Christmas and 22 - 25 December 2015

The temple was open for only two days this week, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Patronage was regular and we were busy for the most part.  The Christmas spirit was in the air and everyone was happy and joyful for this week.

We did our last minute shopping on Wednesday and invited Sister George and Sister Russell for dinner.  Since we were on the late shift, we ate at noon.  We enjoyed their company and the food was great as well.

Christmas Eve we woke up, packed up, and headed to Ely in Cambridgeshire.  Our goal was to attend midnight mass in Ely Cathedral.  We have never been to a midnight mass and many have said we should go.  Ed, the man we shared a table with at Five Guys in London suggested we go to Ely Cathedral.  So off we went and arrived just before 12 p.m.

Ely Cathedral was made a Cathedral in 1109.  The monks knew that only the best can ever be good enough to offer to God.  They built this massive church as an offering to him.  Worship has taken place here ever since as an echo in words and music of their practical work as builders.

We walked to the cathedral arriving just in time for the Crib Service.  New experience for us.  There was a live nativity which included children and a donkey. A narrator read the story.  A boy's choir sounded heavenly adding a tender spirit to the event.  The enormous Christmas tree inside was a sight to behold.  We received a picture from a friend of their beautifully decorated Christmas tree, but when we saw this tree I thought:  "That isn't a Christmas tree (the picture we received);  This is a Christmas tree!"

Merry Christmas!

 The choir conductor is playing the grand piano with choir boys in the lofts to each side of him.

 The surprise donkey.  He walked right by me but I didn't know he was coming until he passed.

 The nativity is complete with angels, shepherds, wise men, Joseph & Mary, and baby Jesus.

 The wise men bring gifts.

We walked through the cathedral and enjoyed the many stained glass windows and the painted ceilings throughout.  We took pictures inside and out and visited the gift shop.  They had several nativity sets and I was delighted to find several I liked.  We took our time and settled on one that will be a great addition to my collection.

The front door where we entered.

 Large murals are painted on the ceiling depicting stories from the Bible.

 Another ceiling.

 The rostrum.

 Choir chamber.

 Organ pipes.

A view of the ceiling from the choir chamber back to the front door.

 Stained glass adorned the cathedral everywhere.

Barbara looking inside one of the chapels.

We headed back to the car and drove to The Castle Hotel where we stayed the night.  The clerk was very pleasant and answered all of our questions.  We found the room quite comfortable.  Since the next day was Christmas, they were not doing a hot breakfast so they brought a bag of breakfast foods for us.

Our room was straight through and to the right of the entrance.

We made our way  back into town and walked up High Street in search of a place to eat.  We went into one place and was not happy with the choices on the menu and walked back out onto the street.  We found Subway and had our Christmas Eve dinner there.  And, it was tasty and we didn't have to wonder what it would be like, etc.  I guess we are just simple folk.  Dad said it didn't feel like Christmas Eve and I agreed it didn't but being to the Crib Service with little children and families all over the place with little ones running here and there did provide a Christmas family feeling.  The cold windy weather was hard to cope with.  The wind blew in our faces swirling our hair this way and that.  Thankfully the rain had stopped before we exited the cathedral and there was sunshine when we came out.

We spent the evening relaxing and enjoying being warm.  I got out the Nativity and set it up in celebration of this day and tomorrow.

It is made out of olive wood from Jerusalem.  All the pieces are individual.

Jeanna called to wish us a Merry Christmas.  It was nice talking with her and hearing how her family is doing.  She has all the children home and of course everyone is excited about Jackson's wedding on 2nd January 2016.

We dressed warm and left at 10:30 p.m. for the cathedral.  Parking was easy to find and we walked the rest of the way.  We entered and others were already seated.  We were able to sit on the third row by the electronic organ.  We heard the choir warm up and watched the last minute preparations of props and candle lighting.  

The Nativity had been moved to the front of the stage and created a beautiful sight with the tree in the background.

The Eucharist began at 11:30 p.m.  "At Christmas heaven comes to earth; earth is raised to heaven, and we join our voices to the Angel's song of praise:  'Glory to God in the highest And peace to his people on earth.'

Throughout the evening we listened to the spoken word, heard the voices of the choir sing praise for the birth of Jesus, and we joined the congregation in word and song.  The music resounded throughout the massive cathedral filling the air with even toned notes coming together in harmony.  The electronic organ played with the pipe organ to give the music depth, and depth it was given.  Some voices were very high and angelic sounding.  The Bishop, the Deacon, and other members of the clergy, along with the choir were dressed in flowing robes of white, red, and beige robes with some trimmed in gold, etc.  The silver was polished to a brilliant shine and candles lit in addition to the lighting.

As I sat participating in all that was happening and listening to the words that were spoken, I realized that these people, people of the Church of England, are just like us and everyone else basically.  We believe in God, in Jesus Christ, and that He came to save us from our sins.  And, the most important part is that Jesus Christ is love and we are to follow his example and love all people.  That is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We along with all people are trying to live good lives and do good to all men through loving them.  The difference from their practice of religion and the way we practice religion is that we have the priesthood, the authority to act in Heavenly Father's name and thus have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, the teacher of all truth.  It was indeed a feast of Christmas celebration and well worth being to.

Christmas Day dawned with us not waking up until after 8 a.m.  We enjoyed the breakfast provided, got ready for the day, packed our bags, and headed to Huntingdon.  Brother Doughty, the temple recorder had invited us to Christmas dinner.

It began raining shortly after we got on the road.  We stopped at Kimbolton Castle on the way.  It is used as a school today.  Katherine of Aargon, the first wife of King Henry VIII and mother of their daughter, Mary,  died there in 1536.    King Henry banned her to the castle after he determined their marriage was illegal.

This is the gatehouse into the castle and its grounds.  Of course it was closed, but I did get out of the car and took this photo in the rain.

We arrived at Brother Doughty's home in the village of Molesworth and were warmly greeted.  We were invited into their thatched roof 'barn' home, complete with rafters visible throughout.  It was pleasant to walk into a warm Christmas atmosphere with gracious hosts, he and his family.  Before long the other guests arrived, the food was served up and we sat down for the meal.  Table gifts adorned each plate and Christmas crackers placed at each napkin.

From left to right:  Diana and her husband, missionaries on a church farm,. Rick and his wife, missionaries on another church farm.  Jessica, her mother and father from the Doughty's ward.  Doughty's son, Ben, his wife Katie, daughter Vivian and son Jarvis.  Leslie Doughty (wife), daughter Alice and Beth and their friend from Canada.  Us.  Leslie's 90 year old father joined us at the table. 

 Brother Doughty took the picture so here is one of him.

After the blessing on the food, we took our plates into the kitchen to fill them with mounds of delicious food.  The bowls and plates and pans on the island contained boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts,  peas, parsnips, sweet potatoes, pigs in a blanket (small sausages wrapped with bacon), sausage pinwheels, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, and a jug of gravy.  It was a feast.

We all joined in conversation with events from our lives and memories of the Christmas season.  The food was a good topic as it was delicious and we all wanted Leslie's recipes and secrets.  We unwrapped the table gifts and after eating we popped the Christmas crackers.  Everyone shared their jokes and showed off the tiny gifts inside.  Vivian's table gift was a set of play makeup and she was busy applying in all sorts of places on her face.  Jarvis was trying his best to take it away from her, but she won out in the end.

Dessert was Christmas pudding with ice cream, hot homemade custard, and real cream.  Leslie made the pudding, sealed it, and aged it in the refrigerator for a year.  These are her instructions for eating it:

"The pudding is very rich so just take a little bit of it.  You can add ice cream or custard or cream of if you want you can add any combination of them including all of them!  Whatever you put on top, put a lot."

The pudding tasted just like the pudding we had last year at the Vowel's and we are neither one a fan of it.  So, you can guess that we put lots of topping on our portion to make it bearable!

Our time had come to an end and we thanked our hostess, said goodbyes and went our way.  Back out into the rain, we headed to Cambridge where we spent the night.

15 - 21 December 2015

I woke up Tuesday feeling much better.  Plenty of rest and staying in seemed to help it all pass.  We are on the early shift this week in the temple.  We had a missionary session of 81 on Tuesday and it was great to have so many in the temple at one time.

We did the usual for the week of shopping, doctors, cleaning, laundry, and errands.  We finished up Christmas cards, made phone calls home to family and friends, and took Natalie to dinner.  We had a delicious meal at T.G.I. Friday's, and enjoyed one another's company.  She and Brian continue with their wedding plans and him immigrating to England.  We had extra duty with preparing rotas as Sister Jeeves, the temple secretary who prints them up, will be in America for ten days.  We had to have two weeks ready for her to print by Friday.  It took time as we worked with the coordinator's on the other shift to make sure we were covered.

We were sad to hear of the passing of Clinton Gibbs, Jerry & Kathleen Gibbs' son.  He was 36 and left a wife and two daughters.

The Tyler Brown family was in Salt Lake for snow and Temple Square.  Wonderful children in front of the place to be!  Emily, Jashar, Carson, and Marissa.

We received a fun email from the Parkinson's.  I cracked up when I read it, it is so perfect for this country.  They had gone on a trip and here is what she wrote:

 "I forgot one point about our trip. It was 265 miles one way, and here are the directions from the sat nav: Go 48 miles and stay right.   Go 153 miles and stay right. Go 60 miles, turn right. 4 miles to destination on right.   Not one round about "

We enjoyed Sunday dinner with Doug and Beverly Jensen and then attended the "A Christmas Evening with Savannah Stevenson" fireside at the Visitors' Centre.  She is the star in Wicked in London and was married in the temple here this summer.  We saw her on her wedding day and have seen her and her husband since in the temple.  She began by saying:

"It is a joy to be here with you.  I would suggest you manage your expectations.  If you do that we will be okay tonight.  I am a professional actor and perform in front of 2,000 people each night, but I am by no means a public speaker!  Just manage your expectations."  

The disclaimer didn't seem to matter as she was brilliant to watch and to hear.  Her presentation was centered on her time in filming the Bible videos and the experience of portraying Mary and holding the baby.  She and her husband, Nate also sang a Christmas carol of Oh, Holy Night, and Silent Night.  It was beautiful and invited the spirit.  Her message is that Heavenly Father's timing is perfect and the challenges, heartaches, and disappointments we may go through all refine us to be what He wants us to be.  Jesus Christ holds each one of us and gives us the peace and comfort we need to make it through.  

Facts she shared with us about the making of the Bible Videos:

1.  Kate Dowd was the casting director.  She also was casting director for Pirates of the Carribean, Mulon Rouge, and Born Identity.  As she said:  "The church was serious about these videos."

2.  When they found the land suitable for their purpose which included a ravine running through it, they began trying to find out who owned it.  They discovered the church already owned it!  They had purchased it with plans to farm it at some point.

3.  Fifty thousand actors auditioned for the videos from countries all over the world.  

The birthday of the week was Jeremiah.  He turned 12 and we enjoyed talking with him.  He was ordained a deacon by Jack, and then on Saturday did baptisms in the Las Vegas temple.  He is on the right track.

Monday evening, we joined in with other missionaries in the van for a trip to see Christmas lights in London.  Brother Beer, head of security on the temple site was our driver.  He is a retired London policemen and very well versed in the streets of London and how to get around in the town.  Those in the group were Bob & Brenda Crowther, Doug & Beverly Jensen, Deirdre Clark, and us.  We began with a briefing about safety and if we were to get separated and then left at 4:30 p.m. 

 Crossing the Thames going into the city.

Heading up to Hyde Park Chapel.

Our first stop was Hyde Park Chapel to see the live nativity outside and venture in to see what was happening.  

We were delighted to walk into an evening of Christmas fun.  We dressed up and created our own nativity scene, after which we enjoyed a piece of Christmas cake.  Stations were set up throughout the hall where different activities were taking place by visitors as well as missionaries.

We walked down the street from the chapel to the ice rink and watched the skaters.  You can see the carousel in the background.

 

The famous Harrod's in all its glitter.

We took a drive down Oxford Street, known as the busiest street in Europe and marveled at the lights and shop windows.  The decorations include 445 gold baubles and sliver lights, falling snowflakes, and snowball-like decorations.

 Selfridges' was all aglow.

The Winter Wonderland, similar to a state fair.

 We turned and then headed down Regent Street, all decked out with some of the most breathtaking lights during the Christmas season.

 The buildings themselves are stunning at night with lights.  The architecture is amazing.

  Note the hanging round discs.  Follow the sequence and you will see how they change design.

There are toy soldiers in the window and they rotate around.

 Leicester Square 

 The Douglas Fir donated from Norway at Trafalgar Square.

 Santa going home after a hard day at work.

 The War Memorial in the middle of the street.

 Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

It was a fun night with good people and an amazing tour guide.  We saw so many places we have been and even felt like we knew where we were!  We saw many other sites that we didn't take pictures of or the ones we took were too blurry for recognition.