A.R.T. Antics

Good things come to those who wait patiently on the Lord... Gosh so much has happened recently I would say my life is irecognizable to a few months ago. This is mainly due to the fact that about 5 months ago a young dutch man who has been my friend for quite a few years now decided to try his luck in barging his way into my life. At the time I didn't really know what was happening, and he established himself in my life rather quickly moving his whole life over here to start again and be part of my life as well as following the call of God on his life. In time I realised that I had had a gem in my reach all along but just not recognised it. Like I have said on several Instagram and facebook posts that good things come to those who wait. As many of you know I have waited an awfully long time. After being on my own for so long I can't imagine life without him. My life has been a roller coaster with many twists and turns highs and lows but it has been amazing. However I do thin...

JULY Last weekend was very busy for both myself and the church as we had two wedding in the same day. Lisa Burrell got married to a sweet Nigerian young man. Myself and Yvonne set up the reception and the decorations the night before which was great to help out in some way. I even helped out on the day cutting up melons and shifting people in and out of the venue. It was a beautiful day with both bride and groom singing to each other, there was not a dry eye in the house.  The first wedding had not already finished before the second bridal party arrived. Ishiqua and Aaron were the second wedding which was quite different to the first and the bare seemed to be extremely relaxed and laughing and joking all the time throughout the ceremony. Then if that wasn’t enough weddings a couple where I was the guy in question’s Alpha course leader got married on Sunday. So as you can imagine after this weekend I am all wedding out. Still I have lot of ideas for the future now. -------------...

Not seen much of my flat recently, been out quite a lot, which is not unusual. I do love living on my own though, it’s great to come back to there at the end of the day. My flat is really lovely and cosy, it’s great to be able to have people round and to be able to cook. I know that these seem like normal things but I’ve not been in this position before. On Saturday we had a picnic in our local country park; Clifton Country Park it was really. Sadly I had issues with my back that day but I got to talk to a very interesting lady who has just come to the church. Then afterwards we had a 30 th  birthday party at jump nation which is a trampoline park. She said that she wanted to bounce into her 30’s, it was exhausting I was tried after 20 minutes. Finally my second birthday was much more civilised we went to dimities and then cloud 23 where the views are absolutely amazing. The weekend was rounded off by leading worship at Salford. This weekend is going to be a lot quieter.

It's amazing how long time seems on holiday, it's as if time stands still. Monday was a great day we spent sometime on the beach watching two new friends as they parasailed over the sea. One of my new friends from London decided that on our last day we should go back and ride a banana boat. As I can't swim something to be conquered very soon. I took one look at the boat and decided there was no way on earth I was getting on that boat as it looked very unstable and I was sure I would be thrown off. She did talk me into agreeing to go onto the boat that pulled the banana boat. We decided to go on an adventure to the lighthouse that we had heard about. Only we decided to embark on this adventure in the midday sun. One of the group decided we should find somewhere to shelter which I decided was a fab idea because I didn't want to turn into a crab as I burn very easily. I had to wear a top over my shoulders so I didn't burn even though it was baking hot. Our walk led u...

So after 24 hours on a coach I actually needed some space by the next day. Anybody who knows me is in disbelief here, but even I need quiet sometimes and perhaps more so since I lived on my own. I managed to hide away for a few hours upstairs in the hotel to spend some time with Papa (God) I may have stolen this from the shack but you catch the sentiment. I got to the beach for a couple of hours and dangled my feet in the water but generally kept dry . I loved staring at the waves coming in and out I could stare for hours, there is something captivating about the sea. We had already formed our group we were the gang from the coach. Even on the first day which was a Sunday it felt like time slowed down. That couple of hours seemed to quite extensive. Then there was dinner and our first meeting, dinner Usually consisted of lots of salad. I needed to make sure I didn't just fill up on salad although it was quite easy to do and friends had to remind me. I imagine that my energy level...

A few weeks ago I went on holiday which was a welcome break to my usual activities. I embarked first of all on a journey across the UK to the south east coast. Of course my travels were not without their dramas as my middle name or should I say my blog name is not antics. So the first drama was like something straight out of Bridget Jones.  As I anticipated getting on the coach with my suitcase which I was convinced was going to not be allowed on the coach as I hadn't managed to weigh. I don't own a pair of weighing scales, maybe it is time to invest.  I had a Bridget jones moment with my suitcase, I didn't realise that it wouldn't fit down the aisle, what suitcase doesn't fit down an aisle. Clearly my case doesn't. I can imagine Bridget Jones dragging her suitcase down the aisle of a train, knocking everyone over just as I did. Thankfully my amazing travel buddy came to the rescue along with a couple of unsuspecting male bystanders who took pity on a poor weak ...

I did a park run which is 5K in this heat on Saturday, although it wasn’t too hot so I was fine and managed it. I have signed up to do the colour run a week on Saturday. I’m going to be doing it for Hope for Justice which is an anti -slavery organisation they are amazing. There is some really lovely countryside near me which was so nice to see and I must go for a walk there when I’m not running, probably with someone as it would be a bit secluded. Still there were over 300 people who came on the park run.  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/angela-thompson12?newPage=True    SO I am back into the swing of work again, Spain feels like years ago. Even though it was only 2 weeks ago. Thankfully I am still in touch with some of the friends I made, they may become lifelong friends, I do hope so. It’s been an interesting week so far me and some of the girls from my family went to the Britannia hotel for afternoon tea. It was really lovely and so reasonable, ther...

 The weekend just gone it included a singles meal where I am quite sure I was the youngest it’s usually the way. We went to Sweet Mandarin in the northern quarter which is actually owned by our very own Lisa Tse, I believe she is part of the evening site which is now called HOME, more about that in a minute. Lisa is a bit of a celebrity she has a recipe book out, a range of sauces which you can find in Sainsbury’s. She has even cooked for the prime-minister and to top it all off she has an MBE. Despite all this fame she addressed me personally and we got the star treatment. Saturday I went to Chester to see some of my old Uni friends some of which I had not seen in 15 years, yes I am that old. We had a good boogie and chatted to the early hours of the morning. So, the next day I get up (don’t make it to church) I have an enormous headache but it wasn’t an alcoholic hangover because I kid you not I only had one glass of wine. So, after a bit of deduction and a chat to my partn...

There is something I have been pondering for a while and that is the world of the child and the imagination. I have thought about the world of the artist and how it links into the spiritual many times. As an artist and a christian I have come to realise in my own journey that Art is a most spiritual thing and imagination is a gateway into the spiritual. The many paintings I have produced have been ones that I have captured through prayer. I have said that painting is a kind of praying. I believe that I have interacted with the spiritual world through my painting which I will embark on once again in the near future. It's funny the way that we seem to do away with imagination when we get into our adult years as if it does not have any use to us anymore. We relegate imagination to our kindergarten years, it's like we are scared of our imaginations. So we put our imagination in a box at the back of our minds and pretend we do t need it or want it. Because we have filed it away so...