Barabbas

“They cried Not this man, but Barrabas. Now Barabbas was a robber” John18:40

Reflections – before Christmas 2024

As we head into Christmas, it seems very strange here. Although there are Christmas decorations in all the shops, it doesn’t feel very “Christmassy”, in  contrast to Great Britain when we left at the end of November. Maybe that is because New Zealand is in a recession, it’s got harder to get benefits, and many shops and cafés are closed. There have been several birthdays in December, so they’ve taken precedence over Christmas. Most of our family are away but we will see one son and his family on Christmas Day. Of course, there’s church on Christmas Day and a candlelit carol singing service on Christmas Eve.

As you may have noticed, I am finding it really hard to “settle down” again. I guess coming home sick, and not being able to resume my usual activities has made it harder. For a while after we returned home I would dream that we were staying in an Italian marble palazzo, and we had to catch another train – somewhere!  I then would dream that I had lost something along the way, but we didn’t lose anything, miraculously, and I packed well. Our luggage followed us home, minus the wheeled backpack we had bought for our son’s birthday: after proving its usefulness in Durham and Europe, we packed most things in our remaining bags and left it in Canterbury for him. I had hoped to get another bag at Heathrow Airport, but silly me, that proved to be quite impossible. Quite unlike Wellington Domestic Terminal.

The Covid pandemic meant that we couldn’t travel for about five years. During that time, of course, we got a lot older, and more tired, and of course everything from air fares to insurance costs more. It costs more to be insured after you turn 70.  After a while, after relief at being protected from the ravages of covid here, I was desperate to travel again.  I greatly regret not having travelled more.

When we go to Taiwan, we can fly directly from Auckland to Taipei. Although the food is so different, everyone is helpful and respectful, and there are few tourists. Not knowing much Taiwanese language is not a problem. The bathrooms are always clean, and good to use; petty crime and theft does not happen, and the coffee comes in many varieties (Hot? Cold? Iced? With a variety of milks and coffee beans) and is always good to drink. The drinks are not too sweet.

But Europe! Europe is something else, and England was very welcoming on our recent trip, for the most part.  Although we had adventures with train trips, and the crowds were unexpectedly large in many places, we had a wonderful trip. For the most part, we ate really well. We had some wonderful experiences. It was good to know where I wanted to go – not always the usual tourist destinations.  And you feel that New Zealand is just so very far away! It was nice to be away from the local preoccupations. Of course, they have their own worries abroad, but we were escaping from them.

Now we’re recalling some of the great things we saw, and making some decisions for future trips.

It was wonderful not to be too hot or cold; we can still do lots of walking; travelling light is very good; locking our luggage is a very good idea.  We can still travel like we used to, albeit with fewer visits to special sights. On our next trip I would book earlier; book trains earlier; avoid crowded spots where possible, or have work-arounds for them. The luggage we took was just fine. Thankfully, it did not rain, although it was overcast much of the time, and the days were short. The weather remained mild and not too hot or cold.

Our destinations were wonderful, too: seeing our newest granddaughter, and spending time in Canterbury; going to Durham; seeing the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum again; the Eurostar was chaotic (thanks, Brexit) but remains an excellent way to get to Paris (or other European destinations) while avoiding the chaos (and distance) of airports.

Paris is still beautiful. Venice is still a wonderful place. Ravenna was an interesting contrast, with wonderful mosaics.  We didn’t go to Florence, but we must next time; and spend more time in wonderful Roma. I regret especially not going to Scotland, or Spain, or Sicily:  maybe next time.  I guess I would plan differently for another trip. What a privilege it is to travel: despite the amount of time spent in airports, and the distance walked to get to the correct gate, in the correct zone, in the correct terminal! 

Below are some thoughts for future travel:

1. Avoid the crowds where possible
2. Avoid regional train lines: if there are stops, make sure the connections are manageable, i.e. there’s plenty of time to get to another platform
3. Go in the cooler season close to winter (except for Scotland!)
4. Book better accommodation
5. Breakfasts can be wonderful or not so great. Check them out.
6. 4* hotels can cost way more without giving better service
7. One does get tired of beautiful paintings and statues. Recommend variation in what one sees
8. Walking is great, especially on safe surfaces!
9. Airport walking and queueing is always wearisome
10. Get fast trains! 
11. Don’t spend more time travelling than is necessary. You can waste a lot of time getting to an airport, or railway station in plenty of time, to have them announce the appropriate gate or platform a few minutes before the plane or train leaves, never mind how long it takes to walk there. Locals probably know their way around a bit better.
12. Book in advance as much as possible, and print tickets single-sided so that the QR codes can be read by entry machines.
13. Most things are closed on Mondays: it pays to plan around this.
14. Many things don’t open till 10 am, sometimes 9:30 am. One needs to take this into account since one is waking really early.

And now a few final words. It is now the New Year, 2025, and the weather in Wellington has been cold, wet and windy, for the most part.  One fine day we went for a walk along Oriental Parade, and saw many sunburnt people. I fear that was it for summer! Today I’m wearing a jersey which has been in England and Europe.  It does feel very strange, but not too hot to be wearing a jersey in January.

The US presidential election happened while we were away.  It seems that a majority of American voters chose Barrabas. Who is Barrabas, you may ask? When Jesus was about to be crucified, Pilate, the then governor, asked the people whom he should release. He wanted to release Jesus, finding no wrong in him. The crowd called for Barrabas, another prisoner who was also a robber.  In my view, the Democrats did nothing wrong. They ran a good campaign. All the heartrending and agonising over what they did wrong should stop. Joe Biden was a great president, who achieved amazing things. But here we are, with Trump again, dominating not only US  politics but most of the world more than ever before. He hasn’t even been inaugurated President yet!

 Some Americans have only known a time when Trump dominated the political scene.  So what is going to happen? Who knows. How do you report what he says? Where does one start?

When we were in Venice, we visited (again) the Doge’s Palace Museum. Amongst it’s wonders is a famous painting entitled The Adoration of the Magi. Who are the Magi? I heard one woman ask. In case you don’t know, the Magi were three kings/wise men from the East who visited the baby Jesus soon after his birth and did Him homage, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, thus prefiguring his death.  This Bible scene was often a trop in classical paintings, who painted mostly Biblical scenes and mythological scenes. The different ways these can be represented in art can be very interesting, especially in the frequent paintings of the Madonna and Child.

This morning, as our minister is away, we were supposed to go to the Ngaio Union Church.  But I did not go, partly because it’s such bad weather, and partly because the trains aren’t running, they’re bus replaced. So I was nervous about making my own way home. If the trains are running, they have better shelters to take cover if you have to wait a while.

I zoomed onto a service at St John’s Presbyterian Church in Willis St. There was a wonderful sermon, where the preacher spoke about Grace and Truth.  This seemed so relevant at present where it is so hard to get the truth about events overseas.  One of the three texts was John 1, but this sermon quoted lots of scripture, about God being the source of truth: Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).  “Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice”, said Jesus), only for Pilate to reply “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38). According to the Revelation, severe judgement is reserved for everyone that loves and makes a lie (Revelation 22:11), who are excluded from the City of God.  Grace on the other hand, gave us a Saviour, the Messiah, who while we were yet sinners died for us (Romans 5:8-9).

It has been very quiet here in Wellington over the last few days. One day JD and I walked up the road to have a pizza for lunch at our local café, only to find it shut, although the internet had said it was open, And it wasn’t a public holiday!

We bought a new vacuum cleaner at one of the Boxing Day sales. I think we got a pretty good deal: I was going to get a “stick” vacuum, but most of them are made by Dyson, which he wanted to avoid; and then how are they powered and emptied? And do they work on any type of flooring? Our new vacuum cleaner seems to work well, but does not have a manual. It only has pictorial instructions!  It’s a bit like our stove, a mystery. I think I’ve identified the main uses, and put the rest of the features away. Because it was a busy sale, the salesperson did not demonstrate the various features. It does come with a rubbish bag loaded, and a spare one.

My weekly cleaning has been restored, and so a lady from Access comes each Friday, which is nice.   It’s good to have a better vacuum cleaner for her to use. 

And so we continue, hoping and praying for better things and times. I have been watching and listening to a lot of World War 2 dramas and accounts, and I have a horrible feeling of foreboding about the increasing presence of right-wing governments, democratically elected, in countries which purport to hold “free and fair” elections.  I guess we are blessed in this country, and we have a great deal to be thankful for, as we long for better weather, better movies, and more kindness all round! Still, we can be kind to each other, can’t we.

In Ukraine and is Israel wars continue, despite the election of Donald Trump, and the fall of the Syrian dictator.  Slava Ukraini! Ngā mihi nui.