Author’s Note: I stopped blogging regularly in 2020, but now in 2024, I am using Google Photos, Google Maps timeline, and my old planners to recreate a post about what we were up to each month!
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This month one of my church members in Monmouth gave me the most amazing gift. David is a former member of the Royal Air Force, and as such, has plenty of buddies who still fly planes. He used his “friends and family” discount to book a flight that would take us over Monmouth and the surrounding areas - he specifically charted a path that would go over all of the churches that I serve! How amazing is that! We were meant to take the flight the first Friday in September, but when we arrived at the airfield we learned that the wind conditions were too rough to take off. So we got to check out the itty bitty plane but that was about it.
Here’s Joel and I modeling the very fashionable safety gear we had to wear. We then made plans to come back in two weeks when hopefully the weather would be better.
The rest of that weekend was rather exciting but I barely took any pictures! On Saturday we held a cream tea at Monmouth - the first one since the pandemic. Here is the one photo I took of the stalls in front of the church. Not pictured are the delicious scones that were served!
On Sunday I had the pleasure of undertaking my first official duty as the Mayor’s Chaplain. The position of Mayor here is a bit more honorary than official - the mayor is elected by the town council (not a direct election by the people) and the post is only held for one year at a time. So each year there is a new mayor and each mayor has to select a minister in town who will serve as their chaplain. I was delighted to be asked to do this for Mayor Terry Christopher! As the chaplain we then hosted the Mayor’s Civic Service (the beginning of their term as mayor) at the Methodist Church. The reception was then held back at the Shire Hall (mostly because we don’t allow alcohol on church premises, ha!) The only photo I managed to snag that day was this one of the back of the procession as we paraded from the Shire Hall to the church for the service.
On Monday the 6th I crammed my whole day full of driving practice with various church members. This was all in preparation for my practical exam in Llantrisant the next day. I went to the test feeling prepared and confident. At the end of the exam, the examiner told me that he really wished he could pass me because I drove perfectly except for one thing…excessive speeding! He said that I set a lap record - the test is supposed to take 45 minutes but I completed it in 30! (I thought it went fast, whoops!) I missed some 20mph signs and on a few downhills I didn’t control my speed enough. He felt really bad about failing me and said he was sure I would pass the next test I took. So back to trying to find cancellations for us.
That weekend, on the 11th, I got to officiate at my first UK wedding! I was filling in for another minister so it was at Chepstow Methodist Church, not one I normally serve. I didn’t get any pictures of the actual wedding (was a bit busy) but I took this selfie in my stole before the service (and yes, I’m wearing fake eyelashes.)
Then, since we were in Chepstow we went out for dinner with Rachel and Tom to celebrate her birthday (just passed on the 4th) and my birthday (coming up on the 24th). We got twin Happy Birthday desserts!
On Sunday the 12th we had a special coffee hour after church where we celebrated some milestone birthdays that had been missed during the pandemic. So the cake was for multiple people and had all the big numbers on it!
Then on Monday the 13th, some friends from the US were in town! Amber is one of my closest friends from high school and her husband, Luke is from the UK. So we try to meet up whenever they are back visiting family. They were staying in Chepstow for a few nights so they drove down to Monmouth to have dinner with us and see where we live. Amber chose a restaurant we hadn’t tried yet, Estero Lounge, and it ended up being one of our favorites! We also took them on a tour through my church. Here’s a pic of Amber and me outside the restaurant.
Then on the 17th, it was back to the airfield and this time I actually got to go up in the plane! This was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will not soon forget. The views were amazing and they even let me fly the plane for a few terrifying minutes!
We flew over each church I was serving at the time - Broad Oak, Llancloudy, Monmouth, Gwehelog, and Trellech. I tried to get photos of each but I didn’t get great ones of all of them. Here is one of Monmouth, the church is hard to spot if you don’t know what you’re looking for but it’s in the bottom right quadrant.
Gwheleog is easier to spot - it’s right in the middle where the roads seem to meet, and you can see the graveyard surrounding it.
I am so, so grateful to David for that day and those memories! That evening we went to John & Dorothy’s house (church members, both retired ministers) for a lovely homemade roast dinner. The food was great and the company even better. Joel loved this prayer they had one the wall, it is one her father wrote and their family used to say growing up.
On Monday the 20th, I had one last driving practice session with Rachel and she even went with me (and Joel) to my next exam. This time, I passed! Third time is the charm! We celebrated with some delicious halloumi fries at a nearby pub.
In town that week was a climate festival aimed at raising awareness about the climate crisis. This fun statue made out of rubbish appeared for a while.
Then on Friday the 24th it was my 35th birthday! All I wanted to do this year was go to the Harry Potter studios tour near London and we made it happen. Originally we were going to stay the night with a friend who lives in the area, but she was having plumbing problems at her house so we turned it into an epic day trip. Our studio tour was booked in the afternoon so we started by wandering the town of Watford. We found the most British looking Taco Bell I’ve ever seen in my life and I couldn’t resist tacos on my birthday.
Then we found an epic mini golf place that was all glow in the dark! We had the place to ourselves and the lady running the place gave me a free glowstick headband when we mentioned it was my birthday. Then at the end Joel won a free hot dog for getting a hole in one! It was so much fun.
Then it was off to the studios for the main event. This was also the first week that the studios were dressed up for Halloween which was so amazing since that is my favourite holiday. The grand hall was decorated with floating Jack O’Lanterns’!
I took dozens of photos but none of them really do any of it justice. You get to walk through so many set pieces and see all of the props and it really is a magical place if you love the Harry Potter world. Here’s a photo of the Gryffindor common room to show how up close and personal you get!
Okay, this one of Dumbledore’s office is pretty cool, too.
You get to walk through the Forbidden Forest, Diagon Alley, Gringott’s Bank and so much more. All in all, well worth the ticket price and the trip!
Okay, I'll throw in some excessive photos that Joel took of me. Apologies in advance! Here I am getting to Platform 9 and 3/4, ready for the Hogwarts Express! (And yes, I wore my house colours - Hufflepuff for life!)
And here I am in the vault of Gringott's Bank, getting drowned by multiplying gold and goblets!
And here I am in Diagon Alley, proving that it is 2021 as I am still wearing a mask!
And here is a final one of me in front of a model of the Hogwarts Castle!
After all that, the rest of the month was pretty chill (much needed!) We took a beautiful walk in the woods one day…
And despite finally having my driver’s license, I still rode my bike everywhere I could. On the way to a church member's house one day I got stuck in a Welsh traffic jam - stopped by a tractor and some sheep!
And that is the end of our very exciting September of 2021!
XOXO, Bethany