Elizabeth's induction

Our lovely minister Elizabeth left our church at the beginning of June to go and take up a post as minister of three churches in Dorset. Today was her induction service at one of her new churches and a group of us from church went along to wish her well, plus a couple of people from the church she was at before she came to our church which was really nice to see. Her new churches have been minister-less for two years so are very pleased to have her on board. Hopefully we won’t be minister-less for quite that long!

Waiting for the weekend

Ah Friday – the weekend is almost here! Not that this usually makes much difference with my job – I’m on call six days a week, which usually includes weekends but I have a day off the pager tomorrow and so I feel like I can justify winding down a little to the weekend. Weekends are usually a little more relaxing anyway – I tend to book in fewer visits and don’t feel guilty for not going in to the office if I have some space in my day. Hopefully Michael won’t have to work either and we can spend some time together!

The ebb and flow of everyday life

Every so often, I find myself back on the emotional rollercoaster again. Fortunately over recent months, the peaks and troughs have become more manageable. I think it has partly been helped by a shift in my attitude towards them – I’m much more inclined to treat them as part of the normal ebb and flow of daily life rather than plunging into the depths of despair and assuming that everything is wrong just because I’ve had a bad day. I’m learning to take a step back, take a deep breath, pray and then respond rather than just react to the situation.

The Storyteller

Went to see the tap show ‘The Storyteller’ this evening and really enjoyed it – whilst the acting and Irish and American accents were decidedly shaky at times, the choreography and dancing as usual were excellent, very slick and sharp and everyone on stage was enthusiastic and animated throughout. Unfortunately there were a few hitches – the constant low-level feedback coming through the sound system was somewhat irritating and there was an awkward moment lasting a couple of minutes when the wrong track was played and the stage remained empty. Overall though, a fabulous show as always – well done to everyone involved.

Musical Masquerade - review

It’s always nice to get a good review of a show and the review of Musical Masquerade was pretty positive from start to finish – in fact, there was only one negative comment in it which was sandwiched in between two positive comments and so passed almost unnoticed. I’m feeling very chuffed after reading the review – I’m mentioned twice – the trio I sang in is described as “a particularly beautiful blending of voices” and then later on I’m singled out again with my solo number getting a mention. This is definitely one review that will be going in my shows scrapbook!

Introduces babies Seren & Sian...

In my family, we seem to celebrate the arrival of a new baby reasonably frequently (most years see the arrival of at least one new baby but it’s still an exciting event when it happens all the same!) Today saw the arrival of the first new babies in Michael’s family for 31 years (since his birth, in fact) when Michael’s cousin Clare gave birth to twins Seren Niamh (weighing in at 5lb 3oz) and Sian Ciara (weighing in at 6lb 9oz) this afternoon. We haven’t met the new arrivals yet but hopefully will do so in the next few days.

Open house

Every summer, we have a series of Open Houses at church which are usually in the evenings or after the Sunday service. This afternoon it was Brian & Rosemary’s turn to open their house to everyone at church for lunch and an optional swim in their pool – as usual Michael and I were the only two to go for the swim! Over the last few years, we’ve always to dash straight off to rehearsal after lunch though. It made a nice change this year to be able to have a swim and still have time to chat to people afterwards.

Musical Masquerade - last night

Another show has come to an end. The last night went reasonably well – in fact, considering how completely under-prepared the company was two weeks ago, the entire show has gone reasonably well. The best moment of last night’s show had to be in the last number ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat’ when Bryan came on in drag much to the surprise of most of the cast (it is the way the number should have been done normally but we were performing it in T-shirts and jeans rather than in proper costumes). Not sure what the director made of it though!

... and relax!

Show week + final creative assignment deadline = potentially stressful situation. Fortunately, it hasn’t been as stressful as I thought it might be. Being away on holiday last week and having a break from everything including assignment-writing really helped. Plus, I’ve found myself procrastinating a lot less and actually sitting down and writing which makes a nice change. I’ve written my short story and submitted it this morning. It is such a relief to be able to completely relax and not have to try and write in between show numbers! Plus I can do craft projects again without feeling guilty!

Unexpected call out

There I was relaxing in the pub with friends, having a couple of drinks after opening night (sadly non-alcoholic as I was driving) thinking that overall the show had gone reasonably well, when my phone rang. I’m on holiday this week which means I don’t get called out, or so I thought. It turned out to be Michael, working on an event in central London, but having left a crucial piece of equipment back at the office which he needed ASAP. Sigh. It seems I can’t completely escape being called out at night even when I’m not actually at work!