good morning on this lovely May morning here in Kent and welcome we've come to say our morning prayer in the orchard here now the orchard is is just by um the road which runs past us so you'll be aware of cars driving up and down beyond the Hedge but meanwhile we see this beautiful orchard all in Green Leaf and behind me is the pool uh the pond which Chris and Martin have been creating uh which will be surrounded by all kinds of water plants but is in the middle a wonderful place for swimming and feter already tried that wonderfully last night last night we were treated to an extraordinary site of the Aurora Borealis the the northern lights in the sky glimmering in the sky and uh the uh photographs are already online some of you will have seen fetch's blog which has already been posted and that gives you good pictures of that amazing site which I think none of us had ever seen before here in England and it's certainly not so far south so we were grateful for this um what should we say show from from the heavens of of wonderful lights last night and this morning we are going to say our morning prayers here and in two other places of great Beauty on this spring morning but we are actually getting ready to travel again as many of you will know and when this service is with you flet your will also post the details of where we're going across the United States all this came from an invitation from Father Joseph of St Augustine of canterbury's church in Oklahoma and in Oklahoma City and uh he was one of the 55 rectors from across the United States who came to the course at Yale which feter and I were helping to run last July I and he came and said next year we are celebrating in Oklahoma the 40th anniversary of our church which is dedicated to St Augustine of Canterbury it would be a wonderful thing if you could come would that be possible and I had it that time to say well I don't know at the moment we'd like to and it turned out to be possible so we put that in place and decided that if we were going to fly the oceans that we would fly first to Houston where we will spend the next Sunday um in the Cathedral Church there in Houston and then go on from there through through uh Dallas and Fort Worth right up through to Oklahoma and Beyond Oklahoma to Kansas City and then across to St Louis and uh Louisville in Kentucky and uh eventually around through Indianapolis and up to Chicago it's a long journey when we come back uh we shall go immediately for me to take a wedding in Wilshire which is uh in the south of England but not near Kent it's on on the way to the west and part of my old patch when I was Rector of Tisbury and ARA dean of the that that uh Valley and so the the church that we're going to is very well known to us and the the young man were marrying to a lovely lovely bride uh will uh is a a boy that we watch grow up as a nextdoor neighbor the son of the School Chaplain in the precincts in Canterbury and after that we're off to Spain to Santiago almost immediately to do Duty as the priest and and flet helping in all that and and planning so many things uh the to do Duty there as the priest in in the the church for pilgrims there at Santa Susanna and and we should look forward to that as well so it'll be a long time before we're here again we think two months before we come back here and and we we shall we shall miss all this but nevertheless the the the journey will be an interesting and lovely one and I hope that many of you will accompany us online as we go across the world in both directions eventually we'll keep in touch with with uh regular not daily but regular uh films to to to send you and also many of the churches will have live broadcasts of the worship going on and Fletcher will provide the links for those too but meanwhile it's it's the Saturday after the Ascension Day Thursday was Ascension Day and this is the Saturday after I have a special affection for this day because although the date changes year by year and my birthday is 6 days off yet this was the day in the church's calendar the Saturday after Ascension that I was born so a new beginning in the liturgical calendar for me on the eve of the first Sunday after the Ascension and here we are I'm told I was born at half 11 at night so I'm Saturday's child not Sunday's child but all of these things come together on a spring day and there is nothing so beautiful as a spring day in terms of freshness and the feeling of new beginnings this is uh my Best Book of of Jared Manley Hopkins I'm going to read two of his poems this morning but I thought we'd begin with his poem which is simply spring nothing is so beautiful as spring when weeds in Wheels shoot long and lovely and Lush thrush's eggs look little low heavens and thrush through the echoing Timber does so rinse and ring the a it strikes like Lightnings to hear him sing the glassy PE tree leaves and blooms they brush the descending blue that blue is all in a rush with richness the racing Lambs too have Fair their fling what is all this juice and all this Joy a strain of the Earth's sweet being in the beginning in Eden Garden have get before it cloy before it Cloud Christ Lord and sour with sinning innocent mind and mday in girl and boy most oh maid's child thy choice and worthy the winning Hopkins at his best in pastoral mode and excited mode and as always in his poetry everything in Creation in some way sacramentally points him to heaven and to the person of Jesus Christ and of of the the the Virgin Mary who cared for him in his infancy and was there through the whole of his journey even to the cross and Beyond as we shall see today in our reading so let's begin our morning prayer and we can glory in the spring as it happens we' got here sorry I should have said uh two tortoises uh the big one is called George and the smaller one they're both quite big because they're both quite young and will grow a great deal uh the smaller one is Charlie uh you'll see on their back there's a a a tag a metal tag which is just stuck on there that shows us at any time where they are because tortoises are great adventurers and they can get lost in all this undergrowth but with those on and they're not they're not um bored into their shed or anything they just stuck on there and can easily come off but but for the moment there are safety tags for them when they wander around and give them Freedom also Leo is here somewhere You' probably seen him already wandering around I don't know where he's gone at the moment but he is rounding about Leo Leo there he is come on Leo Leo come here come and see the people come on Leo come on come on long time since you come on Leo come along here we are he's grown a bit camera shy since you've seen him last but he's also looking around to see what on Earth is around in the orchard uh and he'll have a good day in the sunshine so let's begin our morning prayer oh Lord open our lips and our mouths shall Proclaim your praise send your Holy Spirit Spirit upon us and clothe us with power from on high Allelujah blessed are you Creator God to you be praise and glory forever as your spirit moved over the face of the waters bringing light and Life to your creation pour out your spirit on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace Reveal Your Presence blessed be God Father Son and Holy Spirit blessed be God forever in coming on the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence oh God set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen the Lord is King let the Earth Rejoice let the multitude of the Isles be glad clouds and darkness are round about him righteousness and Justice are the foundation of his throne fire goes before him and burns up his enemies on every side his Lightnings lit up the world the Earth saw it and trembled the mountains melted like Wax at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth the heavens declared his righteousness and all the peoples have seen his glory confounded be all who worship carved images and Delight in mere Idols bow down before him all you Gods Zion heard and was glad and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of your judgments so Lord for you Lord are most high over all the Earth you are exalted far above all gods the lord loves those who hate evil he preserves the lives of his faithful and delivers them from the hand of the wicked light has sprung up for the righteous and joy for the true of heart rejoice in the Lord you righteous and give thanks to his holy H name glory to the father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World Without End Amen that was Psalm 97 and we're turning now to our lesson which is taken from The Acts of the Apostles as I said this is a a morning of New Beginnings this is the story of the Ascension but also the story of A New Beginning for the friends of Jesus following the Ascension it's also a new beginning for St Luke for this is part two of the two things the two books in the New Testament that uh bear the name of Luke and the first is the Gospel of St Luke of course and the second is the followup the sequel The Acts of the Apostles so here is chapter 1 of The Acts of the Apostles reading from verses 1 to 14 in the first book o Theophilus I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God and while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father which he said you heard from me for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now so when they had come together they asked him Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel he said to them it is not for you to know times or Seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the Earth and when he had said these things as they were looking on he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight and while they were gazing into heaven as he went behold two men stood by them in white robes and said men of Galilee why do you stand looking into heaven this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven so they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet which is near Jerusalem a Sabbath Day's Journey away and when they had ented entered they went up to the upper room where they were staying Peter and John and James and Andrew Phillip and Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew James the son of alfus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James all these with one Accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers it's a lovely lesson of new beginnings but there's a heavy message in it men of Galilee why stand staring up into heaven meaning there's work to be done on Earth and when you consider What lands and cities are being mentioned in that lesson and you look at the news this morning looking at the holy land and all that is going on in Gaza and in Jerusalem and the violence which is part of that whole muddled scene one realized that there is much work to be done on Earth I was watching the ear early morning news of a doctor uh in the area which is um being evacuated at the moment people fleeing from it fleeing for their lives and many have been already wounded and injured and killed but he was operating and he and they said how long for he said I just go on operating I don't take lunch breaks I I'm I go on and there's no way out for him now because the road is closed but he himself was Absolut absolutely sure that his vocation was there to help as many as he could with his surgical skills and one looked into the eyes of a man of Courage at at at that time and they said but aren't you aren't you worried about yourself he said no I'm this is where I know I must be but I'm worried for my family because they worry for me and that concern of course is right across the world it's a time of terrible Wars going on uh and the offensives between Ukraine and and Russia still going on and in other areas where where shipping is is not now able to go through SE canal and into the Red Sea because of the violence and all the weapons all those things we remember as we read that there is work on Earth to do with the quality of the Kingdom of Heaven There is courage to be shown and thank God so many have Shar shown that in Years Gone by and are still doing so today so let's continue with our morning prayer after that lesson I'm in the uh daily prayer and I'm on page 280 the spirit of God fills the whole world Allelujah I will take you from the Nations and gather you from all the countries I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses a new heart I will give you and put a new spirit within you and I will remove from your body the Heart of Stone and give you a heart of Flesh you shall be my people and I will be your God glory to the father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever amen the spirit of God fills the whole world Allelujah Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your people and Kindle in us the fire of Your Love All who are led by the spirit of God are children of God and fellow hes with Christ Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your people renew the face of your creation Lord pouring on us the gifts of your spirit and Kindle in us the fire of your love for the creation Waits with eager longing for the Glorious Liberty of the children of God Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your people and Kindle in us the fire of your love we often in the past did morning prayer we've used particular dates to fix our thoughts on things and this date I noticed is an anniversary of the time in the year 330 ad when the emperor Constantine dedicated and consecrated the city of byzan which became Constantinople and is now Istanbul dedicated it as the capital of the whole of the Roman Empire it became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and the emperor there was the Eastern Eastern Roman Emperor for well as long as um until the the Ottoman Empire took it over in 1453 so that went from 330 to 1453 a very long uh imperial history for Constantine who of course was the first Roman Emperor to embrace the Christian faith and who summoned the Council of NAA and brought the Bishops together at NAIA and from that the document was was uh set out which forms our nyine Creed which we tend to use at the communion so we give thanks for the emperor Constantine but I rather give thanks for his mother Helena too because the empress Helena his his mother actually went on a a pilgrimage of her own all around the Roman Empire uh and went specifically to Jerusalem to see their holy sights and identified them and and uh so many of the places that she identified Constantine later had basilicas and churches built over so at his order the Church of the Holy Seiler which so many of us have have um visited and said our prayers in in Jerusalem uh was was was built and remains one of the holiest places for Christians in the whole world so we give thanks for the emperor Constantine we give thanks for his mother who inspired his first of all his warmth towards Christians because it began with the Edict of Milan which allowed Christian to worship freely without persecution which certainly had not always been in the case the case in the Roman Empire but at the same time urged him and coaxed him forward so that he in the end was baptized and received the Christian faith Constantine as you probably will know was declared emperor in the year I think 3 306 um in the city of York in England where he was serving in Britannia uh and the as it was called in those days and his soldiers acclaimed him as the new emperor and later on he became the sole Roman emperor in 324 but we give thanks for his long Reign uh and all that he affected and we give thanks also for the long history of the city of what was until 1920 or something Constantin and is now of course Istanbul it became a great City through that act of Constantine on this day and was the site of so much history and art and when it fell to the ottoman uh Empire so many texts from the Greek sources were removed by people fleeing from Constantinople or uh to be away from from that capture by the Islamic Ottoman Empire at that time uh so we think of new beginnings and think of Constantine on this day making that new beginning we're going to have a new beginning now and go and um seek out another spot where the spring will be be speaking to us in a different way and so we will um rejoin you when we arrive at that special spot Leo won't be coming with us and then eventually we'll come back here okay Leo we're going to leave you for a little bit with George and Charlie and you can speak to them for a bit and see how things go for you okay we'd like to take you but it would be a bit too much trouble so we've come down into the middle of the village of westwell and I'm standing in front of this green here which forms the center of the village and has the sign of westwell in ancient letters up on a pole there but even more important this is the site of the beacon which in so many villages and on Hills across England uh are lit for very special occasions and they used in the old days when there was a a no way of signaling to one another in times of disaster or great celebration signal to each other by being lit on one Hill then the next then the next but now they tend to be lit for great occasions of Celebration like a coronation or a massive Jubilee like the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II uh so we are here at a significant spot but we've actually come here to say our prayers uh in the churchard and in the Church of uh St Mary the Virgin which is a 13th century Church beautiful 13th century church and it even has at the East End a 13th century Jesse window show the family tree at beginning from Jesse to David and then through the land of David beautiful glass here and very rare in a parish Country Church so we're going to walk down to the church and uh enjoy the Peace of the village here past the village hall on the left hand side and surrounded by the song of blackbirds and Robins all the chestnuts are flowering and everything in the Lane's flowering enormous amount there of what we call Queen Anne's Lace or cow parsley it's sometimes called and then as we go along here roses on the cottage beginning to bloom and the beautiful trees which tend to surround English country churches it is the most lovely place to worship they're restoring the ancient Pub next door here the Village Inn which is called The Wheel Inn and soon it will be fully restored and back in Action here we are we'll walk along this path and we discovered that this plant here was called Jack by the Hedge in common parlance because it is flowering at this time of year along every hedge row and I think there's a another um common name for it and I'll need to ask Fletcher whe this is the right one is is called Poor Man's garlic or something of that sort it's flavorful in soups here are two pilgrims coming along as well good morning lovely church I'm glad good it's very beautiful isn't ited difficult to maintain all the world well I think it's yeah it is all these churches are difficult to maintain but they're very beautiful how long may they last yes here we have a patch of blue bells Spanish blue bells and uh alkanet green alkanet with this lovely blue flower here under the Blue Sky when we're in the churchard we'll read the other poem by of Manley Hopkins which makes mention of the blue sky and the flowers below everything is so full of sap Rising as his earlier poem about the spring nothing so beautiful as spring and on a morning like this you really feel it a few weeks ago this was covered in various wild flowers and now they've passed on to the on this side the White dead nettle here which uh we used to pull the flowers off and suck the honey from the bottom on our way home from school and these beautiful blue flowers everywhere at the moment they last a long time they'll keep flowering till mid July or more and they've been flowering for a few weeks now and here's the churchard gate and the par leading up to the Parish of St Mary the Virgin [Music] westwell as always in these Church yards you have U trees very old U trees you remember when a week or two ago we were in the churchard at cap fin those very ancient 's indeed and it's almost like entering to uh a JRR tolane story The Lord of the Rings where the the trees the ants are alive because on uty trunks you see faces in the patterns which have grown up over many hundreds of years nice brick path leading up here to the door the South door that's a much younger UT tree here but let's get inside for a moment there's an old bumblebee taking pulling from the flowers and doing his work this is a very hospitable Church hardly a service happens without something like a bacon sandwich or coffee and cake afterwards uh and uh the welcome is a very very keen one here we are you come inside and it's a spacious church with beautiful arches and at the back all the signs of ordinary Hospitality where hot water for tea or coffee uh and the tables where folk can sit after the Eucharist on a Sunday morning and then here at the front this wonderful view up the Nave to this Jesse window 13th century the bottom uh panels been slightly restored but with glass of the same period but the top is full of Integrity always kept with lovely flowers here and little alter on the side and there the window going from Jesse in the bottom panel and then up to David recognizable instantly because of his harp in his [Music] hand that uh lovely hymn Jerusalem my happy home name ever dear to me um has a verse you remember there David stands with harp in hand the master of the choir where there's King David with his harp I hope he continue to play it in old age for the stories about him with his harp are when he's a lad and called in to cheer up the king who's having a depression and they say oh we know someone who plays the heart very well the youngest son of Jesse and Saul has him into the court to play to him when the mood of of desperate anxiety uh or uh depression come comes over him and then up through that Royal line of David up to Christ himself and the Holy Spirit descending on Christ from the topmost part of that beautiful 13th Century window I had the privilege of celebrating the midnight mass in this church all candle it and knowing that uh um it was this year exactly um I think 800 years since St Francis had formed the first human crib and 800 years ago the villagers here would have been worshiping in this church in the same kind of way not this exact building because there was a this was a 13th century major build and the church that existed before was incorporated into it lovely organ and lovely choir stools so we're going to say some prayers here and then we'll read our poem in the churchard it seems better to do it in the sunshine but as we say our prayers it's important that we remember all those places in the world today suffering the effects of War the horrors of war and on today's news as I was saying earlier the first bulletins are all about the war in Israel Palestine Gaza and at the same time the new offensives in Ukraine elderly people being brought onto buses to be taken away to safety leaving their homes for the second time in the last two years so remember them but at the same time give thanks that in this life there is capacity for new beginnings and they those New Beginnings are simply signs of the great new beginning which awaits all of us in an eternal Dimension so we use the prayer for the seventh Sunday of Easter the Sunday after Ascension day that's the collect for this weekend oh God the king of glory you have exalted your only son Jesus Christ with great Triumph to your kingdom in heaven we beseech you leave us not comfortless but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our savior Christ is gone before who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God now and forever amen we remember our lesson from earlier were the men in white said men of Galilee why are you looking up into the sky the question signifying that the work is here on Earth to be done and that work is sometimes challenging and sometimes forced Upon Us sometimes dangerous and quality ities of courage and support for one another are more than ever necessary those things we see in a way that no other generation has seen because we have reporters and ways of getting things to us immediately so we can be thinking of people absolutely immediately and wherever we are the one thing we can do is to pray for them and hold out the love that we feel for their humanity and also pray in some cases for forgiveness at the capacity of human beings to be so cruel to each other but also the capacity to show infinite love and tenderness to each other too we're going to go out now into the churchard and we'll read uh a poem by Geral Manley Hopkins again which speaks so well in this church of St Mary the Virgin I said we would read another Jared Manley Hopkins poem because he's very much the poet of spring and fresh growth this one is slightly different it's called the May magnificant and he Muses why in Tradition the church has dedicated the months of May to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and he thinks of her feasts different dates throughout the year and none of them in May the church has partly writed that and made the 31st of May the Feast of the visitation but that's that's a new removal and it's deprived me on July the 2 of the to the visitation which was my ordination day for being made a deacon but this is called the May Magnificat and he explains why may is the appropriate month May is Mary's month and I Muse at that and wonder why her feasts follow reason dated due to season candle Mass lady day but the lady month May why fasten that upon on her with a feasting in her honor is it only its being brighter than the most are must delighter is it opportunist and flowers F soonest ask of her the mighty mother her reply puts this other question what is spring growth in everything flesh and fleece fur and feather grass and green world alt together star-eyed strawberry breasted throtle above her nested cluster of bugle blue eggs thin forms and warms the life within and bird and Blossom swell in sod or sheath or shell all things Rising all things sizing Mary sees sympathizing with that world of good Nature's motherhood their magnifying of each its kind with delight calls to mind how she did in her stor magnify her Lord well but there was more than this Spring's Universal Bliss much had much to say to offering Mary May when drop of blood and foam dapple Bloom lights the orchard apple and Thicket and Thorp are merry with Silver Surf cherry and auring over grey Bell makes wood Banks and breaks wash wet like lakes and Magic cuckoo call Caps clears and clinches all this ecstasy all through mothering Earth tells Mary her MTH till Christ's birth to remember and exaltation in God who was her salvation before we leave this holy place with one last task to do and you might do it with me just at the top of the Nave here before we enter the choir area there is what we call a pricket stand where there are candles we can hear Light a Candle as a Prayer For Those whom we love and need our prayers at this time in this life or the next and I have two friends or we have Fletcher and I have two friends um who have died in the last day or two one of them Canon Norman woods and we think of him and his widow py and this time so we light a candle for Norman and py and then in my old Parish of Tisbury Rosemary has died a friend a very very good friend to the wife of my former organist so this is for Rosemary may she rest in peace and rise in glory and for Mary grieving for her and then finally this last candle is for anyone that you are thinking of now who needs special help or who's passed on to life eternal and you want to give thanks for as well as pray for for the living we pray for the holy spirit's blessing and creativity in their lives and for The Departed that they may rest in peace and rise in glory amen L Lane to another another place that we can take you another Tower uh on this perfect morning we mustn't waste the weather lots of buttercups just here beautiful buttercups shining in the Sun and also lots of Queen an's lace look at it all along you see why it's called Queen Anne's Lace because the flowers themselves are so delicate and they bloom for about a month at this time of year in every HED row so that you get the high point of spring as it goes along even the Nettles which sting you if you touch them uh are looking really lovely in the bright green and lots of little flowers along the Hedge RS here blues and yellows the colors of spring A really lovely day nice for a bicycle ride too good afternoon I say good afternoon here we are coming gently along the lane and lovely oak trees on each side looking almost yellow with their new green leaves one has to keep one's eyes looking in every direction because there's so much life it's hard to disturb the silence really these big Le so we come along the lane here still studied with the queen an lace to the great lake at eastw Manor uh and the back gate and Chapel which is here we'll walk up to there in a moment we thought we wouldn't go inside today because it's such a perfect morning that it would be better to stay outside and enjoy all of that so I'm going to walk on now a bit towards the the gate and then we'll go towards the lake when we get there and have a look inside the chapel too come here's the gate itself now and we can take this little path along through the churchard here's the chapel it's a special Chapel because in the sanctuary there there is a memorial to Richard plantagenet who is thought to be the son of Richard III who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth field Richard himself who was the king whom Shakespeare wrote the play about and we're going to go into the church and uh see the ruin itself it's not a church that's any longer in use but it has a long history in that time when the wars of the Roses but between the red row of Lancaster and the white rows of Yorkshire were uh fighting it out for the throne for so many [Music] years nice black bird singing to us here we are here the ruins of the little church and the tower which still stands the church would have been here and Beyond is the Great Lake it's a lovely day to be here and no more English sound than a black bird singing [Music] and this little path leads from the churchyard down to the lake itself very beautiful this afternoon in the sunshine there's like a little grassy theater here and bits and pieces of the church still it's walk on round [Music] and we can go through the wicked gate reminds when of Pilgrim's Progress along this rather rough field beautiful red chestnut in the middle so this was a a little stop on the way which would have been a holy place for many years and now is simply the sign of a holy place losing none of its character and giving one a sense of how history passes it's really very beautiful here indeed on this hot day I think over there is a flowering Judas tree so we've come here to just think a little bit about today and we were thinking of special dates earlier on and today the 11th of May in 1892 the actress D Margaret Rutherford was born and I think she became uh beloved of so many people through dramas and films and the parts she played if you read her early life it's full of tragedy for both her parents and for her also and she was brought up by an aunt um but later on she took to acting in particular roles and I think most of us will know her wonderful um Madame arari in uh n coward's blly Spirit which she made in 1945 for David lean and instantly became a a national character and that was taken on after that by her playing Miss prism in Oscar Wild's The Importance of Being Earnest which she became the ideal Miss prism and that film of course uh containing Michael Redgrave and Michael Dennison contain also uh Dame Edith Evans who absolutely immortalized the line a handbag when she said it to Mr Worthing she made four films of Agatha Christie's Miss marle and those two became a real success and we give thanks for that but also in eastw Manor I'm reminded of a group of actors and actresses who who play in the changeling theater company and act out wonderful plays in The Gardens of our Kent and we've seen some of their work acted in eastw Manor normally Shakespeare plays each year they will do one Shakespeare play and one that's a lighter comedy and we've actually seen both of the ones I mentioned uh Margaret Rutherford playing in that's blly spirit with the the the ghost of the former wife coming back to haunt the the wife that he the the the the husband had married when when she she died and Madam arari the is sent to summon up the the the spirit of the former one man my goodness she does and then they can't get rid of her and that was acted out um in the garden of swolling Manor uh and it's a wonderful social occasion for people round about they bring picnics and have a very long interval uh and enjoy their picnic and then go on to act two and and the the play uh blly spirit was played with immense humor we enjoyed it a great deal and took friends to see it this year we're told that the Shakespeare play will be Henry V and the comedy play present laughter by n coward and we're already seeing which dates in our life we shall be in England to be able to go and enjoy both those dramas one very serious the Henry V and the other um a lighter touch but both immensely enjoyable in The Gardens of lovely houses so we give thanks for the way in which someone whose life began with terrible tragedy with her parents and and ended uh with her becoming qu quite uh withdrawn herself but being looked after by her very faithful husband um can give so much pleasure through humor in acting and these places which I said when we came in here looks rather like a little theater and it does sitting here and one can imagine the changeling players putting on wonderful plays here with people sitting around on the grass with picnics and enjoying and laughing or getting the real tragedy when we saw ell it was an extraordinary uh experience that we had and then about 2 weeks later we saw the same players acting hilariously in The Importance of Being Earnest so we give thanks for the ability to act and to amuse and to present the wonderful dramas not only of Shakespeare but of those like n coward and Oscar wild who could make us laugh in those situations and know more about our own weaknesses we're going to go on now uh after our little stop here in this Pleasant place so after all those spring thoughts of new beginnings and prayers that so many throughout the world might have a new beginning through the courage and patience and skills of others we ourselves uh say the Our father and then a blessing for us before we set off on our um journey and we we hope that you'll follow us on the way through so as our savior taught us so we pray Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever ever and ever amen the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and Minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his son Jesus Christ Our Lord and the blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and upon All Those whom you love and pray for wherever in the world they are today and always amen say we wish you well and we look forward to our journey together to other places in the next few weeks so here we are Leo you get a nice day now and you really need a bit of a brushing you're coming into your summer coats aren't you you're a bit faster than little Charlie here and George there we are look at all of this you're covering me with hers okay people be glad to see you again oops don't jump away you can go in a moment you're Dusty from where you've been rolling around [Music] oopsie you going to go go enjoy fishy yeah no it was Sting here off again s not ke to move you can't sit here all day Leo come on see how fast George is being Leo he's much faster than you hey George hey George where are you going oopsy oops he's gone