A Good Time Away

Well, I had a good time away. I won't call it a 'retreat' because we talked and talked and talked. Including me. To the blogger who suggested I go around saying 'I thought this was a silent retreat!?!' that would probably get me another year studying Methodist history and practice! ;-)

What was different this year from last year? First of the the space. It was mainly because we were at a place where there were lots of rooms for spreading out and having quiet conversations. We were at a hotel last year; I won't mention it's name because it was a good hotel and everything was excellent but hotels' public spaces don't really lend themselves to the kind of conversational space that we had at The Ammerdown Conference and Retreat Centre. We filled all the residential rooms but there were plenty of peaceful break-out rooms where you could go for conversation with a few other people. The food was truly the best food I've ever at at any retreat centre and the grounds were lovely for walking. Highly recommended.

Secondly, I simply went on this expecting that it would be a 'talking thing', so I wasn't disappointed. To be fair, we didn't have to join in any of the discussions, but who could resist?