International Easter Rally: Part 5 - Purley

Rev. Catherine Lauber and Rev. Dave Gaffney (Purley Chase Programme Director) greeted us with smiles and waves at Nuneaton Station. Weary as we were, I immediately felt cared for and loved. How blessed to be welcomed by these two distance friends from another country. In fact, everywhere we went throughout London, we were greeted with kindness and generosity. Everyone was supportive and helpful. We did not experience even a hint of brashness, contempt or rudeness. All of the folks in London were delightful. The whole lot of them, as they say. So as we loaded into Catherine and Dave's cars, I felt completely at ease. The drive to Purley Chase Centre was short, but the roads were narrow bending and twisting this way and that. When I commented to Catherine how narrow the roads were she laughed and replied, "These are quite wide. You should see some of the dirt roads that wind through the rural wood". Catherine added that our timing was just right as the English Bluebells were nearly in perfect bloom. We crossed over a short tight bridge and over a little hill where the countryside opened up in the front of us. Then, off to the left in the forest, a brilliant carpet of indigo blue spread out under the trees. I don't think I have ever seen such a pretty display of native wildflower. The bright blue color accented by the setting sun was breathtaking. We arrived at Purley Chase Centre (just called Purley by most). As I stepped out of the car, the first thing I noticed was the lovely floral aroma that wafted through the twilight air. It was a delight to the senses. We entered the building and I was impressed by the cleanliness and order. I immediately noticed the care that the keepers of Purley took to make it presentable and homey. Beautiful oil paintings hung throughout the building and inspirational writings and keepsakes adorned the main hallway. Purley Manager, Anne Gaffney cheerfully welcomed us, helped us settle in and showed us to our rooms. After finding my room and taking care of my belongings, I was drawn to a pleasant sun room which had windows to the outside on three side. I learned that this was the conservatory (prior to Purley, I had only visited a conservatory while playing the game Clue). I entered and heard a chorus of different song birds singing softly above. How nice, I thought. They have bird music playing quietly through speakers in this little room. After a brief look around, I found Liz and Holly's playing a game of Jacks. Cody was passed out on a sofa and Celie and Chris were snuggled in a love seat. I sat for a bit relaxing, watching the jacks spin and thinking about our exciting day in London. Then we all called it a night and sleepily went off to bed.