Welcome Caleb!

Congratulation Jenny, Brendan, Ethan and Liam on your new family member!
We wish we were there with you guys. xxx

You can turn the oven off now please!

Yes, you see correctly—the hot weather continues. It's been 6 weeks of heatwave and water shortages in the south of the country. And just to rub the mentholatum a little more into that open wound, is the fact that we live directly under the bright orange square that screams 37.
37 Degrees, that is. Remember, this is meant to be England-the land of woollen tea cosies and sensible weatherproofs...

We REALLLLLLY hope that it cools down a little next week as that is when the church is running a 4-day Holiday "camp" in the village pavilion/rec ground/marooned pirate ship. We are sure that 61 small children and sunstroke will not be the best combination! (But we don't want rain either because that's just too dreadful to even contemplate...)

Meanwhile we soldier on, placing orders for the nearly 100 t-shirts needed for kids, leaders and the helpers, sewing pirate costumes (have you got it that it's a Pirate theme, or did you think we had just lost it?), printing indemnity forms (!) designing activity sheets, asking for lots of help in thinking up games to play, and a WHOLE lot of other stuff that would be impossible to even consider without the help of a dedicated group of people who desire for the primary-aged kids in the village and environs to know about the God who made them and who wants them to know Him.

For our friends who know that God hears the prayers of His people, would you please remember the Holiday Camp. Things like safety, continued enthusiasm and positive responses from the kids and their parents are a great and much welcomed start.

Where are we again?

It's all a bit bewildering.

We live in England, further away from the equator than we have ever done and yet it is, well, hot. It has been hot, it is currently hot and the forecast is for continued 'hot'.

Our lush green, green grass has become familiarly brown and crunchy.
We have rushed to the shops and purchased shorts and tees (because we chucked them, in a seriously unwise move, upon upon leaving Sydney).
We need to purchase a fan, because English houses are designed to keep the heat IN.
There's continuous sport on the t.v.
We have attended barbeques in back gardens well into the night, our ice tray is getting a good workout and we have smothered ourselves in suncream because our pasty bodies are burning.

Remind us again, where are we?


Today's weather for the SE England...and this will be the coolest day of the week.