Sabbatical Update – 2
Greetings from Peterborough! I arrived in the city and England late this afternoon after a wonderful time in Scotland.
In Sabbatical Update 1 I was in Edinburgh on my way to Aberdeen. I finished up my time in Edinburgh by worshiping at Balerno Parish Kirk, the Presbyterian congregation in the community where I was staying. They were a wonderfully warm congregation who made me feel so welcome. I was sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with them.
My next stop was Dundee and a few days visit with Katie Cronin-Wood’s Aunt Rachel and Uncle Geoff. They are lovely people and I was so glad to get to know them. They showed me the countryside, including St. Andrew’s, Kellie Castle and a village called Crail, which has a traditional harbour. I also went to the new Victoria and Albert Museum Dundee with Rachel. It’s only been open a month and is right on the river.
I also wandered the village of Broughty Ferry where Rachel and Geoff live and visited their local castle which is now a museum. The library in Broughty Ferry was preparing for their 90th anniversary and I enjoyed helping put together display boards of the library’s history. When not otherwise occupied I curled up with the greyhounds Jake, Rita and Louis.
My next stop was Aberdeen, known as the Granite city. I had a lovely little apartment not far from the city centre called Muriel’s Place. The owners named it after their grandmother who used to own it. I was in Aberdeen for about a week and spent a good bit of time wandering about and exploring. My two favourite things were the Aberdeen Maritime Museum and the David Welch Winter Garden.
The museum was pretty comprehensive, tracing the history of the harbour right up to the present day and also had displays on the history and archaeology of the city.
The garden was a large complex of greenhouses set in Duthie Park with plants from all over the world. It was absolutely beautiful. I worshiped on Sunday at the Kirk of St. Nicholas Uniting, a massive old church downtown which has a combined Presbyterian and United Reformed congregation.
My time in Scotland ended with a return to Dundee and a visit with Rachel and Geoff to Arbroath Abbey. It is here that a united kingdom of Scotland was born. It was incredible to learn about the history of the place and then to walk through the ruins and imagine all the people who worshipped there over the years.
I’ve now been on Sabbatical for a month and travelling for three weeks and I’ve reached the point in the last few days where I feel relaxed. I hadn’t expected unwinding to take quite so long but it feels wonderful now that it’s happened. I have a conference coming up in a few days and I’ll be exploring the area around Peterborough as well before moving on again. No doubt my next update will come after a few more adventures.
Until then you all remain in my prayers,
Cordelia