Rosie’s Ramblings – Summer 2025

Rosie’s Ramblings – Summer 2025

Summer already! I can scarcely believe that only a month ago we were beginning our holiday with our daughter Susie, her husband Shawn and their children, 7-year-old Rhys and Annabelle whose 5th birthday was on Easter Day. As Holy Week and Easter are my busiest times of the year, I told them I couldn’t cope with them till after that, so they flew over from North Carolina to arrive on Tuesday of Easter Week. It was such a joy to have two whole weeks with them, since the rest of the year we are limited to communicating by WhatsApp. Yes, I know, we are blessed to have the technology that makes it easy to keep in touch, but it’s no substitute for being together physically, to have hugs, and experience the whole of family life – including the meltdowns!

Part of the joy is seeing the wonder of the world through the eyes of the children. Rhys and Annabelle were excited every time they saw a double-decker bus, because they don’t have them at home and when they actually sat on the top front seats when we went “up the city”, they were thrilled to bits! Having the family here meant we could do touristy and child-friendly things, including visiting Roarr! (the Dinosaur Park) and the Sea Life Centre in Hunstanton.

The week we spent in Hunstanton was unbelievably hot – 28 degrees C one day – and the children never tired of playing on the beach. I don’t think you can beat an English seaside holiday with fish and chips, and lots of icecream. We made some wonderful memories. One morning the children were in fits of laughter having discovered that the shiny metal cylindrical kitchen rubbish bin (Nanna – you mean the trash can!) provided them with their own “hall of mirrors” and they spent several minutes on the floor shrieking at their hilariously contorted reflections, and giving us adults plenty of amusement at the things they said. Rhys: “My leg looks like a chicken!” (not sure how that worked.) Annabelle: “Let’s roll up our arm sleeves and our leg sleeves and see what we look like!”

Children are always welcome at St Andrew’s Church. Come to our next Messy Church session on Saturday 7th June, and our pet service at 3pm on Sunday 6th July – pray for good weather so we can be outside. Grown-ups are welcome too! You’ll find our services and events detailed in these pages. I hope to see you.