Fifty Acts. A Learning Point

Not exactly one of the official acts, but here goes.

The phone rings.  It's my Minister. 

We exchange pleasantries, although having seen each other the night before, there's not a lot to add.  Nice change in the weather etc.  So then the real reason for the call...

"Are you going to the concert tonight?"  "Yes" says I, guessing what's about to come next...

"Can you please do the evening prayers?" "No problems.  Happy to play my part."

We have a band visiting from Germany, people we have came to know over the years, and they are a really good bunch.  One of them liked the place so much she came back as a youth worker, and was very good at it too.  This time they visited fellow blogger Shuna up in Aberlour.  I am sure they behaved themselves and only visited the nearby shortbread factory, and in now way attempted to sample the local waters...

I had heard the band the night before in Lane End, but I wanted to hear them in the smaller, older space of Fieldside.

But back to the evening.  It's 5.30, the show is at 7.00 and I've not eaten yet.  I throw food at the microwave, hoping for the best.  Meanwhile, I go into my extensive archive of prayers for all occasions.  200 words should do it, nothing too fancy, as the language may be a barrier - for the locals - the Germans speak perfect English... :-)

I transfer the file to an Android tablet that I got today for a ridiculously low price in a charity shop, throw on a shirt, and I'm out the door for 6.35.  10 minutes down the road and I'm there in time to get a seat.  Throwing caution to the wind, I pay a short visit to the chemical toilet, which, despite being the only local sanitation for a traveling band wasn't too smelly.  Remember, if you can't complete the task whilst holding your breath, a portaloo isn't the place for you.

So the lesson for tonight.  If you are even a pretend minister like myself, you may be suddenly asked to pull a prayer or a grace before a meal out of the bag.  1.5 hours is much more time than I may get in the future.    And you can get away with a lot, as long as your shirt is ironed.

The concert was amazing, and I hope they are back again soon.