Temple Week #14 Begins, 26 August 2014

Tuesday:  Day two of waking up to rain and going to the temple in the rain, hearing the rain while in the temple, and walking home in the rain.  It continues to come down, but did take a break in the late afternoon.

Our day in the temple was nice with a good number of patrons.  We were short staffed which caused for a little bit of hurrying around here and there, changing rotas, and closing some areas.  All in all, it went well, and before we knew it, it was 2:30 p.m. and we were on our way home.

The afternoon was quiet as we waited for Dennis to arrive.  He came in about 5:30 p.m. and we headed off to Lingfield.  The rain had stopped which was nice for being out and looking at places.

Our first stop was the thatched roof cottage.  It is a 15th century building and part of the history of Lingfield.  It sits on a narrow portion of Godstone Road.  It is leaning due to large lorries (trucks) knocking it sideways as they drive by.

We then visited the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul.  The church was rebuilt in the early 15th century by Sir Reginald Codham.  The building is equipped with two naves and a bell tower housing five bells.  The grounds are are more cemetery than garden and very lovely to stroll through.

I am taking the photo of Dad and Dennis from the gate to the college.  The College was built for teaching and learning of the ministers.  I caught rain drops on the leaves of a blackberry bush.  We
had a blackberry here and there but for the most part they were already gone.

We ended the outing with dinner at the Thai Restaurant.  The meal was delicious.  Dad had brocolli beef, I had sweet and sour chicken, and Dennis has green curry chicken.  We had a starter plate, shown above, that was devoured, including the vegetables and the bowl holding the spring rolls and toast.  The waiter was very friendly and made good conversation.  When he found out we were from the temple he told us he was very familiar with it and the people from there that frequent the restaurant.  He was happy to meet Dennis and told him to come back.  Dennis really enjoyed the food and said this was a place to come back to.

We were so happy to see Dennis.  A touch of home is always nice.  He had been in Sweden before getting to London on Monday.  He shared some of his experiences there and we told him of some of our adventures here since he was last here.   He told of Daniel on his mission and how his other children are doing.  He headed back to Reading with work still to be finished tonight.

Bob finished up emails about our trip next week, which helped finalize our plans.  He is still working on getting car insurance.

Wednesday:  No rain today, although the sky was overcast.  Our shift in the temple went well with regular patrons and enough staff to function without a panic here and there.

After shift, Dad was off with Brother Wade to get money from the bank to pay for the car.  I waited in the flat for his return and then we went to the 3:45 p.m. session.  There were only 7 of us in it so it went very smooth.

I started out cold at the beginning of the day and could not seem to get warm.  When we got home after the session, I bundled up and crawled into bed.  It took a couple of hours before I felt really warm.  Dad fixed himself a steak sandwich for supper and stopped in the FHE gathering in the TV room.

Our evening was interrupted around 7:45 p.m., when the fire alarm went off in the Lodge.  we grabbed jackets, put on shoes, stopped at the potty, and were out the door to gather with the other residents on the front walkway.  We were there less than five minutes when we were given the clearance to go back in.  The lady in the flat below ours apologized, as it was her pan that got too hot on the hob that set it off.  I was just glad it wasn't midnight or 2 a.m.!

The car deal went through at  9 p.m., and we are the proud owners of a 1997 Vuxhall, 3 door hatchback with 73,000 miles.  We had an email when we got home from the temple finalizing the insurance, and with keys in our pockets we are ready to drive!  Watch out England!

Thursday:  The excitement overtook us and we were out in the car at 5:30 a.m. to go for a drive!  We figured there would be less traffic and that was true.  Dawn was breaking so it continued to get lighter as we drove and there was a light rain falling.  Dad did pretty good with clipping only one curb on the left.  Remember, that is the side of the road you drive on!  I didn't scream once, but did raise my hands in panic a time or two as he seemed to be aiming for the side of the road.

Our shift in the temple went well.  The sessions were small and we had plenty of staff to keep things functioning.  Before we knew it 2:30 p.m. arrived and we were off to the flat.  This is shopping day and we had signed up for the minibus.  Dad thought we should drive ourselves but I was a little skeptical since we would be out in rush hour traffic.  But, we drove ourselves!

I drove the car from the lodge car park out to the temple car park for Dad to take a picture.  It only took me 5 minutes to find reverse!  It wasn't until I realized I could look at the diagram on the top of the gear shift.  Duh!

Dad jumped in to drive and we were off to East Grinstead.  He did well and we made it to town and safely parked.  He noticed we were missing the left front hubcap - where we hit the curb on the morning drive.  From there we went to Sainsbury's and bought groceries.  We also saw Sister Strong there with her daughter and husband who had just flown in from America and President Crossland.  We then stopped at McDonald's for dinner.  The best part of our trip was being able to shop on our time table and look and decide what we wanted.

When we got back in the car at McDonald's, Dad asked:  "So, what do you think of our new found freedom?"

I replied:  "It is very nice!"

Dad was not too excited about turning across traffic, so he would drive to a round-a-bout to turn around.  It worked out great since round-a-bouts are all over.

From Home:  Happy Birthday to Emily!  She sent a photo and a thank you to us.

Friday:  Our day was nice in the temple; not many patrons but things went smoothly.  We haven't used any language cards this week.  Temple closes after tomorrow's schedule and doesn't open until the 16th of September.  Most of the missionaries will be gone on trips or the English ones will go home.  Of course we are headed out tomorrow as well.  The schools all resume in a week so people are getting their last days of summer taken care of.

We had showers off and one today with spots of blue skies here and there.  Here are the first signs of autumn out our windows.

Dad needed to pick up a prescription from the chemist, as they call it here, so we were off to Lingfield in the car.  It was a safe trip and he is feeling more and more comfortable.  We finished up plans for our trip tomorrow and began the packing process.  I wish we could go without having to pack!

We had dinner at Sister Smith's this evening.  We took roasted potatoes and she cook fresh trout Brother Searle caught.  She also prepared salad, green beans from Brother Matthew's garden, and corn on the cob.  We literally had a feast and it was so delicious!  We enjoyed visiting with each other.  Brother Searle is English and lives close by so he was able to tell us lots of places to visit.  There were too many to remember so we asked him to make us a list.  I really hope he does.

Saturday:  We were up early and finished packing for the trip.  We were to the temple for preparation at 7:30 a.m.  The day went well with being busy and plenty of workers!  It was so nice not to have to scramble to have enough workers.  The weather was great as well with no rain and mild temperatures.

We were finished by 2 p.m. and headed to the flat to change clothes and get loaded up.  Sister Hale rode with the Masih’s and Brother Masih’s brother-in-law and wife followed in their car, with us in the middle, the Masih’s leading the way.  The plan was for them to hedge us in so we would not get lost.  That worked for about two round abouts, then we got caught in a round about waiting for traffic and did not see which exit he took.  We guessed and then drove slowly until the brother-in-law came up and took the lead.  We had guessed right and it wasn’t long before we were all back together.

It was a three-hour trip to Coventry.  Dad did well with driving on the open motorways.  We stopped once for a break and then we were back on the road. 

As we skirted the upper London area, there were sheep grazing on the grassy sides of the motorway right in the middle of buildings and roadways.  It definitely saves having to mow or weed the area.   I wonder if the farmer pays to let his sheep graze, or if the government pays the farmer for his sheep to graze?

The drive was lovely as we drove through heavily wooded areas with no vision of anything past the cars in front of us.  We saw the first signs of fall with trees here and there turning colors ranging in various shades of orange. About an hour out, it seemed as if we came out of the mountains into the open.  We could see countryside, hedge-lined fields, skies, herds of livestock, rolling hills, homes, and towns.  It was a sight to behold!  The drive remained this way into Coventry.

Entering Coventry, they took us through “Little India,” and we stopped to shop for meat for tomorrow’s meal.  It was quite the experience walking along the open market and going inside.  The buildings were all Indian style and design.

We then headed on to their house where we were warmly greeted by their grandson, Ammon, aged 17.  We unloaded, took a break, and then were off for dinner at a Harvester restaurant.  We stopped at Ammon’s house to pick up his sister Aron, aged 15, and his brother Ajay, aged 14.  Ajay and Sister Masih rode with us and off we went.

Enjoying a delicious meal with good company.  Sister Hale is at the back on the left  Top photo, left to right:  Aron, Sister Masih, Ajay, and Ammon.

Ajay ordered ribs and was daintily eating them English style, using a fork and knife.  We told him how in America we just pick them up with out hands and eat them.  He tried it and liked it much better.  Ammon got into the action.

We had a lovely meal and a great time visiting and being together.  The grandchildren are so very nice.  They talked of school, their summer holidays, theme parks, and going to FSY (known as EFY).  They hold it every other year here and there are about 400 in attendance.  This was Ammon’s last year, Aron’s second year, and Ajay’s first year.  Ajay is excited because he will be able to attend two more times before he is too old.

We eventually ended back up at their home, settled in, and went to bed.