Signpost 48 (29 March)

REFLECT

• We are now in Holy Week, a week that would usually be filled with services and opportunities for reflection. Each of our villages will be delivering services in a safe way, but if you don’t want to go out then you may wish to access services on your television, radio or online. The Easter Day Eucharist is on Sunday 4^th April at 10 am on BBC One.

• On BBC Radio 2 on Good Friday (7-9 pm, Friday 2nd April), Dan Walker hosts At the Foot of the Cross, a star-studded evening of music and poetry to mark the day that Jesus died, bringing together writers and musicians recording from their own homes in lockdown. You will be able to listen to the show after Good Friday here.
  
• The Church of England is releasing daily recordings leading up to Easter Sunday. Each one reflects on the 15 Biblical Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross have formed part of Christian devotion for many centuries because they offer a particularly vivid way of following in the steps of Jesus on the way to the Cross. You can listen to the recordings here, with a new one released each day.
• If you can, do also try to look at the powerful images of the stations by Nicholas Markell here.

CONNECT

• Have you heard of ASMR? Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is a phenomenon that has attracted attention on the internet over the last 10 years and has become very popular over the past 12 months. Best described as a “calming, pleasurable feeling often accompanied by a tingling sensation”, you can listen to many ASMR recordings online that are supposed to relax you. You can read an article about ASMR here which features quite a few different examples.

LEARN

• You may have already started to notice the blossoms on the trees, and the National Trust wants to celebrate this time of year with Blossom Watch. This campaign is inspired by the Japanese custom of hanami or cherry blossom viewing. The website helps you identify different blossoms here and explains the importance of blossom here.
• Have you ever wondered about the history of the Easter egg? Ever mused about what’s really behind our present-day tradition of giving chocolate eggs as gifts on Easter Sunday, a practice that has been so enthusiastically embraced as a commercialised ritual, along with its bedfellows the Easter egg hunt and the Easter bunny? Try this article which explains the unexpected history of the Easter egg.
  
• As the weather warms up, we may all wish that we could get into the sea, but one woman is doing it in her own unique way. You can read here about Kate MacLeod who likes to swim in the Hebrides in a custom made mermaid tail! You can watch the documentary series “Mermaid Tales” here.

DO

• Staff and residents across St. Monica Trust have been gifted sunflower seeds during the Easter period and we look forward to seeing photographs of how they grow. Gardeners World has some interesting information on how to get the most out of your sunflowers here.

FUN

• Country Living magazine has produced a list of 52 eggcellent jokes for you to use at Easter time! You may manage to use them on family in a Zoom call, or they may add a zing to an Easter card! Good luck!