After our hugely blessed midnight service at All Souls and Ruth and Nishi’s hugely blessed church party, none of us visualised a sunrise meeting. So mid-morning Gordon and I cycled in the rain from home to Hatfield station.
Bikes on train – bikes off train at Kings Cross. On bikes to Angel station – the meeting point. Yay, we’re together!
Not long after the hello-hugs, we’re cycling along the Regents Canal and graffiti and the odd empty champagne bottle – dodging walkers, joggers, other cyclists and dogs.
At the ominous Tower of London, carefree ice-skaters aren’t thinking of heads getting the chop. We clink mini wine bottles on a blessed New Year for one another, eat smoked salmon in the cold winter air. Then we stand next to our bikes, surrounded by tourists in coats and scarves, the Thames just over there - we hold hands, close our eyes and pray and bless the Lord of the New Year and our lives.
Then we take shelter in a coffee-house and drink tea and lattés and eat Ruth’s home-made Christmas cake. And talking and talking and talking like friends talk ….
All too soon, we say our goodbyes and cycle back to our respective stations through “London at night” – with joy in our hearts.
