Mike's musings

Retreat

(backposting) I spent much of the morning tracking down the original CDs for the music I want at my first Eucharist: Byrd 4-part Mass, Ley's setting of the Prayer of King Henry VI ("Domine, Iesu Christe") and, if we get the time, a couple of Purcell motets. Also, writing the directions for Jim, who'll be in charge of it all.

Trying all that out, packing and doing a little tidying around the house took me up to setting off to Pleshey for the pre-ordination retreat. I was, by a few minutes, the first to arrive, and set off on an 80+ minute walk, using AFTrack to record where I went, ready to transfer the details to Openstreetmap at some point. I got pretty badly stung by nettles, but it was worth it: I walked 6 miles or so, I think, through beautiful countryside. Towards the end, a young fox walked out onto the path in front of me, downwind, and followed it for a few metres before crossing into the undergrowth to the side. Just something to treasure.

And so to the retreat. Good to get together with some good friends again, and, as usual, the "silent" bit of the retreat is somewhat relaxed down at the pub. Time to rest, get into the right frame of mind, and ready ourselves for Sunday.

Labels: rest, walk

Essay

I'll start tomorrow. That's the deal. Moo and Joo are off to stay with Kate and Mac, and I'll have around 24 hours to do it. That should be enough. I've got half a clue as to what I'm going to say, and I'll wing it from there on in. I only need to do one other for this weekend, and that's done and dusted: it needs a cover sheet and printing, and that's all.

I'm still on holiday (only spent around an hour and a half on the phone or doing emails for work today), but don't feel very rested. Feeling guilty about the fact that I'm half looking forward to a few nights away on work which will allow me to get some sleep. At least I've avoided a 5 day work trip to DisneyWorld Florida next week. No, really.

Labels: essay, rest, work