urge for going … (sfgm #7)
After a super week exploring Seattle, I’m now back in Vancouver getting ready to fly home - and thought I’d just pop up a quick post to say a HUGE thank-you to everyone, for all your amazing support while I’ve been away…
I send warmest & most extra specially Gi-normous (Guy-normous?) Thanks : to everyone who has made the last 3 months possible, not least to all who have looked after St. Mary’s, and the Horsham team & deanery - all through this privileged & refreshing sabbatical. I’ve no doubt whatever you will all have flourished wonderfully, with such a great team in place of course …
… but I am now really looking forward to being home, in time to help us celebrate Christmas. I recognise there may however be a certain slight mental jolt, as I make the personal gear-change from current fascination with Early Byzantine apophatic & cataphatic theology (which for some strange reason Jebs advises I leave firmly behind here!) - to hosting our ever delightful Nursery Nativity for example, as soon as I’m back
Meanwhile anyway, ‘til carols ring out & we meet again, here’s my personal all-time favourite Canadian, singing her fond farewell to this oh so magical land (& then a quick Seattle postcard home, which I hope you also enjoy) :
In this clip I just love how the opening low-grade 60’s frivolity evaporates, sensing how simply unworthy it has become in the presence of such true & timeless beauty …
Seattle is a splendidly photogenic city, thanks especially to the elegant Space Needle of 1962 adorning its every skyline (plus Mount Rainier doing his very best Mt. Fuji impersonation in the background)
It is also renowned for being the hi-tech home of Microsoft, Amazon & Boeing - as well as the first ever Starbucks, where pilgrims will happily queue around the block for their eggnog latte. All helpful for fortifying ready for the somewhat over-hyped Pike Market next door - where giant fish are traditionally hurled around baseball-style, to keep us tourists entertained …
For a Brit it was a real treat being here for Thanksgiving & the fabled Macy’s Christmas Parade - a whole morning of festive floats & marching bands, ensuring this particular big kid was super-excited when Santa finally arrived
But come nightfall, Macy’s swanky storefront also serves as a gathering point for the city homeless community, with some 30 or 40 folk bedding down, right outside its magical window displays every night. Indeed downtown Seattle & Vancouver both play host to hordes of rough sleepers throughout the winter, as folk seek shelter on the relatively mild West Coast
Lord please give them a reason to Believe …
It meant getting back to my hotel was sometimes a bit dodgy late at night - after one concert police were stalking a local cafe at gun-point at 2.30 am, and the taxi driver definitely recommended I now just went straight to bed …
The music was so worth being up for though : one night was blues legend Taj Mahal on fire, then I saw a truly fantastic Seattle jazz-rock band called Tuatara (who re-form for old fans while everyone is home for Thanksgiving, with guys present from the Screaming Trees & Presidents of the USA) :
At the gig I enjoyed getting to know Sheila, Diane and Camille, three friendly locals who adopted me & promised to “like” this blog - and I was sorry a previous most important engagement (with the new Bond movie) meant I couldn’t accept their really generous invite, to family Thanksgiving dinner …
Finally - besides a trip to the vast Boeing Museum of Flight, plus plenty of Black Friday Christmas shopping - the glass art exhibition by Dan Chiluly was also a stunning highlight (both in the day & lit up in the garden at night)
And so - while I am now genuinely looking forward to my next early morning run, with good old Denne Hill as backdrop in place of this …
.. I’ve got to admit being Sleepless in Seattle was pretty great while it lasted!
