We start the year with Lola's birthday - 9 now and still very interested in the stage, going every week to Pauline Quirk's Academy.

April saw wedding of the year. Anita and Simon were joined together in their own church of St Mary Bethany in front of a delighted congregation. Lola and Hana were beautiful bridemaids with Max a good looking and attentive usher. Ian was Simon's best man. The sermon was preached by Mark, the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and an Assistant Priest at St Mary's. Paul was thrilled to officiate - so priviledged to play a part in the weddings of all four of our children. The whole service was streamed to Japan! The reception was at the Shepherds Hall in Pyrford. There is a small gallery which can be accessed here.

Paul still does Wisley Buggy but not very often

On Paul's birthday we went to the tulip festival at Pashley Manor - with David and Joan. Not quite the Dutch bulbfields but very good.

Eight days up and down the Douro in Portugal, starting at Oporto (Portuguese Porto) on the coast and reaching just into Spain, with a coach trip to Salamanca. We travelled with Emerald the sister/ daughter/ less expensive arm of Senic and so eight days without our own Butler. Difficult but manageable. See it all in the 2019 Douro gallery.

Then later in May we went to Lake Como

The picture of the lake was taken from the hotel breakfast room - rough having such an outlook every morning. The pier and the hotel - and other restaurants and shops, were at lake level but the rest of the town was up the cliff - far too steep for an ordinary path or road. Further pics in the gallery.

We continue to host family parties at Fosters. Wonderful. 15 of us each time. It could be 15 celebrations but some join together as in June when birthdays of Adie, Simon, Timothy and Phill are all almost within 3 weeks. It is a good time of year for the family photo. Adrian, who has recently gone all sort of athletic is proudly displaying some of his medals. Perhaps I can finish this years Journal with a shot of his full collection. (We are very happy to pander to all our children - after all we might need them one day.)

Venturing outside Europe - increasing the insurance for the old and decrepit - we had tried to go to HPB at Physkos in Turunc, Turkey. Problem is it gets booked so far ahead we couldn't get in. But we did. HPB has apartments for the disabled and if they have not been booked by 6 months ahead they are available for the other punters. I set an alarm in the diary and secured a booking. There is a gallery, just click here.
We took advantage of most of the excursions one of which was a long trip to Efe - which is the archaelogical site of Ephesus AD 1. It was amazing - especially its size. Calculated relevant to the amphitheatre the population is given as 225,000.

We always enjoy returning to St John's Egham where we hada very happy time of ministry. Our joy is tempered as all our visits now are to give thanks for a friend who has died. This time it was Mike Whitehead. In every way a wonderful craftsman. He made for Paul a casket for a travelling communion set, not only professionally finished on the outside but also beautifully upholstered in green baize over a number of sections on the inside. After a long and very painful illness during which time he continued to visit others, transport them to hospital, and run a hearing aid clinic, plus, plus, plus, he left Ruth behind, Ruth who has had ME for over 25 years. That's not all either - how some people suffer. And how they remain joyful and thankful, acknowledging God's blessing and always wishing to bless others.

Perhaps a family record. Having been with David and Joan earlier in the year we have now met with them again. Joan arranged a lunch to celebrate a batch of their birthdays - David, Julian, Philip, Matthew his son, and Debbie, Phillip's wife, all in the first part of November. His grandchildren, Jamie and Ben, natives of New Zealand, are both now working here and great granddaughers, including new baby, Amber, joined the party. Philip's Matthew at 14 years of age is 6ft and must be 14 stone.

Went to the Odeon at Guildford to see the live film of Noel Coward's Present Laughter. Full house and very enthusiastic although we didn't rave albeit very well acted. Ate at our favourite pub, Wetherspoons - only favourite because there is reliable and comparatively inexpensive food which is quite good enough for us served with little delay. Little delay that is until this day. Food is now ordered by phone from the table but it just never came. Figured out in the end that there was one more button on the order process that I had not pressed. Hit it and food arrived within 5 minutes. More impressively the drink was brought in less than one minute!

Finally finished the Brexit Election. Effervescent promises and half truths are polititians' stock in trade (though we will all tend in the same direction I guess). Now, however, in 2019 we have reached the state when it is frequent and blatant lies with no reserve and no embarrassment from Boris Johnson. And with no difficulty he carries the day. He's a bumbling but engaging speaker and undoutedly charismatic in the common use of that word. He consistently refused to be challenged during the campaign, declining to meet the more forensic interviewers. All gush but no detail. Regrettably, from our point of view, we will now come out of the EU. We have benefitted from no borders and 75 years of peace: surely worth whatever perceived disadvantages of what has been called an unelected and very expensive layer of bureaucracy on top of our own. Wait and see whether things improve for the 'common man', the Midlands and the North are more fairly integrated, Scotland stays in the Union, the number of food banks reduced and the housing situation improved over a fairly short term. Pray for him and pray that before long there will be a new and coherent iteration of Her Majesty's Opposition.

We've been to our little house in Blockley for 2 days in the past six months - perhaps longer than that. But - and this is indeed good news - many other people have stayed there. Indeed at least a dozen families - two having six members! Nearly all people working with Christian missions and most from North Africa, with the last one coming from Ukraine. Sadly we've never met any of them. Naturally things go wrong in the house but our guests have - as far as we saw when we visited - looked after it very well.

Betty and her family moved out of Fosters at the very end of last year and into the care of Surrey Childrens Services. It's not been at all easy for them and that is a gross understatement. They were housed in Travelodge or some such with no cooking and no laundry facilities. And they were moved 20 times in the next 10 months not as a policy but consequent upon officials following rules that make no sense when measured against the welfare of the family. Officials who were happy to spend an enormous amount of public money both housing and presistently reassessing the status of Betty and the Children for no evident purpose. After a great deal of moral pressure and legal threats the Council has moved them into a very pleasant 3 bedroom house with all facilities at a substantially reduced cost - and consequently to us, the taxpayer. During these ten months Betty has received a very high level of support from many members of The Good Shepherd, The Welcome Church, Christchurch, the New Life Church, Holy Trinity, the Lighthouse, Spring Harvest, and a number of other individuals and charities, not least of all the Marist Primary School which has been extremely helpful and generous in many, many ways and the Catholic Nursery which has taken Levi full time every day!

We have two anniversaries in December as we celebrate Stella's birthday first and then the Lord Jesus! Stella is now 8, growing up fast, bright and beautiful.

There aren't enough pics this year for a family gallery but the camera did come out at Christmas. Betty, Lois, Laura and Levi joined us, together with friend Matilda who was visiting from Canada. Melanie also brought and left one of her gingerbread houses. Eating it would introduce an unwarranted sugar spike in Paul but even if that was acceptable there is no one who is prepared to destroy such a wonderful piece of culinary engineering.

Just a little note about ourselves - to remind us where we were when we read this in days to come. Our health is pretty good, Pat still takes no pills and Paul (in spite of heart failure) still does School Assembly - Open the Book - and together we do Tots' Praise and the Coffee Shop. Paul does every other talk at Tots and jumps up and down during the action songs! Pat's memory is a bit on the blink - finding it very difficult to remember what was said just two minutes past. Longer term memory is fine. Pat still does all the house work (and wants to) and Paul does all the catering and most of the cooking. Paul's temper, with everything, is frequently quite short although this is only seen in the house at present. The short temper sometimes also becomes bad temper with Pat suffering the consequences. At morning prayers we give thanks for every previous day that has been calm and peacefull.

And so as we reach the end of the year and the end of the journal for this year we offer you, dear reader, a blessing for checking up on us and our good wishes for 2020 which will take us to our Diamond Wedding anniversary. Wow! Just how should we celebrate?

Adrian is still running and is threatening to move up to a half marathon next year. In the meantime he has been promised the final place in this year's journal to display his medal colection to date.