The Vicarage Garden Looks Good from Outer Space

In January the family and I will be moving from Aberdeen to Salcombe where I will become Vicar of Salcombe, Malborough with South Huish, Devon. This will be a really major move involving us travelling 650 miles! The thought of the logistics of moving (with two little children) is a bit of head spin but we are really looking forward to settling in the West Country.

I grew up in Devon and left home at 19 to study IT at Kent, Canterbury. Having married, Frances, an Aberdonian I moved up to Scotland and have had a fantastic seven years up here. Presently I am priest-in-charge of St Clements Scottish Episcopal Church http://www.orangesandlemons.org.uk/ and chaplain to the Robert Gordon University www.rgu.ac.uk/chaplaincy - all in the Granite city. So in a way coming back to Devon is like travelling full-circle.

Frances was not able to join me for the interview in September for very good reasons. She had just given birth to our daughter, Francesca. Little Francesca surprised us all by coming 7 weeks early. So at the interview and tour I took my new digital camera and snapped up over a hundred photos to share once back in Aberdeen. Last week I discovered Google Maps and a new perspective on Salcombe - several hundred miles down! In my excitement I was able to spot the vicarage and, yes, the gardening team are doing brilliant job.

There's probably a sermon on a God's eye point of view - but thats for another day. Meanwhile I must get back to this Sunday's muse, a reflection on the theme of All Souls. This Sunday I consciously must not stare at people while preaching on the next life. One 94 year old member joked with me that he felt uneasy about me looking at him as I elucidated on the theme of 'a happy funeral'.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=