Stating the Obvious

I was catching up on a backlog of  photos.
However, the only one I took on Sunday was of the flowers on the Table in church.
I had moved the candle behind the flowers hoping for an interesting effect.
However looking at the photo after I uploaded it on to my computer,
the flame is barely visible,
which was a tad disappointing.

Never mind I thought and uploaded the photo on to my online photo project.

Then I had a 'HORRIBLE THOUGHT.'
"Did the candle get blown out?"
If the candle remained alight
and the church burns down
I have just just uploaded the evidence implicating myself...


Me ( to Dear Husband)  - Silly question, I know, but did you blow the candle out in church on Sunday evening...?
Dear Husband - Yes, AND you watched me blow it out.
Me - I don't remember that.
Dear Husband - I got wax on my hand.
Me - Ah, yes! I DO remember that!
Dear Husband - For some strange reason the candle was BEHIND the flowers. 
I have no idea why.
Me (stating the obvious) - I wanted to take a photo...

We are very different.

May I have a word, Amazon?

Dear Amazon
As one of your favourite customers
I just thought I would drop you a line
to wish you a very happy birthday.

I would also like to take this opportunity
to raise a few tincy wincy points with you

Firstly, I use you because you are convenient.
However, I do so with a heavy heart,
because the reports of how you treat your workers
are not good
I do not want to be encourage Amazon
to think
that this is acceptable.
Claims on the BBC website reveal that you expect an item picked every eight seconds,
332 per hour for a 10 hour day. (GULP!)
Surely that is inhumane!?
Maybe you should get robots to do your picking...
Oh wait, Ocardo tried that and their packing warehouse went up in flames...
I bet that slowed down those super robots a bit!
I am the customer who gave up her favourite coffee because it was made by Nestle,
because I did not feel comfortable with their policies.
Be assured that I am not afraid to change my purchasing habits,
even if it requires sacrifice.

Secondly, Amazon, you save me time.
Don't get me wrong I really do appreciate that.
You save me the hassle of touring loads of shops
trying to some elsusive item that I have decided I require...
However, price isn't everything. I also want you to treat your employees well.
Add a £1 per item to the price - and give it to the order pickers.
I really won't mind!
It won't deter me from using you, in fact it may encourage me to!
It may also mean your employees don't have to work ten hour shifts,
which will benefit them and you,
as they will be fitter and fresher for their shifts.

Thirdly, I like the fact I can order goods on the Amazon site for another country
and I do not have to pay international carriage rates to get them delivered.
You can be a great blessing!

However, Amazon., you are 25 years old.
Stop. Taking. Advantage.
Pay. Your. Way.
Yes, pay taxes!
We all have to grow up sometime and become responsible members of our community.
If you could pay the money that you really should,
then we will have more nurses and teachers and Teaching Assistants
and people doing a thousand jobs and earning decent wages.
The benefit to you is that they would have more money to spend at Amazon.
I call this 'Trickle Up' economics.
(It probably has a proper name, but I do not know what it is.)
I gave it that name because it is the opposite
of the'Trickle Down' economic theory the rich advocate
 - which never works, because as the rich increase in wealth,
they find ways of avoiding paying tax!
Leaving the poor to pay a disproportionate percentage of their income to run the country.

In conclusion, Amazon, I hope you stick around for another 25 years,
but sort out the way you treat people and start contributing to the economy.
And we will all live happily ever after.
Daff.

Sunset Strip

Sheringham is made for sunsets.
Being more sheltered than Cromer,
and positioned slightly around the corner,
means that it is often less windy than its neighbour.

Sheringham also has the advantage of not having cliffs separating prom from town.
In Cromer, you have to physically decide to descend to beach level.
Whereas in Sheringham, wander throught a gap between some buildings
and suddenly you are there, facing the sea, stones, sand and sunset.

The sea front at Sheringham is also enhanced with various murals that the KHT likes to interact with.

We ambled along,
 pausing to sit here,
or stand and watch the silent retreat of the sun.
Left behind
by the world in its ever turning trajectory.





There is always something to take the attention.

As we wandered we noticed people perched
apparently in the perfect position
to watch the sunset -
on benches or walls they sat.
Some enjoying lively conversations -
eager to put the world to rights
before the last of the day is stolen away.
Others enjoy private silent contemplation,
seemingly at peace with the world.






We returned to the campsite to witness a large flock of birds
noisily descend upon the adjacent copse,
squawking and bickering in raucous tones,
like fractious children who have been cooped up too long.
Having shared their views, they fall silent.
Not bothered by getting the last word.
They have spoken and that is sufficient.

Birds can be wise.

Sunday Morning Surprise!

This morning we went to the morning service at the parish church in Cromer.
We had no idea where to park, so I googled 'parking for Cromer church'.
A link came up advising me that there was some street parking
and gave the name of the nearest municiple car park.
There may have been street parking normally,
but it was the weekend with the best weather so far this year
so the town was buzzing.
There was also some big cycle race in Norfolk on Sunday morning
which further limited the available street parking.
After finding ourselves in a dead end once more,
but this time adjacent to the cliff edge, rather than contained within a farm yard...
We then drove around the local streets several times
in ever increasing circles
before we admitted defeat and used the recommended car park.




The church was also buzzing.
Sun streamed through the plain glass windows.
I expected the church to be half empty
but we found ourselves sat in the side aisle.
If I was carrying out a mystery worshipper
I would have said that there was a good atmosphere of expectation before the service.
The music was led by a worship band,
who did there very best
despite some very challenging acoustics -
high celings and stone walls are not the best elements
for creating a good sound.

The service was led by a young clergyman
(I must be getting old when the clergy look young...).
The churchwarden began the service by announcing his appointment to lead the church for the next three years.
I understood he had been doing so on an informal basis.
The news was met with spontaneous applause from the congregation,
who were obviously delighted by this outcome.

I examined the leaflet we had picked up as we entered.
The speaker was listed as Roger Billings.
I remembered a Roger Billings from nearly 50 years ago,
but he was now a Rev and last I heard was living in Oxfordshire.
When he stood up to speak I recognised him straight away.
"I recognise him!" I said to DH.
"Well he does look familiar.." replied DH.
"He was one of the original leaders of Crusaders when I was ten! They moved away a year or so later."
After the service I greeted him
"Crusaders, Redditch 1971!"
A look of delight crossed his face.
We chatted for a while
and he asked after various people from that era.


Back then Roger and his wife Margaret were a young married couple,
who helped launch a Crusader group, in an attempt to stop those in the 10-18 age bracket drifting away from church.
I remembered his wife as having long dark hair and wearing a long purple cloak.
It was at a games evening at their house that I first discoverd the game "Tell Me" 
which required very little skill
other than thinking of something beginning with a certain letter of the Alphabet
on a nominated topic.

It was purely by chance that we ended up in Cromer,
and went to that particular church on a day when Roger was preaching.
If he had not been preaching I would never have known that he was in the congregation!
That was my Sunday morning surprise!