French Whisky Cake

6oz Butter, 8oz Sugar, 3oz Muscavado Sugar, 3 Medium Eggs seperated, 8oz Plain Flour, 1tsp Baking Powder, 1tsp Nutmeg, 4fl oz Whisky (I use Jack Daniels) 8 oz Chopped Hazelnuts, 4 oz Sultanas and a 7" Baking tin.

Heat oven to 250 degress F
Grease the Baking tin
Beat Butter abd beat in the white and all the brown sugar
Add Egg yolks 1 at a time and beat well
Sift half the flour, baking powder & nutmeg add to mix and mix well
Add nuts, sultanas, rest of flour and mix well
Add whisky gently and mix well

In another bowl beat the egg whites and remaining sugar, then combine to the main mixture, in a folding action

Bake for 60 minutes at 250 and one further hour at 300

NB dont let the kids clean the bowl out, that a special treat for the chef!!!

whilst waiting for the cake to cook, have a wee dram.

The cake will freeze, we tried it one year, the cake lasted one day in the freezer, before it was defrosted and demolished!!!

Dear Friends

Paul's Letter From The Patio Doors - Twenty

Well here we are again, Christmas, is just around the corner. I like all the preparation for the big day, and I remember when I was a child, (long term memory is great, it's just the short) staying with my Grandmother just outside of Gloucester, her preparation was very traditional. I used to remember her asking me what I would like for my Christmas Box, a strange expression I thought, until she explained, Why did I think Boxing day was called that? Traditionally it was the day, when in the big houses the servants would receive their Christmas gift or box, boxing day, she explained.

Back to the story, one year, Grandma had, as she usually did, made three cake, one small one for herself and two larger ones for my Uncle's family and our family. All children present were allowed to have and stir of the mixture and make a wish, then it was poured into the three tins, and into the oven they went, timer set and off into the dining room to put another plum tree log onto the fire.

Timer goes off, Grandma goes into the kitchen, puts a skewer through the cake nearest the door, done to perfection, and out they came, filling the cottage with the smell of her fantastic baking. The Cakes were set aside to cool, in preparation for the pouring of the Brandy.

It was not long before they needed to be removed from their tins, that is when the disaster presented itself, the two larger cakes, had in fact needed a little longer in the oven!!! Ever resourceful Grandma, thought on the hoof, then the middle (very undercooked) section of the cakes were scooped out, leaving a crater in the under side of the cakes, the spoils, I think were turned into puddings.

Not wanting to waste anything, the craters were filled with homemade marzipan, plenty of it, and in due time the cakes were iced and no evidence of the mis-hap could be seen, until Christmas tea, when the cake was cut, Dad thought the knife was not sharpe enough, but he didn't realise he was cutting through five inches of solid marzipan. Ah, that's how I remember Christmas

Christmas is reliable, isn't it, it comes along each and every year, we know when it's going to be, we can prepare. Shops stock up, start playing Christmas jingles far to early, and children start the task of writing and re-writing Christmas lists for Santa Klaus.

The Parish magazine lists the services for December, and the familiar Christingles service appears, Nativity plays are performed, Nine Lessons and Carols, Carols by Candlelight then Midnight Mass, then Holy Communion on the 25th.

To me, in a way, Our Faith, Christmas and Advent in particular is like a Lighthouse; it's there all year round, you know it's there, it's reliable light has guided throughout the year, to the one glorious day, when our saviour was born, guiding us safely into the safety of the harbour, the harbour is the protection and comfort we seek after our long journey throughout the year of trials and tribulations, Jesus is there to be our saviour.

A Joke to end with:-

And it came to pass

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, Dear?" And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy.

A man named Maccabia did secret himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known "eBay" he said, "we need a name that reflects what we are," and Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."

"YAHOO", said Abraham.

And that is how it all began, It wasn't Al Gore after all.

A Prayer for Advent

O Lord, open our lips
All
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
All
that we may behold your power and glory.

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
All
Blessed be God for ever.

Thanking you for reading, once again, I hope you have enjoyed, remember ... what ever you pray for don't forget the small things.

God Bless and Shalom

Paul

Just discovered another Artist, my eldest, Ashley is studying Art at GCSE and I happened to pick up one of the books, this is seriously 'phat' (is that the right word) stuff.

Does one's taste in Art change as you get older?

Dear All,

BEWARE ... GET THE BISCUIT TIN OUT AND A JUG OF COFFEE ON THE GO....

well I hope I've worked out the problem with the ntlworld accounts, but I'm giving their Indian call centre the benefit of the doubt, just for the last time. It would appear that you can send individual emails, but you can't group several on one email, so apologies to the ntlworld account users.

(19.11.05 just proved them wrong, the message I sent yesterday to Drina has come back with a delay, and sure enough, that will be followed with a failure - Oh how I hate that word)

Welcome to new readers; Philip Edwards in Auckland, NZ, yes folks Paul’s letter from the Patio Doors has gone international! I knew it would happen one day. I think we are just going have to be careful until we see how England do on Saturday (19th) against NZ, before we start… Okay...so we will forget that.

I have to say a big welcome to a very dear friend, who kept me sane and smiling whilst at the National in London, welcome Phillippa, she lives in the wildest parts of the Forest of Dean, sounds almost as distant as Auckland!.

From the Patio Doors:-

Just in case you have not been keeping up with my more lighter musings, which I post on the Blog site (www.akerman.blog.co.uk), I posted this one on the 18th, it was titled “Winter Health scare for Garden birds…….”

I've just thrown out for the birds what I thought was going to be such a treat for them on this cold Autumn morning (-5 degrees), some rather delicious looking 'Tesco Seasonal Mini Muffins', so okay they have a little mould......
Now I'm worried, should I be looking at the amount of; Salt, Sugar and Fat the birds are consuming, how does 6 grams of salt work out for a feathered friend. Oh hell, now I'm wondering if any of them are gluten free, what about egg.
Oh well, if any of them keel over and die, at least the cat will have fun, but then perhaps if the cat gets too much of a good thing.... Perhaps

The garden has really been a hive of entertainment, over the last few cold mornings, apart from the above, there has been my jolly little friend, the Jenny Wren, having battled with the frozen remains of the loaf of bread I made last week, the poor thing could hardly get a beak full of the loaf. Then the silly pigeons were having the same problem on the lawn, with some more bread, except they were kicking it around the lawn like a football, silly birds.

This morning (20th) I felt so sorry for the birds, at one point there must have been a dozen or so, scratting around where the bread was a few days ago, they seem to be waiting for me to throw out some more.

I've just been startled by pieces of moss dropping from above and landing by the Patio Doors, I thought "why get a builder in to clean the roof tiles and guttering, just wait for the birds to do it".

Thoughts from the warmer side of the aforementioned doors:-

I think I've found my theme for this letter, it's got to be WRITING.

What beautiful words John Newton wrote, when he penned Amazing Grace. I must have sung it hundreds of times, when I was in the church choir, and seen it written down, just as many. I've copied out the words below.

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
We have already come.
'Twas grace that brought us safe thus far,
And grace will lead us home.

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.

The last verse (above) in the popular version of the song was in fact not written by Newton but was added some years later by an unknown author. But here are two lesser-known verses by Newton:

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

And when this heart and flesh shall fail
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
A life of health and peace.

I heard this sung the other day on the radio, I had never really stopped and taken in the words, as much as on this occasion. It was been sung ackapela, so each word was accentuated even more. The whole hymn speaks words to me which I have never contemplated before, but I think lines three and four, 15 and 16, perhaps the most.

I know I keep going on about this thing called blogging, but I've been very surprised at the sort of people who 'log' down their daily thoughts, they put their thoughts, sometimes strong and sometimes light into WRITING. There is a priest who 'posts' his weekly sermon, there are also people who seem to spend more time on the blog than me, and I thought I was bad. I have found that by 'homing in' on one or two authors, I have learnt so much about my calling, and what God expects me to do.

If your connected to the web, could I recommend visiting (www.everyhomeachurch.co.uk). I've started reading this site, but due to concentration levels, it's a slow process. It was interesting whilst watching the 'Heaven and Earth show' this morning, Steve Chalk and Roy Hattersly were in discussion, (if that's the phrase), and Roy mentioned churches closing down, perhaps he ought to visit that site, the other name for it is, to quote the strap line...

Churchless Christian ... Talking with Organic Christians who have left the Institutional church and are rediscovering a New Testament faith.

I wanted to find a piece of writing, which has moved me in some way, so that I could share it with you, and came upon this piece (aish.com), sorry it's a bit long, but there is a lot to be said...

Writes Rabbi Pliskin:

I met a fellow whom I hadn't seen in over five years. The last time I had seen him he was pessimistic, negative, miserable and depressed. When we bumped into each other now he was smiling and his entire being radiated a sense of joy.

"How did you do it?" I asked him. "You look like an entirely different person. How did you develop the joy I see on you now?"

"When we spoke a number of years ago, you tried to influence me to become a more positive person. You suggested that I make a daily list of at least ten good things that happened to me that day," he said. "I argued that this wouldn't help me. It wasn't my fault that I was so unhappy. The root cause was that my parents were to blame. Nobody gave me what I needed to be a happy person. Others were to blame and I was angry at everyone I knew."

"About a year ago, I gave my entire spiel to a tough personal coach. He told me that I was choosing to be unhappy and miserable. I screamed at him, and told him that the way he was talking to me was just making me feel worse. I thought he would back down, like most people I intimidated with my anger. But to my surprise and shock, he spoke to me like no one had spoken to me before.

" 'You can go around blaming everyone else,' he said to me. 'But it's your own responsibility to make yourself happy in life. The more you blame others, the less you will do anything to change your pattern of thinking. It's your own pattern of thinking that's destroying your life. Stop it! Stop ruining your life! There's a lot of good in your life that you can be grateful for. Notice it and you will live a joyful life. Continue to willfully blind yourself, and you will be a miserable human being. It's up to you. I can try to help you develop a pattern of gratitude. But only you can do it for yourself. If you keep avoiding seeing what you can be grateful for, that's your decision, and that is what you will keep seeing: Nothing to be grateful for. But if right this moment you fully commit yourself to being a master at noticing what you can be grateful for, you will find things each and every day. Stop acting like an imbecile and start thinking like an intelligent human being.' This was said with such intensity that I was left speechless.

"I was furious at that person. I was looking for sympathy and I didn't get it. I felt awful. Then the next day I said to myself, I have to admit that he is right. I do notice what I focus on: negativity. Let's see what happens when I am utterly resolved to see what there is to be grateful for.

"The next day I noticed a number of things I could be grateful for. And the next day I noticed even more things. And then I noticed even more things. Somehow it was almost like I was living on an entirely different planet."

And now it is your decision ... whether to take the story to heart or to "hurry off as if nothing happened"!

During my prayer session the other morning I had the strangest of feeling, I don't know if it is appropriate to write about it or not. I had gone into a very quiet mindful state, visualizing the people I was praying for, whilst I was holding the rosary Emily bought me back from Menorca, I felt as if I was floating high above the bedroom carpet. I felt so at rest, but my mind felt like an open fibre optic telephone line, with messages rushing this way and that.

Did you know that:-

The Patron Saint of the Internet is Saint Isidore of Seville (feast day April 4th) and
The Patron Saint of Lost Keys! is Saint Zita and that
St. Francis de Sales, is the official patron saint of authors and journalists.

Medical:-

Still finding sleep very hard, I'm usually awake by 3am, either sat on the side of the bed exercising, or down stairs making a cup of tea and reading the Rugby Advertiser over again, well trying to. The Speech and Language Therapist has said to read small parts and hopefully my ability to concentrate should come back.

My GP put me on yet another muscle relaxing tablet, to see if it helps with the tension in the neck around the C6/C7 area, I still waiting.

The tremour has apparently been put down to Essential Tremour Syndrome, what ever that is, I'll have to do some hunting on the web.

This morning (20.11.05) I've came downstairs, anxious to jot down my thoughts, before I forgot them, only to find that my hands, head etc where shaking so bad that I could not hit the right keys, so away to take my tablets I went.

I have not been able to see my specialist at the clinic in Rugby for a couple of weeks, so I'm in need of an appointment with her on Monday (21st)

Joke:-

I hope you don't mind this joke, it's sort of blue-ish, but when I read it, it sort of gave my morning a 'kick start'

A cabbie picks up a nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the very handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her.
She asks him why he is staring He replies:
"I have a question to ask you, but I don't want to offend you"
She answers, "My son, you cannot offend me When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.
Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me." She responds,
"Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic." The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and Catholic!
OK" the nun says. "Pull into the next alley." The nun fulfils the cab
driver's fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.
"My dear child," said the nun, why are you crying?"
"Forgive me but I have sinned. I lied and I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish." The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Eric and I'm going to a Halloween party

Shalom & God Bless

Paul

I've just thrown out for the birds what I thought was going to be such a treat for them on this cold Autumn morning (-5 degrees), some rather delicous looking 'Tesco Seasonal Mini Muffins', so okay they have a little mold......

Now I'm worried, should I be looking at the amount of; Salt, Sugar and Fat the birds are consuming, how does 6 grams of salt work out for a feathered friend. Oh hell, now I'm wondering if any of them are gluten free, what about egg.

Oh well, if any of them keel over and die, at least the cat will have fun, but then perhaps if the cat gets too much of a good thing.... perhaps

The Daily Mail on Tuesday was offering 'Christmas' scented Hyacinths, but what I want to know is what does Christmas smell like? do their Hyacinth have a right to the Christmas scent?.

What do think of when you think of Christmas 'smells' with me it's;

Brandy Butter & Christmas Pudding
Over cooked sprouts
Boiled potatoes burning in the bottom of the pan
Bacon cooking first thing in the morning
Turkey, chipolatas, stuffing balls dripping in butter
Port
A tin of chocolates, opened for the first time

just a few, but if we had a flower which had the scent of the above, we would be heaving our guts all the way into the new year.

Could you live with that?

Greetings to all

Well I thought it was about time to stimulate the grey matter, and put a finger to the keyboard. First of all I would like to welcome Phillippa, who is a very very good friend from hospital, her sense of humour kept me going through those seven weeks, thanks to you mirror. Also Helen, a little closer to home, who used to be a governor with me at Bawnmore Infant.

What a pleasure it was to sit next to a friendly face on the bus the other day, thanks Betty.

Viewed from the Patio Doors:-

Wind, Wind, Wind and some more Wind, now its rain rain rain. Although the lawn has had it's final cut, I have a nagging feeling with all this rain, its going to grow and grow and need another final cut. Today is the 9th, and sure enough we have got sun, sun, sun and more sun so the grass is going to grow even more. I've got a feeling I should have gone for Astroturf!

Medical:

He, who shall be obeyed at Cov and Warwick'hospital, is referring me for speech therapy, pain management, chasing my EEG's from London. But, after mentioning the problems with my neck, which he already knows about and has got the MRI, he seems to want the pain management person to work on it. I felt so annoyed that the one thing I wanted him to do something positive about was almost 'put aside'

7/11/05 Not sleeping very well at all, I'm going to go back to my GP and see if she can do something alternative, was awake and up at 0430 ish this morning.

Thoughts from behind the Patio Doors:

Why do I always have problems sending messages to ntlworld accounts? Is it something about being an ntl 'phone customer myself?

On Sunday I was listening to Radio Four, as you do. They then went into an article which mentioned the 'D' word. I hate and detest the word disability, it is a very negative word, although the positive in it, is spoilt by 3 letters d, i, and s. David Blunkett's name came up a few times, and the PM's mention of David's contribution to British life.

He is not the only one who has to put up with his inabilities to do so many things, but we all know that when you loose one sense, one or more of your other senses is heightened. I'm reminded of another Radio Four programme "Does he take sugar", as someone, who has had to and still occasionally has to rely on a wheelchair, I have experienced this phrase, been said to my wife. Why is it assumed that once your in a chair, you are assumed to have lost the ability to understand, if my voice permits I usually interrupt, or Mel turns to me and says "Would you like to answer that one Love?"

As many of you will know, my father had Motor Neurone Disease, and although the patient suffers the loss of movement in their limbs and swallowing and speech reflex, the one thing which remains active, up to the minute they pass away, is their brain.

I would love to start a campaign to remove the 'd' word from the english language, there must be a more positive and kinder phrase to use, baring in mind that a lot of our friends, are far more intelligent that we are, start the list with Prof Stephen Hawking......

Steps down off his soap box .....

Isn't the ability to concentrate and comprehend a funny thing, back in February I plowed my way through 5 novels, okay, I had to read sections over and over again, and now I could not tell you what they were about. As I was talking to Betty on the bus the other day, I mentioned that I can't even finish one article in the Daily Mail, before my brain gives up, but the other thing I was not aware, until Betty mentioned it was that I'm not watching as much television as I used to. If I do start to watch something, I get up and go and do something else instead. This could be down to the rubbish which is on our screens at the moment, or more likely, I have lost interest, I can't concentrate on the programme.

A Joke:

In Jerusalem, an English female journalist heard about an old rabbi who visited the Wailing Wall to pray, twice a day, everyday, for a long, long time.

In an effort to check out the story, she goes to the holy site and there he is!

She watches the bearded old man at prayer--and after about 45 minutes, when he turns to leave, she approaches him for an interview.

"I'm Jane Collins from the BBC, sir, how long have you been coming to the Wailing Wall and praying?" For about 50 years, he informs her.

"50 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"

"I pray for peace between the Jews and the Arabs. I pray for all the hatred to stop and I pray for all our children to grow up in safety and friendship."

"And how do you feel, sir, after doing this for 50 years?"

"Like I'm talking to a brick wall."

I don't know if I have ever sent this one to you all, I must remember to print off a copy for Mel.

One evening a family brings their frail, elderly mother to a nursing home and leaves her, hoping she will be well cared for. The next morning, the nurses bathe her, feed her a tasty breakfast, and set her in a chair at a window overlooking a lovely flower garden. She seems okay, but after a while she slowly starts to lean over sideways in her chair.

Two attentive nurses immediately rush up to catch her and straighten her up. Again she seems okay, but after a while she starts to tilt to the other side. The nurses rush back and once more bring her back upright.

This goes on all morning. Later the family arrives to see how the old woman is adjusting to her new home.

"So Ma, how is it here? Are they treating you all right?" they ask.

"It's pretty nice," she replies, "except they won't let you fart."

Some Americanism's which annoy;

24/7
Skeduled
Awesome
Movies
(American Spell checkers)

Does anyone know any more, which would freeze my brain.

Whilst we are on language, does anyone know if there is a college course nearby which does a course in 'Teenageisms', I would love to understand what my three 'ickle' ones are talking about and why does it seem fashionable to leave the words "to" and "the" out of sentences. Ashley will always drop these two words, for; "I'm going up town" or "I'm going round Adams'" to which I reply, "Your'e going around Adam's what". My other favourite, which catches them out every time is "Can I use the 'phone", Paul replies; "What as"..... picky, am I not?

A Prayer to end with:

Gracious God,
You have called me to life
and gifted me in many ways.
Through Baptism You have sent me
to continue the mission of Jesus
by sharing my love with others.
Strengthen me to respond to
Your call each day.
Help me to become all You desire of me.
Inspire me to make a difference in
others' lives.
Lead me to choose the way of life
You have planned for me.
Open the hearts of all to listen
to Your call.
Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that
we may have listening hearts and
the courage to respond to You.
Enkindle in my heart
and the hearts of others the desire
to make the world a better place
by serving as
Lay Minister,Sister, Priest,
Brother or Deacon.
Amen.

Shalom and God Bless

Paul

Thoughts you might like the above, one more of Marc Chagall's works, I think this was his last, he was in his 90's.

“Sticks and Stones will hurt my bones, but names will never hurt me”

is wrong

Tell a child

Tell a child that they are;

Beautiful
Talented and skilful
Imaginative
Thoughtful
Kind
Loving
Giving
Reliable
A Credit to their Parents

And they WILL be.. (Will, be)

But tell a child, that they are;

Ugly
Will not amount to much
Stupid
Thick
Unimaginative
Thoughtless
Un-kind
Heartless
Selfish
Unreliable

And THAT is what they WILL BE ..... (That, will, be)

And they surely will be. For sure, in years to come, when they are parents they will remember the last set, not the first. Help future generations, tell a child the positives and society could change, through their children!

I was in hospital in London just before the bombs hit in July, and amongst all the neurological crap that the quacks have or have not discovered yet, is that I get, what I call "white knuckle rides" when things happen like; sitting with your back to the rest of the cafe, places with lots of people and as I have discovered this evening ... fireworks. Why can't they do the nice ahh quiet pretty things, just that.

So, I went upstairs and took a picture of next doors bonfire

Looks good, and I felt as if I had done my part by letting them have a load of old timber.

Sat down at Computer and signed on. First me thinks, a little light (not) music, to drown out the sound of the fireworks, so went onto the Tou'can choo website and set their "play that funky music" to play...very loud.

Found MickyD's blog site and especially the piece about silly sock fridays, what a darn fine idea, and thought his global war against the wearing of THE tie, even better. I have thrown all my ties out, except for the black one, you have to have one of those, just in case, but I would still wear the silly socks!!!

My daughter says I can wear silly socks, but not one from each pair, what wrong with that?

I can assure you there were trousers on!!!

Sat back down at the keyboard, to find out how everyone else out there in blogland were spending their bonfire night......

Ten minutes before I took this photo, three pidgeons were using it as a bird bath, infact, as you can see, it the trampoline, all cleaned and covered over for the winter. Just imagine the sight when it freezes over, we will have pidgeons bumping into each other, whilst doing a triple salco!

Dear Dear Dear Santa,

Please, I would like for my Christmas box this year, just one small thing, well a pair of them ........ ear plugs, and if I may......a set for my wife.

I have been a very good boy, I think, all year........well I've had no other option, and I've eaten all my brussel sprouts.

Please be very careful coming down the chimley this year, as we have had a new fire put in, I will leave your usually favourite and something for the reindeer, you should not get too much soot on your sack or a tickly nose, as the chimley has been swept.

Yours, most gratefully

Paul

Well, after posting the above, I thought I'd better explain, so I sent Santa another email, which went something like this.

Dear Jim sorry I mean Santa,

I do hope you got my last email, but I understand if you are a bit busy.

The ear plugs are required, because, our daughter has asked you for a drum kit, and our youngest son has asked you for a guitar (electric), their mother and I are expecting a fairly noisy holiday, so the ear plugs would come in very handy......but

Just had a thought Santa ....... could we have a bigger bedroom for our daughter..... because she only has enough space for perhaps one cymbal at the moment.... sorry cancel that request.

It has just been suggested by mother that we put them up in the attic, make a studio up there, she says. So I'm afraid the list is going to grow.

Please may I have;

Heat Insulation for the loft
Sound insulation for the loft, I'm thinking several thousand egg boxes should do it, minus eggs!
Extra Lighting for the loft
Some heating for the loft
Boxes to sort out all the children's toys from previous years
A bigger loft hatch to get the drums up there, plus a lock to go on the hatch.....
Some helpers to organise the tidying up of the aforementioned loft, 30 or so should do it.

and whilst I'm about it, just in case the egg boxes don't work, we had better make it a box of ear plugs, heavy duty ones, could our next door neighbours have a box or two as well?

We had better have something alcofrolic for mother and I, just in case the ear plugs don't work, I'll leave the selection of those beverages up to you.

Yours, very happy, 'if you could fix it for me'

Paul (aged 43 and 5 months)

It's amazing how things can grow; lists and children and parents desire for a quiet Christmas!

and to all a goodnight.....

Greetings All,

Warned and armed with a tin of biscuits and the coffee pot on the go, you probably need to split this one into several reads..... sorry

personal note; Andy, I hope your'e managing to get these emails to your Dad, and let the whole family know we are praying for you all, but especially Judy.

From the Patio Doors -

There is a poor little Jenny Wren, trying to sit on the fence at the moment, getting buffeted from side to side by the wind. No, she's gone. What do you call a male Jenny Wren?

I watched the gardener (that sounds P.O.S.H) cutting the lawn the other day, why do wasps, seem to hover around freshly mown grass?

It's that time of the year, where nothing seems to dry on the line, there is not enough sun, but if there is a bonus to this time of the year, we get the longest day of the year, no not the 21st June, although that is a very very very important day, but Sunday 30th October, we get 25 hours in the day, what am I going to do with a whole extra 60 minutes, I can't possibly let it go to waste! (30.10.05 at 0920hrs GMT; Sad to report, spent most of the night awake in pain, including my extra 60 minutes, not knowing what to do with my neck, so was my extra hour wasted?)

Medical -

I go to see my consultant in Coventry on the 2nd November, so although I've got a few questions I want/need to ask him, I'm going to have patience with him. My neck seems to be the main organic problem which is causing me most pain, so I will be asking him what he can do about good old C6/C7.

Ashley is on the mend, did I mention he had dislocated his shoulder, playing Rugby on the last day of term. He starts his physio on Monday, I reckon it was just a way of getting out of mowing the grass!.

Thomas has gone through the holiday, sustaining injury after injury, whilst trying to perform various 'mind blowing' acts on his skateboard ramp.

Thoughts from behind the Patio Door's, where it's nice and warm:

I was thinking the other day, that it was about time I started to put finger to keyboard, and let you all know what 'observing' I had been up to.

Usually I find it hard to find a theme, but for some reason, it was not hard to find one, this time, perhaps because, I had given it more thought than normal. I found a theme of FRIENDSHIP and PRAYER.

Friends mean a lot to me, I value them a lot, but I'm sure I'm not strange from that point of view. But there was a time, when getting to church was a lot harder, and the all to familiar faces, sat in pews, could not be bought to mind. But now, although my memory is not as sharpe as I would like it to be, I know that my family at St Marks have helped me, through prayer, and have sustained me over the last months.

I have a particular good friend, with whom, I understand I share a lot of similar health problems. She and I communicate, every other day or so, by email, and ask for small prayers, nothing too major, probably because we have, or are learning to accept our problems, and in accepting, are moving forward, and I would like to publicly thank her for her encouragement and inspiration for the emails I write, you know who you are.

As if by guidance, I was drawn to the following section from one of the sites I subscribe to, and guess what, it spoke to me about my theme. (aish.com)

Many people mistakenly feel that they should only pray for big things like medical emergencies. Not so. Prayer is about creating a relationship; it's about understanding and appreciating the source of all blessing. God is the loving parent who wants only good for us. Unlike a loving parent who has been ignored for decades, God will listen to us when we call out to Him. Why pray more often than for emergencies? It focuses us on recognizing from where comes our good and makes it easier to ask. Imagine the difficulties of asking your father or mother for help after not speaking with them for years... Personally, I pray for parking spaces.

A prayer has three components:

1. Praises of God. (He doesn't need our praises; it focuses us on Who we are talking to.)
2. Our requests.
3. Thanks.

It is the height of good manners to show appreciation. A short prayer might go something like:

"Almighty, Master of the Universe, Who has given me all good things, please help me find a parking space so that I do not keep these people waiting. Thank you for this and for all that you have given me."

It is not ridiculous to ask for God's help in small things. It builds the relationship with the Almighty and it brings awareness. Man proposes and God disposes. Everything that God does for us is for our good ... even when the answer to our prayer is "No!" Prayer focuses us on what we want out of life and what is good for us. Perhaps the following beautiful piece by A. Nonymous says it best:

I asked for strength, and
God gave difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom, and
God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity, and
God gave me brawn and brain to work.
I asked for courage, and
God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for love, and
God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors, and
God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted.
I received everything I needed.
My prayers were answered.

I can't pick one line or another from this piece, which means anymore to me, the whole thing speaks volumes to me, and I hope you find it inspiring to. It seems to sum up the last couple of years for me.

Since I had to give up my driving license, I've not even thought about praying for parking spaces, I just tend to annoy Melanie, by pointing theme out to her. But I do think it says a lot when it speaks of creating a relationship, and as I find that quiet moment each day to pray, I think about my prayer 'buddy' and ask for small things for her.

A lighter view - for a moment...... I got thinking the other day, that I find some pretty weird placing to pray, and wondered if you shared the same thoughts. In no particular order:-

Sat at the bottom of the stairs
Sat in the potting shed
Whilst in the smallest room of the house!
Watching a pan of water boil on the stove

No matter where I am, I thank the Good Lord, that I have good friends, whom I have known over many years, and some newer ones, and once more their faces come more readily to mind. I pray for small things for all of them and sometimes me. Prayer to me is about listening to my heart, where my friends and family are, listening to them, whether they are desperate for a parking space at Tesco or praying for good news from medical tests.

A Joke: thanks to (www.haruth.com)

Sorry, this is a long one, but I think my last one was too short one?

Zen Judaism
If there is no self,
whose arthritis is this?

Be here now.
Be someplace else later.
Is that so complicated?

Drink tea and nourish life.
With the first sip .. joy.
With the second ... satisfaction.
With the third, peace.
With the fourth, a danish.

Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.

Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health
or a life without problems.
What would you talk about?

The journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single "oy."

There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life, you never called,
you never wrote, you never visited.
And whose fault was that?

Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkes.

The Tao does not speak.
The Tao does not blame.
The Tao does not take sides.
The Tao has no expectations.
The Tao demands nothing of others.
The Tao is not Jewish.

Breathe in. Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment
will be the least of your problems.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud.
Let your stillness be as the wooded glen.
And sit up straight. You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded
shoulders.

Be patient and achieve all things.
Be impatient and achieve all things faster.

To Find the Buddha, look within.
Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.

Motorcycle maintenance, do the following:
get rid of the motorcycle.
What were you thinking?

Be aware of your body.
Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical
sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

The Torah says, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
The Buddha says there is no "self."
So, maybe you are off the hook.
The Buddha taught that one should practice loving kindness to all sentient
beings. Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being who happens
to be Jewish?

Though only your skin, sinews, and bones remain, though your blood and
flesh dry up and wither away, yet shall you meditate and not stir until you
have attained full Enlightenment.
But, first, a little nosh.

A Prayer to end with:

I'm sure, like me, you are listening to the radio to the rather disturbing news coming out of Iran and the responses our leaders are giving, and so I offer this prayer.

A Prayer for the Leaders of the Nations

O GOD our heavenly Father,
whose love sets no boundaries and whose strength is in service;
grant to the leaders of the nations
wisdom, courage and insight at this time of darkness and fear.
Give to all who exercise authority
determination to defend the principles of freedom, love and tolerance,
strength to protect and safeguard the innocent
and clarity of vision to guide the world into the paths of justice and peace.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Shalom and God Bless you all

Paul

This letter brings the total number of words I written, since the start of PLFTPD to about 28,000, but I got thinking, is there anyone out there who has got the letters I first started with, called; Paul's voice, or lack of it. These were all lost on my computer when we had the crash back in February?

Last night's sunset