“Keeping the ADVENT-ure in Your Christmas Season”

 (submission for column in Nov.28/13 issue of Blyth-Brussels Newspaper The Citizen)

            This Sunday (December 1) marks the first Sunday of Advent, the roughly four-week period leading up to Christmas. “Advent” derives from a Latin word meaning arrival or coming; each year Christians recall the coming of Jesus, the Son of God, in human form to heal and deliver, to teach us truth from the Heavenly Father, and become our perfect substitutionary sacrifice on the cross at Easter.

            Another similar word that derives from the same Latin root is “Adventure”. According to the dictionary, an ‘adventure’ is a “daring enterprise, unexpected incident, hazardous activity”. Yet it’s easy for Advent not to have much “adventure”! As years pass and family traditions and social commitments accumulate, the month of December can become cluttered with reunions and parties and routines that are definitely ‘activity’ but hardly ‘unexpected’. For example, perhaps we always put up our Christmas lights in the same place (and we always wait until it’s thirty below to put them up, so nearly freeze our fingers off!). We always get together with her side the Sunday before Christmas and his side on Christmas day. We always go to the office party that weekend and always eat (or drink) too much. We always find ourselves in a panic to get the gifts wrapped on Christmas Eve, and always rush through the opening of gifts because we’ve got to be on the road by 10 a.m.

            Does the sight of your calendar when you flip to December make you groan because of all the extra activities leading up to Christmas? Do you arrive at Boxing Day ready to collapse, almost to be laid out in a box yourself, because of the hectic pace of activities this month? Is non-stop busy-ness and getting frazzled really what this season is supposed to be about?

            Perhaps it’s time to re-examine our usual pre-Christmas routines and ask if there are things that can be dropped for the sake of preserving sanity, and reserve some time to genuinely connect with friends, loved ones, and God rather than continually be run off our feet (not to mention crushed in the shopping malls). What could we do differently this year to change what’s become a “rut” into a fresh advent-ure?

            That first Coming (Advent) of Christ was anything but usual: it was a very unique, one-of-a-kind event. Over seven centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah predicted to King Ahaz, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Virgins conceiving and giving birth is certainly not an everyday event! It was so far-fetched that even righteous Joseph figured that young Mary, who had been pledged to him in betrothal for marriage, must have been sleeping around in order to become pregnant – until an angel appeared to him in a dream and assured him that God was responsible. (Matthew 1:19f)

            It was not usual for babies to be born in a stable and laid in a manger. Any of us would want our own newborns to have better treatment than that! Yet God used an emperor to declare a census so that Joseph, a citizen of Galilee far to the north in Israel, would have to relocate to overcrowded Bethlehem so King David’s descendant would be born there in fulfilment of Micah’s prophecy (Micah 5:2). A baby in a manger would be an easy (and appropriate!) sign for shepherds to find, after they’d been clued-in by angels to this one-of-a-kind Messiah. (Luke 2:12) And to be ‘born in a barn’ was strangely fitting for the humility of One who laid aside heavenly glory, humbling Himself to become obedient to the Father’s will that we might be saved – even if that meant going so far as to die on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

            And it was certainly an “unexpected incident” for Magi from the east (probably Persia or southern Arabia) to show up in Jerusalem at the court of murderous, paranoid King Herod, inquiring exactly where the new “king of the Jews” was to be born. (Matthew 2:1f) All Jerusalem was “disturbed” along with Herod, who no doubt feared yet another duplicitous plot against his regency. And what sort of rare astronomical convergence must it have been that prompted their long and dangerous journey? One unique enough for the Magi to unequivocally identify it as “His star”. It was a most exceptional concert of events that brought the Wise Men, allowed them to find the child Jesus who’d been born essentially right under Herod’s nose, then allowed both the Magi and Jesus’ family to escape the chilling fury of Herod who was used to killing in cold blood to preserve his reign.

            But what’s the most unusual, unexpected aspect of Advent? Stranger than a virgin birth? Weirder than a baby laying in a manger? More peculiar than “wise men” doing such a dumb thing as asking a killer-king where his rival’s been born?

            The most unusual thing about Christmas is God’s motivation for the whole thing in the first place. It is unfathomable that a perfectly just, good, holy, almighty deity would sacrifice what was most precious – an eternal, infinitely-intense love relationship bonding Father and Son – for the sake of mere mortal sinners like you and me! The Apostle Paul described just how “rare” and unthinkable this was: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6_8) Amazing! For a world of lost sinners – He would do that?

            Advent was truly a “daring enterprise / hazardous activity” for Jesus. A real adventure, a one-time occurrence that nevertheless procured eternity in heaven for those who trust in Him. Surely our Christmas celebrations, then, should be anything but ho-hum.

            So, as you review your calendar, what “routines” have cluttered your schedule that could be eliminated in order to carve out some time to focus more on the real meaning of the season? Are there functions that have little to actually do with Christmas, and even less redeeming value (perhaps even posing a safety threat on account of substances consumed)? Are you absolutely sure those long distances travelled to shopping malls are necessary – perhaps gifts might be found closer to home? Are some of your relatives so well-off already that they would understand if, instead of buying a gift of questionable usefulness, you made a donation in their honour for disaster relief in the Philippines, or to help some third-world entrepreneur receive a microfinance startup loan in order that their family might have enough to eat? Instead of yet again watching Mr. Bean drive away with a huge Christmas tree or get his head stuck in a turkey (funny as that is), what about treating some elderly neighbours to a carol and some cookies? What decorations could be left unplugged this year so you can find some quiet moments to reflect before God on your own current purpose in life, and how that relates to the purpose for which Jesus came in the first place?

            Now, you’re starting to put the advent-ure back in Advent! When your wheels stop churning, you just might hear the whir of angels’ wings.

‘Earth to Earth’: Planting the Remains of a Steward of the Soil

In Loving Memory of Dennis Dow, Oct.22/52 - Oct.28/13

    The traditional burial service contains words such as these: “Unto Almighty God we commend the soul of our brother departed, and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead...” (1928 Book of Common Prayer) Our bodies are irrevocably connected to this “stuff” we call earth, ground, dust. But do we ever stop to consider whether what we’re standing on is more than just inanimate material?
    My brother Dennis, whose remains we are ‘planting’ in the earth following his lengthy struggle with leukemia, was a true advocate of the soil. A quiet evangelist for the earth – not the planet Earth per se, but the thin and delicate skin that covers a tiny fraction of its surface and sustains plant life that humans depend on for existence. An ‘evangelist’ in that as I look back he has essentially ‘converted’ me, at least in how I view soil.
    I say “soil” and “earth”, not “dirt”: there’s a subtle distinction in the labels we apply. “Dirt” sounds like something lifeless, devoid of value, to be trodden upon. But Dennis viewed that precious top 6 or 8 inches of farmland as something much different – a fragile, responsive, vulnerable living ecosystem to be protected, nurtured, and valued. “Soil” is not to be “treated like dirt”!
    Yes, I too went to “soil science” classes at University of Guelph and learned the various mineral elements that went into making up the land farmers cultivate – combinations of sand, silt, and clay formed over centuries from underlying bedrock. But it was Dennis that helped me appreciate most the quasi-living quality of soil. He almost cringed to think of how heavy equipment (taken for granted in conventional ever-larger factory-farm methods) would press massively upon and compact the soil, squeezing the tilth out of it, battering it into passive submission. Over three decades he patiently managed his farms so the organic matter would be built up incrementally year after year until the fields became almost sponge-like, capable of soaking up even heavy rains that would cause other fields to flood and run off in torrents, eroding precious layers of soil. It irked him to think how traditional tillage methods relentlessly ripped up, dissected, and exposed the subterranean microcosm so organic matter was needlessly burnt off. It grieved him to see other farmers’ cropping practices “mine” the soil in such a way that, after many decades, it had lost much of its original growing potential, relying upon massive injections of commercial inputs each spring like some junkie dependent upon their next ‘fix’ merely to keep on going.
    As his own death drew near, one of things that grieved Dennis most (besides leaving his dear family, of course) was that the soil he had toiled carefully to steward for over 35 years, building it up to maximum health, might be left to be ravaged by those ignorant of the benefits of minimum-tillage ethos, under whose carelessness the fields would quickly be undermined.
    Dennis’ passion as a soil advocate ‘converted’ me to the point that, when I read the Bible now, I start to see how this might be how God views the land – not as something inert or lifeless, but precious, to be protected and nurtured, a quasi-living symbiosis not to be taken for granted. Maybe God wants us to share His view of it? Something we abuse at our peril. When it suffers, we suffer.
    Our origins and fate are inextricably linked to it. Genesis 2(7,15): “And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life...The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Not ‘exploit’ it or ‘mine’ it: ‘take care of’ implies careful attention to and supportive investment.)  Ecclesiastes 3(19f): “Man’s fate is like that of the animals...All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” The Apostle Paul talks about burial as a type of “sowing”: “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed...So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable...” (1Corinthians 15:37,42) The Biblical view is that the earth will one day “give up the dead” in it (Revelation 20:13).
    As you read through the Bible, God does seem to come across as an advocate for the soil. The Israelites are cautioned before they enter the Promised Land that if they mistreat it and exploit it, depriving it of its Sabbaths and Jubilee years, God Himself will remove them and deport them until the land once again enjoys the relief it needs. Leviticus 25(4), “But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD.” After the fall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon, the Chronicler points to this as a key factor in the reason the nation was punished: “The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.” (2Chronicles 36:21)
    But it’s the prophet Hosea who suggests most blatantly this almost-living quality of earth, a “responsiveness” that sets it apart from inanimate objects. A rock does not respond, it’s largely unaffected if you toss it here or douse it there. But soil is responsive: it suffers if you abuse it; it flourishes if you take good care of it and treat it well, with respect and consideration. In Hosea 2 God describes how, on account of the nation’s ‘adultery’ in worshipping idols, He will “make [Israel] like a desert, turn her into a parched land...I will take away my grain when it ripens...I will take back my wool and my linen...”(Hosea 2:3,9). But later in the chapter He promises to eventually restore Israel – listen to the “responsiveness” of the soil here: “‘In that day I will respond,’ declares the LORD— ‘I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel [“God plants”].’” (Hosea 2:21-22)
    Coming to the New Testament – was Jesus an advocate of the soil? When Christ looked down, did He see more than just lifeless inanimate clods? He headlined the soil in at least a couple of His classic parables. In Mark 4 we find what’s typically called “The Parable of the Sower”, but when you look closely, it should really be called “The Parable of the Soils”. What’s the decisive factor, the “variable” to put it in experimental terms? Not the sower or the seed being distributed: those are constant in each scenario. It’s the amount and quality of soil that’s crucial. Along the path, the seed didn’t even hit the soil but was snatched up by birds. In rocky places “the soil was shallow”. The next patch described is soil lousy with weeds. But the last batch, which produced a good crop, “fell on GOOD soil.” (Mark 4:3-8)
    Another parable Jesus gave, less well known, describes a farmer scattering seed, sleeping and getting up, yet the crop goes right on growing quite independently of him. What’s the active ingredient? Mark 4:28, “All by itself the soil produces grain...” The soil is the ‘star of the show’ in Christ’s little word-picture of the Kingdom of God.
    So, as we “sow” the body in the ground, and say the traditional words “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Dennis’ heritage invites us to carry on his advocacy: to view the soil as far more than ‘just dirt’, something to be manipulated or exploited without regard. Scripture too suggests soil (or lower-case ‘earth’) is precious to God, to be nurtured, protected, appreciated and respected. Until the Day of resurrection when it responds to the Master’s call by giving up those buried therein, we’re entrusted to be caring stewards – that those who come after us may also be sustained.

London day 6: The Quire at St. Paul's

• After a leisurely breakfast at department store TJ Hughes, we headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral
• Staff were very accommodating, providing a wheelchair for Yvonne to use while we admired the soaring walls, gilded and painted domes, and memorials
• The aspect changed dramatically when a visiting choir began their rehearsal: the hallowed halls resonated with sacred tones; now the church seemed alive, rather than just a memorial to the dead (i.e. side chapels with tombs etc.)
  
• We finished our day with an unguided double-decker bus ride to Paddington Station, where we caught the tube then overground home to Watford
• Thanks to all for your interest in reading our blog! Tomorrow we catch the train for Gatwick airport at 6:53 a.m. so this will likely be the end of the blogs for this trip
• Looking forward to a quiet relaxing week with the family at a rented cottage in Gatineau, Quebec next week!
• CHEERS! (and thanks for all your prayers)

[photos]

London day 5: Changing the Guard / Buckingham Palace

• We arrived at Buckingham Palace on a beautiful sunny day just in time to witness throngs of people gathered to watch the ceremonial 'changing of the guard', complete with band and lots of marching about
• When many of those assembled later swamped the ticket office, we decided it might be a good idea to buy the "fast track" tickets offered by the company who'd done our bus sightseeing tour. In fact our 24-hour tickets were still valid so we hopped back on a passing tour bus to get to the main office
• En route we paid a visit to the Canadian High Commission, conveniently located at Trafalgar Square, to use their facilities (including free internet access)
• By the time we got back to BP, Yvonne was so tired and affected by the heat, she commented she was walking like a drunken man
• When I asked about a wheelchair, the Palace wardens quickly responded, and we were looked after royally for the rest of the tour
• Seeing all the gold, silver, and diamonds in the state rooms caused me to marvel that the Queen hasn't let so much power and wealth go to her head (except the crown, on occasion). Perhaps the household servants have picked up a patient, serving mindset because they see it reflected in Her Majesty

[photos]

London day 4: Touring by Bus and Boat

• This day was devoted to "The Original London Sightseeing Tour", which gave us a good exposure to London's principal sites, at least from street level
• Included with the three bus tours was a Thames River cruise: we rode the catamaran with commentary from Tower (of London) Pier to Westminster Pier
• Yvonne managed very well without the wheelchair today, which took some stress out of using trains / subway

 [photos]

London day 3: Visiting an old Friend

• We enjoyed a fast 'London Midland' train ride to Euston station; the escalator there was out of service, so we took a different route than planned to get to the Hatton Cross station. When travelling with a wheelchair, we're starting to appreciate stations with 'lifts' (elevators)
• We were picked up by Yvonne's school chum from 1965-67, Jane Witcombe, who took us on a fascinating tour of their old stomping grounds at Ashford (SW of London, near Heathrow airport)
• We spent a leisurely afternoon catching up with Jane, complete with a delicious lunch and 'trifle'. Jane recently completed her qualifications as a nurse practitioner to write prescriptions

London day 2: Church across the Road

• after a delicious breakfast speedily served at a humble but efficient cafe on Watford's High Street, we walked back up to the Beechen Road Baptist Church for their 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship service
• while the music suffered from the fact the entire choir was away on holiday and several of the pieces were unfamiliar to me, I was able to sing out for "As the Deer"
• it turns out Pastor Robbins was originally from Canada (Oakville ON), having gone to Acadia divinity school in Nova Scotia. His illustration about going to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs with his father as a youth made me feel right at home
• while the 30-odd congregants left lots of empty space in the sanctuary designed to seat over 300, they were warm and friendly, inviting us to coffee and cookies after, and have plans for a 'Back to Church' Sunday in September in preparation for which they wrote names of friends they hoped to invite on sticky notes (see easel in photo)
• for the afternoon, we are enjoying a quiet day of rest before the final few days of our time in Britain's capital

[photos]

London day 1: Kew Gardens

• Returning our rental car after 2862 miles, we had planned to take the 'underground' (subway) to our destination. We found out the 'tube' from Uxbridge was shut down for maintenance. The Hertz agent kindly drove us to the West Ruislip station at no charge
• An hour to drive 10 miles on the M25 (London's ring road, under construction) made me thankful we're using public transit this last leg of our journey
• We are learning to get on and off the subway quickly at the brief station stops (with wheelchair)
• The wheelchair saved us considerable admission cost at Kew Gardens: fee 11 pds not 26 pds!
• Our knowledgable guide took us on a 100-minute informative tour
• Although the day started in wet fashion, by the time we arrived at the Royal Botanic Gardens, it was a beautiful afternoon

[photos]

Visit with Aunt Shirley and family - Bletchley

• after a very enjoyable 6-night stay at Grantham, we loaded everything up again en route to our final stop, Watford (just northwest of London)
• we had a very enjoyable afternoon with Yvonne's mother's sister Shirley Gear, her husband Sam, and two sons Andrew and Brian
• after a delicious lunch out, we toured the grounds and gardens at Woburn Abbey
• a short drive later brought us to our 3-star hotel at Watford where tomorrow we will say goodbye to our faithful steed (Ford Focus diesel) and hello to the famous Tube!

[photos]

Lincolnshire Wolds and York Minster

• we had a beautiful drive through the Lincolnshire Wolds, including a stop for tea and browsing at an out-of-the-way Christian bookshop. While Yvonne shopped, I was given a tour of the off-grid wind turbine-based electrical system :)
  
• York Minster (not only a cathedral, but an early teaching church) was massive and lofty; again, one wonders how millions of pounds for maintenance of aging monuments connects to mission ('fishers of people'). Does the church come across as historical, but irrelevant?
• felt pleased I could make a contribution to the Minster's ongoing development - fixed the toilet in the handicapped washroom so it would give a proper flush!
  
• The first pub we tried in Grantham for supper didn't serve food, but another provided an ample 'ploughman's lunch' including the famous Melton Mowbray pork pie I'd wanted to sample yesterday
• tomorrow we pack up and move for the last time between motels - off to London. It's been a pleasant respite staying in the same place for 6 nights straight.

[photos]

Burghley House and Bunyan's Prison

• our first stop was Burghley (pronounce 'burly') House, near Stamford, UK: this lavish country house was built by Queen Elizabeth I's treasurer, and has been used as a set for the recent re-make of 'Pride and Prejudice'
  
• When I asked how the Cecils made their money, a guide informed me their estate largely came from church lands that were doled out after Henry VIII dissolved them. Rental income from the tenant farmers then went to Lord Burghley (ie Mr.Cecil, Earl of Exeter) rather than the church. Sobering to consider how Father Jean de Brebeuf might have used some of that wealth as a missionary among Native Americans had it been available, instead of wealthy Englishers gilding their fireplaces with silver. (Not that I think the Reformation was a bad idea!)
• unfortunately photography was not allowed inside either Burghley House or the John Bunyan Museum, so I can't share images with you. However the paintings on the walls and especially the ceilings were fascinating and skilfully done; particularly meaningful to those with a better knowledge of mythology than me.
• we only had time in Bedford for a quick stop at the John Bunyan Museum; he wrote the 2nd-most-widely-distributed English-language book to the Bible (Pilgrim's Progress) while in a dark prison here. Bunyan's conditions formed a stark contrast to the opulence we had just witnessed at fashionable Burghley House. But now, Bunyan's work is recognized around the world - especially precious in places where Christians are persecuted for their faith, as he (a Non-conformist) was
• Rutland Water is a huge (3,100 acre) man-made lake: a very pelasant place to stop for a breath of fresh air and to stretch our legs. The sailboats were obviously enjoying the conditions, too
• At Melton Mowbray we were unable to find a restaurant serving the town's famous pork pies (having arrived after the main shoppe closed), but we did savour 'Stilton Chicken'  - a dish in which the meat and potatoes were bathed in a sauce made with the town's renowned Stilton Cheese. MM! stands for Melton Mowbray
  

[photos]

Norwich in East Anglia

• we drove 2.5 hours east through roads some of which were clogged with farm vehicles, to meet Yvonne's mother's cousin Peter Tims and his wife Carole
• Carole is very active musically, teaching private piano/voice students, instructing at a school, and leading an award-winning youth choir of 45 voices aged 7-18 in her volunteer hours
• they took us on a tour of the town, and treated us to a delicious seafood meal at the Loch Fyne restaurant
  
• we arrived home almost in time for Ernest to take part as secretary for a 2-hour EMC-Canada East District conference call (1:30 pm in Ontario, 6:30 pm here)
• over 2000 miles logged in the car now! Today the clutch acted up briefly, sticking to the floor - Ernest just had to learn not to push it all the way down.
  

A Quiet Day for a Change

• We stayed in today as Yvonne spent much time sleeping, recovering from a 'fuzzy' period related to tumour / hormonal activity. The cool overcast weather wasn't all that inviting anyway!
• I spent some time researching historical sites to visit in the region, and planning a route to the scenic Lincolnshire wolds
• Have been enjoying Josh (and son Sean) McDowell's book 'More than a Carpenter' - especially Sean's treatment of how scientific discoveries at the genetic and cosmic level may refute claims of so-called 'new atheists'
• We enjoyed a fun supper out at an American 50's-style 'OK Diner' with a mixed grill and creamy abundant milkshakes

Grantham Christian Fellowship - and a day of rest
Today we worshipped at a small Assemblies of God congregation in nearby Grantham, after a search of local worship possibilities using Google Earth. The second song they sang was by Brian Doerksen, a Canadian, so we felt right at home. Graham Kendrick and Robin Mark were also featured so the British Isles were well represented. The congregation made us very welcome at the coffee time afterwards.
There weren't many cars in the parking lot. When we stopped by the local ASDA superstore for some food items in the afternoon, we found out where all the local people were: the place was a-buzzing with activity! I mused while standing in line that in a strictly consumer society, perhaps the 'altar' is the cash register and the 'priestess' the cashier. We become what we worship.
[photos]

Vacationing with the Venerable Bede - for old time's sake

• Mr. and Mrs. Dow went to Washington - U.K., not U.S.A. (Travelodge motel near Newcastle)
• investigating what there was to see in the area at breakfast using the GPS, we spotted "Bede's World" at Jarrow
• a fascinating exhibit about the life, writings, and impact of this early Briton Christian from nearly 1400 years ago
• his books were still avidly sought and produced (painstakingly copied by hand) two centuries after his death, having a profound reach into medieval Europe
• besides being an active theologian commenting on the scriptures, Bede was an astute scientist, understanding planetary realities and the connection between the moon and the tides before gravity was formally discovered
  
• so, who needs to 'devote yourself to learn the sayings and doings of the men of old' when we have Google? Did these quill-pushing monks actually have a broader grasp of knowledge than we proud 21st-century high-speed iPhone-porting idiot-box-glued post-moderns?
• this evening we arrived just south of Grantham in central England where we plan to stay put for a week and make day trips in a more relaxed manner.

[click for PHOTOS]

Edinburgh: Bus and Botanics

• We were blessed with a sunny warm day to tour Scotland's capital in the top of a double-decker bus. Our guide interpreted it as an omen of good luck that we could complete a 1-hour tour without a drop of rain
• It was good to see the mod-looking Scottish parliament and Dynamic Earth tent, along with Reformation-era churches, and the University of Edinburgh
• We saw the place where executions had been carried out, and were told of one woman who survived hanging to go on and bear 6 children!
• Our afternoon concluded with a very pleasant lunch at the Royal Botanic Garden, including a tour of the glasshouses
• Thus ends our experience of Scotland, for this trip.

[click for PHOTOS]

Lost in the wonders of Edinburgh - literally

• Despite an early start, after driving 20 minutes from Stirling nearly to Edinburgh, we realized we'd left some laundry in a plastic bag back in our motel room when we checked out, so had to backtrack. However the weather was lovely and Britain's classical FM helped the miles fly by
• Edinburgh Castle proved very accessibility-friendly: I was able to book a disabilty parking spot up on the 'esplanade' ahead of time by phone; the courtesy car drove us right up to the top, through a tunnel blasted out of the castle rock 20 years ago; and a 'lift' enabled us to jump into the queue waiting to see the crown jewels
• We enjoyed very much a 'live history' presentation by a musketeer
• However while I was visiting the John Knox museum, having left a tired Yvonne at the car to eat some ice cream, she wandered off in search of an additional snack. An hour and a half later, thankfully, the local constabulary and ambulance managed to reunite us. When she'd become disoriented, some helpful young people hailed a policeman who called in to headquarters and connected with my 'missing person' notification
• Compounding our chagrin was my involuntary purchase of a $60 ticket to a restricted-parking zone (however it's actually a bargain - half-price of the original $120 it would be if I didn't pay in 14 days!
• Must note all the Edinburghians involved in the episode were most friendly and helpful - including the dress- shopkeeper who let me use her phone, and pub owner whose closed-circuit TV camera caught the time at which Yvonne left the vehicle (not to mention the police / ambulance personnel)
• At the end of the day... must say... the crown jewels pale by comparison with getting my wife back! :)

[click for PHOTOS]
[click for video pan from top of Edinburgh Castle]
[click for video history presentation by musketeer at Edinburgh Castle]

Alloa, Clackmannan, and William Wallace

• had hoped to find out some more info about my Dow forebears that sailed from Alloa about AD 1821 to carve out new homes, first in Lanark County, Ontario, then moving to more fertile areas in Perth County (Hibbert Township)
• both churches in Alloa were closed and the clerk of session wasn't home; no answer at the manse
• enjoyed a tour of the Clackmannan church in the afternoon, with a very knowledgeable clerk of session as guide; he referred me to scotlandspeople.gov.uk for further research genealogically
• fascinating tours and vistas from the top of Alloa Tower and especially the National Wallace Monument (over 200 steps up! not to mention the steep path up to the base from the parking lot)
  
• Yvonne and I enjoyed a delicious meal and relaxing live (if loud) music at a bistro in Stirling to cap off the day

[click for PHOTOS]
[click for Video pan from top of Wallace Monument]

Inverewe Garden, north-western Scotland

• Praise God it didn't rain the morning we visited Inverewe Garden!
• marvelous floral beauty at a latitude 300 km north of Edmonton Alberta's - made possible by the Gulf Stream / North Atlantic Drift
• drive back to southern Scotland went much more smoothly than the drive north - more motorway, through straight level patches rather than winding along lochs

[click for PHOTOS]

Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, and the Scottish Highlands
Sorry if you missed my posts - I was incommunicado on the northwest edge of Scotland, then have been so busy posting photos I didn't have time to blog! Will be brief and try to catch up.

• Great scenery on the drive north from Glasgow to Inverewe area; highland mountain scenery is truly majestic
• roads a bit scary where they wind around curves between steep hillsides and lakes
• lunch at hotel while asking them to do a load of laundry was a great idea until the laundry ended up taking 2 hours for a single load

[click for PHOTOS]
[Video of Bagpiper busking in Highlands]
[Video of Three Sisters Mountains at Glencoe, Scotland]
[Video of More Highland Scenery]
[Video of Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness]
[Video of Little Loch Broom, Scotland]