Monday 31 July, 2006 ‘O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened. Abase not the station of the learned in Baha and belittle not the rank of such rulers as administer justice amidst you. Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God.’(Bah?’u'll?h)

Renewing a long-standing friendship is a wonderful, almost a miraculous experience. I’ve known Peter (leaning against the tree in the photo) since October 1965. He was at the first Baha’i meeting I ever attended, like me an enquirer. We became Bah?’?s around the same time, although Pete is no longer a Baha’i. Pete married May Faizi in 1968, I married Erica in 1970. Pete and May went to Cyprus, were caught up in the Turkish invasion and had to leave their home in Famagusta very quickly. Technically they are still refugees!

We hadn’t seen each other for years - Erica hadn’t seen May and Pete since our wedding in 1970, and I hadn’t seen them since around 1988.

So we had a lot of catching up to do when we went to stay with Pete and May at their home - a delightful cottage not too far from Ipswich.

We talked endlessly - about our lives since we’d seen each other, about what each of us is doing now, about our children (all grown up) and grandchildren (P & M don’t have grandchildren yet), Peter’s pottery (wonderful - he was kind enough to give us two raku fired pots to take home), his work at Suffolk College, and his life as an artist…

Pete and May drove us around to see Hadleigh, Kersey, Aldeburgh.

We paddled at Aldeburgh, we ate pizza, we drove on to Snape, and we talked and talked. So much to say.

And I’ve now run out of steam - time for bed - more tomorrow (perhaps).

Technorati Tags: friendship, Baha’i, Cyprus, Hadleigh, Aldeburgh, Snape