On Cucumbers and Swings

Wow, so things have been a tiny bit hectic around here lately. There wasn't too much of note going on two nights ago, although I did get to a Fringe event on the Quiet Garden Movement. It was neat!

Yesterday was by far the more eventful day. More eventful because I had to get up at 5:15! The buses for London began loading at 7:15. When we got in to London, we all unloaded and began the Walk of Witness from partway down the embankment of the Thames to Lambeth Palace. You can see clips of the march here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7523539.stm. The purpose was to draw attention to the necessity of striving to reach the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), which are:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development

Because the UK has been working pretty extensively on these issues for a few years now, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain addressed all the delegates and staff at Lambeth Palace. He stressed the importance of achieving the goals as well as the potential inherent within the Anglican communion to help do this. It was a good speech, but I'm anxious to see what comes of all this. It still feels as though the MDGs are too abstract to really impress upon people the absolute necessity of their results. I hope many of the bishops, particularly the ones from the "Global North" go home with a better understanding of their importance, as well as ways in which to bring them to life in their dioceses.

After Lambeth Palace we all got back on the coaches and went for a jaunt over to Buckingham Palace. Once we had all arrived, the Yoemen of the Guard created a large swath down the middle of the lawn and Her Majesty the Queen came out, accompanied by Prince Philip. She greeted a number of delegates (not me) and other people of varying fame and importance in the great scheme of church politics. We then had tea on the lawn, and yes mom, of course, I had a cucumber sandwich. It was really good! There's neither bread crust nor cucumber skin anywhere in sight! I have to say though, for all the talk about cucumber sandwiches, they had Nothing on the salmon rolls! Those were fantastic! There were also these little dark chocolates that were kind of mousse-like, and soooo sweet. Talking about sweet, I didn't actually have a cup of tea, I had a glass of iced coffee. Trust me, if you ever have to choose between Buckingham Palace, and Tim Horton's, pick the palace! Great coffee. Fabulous. After I finished my munchies, everyone walked around the garden for a bit. We saw the royal tennis court, the rose garden, the pond, the island and the bathrooms. Oh, my gosh, everyone. English port-o-potties are insane! I used one at each Palace. The one at Lambeth was a large trailer with mutiple stations. It had tile flooring and framed pictures up on the wall, complete with those crzy new sinks with the bowl on the top of the counter. The ones at Buckingham had antique floor mirrors and vanities, and they were in tents! I hear rumours that the one at Canterbury Cathedral also has marble counters and music playing. I'm astounded!

Anyways, the stewards are off on another exciting adventure soon, so I'll have to write more later. Hope all are well.

Blessings everyone,
Nick.

P.S. - I forgot to mention, but it was in the title, I got to swing on the Archbishop's plank swing when I was at his house! That and, I've now used square plates! How fancy!