My six months in the UK has come to an end, and on Saturday January 7, I left Gatwick Airport and flew to Taiwan on Turkish Airlines, via Istanbul. A delay meant I was stuck in Istanbul Airport for 7 hours overnight, but hey, it wasn’t too bad – and I arrived safe and sound in Taipei on Sunday evening about 10 pm. Thanks for all your prayers and concern for my journey. This is Saturday night coming into land at Istanbul…
In Taiwan, the good news is that the plum blossom is out in Taipei, always the iconic first sign of spring, and it’s beautiful ~ and with Chinese New Year coming this weekend, so it fills everyone with hope that spring is on its way at last.
Taipei is famous for its never-ending rain, it’s usually damp and cold all winter, but there’s been a bit of sun in the last few days. This is Taipei 101 in all it’s glory…
And the Presidential Office, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial area of Taipei…
And Taipei’s brand new Performing Arts Centre… how’d you like it?!
Apart from the plum blossom, the other big news on coming back to Taiwan is that I’ve now moved from St. John’s University out on the northern coast into downtown Taipei City, to be based at St. John’s Cathedral. It’s about 30 km (20 miles), an hour’s drive, between the two. I’ve been coming to the cathedral for many years so I know it well, but this is the first time I’ve ever lived in Taipei City. I hope to be settled in this week, before Chinese New Year this coming weekend, then spring into action once the new year celebrations are over, at the beginning of February. More news then, and thanks for your ongoing prayers and support!
Yes, wishing you all many blessings as we start a new year, 2023, and grateful for all the blessings of this past year, 2022 ~ and with lots of thanks to you if you’ve been part of that! Today is Epiphany, marking the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the Orthodox Christmas, while this week has been the start of a new term here in the UK ~ but it’s the end of term in Taiwan! And tomorrow I fly back there, all ready to celebrate Chinese New Year in 2 weekends’ time! Lots of happy memories of this last month in the Lake District, just a few of which I’ll share with you here, including lots of wonderful Christmas festivities!
First off, though, the snow and ice which went on for several weeks in December, which all sounds lovely, but mostly Troutbeck looked like this, misty, bleak, icy and cold…
But when the sun came out, it was beautiful! On Friday December 9, I did half of the Kentmere Horseshoe, from Troutbeck Bridge up via the Garburn Pass to Yoke, Ill Bell, Froswick, Thornthwaite Crag 784 m (2,572 ft) and High Street 828m (2,715ft), with the descent via Threshthwaite Mouth and Troutbeck Tongue 364 m (1,194 ft). Total: 30.6 km with 1,267 m elevation gain. Started at 6:40am, arrived on High Street at 11:15 am, finished at 4:00 pm. A long day but oh so beautiful! Temps on High Street: -3.5°C with -11°C wind chill, my hands were totally frozen! Stunning views ~ and the National Trust used this first photo below in their Instagram #NTChallenge post…
On Monday December 12, I did the Wansfell Pike circuit & Baystones via Jenkins Crag from Troutbeck Bridge. Very frosty, icy and sunny. Check out the photos below of the very boringly-named ‘cloud inversion‘ over Lake Windermere, which is just so much better described in Chinese as a ‘sea of clouds’ – am sure Wordsworth would have approved!
Then all that glorious weather got even more icy and a lot more treacherous, with a lot of freezing fog, but also with some lovely sunrises and views over and around Windermere…
And so to Christmas at Jesus Church, Troutbeck…
This was the Christmas Day service view from the balcony…
Then on Boxing Day, Monday December 26 we again had snow on the tops of the high mountains, and I got as far as the south summit cairn of Pike O’Blisco 705m (2,314ft), going up from the Wrynose Pass which was very icy, -2°C with driving winds on summit, otherwise lovely and sunny…
Plenty more happened in December with lots of happy Christmas events, many lovely family visits, especially with my mother who is now much more settled in Grange-over-Sands, my brother and his family in Kendal, and all with a lot of delicious meals! I’ll maybe save some of the yummiest food photos for my CMS link letter which is due soon. Over New Year weekend I was in Garstang, Lancs where the sun was shining…
and where I enjoyed time with Geraldine Leopard Gecko and family!
Geraldine is 4 years old, eats live crickets, and spends most of her time in the darkness of her cage, but was having a cleanout one day… so we became acquainted. She is stunning, I was transfixed!
And now I’m in Sussex, with my younger brother’s family, who are kindly ferrying me around as I return my car to London – train strikes an’ all – and wait for my return flight to Taiwan tomorrow. Thank you to all my family for their welcome and hospitality, to my friends and link churches too ~ and to you all for your Christmas greetings, cards, messages and prayers. It’s been great to see many of you over these last 6 months, but I’m well aware I’ve not had the chance to see as many of you as I would have liked. Sorry about that, and time has sadly run out. Grateful to you all for your support and to Almighty God for his protection and grace. Grace – and wisdom – are needed more than ever, for us all. Praying for those of you struggling with colds, flu, Covid, chest infections, coughs or just generally under the weather, especially those in hospital, those working in the medical profession or caring for elderly relatives, and the many facing financial problems with the cost of living crisis, transport strikes and endless uncertainty. Times are certainly not easy.
‘Ready? I holler up the stairs, hoping the kids will hear the urgency. But they’re kids so they drag their feet, one last TikTok to watch, a few more seconds under the warmth of a blanket. But then I think that they are not so unlike me—especially when it comes to Jesus’s call for us to be ready. In Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples “You must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” I’d prefer to know the exact time and date and until then, stay in my cozy corner. But in this season of preparing for Jesus’s birth, I need to get ready—to open my heart, share my gifts, and offer praise—all in God’s good time.’ (Richelle Thompson)
This is the Taipei Representative Office in the UK 駐英國台北代表處 at 50 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1, the highest-level representation of the Taiwan government in the UK.
BBC News last night under the headline, “China condemns British lawmakers’ Taiwan visit“, start their report with “China has accused British lawmakers of “gross interference” in its internal affairs as a group of MPs visit Taiwan. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee arrived on Tuesday and have met high-level officials, including Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu….. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that Mr Wu held a banquet for the UK delegation and spoke about “increasing authoritarian threats” as well as “worrying issues at home and abroad”.”
As part of ‘getting ready’ this Advent, may we pray for all such ‘worrying issues at home and abroad’, including prayers for wisdom for our world leaders and for peace, in Taiwan, Ukraine ~ and in our own hearts.
Meanwhile, I’m getting ready to return to Taiwan in the new year ~ yes, of course I miss you Taiwan! 我想念台灣!
Charming, quaint, quirky, peaceful and popular are all words you find on tourist websites used to describe the lovely Suffolk town of Beccles ~ all true of course, it’s a really great place! According to Trip Advisor, the top No. 1 attraction of ‘THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Beccles – 2022‘ is, guess what, the most unlikely sport of parachuting ~ not the first thing that came to mind when I arrived in Beccles on Saturday for my CMS Link Church Visit over the weekend – I wouldn’t like to try, even off the bell tower, the highest building in the town…
When I ask my London friends if they’ve heard of Beccles – yes they have – and what comes to mind, they mention ‘cakes’, though the cakes turn out to be Eccles Cakes, which are actually from Lancashire. Beccles and Eccles sound just a bit too similar, I guess! Of course, Beccles does have plenty of delicious cakes, biscuits and flans, and we enjoyed some of them on Saturday night at our Bring and Share evening. Check out this delicious and very beautiful cherry flan, yum yum!
My first challenge on Saturday though was just finding the town! The satnav took me on the scenic route across Suffolk which wound on and on, while signposts along the way all gave distances to Norwich, Ipswich, Lowestoft and then Diss ~ Beccles hardly gets a mention until you’re nearly there. Apparently only one of the main roads into the town has a large ‘Welcome to Beccles’ sign ~ though there’s another smaller one for those arriving by boat…
Yes, my conclusion is that Beccles is a very modest town, almost shy in fact, and happy to sit quietly on the River Waveney, marking the border between Suffolk and Norfolk, and the people who have chosen to live there seem to enjoy that quietness too. Saturday afternoon was certainly quiet (I hardly saw anyone!) but it was also sunny and bright and I could wander around taking photos of the streets and quayside…
I had the honour of staying with Barry and Faith Darch, long-time members of St. Michael’s Church, Beccles, where Faith is a lay reader and also in the bell-ringing team. Barry is serving as Mayor of Beccles this year, so I was delighted to have a tour of the town hall on Sunday morning, including a visit to the chamber, where the Beccles Town Council meets, and also to see the chains that the mayor and mayoress wear on special occasions. Despite all the grandeur, they are very down-to-earth, humble, kind people and such wonderful hosts!
On Saturday night, we met at St. Luke’s Church, Beccles for food – and sharing about Taiwan. It was freezing outside, their first frost of the winter, but inside it was lovely and warm. I was very warmly welcomed by the rector, Rev. Rich Henderson, in charge of Beccles Parish, which now has 5 churches; fortunately he is helped by a wonderful team. Keith is the chair of the mission committee, and on Saturday, he and Rich kindly presented me with a new and very large Chinese – English Bible, a gift from Beccles Parish. Thank you!
We had a fun evening – and check out all the amazing food….
And so to Sunday, which was St. Edmund’s Day, November 20. St. Edmund, who died on November 20, 869, was King of East Anglia, and is also the patron saint of plagues and pandemics. The tradition is that the St. Edmund’s flag is flown from all towers in Suffolk on St. Edmund’s Day, and so I accompanied Barry the Mayor to the town hall to meet Tom, the official flag-raiser – and to find the St. Edmund’s flag….
And as the flag went up, we went up to see Faith and the bellringers in the tower, where they ring every Sunday morning. Very impressive…
And so to St. Michael’s Church for the 11:00 service, where we had coffee before and after the service ~ it was great to see so many of those who had come the night before, and who I have known for many years. That includes Bishop Gavin Reid and his wife, who retired to Beccles many years ago – they had come straight from taking a service in a nearby village, and also Rev. Peter Langford, famous for cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats to mark his 75th birthday, then again for his 80th, then again for his 85th – and next year he’s 90, and thinks he may try again! Such energy! I see I mentioned them in my blog post after my previous visit to Beccles in October 2018 (see here). Also, Rachel, retired from CMS after serving many years in Asia, and now living in the area, lovely to see her again. Anyway, I did the sermon – and took a lot of selfies with lovely people…
As we came out of the church, there was this horse and cart driving around Beccles, what a great sight…
Faith and Barry kindly cooked us a splendid Sunday lunch, and then we went off to Bungay to visit an elderly church member in a care home there. Afterwards we walked around Bungay Town – it has lots of old houses painted in beautiful colours, and the ruins of an old castle…
And finally back to Beccles, where the St. Edmund’s flag was still flying, another great sight!
So a big thank you to Rich, Keith, Barry, Faith, Rachel and everyone in Beccles Parish for such a fantastic weekend, and such a warm welcome. It was great, and your ongoing support is so much appreciated. Thank you, and thanks be to God for all His many blessings! ❤️
The great city of Oxford, once romantically described as the ‘city of dreaming spires’ 🤨 is now more accurately a city of 650 fast-moving electric scooters, that zoom in and out around all the streets ~ trying hard to avoid people furiously peddling along on ordinary bikes or struggling to push themselves on ordinary scooters, all trying to keep up. They go so fast, I have yet to get one in a photo – only the ordinary bikes stay in focus! Such is Oxford’s morning rush hour as students head for lectures and others head for work. It’s busily bustling out there!
Last time I was in Oxford, in October 2018, I wrote this in my blog post, “I admit, I’m not an Oxford person. I can’t recognise any college or building or landmark, haven’t got a clue what the colleges are, nor why they’re famous, other than just being part of Oxford University. So all I can tell you is that the buildings and colleges are beautiful, and spires are many. Spires and steeples and towers and gargoyles and churches and chapels everywhere.” That much is still true.
And so today I ambled around Oxford looking at lots of old buildings, wandering here and there, trying to stay outside in the beautiful sunshine as much as possible and mostly avoiding anything that required me to pay to enter. So don’t ask me what any of these places are, just look at the photos!
The real reason for being in Oxford was to visit CMS (Church Mission Society) Headquarters, located south of the city in CMS House – it also lets office space to other mission agencies and church-related organizations. I was there all day yesterday, and, well, it rained most of the day. Hey, if the day is going to be wet, then the CMS office is the place to be, it’s so warm and welcoming! And by lunchtime, the rain was stopping and there was even a rainbow coming out….
Most of the people who work for CMS either work overseas, or if they’re based in Oxford, then since the pandemic, they work partly there and partly at home – so you never know who might be there in person on any given day. Ah, I love surprises! I took along my Taiwan teapots and tea, and was delighted to share them with all the people at CMS, along with a few smarties, chocolate money and a few other goodies – well I do want people to remember Taiwan and my visit 🤣🤣! I was so happy to finally get to meet Alastair Bateman (CMS CEO since May 2019) ~ he smiled all day long, he’s just so lovely!
And I saw lots of my other good friends at CMS too. These people are just so dedicated, cheerful, humble and kind, every single one of them. Some have worked there for years and years, and a few even worked in the London office before CMS moved to Oxford in 2007. Some I have only met on email, but now I realise who they are, wow, it’s so wonderful to meet them. My biggest encourager and supporter, Anne organized the whole day’s itinerary, arranged all the meetings, and kindly prepared a delicious lunch too. Thank you Anne – and thank you everyone!
After a morning of fun meetings, then at 1:30 pm I had 30 minutes to do a WOW ‘Window on the World’ session, sharing about Taiwan with pictures on a PowerPoint, and also with several people attending online ~ while CEO Alastair sat right at the front and wrote lots of things down as I spoke! 🤩 These are the action shots taken right at the start…
Meanwhile the online people could only gaze longingly at all those teapots and tea, and dream of the chocolate money and Quality Street as we munched away in Oxford! 🤣🤣
Thanks to Camilla for taking these photos – I discovered she’s often the person putting together my link letters, so I’m really grateful to her for so much! 😊😊
During yesterday’s meetings, I did invite Anne as Asia personnel manager to bring along her colleague to come together to visit Taiwan sometime in the next year or two. Neither of them have been to Taiwan, in fact nobody in CMS has come to visit for a good few years, so it’s about time! They were both so excited, and are making plans already ~ and since then Bishop Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang in Taiwan has sent me a message to welcome them to visit. Can’t wait! 😊 This was the WOW session…
Ah, it was such an amazing day! In the past, I have stayed at the CMS House in Oxford during my visit, but this time it was full. Thanks to recommendations from friends, I was able to stay instead at the guest house of the ‘All Saints Sisters of the Poor‘, located further along the Cowley Road. They have an amazing history of serving people in need, and within their grounds they have both a children’s hospice and nursing home. It’s an oasis of quietness and beauty in a busy area of the city.
The whole area around there is small narrow streets, which are now bollarded off, to stop cars going through, so although it’s much quieter, it’s also much more difficult to get from one place to another. Check out the local area…
There’s even a big mistletoe tree, looking spectacular, and located in the middle of the main roundabout there…
After my visit to CMS, so off I went to explore Oxford after dark….
So it was definitely a good 2 days in Oxford! And finally, today is a significant day, as I said a final goodbye to NatWest Bank after more than 4 decades – I’ve had an account with NatWest since I was 18. In July, NatWest notified all its customers who, like me, live overseas, to inform us that unless we are permanently resident in the UK, we have to close our NatWest bank accounts. 😭😭 This is a commercial decision, and even using someone else’s address is not permitted. 😢😢 If this affects you, then you have all my sympathy, because it’s not exactly easy to open a new bank account in this country, but finally it’s happened (thanks to CMS and all those who helped out!) and I was notified as I walked past this NatWest Bank in Oxford today that everything had now been transferred over. Fare ye well NatWest Bank!
And goodbye to Oxford tomorrow, as I set out eastwards for my next CMS church visit this weekend, taking with me so many happy memories of my visit to Oxford. It’s been great, and a big thank you to all in the CMS Oxford Office for your welcome yesterday and for all your hard work every day ~ and of course all the fun! 😊😊 And now, East Anglia here I come!
Without a doubt, the very best thing about Wakefield is definitely the very lovely people of Sandal Magna Parish! The parish includes St. Helen’s Church, Sandal Magna and the nearby St. Paul’s Church, Walton, plus the area of Portobello. Among many other things, they run a wonderful community shop and cafe, known as The Spring, it’s a great ministry. I was in Sandal this past weekend, which included bonfire night, so we started the visit with Sandal’s community bonfire and fireworks. All free, and ah it was fun!
St. Helen’s, Sandal
In contrast, the very worst thing about Wakefield is, also without a doubt – for me anyway – the journey there and back. On a map, Wakefield looks to be in the middle of a huge urban sprawl of West Yorkshire cities and towns, with motorways, bypasses and roundabouts that confuse even the best satnav, and in autumn with the dark and rain, means that any journey from here to there is, let’s face it, not one of life’s greatest pleasures! 😭🤣 And if it involves driving round the Bradford bypass on a Saturday afternoon when Bradford City are playing at home, well, it’s almost the stuff of nightmares ~ which all means that I’m so happy to actually arrive, that I appreciate their warm welcomes even more! 😊😊
St. Helen’s, Sandal
Sandal Magna is on the south side of Wakefield, along the Barnsley Road, and St. Helen’s Church (named after Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great) may be dark and austere on the outside, but inside it is warm and welcoming. There’s lots of beautiful artwork filling the church, on the altar, in the side chapels, and the children’s area is especially colourful, check it out below!
St. Helen’s, Sandal
Much of this art and all the many projects were introduced to the church under the artistic leadership of the much-loved previous rector, Rev. Rupert Martin and his wife Sally, who retired last year after 26 years at Sandal. They’ve now moved to Bristol and long ago invited me to visit – but I’m running out of time, and Bristol is way off my beaten track. Sorry Rupert and Sally! They were also responsible for the Tree of Life Memorial Garden at the back of the church, which continues to this day, though there are ongoing challenges maintaining the stones and clearing the weeds around the stones ~ fortunately it’s still looking good!
When Rupert and Sally retired, the church and diocese made the wise decision to sell the large and lonely Sandal Vicarage, which was old, cold and sandwiched between the church and a car dealership. The diocese is in the process of buying a house for a new vicarage, but no news yet. Their new vicar, Rev. Hannah Smith was only installed 2 months ago, check out this report of the event here in the Wakefield Express. A big welcome to Hannah! Everyone is so pleased to have a new vicar at last, and so happy that she’s settling in, listening and learning all about the parish, visiting all the congregation, and getting to know everyone. Please do pray for Hannah, she is very clearly called to this new ministry, and has many gifts that will help develop and lead the church forward. Currently she’s living in temporary accommodation in the parish, and it will be good for her to be able to settle into a new vicarage once the sale is complete.
Hannah is assisted by Ruth, who runs the church office…
A big thank you to Neale and Olivia who kindly welcomed me to stay overnight in their home, and took me to the fireworks too. Here they are in front of the church, and inside the church with John the organist and Andrea, one of the churchwardens….
There are 2 Sunday services, one at 9:30 am and one at 11:00 am. I did the sermon for the first service, which had a much larger congregation than I was expecting – and a talented choir too….
Followed by coffee in the rooms at the back of the church….
And then I rushed off to St. Paul’s, Walton for their service at 11:00 am. Walton has a strong lay leadership team, and really good church premises…
St. Paul’s, Walton
The service was led by lay leader, Susan Lee, who informed me that there were 2 Lees in the church, herself and Rose Lee, so the 3 of us had our photo taken together. Ah yes, the 3 Lee sisters!
Three Lee sisters!
The service was the only service at St. Paul’s that day, and had lovely music, and beautiful flowers!
After the service, we had a shared lunch, their first one since the pandemic. The food was delicious, especially the puddings! Hannah and a group from St. Helen’s also joined us for lunch, after which I gave a short talk followed by questions. There were lots of good questions!
And finally, off I went with Hannah to visit Mavis, one of the original overseas mission committee in Sandal who set up the CMS link with me as long ago as 1989. In those days, the committee was chaired by Derek Wales, the connection then being that the Diocese of Wakefield had a companion diocese partnership with the Diocese of Mara, Tanzania, which is where I went for language school many moons ago. This is us with Mavis and her good friend Teddy….
Ah yes, such a great weekend, renewing friendships and reconnecting with all the lovely people of Wakefield. Thank you to everyone in Sandal and Walton for a wonderful weekend and for all your support over the years, so very much appreciated!❤️
PS This is the live stream of Sunday’s service on YouTube, my sermon starts at about 20 minutes in. I’ve just watched it, the sermon is definitely a little wacky, but anyway, do check it out!
Yesterday, October 10, was St. Paulinus’ Day, the date Paulinus of York died in AD 644, though he didn’t die in York, but in Rochester where he later became bishop, and where he is buried. Paulinus got around quite a bit, coming from Rome to England to share the Gospel. He became the first Bishop of York, and in AD 627, he preached in Dewsbury, which has an ancient stone with the carved words, “Hic Paulinus praedicavit et celebravit” meaning “Here Paulinus preached and celebrated”. “In Anglo-Saxon times, Dewsbury was a centre of considerable importance. The ecclesiastical parish of Dewsbury encompassed Huddersfield, Mirfield and Bradford”. Dewsbury is on the River Calder, and the place where Paulinus is thought to have preached is the site today of Dewsbury Minster, one of my link churches and where I visited this past weekend. What a great history!
Fast forward to the 1770’s, and the construction of the canal, linking Dewsbury to Manchester and Hull, access to coal mines, and then the building of the railway in 1848, so the Industrial Revolution saw Dewsbury develop into a major centre for textiles. William Blake’s so-called ‘dark, satanic mills’ sprang up all over the area, along with rows of housing for the workers. The mills started to decline in the 1960’s and 70’s, and these days they’re now making mattresses or turned into beautiful apartment buildings. Massive immigration into the area started in the 1960’s, and there is now a large Muslim community, mostly of Pakistani and Indian origin or descent. Large areas of the town are classified as deprived, and there are huge challenges.
Walking around a very empty, but lovely and sunny Dewsbury Town Centre early on Sunday morning, it’s not difficult to see what some of those challenges are. With 3 large supermarket chains now established in Dewsbury, so the actual town centre is in decline, and the shops are dominated by bookmakers, slot machines/casinos, discount stores, coffee shops and pubs, while smaller shops specialize in Polish, Asian or Middle-Eastern goods, and the main Dewsbury Market is clearly more or less closed down.
