Quick visit to Belfast for the consecration of my old friend Alan Abernethy as Bishop of Connor. The Holy Spirit has done well this time. He has some very difficult stuff ahead of him. I think my scenery is better than his too! And, of course, I get to meet the old friends as in, ‘You’re looking really well … you haven’t got a Scottish accent … could you not do something about your hair …. a wee bit of weight?’ Meanwhile my major preoccupation in my various travels is to keep the E Mail going uninterrupted so that those who are not blog readers think that I have never been away. So I wage constant battle with other wifi’s and outgoing mail servers, etc. Perhaps episcopal ordination will bestow on Alan the ability to deal with all this.
Mark also arrived here this evening from Glasgow ready for the start of the 4 Peaks Challenge with a group of his physiotherapist friends in aid of the orphanage in Thailand where he worked before Christmas. Just in case anybody feels like a bit of hillwalking, this means that between Friday afternoon and Saturday night they will do ‘on the trot’ Slieve Donard, Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. Mad.