17th November 2013

This morning I went with D to Ashcroft Church. I am a member, but I don't always go because, late in life, I've discovered that I prefer going to the Quakers or, to give them their full title, the Religious Society of Friends. To many, the idea of sitting together in silence for an hour is a strange concept and/or extremely boring. But I don't find it so. 

To me, on one level that hour is therapeutic. No phone rings, no doorbell summons, no one asks me to do anything. It's me time. It's restful, relaxing. It allows my mind to free itself of daily noise. 

On a deeper level it allows me to 'listen' for answers. Quakers religious beliefs vary widely. Basically Christian, their interpretations of and relationship to biblical matters range widely. This freedom is refreshing. I was drawn to the Quakers for years, almost unconsciously. What helped me focus and actually step through the doors of a meeting house was a Quaker publicity poster declaring 'We don't tell you what to think'. I wish I'd crossed that threshold years ago. 

So, I like the Methodists. I like the Quakers. I attend both as time and circumstance allows, and I'm not going to choose one over the other in this blog. 

With most of the morning taken up with church matters, we decided to have lunch at the Brewery Arts Cafe, another favourite of ours. I had one of their 'doorstep' sandwiches for lunch. So tasty, and 'proper-job' doorsteps, huge size with extra salad local granary bread. Gorgeous!

Then W.H.Smiths made me an offer I couldn't refuse, a cunningly displayed mini e-reader for £29.99. Really? Thirty pounds? Yes sir, half-price but not for long. I succumbed, and am now the proud owner of a Kobo Mini E-Reader with five books on it so far. I am told it will hold a thousand. We'll see.

I spotted this intriguing window display on the way home. What a wacky legging for one-legged women, I thought.