Today's Lectionary invited us to set alongside each other two images - the tall, beautiful, strong cedar tree (35-40m tall, evergreen, wood and oil much prized) and the small, ugly, not so strong mustard plant (1-1.5m tall, often seen almost as a weed).

In each image (Ezekiel and Mark) the tree becomes a safe refuge for birds (and other species).

Jesus seems to be saying, that the Kingdom is like a pernicious weed, that is almost impossible to get rid of, and that seeds in amongst other plants (in contravention of Leviticus 19:19) destroying purity.

So what are we to make of this?

The Kingdom of God is low-level, spread widely at grass roots level, transforms all it interacts with and, eventually will take over.  Here, in this unlikely, untidy, organic, powerless muddle, is peace, reconiliation and hope to be found.

I wonder, if it's a valid reading, what we do with that?

As my staycation draws towards its close (two days left!), I finally completed the jigsaw I bought as a holiday project.  With a lot of assistance from the kitties, it was finished this morning - the final hundred or so pieces of 'sky' keeping me occupied for several hours.

I think the jigsaw is a wonderful metaphor in many ways, with all the sifting and sorting, fitting and puzzling.  And it takes a long time - this thousand piece puzzle has taken many, many hours, sometimes with quick progress, sometimes hardly an at all.  And then, when it's finished, and I sat back to admire it, Sophie decided she needed to do a few checks before taking a nap right in the centre of it.  Well, why not, a cat snoozing on a picture of cats.

This past couple of weeks the River Clyde has been the 'stunt double' for the Tiber, the Seine, the Danube and the Vltava, as I pretended to visit various places around the world.  I baked a Dobos Torte (Hungarian) and Oggies (Welsh/Cornishpasties); I made spanikopita (Crete) and pea cakes (Malta).  Some of the baking was shared with others.  All sorts of bits and pieces that somehow came together to make a meaningful and enjoyable staycation. Definitely more than the sum of the parts.

Now that we are once more allowed out of the city, I may venture further afield for the last couple of days, but I may also simply take a couple of days to rest - after all I have visited a lot of countries in the last fortnight!  

... this is New Zealand!

As the first week of my holiday draws to a close, and Glasgow remains in Level 3 (no surprise there) I am in pretend New Zealand, with a view across Auckland harbour behind me.

Hard to believe though it is, it's over seven years since I went there, and a heck of a lot of water has flown under assorted bridges along the way.

Next week I will have to choose some more pretend venues to visit, but for the weekend, it's back home to wash the real clothes, do the actual housework and rest after this pretend globe-trotting! 

Earlier this year, I booked my 'holiday' blocks of annual leave, with no idea if travel might or might not be possible.  So, I booked a two-week block straddling the end of May and start of June, hoping that, if the 'road maps' were anything like right, I'd at least get some day trips.  Ah well, it wasn't to be, at least not in week one.

As I began to ponder how to spend my time, I recalled something that had been hugely popular in churches in Leicestershire, which was effectively a holiday Bible club for older adults called 'Holiday at Home'.  Low key evangelism coupled with honest companionship, the premise was simple - you went on holiday for a week without having to travel.  Each day, guests would arrive for morning coffee and optional themed activities before enjoying a two course themed lunch.   In the afternoon there would entertainment (a singer, a conjurer, a tea dance, whatever people could offer), tea and cake and then a short epilogue/songs of praise/talk.  Often there would a coach trip to a local place of interest. As evangelism, I suspect it wasn't hugely effective, but as pastoral care and broader community engagement, it was priceless, and much valued by those who visited 'pretend France' or took a 'virtual cruise'; one group even went on a 'virtual safari!'

So, this week, I am emulating that for myself.  On Monday I stocked up with ingredients to cook dishes from the places I planned to 'visit' and set out my itinerary.

Yesterday I was in 'pretend Rome' and met my online prayer cell at the 'pretend Colosseum' before taking a walk along the 'pretend Tiber' (Clyde) and joining a friend for a Zoom coffee alongside the 'pretend Trevi fountain'.  It was fun hunting out photos to use as a virtual background on Zoom, and I enjoyed cooking Italian food for the day.

Today I am on 'pretend Malta' and typing this as the filling I made for 'pastizzi' (pea cakes) cools.  I have an idea where today's walk will take me as I call to mind visits to the walled city of Mdina and the, sadly no longer there, Azure Window of Gozo.

Tomorrow is pretend Crete (with a bit of real world Glasgow Zoom thrown in) before Friday's Zoom to Australia means a pretend day trip to Auckland, NZ.

In between leafing through old photos and cooking national foods, I have a jigsaw and a couple of 'feel good' books to read as I relax in my 'pretend villa' which comes complete with cats!

Maybe one day, it will be possible to do a 'Holiday at Home' with and for others, but for now, it's keeping me entertained in what might otherwise be just one more week of the same old streets.

Recently, it became popssible for anyone at all to obtain, free of charge, lateral flow testing kits for Covid.  This is not mandatory or compulsory, though in areas of higher prevalence it is encouraged.

It's certainly true that I can go for days on end without seeing another human being 'in the flesh', and mostly when I do it's for a few seconds, to pay for something with contactless payment.  Even so, there remains a small, and finite, risk.

Although Glasgow remains in Level 3 for a week or more, things have opeend up quite a lot, and I have begun to meet up with people in cafes.  Whilst I limit this to no more than one 'group' per day, it means I increase the risk.  So, I took a conscious decision to start doing twice a week, lateral flow tests at home.  So far, four tests/two weeks later, so negative - which is good!  The photo is today's (with identifiying marks blanked out).

The bottom line is, I would hate to take the risk, however small, of  passing on the virus to someone who is vulnerable, unwell, immunocompromised, unvaccinated or EoL, when a quick test could have prevented that.  It's worth a few moments of my time, and a little bit of discomfort to know that, no more than three days ago, I was 'negative'.  For sure, the tests aren't perfect, but an imperfect test is better then no test at all.

Doing the swab takes a matter of seconds.  I have a strong gag reflex it seems, and touching my tonsils makes me gag, but I have learned to breath deeply, do the four swipes on one side, then take a moment before swabbing the other side.  Swabbing my nose is a bit uncomfortable (if it hurts you have probably gone too far up) but way less so than the so-called 'discomfort' of a smear test (sorry men) and no worse than the MRSA swabs were a few years ago.  It's worth a few seconds of unpleasantness for the measure of reassurance I get get thirty minutes later when a single red line next to the C is a 'negative'  result, and I am 'good to go' for a few days.

On Thursday of this week I will get my second dose of vaccine, and two to three weeks after that will be as 'covered' as I can be, at least until/unless boosters are needed. For now, and unless/until someone declares there no longer to be a need, I will keep on testing and keep on reporting, as, together, we do our best to negotiate the complex journey to the 'Beyond' of which we dream.