I’ve had quite a week! An ‘interesting’ one in both senses of the word.

It is a sign of the speedy passage of time that the family celebrated our son’s thirtieth birthday this week. He has a street in Rome named after his birth date – Via Ventiquattro Maggio. There have been the usual, ‘where have the years gone’ comments, but it’s been interesting to look back using photos to see how he has changed and developed over the decades, and us with him. His arrival into the world was quite dramatic and we are forever grateful to the Sister Midwife who delivered him on her own and looked after Jane in the aftermath. Of course, we had no idea that he would grow up to be so bright, get a First and become an engineer now working in West Africa for a French oil and gas company. He started learning French in nursery from a native speaker, an influence that persists with colleagues admiring his accent. It was such fun for the five of us to be together for a family meal to celebrate, and to have an Irn Bru themed cake to mark the day. It’s interesting to reflect on how life progresses with its unexpected twists and turns, a theme from my own life. Jane and I are hopeful of a trip to visit him in situ in early autumn.

The past caught up with us again with the arrival of a ministerial friend from Tübingen whom we first met when he and his now wife were exchange students for a year during our time at Priestfield Church. He was commenting on how different the coverage of the Ukraine war is in the German media, with only a fraction of the time and reporting resources given to it compared to the UK. We were all a bit puzzled by that and wondered how much it related to the proximity of Germany to the war region. As a couple they will be taking up a joint pastorate in a village whose name translates as ‘Houses by the river.’ It was a great delight for us to be at their wedding in Tübingen nearly ten years ago, and then to meet their young kids last year when we visited Heidelberg. I was struck by the fact that we can never tell how much the relationships we nurture in the present will bear fruit in our lives in the future. And the family feel of the congregation at Priestfield had a significant role to play in how deep that relationship became.

‘Interesting’ in the euphemistic sense was uttered when Rishi Sunak called an earlier-than-expected General Election. I commented at the time on the bad optics of him getting soaked as he stood in the middle of Downing Street. It’s hard to understand his rationale given the economic and political circumstances of the time. And there are lots of questions about how fringe parties might influence which party wins most seat, perhaps to the extent of an overall Labour majority. What will happen in the SNP seats? Why is the Election Day during the Scottish school holidays? Can the Lib-Dems make a comeback in the South-East of England? Can Labour rebuild the Red Wall in north England and make a comeback in Scotland? How many Cabinet ministers will lose their seats – I can name a few that I’d like to see out of Parliament! Will the Tory presence in Westminster be reduced to a rump? It is also interesting that the date for this election is 4^th July, American Independence Day, while their election is on 5^th November, the anniversary of the UK Parliament’s Gunpowder Plot!

There are other important and ‘interesting’ personal things that have happened during this week, but they are for another time. It’s possibly just as well that ‘interesting’ weeks don’t come around too often so that we have time to breathe.