On a hill far away...

I am, as ever, undecided on religion. Having been brought up a Catholic in Ireland in the 1960s and 70s, attending two convent schools and now working at a Roman Catholic special school, it must look from the outside as though I am a perfect practitioner. But I don't practise, or go to mass. Still can't shake off that Crucifixion feeling on Good Friday, though. I listened to a whole two hours of gospel singing and reading about Easter on the radio last night, and went to bed still confused.

One thing that moved me was the testimony of Steph McLeod, an Edinburgh singer-songwriter who had lived on the streets after becoming an alcoholic and drug addict. He was very nearly dead by the age of 25. By chance, he came across a phone number for a Christian based rehab, and staying there enabled him to turn his life around and discover a huge talent for songwriting. His singing voice is beautiful. Now I am not saying this would work for everyone, but I do work in rehab and I found it interesting....

Today was a superb sunny day and I took the doggie for a walk around the villages, letting her off the lead every time we came to a green space. The narrow lanes are busy with cyclists, motor bikes, 4x4s, tractors and horses. The motor vehicles don't seem to feel the need to observe speed limits, though there are 'twenty is plenty' signs going up (The speed limit in Stroud is now 20 mph for the whole of the urban area apart from the dual carriageways. I think all the villages will follow suit eventually).

Cleansteve came over for tea and hot cross buns, then as it was still a beautiful evening, I took B out on a country walk on national trust land. We both felt the weather was far too good to waste on staying indoors.