Yoakley, QEQM, Vespers and the King's Steps

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The past few weeks have gone by in a whirl with so much to familiarise myself with, various bits of paperwork to keep on top of, and more importantly, key people to get to know. Every now and again, the parish priest of Margate takes a turn at leading a Christian service at Yoakley Care Home, founded over 300 years ago in the Quaker tradition. I took a photo of the grounds:

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The parish has a one-and-a-half form entry primary school so I made my third visit last week, to celebrate the Harvest Mass, and am beginning to find my way around. Likewise, the geography of the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Hospital (known locally as QEQM) is now becoming clearer after I have done a few rounds to see the Catholic patients and have responded to some sick calls to anoint people.

The Benedictine Sisters at Minster Abbey have Vespers each evening (sung in Latin) and last Sunday, after October devotions at St Austin's, I went along and was pleased to meet up with others from the Deanery.

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After arranging seven baptisms for an extended family of Czech people who live near the Church, and after catching up with the great people who run the food parcel scheme, I seized the opportunity of the midday sunshine to go down to the harbour, have a sandwich for lunch, and get a couple of photos - the one that is at the top of this post, and this attempt at perspective from the King's Steps.

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