Not The Same Old Boring Sunday Morning

St Leonards Church, Bursledon, originally uploaded by Wurzel

We (Mrs W and I ) went to Church this morning.

Not something either of us do every week. Births weddings and funerals (or hatches matches and dispatches as out local vicar put it) is about it really. But we're getting married there soon so we felt we should put in an appearance.

A bit nervous, not wanting to stick out as the new kids (if mid 40s can still be classed as kids) we entered as unobtrusively as possible and took a pew. But the regulars clearly have an inbuilt radar for "first-timers" and several immediately descended on us with smiling welcomes and handshakes.

Both of us commented afterwards that we immediately felt at home and surprised ourselves by actually enjoying the whole thing. It had more of an air of a social gathering than a religious experience with no preaching or ramming a message down our throats. I even found myself joining in with hymns I didn't know, (somehow you just seem to know the tune). We were even given a little bunch of flowers each to celebrate mothers day (why I got one I'm not sure, either I wore the wrong type of Sunday best or mums and dads are equal in the eyes of the lord.). More handshakes, smiles and (politely declined) invites to attend the after-service tea and biscuits and it was all over. Maybe we'll be back again one day - I'd never commit to being a regular but it was far more enjoyable than I expected.

The strange thing is both of us spent the rest of the day feeling like we'd swallowed a happy pill - no mean feat as we'd hardly spoken to each other in February. Maybe there is something in it after all.