Paris in the winter

My dear Friends

I have a habit of going to Paris in the winter, where it is really cold. But I have a close friend there and so I was particularly looking forward to it. I met Alexia when she was working in a cafe in Cambridge, to earn money for her studies at Anglia Ruskin university- this was back in 2006.

This time I took the Eurostar last Monday, to arrive in Paris at around 5,30pm and I would have the first 36 hours alone. I booked into the Hotel , where I had been two or three times before and climbed up to my little room on the top floor.It was warm and cosy. There was only a bed, a wash hand basin and table in the room but it was opposite the loo and shower.

After resting a little i took a stroll in the cold night air and decided on a meal in the local Chinese restaurant, where they remembered me from previous years. I had a delicious chicken soup and chicken for the main course and then went a little further afield to have a coffee in my favourite bustling bar where they also remembered from previous years.

I had a good night's sleep and in the morning, hearing the bells ring, went to Mass in the Iocal Church. I had planned to go to the Rodin museum and when I arrived, there was a Henry Moore exhibition on as well.

To be continued

Shalom from

Sister Gila

Shoah

My dear Friends

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Many years ago, I went into a church on this day and said(to God): 'I know you won't tell me why, but just tell me it had meaning.' And the immediate response seemed to say: 'Yes, it had meaning.'

It seems very hard to feel there is meaning when 6 million Jews, 6 million of my people, perished in such horrific circumstances. To say nothing of the gypsies, homosexuals and disabled people who perished too. It is said that some Jews died with the Hear o Israel prayer on their lips,as if they knew they were part of a higher destiny. Some survivors lost their faith in God and some committed suicide.

I believe there is no evil, however great, without redemption. This is what I was brought up to believe as a child and what I believe more fully as a Christian. In the last 60 years we have seen the emergence of the State of Israel, with all its failings and we have seen the survivors of the Holocuast either live in Israel or spread out with all their extended families to all parts of the world.Despite the terrible things that go on, we still see even more acts of heroism and of love, and that, of course, is the key.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

Countdown to Paris

My dear Friends

I am only 24 hours away from my trip to Paris. Tomorrow morning I take the train to London Kings Cross and go a few steps to St Pancras, where I will catch the Eurostar to the Gare du Nord. I have made this journey several times in the past but I am still excited. I will have the first 36 hours alone and have to decide what to do. I will report back to you next week.

The weather is cold in Cambridge again and, from past experience, it can be bitter in Paris at this time of year. So I will take a warm coat. Then I will get my head round the metro and hope for the best. I always say that the good Lord gave me a few gifts but a sense of direction was not one of them. So I tend to ask a lot from passersby in the street. Luckily my French is not too bad, a bit rusty, but hopefully it will improve on the trip.

See you in five days! Be well and warm
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Happy New Year

My dear Friends

I hope it is not too late to wish you many blessings for this New year. I hope it will be full of good things for each of you, health and happiness.

I had a quiet New year's Eve although I could have gone to a party. One of my friends was holding a party with folk and circle dancing. I felt a bit reticent, especially as I had not got my guitar out for quite a while. It was only yesterday, when another friend was visiting me that he asked me to sing and I did and it felt good. The next step is to practise enough to do a gig in Starbucks.

Do you have any plans for this year? I am going to Paris on the 20th of January, to see my friend Alexia. Alexia was studying at Anglia Ruskin University here when I met her in 2006. We met in a cafe in the town, where she was working and became good friends. I have already been to Paris in previous years to see her (she's French and lives there) but its been a while. Wonder if it will be as cold over there? On one previous occasion in December it was absolutely freezing!

I have the luxury of going on the Eurostar. When it goes through the tunnel, I feel its a miracle! I will tell you all about my five days there on my return. In the meantime, keep warm!

Shalom from

Sister Gila

My dear Friends, this is proof of a wonderful Christmas with my friends. In the picture are Kanthi, Leonie, and Johan. James is not in this picture, as he is tucking into a whiskey cocktail. we enjoyed a nice Mass this morning and sang some corals, before a brisk walk home to a delicious meal Kanthi had prepared. James is in the picture below.

Blessings and Christmas reflection

My dear Friends

We are very lucky in this part of East Anglia as we have had very little snow. Some came down about a week ago and left the pavements and the roads very icy, so it is still treacherous to walk. Yesterday afternoon there was a small flurry but it soon petered out.

I wonder what it was like in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, on a cold winter's night, as the carol goes.Was it 'deep amid the winter snow' as the other carol goes? It must have been amazing as the Shechinah, the glory of God lit up the winter's sky above the shepherds and the manger. Let us hope that every birth at this time will contain the wonder of the miraculous birth of Jesus.

We think of the lonely, the unloved and the homeless at this time. I thank God for my little flat, given to me by the Council when I was made homeless in 2003. And for my little pussy cat, Thomas, who came out of the woods and made a beeline for me one evening when I was in my garden. He is a great companion but I wonder where he goes outside in the middle of the night: does he have a Friend to go dancing with??

Wherever you will be at this Christmas I wish you blessings, warmth and safe travel. I have no computer at home and all the libraries will be closed, so I am signing off until 4th January.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sister Gila

The coming of the Christ child

My dear Friends

We are now in the 3rd week of Advent and we are eagerly anticipating the birth of the Christ child, the light of the world, coming to bring us out of darkness. It has been a time of watching and waiting, a time demanding patience and even endurance. It is a time of much joy and preparation, but there is even another meaning to all this.

For we are waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, as predicted in the Scriptures, the time when 'He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.' 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' said Jesus, in other words the Beginning and the End. This thinking about the end time has its place in both Jewish and Christian eschatology-the Rabbis predicted the Messiah would come on the first night of Passover.

When Ely Wiesel, a French Jewish writer and survivor of the Holocaust was invited to speak to a group of American priests, he opened his remarks by saying 'We are all waiting for the same thing.' With all the violence in the 20th Century, some sources say that the 2nd coming is imminent. But we don't know exactly when this will be, only God knows. But let us hope that we may be ready and that we are found watching and waiting.

Shalom and many blessings
Sister Gila