Today I asked Poppy again what she wanted to be when she grows up. I was expecting songwriter, lawyer, doctor or city analyst.

She actually said "magical fairy".

Growing up can be tough sometimes.

S.

Sat on our balcony and watched fireworks reflecting across the bay from a summer party at the yacht club, just along the beach. Summer here sometimes seems as close as this fallen planet gets toward heaven… soft sea breezes, powder blue skies, green fertile English scented gardens and long evenings with incredible sunsets.

At the same time there are mortar rockets being lit in two of the six segments I divide my life into. I've heard the thud as they've shot up into the night sky, now I’m hoping the result comes out just as beautiful. Not just for me.

S.

Not been back a week yet but I am so right here...

The TV is talking
The telephone’s ringing
The lights are all on
And the radio’s screaming
A million distractions are stealing my heart from You
I’m tired and empty
This life is relentless
It weakens my knees
And breaks my defences
It’s wearing me down and I’m desperate to hear from You

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me

I need to be still before I make a move
I need to be humble with nothing to prove
I need Your Word to show me the truth
And I need time, precious time

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me
Stop the world I’m ready to listen
Show me sign, give me a vision of heaven
I can hold on to
Stop the world I need some time with You

Before I can find my voice
I need to hear Your voice
Above all the senseless noise

S.

Well re-entry was a little bumpy but I survived. My cell phone tells me that today I spoke to:

• My parents in Bognor
• My publisher in Nashville plus several other friends over there
• Three directors of listed companies (one in Cape Town, one in London and one in Rome)
• The garage mechanic that I think broke my car’s air conditioning (but I can’t prove it)
• The subscriptions department of a boring industry trade mag
• The internet shopping delivery man
• An artist
• Tech support, twice (for Windows support of course)
• Monty’s Godfather in Kent
• My brother cycling to his office (go Freddie)
• An intern doing some project work for me
• The UK financial services regulator (FSA)
• An ice cream seller on the beachfront
• A sandwich seller at our local corner shop
• A journalist
• My studio tech guy (I’m so easily tempted)

But several times today I wished I could be with my friends in Nashville. The price of being an out-of-towner I guess. But then, if I wasn’t here, I would have missed Moo’s special ‘Captain Pooh Stripe’ dance when he got down from tea tonight.

S.

Sorry for the radio silence – we’ve been on family vacation in the remote countryside of southern France, about an hour or so from Bordeaux. This year we needed a ‘blobby’ holiday - just a house and a pool - but it meant that for two weeks I was without www access, my blog, writing, email and even cell phone access... I must admit it took some getting used to. The only cowriting I’ve done is making up funny alternative lyrics to well-known songs with the kids. Of course, I feel like I even learned some craft doing that.

We stayed near a charming little village called Praysass, where everything is about a thousand years old with that run down, cool authenticity that in England would somehow look cheap rather than quaint.

There have been so many highlights –

• Finding that my SatNav works in France…  it transformed our holiday as well as the stress levels in the car. Rural France can be a cartographic nightmare for any couple with three children asking if we are “there yet” every half hour.
• Waking up to deep blue, clear skies, almost every day. And when they weren’t it was almost a relief.
• Playing in the pool with the children – seeing their confidence in the water grow each day, creating sea-like waves, playing a bunch of pool games we brought from home.
• The Wednesday evening food and wine fair in the village square, with everything from snails, paella (we were not that far from Spain), local meat BBQ’d while you wait, local rosé wine @ Euro 2 a bottle, local music (accordion man).
• Meals out with the children – watching them develop their restaurant skills (even speaking some French), seeing them thaw from their school routines, seeing new facets of these little souls emerging.
  
• Finding the most incredible pizzeria one Sunday lunchtime at the top of one of the many hills around us… every hill has its own village together with a wonderful restaurant.
• Each morning I would set off to the local baker to buy fresh croissants and baguettes for breakfast… no one spoke English so it was a good opportunity for me to stretch my language skills in a different way.
• Each evening Sa and I would pack the kids off to bed early and sit out in the gardens to watch the sun go down, reflect on life, God and the universe. We are both coming home inspired.
• Kicking back in the afternoon for a snooze with a gentle warm breeze moving through slightly open shutters.
• At the end of our stay we drove up through France to a hotel we’ve stayed at a few times ‘en route’ – Hotel Le Manoir du Lys - set in the middle of mushroom forests deep in Normandy. We had a babysitter look after the kids while Sa and I enjoyed an 8 course gastronomic extravaganza – probably the best lamb I’ve had in my life. That was such a highlight.
• Getting back home to our own beds.
• Finally opening my MacBook and watching the whirly round thing gradually fill up my email box with over 1000 emails and catching up on everyone’s blogs… I’m working my way through… but from what I’ve seen already life has changed more than I thought it would in two weeks.

Hoping for a smooth re-entry tomorrow. Thanks for bearing with me. It's great to be back online.

S.  

Off to www twilight zone... might be a day or two... stay safe...


S.

Dad's in hospital overnight for observation after suffering a turn. Please pray. Thks, S.