Saturday, 4 January 2014
Lihou
Friday, 3 January 2014
Book review: A December Bride. Because it's December, it's Christmas holidays and it's switch off and read read read time.
I was delighted to get a copy of this little novella to review from Booksneeze - for free! Thank you! I had already read Barefoot Summer, a full length novel in the Chapel Springs romance series, so it was delightful to become reacquainted with some of the characters.
'A December Bride' starts off in time-honoured fashion with a hero (introduced only as 'Murphy', though we soon find out his Christian name is actually Seth) who the heroine, Layla, is antagonistic towards. Then there is a problem - who will be Layla's date at a wedding; and an even bigger problem: the wedding is of an ex-boyfriend who, it seems, she hasn't quite got over. Throw in some misunderstandings (not least, that Seth publicly announces his and Layla's engagement - without her agreement), nasty remarks from the woman who stole the ex-boyfriend and the heroine's striving to change career and you have all the ingredients for a fun read.
And I'm really not giving anything away when I say that the reader knows how it will all end - happily ever after - but just as happily skips through the twists and turns, the acid conversations, the embarassing situations and the romantic encounters to arrive at the ending. Great fun.
This is the first in the 'A Year of Weddings' series by a range of contemporary authors, including Rachel Hauck of 'Once Upon a Prince' and 'The Wedding Dress', both of which were delightful. Denise Hunter is now firmly established in my mind as a similar 'go to' author. Thanks for the introduction, Booksneeze!
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Pollards seasonal review for 2013
I love writing a yearly letter to friends near and far. Not just for the opportunity to reconnect with dear friends, reflecting on the privilege of having so many scattered around the world as a result of their - and our - frequent moves; but also for the opportunity to look back on a busy time full of blessings...It's fun to have a theme, too. Last year it was films; this year, the seasons...
Winter. After a wonderful family time together, Cat returned to summer in New Zealand and her work at Christians Against Poverty. Jonny went back to Norwich, with Adele, who visited after Christmas. Guernsey saw more snow than it had in decades. Accompanied by gales and airport closure, the snow brought down 5 trees in our garden. Firewood for a few years...
Winter. After a wonderful family time together, Cat returned to summer in New Zealand and her work at Christians Against Poverty. Jonny went back to Norwich, with Adele, who visited after Christmas. Guernsey saw more snow than it had in decades. Accompanied by gales and airport closure, the snow brought down 5 trees in our garden. Firewood for a few years...
Spring. A breath of fresh air brought reunions – both planned and completely
unexpected. Family: and many friends from recent and
distant past. Richard was grounded from flying for medical reasons. He has been
holding the fort very efficiently since then.
Summer. Sunny conditions all round. Adele’s parents,
Phil and Judy, came to stay. Adele and Jonny got engaged! We journeyed to
Middle Earth to see Cat and also went to Sydney to meet up with dear
friends...only 20 years or so since we had last met. Read the blog for all the detail!
Autumn. Jonny started a PGCE course to
become a primary teacher. An Indian summer brought Byron and Lisa from Africa: 28
years of friendship.
Seasons of change. We have hope in
our hearts and our eyes on the future. We look to JESUS, the reason for THIS
season. Happy Christmas!
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Lovely nativities...
I just love the 'made with and by children' nativity films from St Paul's Anglican church in Auckland. St Paul's make these films 'based on a true story'.
This is the latest:
and here is another:
Find them all here.
This is the latest:
and here is another:
Find them all here.
Christmas. Unexpected.
It is the 24th December.
Out last-minute Christmas shopping,which sounds stressy, but wasn't.
On my return, I found THIS on my doorstep.
No card. No name. No one to thank.
Completely anonymous. Completely unexpected. Completely wonderful.
So delightful. I can't stop smiling for the joy.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Imagining Christmas...
Sharing this wonderful post below from A Deeper Story: "Jesus doesn't fix anything."
"in a manger
still and obscure
hidden beneath a star shone bright
swaddled in ancient words and found by foreign men
bruised heal before lungs even drew
a quiet night diseasing evil forever
after all, bruised beats broken
and that’s what the angels were singing
to shepherds, to wise, to whored and to falsely whole
we swallow brokenness like the drugs keeping us afloat
our heads nod in restlessness and the receiving
our hearts return us to the well to see the seer
and so this is Christmas
all white in the absence of snow
our hearts pushed in, and we know
the bruises beat the broken
holy night, hushed and aglow
promise’s arrival to a heavy handed world
time a refugee in the camp Grace swallowed
the Virgin knows what mothers do not:
how to hold the King of Angels
O, come let us adore him, Christ, the Lord
Christmas comes earlier once again. Sales announce the season and joy fills
our hearts. It seems as though more of Christmas is lost in commercialism each
year. The story, faded into well balanced nativity sets sold for shelves and
lawns grows more native in an adapted knowing that Christ came so we spread good
will and cheer.
But look at the night. Jesus doesn’t fix anything. In fact, things get worse; a lot worse. The king of the moment feels threatened at the report of foreign wise men arrived to see the foretold promise under a star. So the king commands all babies under the age of two be found and murdered. The people of the foretold promise bleeding again under the tyrannical rule of other men. I’d say things worsened.
We’ve heard the story book-ended by Christmas and Easter unfold – the child grew. The story builds anticipation as some realize the Promise arrived in a manger, grew into a man, touched people like God. He gathered the bruised and buried the broken. And then the story reaches climax with his public, gory death – worsened once again. A strong shift of circumstance happens in Jesus’ resurrection, and then, a sort of to be continued hangs as those closest to him watch him ascend into the heavens.
And here we are. Holders of the promise awaiting God’s glorious arrival, as a people once did. So much of our world is broken; our very lives broken, too.
What if Jesus comes hushed again, undetected in our world obsessed with its own healing, demanding all must be whole before all can be all right?
Jesus doesn’t fix anything. He comes.
Into the worst conditions, among a family gone amok, through the unchangeable circumstance of death and all the more that can go wrong, Jesus comes right into the middle where you are and abides.
And so, this is Christmas, this is Advent, this is promise and this is Jesus. O, come let us adore him and belong to a Savior come and not a known cure."
"in a manger
still and obscure
hidden beneath a star shone bright
swaddled in ancient words and found by foreign men
bruised heal before lungs even drew
a quiet night diseasing evil forever
after all, bruised beats broken
and that’s what the angels were singing
to shepherds, to wise, to whored and to falsely whole
we swallow brokenness like the drugs keeping us afloat
our heads nod in restlessness and the receiving
our hearts return us to the well to see the seer
and so this is Christmas
all white in the absence of snow
our hearts pushed in, and we know
the bruises beat the broken
holy night, hushed and aglow
promise’s arrival to a heavy handed world
time a refugee in the camp Grace swallowed
the Virgin knows what mothers do not:
how to hold the King of Angels
O, come let us adore him, Christ, the Lord
But look at the night. Jesus doesn’t fix anything. In fact, things get worse; a lot worse. The king of the moment feels threatened at the report of foreign wise men arrived to see the foretold promise under a star. So the king commands all babies under the age of two be found and murdered. The people of the foretold promise bleeding again under the tyrannical rule of other men. I’d say things worsened.
We’ve heard the story book-ended by Christmas and Easter unfold – the child grew. The story builds anticipation as some realize the Promise arrived in a manger, grew into a man, touched people like God. He gathered the bruised and buried the broken. And then the story reaches climax with his public, gory death – worsened once again. A strong shift of circumstance happens in Jesus’ resurrection, and then, a sort of to be continued hangs as those closest to him watch him ascend into the heavens.
And here we are. Holders of the promise awaiting God’s glorious arrival, as a people once did. So much of our world is broken; our very lives broken, too.
What if Jesus comes hushed again, undetected in our world obsessed with its own healing, demanding all must be whole before all can be all right?
Jesus doesn’t fix anything. He comes.
Into the worst conditions, among a family gone amok, through the unchangeable circumstance of death and all the more that can go wrong, Jesus comes right into the middle where you are and abides.
And so, this is Christmas, this is Advent, this is promise and this is Jesus. O, come let us adore him and belong to a Savior come and not a known cure."
Sunday, 1 December 2013
Only in Guernsey
I won’t mock our local paper. It does an admirable job, particularly when it relies on the news from a population of only 60,000 and is produced every day except for Sunday. The Saturday edition even has a pull-out supplement. Likewise, local radio stations keep us well up to date with what is happening.
So, a little snapshot of recent news. A story of triumph and tragedy from Alderney, the northernmost of the Channel Islands and only 7 miles from France. With a population of 2000 and an area of 3 square miles, it is known for its status as a former German prisoner-of-war camp and, more recently, a small airport which offers ‘interesting’ landings. Not the easiest of destinations for the Trislander pilots flying for the local airline Aurigny. (Yes, we have a local airline as well as a paper and radio station. And various other ‘local’ institutions too.)
The story was of a wild boar, dubbed the ‘ghost pig’ as it was only glimpsed at dusk, which had mysteriously appeared on the island. It was first seen visiting a pig farm and became something of a celebrity as it was conjectured that it must have swum the rough seas from Normandy, where wild boar are common. Sadly, it was not long before it disappeared: it had, apparently, been shot by someone concerned that it might be carrying disease. I wonder, though. How do we know for sure that this is what happened? Pork roast dinner, anyone?
Following on from this sad story was one which was a prominent feature of a radio news bulletin. SOMEONE – and, it was openly stated, someone from off island because it couldn’t possibly have been someone local – SOMEONE had been stealing the bronze caps off the pipes which enable the domestic cess pits to be emptied. The ‘poo trucks’ – a.k.a. The States of Guernsey Sewage Services lorries – whizz round the island in the early hours of the day, unscrewing the caps, connecting hoses and emptying said cess pits for the benefit and convenience of householders. The theft was so alarming that the radio interviewed a representative from the Guernsey Border Agency to find out whether they had discovered the stolen property illegally being smuggled off the island...
Of course, there is so much other news as well. Last year, several of the garden gnomes who live happily on a rocky outcrop in the north of the island were kidnapped. Rumours abounded that the Environment Department were responsible as the gnomes were considered to be an eyesore by some residents. Surely the Housing Department should also have been involved as the gnomes were, technically, squatters and did not have housing licences. However, such was the outcry that they were, happily, returned – by the police, who thought they had been stolen from neighbouring gardens...
A few years ago Santa crash-landed in a pond and got himself into all kinds of trouble with local government. Not least, for making an unscheduled landing.
Fortunately, this didn’t put him off visiting Guernsey and he arrived yesterday, by lifeboat, to turn on the Christmas lights in town. There is no end to the work that poor man has...he’s coming back on Friday, by fire engine, to turn lights on in the north of the island...
Can't wait for the next news item of interest.
The story was of a wild boar, dubbed the ‘ghost pig’ as it was only glimpsed at dusk, which had mysteriously appeared on the island. It was first seen visiting a pig farm and became something of a celebrity as it was conjectured that it must have swum the rough seas from Normandy, where wild boar are common. Sadly, it was not long before it disappeared: it had, apparently, been shot by someone concerned that it might be carrying disease. I wonder, though. How do we know for sure that this is what happened? Pork roast dinner, anyone?
Following on from this sad story was one which was a prominent feature of a radio news bulletin. SOMEONE – and, it was openly stated, someone from off island because it couldn’t possibly have been someone local – SOMEONE had been stealing the bronze caps off the pipes which enable the domestic cess pits to be emptied. The ‘poo trucks’ – a.k.a. The States of Guernsey Sewage Services lorries – whizz round the island in the early hours of the day, unscrewing the caps, connecting hoses and emptying said cess pits for the benefit and convenience of householders. The theft was so alarming that the radio interviewed a representative from the Guernsey Border Agency to find out whether they had discovered the stolen property illegally being smuggled off the island...
Of course, there is so much other news as well. Last year, several of the garden gnomes who live happily on a rocky outcrop in the north of the island were kidnapped. Rumours abounded that the Environment Department were responsible as the gnomes were considered to be an eyesore by some residents. Surely the Housing Department should also have been involved as the gnomes were, technically, squatters and did not have housing licences. However, such was the outcry that they were, happily, returned – by the police, who thought they had been stolen from neighbouring gardens...
A few years ago Santa crash-landed in a pond and got himself into all kinds of trouble with local government. Not least, for making an unscheduled landing.
Fortunately, this didn’t put him off visiting Guernsey and he arrived yesterday, by lifeboat, to turn on the Christmas lights in town. There is no end to the work that poor man has...he’s coming back on Friday, by fire engine, to turn lights on in the north of the island...
Can't wait for the next news item of interest.
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