This is a day to celebrate local institutions. We had breakfast at the ” Fat Boyz cafe” at Gravel Hill, Seldson, Croydon. Traditional menu, well cooked up market from the greasy spoon model, lots of local faithful customers, a waitress who is business like and with whom you do not mess.

We saw a man and his son eating breakfast. The son was being very difficult about his food, he must have been about 4 years of age. The father says that his child ‘only eats chips and porridge’. Without being judgmental, I was reflecting on how this situation could have arisen. Did he not have the discipline? Was this a single parent who chose the way of least resistance? Will this child grow out of it? It was not the right opportunity to discuss this with the child there but it did leave a lot of questions hanging in the air.

We arrived home at 5:30 and at six o’clock went to see a friend of my sister’s called Carol. She was with her nephew Ben and daughter Lucy. This was a privilege to meet a family where so much was going on. Her husband, who I was told by my sister was not in the best of health had passed a few months before, but you could never tell that from the demeanor of Carol who was bright and sparkling and had a brightly burning flame within her.

Ben is a ‘motorcycle enthusiast’ to put it mildly. He had toured Europe and Scandinavia and now plans to ride from UK to Sydney. He was sparkling with optimism and a ‘can do’ attitude which I found so exciting. Talk about feet on the ground and head in the clouds.

Carol said she was not religious, if that is the case then non-religion has to be congratulated. She had clearly rejected a version of Christianity, possibly the Old Testament version, that I have also largely rejected. We did not have time to develop this conversation. Interestingly, her brother lives in Frome so maybe if she comes to from we can meet her.

Back home for a carrots soup with cheese, bread and fruit concluded a very interesting day with lots happening on the human side.