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Lanie (after the Christmas Eve service)
Lanie I was under orders from Ginger to take a picture of Lanie in her Christmas finery,
I also had a request from the Altar Guild to make sure I got a picture of the altar with all the poinsettias. Mark was too quick putting out the candles so I had to get him to re-light most of them…oops!
The pictures of Lanie were almost a disaster, as I was assisted (hindered) by a certain Mr. Bare attempting to photobomb and generally disrupt things!
Despite how horrendously dark it is in the church I was quite pleased with how the pictures taken before and during the service came out.
Bell choir (I had to change position when I realized one of the smaller members of the choir couldn’t be seen). Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Christmas Altar. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
St. Cecilia Choir. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
St. Cecilia Choir. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Fr. Ken delivering his sermon. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Fr. Ken delivering his sermon. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Rachel’s solo. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Prelude music. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Prelude music. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Prelude music. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Altar & Flowers. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Altar & Flowers. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Lanie poses after the service -
Cram the Van – a trip to Ikea & the office Christmas dinner
Cram the van – Aftermath of a trip to Ikea. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We went up to Kansas City Friday for a diocesan staff Christmas dinner.
We took advantage of the opportunity and traveled up early and went shopping at Ikea. We almost bought more than we could carry. It took a little bit of juggling to get everything in but we managed it. Just.
As plans went, we managed to execute it almost perfectly despite coming away with a completely different sofa to the one we were planning on getting. We managed to arrive for dinner spot on time and had an excellent meal and time before the long drive back to Springfield. We arrived home at about 1 a.m. making it quite a long day.
Saturday Ginger had the fun job of putting it all together while I disappeared off on a photoshoot. Lanie had the best job, that of testing our new purchase.
Lanie testing the sofa with Tubby. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Lanie & Tubby test the sofa
It’s hard work, but someone has to do it.
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There is a cat in a Santa suit sitting on my desk…
Blue Kitteh in a Santa Suit. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Which explains why Ginger and Lanie took so long on the school run this afternoon, obviously some shopping was involved somewhere along the way.
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The 125th Annual Convention of The Diocese of West Missouri
Walker and Gary working the AV booth at Convention – Photograph by Gary Zumwalt This was my first annual convention as Director of Communications with the diocese. I decided to relinquish my camera to be available to help wherever I was needed. That meant I got to roll up my sleeves and help out in the AV Booth. Most of the AV equipment and controls looked vaguely familiar due to the amount of time I spent in recording and edit studios back in the eighties and nineties.
My friend Gary (whom I met at last year’s convention) and the Bishop’s wife, Donna volunteered to help out by taking pictures. In the three days I spent at convention I took just 4 pictures, and I rather enjoyed not taking pictures.
It was three tiring and busy days. We were still receiving changes to the slides for the presentations minutes before we went live. It was all great fun, and I came away feeling energized.
Lanie was also busy – she and a friend MC’d the evening event.
Bishop Marty, Hanna and Lanie on stage at the evening’s awards event I asked Gary to suggest a cover picture for the Spirit Magazine. This was his idea…
“Dear Lord, don’t let anything screw up!” – Photograph by Gary Zumwalt I had great fun organizing the clergy group photograph. It’s rarely I get a chance to order around four bishops and an assembly of clergy. Front and center, holding the cross, is my sailing friend Cap’n John. I dreamed up this shot when we visited the convention hotel back in September. The best bit was I didn’t have to climb the ladder to take the picture. I’m glad it came out as I imagined and I’m also glad the stairs and balcony were up to the task. I did stop and think about it for a moment.
Clergy at the 125th Convention of the Diocese of West Missouri – photograph by Gary Zumwalt Here are some more pictures of myself and Walker manning the AV booth.
Walker and Gary taking a photo break – photograph by Gary Zumwalt
Gary updating Facebook on the fly during Convention – Photograph by Gary Zumwalt
Walker and Gary taking a photo break – Photograph by Gary Zumwalt -
Guy Fawkes Night
Sparklers Bonfire Night 2014. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tonight the Guy Lanie made in 2009 finally met his fiery doom.
In Springfield having a bonfire and fireworks at anytime other than July would result in a police visit, so we’ve not been able to burn our Guy.
In previous years we’ve hopefully dragged him out to friends only to have the bonfire cancelled at the local fire department’s request due to high winds and dry conditions. Other years we’ve been running kids up to Kansas City, so he’s accompanied us and sat around the campfire. He was a well travelled Guy with several hundred miles under his belt.
Kirby, an Anglophile friend has invited us to his Guy Fawkes Night celebrations many times – but we’ve always had prior engagements. This year we ensured our calendars were clear, and took advantage of Carthage’s more relaxed city ordinances (where Kirby lives) to enjoy a proper bonfire night.
Only in the US would you drive 120 miles in an evening for a bonfire and some fireworks.
If the thought of burning a human effigy seems rather odd – read about Guy Fawkes Night.
I could have tried to look a bit happier about it – Lanie’s Guy is ready to meet his doom Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Things are starting to get toasty for the Guy. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Going… Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Gone… Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Fireworks Bonfire Night 2014. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
The Addams Family – Lanie as Morticia
The Addams Family – Lanie’s night as Morticia. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tonight Lanie played Morticia
I’m really proud of Lanie. She did an absolutely fantastic job. Once again it was a cracking performance all round. They’ve been working on the show a couple of hours a night, four nights a week since early August. Lanie’s main role was as one of the ‘Ancestors’ – Cleopatra Addams, but tonight all the understudies had a chance to perform in their main roles. It was challenging as they’d not had a lot of opportunities to rehearse the roles, but they all did brilliantly.
Lanie’s family and friends turned out en masse to support her, and her father came down from Chicago to see her perform. After the show we had a very tasty Ice Cream Buffet in her honor and sat around talking late into the night.
Notes
This is something Ginger pointed out to me. I’m just a dad, sitting in the audience, I didn’t use a tripod and I most certainly never used flash (except for the pictures of Lanie and her father). My camera while good isn’t particularly special. All I did was be careful about selecting my seat and I took the time to learn how to use my camera and properly process my pictures. It’s not hard. Anyone can do this.
All the Pictures
Click on a picture to see it fullscreen
The Addams Family – Lanie’s night as Morticia. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Letting the Ancestors out
Gomez is digging himself a hole…
Getting ready for the guests
The Addams Family Album
The ‘dance routine’
The ‘dance routine’
Full Disclosure
Death is Just Around the corner (or should that be coroner?)
Death is Just Around the corner (or should that be coroner?)
Pugsley & Morticia
Morticia’s leaving
Gomez asks for a dance
Tango time – Morticia has legs!
You’ve been Tangoed
Tango
Tango
Tango
Tango
Tango
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Curtain Call
Addams Family Cast (& Crew)
Lanie back as Cleopatra for the cast pictures
Addams Family Cast (& Crew)
Lanie & her father
Lanie & her father -
Cross for Darlene
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The Addams Family Musical – Third Night
Lanie’s third night, and final night as Cleopatra – one of the Addams’ ancestors.
Saturday she’ll be playing Morticia. Lanie suggested we swapped to the left side for tonight’s show, and that seemed to work well.
It was a long night for Lanie as the show didn’t start until 9:00 p.m. Before the show the cast went out into the neighborhood handing out candy. It is Halloween after all.
All the pictures from Friday night
Click on a picture to see it full screen
Cleopatra Addams & Morticia Addams
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The Addams Family Musical – Opening Night
The Addams Family Musical – Opening Night. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tonight we went to see Lanie in the Excellent ‘The Addams Family’ musical. Once again I was extremely impressed by the performance and effort put in by everyone. I didn’t take many pictures tonight as I was busy watching the show and making mental notes of good photo opportunities for when we come back on Friday. We’ll also be back again on Saturday for the closing night when Lanie plays Morticia.
- Addams Family – Friday night, Lanie plays Cleopatra Addams.
- Addams Family – Closing night, Lanie plays Morticia.
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The Iron Florist – Jim Davis
The Iron Florist – Jim’s entry into this year’s 6″ cube fund-raiser. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Jim’s entry into this year’s 6″ cube fund-raiser.
All the submitted pieces have to fit inside a 6″ cube. They are sold in a silent auction in aid of the Ozarks Regional Arts Council.
The Iron Florist – Jim’s entry into this year’s 6″ cube fund-raiser. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Nia Howard – Manager, Next to New Springfield, MO
Today I popped into Next to New
I’ve been promising to take Nia’s portrait for ages – I wanted one to go on the Christ Church website.
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Lanie goes Crabbing
Lanie finally catches a crab. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Vacation Days 27 & 28 – Our last couple of days in the UK and Lanie catches a crab.
To finish off our vacation we went back to the dockyard to take in some of the things we didn’t see the first time, but mainly to visit ‘Action Stations’ where Emily works. I’m pretty sure something about an Airforce cadet working for the Navy secretly amuses her.
On our last day we let Lanie pick what to do, and she wanted to go and catch crabs at Canoe Lake. Okay, I don’t think she was quite prepared for how long it would take. She eventually caught a very feisty specimen, and with that our vacation drew to a close. The next morning we went to Heathrow and started the long 18 hour trip home.
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Family Curry Night
Vacation Day 26 – Family Curry, winding down and getting ready to head back home
One final curry before we pack our bags and head back to Missouri in a couple of days time. It was great that our honorary brother Neil could make it, he’d been away most of the month.
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Krispy Kreme
Vacation day 26 – We travel 5,000 miles to find Krispy Kreme donuts at Gunwharf
The world is certainly shrinking – but in my opinion there are other donuts that I’d prefer to find in the UK.
I remember being very pleased when, by popular demand, we stopped having Krispy Kreme donuts at church and reverted back to our previous supplier. However, I will commend Krispy Kreme on their branding though. We spotted the kiosk instantly.
Or maybe that says more about my donut withdrawal issues.
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Some Crafting and a Barbecue
Dee, Jan, Ginger, and Lanie do some crafting Vacation Day 25 – I think the correct order was a Barbecue then some crafting
We’ve already met Bob and Ann, Roy and Jan are also life-long friends. Here’s a picture of us all way back in the early nineties. Roy, Bob and I went to college together. We’ve been through some interesting ‘scrapes’, most of which might be better forgotten. Though there was that time – on the day Elvis died – that Roy set fire to his entire backyard; not bad for a fireman. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the indoor snowball fight. As Roy’s parents have now passed on, I can also mention attempting to burn out the clutch on their car towing a Jag in the early hours of the morning. As I said, probably best left in the past.
Roy and Jan’s daughter, Dee and her family also came to visit, Dee is my God Daughter. I would have to admit to slacking on her religious upbringing, but that’s worked out fine, so kudos to me for knowing when to leave things well alone. (Ha!) After lunch, all the ladies retired to do some crafts while I rested my eyelids. I’m pretty sure Roy did so too.
June 29, 2015 | Photograph: Roy Goring
Jan and Ginger do some crafting
Jan, Ginger and Lanie do some crafting -
Eastney Gas Engine House
Gas Engine. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Vacation day 25 – Eastney Gas Engine House and a reminder of the past
I’ve not been in here since my dad volunteered to help maintain these engines – so before 1980. They’ve been closed up for years and I never expected them to re-open so I was very surprised when I realized that we could go and see them. Not only that but they seemed to be in the same condition they were 35 years ago. One of the engines was running too; an added bonus!
I have a newspaper clipping of my dad standing next to one of the gas engines so I thought it would be great to get a picture of myself and produce a composite. I’d not prepared for this and could not remember where in the room the original picture was taken and I ended up taking a (bad) guess. A year later and Photoshop came to the rescue. You can see the resultant picture here.
Gas Engine
Ginger and Lanie in the Gas Engine House
A bad guess at where I should stand…
My Father (second from left) at the Eastney Gas Engine House. Image: Portsmouth Evening News -
Eastney Beam Engine House, Portsmouth
Eastney Beam Engine House Vacation Day 25 – Visit to Eastney Beam Engine House
I’ve no idea how many times I’ve visited this place over the years. It was a regular favorite to bring the boys to when they were younger, and my dad worked here as a volunteer.
What were these magnificent engines for?
… Pumping waste water (sewage).Lack of funding caused the place to be closed before I left Portsmouth in 2008, and I was very glad to hear it was open again. Unfortunately, the intervening years have left their mark, and there’s now a lot of rust and decay. The place used to be so well maintained and once a month one of the engines was brought up to steam. There was talk about that happening again once the boilers have been re-built and safety inspected. The other engine could be driven by an electric motor, just so that people could get an idea of the majesty of these fantastic pieces of engineering without the need to fire up the boilers. They tried to run the electric drive while we were there and I’m sad to say it didn’t work.
Flywheel and various connecting rods
Vacation Day 25 – Eastney Beam Engine House June 29, 2014 | Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved | www.breakfastinamerica.me/tagged/uk-2014/
High and Low Pressure Cylinder heads, Eastney Beam Engine House
High and low pressure cylinders – Eastney Beam Engine House
The ‘Beam’ of one of the engines.
Lanie at the Beam Engine House June 29, 2014 | Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved | www.breakfastinamerica.me/tagged/uk-2014/
Lanie at the Beam Engine House, Eastney, Porstmouth
Eastney Beam Engine HouseDespite my disappointment with the run-down condition of the beam engines, I was most surprised to find out that the Gas Engine house was open. I’ve not seen those in 25-35 years.
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Lanie at the Eastney Lifeboat Station
Lanie at Eastney Lifeboat Station. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Vacation Day 25 – Waiting for the Beam Engine House to Open
We had a lot to cram in today. Move digs from our friend Liv’s to my sister’s house, go to church, visit the Eastney Beam Engine House and a barbeque with Roy and Jan.
I’d like to say we had another warm welcome at my old parish church of St. Margaret’s, Eastney. But truth be told we were totally ignored. Which is quite a feat with a congregation of a dozen or so. I was very disappointed and the church got an anonymous mention in the diocesan magazine. I used them as an example of how not to treat visitors, along with zero marks for having no online presence. Because they had no online presence We had no way of checking what the service times were, in the end we resorted to a drive-by on Saturday night to check.
The Beam Engine House didn’t open until 1pm, so we had time to kick our heels and watch the boats go by at Eastney Point before they opened, which is where this picture was taken. On a point of Historical interest the concrete ‘lump’ seen in the distance behind the catamaran, is a left behind Mulberry harbour from D-Day.
St. Margaret’s Eastney (Pictures from June 2011)
St. Margaret’s Church, Eastney, Portsmouth. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
St. Margaret’s Church, Eastney, Portsmouth. Copyright © 2014 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Vacation Day 24 – Fishbourne Roman Palace Vacation Day 24 – Our final stop for the day
From Bosham we went to Fishbourne Roman Palace – which was very interesting. I thought Lanie would find it boring but she was fascinated to see things she’d previously read about in school.
I didn’t take many pictures as I thought the official website would have some. Apparently not. An image search on Google turned up some nice ones though.
Shards of melted and broken Roman Glass at Fishbourne Roman Palace 
Roman Glass at Fishbourne Roman Palace
