Me and My Mug

My mug reminds me of a lovely day last July.

After having enjoyed an excellent meal at Lunch Club, the children who were leaving the Royal Kent at the end of that term came across to the Village Centre and gave us all a beautifully decorated bag they called a “Bag of Kindness”, full of goodies that included my mug.

I was so impressed how chatty they all were, and full of fun. They had raised money themselves for the gifts. I thought what a wonderful example they all were, representing the Royal Kent School, and how proud their parents must be of them.

This is Mum’s mug.

It was given to her by her Canadian friends as a momento of a wonderful evening spent on a boat in the middle of The Lake of Bays, Northen Ontario, hearing the loons (Great Northen Divers to us) and watching the most amazing incredible of Northern Lights many years ago.

For the love of a dog

My mug represents my appreciation and love of dogs. When Warwick and I moved to Oxshott from South Africa in 2018, we brought our three Jack Russells to England with us. Chilli, Vlekkie and Sammy went everywhere with us, and were, and are, very much a part of our family.

We see and feel God’s creation all around us; in animals, humans and nature. Sammy is still with us and loves attending the evening service in his pram once a month and enjoys being pampered and fussed over! And so, these gorgeous doggo mugs remind us of our three musketeers in all their uniqueness and splendour.

Psalm 36.6  “… You, Lord, preserve both people and animals”.

When I first came to Oxshott I was on maternity leave. I joined TWIG at St Andrew’s – a group for the parents and carers of 0 to 5 year olds and their children. It was through this group that I did Alpha. We had fun activities to do with the children and some adult social events for the evenings.

We went to a Ceramics Café a couple of times, and I painted this mug in what I thought was a Van Gogh style. It’s a good size for a coffee, and makes me smile. TWIG days were good days, and were instrumental in bringing me to faith. The Friday Morning Life Group came out of that Alpha in the autumn of 1999.

The ‘Weald Challenge’ route is based around parts of the Wealdway and Vanguard way. This is a lovely run through the beautiful Sussex countryside and with a relaxed time limit of 5 hours is suitable for a wide range of abilities. This mug is given to all runners who finish – and the ‘medal money’ is given to the homeless – a warm meal, instead of a medal!

A half marathon run around the countryside, over stiles and through fields – great fun! My mug means a huge amount, and brings me great joy every cuppa!

(Patrick adds: Jack is also a great tree surgeon! He has helped with work to trees and bushes at church, and for several church members – his website is www.jeffery-tree-management.co.uk)

This is my newest mug but it reminds me of two things I’ve held dear for a long time.

1. The hills of Galloway, and therefore God’s creation, because it was made at the studio of Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch, just north of Corsock, surrounded by the green countryside I grew up in.

2. Beautiful things can come from a muddy mess given time and patient hands because on my second visit to the studio in May, when I bought this mug, Hannah showed me how she made it. My mug is slipware so it started life as a sticky, slippy brown lump in Hannah’s bucket. If God is trusted and allowed to take the lead in a situation, He can make something amazing out of the most unpromising looking material just as Hannah did when making my lovely one of a kind mug.

www.fitchandmcandrew.co.uk has some video of the process.

I got this from Guildford Cathedral gift shop and it reminds me and us about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self -control – and the cross is just something extra!

(Our St Andrew’s @4 service on 13 October was about the Fruit of the Spirit, which are on Richard’s mug…)
 

A Mug’s Story

I’m usually sitting on a shelf amongst Cosy Bear, Spots, Memories and Best. These are all mugs my owner Adele uses depending on how she is feeling on a particular day.

I feel quite chuffed because I’m often her go to mug when she needs some peace and quiet over a cuppa. It reminds her that God is close, he is in control, and this always makes her smile. Suffice to say other people see me too!

When I was training for ordination at Trinity College in Bristol, I would often take a walk across Durdham Downs to Clifton Village during our weekly quiet morning – a dedicated time of silence, for prayer and reflection. I would usually find a nice little coffee shop, and spend an hour or so with a book and a mug.

My favourite place served its drinks in these mugs, which were made locally – so when I came to leave from college I bought myself one – which now serves to remind me of the importance and joy of slowing down and spending time in quiet with God.