To Heyl and back again
I'm sure I'm not the first and neither will I be the last to joke about going to Hayle and back again (in Cornish its 'Heyl') but never mind. I cycled from coast to coast this Monday with the aim of getting my mountain bike used to the Cornish roads and in the end it was OK. Following the Marazion coastal path for a large extent of the journey ensured I got plenty of good photos to show off in a gallery.
Honestly though, turning up in a new town on my own on my pushbike was a fairly lonely experience and I didn't stay that long (even if it does have a massive Asda- not the only reason I went though). Hopefully I'll have most Mondays off to tour as much of Cornwall as I can now, excluding the coming Monday where I'm off on a retreat, ah well, suppose someones gotta do it.
Last week I visited a few different places with Andrew Yates to help me build up a picture of the local area ( I wrote a short piece about it for the 'Shout' project and if you copy and paste this link you can read it: https://sway.com/3EV7mydu3Ylv9Okp) What's striking is the contrast in this area between poverty and wealth with nothing much in between in reality.
As well as this I've been to a local bar for its open mic a couple of times now and as well as performing I've found many opportunities to talk about my faith to individuals. Although by the end of the night/ beginning of the morning I'm the only sober person in there its opening up doors and making new friendships that's been helpful. Finding unexpected links between people I've met there, people I've already met through Church and also links with Bournemouth and places close to home. I think God needs me in bars like this as much as he does in Church on Sunday (by the way, I'm still going to Church every Sunday, don't worry).
Soon after the open mic on Tuesday night I was in the local St Mary's school to help out with an assembly. I was glad to see that some of the teachers were also fairly tired, this being the first day back at School in Cornwall. The theme for this term is Creativity and as well as observing and learning Sian lead it I played a song that the school are going to learn gradually over the next few weeks ( 'I am a new creation' I'm fairly sure you might probably know it).
Just quickly to finish off, going to Hayle and back wasn't like going to hell and back, I've been around the local area somewhat, been visiting a bar and been helping with assemblies. To add to that my weekly schedule includes a prayer meeting every Tuesday and Thursday morning (I have to get up at 7am, urgh). I've found that as well as this my Bible reading and prayer life have improved, praying for friends and family back home as well as new friends I know from here. All good my end, hopefully if you've read this through to the end its now better at your end!
