By Ricky, on December 29th, 2015 Before 2015 comes to an end, I want to try and write, at least briefly, about all those things that happened in the second half of this year, but which never got the blog post they deserved – a combination of my own ill health and the excessive heat we experienced during the summer months. It will take two posts, so here is the first. And the second has now been written and published.
July
Newly renovated statue of Jan Hus in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, Prague © Ricky Yates
Monday 6th July marked the 600th anniversary of Jan Hus, the early Czech Church reformer, being burnt at the stake in Konstanz on 6th July 1415. As I have previously explained, during the past two hundred years, Czech people have tended to celebrate Hus as a . . . → Read More: All those things in the second half of 2015 that got missed
By Ricky, on July 22nd, 2015 The temperature in Prague today © Ricky Yates
My sincere apologies for the absence of a fresh blog post for over three weeks. It isn’t as though there is a lack of things to write about – quite the reverse. July 2015 has been far busier than than my previous Julys in Prague and I’ve got at least four prospective posts to compile. But the real problem has been the weather. In the words of Cole Porter and best known for being sung by Ella Fitzgerald, ‘It’s too darn hot!’
Sybille frequently describes the summer weather pattern in Prague as being pleasantly warm, followed by getting hotter, then much hotter, before there is a major heavy thundery downpour and the temperature returns to being pleasantly warm. After that, the same cycle resumes. But this year, especially since the beginning of July, the weather has . . . → Read More: It’s too darn hot!
By Ricky, on June 13th, 2015 The happy couple in Fringford Churchyard following their wedding © Ricky Yates
Just a week after conducting my first wedding of 2015, on Saturday 6th June I conducted my second of the year. But for the first time in nearly seven years, this wedding was conducted under laws governing marriage in England and Wales.
It was in July last year that my son Phillip’s best friend, Adam, wrote to me, saying that he and his long-standing girlfriend Claire, were planning to be married in late May/early June 2015 and that they would like me to officiate, and asking whether I was willing and able to do so. As I normally travel to the UK for a week, once a year, I replied agreeing to their request, planning for the wedding to be at the centre of my annual UK visit. Adam did . . . → Read More: The wedding of Adam and Claire
By Ricky, on June 10th, 2015 Lee and Petra © Ricky Yates
On Saturday 30th May, I officiated at my first wedding of 2015, between Lee, an Englishman, and Petra, his Czech bride. The wedding took place at Letohrádek svatý Vojtech, Pocátky, in the Vysocina/Highlands, close to from where Petra originates.
The happy couple met whilst both working for the Irish budget airline, Ryanair. As they acknowledged when I first met them, theirs was the classic romance – dashing airline pilot falls in love with tall, beautiful air stewardess 🙂 They now live in Dubai, where Lee flies with the Emirates airline.
Lee and Petra first contacted me about their wedding in September last year. Lee was very keen to have a Church of England wedding whilst Petra wanted the wedding to take place near her Czech home. Therefore, when through a little bit of . . . → Read More: My first wedding of 2015
By Ricky, on January 7th, 2015 Prague © Ricky Yates
Since the beginning of this new year, aided by the ‘Forward Planner’ in my new Church Book & Desk Diary 2015, I’ve been looking ahead at what is in store for me and what I want to achieve in the coming year. In the past, I’ve frequently not been the best at forward planning, so with the new year comes a determination to do better.
In particular, I’ve been trying to decide when I can and want to take my annual leave, allowing for Easter and Christmas when I have to be in Prague, weddings at which I have agreed to officiate, and the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod and the ICS Chaplains Conference, at which my attendance is expected. By the end of this week, I want to have something firmly booked and begin organising cover for . . . → Read More: Looking ahead into 2015
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