Robin's Bloggin's

May the road rise to meet you; May the wind always be at your back; May the sun shine warm upon your fields; May the rain fall soft upon your face;  and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Amen. The beautiful words of the Gaelic Blessing, spoken by the congregation at yesterday evening's service at Salisbury District Hospital chapel to send Kim on her way after her wonderful 16 years of ministry there. The warmth, love and fellowship was really moving.  Surrounded by the family of Chaplains and Chaplaincy volunteers, past and present, supporters and friends, Frances, supported by the whole magnificent team, led a service that was stirring, humorous, uplifting and completely fitting for Kim's departure. People's kind words made me feel very proud of my lovely wife, the work that she has done, and the impact that she has had.  I'm deeply aware of the magnificent work that the Chaplaincy does at the hospital in supporting so very many...

The last few days have been quite surreal. The febrile 24 hour rolling news machine has been focused on our lovely sleepy little home city of Salisbury. The generic news frenzy is something that we all take for granted these days as part of everyday life. A terrorist attack in Hamburg, a sex scandal in LA, indiscriminate bombing in Syria, famine in Africa, natural disaster in Asia, warming ice caps in Antarctica - the look and feel, and dare I say hype, of the media presentation is much the same. I fear that we all become a little blind to the true awfulness of each crisis. However, the past few days of media coverage have centred on our familiar home patch. The restaurant where Kim and I occasionally have pasta; the pub where we sometimes go for drinks; the park bench that we walk right past most weekends, right outside the shop where Kates used to work on Saturdays; the hospital where Kim works. All now familiar sights to the gorping world.  I drove through Salisbury this...

My first serious ride for a very long while. A very fresh but beautifully sunny morning with a crisp easterly wind.  I rode down along the Woodford Valley to West Amesbury, then back to Upper Woodford, up the long hill to the A360, down to Stoford and Great Wishford, then along to Wylye, back to Wilton and home via Cathedral Close. A cracking ride on a lovely day. Everything seems to be working alright, and I used pedal cleats for the first time since my knee op, with no problems thankfully. Ulysses on the Bridge at Upper Woodford  Sting’s Place The Long Hill From Middle Woodford to the A360 The Long Hill Down to Stoford Cathedral Close in all its Glory

Dancing lesson with Zoe💃🏻, then an enjoyable lunch in Salisbury. It’s such a nice place to live, especially on sunny, crisp winter days.