1/52

I treated myself to a new phone this week and my brother's already hot on the case to get my old one (it'll be in the post soon Tim). Also in the post was a card from Cathy Dye and family (thanks guys!) which was a real blessing. I'm still waiting for something from home but we've had a couple of video calls already so I'll let that one slide...for now.

^I definitely had to have a go, never too old

1 week out of 52 down (or up, depending on your preference). When it gets broken in to weeks a year doesn't seem like such a long time and, although I try not to think about it too much anyway, that's helpful. This week I've spent Monday to Friday helping at a kid's club in Paul (10-3 every day) and keeping active has been a good distraction to help me settle in quickly. We were dancing, acting, singing, puppeteering, eating, playing and on Wednesday had a day trip to a climbing centre. With the aim of the week being to film a reenactment of Disney's Mulan and a date being set next month to show it we managed (to my surprise!) to pull everything together by the end of the week. I went for an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet with all the helpers at the end of it all on Friday evening which was a nice way to finish up.

^The view from Paul at the Kid's Club

I had the honour of being an Ancestor in one of the filmed scenes (more specifically Ancestor 4 according to the script) and according to one particularly sassy little girl who played Mushu my part should've been cut from the script to make the recording better. There goes my career in acting. Anyhow, the first half was live action and the second half was filmed with shadow puppets the kids made and because we didn't want to be entirely original to the film the kids decided on a different fate for the villain. Their suggestions of torture, execution or humiliation were soon forgotten when I sarcastically added maybe community service was the best punishment for him. And that is why in our new version of Mulan Shan Yu is set to work painting the forbidden city unpaid and was charged a considerable fine for his crimes against China.

^Newlyn lighthouse on my walk to the Fish Market

I've just got back from the local Blessing of the Fleet service which seems to be a yearly event and this year we separated off to do blessings at all the local pubs while the main service continued. The tradition is to pray for the safety of the fishermen and their boats as well as their families. It's also important to remember those who's lives have already been lost at sea. After playing Amazing Grace and a short reading was given the customers in the Fishermans Arms wanted me to stay and play some more songs but we were all whisked back to the fish market for the end of the main service. At least I know where I'd be welcome to play again now.