Back so soon!!!

I'm back again, I'm actually quite impressed with myself that I managed to remember that I've got this blog...I'm super-impressed that I actually remembered the password to log in so that I could update it!

Well, what's been happening in my world you may be thinking, ok, you may not be thinking that but I'll tell you anyway.

Work...Church...couple of days off...work...Church....that's it really!! Joking aside, I have been working, still at the shop and things there are starting to pick up quite nicely, I'm starting to see the same customers coming back time and time again, I'm convinced that it is because of my happy face, but I'm sure that Bishop Damien and Roy would argue that it is because of our exceptional shop, product range and pricing policy!

Back in February (school half term) I wwnt with Debbie and the kids to Disneyland Paris for a few days. The weather was cold, and a bit wet at times, but we had a great time. Hollie met her hero, Buzz Lightyear (who she calls "Space" for some reason) and we got some nice photos, including a great one of Ethan, Hollie and Minnie Mouse. We stayed in the Hotel New York, which is located at the other end of Disney Village and is only a 5 minute walk to the parks. Debbie's brother and his wife and kids also went, so did Debbie's mum and dad. This was good because it meant that we could go on the 'big' rides, as we had someone to stay with the little ones! I have to say, I do like the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster!!! Space Mountain still tends to throw your head around a fair bit, leaving you with, what can only be described as, a cracking headache, when you alight the ride...or perhaps it's just me! We travelled by Eurostar from Ashford, so, all in all, it was a stress free process...and we spent less than I expected!

Following my operation on my hand I am making a good recovery. It would appear that this operation was a success as the painful problem appears to have now gone...although there is now pain in the palm of my hand, and there is still the pre-existing problem in the top of my finger. It is still early days, so once it has had a chance to heal properly then it can be assessed further...but my eraly thoughts are that it is better than before. I'm continuing to have therapy on my hand....I say therapy....sometimes it seems more like torture!

I can't remember if I mentioned before that I have diabetes. I was diagnosed in 2002when it nearly cost me my life. Well, over the years I have been on all sorts of medications, etc, with varying degrees of success. Following a recent change of hospital consultant my medication has changed again. As I am overweight I had wanted to try a drug called Byetta, my previous consultant denied it to me. This new doctor has agreed to try me on Victoza (essentially the same), and so far, apart from the initial side effect of feeling sick, I am pleased. The drug has the knock on effect of acting as an appetite supressant, and although I have only been on it since Monday I can already tell that it works!

I have also re-joined Slimming World, along with Debbie and in my first week I have lost 2.5lbs...not a great loss...but a loss...if I had that loss every week then I would be very pleased indeed.

This Saturday is our Diocesan Synod in London, so I am looking forward to that, although the Bishop has 'informed' me that I will be acting as a Server at the Synod Mass...oh well...in for a penny in for a pound I guess!

I can't think of great deal more to write today, so I'll leave it for now, until next time.........

All good things come to those who wait!

And what a wait it has been! I've just looked and realised that my last post was on 17th October 2010...that's last year...3 months ago...oops!

I can't even remember much of what has happened in the last 3 months, but I suppose I'd better try and put something on here. Our new television (remember Hollie broke the last one) is working well, and at present, remains in one piece, this is normally the result of Debbie or I shouting "Hollie! NO!!", although she has developed a response to the NO word now by just blowing rather wet raspberries at us, such a delightful girl...I'm sure that her manners come from her mother's side of the family! lol

I am still working at the shop, and things are going very well. The website is now fully live with two forms of secure payments available, both WorldPay and PayPal. I keep adding more products to the site as we continue to develop our stock range. We have recently added a range of Fairtrade Clerical shirts to our available products.

We also have a few new vestments in now and a selection of Chalices, Patens, Pastoral Sets and Presence Lamps from Italy. I'm hoping that very shortly Roy will have some time available with his camera so that we may photograph these items in order that I may list them online.

Back in Novemeber both Hollie and I had birthdays, her's was on the 5th and mine on the 15th. I have noticed that due to the proximity of these dates my supply of gifts has decreased, yet Hollie's has increased...I sense age discrimination here!

The lead up to Christmas was ok, the shop increased it's performance in line with this, however, the snow spell that we had did affect trade, and even led to us being closed for a couple of days as the trains were invisible and the roads not much better. However, online orders kept coming in, so it kind of compensated for the closure.

Christmas Eve a bunch of us from Church went for a meal at Deeson's in Canterbury, and then followed this with Midnight Mass. Debbie came along with me, although I suspect that the meal was the deciding factor there! Church was pretty much full, as a newish chap, Robert, came along with his family and some of their friends. It was a really good feeling to have so many people there, and I'm sure that the Bishop was rather chuffed!

Christmas Day itself was fine, the kids loved it, got far too much, but that's the problem with family and friends...especially grandparents! I had a bit of a cold Christmas Day, so wasn't feeling 100%, it even put me off of my food a bit. Boxing Day (St Stephen's Day), the cold really hit me...I'm convinced that I had swine flu, or even worse, man flu...but did I get any sympathy??? Of course not!!!

the shop was closed from lunchtime on Christmas Eve until 4th January 2011, so it was nice to have a little break, although I did come in halfway through to dispatch some internet orders...that was through my own choice and pure dedication to my job though! : )

My studies are continuing, as is my desire to follow God's calling. It probably wont be much longer before I submit a formal application to the Board of Ministry.

We have decided at the shop that we wish to sell Communion wine, etc. In order to do this we have to be licensed. We need two licenses, I have to have a Personal License in order to be the DPS (Designated Premises Supervisor) and we also have to have a Premsies License. In order to get my Personal Licence I had to obtain a National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders. This meant attending a course and sitting an exam. Luckily I passed with a score of 95%, so it's all systems go now. We have started the ball rolling, so hopefully it wont take to long before we are fully licensed.

I've not got much planned coming up, except I am waiting to have an operation on my hand. It was meant to have been a couple of weeks ago, but a pre-op blood test revaealed that I had an increased white blood cell count, which suggests an infection somewhere, so the surgeon cancelled the op. It is possible that it may be done next week, but I wont hold my breath.

Apart from that, Debbie and I have got a few nights out lined up, minus the kids. Next month we are seeing Jimmy Carr one evening and then John Bishop on the next. In March we are going to see Simon Evans...so all in all we should have a laugh or two!

That's about it for now, I think that this brings me pretty much up to date, you'll have to forgive me if I've missed anything.

I really will try and keep the gap between this posting and the next one a bit shorter!

Until then................

At last!

It's been close on a month since my last blog update, still, at least it wasn't the 2month gap that I had a one stage before. I'm going to blame the lack of updates on two things, one is the fact that I've been working so hard (honest!!) and the other is that since I've had my iPhone I don't actually use my laptop at home as much, and so rarely get round to updating my blog. However, I know that this is a poor excuse really as I could do it on my iPhone, or the Bishop has said that I can do it in the shop.

The shop has been generating a very positive response overall, even from clergy from different denominations, so that is very pleasing. Sales are slowly increasing, so this is also encouraging. I have finally finished populating the website with all of our initial stock (new stock ranges will have to be added as we go). This has been a huge, and time consuming, task...but I have done it, and I have to say that I am quite pleased with myself. We are now just waiting for the final confrmation of the WorldPay payment processing stuff and then the site will be activated, so it really could be any day! Just to remind you of the website address (in case you have forgotten), it is, www.canterburychurchshop.co.uk

So what else has happened of late? Well, Bishop Damien recently attended the ACC College of Bishops meeting in Florida, accompanied by Roy. They were away for a couple of weeks, so this left us without a priest, as a replacement could not be sourced! Howvever, all was not lost, the Bishop had 'persuaded' me to lead Morning Prayer (Mattins) for the two Sundays that he was away. It was a little daunting, but I sttod up to the task and I think (and hope) that I did a reasonable job. Certainly the second Sunday seemed to be a little smoother. Who knows what his Lordship has instore for my next challenge!!

Anyway, they are back now, and so normal (if such a thing exists) service has been resumed, although I have had to act as Server because Roy sustained an injury whilst away. He hurt his shoulder, and so, temporarily, has become known to me as the 'one armed bandit'! He is now recovering though, so alas, the nickname will not survive the test of time! Suggestions on a postcard please for a new one!!!

We had the Council of Advice meeting for the Church in London yesterday, not huge amounts on the agenda this time, but good discussions, etc were had.

I have a day off tomorrow, and I have got to go and buy a new tv. A couple of weeks back my tv at home was broken by a little thing that Roy describes as an angel....I could think of many other names for her...the most polite one being Hollie, my nearly 2 year old daughter!! How she managed to crack an LCD panel without damaging the outer screen thing is beyond me, but she managed it! My tv was my pride and joy...I was not happy to say the least, thankfully it was covered by insurance, but no doubt my premiums will go up next year to make me suffer! As a result she will not receive any pocket money until she is 22!!!!!!!! Or shall I just exclude her from my will???

Oh well, it's 11.12pm, so I suppose I really do need to log off and get some sleep.

So until next time.....if you have kids make sure that you have good insurance!

Are you sitting down???

Hello again! I hope that you are sitting down, otherwise the shock of me blogging so quickly again after my last post (given my recent record) may actually cause you to fall over with shock!!

I forgot to mention in my last post that at church now I have started serving not only at Low Mass, but also at a couple of Sung Mass services, in the absence of Roy. I'm getting there...slowly...the prompts are becoming a little less frequent. However, I did have one, shall we say, incident, involving charcoal and carpet!! Still, I confessed to Bishop Damien, and so I was forgiven...although Roy mentions it fairly often!!

The shop is going well, sales seem to be picking up a little, footflow is still good and we are getting a very positive response in general. Our range of stock is increasing regularly, and this will have a positive impact on sales. I think that we could be, I say we...I mean I!!), very busy with the run up to Christmas.

There have been one or two people that have come in wanting to enter into some kind of theological debate, but I have handled it well I believe. Some rather unlikely looking characters have also come in and purchased items that you would not expect them to. I suppose that we are all guilty of sterotyping people though. Mind you, saying that, one of them purchased a rosary, and he asked me what it was, he just wanted it for his girlfriend because it looked nice!!

We have now started taking stock photos for the website, so hopefully, God willing, it wont be too long before that is up and running.

On a more personal level I have decided that I will shortly be filling in the application form for ministry. I have printed it off of the church's website, and now need to find a quiet time to complete it. Saying that, I first need to find my educational and employment history things at home. They were all kept in a document folder, but I can't find it for love nor money...I reckon that Debbie has either moved it or thrown it away by mistake, although she'd never own up to it! I last had it when I was filling in the application form for this job, and thought I knew where I had left it. I suppose if the worst comes to the worst then I could always ask the Bishop for a copy of my job application, or rather just those bits of it.

Oh well, that's enough for now, if I keep it short and sweet it encourages to update it more often...famous last words!

Until next time......................

Hello Stranger!!

Well hello!! I've just realised how long it has actually been since my last posting, just under 2 months....what can I say??????

It's been a roller coaster of a period though, so I'll try and keep it to the point and try not to waffle to much....well maybe just a little waffle...actually, thinking about it, Belgian ones with chocolate sauce...mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Let's try and start back at the point of the last blog, or around that date.

Everything was going as planned, getting the shop ready, etc. I then had a weekend away at Alton Towers on 29th July. The journey from Ashford to ALton Towers was somewhat eventful though. About 30 miles from the amazing theme park, at a roundabout off of J24 of the M1 we were involved in a car accident. We were stationary at the roundabout and we were hit from behind at an estimated speed of 35 miles per hour....did it hurt?? Not too much initially, but problems have been present since.

Luckily my wife and son were uninjured, thankfully Hollie was not in the car with us, as the impact was on the rear driver's side of the vehicle and that is the side that she sits. I initially felt a twinge in my lower back and neck, but over the following days this developed and became worse. It ruined my weekend, as I couldn't go on anything at Alton Towers!

My neck now seems better, although I do get the odd spot of discomfort. My lower back is still causing problems, although it is a lot better than it was. I now have a constant dull ache present, which flares up periodically. Thankfully I am receiving physiotherapy, which does help.

The woman that hit us was fine, although very upset. Her insurance company accepted liability within about 2 hours of the accident happening. The accident caused chasis damage to our car and as a result of the reapir estimate our insurance company declared our car to be a write off.

Then started the insurance battle with regards to a valuation figure for our car. They initially offered peanuts, it would not have been enough to buy a suitable replacement vehicle comaparable to our car. After a lot of telephone calls and threats of referring the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, a figure was agreed, but it took them about 2 weeks to pay out!

Once we had the money we were able to find another car. We purchased this a couple of days before we went on holiday to Lanzarote. We ended up buying an ex-police car, at least we know that it has been well serviced!

Anyway, holiday was nice, but the flights were not, thankfully the medication that my doctor had precribed made it a little easier. The weaher was very hot, and I managed to get sunburn, as did my wife, the kids escaped with a nice tan though!!

By the time that I came back from holiday it really was time to think about the shop opening on 1st September. We still needed to price everything and stock the shelves. Luckily Roy and the Bishop were able to help with this. So we had three or four long days (working into the early hours on a couple of them!), but we did it! Finally going home at 4am on the morning of the shop opening, getting about 4 hours sleep, and then back to Canterbury for mass, followed by the Shop opening last Wednesday.

The opening was a success, we celebrated with a blessing of the shop by the Bishop, and followed this by a glass or two of bucks fizz and a piece of cake (which I had arranged through a cakemaker that I know.

That evening the Bishop, Roy and Gregg had arranged for a meal at Deeson's, which is a very nice British restaurant in Canterbury. It was a multi-celebration event, as we were celebrating the 10th anniversary of Credo Care and the opening of two new Credo Group businesses on 1st September, one being Canterbury Church Shop and the other being Credo IT Services. It really was a lovely evening, and I felt honoured to be part of it. Debbie also came along, and I know that she felt the same. It also had the added bonus of giving her a little break from the kids!!!

I have to say that the food was very good, I even had pigeon as a starter, something which I had never tried before...needless to say that any thoughts of a diet that evening were well and truely dismissed!

The shop is generating lots of interest, and will continue to develop as we increase stock ranges, etc. It is still early days, and the only way is forward. We're hoping that the website will be up and running very soon.

That brings us pretty much up to date now....I'll try not to leave it so long next time.

So, if you're in Canterbury, pop into the shop at:

Canterbury Church Shop Ltd, 13 Orange Street, Canterbury, Kent. CT1 2JA
Tel: 01227 379777 - www.canterburychurchshop.co.uk

Until next time...............

On your marks, get set, GO!!!

Last Sunday was church as usual, only we were joined by Libby and her friend Janet from the good ol' USA! I hope that they enjoyed their visit to our little church, we certainly enjoyed having them with us.

After church, and a quick cup of tea I had to leave as I was meeting Debbie, my kids and my mother-in-law in Canterbury, as they were visiting to do some shopping. This was also a great opportunity to show them the window display in the shop that the Bishop and I created...I think they liked it! The shop really does look different with the display there.

Yesterday I had to go to our web designers, Red Carrot in Ashford for some training with regards to our website...which, I'm sure that you remember will be www.canterburychurchshop.co.uk

The training was quite interesting and they assure me that I am now an expert in being able to upload items, etc, etc....watch this space!

In the afternoon I met the Bishop and Roy at the Designer Outlet in Ashford for coffee and gave them an update, they seemed pleased.

That brings us nicely on to today. I was up at cock-o-doodle-do hours to get to the shop early, as I needed to finish work early today. Whilst at the shop BT turned up and finally managed to sort our phoneline out (by installing a new one)...so we now have a working phone...proof it were ever needed that miracles can happen!!

Also South East Water turned up and confirmed that we can have a water meter fitted, so it seems like we will be paying a lot less than £243 for a years supply considering that we only have a toilet and very small hand basin! However, we now have to wait for them to do the job!!

I also managed to build the shop counter that the Bishop purchased...flatpack of course...I have to admit that I was getting a little stressed as the instructions left a lot to be desired!! Still, I did it...if at first you don't suceed...rip the instructions up and do it your own way!

By the time that was all done it was time to come home. It was my little boy's sports day at school today, so I wanted to be there to watch him. He did very well, he even came 2nd in one race. He did cheat in the ball and spoon (aka egg and spoon) race, as for the vast part of the race he held his ball to the spoon!!! You have to admire his initiative.

I'm still sticking to the diet like glue, some of the products, actually all of them are quite tasty...so far, so good!

Well, that's the finish line for this latest blog post.

Until next time..............

Air Conditioned Cassocks!

Hello again...or should I say hello again finally??? It's been a while since my last post on here, I don't really have a great excuse other than to say that I have been fairly busy with the shop, etc.

The painting is all done (with the exception of the rear courtyard), and then it was a case of building the Ikea (Swedish furniture made in China) flatpack stuff! I wont mind if I never see another item of flatpack furniture in my life, which reminds me I've just got the shop counter to do and then that should be the lot!!

We have decided upon an opening date for the shop...it is 1st September, in the afternoon, following mass at church.

All of the stock that was at the Bishop's home has now been taken to the shop and is being stored there (in my office), this has given the Bishop his chapel back at home. We have also ordered more stock, including a rather large order of brassware which should arrive shortly!

Recently we had a marathon of masses at church, everyday except one Monday, and it seemed to be the hottest week of the year. I am also now serving at low masses, complete in cassock and cotta...and boy, was it hot! So much so that I have come to the conclusion that cassocks should in fact be air conditioned. Still, in the winter I suppose that I'll be saying that they should be heated.

The Bishop had two guests from America staying with him yesterday, and as I popped to Lydd to see him I met them. One of them, Libby, is a follower of my blog and it was a pleasure to meet her...she actually made me feel a bit like a celebrity! It's good to know that my humble blog is read across the pond!

Today I sat my exam for the Open bible Institute course that I have been doing...think I have failed, but at least I have tried. Some of the questions were truly difficult, even the Bishop commented on this. I will find out in 8-10 weeks the result.

I have started a new diet today, as I want to lose weight for my holiday in August. It is called All About W8 and is a combination of soups, shakes and special mealpacks. I have tried similar systems before, but so far this one does seem to have the tastiest product range, and you have the option of adding a meal, which means real food from an approved list. It works by putting your body into ketosis, which is where your body starts to use it's fat reserves for fuel/energy. Weight loss should be quite quick, but of course the long term success is reliant upon you changing your eating and/or lifestyle habits. I'll keep you all updated on how I go. So far I have not deviated from it one iota!!!!!

Anyway, all for now....next time we speak I'll be a shadow of my former self!

Until then......