Dear Friends,

Living where I do, I am very fortunate. I am surrounded by green spaces. There is plenty of fresh air. Being locked down can have consequences that we never imagined. If truth be known, hitherto I had not been one for the ‘great out doors’, ‘staying in’ was always preferable to ‘going out’. But when told I had to stay in, I found myself desperate to get out. It was ok in lockdown (1). The weather was ideal for wandering aimlessly about, just for the sake of it. Lockdown (2) was not so easy. The weather was not so kind – why should it be in November/December? – and so to go out demanded more of an effort. But the urge was as strong as it had been before. During this 2nd period of lockdown, I have discovered what has become for me my ‘go to’ place. Those of you who know this part of London will be familiar with Golders Hill Park. A brisk walk up the hill rewarded with a piping hot coffee and a blueberry muffin from the kiosk, and then if the weather wasn’t too cold, sitting on a bench, reading a chapter or two of my ‘chosen book’ – presently a biography of Thomas Cromwell – before a leisurely stroll back down the hill to home. I imagine that all of us have had to (re)discover our ‘go to places’: not necessarily an actual location to be visited and revisited, though for some of us that may be exactly what it was and is. It might be an activity. A hobby we used to enjoy but for which recently we have had little time; or (re)learning a new skill, pursuing a new area of study, decorating the house, cleaning out the shed, re arranging the furniture, getting a dog. Those with access to the internet are spoiled for choice. If I’m not outside, trudging up the hill, I might be doing an online Sudoku puzzle or a Crossword – The Guardian makes their puzzles available, with no paywall – and in so doing I immerse myself in a world far away from the real world. We may have a ‘go to’ book that we reread, time and time again, or a piece of music we keep replaying. The eccentric in all of us has been brought out during these strange times. Eccentricity has its own attractiveness. We should not deny ourselves the opportunity to let it manifest itself. But we have to be careful. I refer to all of this as ‘go to’ because it is not where we are at, usually. It is a bolt-hole, not an escape tunnel. The awful reality that is the world of today is the ‘here and now’ for all of us. Its just good to know that there is somewhere we can ‘go to’ from time to time. We just can’t stay there. Church has often been described as a ‘sanctuary’, a ‘safe place’, a ‘go to’ place if you like. What someone has described as ‘coming apart to rest awhile’. Over the coming Christmas period, as a church we will be there – actually and online – offering a place to ‘come to’; an opportunity to spend time away from the outside world; in order that we might be better able to ‘go back into’ that same world. Anyway, have to stop now, the sun is trying to break through, its time to set off up that hill, once again…

Everyone needs a ‘go to’ place