Some Maltese coastline, 2015.

This was the holiday that nearly wasn't after I got myself double booked with a wedding to conduct the day after I was due to fly out!

I loved Malta.  I loved that it isn't "pretty pretty".  I loved that it has lots of clearly loved feral cats!  I loved that it is its own self, slightly chaotic and a smidgeon short tempered, but rich in history and raw nature.

I was born very close to the ground where Tottenham Hotspur played their home matches, so once I was old enough to understand such things, I loosely claimed Spurs as 'my' team.  Living in Northampton, I also learned a fondness for dear old Northampton Town, Cobblers by name, and often by nature. I never got into football, but in school days it was always helpful to be able to identify who one supported - and Spurs or Cobblers were fairly safe choices!

Yesterday the result of a Spurs match rendered Leicester City champions of the English Premier Division.  And I was really pleased for Leicester, even if it leaves Spurs as 'bridesmaids'!  Serving a church in Leicestershire for six years, I retain a deep affection for the county, and cannot but delight in this well deserved victory.  Leicester is one of the most racially and religiously diverse cities in the UK and, if memory serves, the first where to be white skinned is to be in the minority.  It is a city largely devoid of racial and religious tensions - at least in my experience - and so an example of what can be achieved.  I really hope that the short term celebrations and civic pride will transition into a longer term sense of self-worth in an area that overall has pretty low community self-esteem.  I hope that all that is good and great about this East Midlands city will be discovered and enjoyed by visitors who come to discover the place where the Foxes play.

Less trumpeted (i.e. not at all) is that Cobblers had secured victory in League 2 while Foxes still had work to do.  Cobblers are one of those stalwarts of the lower divisions, seemingly capable of promotion one season and relegation the next.  To my knowledge, they remain the only team to have been promoted from Divsion 4 (as it then was) to 3 to 2  to 1 and then relegated to 2 to 3 to 4 all in successive seaons.  Maybe not the best claim to fame, but a unique one.

Many of my family and friends are Spurs fans, and it has been lovely to see their social media posts delighting in Leicester's success even as they are disappointed to know that, yet again, top slot has eluded them.

I really have no interest in "the beautiful game" but it is good to rejoice with everyone I know in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Sunset in Tampere, Finland, 2014.

One of the striking things about Finland was the sense of quiet and stillness... apart from bustling city centres like Helsinki anyway.  Softly spoken, content with silence, no words wasted... Finns have a distinctive personality that echoes their surroundings (so maybe we all do but just don't realise it).

The evening strolls and stunning sunsets captured something of the essence of the place.

Rainbow over the Union Canal between Falkirk and Edinburgh 2013.

This is the laziest way I have done, if not a coast to coast, then an estuary to estuary journey.  A canal boat holiday with some friends who paths have now diverged and are going their separate ways... yet another memory tinged with poignancy; maybe that's what happens as one gets older?

Canals pass through beautiful countryside and often the most dodgy areas of cities and towns!  Views can be idyllic or disgusting, and everywhere in between.

This rainbow, not especially vivid, spanning the canal is a reminder that whatever the scenery, God's promises remain... and that's worth remembering any day of the week.

Today it felt right to include within the Communion part of our service the things that gets many, possibly most, Baptists very twitchy - we did that "sharing the peace thing" where people get up out of their seats, move around and bless one another with God's peace. 

A symbol of reconciliation where relationships may have been strained...

A symbol of welcome to someone we don't know, who may be a visitor...

A symbol of affirmation between people who love each other as siblings in Christ...

And it seemed to work really well.  People got up and moved (the words of invitation allowed for this to be done 'if you are able') and looked each other warmly in the eye (as the song says) and shook hands, or hugged, or kissed or some combination thereof.  And it was beautiful to behold, after I had returned to the front how people were entering into this simple yet profound act.

And in light of that reconciliation, wlecome, affirmation, we are better able to "commune" as we share bread and 'wine' together.

But I do need to work on one apsect... my call "the peace of the Lord be always with you" elicited the response " " (silence).  Spot which Baptist minister has spent more time in episcopal/catholic churches than her congregation!!

Feedback on this element of the service was good - so we'll try it again some other time...