Spring Harvest in Minehead

We've been back for nearly a week and Easter has come and gone as well, and I haven't written anything up here! The reason is perhaps that I've been ill again, coming home from Spring Harvest with a sore throat and cough that have been really nasty. A lot of our group picked up bugs - not a very healthy environment! Mine isn't really shifting but I'm trying to avoid the doctor as he'll only prescribe some antibiotics which are really not what I need at the moment, cocking up my diet. After all I have been very good, even at Spring Harvest, and mainly stayed with all the dos and don'ts of it even though it meant cooking in the chalet most evenings, being tempted constantly by the smell of other people's coffees and watching them eat lovely treats, and a lot of snacks that are scrap food really but somehow so appealing when you've just come out of a lecture...

Sean and his favourite treat:
hot chocolate with a BIG blob of cream on top

The Chocolate Fountain in the skyline -
had to walk past it so many times a day...

On the up-side, we had some decent weather for a change - only one rainy day! The drive down was okay and we managed to make our way earlier than in the last years, arriving about 5pm which meant we could go to the first night's event! Here are some piccies taken on the way:

Passing by Stonehenge -

a little holdup just there came in handy for photos...

Pig farm just after Stonehenge - happy pigs!

Just a hedgerow and clouds - but I like this photo.

Butlins hasn't changed much, except for getting a little dingier every year. The tent ceiling of the skyline is getting rather yellow and Sean reckons it will fall apart soon... As for our chalet, which we were sharing with a couple from our church and their little son Jacob, was okay except for creaking doors and a very stiff entrance door that was impossible to open or close quietly. Our flat mates went for early morning beach walks every day, getting up at 6am - needless to say not much sleep for Sean and me! Not quite our idea of a holiday - but otherwise the Stokers were nice to live with, friendly, chatty and flexible to get cooking schedules sorted out etc.

Our chalets were all in Block H, Ocean View -
as you can see, the view was really of the chalet across!

The ever present seagulls were also still in evidence and getting bolder every year. One stole an icecream right out of Zoe's hand, leaving her rather shocked and with a scratch on her finger and nose! And yes, that's Sean's niece Zoe - she was there with her Mum and sister Eleanor and two friends from church. We didn't see much of the kids all week - they have their own programmes at Spring Harvest and prefer to spend the time in between in the swimming pools (the younger ones) or with the other teenagers (the older ones).

Seagulls' Galore

The programme and events did not exactly hit a note with Sean and me this year. Much of a muchness I would say - the topic was "Apprentice - Learning to be Disciples of Jesus". There wasn't exactly much new in it, although some of the talks were quite catching. In the afternoons, we visited a seminar on Islam and its interaction with Christianity which was very interesting and held lots of new information for us, but the speaker was rather less than inspiring which made it also a bit of a torture. They had also made certain changes to the schedule of Spring Harvest that were a lot less flexible than in previous years and as a result, and with the lack of good sleep, Sean and I ended up watching a lot of the morning sessions on telly in our chalet instead of attending, as this meant being able to stay in bed a bit longer and have a leisurely breakfast while watching. And finally, we didn't like the music this year - it was very teenage style, and all the songs were very samey in lyrics, rythm, key and even tunes. A lot of people made similar comments, so it's not just us getting old or somthing...!

The "Big Top" - the main events' tent

Speaker at one of the evening events

We did take the chance with the nice weather and had a good long walk one afternoon, into Minehead and up the hill for a view. I hadn't realised what a cute quaint old town centre Minehead has. Here are some photos from the walk - there are many more on my Facebook (see link to the right).

Thought this tree in blossom was stunning
against the blue sky...

"Church Steps" in the middle of the old town centre

Loved the colour contrast...

View from the top -
you can see the Skyline and the Big Top at Butlins.

Coming back into Butlins from the Seaside Promenade -
through their little fairground.

We came back home on Thursday with a trouble free but not very fast ride - first stop at the level crossing right outside Butlins, to see the local steam train come through!