Luke 15:9

Ron and Jenny crawled under the chairs at church and hunted. The Manager at the motorway services looked in her Lost Property Safe. Bob and I turned my handbag inside out, and looked under the seats in the car. But no sign of the keys. So reluctantly this morning I went to the Skoda Dealer and ordered a replacement set for Bob's car [£200+] and then to the Vauxhall Dealer to order some for my car [£80+] But that chap needed some sort of photo ID as well as the car's registration document. So I was hunting in my bag, and I found...THE KEYS!!!! attached to the bag lining where they must have been all along.

Why didn't they materialise when Bob and I both went through that handbag twice??  I was so thrilled I could have hugged the Vauxhall Chap [but I didn't!] Telephoned Bob straightaway to get him to cancel Skoda order [done!] then went and purchased cream cakes in celebration of not having to spend £300 on replacement keys.

HALLELUJAH!!!!!

Actually, I was not the only cheerful nutcase in Almond Road this morning [yes, there is actually a road of that name in Leicester]

I saw this chap in the supermarket car park. "Excuse me, but why are you dressed like that?" I asked. And he explained

He kindly posed for a photograph. His name is Potter, he is from the University and today was going with a group of friends to the Medieval Festival in Tewkesbury. He will be involved in the re-enactment of the 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury.

According to their website...

The battle of Tewkesbury took place on May 4th 1471 between the houses of York, The White Rose, and Lancaster, The Red Rose and was the final battle of the Wars of the Roses.

It started because Henry VI was considered insane and the country was without a strong leader. Edward of York, the most able leader left, was declared King in 1461. He had Henry locked in the tower of London and his wife Margaret of Anjou fled to France with their son also called Edward.

When he reached 18 she decided to return to England and re-claim the throne for him. She landed at Weymouth on April 14, 1471, and set off for Wales, where Jasper Tudor awaited with reinforcements for her small army.

I am sorry to admit I know very little about the Wars of the Roses - the programme for the Festival looks great fun [though I am concerned that it states that at 7.30pm tonight there will be "Beheading of Lancastrians"!]

I asked Potter's friends why they were not attired in costume. They said it was too hot to wear in the car, and one chap said he couldn't drive in his outfit! But they said that Jade in the other car was robed - and one chap called to her, to come out and be photographed. She cheerfully obliged!

I thought her dress was beautiful.

I was impressed by their attention to detail with the costumes, right down to the authentic hand-made leather shoes they were wearing.

I wished them well for their weekend - and was invited to to join the University Re-Enactment Society any time I felt like it ["We meet at the Uni most Sundays..."] I thanked them, and declined politely.

I wonder how they got involved in this? and will any of my "Hoodwinked" pupils who have been in costume this week go on to develop a fondness for historical re-enactments as they get older?

Did I mention I found the keys??!!

"Imagine a woman who has ten coins   a bunch of keys and loses one it. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbours: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

Do the angels have cream cakes, I wonder?