I headed off to Edinburgh on Tuesday. The first meeting was of the College of Bishops and this lasted nearly two days, it always seems odd at the end of the meeting when we step back out into the street having been in the same building for the whole of the meeting. The agenda was full as usual and the debate and arguments as intense as usual, it is certainly never boring! I had a short space of freedom on Wednesday afternoon and evening. I used the first short while to meet up for coffee with a priest who will be heading North soon and who was asking about ministry and other matters , the early evening was spent with my daughter Mara who I took out for dinner before returning to the Royal Overseas Club to prepare for the next meeting.
This was a meeting of the Provincial Standing Committee and so I headed over to the General Synod Office in the morning laden with papers and a suitcase. As the day wore on it got warmer and warmer in the meeting room and I was pleased to get outside in time to join friends for a brief chat and coffee before I caught the train back to Inverness. The 16.33 train is a wonderful Highland experience, there are always people you know, the train staff are always friendly and chatty and the train glides its way back over the hills and down to Inverness. The weather was stunning all the way home, with very clear skies and great views.
The penalty of a few days in Edinburgh is that the paperwork and the E mails don’t stop, so on Friday I spent a lot of time catching up on business and answering letters etc. So it was a wonderful and happy change when in the evening I met up with the Youth Group from Ferintosh Church of Scotland at the Cathedral and had a fun filled evening showing them round.
On Saturday we were up early as we had the house to sort out in preparation for the annual Lay Readers lunch at Bishop’s House, I vacuumed and polished while Jane cooked a splendid array of dishes. The Lay Readers and their partners soon arrived and we had a lovely few hours chatting and laughing with these lay ministers who work so hard in this diocese.
Today we were up and off on the 120 mile round trip to Keith. I was visiting the congregation at Holy Trinity, Keith and as always they made us very welcome, it was good to catch up. We then headed home through a blizzard and as I sit here at my desk writing this diary the snow is falling outside the window, I love this place!!
