Wednesday 11 December 2013

And so to Bath



Our last weekend away before Christmas was a trip to Bath to visit good friends that we've known since attending St John’s church 10 years ago. It was exactly 5 years ago this weekend that we were married there and had our reception at Emmanuel church so it was nice to go back and speak at both churches on Sunday.

Rev. Clive and Jenny were kind enough to let us stay when we asked if there was “any room at the inn” and couldn't do enough for us. We spent Saturday catching up with friends and timed our visit to Colin and Fiona’s house perfectly as Ruth arrived from Leeds and being a fellow Saints supporter, Colin kept me up to date with the score against Man City! Every week is a new discovery for Bethan, as she wakes up from her sleep in the car at yet another house. She takes it all in her stride, quickly setting about discovering her new environment. This weekend she enjoyed playing with a marble run, watching a cuckoo clock and discovered a passion for buttons!

We were privileged to witness Erica’s full immersion baptism at St Johns on Sunday and Becki spoke about our MAF plans. Many of the congregation will remember Becki telling them many years ago of her plans to fly with MAF and we enjoyed going back to Bath with that about to become a reality. The rest of Sunday was spent enjoying the company of friends we know well enough that they didn’t mind us inviting ourselves over for the day! Bethan made us laugh with her unsubtle flirting with Ben (aged 11) who amazingly put up with her constant stroking of his hair and requests for drawing rabbits!

Bethan loved meeting the Guinea Pigs



Our planned visit to the Bath Christmas market on Monday morning turned into a quick stop at the Royal Crescent when we realised time was against us. This was a blessing as we had a lovely walk around the most beautiful city we've ever been to. We both feel a strong bond with our university city and always want to stay longer.


Looking down Malborough Lane.

Splashing in the Royal Crescent.
Merrily running along Gay Street after a visit to The Circus.

The Royal Victoria Park Lion looked magnificent in the winter sun.

Alas we had to leave Bath, as we were on our way to Trowbridge to see Dr Andrew Steele who speaks about MAF in this part of the country. We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon with him and his wife and we were all impressed by their garden. Bethan's Teddy actually enjoyed it so much he decided to stay the night!


Bethan playing in Andrew's garden

We now have a rough departure date from MAF of around the beginning of April 2014. We will be going to Kenya for 6 months and then onto South Sudan. We look forward to sharing our adventures with you in this blog next year. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.