly downtime - which feels rather good.

Some of the cakes going tomorrow - apart from the choc ones, those for the weekend have totally different decoration even though the flavours are the same..