This morning we arrived at the hotel to disocver that there had been such cofuision with our bookings that our room was unavailable and we had hastily been transferred to a HUGE suite, set ready for a banquet of some sort.

With their now familiar adaptability, everyone simply got on with it, and we made the space work for us as best we could.

Lots of songs, lots of stars, some candles and communion... and the babble of children doing craft at the back of the room, it had a very family feel.

Next week we will hopefully be back in our familiar spaces, but it was good to be somewhere unexpected to reflect on being led by a star to unexpected places...

Here are some folk gathering in readiness before the service (for which we needed to pull in extra seats) began...

After a fair bit of faffing, for no obvious reason, the new basic phone is good to go... hopefully it will last for many years, serving my 'work' needs. It's not quite as simple as the one it replaces, and it has a case to match the one for my personal smart phone, (albeit one that is upside down!) but I am sure it will do just fine once I have got used to where everything is on the menu. The bonus was that I had always stored the contacts on the sim, so no need to add them to the phone - phew!

Nothing theological about any of that, but it amused me that sometimes old becomes new...

This morning I attended a 'pilates induction session' - advertised as 30 minutes, it was actually nearer 40, and basically what we learned was how to breathe in the correct way for pilates.

Much concentration was needed to correctly align the feet, spine and neck, to centre the core and to breathe from the diaphragm.  I can't claim to have mastered it, but I gave it a good go, and have signed up for eight weeks of beginners classes.

Whilst I don't think there is a 'right' or even a 'Christian' way to pray, meditate or reflect, there seems to be some sort of parallel... (re-)aligning our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, being aware of our own physicality as well as our intellect and spirituality, discovering that it isn't easy, but it is worthwhile... and then maybe metaphorcially 'signing up' for a short course of intentional prayer/meditation/reflection.

Unlike pilates, where progression from 'beginner' to 'intermediate' to 'advanced' is anticipated/expected, spiritual exercise is not about getting better, but I think it probably is about learning to breathe...

Way back in 2004, I ordered a basic mobile phone, a Nokia, that cost me £10 with a free credit of £10 with T-Mobile. Fifteen years later, it still works fine but the battery (its second) no longer holds charge and it seemed like time to think about a new phone.

Due to some sort of online glitch back then, I was told the Nokia was no longer available and ordered another slightly fancier phone, with the two arriving together, at which point my practice of 'work' and 'personal' phones was born. A few years ago I replaced my peronal phone with a Nokia Lumia smart phone, which I love.

There was a delightlful irony, I felt, in using the web bowser on my Nokia Lumia to order the ultra basic Nokia that will (all being well, and the SIM fits) replace my trusty old PAYG, which can, of course, be put in a drawer as the emergency back up phone!! And the new one has a micro-usb charger, so that's a bonus.

For reasons too boring to explain, I ended up in a nearby cafe for a late lunch and ordered 'rhubarb crumble and cream'.  When it arrived it self-evidently wasn't rhubarb crumble, but it looked very pretty anyway, so much so that I took a photo of it.  I poured over some cream, dug in my spoon, took a mouthful and .... bleurgh! So salty!  I presevered a few more mouthful before I could take no more.

The waitress duly took my returned dessert - and my explanation - back to the (new) chef.  It transpired there was a bowl on the pass containing a white crystaline substance he had assumed to be sugar, so he'd liberally sprinkled it over my dessert... It was, of course, salt.

So I guess there's a sermon in there somewhere, about not assuming, about judging by appearances, about not checking, and even about having the courage to speak out... at least no other customer will be served blackberry and apple with a side of sodium chloride!

They did bring me a new crumble, and it was delicious (even if still not rhubarb!) so all ended well.