Seagull watching and preserving the day off.

 

We found the sea yesterday! While the storm clouds and rain were beginning to draw across the UK, we remained damp free and so the Rector@6 and I, plus two dogs, headed for the coast. It was a rare half day with no appointments for the Rector. I had spent the morning riding out while the Rector squeezed in a wedding planning appointment. It can be so difficult to arrange a suitable time to see both the prospective bride and groom together if one lives away - hence the appointment on a Bank Holiday. 

Preserving the day off must be a skill and we do not have it yet. So often there is an invitation or a meeting that turns up on the Rector@6's day off and, while some can be turned down, others are too important to miss in these early days. These are the chances to meet with people who want to discuss their ideas and plans for the church and groups that want to develop further, what they are already doing. These are the people who are putting their heads above the parapets and saying they want to be involved and in order to 'catch that fire', we miss out on our day off as the dates are too difficult to rearrange. 'Change your day off' I hear you say - and we do try to take other time off. Note to Rector@6 - we must try harder to plan and preserve a church free day!

Yesterday afternoon was wonderful. It took us four weeks to find our way out of our valley, six weeks to make it to the nearest city and only fourteen weeks to discover the coast! Dorset is known for its amazing Jurassic coastline and we scrambled across the boulders, looking for fossils and other treasures. Tess, our six-month pup, had never seen the sea or beach before and it was lovely to watch her sticking close to our older collie - even following him into the sea for a dip. Eventually she just sat in the clear afternoon sunlight and watched the sea lapping onto the beach and the seagulls circling overhead. We took our lead from her and The Rector@6 and I had a very relaxing afternoon.