... in which history was made, as the Church of England (finally) agreed to allow women to become Bishops

... in which some dear friends are grieving a life cut short by a tragic accident

... in which I discovered that refillable laser cartridges aren't really: what a mess!

... in which rain freshened and re-greened the city so that it is lovely ready for the Games

... in which I printed and planned and emailed and pondered

... in which life in all its diversity and fullness arose

Always perspective, always joys and sorrows, always the trivial, trite and tedious, always the profound and wonderful...

Life is a gift to be cherished

... that when I was small I learned lots and lots of Bible stories

... that over the years I have preached on the flaws, frailty and failures of Biblical super heroes

... that when I was still young I learned the vital truth that every hero in Hebrews 11 messed up in some way or other (all broke at least one commandment!)

... that people told me stories, allowed my imagination to develop, and showed me that truth is not the same as fact

... that in a week when humanly speaking getting a service prepared was a bit of a nightmare, God nudged my memory and drew together the threads of almost half a century to make sense of my muddle, to show me new insights, and to mediate grace.

Today has been good, and I am glad.

Steve Taylor's Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's not the one I was looking for to quote in my sermon, but one that somehow always held an appeal at the time.  A bit dated but even so, worth a reprise:

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
The queen is losing face
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
A national disgrace

It's the middle of the night at the London shrine
Could have been the janitor, could have been divine
Someone said the thermostat never did work
Now we've got the temperature going berserk

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
The queen is losing face
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
A national disgrace

Celebrities, statesmen, history's elite
They're dripping in the hallways, they're starting to secrete
They're pouring out the pores, they're shrinking on the spot
Someone take a photograph--get 'em while they're hot

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
The president looks alarmed
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
A general's been disarmed

Feverish at Fleet Street - story of the year
"Get the Facts - House of Wax Photo Souvenir"
"Shameful" Says the Times, "Maybe Done By Vandals"
Panic on Wall Street - put your stock in candles

I thought I heard a ghost say
"Had my hands in my pockets on the Judgment Day
Nobody told me there's fire in the hole
Had the world by the tail but I lost my soul"

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
A rock and roll hotel
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
They're blending very well

Elvis and the Beatles have seen a better day
Better off to burn out than to melt away
Dylan may be fillin' the puddle they designed
Is it gonna take a miracle to make up his mind?

Athletes on the floor
Meltdown
They're running out the door

Bad boy McEnroe couldn't keep his cool
Now he's with the rest of 'em, wading in the pool
"Howard Hughes - Billionaire" says the written guide
Pity that his assets have all been liquefied

"Celebrity status only got in the way
Had my hands in my pockets on the Judgment Day
You can't take it with you - there's fire in the hole
Had the world by the tail but I lost my soul"

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
The queen is losing face
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
A national disgrace

Down in the dungeon - the Chamber of Horrors
Look at all the criminals soften to the cores
They're mixing with the head of state floating down the lane
Good, bad, there they go down the same drain

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
(It really is a pity you know)
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
(A lot of bees gave their all for this)
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's

It's not so often the case these days that I need to work on a Saturday... indeed, despite being on BUGB six-day week settlement terms I tend to be closer in practice to BUS five-day terms, even if often working more hours per day than they envisage in their 'sessions' model.

Today has been busy in a good way...

A complete rewrite of tomorrow's sermon, so it's now closer to what I want it to be and will hopefully achieve what I feel it is meant to achieve.

A careful read through of an 'end of probation report' by the minister for whom it has been my privilege to act as mentor these past three years

Now I need to read my mentee's Guided Self Appriasal paperwork in detail, and then get around to completing my own!

I also have a mega heap of ironing to get done, a decluttering* exercise that is at a standstill, and a house that resembles Paddy's market after an earthquake!

* decluttering was due to include chucking out my cassette tape collection, then as I was cogitating over the sermon I recalled a line from a song and tracked it down to a tape from the late 1970s or early 1980s... maybe the tapes survive this cull then!  But not the engineering  degree notes, they can definitely go after I read the exam papers and thought for each question either "not a clue" or "that's so easy"!

A really encouraging story from a church in Yorkshire here as the Tour de France passed their doorstep.  Spotting a gap in provision, they plugged it and welcomed loads of people through their doors.  The Commonwealth Games cycle race passes just metres from our door on 3rd August, and we are doing something similar...

• Free big screen live stream of the race
• Free refreshments
• Free, clean toilets (inclduing accessible and baby change)
• A place to sit and relax for a bit out of the heat/rain (delete as appropriate)
• A space for small people to run aorund, or do some colouring

Lots of wonderful homebaking being baked... evidently some prototype Welsh Cakes have been tested this week... I think maybe Bakewell tart ought to be added to my 'to make' list as we endeavour to reflect a broad range of 'Home Nations' and Commonwealth cuisine...

Should be wonderful fun and a great outreach in love to people of many nations.