Helen has been a most faithful correspondent over many years, even before I left UK in 1991. I met her on a skiing holiday and then was able to catch up with her from time to time and she is lovely. She radiates goodness and kindness. It was so lovely to be able to see her today and meet her husband, Matthew.
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| Helen and I in front of her house - the address I've been writing to for 1/4 century! |
Helen and Matthew live in Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes was established
in 1960's to relieve housing congestion in London. The site was chosen
deliberately to be equidistant from London, Birmingham, Leicester,
Oxford and Cambridge. It is a thriving area now. Helen bought her
house 21 years ago when her estate was being developed. The city
planning is great with parks and green spaces and hundreds
(exaggeration) of round abouts to manage the traffic. It has a peaceful
village feel about it.
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| Helen and Matthew |
We met Helen and Matthew at their church which meets in a
school hall currently. The church is on the cusp of a building project
to have their own building. Shenley Christian Fellowship (Baptist) is a
lively and friendly group of people and after some great worship music
the kids had the option of going to age appropriate groups. Annika
enjoyed her group and I went with Luke to his group which was led by a
very competent children's leader, Bec. After fun and games, where Luke
found a friend, Aaron, Bec read the story about Elijah and the widow. I
am proud to say Luke was well behaved and attentive and he and Aaron
made identical shields and enjoyed the whole session!
Following a chat with Helen's parents and her sister, we went to Helen
and Matthew's house for lunch. It was a most delicious spread followed
by an amazing chocolate pudding made from breadcrumbs! It was so
wonderful to sit and chat about the years gone by and get to know
Matthew. Luke quickly spotted their DVD collection and quietly watched
one upstairs so we were free to enjoy chatting!
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| Failed attempt at Pooh Sticks |
As it was a beautiful afternoon, we all went for a walk around Shenley
Lake where water birds abound. Luke did his "duty" and chased the poor
geese into the water. My favourites were a swan with her two cygnets.
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| Shenley Lake |
After a refreshing cuppa back at their house we drove home a rather convoluted route home as there was a road block we managed to come across twice! In fact our eventual route home was more picturesque on the minor roads and the evening pleasant to drive in so it was no problem. Once again we were VERY grateful for our Tom Tom which got us home safely! Karl's competent driving in our left hand drive vehicle is always reassuring.
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| Shenley Brook End |
Wonderful to catch up with old friends :)
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