But Our Spirits Were Not Dampened!

It rained - boy did it rain! But we packed the picnic nonetheless and set off for Stanford Hall - where we encountered lots of damp but cheerful Christians all resolutely determined, in true British Style to make the most of the day.

You can see how wet the ground is.

The Hall is actually being restored, and we were able to walk right through the middle and out to the back [where the Tea Tent was] The original plan was to picnic on the grass

Instead we sat down in one room and munched our sandwiches and drank our drinks...

Lots of umbrellas everywhere

The two tone umbrellas say "Big Church Day Out" and the people selling them, and the pink and blue thin plastic ponchos were doing a roaring trade.

I loved the big flags, and spent ages working out how the poles were fixed, and ways of producing a set to put outside church!

Yesterday I mentioned help arriving for the summer - here she is - Jessica, our American student, who is working in the church for a couple of months, alongside a very cheerful Paul and Kathryn

I think it is her first experience of Proper British Weather!

In one tent a number of Christian charities/missions were advertising, and some other companies were selling books, CDs, teeshirts, jewellery etc.

There were lots of sideshows and entertainments all over the site, for young and old, and a huge variety of food outlets.

The inflatables were not put up till the afternoon when the wind and rain had died down, but there were dodgems, roundabouts, pony rides [not surprisingly, the queue seemed to be all little girls!] and a climbing wall.

 

This guy looked cold and miserable - I hope he had some customers later...

Cool Mini...

 

Onstage by the Tea Tent [where the wrinklies had taken their plastic chairs - some of us cannot stand all the time, you know, we have dodgy knees and things] we listened to Lou Fellingham

[If you look at the previous post with the aerial photo, these are the gardens at the bottom of the shot, behind the house.]

 

Lou's bass guitarist was very good - but did look suspiciously like our Jon in a false wig and beard! I did enjoy her new tune for "To God Be The Glory"

After tea and stunningly tasty chocolate cake, we listened to Graham Kendrick.

We went over to the main stage to hear the US band Switchfoot [no I don't know either, but he was at least wearing a shirt and tie, and Making An Effort as my Mum would have said!!] Apparently "the Switchfoot sound" – is "a melodic crunch of densely layered sound featuring some electronic experimentation, and often driven by hard-charging guitar riffs while throwing in a few softer ballads as well"

Judging by the crowds, this group was obviously one of the big attractions of the day. Bob knew all about them, and Jessica was right down at the front with some of our youngsters, all enjoying themselves!

The shrubberies were stunning

The cattle were completely unmoved by it all

By the time we left, late afternoon, the sun was shining through the clouds and the rain had stopped.

I was very impressed by the organisation, the standards of the loos, the Tea Tent, and the general feeling that things were being run efficiently. Bob was pleased with the quality of the PA systems on site [and we all know how particular he is about such things!] The atmosphere on site was really good, and people were all so friendly and helpful. And once the weather improved, things got even better.

My lightweight kagoule is hanging up at Cornerstones, and as I didn't want to wear a heavy anorak, I opted for a different approach...

Today, for the first time, I wore the Mickey Mouse Poncho which my friend Patsy brought me from Disneyland in 2005. I was warm, dry and comfortable.

Friends did say things like "Well, Bob can't lose you in that!" and "It matches your yellow bucket" - but two complete strangers came up and asked where I had purchased it as they wanted one like it!

Our friends all seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were. Many thanks to David for organising the tickets, and Paul and Kathryn for putting up their Day Tent so the group had a meeting point/place to sit and relax.

I would have liked to stay to the end to hear the Hillsongs crowd, but we were both tired, and Sunday being a busy day, we didn't want to be late back.

So if you want a day out on Sunday or Monday, check out the Sussex venue for this event. Should be good!