Lovely Place to go home from

Well we got home late last night – even though they had simply closed the road which links Cairnryan to Blogstead. It was ‘turn right only’ as we came off the ferry. Amazing. Poppy was a bit ‘travelled out’ and was not amused.

Glad to be home as well. This morning was one of those perfect Sunday mornings as we headed for Dunkeld – snow on all the hills around us; morning sun on the Beech Hedge at Meikelour; partridges on the road near Caputh; wisps of mist over the Tay;

view of blue water through Telford’s Bridge at Dunkeld. And when we got to Birnham, we had Confirmation with Eucharist, the new lighting in the church and a community in good heart.

But of course you’ll be wanting to know how Fin and Emma’s Civil Partnership in Belfast went. Well it was grand. We’re part of the older generation now. So we witter on about how things are and where the last 25 years went to and how none of us has changed a bit We watch the younger generation making its commitments in hope and trust. To be honest, on that very human level matters of sexuality are not the first things one thinks about.

It reminded me of our family visit to the Baghdad Cafe in the Castro area of San Francisco in 1996. The children were younger and we allowed the Rough Guide to help us search for a good value restaurant – not knowing that Castro is the centre of the gay community in San Francisco. Fascinating. But what I remember is how sort of ordinary it all was. Some of the dressing was a little surprising – but it had a very ordinary, comfortable, domestic sort of feel to it. And, in the best sense, that’s how it was with Fin and Emma – and, of course, Alex. And we wish them all the very best.