My Somerset Life

A diary by Brian Snellgrove

Dogs – OFCOM – strimmers – $154 bn child trafficking – our garden

Never Let It Be said that there is no variety in my life. I went along to the coffee morning at All Saints, Paulton which is every Tuesday morning between 10 and and 11.30.  Some very nice ladies provide cake, and serve tea and coffee. We can get up to 20 people on a good day. All are welcome.

  There were two dogs who spent some time barking at each other and then we were joined by a third dog. I am not a dog person so I basically sat there waiting for the barking to die down and the dogs did eventually settle. I accepted a coffee but did not have the cakes that had been made for the occasion because I don’t do sugar bombs at any time particularly in the morning. My body instantly reacts by rejecting the food.

During the coffee morning someone bought in a half dozen pepper plants. I took one (donation). They grow to about 2′ high and the same in width

One of the ladies who was serving the coffee has a son. He is a teacher in a secondary school in Frome run by a headmaster who has certain very unfortunate characteristics. He does very little himself and delegates all the work to the serfs (teachers).  Chris is a very willing person and as a result he’s been given the equivalent of three jobs. Apart from teaching, he is in charge of computer studies as well as being head or various departments. He was asked to take over the computer side and discovered that far from sticking to the curriculum, the pupils had spent all their time playing computer games.

He had to spend three weeks of his holiday reintroducing a proper curriculum and only yesterday he had an individual Ofsted inspection from 8:45 in the morning until about 2 p.m. How a meeting can go on for that long I have no idea.

Sounds like the whole thing was analyzed to death, no credit was given to him from having taken over a virtually moribund department, the fact that he has to spend evenings doing marking. I would not have put up with that for a single second. He is a nice bloke and keen to help so I guess this was seen as a weakness. It reminded me of the exploitation of a donkey that is given such a heavy load that it eventually it breaks it’s back under the strain.

I hope that he will eventually see what is happening to him. Teachers are going to be leaving in July at the end of this term because they’ve had enough and don’t see the situation as sustainable.

We also discussed holidays. Three of us had let our membership of the National Trust lapse because we were not using it enough. With entry prices coming on for 20 pounds you might as well by an annual membership but then you have to use the facilities quite a few times before you paid the same as the annual fee for two people. We thought that day breaks exploring the local country side was less stressful than flying anywhere. Short cruises were touted as an alternative.

I talked to George the church warden whose job is to clean the churchyard. We discussed strimming and strimmers. I wondered why the cords on my own strimmer were breaking at such a rate. George said that you should never use a diameter of less than 2.4mm. He also recommended a fuel called aspen2 which evidently prolongs the life of the strimmer and is better than just mixing ordinary petrol with oil. We discussed the state of the trees and how some were growing so much that they were causing neighboring stone walls to crack.

I put £23 worth of petrol in my car and the needle barely went above the quarter mark. I dread to think how much commercial travelers put in their car each week. If you do decent mileage in a large territory it can’t be less than £200

Francoise is making progress in our garden. There needs to be an emphasis on home grown chemical free produce and we are playing our part. She is washing the pots that were used to nurture young seeds. You will see a Buddha in the background. It is spotlit at night and gives me a feeling of security for some unknown reason.

A strange feeling of calm. Save Thursday evening I have a blank diary. I can do what I want when I want to do it. I shall do some reading. I wonder if my covid ‘duties’ are drawing to a conclusion. Most that can be said has been said.

…………………………… Video Library ………………………..

Here is a very brave man. How long will he be allowed to live?   He’s EXPOSING the human trafficking ring that brings in $154 Billion a Year

 

 



My Somerset Life

A diary by Brian Snellgrove

A salutary lesson for potential electric car buyers

https://rense.com/general97/ev.php

If that does not make you jump then nothing will. But I digress. How is this for a therapy?  Neurographic art. Watch this 5.46 minute demo.

This evening I had a ZOOM meeting with a group of Christian men from Frome. We heard about a delegate from a Gafcon conference in Africa and the schism in the Anglican Church caused by the blessing of same sex marriages.

GAFCON IV – The Kigali Commitment
21st April 2023

Greetings from Kigali, Rwanda, where the fourth Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) met from 17-21 April 2023, bringing together 1,302 delegates from 52 countries, including 315 bishops, 456 other clergy and 531 laity

My goodness if we are connected with the administration of our local church we have do decide who we follow. Are we for same sex relationships in marriage, or do we bless the people not the marriage, or do we shun it altogether. There is no middle point.

There were six of us on the ZOOM call, and with everyone wanting to speak that is about the maximum for participation. Imagine a group of six lively people sitting in a pub talking.   Everyone is going to want to say something. The larger the group the more its character changes. Everyone can use the Chat facility and make points not necessarily about the main issues being discussed. We end in silent prayer with someone giving an uttered prayer to finish.

Our next meeting will be a men’s breakfast on 20th May.

 

 



My Somerset Life

A diary by Brian Snellgrove

Another evening of blessedness

I have just come back from another evenings fellowship at the farm of Rob and Suz.  Mike, the co-ordinator of Vineyard in the Bath area was there giving a talk about the structure of the organisation and the way forward as they see it at the moment. At the end of the meeting we had a good chat and I was able to get to know him better.

I told him that in 10 years of being in Midsomer Norton I had not committed myself to such an extent as I had with Vineyard.  It is not so much what IS there but what it NOT there. I guess it is the structure of the church, the politics, the tradition and so forth.

I realise that I have quite a lot to contribute with regard to how organisations grow,  because I ran a social organisation, London Village, in the 70s  for seven years with about 4000 members. We retained control through a series of hubs which related to the postal district of London and surrounding areas. Through keeping the coordinators happy and  informed we were able to maintain order and harmony throughout the whole group. This was the days before the internet when everything had to be done by mail and telephone. The  members received a newsletter once per month. We had over 200 social events monthly with as many again off programme.

I reminded the Vineyard meeting that volunteers had to be looked after otherwise they would burn out, that Small Is Beautiful applies to some of the most successful family-based organiations but there comes a time when  structures have to change normally due to growth and I was reminded of cells in the human body. They cannot be bigger than a certain size and at a certain point they divide into two or more. I spoke about hairline cracks which is where people maintain a countenance but what are driven by  why differences that they do not bring to the surface and I said that hairline cracks were much more dangerous for the longevity of an organisation than obvious differences which were out in the open. Ventures work best if people serve rather than fight for power. As a notice in my father’s pulpit said ‘Sir, We would see Jesus’

Again, I seemed to be the only one jumping around and speaking though there were one or two other people who had something to say. There was a couple who had just come back from missionary work in Africa somewhere and there was someone else who had just returned from New Zealand ; she was in awe of the beautiful scenery. She was there for 5 weeks, just about enough time to visit the North and South Islands. Incidentally the total length of New Zealand is 1000 miles and yes you can drive all the way. She only arrived back 2 weeks ago so she witnessed the resignation of the beloved Jacinda.

What I like about such meetings irrespective of their averred purpose is the people you meet and the lives you encounter without expecting anything.

I gave a testimony about how I started to contribute to the organisation from the financial point of view. I decided to pay only what was comfortable and decided to give the equivalent of 1 glass of wine per week and then work up from there are. I hope that this was an encouragement to others to give because as I said previously the the cost of maintaining three Church Centres was over £100,000 and we must all take responsibility for this.

For some reason I was attracted to Mike’s description of the armour (of God) and weaponry of the Vineyard people. I felt that an image (updated perhaps) could come out of the diagram above which was drawn on a table cloth by the founder of the Vineyard in the USA. . I rashly said that next Monday I would have a work of art version that could be used to train and inspire people.

My stomach is functioning perfectly. Last night I had such pain that I could not sleep and had to be in the sitting room. I blame the loaf of bread we bought in Frome. Who knows what was in the flour. Roundup perhaps?



My Somerset Life

A diary by Brian Snellgrove

My attempt at a ‘day off’.

I decided to take the advice of my friend who told me to take a day off from time to time away from my responsibilities. So, there is no time like the present.

As it happens I had a number of reasons for visiting Frome, one of which was to see my acupuncturist for a treatment. Over the years I’ve been to see a number of therapists and I can say that the most important thing apart from competence is  a rapport between myself and them which of course needs to be mutual. I can say that this is the case with Martin, the acupuncturist in question, and me. We seem to be getting on very well and understanding of each other. I think it has to do with our common attitude, for example to Covid, and our attitude to reality in general.

My session was at 11:30. We parked in front of the the green and cheese community hall which is bang slap in the centre of Frome next to the car park. The Treatment Rooms are only a short distance away so while I went for my appointment Francoise walked around some of the shops and sampled some of the cultural life of this small town (28,600). It is a very cultural place with I believe has three theatres and one cinema.

We then went to visit the Rye bakery which is in a road adjacent to Frome station and was repeated to be very good. Upon entering we realized that this was a gummy establishment with a pain au raisins costing £3. A charge of £4 for a loaf seemed about right for the quality of the ingredients. Francoise bought a sourdough loaf with organic wheat made with traditional and heritage rye grains and we did indeed pay £4 for the privilege.

I don’t mind paying for quality but in this case we found that the inside of the loaf was sticky and under cooked, as we discovered when after returning home we cut a slice. I rang them to make a complaint but the answering machine said that ‘we are closed for Christmas and Boxing Day’ so I wrote to them suggesting that they might consider updating their message.

We then found a Caribbean street food cafe as referred to in my previous communication. The very cheerful man was cooking fresh Roti which is vegetarian.  The price was £6.50 and frankly I could not have finished it myself such was the quantity. Good to have fresh food. We sat around outside chatting to the other customers.

Nearby there was a machine selling pasteurized milk at £1.30 per liter so we bought a reusable bottle at £2 and then had a litre of milk.

We then returned to the car park and went up to see a new community type restaurant called the Good Heart where tea and coffee were offered free and meals were on offer. So far as I can understand it, you get meals (vegetarian) for nothing but if you can afford it you are asked to buy someone else’s meal which means you pay double price. So I would pay £13 including £6.50 towards the running of the place and of course subsidizing the poor.

I’m not sure about this model. I do not think it would work everywhere so I will go back to talk to one of the organisers, a very nice lady called Bridget. I would have captured her on the spot but she was just on her way out after what was obviously a long morning

We sat next to a chap whose name I did not get who came from Stoke-on-Trent. They are called Stokies. He appeared to be homeless and without employment. When we spoke to him about 2pm he had not had breakfast. When the food was bought to him he gobbled it down in a way that makes my fast eating look slow. We exchanged a few simple words. I will write about this cafe later when I’ve had a chance to speak to Bridget but it is a very interesting model.

If I were going to do the same in my own town I would offer free tea and coffee but also a donation for food. There are many reasons why people cannot pay to fill their stomachs. One is that they have literally no money especially towards the end of the month, another is that they cannot fend for themselves for various reasons. I remember when I was in India, free food was offered to anyone who lived within a certain radius of temple, cannot  remember which religion it was (maybe Sikh) but I remember being very impressed.

So I know this was supposed to be my day off and I ended up by doing lots of things but it did feel like a rest day . It makes an enormous difference if my stomach is giving trouble or if it is not. Yesterday was a bad day because I over ate in the morning and I suffered from it until 4 a.m. this morning. Once I go off balance, all hell gets loose .

Today there was a rapid temperature rise going up from 1 degree C to 11 degree C so all the snow had melted. I was quite happy to go home where upon we had a lunch consisting of warmed up food, Food is often tasting better when it has rested for a while. I then switched on my computer for the first time today to maintain my sites and write this diary.

Frome has other offerings of a social nature.



My Somerset Life

A diary by Brian Snellgrove

A Place where trust is the guideline – Rockaway Park

We were going to visit Bradford-upon-Avon to visit the weekly market but it did not seem quite right. The weather was perfect but a little cold. I had recently received a newsletter from the wonderful  Michelle at Rockaway Park. If anyone has not been there and lives in Somerset then you dont know what you are missing. Long story short.  It was a quarry. It is now a centre for alternative living and the arts. Have a look at the February newsletter on this page.

We arrived at about 1pm to find that the cafe is only open at weekends. Friday between 12.30 and 1.30, Saturday between 12 and 2pm and Sundays between 12 and 3pm (for a roast vegetarian lunch). We found Michelle in her office and we decided to sit out in the sun and chat.

We talked about newsletters in general and the mistakes people make when mailing others including not checking that the links work. It was a jolly conversation. I love talking to people on the same wavelength. It is so effortless and I find myself being inspired to say all sorts of things that I did not ‘know. Well, it is ‘inspiration’ not expiration’.

We then went to the self service lunch in the cafe. We were the only people there.   There was a bar area where food that could be microwaved, plus tea, coffee and cakes. We had one main meal between us and two slices of almond cake.  Food made with love definitely tastes different There was no one to pay but an honesty box. The key was in the box and in there was about £50 of notes and cash. I paid my dues and took the change.

We then went for a walk around the various workshops including one where Vim was making bespoke knives with high quality steel.  He only learned to do this when he found himself bored during lockdown. At the end of the room was an amazing sculpture. (See below).  If you like this type of work then  do pay a visit BS39 5BU or visit website link above. It is open 7 dayss and free of charge to enter.

This is from the large hall where there are an incredible variety of weird objects. You would have to travel a long distance to find an art gallery as daring as this one.

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To home then to Frome for my acupuncture appointment. In the way I visited a new bakery called ‘Rye Bread’ which has a good reputation although new. It is in a row of shops in the station car park. I arrived after it was closed but made a mental note to return.

There was also a Caribbean Street food outlet situated in a converted transport container. The people were offering a good lunch snack for £5, and then an evening meal for slightly more. I LOVED it. It reminds me of Brixton in London, a haven for restaurants from many countries. I made a mental note to change my next acupuncture appointment to nearer lunch time so I could sample the food.

A very rich day with a wonderful sunset. I felt very ‘down’ this morning what with my problem with my stomach but felt much more spirited after my appointment.  It is nice to be treated by someone with whom you are in harmony.