Rock Band

Walking along the prom here in the sun this afternoon, I came across an unusual art form.

I`ve seen sand art before on the beach before,where characters and scenes are made totally of sand.  But I`d  not come across Stone Art, until today.  (Click on the pictures to see them larger)

There, on our beach is a rock band with audience, all made of beach pebbles.  They are not stuck or cemented together, but just cleverly stacked and their natural shapes, markings and colourings giving inspiration to the young man to build these works of art.

The drummer....

...the pianist...

;
Talking with the young man doing these, we discovered that he`s homeless, but has been walking all round the coast of the country doing these works of stone art, starting at Brighton, going up the West Coast of Englad, all round the coast of Scotland and is now coming down the East Coast. He is aiming to raise money from this and from writing a book about it, to help other homeless people.  To read more about this chap, click here 

It will certainly make me look more carefully at the pebbles when I walk on the beach and realise they are all individual - just like us!

The last farewell

 Yes, our shop closed for good last Sunday, and the last couple of days the staff have been empyting shelves, loading goods into huge cages, which now stand in the deserted shop awaiting transport to other branches.


I`ve just come back from a little farewell do that our "boss" kindly had for the staff,  including a fish & chip supper, gathered together in the middle of the stop.  Memories of times and people were laughinghly shared, and then.... it was all over and we left to go our separate ways.   Ok, I know that in a town like this we will still come across one another from time to time, but I`m feeling sad at the moment on having walked out of there for the last time, after over forty-one years, and more so in a sense the loss of a “family”,  we`ve always been there for each other, through good times and bad.

Rules for Hymn Singing

I`ve just discovered something I didn`t know.

No, I`m not saying that I know everything, far, far from it.

But, looking at details of the new hymn book to be produced for the Methodist Church later this year I was just surprised to find that John Wesley had written a set of rules for people for singing hymns.  

Rules that particularly caught my eye were: -

3. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a single degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing. 

4. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, then when you sung the songs of Satan. 

5. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound. 

7. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven. 



The full list of rules can be found and read here

I think it would be good if they printed the list in the hymn book when it`s published.   Wonder if they will?

Mystery parcel

On entering our Church on Friday morning, I found on the table there a smallish brown parcel box, and on the top of it was written my name.

Full of curiosity I opened it, and inside was a book.   I was mystified.   I hadn`t ordered any books.  Maybe it was meant for our church Christian Bookstall I thought.  So I looked again at the top of the outer box, no, it was clearly hand written addressed to me care of the church, I could see that the original postage label had been removed and my details written, so it must be for me.  

It wasn`t my birthday, nor any other occasion of link that I could think of.  I continued to puzzle over it.  Looking at the cover of the book I saw the words "World Book Night 2011".   I pondered, who had left this for me or had it been left for me to do something with.  I tried to recognise the writing on the box, but couldn`t pin point it to any for certain, and I couldn`t see anything else with it to give me a clue.

Taking the box and book "Half of a Yellow Sun" home with me, I took the book out again and opened it, and the mystery was solved! - there inside the first pages of the book was a note from the kind person who had left it for me.

I`d heard about World Book Day and World Book night, but had never imagained that living here in Norfolk I would be part of it to receive a book (big events and things seldom seem to happen outside of cities).  So it really "made my day", and especially as the person who had left it for me, is my blogger friend from Finland.

Thank you Lorna.

How to use bread crusts!!

I`m on holiday this week.  I`ve not gone away anywhere (lots of problems if I do that), but am having a week off of work at home and having time to do what I want to do.

Finding some spare bread crusts in the bread bin - Yes, I know I sould eat the end crusts of a loaf, but I don`t very often - I decided to take them for a ride with me along the coast to where there are some wildfowl on a stretch of water.

They enjoyed the crusts far more than I would have!!

Then along came these little furry creatures to eat the crumbs left......

.... I guess they are probably rats - but they had such cute sweet faces I just had to take a picture of them!