Monthly Archives: September 2010

The Traveller’s Rest- Rebuilding Babel.

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If you build it He will come.

When I first saw the film Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner it really spoke to me powerfully concerning building the church. A voice speaks to his character and asks him to build a baseball ground on his farmland in the middle of nowhere with the promise that if he builds it he will come. After much ridicule and misunderstanding and some specific instructions he finally builds the field and his father appears and visits him to play baseball, which in turn brings great healing. This resonated at the time concerning building the church to God’s specifications and then He would come and bring healing. This remains one of my favorite films of all time. But now as I stand in a new landscape that voice and that statement are meaning something different to me, and I am sure others. I realise what I was trying to build brought a small portion of blessing at times but never the presence that would release the fullness of Father’s healing. When I try and build something to touch the heavens I believe that I am actually entering into the spirit of Babel, and here they created something that brought God down, but he came as the great Shaker of all things, the great Scatterer, the great Confuser. The church is facing that character of God again. Only what is of Him will remain this time, we are told as such in the book of Hebrews. It is time to stop trying to rebuild Babel.

The church as Babel

The first thing we are told about the people of the day of Babel is that they had one language and one speech or lip. Uniformity. Clones. Everyone made the same, no creativity or fresh expressions. The whole atmosphere of church breeds uniformity. One creed. One set of beliefs, one set of actions, one church service structure. Every new convert is assimilated just like the Borg in Star Trek, to think the same, do the same. Anyone trying to be different is classed as rebellious. This links into Martin’s latest blogs about our thoughts. I think it is impossible to be in the system and not begin to think like the system. The church is like Babel. We are re-programmed and rebooted with the programme of church life and structure. That is why when new moves begin they soon end up becoming church because the magnet of Babel is strong. Man wants to create uniformity, and not a true unity of variety.

The people of Babel were past journeyers but they become dwellers. Many present denominations begin not as labelled commodities but as travellers. But sadly they all seem to be find a plain to dwell in. The label is then stuck on so we know what that brand looks and tastes like. I believe that as soon as a movement gets labelled it becomes Babel. The movement really dies. That is why I love about where we are, no one can pin it down or give us a name. Let us never take one on, but the name of Jesus.

Let us build a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens. They build upwards towards God. They want to create something that reaches the heavens. Church is about reaching the heavens. Getting people to heaven when they die, and touching the heavens through worship, song, prayer etc. We may not all have spires that reach up to heaven now but in spirit we are all creating spires. Better worship teams, greater prayer gatherings, powerful Bible studies, all touching the hem of His garment. God will inhabit the praises of His people. Sing better, get better results. If we build it He will come and manifest amongst us.

Let us make a name for ourselves. Be famous. The church has a massive cult of celebrity. I think we created this before the world did. Name speakers, musicians, worship leaders etc. The one’s building big churches that write books and have TV programmes so we can copy them and be as successful. Get on those conference posters. We were told this would be a nameless and faceless move of God. That He would not share His glory with another. Then we become the face that tells others about it. Maybe if we make it we have lost it. More people need to lose it to find it again.

Whole lotta shakin’

It is interesting to read what God says. Because the people are so much in uniformity they are powerful. Nothing will be impossible for them. They can do anything…without God. No dependence. No trust. No faith. So what is God’s response? To bring confusion and scattering. We have been told that God is not the author of confusion, but here He is. I love the paradox. He does it so man cannot understand each other, they need God. Dependant on something outside themselves. I know that feeling. I once spoke the church language but now I seem to speak a different language. I felt I could build anything, now I am confused. I have ceased building towers to reach the heavens. I need Him.

Babel translates the gate of God/god. I realise now it was my gate and not His. We start building a church but it will always end up an empire with a brand and a name. That spirit of babel is so strong. What we need is His Spirit. The Ruach. (to be continued).

(Which) eyes that see

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Short little blog – maybe I should try the old twitter, but never did get on with it, no disrespect for those who do!!

In conversation recently I found myself saying, that unless we are knowingly led by God to compromise by entering an institution, that we will first lose our sight, then be given eyes to see, the eyes of the institution. We will only see then (short of a miracle) with the eyes of the institution.

Short blog that needs a lot of expanding – just wanting to see how this one resonates.

A weekend

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We have just hosted a weekend here with people from Germany, England, Scotland and Mallorca present. 21 in total – a squeeze at times, but so profitable.

Some time ago we thought about the possibilities of occasional weekends here that would be helpful for those who were moving into new landscapes. Everyone present was, more or less on the same page, with similar stories to share. So this was not a conference nor a consultation, but simply gathering with the desire to help locate one another on the ‘map’.

To help we looked at ‘stages of faith’. I will blog on this in the near future, but when we have it translated into a few European languages. I think it proves so significant for many at this time that I do not want it in English first, but to put it together in the various languages all together at one time.

In this process there is a ‘wall’ that is hit, but we are convinced that the journey for new converts does not need to include such a wall as described.

We were able also to home in on the major issue facing us all at this time is being free of the spirit of religion. Not having answers is not a major problem – the one overarching priority is being free of religion.

So we moved from the personal – with such honest sharing, prayer and prophecy – to global issues such as trade routes and economics. An amazing time and one that we will reflect on deeply.

Gayle and I have been praying for the uncovering of those we need to connect with and have focused on certain nations, one of course being Spain. We found it most significant that the morning after the weekend at 7.30am we were greeting someone we had never met from Ibiza. I think we had a most profound day with her (thanks to Kate Walton, the ‘connector’, for making the connection for us). This is the year of things springing up.

Chapter 6

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Continuing the theme of cleansing pollution I look at the issue of the church (of course, I am using this term for the believers not in some formal institutional way) and being the means for cleansing.

The heart of it can be summed up with:

If the church abandons engagement with the city then:

  • the demonic will shape the city, and
  • the city will shape the church, and
  • the demonic will release into (earthly) power those who serve that agenda.

If the church engages the city then:

  • the demonic powers will be limited in their scope, and
  • the city’s spiritual atmosphere will be shaped by the church, and
  • there will be a release into power of those who serve Christ, or some of those in positions of power will find faith in Christ (the challenge will then be how they use their power and position of influence).

Download / read: Chapter 6.

Oh and finally in this post: happy birthday to all those born on 28 September, with 1981 being a good year.

Shaking Foundations

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Martin’s vision of buildings shaking as they opened and closed, stayed with me while I taught at the summer school for the Politecnico here in Piacenza. It was school of architecture but the project was really a landscape project. I was the only teacher trained in landscape so I waited to see what would happen. Early on it became clear that the architecture trained teachers and students had no idea how to approach this site. Some made movements toward it and were willing to experiment. Others were fixed firmly in what they knew, which in Italy means drawing lines on the paper and talking about strong lines and volumes that would be put on the site. That was precisely the wrong response for the site which involved the connection between the city and the River Po. None had any understanding of an alluvial ecosystem, or watershed or any other environmental issues.

There are a number of reasons why many of the people involved from students to teachers and critics struggled with this site but a couple stand out for me as important. As you read this think  that these are the people who design our cities, what they do, how they understand their task, and how they go about it is critically important to an increasingly urbanized world.

Architecture has been in a crisis for a long time. After the de-contextualized response of international modernism the profession quite naturally became stuck. It did not want to whole heartedly embrace contextual, environmental design because it believes that architects are the keepers of the aesthetics of the building and city and they must therefore stand strong for the aesthetic of the moment (architects are just like fashion designers, very prone to follow the herd though always under the guise of leading with something new and radical).  Here in Italy academia is also understood to be in crisis. I spent the last couple of weeks in the midst of this subdued panic.

So why the struggle:

1. The cultural belief, strong in Italy, that the city is artificial and separate from nature. This sets up an absolute and I would say false dichotomy between how we treat the ‘natural’ landscape and how we deal with the city, which in Italian culture does not really have a landscape. Hence though professionally here in Italy it is architects who design landscape, to be blunt, most of them don’t know what they are doing.  An ecological approach in or outside of the city is totally new to them. And much of what goes into landscape design is antithetical to architecture as it has been practiced.

2. The cultural tradition of architecture in this country means that much of what is done is premised upon finding an existing line in the urban space and then extending it out into the new site as a validation for the design. This gets ridiculous after awhile and all the non-Italian people involved were both baffled and annoyed. It is a cultural tradition of grounding everything in history (literally) and it paralyzes the Italians as a culture.

What happened was very interesting and I take it as hopeful. We had students from 18 countries involved.  Most of the teachers were from the Milan area but there were guest critics from Germany and Barcelona. Guest speakers came also from Germany and France. Students were exposed to all sorts of contradictory viewpoints. And so we struggled. There were 3 groups with 3 teams within each group.  I worked with the 3 teams within the group focused on the central and most intense part of the site. It seems within each group there was one team that could not get it together. They fought with each other. They fought with the teachers. The teachers could not figure out how to proceed. And in the end those 3 teams, one within each group, with those experiences won the competition judged by the guest critics, the city planners, and the professional architects association. It was the 3 least resolved proposals that won.

So I think something important happened here. In essence the absoluteness of architecture was shaken. As we went along it became clear that most people had no tools to address this site. They were stuck and by extension the students were stuck. The problems of the site are a type that many cities must deal with in the future and yet the toolbox of not only the students (all architecture) and the teaching architects was inadequate to the problems. And people recognized that. And that was important.

The selection of the 3 winners of the competition showed too that it is the struggle that counts right now rather than a clean resolution of the design. I think that is hopeful.  I had some great conversations with students about all of this. One came and sat with me during the final critiques and I shared Martin’s word with him under the guise of some new thinking by a friend. This fellow, a doctoral student from Spain (yes, Martin there were quite a few Spaniards there) was pretty excited about all of that. The idea that there is no need to confront the powers that be (very strong in Italian academia) but just to keep moving forward resonated with many students.

So it wasn’t always pretty though the buffet meals were great. And it wasn’t always easy but I think something got shaken loose in Piacenza last week.

C.

P.S. I know they are all still scratching their heads over my admonition that to design a good city is to design for the poor in terms of space and time. Tis true. More on that in the future.

Crossing the Red Sea

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A very interesting article on how a strong wind blowing could have caused the parting of the Red Sea / Sea of Reeds.

True or otherwise this explanation so accords with the biblical record where we read: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided (Exod. 14:21).

This supernatural event has a natural explanation. I hope that does not trouble people. Indeed in many cases when a ‘supernatural’ event does not have some measure of natural explanation it can raise questions. I remember talking to someone who had been very strongly involved in ‘Toronto’ and they had ditched a lot of their faith when someone said to them, ‘I have seen all this before in Hinduism, all the shaking, falling etc.’ My response was if it had not been seen before in other scenarios I would be more worried. The falling / shaking is a natural, not a supernatural response. The Spirit operates in the natural world – it is God’s world. Likewise I was told by someone into NLP that they had attended a practicioners’ conference and suddenly at the experiential level there was all sorts of manifestations just as they had personally encountered in the ‘Toronto-blessing’ type of situation.

Our options are that we can quickly label some situations as parodies or as a demonic copy. But theologically my perspective is that in these situations when the Holy Spirit comes in manifest ways there is also a natural physical reaction. The natural can be the sign of the presence of heaven, but when the ‘signs’ are not there this does not necessarily mean heaven is not present. Further, the term ‘manifestation’ Paul used in relation to the effect beyond the person not the effect on the person through whom the manifestation came. In recent weeks we have been reading Acts again. We so need manifestations through us, whatever happens to us in the process. So press in for the manifestations of God into the world.

Back to the Sea of Reeds. I love the dilemma: was this God or was it just an east wind (a freak of nature). It is back to ‘how do we interpret what is taking place?’ They interpreted the manifestation – and they also must have heard / felt the strong wind – as ‘this is God, let’s go…’

Faith. I choose to see many things as being from God. Can I prove it – no way.

another type of journey and the hearts of the fathers. . .

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I don’t want to upstage Paul and his journey but I just discovered this article on Huffington Post. Over the past few years I’ve heard all sorts of calls for ‘generational repentance’. But it was never clear to me what the older generation was repenting for especially as the results of our lifestyles was never mentioned (climate change and environmental desvastation). Here is an article that puts it well in terms of the new journey we are all on together. . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-hertsgaard/meet-generation-hot_b_737163.html

C.

The Traveller’s Rest- Having a ‘Nervous’ Breakdown (The Long and Winding Road Chapter)

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The Sequel.

After having the car inspected by the mechanic, and having the expert opinion that my gearbox had gone (I could have done that), the A.A. recovery vehicle was booked. Will be there to pick us up within the next couple of hours. That was about 10am. We sat outside reception with all our luggage, enjoying the rays, but looking like a long lost family. 12pm arrived and there was no sign, another phone call, will be with us by two o’clock. We sat and enjoyed our packed lunch and a drink and waited…and waited…and waited. I wish I could say I was just like Take That with a ‘little patience’, but with kids getting restless and Allison getting a bit miffed I just longed to be on the road. At about two minutes to two the A.A. man finally arrived…

A.A. Man 1

He loaded up the espace and then proceeded to get us on board only to ask if the A.A. had explained what was happening. He was nearing the end of his shift and could only get us to a services on the M5 just north of Exeter. There we would be transferred to another recovery vehicle. Oh well, at least we were moving at last. Found out this A.A. man only worked seasonally for the A.A. during the summer. He then drove for other companies over the winter. He was once an Asda driver that delivered to my shop in Tonypandy when it first opened! He then proceeded to ask what I did before. I told him I was a church minister, to which he replied ‘bloody hell.’That made me chuckle inside. He asked me about some of the things I did, obviously not having a clue about churchy stuff. He then broke down in tears and got invaded by the Holy Spirit there in the cab, giving his life to Jesus. Not really but that is what it would say in all the exciting testimonies. He just quickly changed the subject and we talked family and home life. About an hour and a half later we arrived at the services… no recovery vehicle waiting for us.

A.A. Man 2

They would be with us soon. Time for a coffee and cream cake. And we waited…and waited…and waited. About 2 hours later the recovery vehicle arrives. On we get again. As we start the journey the A.A. man says, ‘I am afraid I can only take you as far as Bristol because I am about to finish my shift.’ Aaaarggghhhh. Grace, amazing or not is starting to wane a bit. So the next stage begins. Another journey, another story. This man has worked for the A.A. for 38 years in virtually every department at some time or other. The call centre, sales and now recovery. He loves the road. He also loves diving, and soon he is off to Manilla in the Phillipines. I tell him I have a friend out there who works with homeless children. he gives us some advice about our long day.

If you see (c) inch by inch, it will all turn into a cinch.

All about taking in each moment and making the most of where you are. Many lessons being learned. If you are only focused on the destination you miss the connections of the journey itself. Too preoccupied to see God in the here and now. And too preoccupied to see people as people. This is the moment. Standing in the long now. He got us to Bristol and we enter the services to find nobody waiting again. Time for coffee number 2 and a few phone calls. By now Allison and the kids are losing the will to live, but slowly I am learning to see the things and people around me rather than being hassled.

A.A. Man 3

Another two hours later we are finally on the back of another truck. He tells us we are going all the way home. This lifts the spirit of the team Leader. On this final hour stretch we talk about family and then we turn our attention to journey. To his journeys every night. Always unpredictable, never know where he will end up or what type of jobs he will face. Destinations different every night. Such different people, a wealthy man whose Merc had broken down last night, me tonight with my Espace held together with duck tape. He loves the variety and unpredictability of it all. For those of us on journeys this really resonates. We have for too long been so preoccupied with getting to heaven that we miss the journey. We miss the heaven we live in now. We miss the daily opportunities and encounters. At 10pm this A.A. man finally drops us off on our doorstep. Talk about an incredible journey.

Journey tips

Be ready for inconvenience

Inconvenience brings encounter with others

Chillax (or stop worrying as the Boss preached-not Bruce, the Boss)

We so often want to get to destination as quick as possible, slow down

Cars are impersonal and stop encounters. Time to revive ‘shanks pony.’ (walking).

Everyone has a story

Their story may not mention Jesus by name but he is always there

Our conversations are to be enjoyed

And they are not with the purpose of getting repentance and talking Gospel, be the Gospel, to some that may be to just listen to them.

Unpredictable journeys are good.

Add your own lessons here…

 

Madrid

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Gayle and I had a few days in Madrid before travelling to the UK for some practical issues surrounding selling our house. Madrid: what a great city. One of our favourites. So open (in style), great architecture. Awesome.

A big thanks to José and Teresa for hosting us, and to Simon for giving us time and showing us round.

The video is a short clip on some of the issues surrounding spiritual mapping in Madrid. I am no expert but it is always interesting what can be seen even in a short visit. I actually filmed the journey in reverse! The first day we moved from the central square where all measurements in Spain begin. From there we walked to the Neptune fountain. At that point I thought there has to be an obelisk right here, and sure as we walked a few metres there was indeed an obelisk in behind some trees. Why the thought? Strangely – unless one’s theology of land is that it is shaped by history, and that imagery draws / holds spiritual powers – it is very common to find a ‘female’ shape and a corresponding ‘male’ in relationship. Add water and of course there is a further tie.

Once we moved from there I asked Simon if there was a mausoleum or something similar at the top of the hill in the park. If so there would be an alignment between the mausoleum, the neptune statue / obelisk and the central marking point for Spain. Sure enough… Also it is interesting that the neptune statue had been turned in recent times to face this central point.

Of course, for me this is all not just interesting but very significant, however as always it is the financial institutions and their profile that stands out in these cities.

[Not sure what the 'smoke' at the top of the building is - some kind of fault in the video... but I like it!!]

So we say – come on Europe shake yourself free.

Madrid from Martin Scott on Vimeo.

Follow up to dream

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I have appreciated the comments on the dream from a few days ago. Here are a few follow up thoughts. I hope this does not confuse things and again of course these are my perspectives.

1) A weakening of foundations:
The strong feeling I had when the façades (hey that was fun writing a little ç – makes me feel such a linguist and such a European!!!) swung out and up was of: ‘the buildings are so unstable, this is overbalancing them’. And then when things swung back it was back to ‘normal’ / ‘status quo’. However, I am convinced that these buildings opening up like this is destabilising the structures. This cannot keep on happening without a significant weakening of the foundations.

Recently I was talking to someone who said that they found that they were no longer addressing corporate issues but simply encouraging individuals. [Now although I will want to continue to address corporate scenarios] I think he is moving in the right direction. The critical phase we are in is that there has been such a shaking of structures and the effects are going to work themselves out, that a main emphasis has to be that of encouraging individuals. They have to find new space to express themselves and they will find themselves positioned ready. The in-between time can be tough. ‘Why are we here, what are we doing?’ type of questions. So encourage them. The glory is rising in and from the desert.

With the recent visit of the pope to the UK – and we bless God for any and all people who carry the spirit of humility – we are still reminded of the ‘flying’ dream of Gayle’s. Above Italy, to Rome to the Vatican. Shakings are present in the Vatican and will not go away. But this is simply symbolic of shakings that are much more widespread.

2) Double numbers:
Sometimes I think what is going on. We have been experiencing for the past few years the continual appearance of double numbers / repetitive / or mirror numbers. [Maybe we look at the clock and when it is not a double, repetitive or mirror number we do not register that, but it seems that well over half the time it is one of those scenarios.] The 4.44 – and one of the comments picked up on that number – is one that I have encountered recently. How do you interpret those? Well of course it could be coincidental, and it is well possible to read too much into it, but God is a God who communicates – the Hebrew Bible begins there. No argument for the existence of God, but that he speaks. And he communicates into our language. He speaks to us.

Often the numbers can lead us to Scripture. Bizarre cos the verse divisions don’t belong there but God uses what does not belong!! Or for me having encountered this number a number of weeks ago I have been trying to interpret the significance of the number in the light what happened. Hence my suggestion of an alignment that affects much more than what was seemingly affected. [4 generally speaking about creation, world-wide etc., from the four compass directions, the four winds etc.]

The 4.44 seemed to me to speak of things being aligned. Three times over looks pretty set, and with the number 4 so visible that it is going to affect something world-wide (even if that is just my world).

We are in a major period of time when structures are being impacted – hence I do expect a second economic crisis. Have things returned to normal / status quo. Sadly, so much has – but this is not permanent.

3) The familiar and the memory:
When a voice comes in a dream in that way I always take it very seriously. Seems it is the key to the interpretation of what is happening or how to respond. Sight and sound are often the shape we find in Revelation (the order can be reversed). Both go together but the latter seems to me to interpret the former.

Memory is the enemy of faith – so said a person of faith that has influenced me a lot. [Thank you Victor.] Memory relates to what has been and can also hold us there. The memory is something that is going to become a significant element in breaking through to the future. Memories are not stored in the brain, but in and throughout the body. Before I read that I found myself often praying for healing by commanding cells to lose the memory of the shock. Particularly, for example, into such things as broken bones that had not healed as a result of an accident. Once the shock goes, the memory is released and the healing can flow.

So memory pulls us back. The familiar releases again the same effect in the body… causing, dependent on one’s convictions: either peace to come back (we have all felt that), the dissatisfaction to go, the journey to cease, progress to stop.

There are biblical patterns of memory recall that can be seen in Jesus journey with his disciples, but the memory recall was to help them find a place of security for a new adventure, not to get them to go back to that stage.

In the dream it was familiar worship that had this effect, and it released structures back to what was ‘normal’, they swung back into place. This I believe is a major warning to us in this season. We have to be willing to let go off the familiar, be very uncomfortable for progress to be made.

Later this month I will blog on the stages of faith – I am looking for the set of blogs to be translated into a few European languages as I am sure that an understanding of this will be key. But in summary, what has impacted me as I have read on this is the significant barrier between the earlier and later stages. One of those barriers is the familiar. So priests of the familiar have to be so careful.

Hope I have not gone on too long…

The paralysis of hierarchy

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These past two weeks I have been teaching in the summer school in architecture here in Piacenza. It has been great to be back with students again. But I noticed amongst many of them a profound lack of understanding about the world they actually live in and the kind of design that demands in the future. So I have kept my eyes and ears open to figure out why.

I met a couple of critics from Barcelona and we got along quickly, chatting at meals while we waited for the school’s director to show up. That’s a key issue here. While the students could go directly to their buffet meal the faculty had to stand around and wait until the director breezed in (late) before we could rush to the table and satisfy our hunger. When you have been in studio for 6 hours that is not a happy wait. The couple observed that while in Spanish academia there has been an aggressive move away from hierarchy here in Italy it still rules. Yup, it very much does. This summer school is absolutely structured with  many hierarchical layers of directors, scientific committee, operating committee, studio leaders, teachers, tutors, guest speakers, guest critics, and even doctoral students hidden as secret leaders within the student studios. Phew. Trying to get through all that with a good idea is impossible.

So the international students rip through stuff. They are eager and hungry and ready to snap up something that offers hope and direction for future design. The Italian students look at me with blank faces (and no this is not a language issue) and tell me they must draw strong lines on the plan as an indication of the strong lines they would use in design. Of course this is meaningless. I tell them that is graphic design not architectural design, and ask if  that what they want me to judge them on.

Here’s the thing.  Italy is mired in many areas – the church, academia (the secular church), architecture, government etc in hierarchy. There is a strong vertical emphasis to the social structure. Such vertical structure  has been shown in research on cooporations and organizations to stifle innovation and creativity. So here in architectural academy we have a structure that directly counters what should be going on in the profession. (I, as the outsider, radical Canadian can get away with all sorts of challenges to the reigning conformity of thought!)

Everyone loves Italy. I love Italy. The people are incredibly friendly and have been good to me (with few exceptions really) but living here is like living in a dream world. Somedays that dreaminess feels heavy like slogging through a dense fog. It is this paralysis that comes from hierarchy, a rule that exists only to maintain the position of people as they advance up the ladder (or lose out). And of course once you are rewarded with a position in the hierarchy your job description is focused on maintaining it. At that point innovation and creativity are threats to be countered and avoided to the distress and very real loss of the next generation.

Some of my Italian friends despair of this. But generally it is seen as so overwhelming, so comprehensive a fact of life that one can only shrug their shoulders and say ‘this is Italy’. May this be the year of the Lord’s freedom here as nothing else can bring release.

C.

P.S. the new permesso has been approved. I had to run around to get a letter from a professor – who then got sick and had his computer stolen – bless him Lord, but then it was easy.

P.S. 2: my apartment issue is still a bit unresolved but I met a woman last night who would really like to move in after I leave. She is from Latin America, really struggling in her current situation. We hit it off but agreed that neither of us want to share a bedroom. She will return for conversations on sustainable design.

P.S.3: so the big unresolved issue is finances as of January when I will have the opportunity to finally lose some weight. Can’t hurt, though I do think the kitty will complain. c.

The Traveller’s Rest- Having a ‘Nervous’ Breakdown (The Kernow Chapter).

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Holidays and Holydays (or just a good vacation)

Have just returned from a few days holiday in Kernow (Cornwall to the non-Celts). A time to chill, enjoy family, read a good book, cancel the diet (again), walk, watch DVD’s (we watched the whole of the Lord of the Rings extended trilogy), breath some sea air and release the pressure of everyday life. We had an amazing time, but it was not one without incident. As my eldest son Joel said, nothing we do goes without incident. That is the type of family we seem to be, we do not attract the smooth life of some, we seem to be a magnet for unexpected adventure, or chore depending on your definition at the time. This incident was saved for the final 36 hours of our holiday…

Coastal routes…

On our final full day we decided to take a trip out to Port Isaac (Port Wen in the TV series Dr Martin). We took the coastal route, that turned out to be a bit hilly. Coming from the valleys in Wales that is nothing new but this time the cliffs and the sea beckoned on the right hand side. We had only gone a couple of miles when there was a strange sound from my gearbox as I tried to ascend the mountain. That sound was the moment my gearbox decided that was enough and gave up the ghost. All I could do was free-fall backwards onto the side of the road and sit there on that narrow roadway. The moment was twice the incident when we realised none of us could get a mobile phone signal to call the A.A. (for oversees readers that is not the Alcoholic’s Anonymous, although we may have felt like a drink then, it is our Automobile Association). At that moment a woman was putting her bin outside her gate, the only house around that we could see. This began a diary of people encounters;

The Dog Nurse

She gave us the good news we already knew that we would not get a mobile signal unless we walked half-way up the mountain. Looked like a good, steep walk. She then mentioned that a farmer may be able to pull us out with his tractor. We gave the polite thank-you and she went inside. I was just about to begin the walk up the hill and I thought the A.A. would take us home. We would lose a days holiday. What if the farmer would take us to the caravan site, we could worry about the car tomorrow. I went around to the ladies house and was invited inside. I was quickly surrounded by little dogs jumping up at me and barking loudly. She told me not to be afraid (easy to say when your trouser legs are not being pawed to death.) they were pretty friendly. Then she began to tell me that she looks after injured dogs and nurses them back to health. Some will go back to families, other’s she will keep. Some had been in road accidents and had disfigured faces, another was born blind, another had a broken leg, but she loved them to bits, despite their disfigurements. You could tell she was happy they were there, protection in such a vulnerable out of the way place, and they seemed so happy to be there, for life, for love, for care they were receiving. They did not have to be perfect, just there, present. Here was a parable and an angel of mercy right in-front of me, who just happened to be there when we broke down. Who just happened to know a farmer that could help us. I love coincidences and embrace them as God, as well as thinking, ‘weren’t we lucky?’ She then rang the farmer, who was happy to come and fetch us and tow us back those couple of miles.

The Cornish Farmer

We waited a while and then this tractor appeared on the brow of the hill. This aged man with his 50 year old tractor had lived here all his life. He had performed rescues on that hill over many years for many different vehicles. You would think he would think to himself, ‘bloody tourists’, but he could not have been friendlier or more helpful. He had a strategy that would tow us uphill and let us free-fall downhill. Listening through his accent I found out he had two sons that were as industrious as he was. That the magic of Cornwall had long gone out of his life, familiarity had obviously brought some contempt. Looked amazing in the sunshine, but he said the winters there were very bleak and too quiet. He got us back to the caravan park and then said that his father had once owned that site many years ago, that he worked there and that it had changed a bit. Here was a man that had lived much, see much, suffered much, but was still an angel willing to rescue those that invaded his land and got into trouble because they underestimated the route and environment. Always willing to help the foreigners. He got us back, now we could chill until the morning. Enjoyed some family time, some bingo (is that allowed?), a quiz (our family finished second) and a comedian doing the cabaret.

Then it was the evening and onto the morning of the 2nd day…

Local Mechanic

At 8:45am I called the A.A. They said they would send a local mechanic around to tell me what I already knew, that my gearbox had gone, but that is protocol for the A.A. After all who am I to give them an opinion when I am unqualified at mechanics? At 10am he appeared and after 3 minutes told me my gearbox had gone. I was shocked!!! He then contacted the A.A.and told them I needed a relay back to South Wales. They would be with us in about 2 hours. At the same time as he was giving me this news the family were emptying the caravan and our belongings were accumulating around outside reception. We looked like a family of refugees. We camped around a bench. Before the mechanic left he told me a great story, he said he was called out to his doctor more times than the doctor was called out to him. Last time he called the doctor for an appointment he said he had to wait two days to see him. The next time the doctor called him he jokingly said ‘I’ll be with you in two days…’ At least I think he was joking. He went and we settled in the sun for what we thought would be a two hour wait until we journeyed back to our valleys. Little did we know that this was just the beginning of a very long day…

The Sequel to follow on Thursday…