A busy weekend. In Rough Edges all day Saturday. As we need to increase sales to make it, not even profitable but just paying for itself, and several people had lamented the fact that we only opened on Thursdays, we decided to give it a try.
The other volunteers weren't available so I went in to help Kathryn and Richard, the managers.
It was worth it as we took more money than on Thursday but frustrating in that several people came in and said, "Oh good, you're open," and then didn't buy anything.
It was also freezing! I'd forgotten how cold it was in the shop and had been fooled by the sun in the sky. I spent most of the day standing in front of the wood-burner or in the doorway in the sunshine. Still chilled even by the time I went to bed.
Friday I made some iced buns to take out on the street in the evening. Not as successful as ones I've made previously, and, also, we saw very few women, so I brought most of them home again!
On Friday I was asked if I'd say something about Palm Sunday in church on Sunday. I'd written about the associated customs and traditions in the church newsletter, so I thought I'd do something a bit different. I wrote a piece from the viewpoint of someone in the crowd on the first Palm Sunday. And then I practised it like mad.
It was well received. One lady, an ex am dram person, hugged me and said I presented it wonderfully. Someone else asked if I'd performed it on stage before. "Um, no, I only wrote two days ago!" And lots of nice comments.
This morning I read on Twitter - and then fact-checked - that Cardinal Pizzaballa, the head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land, had been refused entry to the church of the Holy Sepulchre yesterday. Instead he went to Gethsemane and preached.
Today Jesus weeps once more over Jerusalem. He weeps over this city, which remains a sign of both hope and sorrow, of grace and suffering. He weeps over this Holy Land, still unable to recognize the gift of peace. He weeps for all the victims of a war that seems without end: for divided families, for shattered hopes. But the tears of Jesus are never fruitless. They open our eyes, challenge us, and reveal the truth.
I have to say the Pope is leading the way in the battle against all wars.
And, no, I couldn't believe that was the cardinal's name. Even checked to see if it was April 1st.
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