Unlikely cheer

In the gloom of this morning and the gloom of the news (though I thought Jason Leitch, Scotland's national clinical director, most impressive and non-scary on the radio) I had a meeting to attend. We call them PreachMeets, after the model of the TeachMeet at whose early years I was a participant, and they consist of the four lay preachers of our church meeting with the Rector to chuck ideas around the appropriate lectionary readings for forthcoming sermons. Given that description, you might not think they'd be any more cheery than either news or weather, but you'd be wrong. Almost two hours of pretty vigorous discussion, a great deal of humour, some luminously intelligent ideas - these meetings are a highlight of my life, a chance to enjoy the kind of tutorial atmosphere that I fear I was too  young - or too juvenile - properly to appreciate at university. 

Blipping the path from the Rectory to the church - and the car park - at the end of the meeting. It was raining heavily, but there were daffodils bobbing about in the wet moss that passes for grass; the path was squelchy and soggy all at once but we didn't care.

And now we've just had a choir practice with some really lovely sounds, so that Mr PB is cheerier than he's been all day. I'll just gloss over the bits that came in between ...