emeritablog

Continents Colliding

At Thingveillir the Eurasian and American land masses are drifting apart. At Peggy’s Cove on the South Shore, this poster claims that Nova Scotia was formed by two land masses, Avalon and Meguma, coming together. I do not know why they qualified as “continents”. On the journey, Gordon was telling me about a course inContinue reading “Continents Colliding”

Recharged

The device that I thought was a global charger turned out to be a mere adaptor, so I arrived in Halifax with all three batteries (iPad, Kindle and phone) running low. A trip to Betterbuy was called for, and Gordon took me there after church, where a friendly assistant led me to the right sectionContinue reading “Recharged”

Arrived in Reykjavik

Heathrow Terminal 2 (the Queen’s terminal) is much more pleasant and relaxing than Stansted. I said Morning Prayer in the Multifaith Prayer Room. Reykjavik was cold but sunny, and there was a beautiful rainbow as I walked from the bus station to the guesthouse. The “dorm bed” turned out to be one of twoContinue reading “Arrived in Reykjavik”

visiting card

In preparation for my journey, I ordered new visiting cards. The Gothenburg ones had a nice photo, but all the text apart from my name and email address was no longer accurate. Visiting cards are taken very seriously in Japan. Is the new design is a bit too frivolous?

Two weeks to take-off

Having sorted out flights, trains in USA and India, and accommodation, I turned my thoughts to packing. After trying two possibilities, I decided on the piggy-back rucksack, with main bag and day-pack zipped together when I have to carry both. Not much room for anything I may acquire on the way, unless I wear myContinue reading “Two weeks to take-off”

Julian of Norwich

In preparation for my visit to Norwich, I had downloaded a modernized version of Revelations of Divine Love onto my Kindle. I read much of it sitting in her cell in the church which is now named after her. There were eight larger-than-lifesize panels depicting some of the “showings” in the chapel at Ditchingham whereContinue reading “Julian of Norwich”

Edith Cavell Trail

After 4 days on the Norfolk Coast Path, I arrived in Norwich and discovered foot and cycle paths in honour of Edith Cavell. Since my stall as a canon was in her memory, I had to follow it! From her grave and memorials at Norwich Cathedral, I followed a main road out of town toContinue reading “Edith Cavell Trail”

Daffodil Labyrinth

Attended “Growing into Retirement” at Launde Abbey. The theme was liminality (the state of being betwixt and between, neither one thing nor the other) which fits in with my view of 2016 as a gap year. Beautiful surrounds, including this daffodil labyrinth. What will it look like when the daffodils are over?

Evolving Journey

The downside (or one of the drawbacks) of having booked flights in advance is that fresh information changes things. My cousin Gordon, whom I shall be visiting in Halifax Nova Scotia, has kindly offered to drive me to Boston along a coastal route, stopping off 3 nights on the way. Together with other considerations, thisContinue reading “Evolving Journey”

Spirituality for the Perplexed

Philip Sheldrake distinguishes four types of spirituality : ascetical, mystical, practical and prophetic. In Psalm 95 at Morning Prayer, modern liturgies sometimes stop at the words “O, that today you would listen to his voice!” In the ascetic tradition, this is a matter of discipline, focussing on God through religious practice. In the mystical tradition, listeningContinue reading “Spirituality for the Perplexed”