2013

Well the world didn't end in December and we survived Christmas too, so happy new year!

As a bonus treat Lizzie and I went to Glasgow twice and were there over 3 months. Go figure that out*! At the end of November we were up for a wedding where Lizzie was a bridesmaid so were returned in December and Lizzie had short notice annual leave so we were able to pop up for the new year. 

There was lots happening in the gap between our trips to Glasgow with a Church Christmas party, which went really well and plenty of friends and neighbours came along. Another great time was the Sunday before Christmas, which now seems ages ago, when the children and youth in the church put on sketches during the morning service and the toddlers sang some carols. Impact did a sketch covering key events in the Old Testament as seen through the eyes of some angels, up until they were called off to sing to some shepherds in Bethlehem's fields. 

Carys and I wrote the sketch and despite some illness on the day it worked very well. Christmas wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't for the rest of the Bible and that was what we were trying to show in the sketch. A big thank you to all those who took part and we hope our ill performers made a quick recovery.  

We had a very modern Nativity play with Mary being a single parent, our Joseph was also ill. Coincidently the infant school had an ill Mary and they worked round this by dressing Joseph up as Mary. He was very convincing until they took the hood off to reveal an almighty scowl. I'm sure he'll remember his role as Mary for the rest of his life, just as one of the girls in Impact always remembers, rather resentfully, being the donkey at her school when she was 5. To make matters worse I did a de-constructing Christmas quiz with them, think QI  with Christmas questions. We have a great way of dressing up Christmas to be very sanitized, warm and, magical, although for the cynics out there make that commercial. I'm sure it was anything but. The main thing that upset her was learning there was no donkey in the story and she had therefore crawled around on the stage with Mary on her back for no reason. Christmas is gritty and grimy. Think about it - a young girl giving birth in an animal storage area. It's anything but sanitary. However, Christmas is about Jesus coming into the world as one of us. The pagans used to celebrate the passing of the winter solstice round about Christmas. When Christian missionaries came along instead of abolishing the practice the changed it into a Christian festival. No longer was it about the coming of spring with lighter nights, it was now about the coming of the Light of the World, and the new life available in Christ. Besides nobody knows Jesus actual birthday - it could well be the 25th of December.

Up until the 1950s Christmas was not a public holiday in Scotland, something to do with Catholic superstition, so the new year was the big celebration up there. Now they have two big celebrations. It was great surprising family members who didn't know we were up. My brother in law, David, opened the door, jaw dropped then said "What are you doing here?" Charming. It was great being able to see so many family members whilst being up there and do things with them. We went to see the Hobbit with Lizzie's parents and my youngest sister, and we spent Hogmanay with some friends before going to my other sisters. We partook of the traditional viewing of Only an Excuse? a satirical look at the past 12 months in the mad world of Scottish football.
I can only wonder at what's in store for 2013 in my own mad world.
*For those struggling to work this out: Visit 1: November/December
Visit 2: December/January (albeit very briefly)
PS I wrote this ages ago and only discovered I never posted it! Doh!