Seashore walk to Crail and Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow

Crail Walk

Last Saturday I went on a 15 mile walk along the North Sea to Crail with some guys from the Christian Union/Christian Boys Breakfast Club. We saw some great scenery on the way. A couple of guys and I went ahead of the main group (one of whom looks looks and acts strangely like Matt Seymour-- its very eerie how similar they are) and decided to take a bus to Anstruther to get the supposed best fish and chips in Britain. I have to say they were very good.

This is a picture of an old abandoned stone house we found on our way. You can see how the forest is reclaiming the space.

This is a picture I took along the way. The rock formations are really neat.

Here is a massive rock some guys and I climbed. I have to give credit to Henry Gratwick for this picture. Well done Henry.

Again-- the massive rock. Once again, great job Henry.

Here I am looking back at St. Andrews from a couple of miles down the trail. Notice how blue the sky is. St. Andrews is one of the driest spots in the UK; not really what you would expect from Scotland, huh?

The Kelvingrove Museum and Museums Association meeting in Glasgow

This past Monday I was able to attend the Museums Association Annual Conference in Glasgow. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet important people in the British/European museum world and learn about the future of museums here. I was very happy to learn that people in the UK are familiar with The Henry Ford and have a good deal of respect for it. People here really like the way we use living history in American museums. Living history is becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

After the conference we were given a private tour of the newly revamped Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. The collections were amazing and the atmosphere was great. We were greeted with bagpipers, given a wine reception, and saw a living history show. I felt very posh touring such a grand museum this way. Here are a couple of images from the museum. I can't take credit for the photos. I forgot to take my camera and had to rely on the Internet to find these.

Here is a view of the exterior of the museum



And here is the main hall where we had our wine reception

Prayerful musings

Life has been getting busier over the last couple of weeks. Suddenly I find myself working on research projects, starting an internship @ the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, sitting in on lectures, etc., etc.

There is so much that I must remember not to take for granted: the shear beauty of the sea (in which I bravely took a swim today--- it is far colder than any body of water I have touched), the ancient ora of St. Andrews, the many different accents I hear everywhere I go, and certainly the goodness of God who has allowed me to experience all of this.

It has been great worshiping with different nationalities. I was very moved during a prayer meeting as I heard the Word read in African, English, Scottish, Irish, and American accents. It made me think of heaven and what it will be like to hear every man praise God in his own tongue.

In addition to Christian Union Bible studies and fellowships, I have been attending the local Baptist Church on Sunday mornings (services are held in the local high school because the church is too small for the Sunday morning crowd) and the Free Church on Sunday evenings. The Free Church is very conservative. Every week we sing Psalms A- Capella. It really is wonderful. The pictures I am enclosing are of a Medieval church associated with the University. I haven't taken pictures of the places I attend, but I will soon. They are really worth a look as well.

Best wishes to all! It is so good to have people and places at home to miss.

Ryan Joshua