We had a couple of guys from Macedonia staying with us, Mirco and Joan (pronounced Johanne). They were speaking at church on Sunday, and on Monday I took them down into Belfast for a meeting they had with the Bible Society. Afterwards they had a look round a few shops and Joan bought an Ireland strip for his son Daniel. He sent me this picture when he got back home.

The church men's golf outing was on Monday night. About 30 turned up and we hacked our way round Bentra Golf Course in Whitehead.

Our home group barbeque was on Wednesday night. Weather wasn't that great, somewhay overcast, but we had stacks of good food and played a few games, and a good time was had by all.

Here is the latest pic of Reuben and his Dad!

The weather broke last week after lots of hot sunshine and it has been dreadful for the last couple of days. Winnie, Rick and Katie arrived yesterday with Reuben and we played "Phase 10" and watched "Britain's' Got Talent". Lilian and Winnie had a Precept Class on Saturday morning so I went down to Greyabbey with Katie, Rick and Reuben.

Rick had a race at the sailing club at 3.00 so I went with him in the afternoon but I'm fighting off a cold and didn't go out. I sat in the club house and watched the race through the double glazing. Saw Rick's boat capsize rounding a mark but they got righted again quickly, however it cost them a couple of places.

Good barbeque after the race despite the poor weather.

Bought this cheap climbing rose out of Woolworth a few years ago and it has turned out to be super! Thornless, nice flowers and sweet perfume! About January sometime I was clearing out the garage and found an old box of rose fertiliser which had gone damp and sticky and dumped it on the rose. It seems to have worked a treat! Great show this year.

On Saturday night Lilian and I went with Jackie and Nicola Whyte to see "Dancing at Lughnasa" in the Lyric in Belfast. Fabulous set and excellent production. (Lughnasa is an ancient Celtic festival to celebrate the harvest). I quote from a synopsis of the play.
"It is true today, just most certainly as it was true in the 1930's of Dancing at Lughnasa, that Ireland exists at a wistful - and sometimes mad - crossroads. One makes a seasonal pilgrimage to pagan festivals after Sunday church services. Voices are raised in earthy airs, just as they join with others in hymns. Morning prayers bless homes, sanctified with a light rain of holy water; while during harvest nights in the forest, blazing fires stoke an abandon to Lugh, an ancient god of Light. It puts the Irish on a unique temporal plane - neither living purely in the past, nor absolutely in the present - but in both at the same time. This poetic alchemy of time occasionally creates a stubborness, but often a selflessness, an art of life and a resilient grace; but mostly a capacity for hope."

Friday was my day off, so I headed down to Greyabbey on Thursday night. Rick was sailing on Strangford Lough and he had just come in as I arrived at the sailing club.
Really beautiful evening so I just sat on the verandah and watched the sun set over Scrabo Tower as I waited for him to put the dingy away and get changed.
Went down to his house for a coffee and picked up Lilian who was with Katie and then we headed over to Donaghadee to stay with Carl and Mavis for the night.
Woke up to another beautiful hot day in Donaghadee. Had my morning coffee on the patio and looking out over the fields and the morning filled with birdsong.
We were all going to a funeral in Comber at lunchtime, (Bill's sister-in-law) and the Parish Church was packed on a very hot day.
We met Bill and Catherine afterwards and all went out for a meal in "Hoops" in Greyabbey and then back to the Martin's for coffee and a bit of craic.
Bill and Catherine and Carl and Mavis had all been away for a long weekend in England and in one B&B Bill, who is in the Orange Order, had discovered that Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Fein, had previously slept in the same bed as he had! So he had to put up with all sorts of puns about "strange bedfellows" and "getting into bed with Republicans"!
After Bill and Catherine left I went outside just to check the horses. Beautiful evening. and a good day with good friends. We are truely blessed.