Mike Rutter’s Weblog…….

Well I survived and had a great time in the process. The weather was scorching and the kids were all in all a great bunch to take away. I was also pleased to see that as well as the previously mentioned hardware that they all seem to have these days, they also brought out packs of Top Trumps. Some things endure don’t they…..

Pippa and I went to a charity ball last night – a chance to shake out the old DJ once more. It was in aid of the Georgina Grace Trust which raises money for charities that support families with disabled children. It was something that Pip’s practice had bought into so it was really a ‘work do’ but for a good cause at the same time. It was at York Race Course which is a great venue as the views from the suite are great. Apparantly it was a celebrity ball but neither of us knew any of the 4 celebrities that were there. We had a a good time though.

Pip has now gone down to her Mum’s with the kids leaving me home alone for a couple of days so that I can prepare for my selection conference which is this half term. It is in Ely from Tuesday to Thursday and will be when I get interviewed as I continue to explore the possibility of ordination in the Church of England. It’s seems to have suddenly come upon me, but I’m relieved because it has been a long process. I am still very positive about testing the sense of calling , but am not very clear about what any future ministry might look like. Time will tell………

I was well chuffed to find out that 2 of my favourite bands have reformed. Crowded House and James are back in business. The world is a good place………..

On Thursday it is World Book Day. We are doing it today at my school. It’s great fun – all the kids and teachers dress up as a book character. I decided not to drive to school wearing mine, not after my recent experience

I had a fun experience last week. I decided to top up the car’s oil as I hadn’t done it for a while (maybe ever) and it has been playing up a bit recently. This I did and then set off for work. About 5 mns away from work the engine suddenly revved like there was no tomorrow and clouds of smoke poured out of the exhaust. The cars that previously had been in my rear view mirror had now disappeared into a vast smog. Oh dear. I pulled over to the kerb and pretended I was looking for something on the floor of the car so that any parents that happened to be negotiating the fog didn’t realise it was Mr Rutter causing the hazard…..
Anyway – I ended up calling the AA. After about an hour of sitting in the car Mr AA arrived. I told him what had happened and he chuckled pointing out that when I fill up the car with oil that doesn’t mean empty the whole container of oil in. Well nobody told me……..it just kept going in so I thought why not? Apparantly I had filled it so high that the oil was getting into the fuel mixture and burning. The real danger with this is that you have no control over the combustion as you do when it is your normal fuel being burnt. He said that what often happens is that the engine keeps racing even after you turn the ignition off and eventually goes bang (his highly descriptive words). He said I was very lucky that this didn’t happen (incidently if it does happen he told me that the only thing you can do is stall the car). He ended up draining about 5 litres of oil from the car by the roadside – and then he took great pleasure in teaching me how to put oil in the car correctly whilst speaking very slowly and using simple terms.
Anyway 2 and a half hours after the incident I was on my way again. An experience to learn from I think