Brandons’ Diary, April 2006

The lowdown on mission life in the Czech Republic UK

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older diary pages:	Sep 2003–Jan 2004	Jun 2004	Oct 2004	Feb 2005	June 2005	Oct 2005	Feb 2006
	Feb –Mar 2004	Jul 2004	Nov 2004	Mar 2005	July 2005	Nov 2005	Mar 2006
	Apr 2004	Aug 2004	Dec 2004	Apr 2005	Aug 2005	Dec 2005
	May 2004	Sep 2004	Jan 2005	May 2005	Sep 2005	Jan 2006

This diary tracks the progress of the Brandon family from their preparations to become missionaries in the Czech Republic in 2003-2004, to their homecoming in 2005 and beyond…

… through the shock of leaving home in Scotland, to the shock of full immersion in Czech culture, to the many ministry opportunities, friendships, soaring highs and plunging lows; learning Czech, buying and selling a car, getting their son into the Czech schooling system, bureaucracy, travel, evangelistic outreaches, and trying to live lives obedient to God wherever he calls them.

The Brandons are now based in the UK with a new baby (Toby), and Steve works for OM International in a web design team. They still have a heart for the Czech Republic but are re-evaluating what this means for the longer term.

Wednesday 5th April 2006, Paisley, Scotland (Steve)

When in the Czech Republic I avoided going to the dentist, especially after one of our colleagues ended up in hospital after going to the dentist. There, men are men, and dentists are not in the habit of using anaesthetics. Unngh. So, despite a couple of fillings coming out, I decided to put off going for as long as possible.

So, back in the UK, today was the day to finally get my missing fillings seen to, and it was a huge relief to see that Novocaine needle (never thought I would say that!).

Tuesday 4th April 2006, Paisley, Scotland (Steve)

Hooray — first set of layout changes are now up to the public web pages for www.om.org. I got rid of that horrible pinky colour, which was never an official OM Pantone colour, fixed the worst CSS layout issues (like one that forced a horizontal scrollbar no matter how wide the window), and have started to re-organise the menu items and pages. It’s all just a stepping stone to what I hope will be a major overhaul later in the year, but I do think that it looks a LOT nicer. Feedback welcome :-)

Sunday 2nd April 2006, Bothwell Castle, Near Glasgow (Steve)

Historic Scotland jaunt #2: Bothwell Castle, just south-east of Glasgow. I took Benji off with me this afternoon to refresh our knowledge of 13th century castles.

Bothwell castle is magnificent. Ancient, historic, scenic, and parts of it (particularly the circular keep) in remarkable condition. Historic Scotland are also doing a great job of its upkeep.

Highlights for us: the Great Hall (we playacted King Stephen, Queen Varya and Princes Benji and Toby being served by servants who would bring us anything we wanted), and the miniature trebuchet (remarkable medieval period device for flinging rocks at castles).

right:
(1) Benji in the Great Hall
(2) part of the outer wall overlooking the Clyde

Saturday 1st April 2006, Newark Castle, Port Glasgow (Steve)

To mark the opening of the visitor season, Historic Scotland opened up all of their castles and other properties for free this weekend.

Picnic packed, we popped out to Newark Castle in Port Glasgow. We’d only ever seen it from the outside, but the inside of this 15th century castle is in remarkable condition. Benji’s favourite occupation was to find all the fireplaces, and stare up the chimneys looking for the sky…

right:
(1) standing in kitchen fireplace peering up chimney
(2) Varya and Toby on pier overlooking the Clyde estuary

lots more interesting news and pictures - read our older diary pages:	Sep 2003–Jan 2004	Jun 2004	Oct 2004	Feb 2005	June 2005	Oct 2005	Feb 2006
	Feb–Mar 2004	Jul 2004	Nov 2004	Mar 2005	July 2005	Nov 2005	Mar 2006
	Apr 2004	Aug 2004	Dec 2004	Apr 2005	Aug 2005	Dec 2005
	May 2004	Sep 2004	Jan 2005	May 2005	Sep 2005	Jan 2006

Czech Republic Missionaries -
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