And yes, posted minutes after 1st had passed - full day!

A close up of daffodils - coming into full bloom with some still in bud. Some cards with pictures of St Paul’s on happen to be in the background

#daffodils #stdavidsday #dewisant #dyddgŵyldewihapus #wales

A joy to speak @beerandtheology.bsky.social, 27 Feb 2026, at The Angel pub, Rotherhithe, for our 10th anniversary, on ‘Helen #Waddell and #Heloise: Resonances and Relations’.

3 members @selwyn1882.bsky.social : Simon Hughes (1970), @grahamkings.bsky.social (1979), @juliegittoes.bsky.social (1999).

Also with the three friends who organise @beerandtheology since I moved to #Cambridge from #Bermondsey in 2020: Guido de Graaff, Deborah Halling and @juliegittoes.bsky.social .

They’re typical siblings: they’ll cwtch & groom each other, but also make it clear when they want their own space; they’ll play and zoom, until one or other gets fed up! They’re good girls!

My solution to the tree issue was to have a mini one on the mantle piece - but there’s been a plenty of playfulness/pouncing (then they choose when the need their own space, and when to snuggle).

Two cats curled up side by side: both white and one with black markings the other grey.

Glad to see they’ve both settled with each other - and with you! Mine have been mainly snoozing and cwtching

The final section of an advent candle - with a wine bottle used as a candle holder: the wick burns just about the image of the crib with Mary, Joseph and the Christ child

My #adventcandle today: the light burning above the crib scene - the light shines in rhe darkness and rhe darkness does not overcome it #christmas

A close up of the wooden crib at St Mary’s- Mary and Joseph either side of the Christ child with the donkey and cow in the background

Some candles burning on a votive stand

The view of St Mary’s Hendon from across the church yard - including the tower with the weather vane

A bare branched tree in sunny hill park against a blue sky

Christmas in Hendon: worship - from care home carols to crib service, midnight mass to Christmas Day - followed by post-church-post-pub walk #ChristmasDay

A mini Christmas tree with lights in the background - partly reflected in a mirror - with a glass of Penderyn malt in a glass in the foreground

Nadolig Llawen!
#clergymaltclub #nadoligllawen #happychristmas

Jesus Christ is always at the centre of Christmas. And everyone's invited to experience it with us.

Come and celebrate Christmas at a church near you.

Find services and events in your local community at AChurchNearYou.com/christmas.

Advent Carols 2025 - YouTube Five years ago during the Covid lockdown, when it wasn't possible for people to congregate and sing carols, the Choir of St Mary's Hendon put together an onl...

Popping on here to share (albeit belatedly) a bit of #advent #hope & #joy Our choir has produced an #adventcalendar - some classics, beautiful arrangements & pieces written by our director of music: here’s the link to the play list - enjoy and share!
youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Statement from the Bishop of Edmonton and Dr Lisa Adjei "We are deeply concerned to hear of the planned 'unite the kingdom' march in London this weekend. Though framed as a celebration of free speech, it is inextricably linked to voices and movements that have previously contributed to division and racial intolerance. This is at odds with everything we, and millions of Londoners, stand for, especially the Diocese of London." "We affirm that freedom of speech is a vital democratic right, and at the same time pray for a nation where that freedom is exercised not to deepen fear or exclusion, but to foster compassion and unity. Every day, in our churches and on our streets, we see a very different city to the one that the marchers portray. One where people from all cultures, religions, beliefs and classes can work, worship, and live together. We take pride in a city that welcomes everyone. Now and always, we reject intolerance and division in the utmost terms." "We will hold all marginalised communities in our prayers this weekend, and ask for safety, peace and justice for all." Bishop Anderson Jeremiah, Bishop of Edmonton & Lead Bishop for Racial Justice Dr Lisa Adjei, Head of Racial Justice Priority, Diocese of London

Have raised this with a couple of folk this week - eg worried re how Christianity gets co-opted. Glad to see a statement by my Area Bishop and Director of Racial Justice. We’re also working with North London Citizens - to help build leadership capacity and listen effectively.

Entertaining angels unawares 31st August, Trinity 11: Jeremiah 2:4-13, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 and Luke 14:1, 7-14 At Evensong, I revisited some themes in this sermon th...

From a couple of weeks ago: entertaining angels unawares - #courage and #hospitality, #listening and #hope. With a h/t to my colleague Al in Hodge Hill - and his community engagement with protestors & asylum seekers

juliegittoes.blogspot.com/2025/09/ente...

Bart - self-delusion and grace 24 August - St Bartholomew: Isaiah 43:8-13, Acts 5:12-16 and Luke 22:24-30 Some years ago, Rowan Williams made headlines for sharing his l...

#Bart #TheSimpsons #StBartholowmew #RowanWilliams #grace - last week’s sermon juliegittoes.blogspot.com/2025/08/bart...

Some freshly cut dahlias - wrapped in paper: flowers in yellow, shades of orange and red, petals overlapping as they’re held together in a wrapping.

Dahlias placed in mug - photo from above on a wooden table. The blooms are red, in the centre, surrounded by yellows, oranges and very pale pink; plus purple and light orange. The shapes and sizes of the petals vary

Been a bit absent here one way or another - less time on social media in general, but getting back to some #tinyjoys it’s pick your own dahlias season at Finchley Nursery: carefully wrapped and now on mantelpiece #tinyjoy #dahlias

Hurray! 👏🏻

Hear them regularly here too but never spotted one

So many meals and so many words in various homes/lives…

When I moved into my first vicarage, my TI gave me their kitchen table. It spent 5 years in my kitchen then became my desk on the Close & is my writing desk here! A thrown out table is my kitchen table & my dining table from people in my title parish when they updated theirs (20+ years ago!)…

Realising I have got the stage of reposting these insights out of sheer frustration that no-one in No 10 seems to be paying attention and shifting strategy.

Used to be a treat to myself on a Sunday to buy The Observer and read it over the week - so disappointing to see this front page/repackaging of Reform.

Yes, I did see some of the collection - pre-lockdown when I was new to North London!

A neatly mown lawn at Kenwood with a park bench in the mid ground to the left - looking down towards a pond with a back drop of trees, shades of green

A view from Parliament Hill - looking between the trees across the city of London with St Paul’s and the Shard etc in the hazy spring sun.

Having got as far as Kenwood, it was a beautiful day to enjoy a walk across the Heath via Parliament Hill view point (how many generations have stood there as London has changed over centuries!) before heading into Hampstead #hampsteadhealth #parliamenthill #viewpoint #london #tinyjoys

A close up of orange petals on the individual flowers of a rhododendron against the back drop of green leaves

Another close up this time of the smaller pink petals on many individual flowers of a rhododendron

A close up of pink and white petals on the individual flowers of a rhododendron against the back drop of green leaves

A close up of some of the rhododendron - pinks and purples

The rhododendron at Kenwood House - several beds of plants in flower: reds, pinks and oranges. Set against the backdrop of neatly mown lawns, mature trees and blue sky

Last week, I took myself off to Kenwood House because I’d been told that the rhododendron were amazing - absolutely popping with colour #kenwoodhouse #rhododendron #colour #tinyjoys

Was already praying 🙏🏻

One of mine was on the bed, the other in a “sun puddle” on the floor!

The adventure of faith 27 April 2025, Easter 2: Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8 and John 20:19-end Yesterday morning, Cardinal Giovani Battista Re (the Dean of th...

St Thomas as one who represents us - FOMO, wounds, crisis, stories, curiosity and the adventure of faith #easter #sermon juliegittoes.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...

Love's risen body Easter Day - 20 April 2025: Isaiah 65:17-end, Acts 10:34-43 and John 20:1-18 Not darkness but twilight In which even the best of minds mus...

Love’s risen body #EasterDay

juliegittoes.blogspot.com/2025/04/love...