Journey magazine - Autumn 2022

Welcome

Introducing Rev Sue Shortman

Dear Friends,

I have been asked to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as the new Methodist minister based at Carrs Lane. Here goes!

My name is Sue Shortman, I was born in Manchester before moving to London in 1998. I have worked in various roles before coming into ministry including many years in a hospice, where I continued to work whilst training for the ministry part-time. This work certainly gave me some experiences that have helped enormously since beginning my ministry in 2014 dealing with people from all walks of life.

Initially I was stationed in the London district ministering to three churches within the Purley Circuit in Coulsdon and South Croydon. I spent five very happy years with these churches until it was time to move on.

I have been a minister within the Birmingham circuit of the Methodist church since September 2019, moving to

Birmingham from Greater London heading back north towards my family and friends still based in my hometown of Manchester.

Since joining the Birmingham circuit, I have been working with the churches in King’s Heath, Acocks Green and Sparkhill, which as you may know ceased to meet for worship in their building recently. It seems incredible that I have now been in Birmingham for three years. Within 6 months of leaving London we were faced with the pandemic, bringing things as we know it to a halt. Due to this and the feeling of time stopping throughout this period it does not feel that long!

I am a city girl at heart, having lived in or near a city since my early years, firstly in

Manchester and later London. I love the hustle and bustle of a city and although I do enjoy holidays in the countryside at times, I much prefer spending my time within cities. I am passionate about social justice and worked with the London District social justice network for a while which I thoroughly enjoyed and have continued to seek to offer that ministry in Birmingham. I am also highly committed to ensuring the church is an inclusive place for all and have been part of the EDI work in the circuit for the last twelve months.

I am very excited to have been appointed to a city centre church, and I am looking forward to getting involved in ministry within this area. I look forward to getting to know you all and working alongside you to show God’s love to all those within and outside the Church at Carrs Lane. It may be challenging as I try to juggle my time between the three churches I am now appointed to, whilst offering pastoral care temporarily to the congregation of Sparkhill. However challenging it might be, I do hope that we can work together as a team to further the work of God at Carrs Lane.

When I have some free time, I enjoy walking and cycling and recently walking St Cuthbert’s Way as part of a sabbatical. This was a pilgrimage which starts in the Borders of Scotland and culminates in a walk across the sands to Holy Island. It was an amazing experience, a gift for which I am so very grateful. I shall have to dust off my bike and take the opportunity to cycle into the city along the canal from Shirley, weather permitting of course (being a fair-weather cyclist). I also enjoy meals with friends, going to the cinema and spending time with my two grown up children James and Lucy who both live in London. This often gives me the chance to spend time within the capital.

I know that we are facing challenging times as a church and a community, however I have faith that by working and worshipping together we will be able to overcome the difficulties we may face and grow together with God’s grace.

Blessings, Sue

A tribute to Revd

Dr Neil Johnson as he leaves ministry at The Church at Carrs Lane

by Liz Cummings

Some fifteen or more years ago, a younger Revd Neil Johnson arrived at Carrs Lane Church to take the service. He was at that time the minister at Central Methodist Church. I remember being very impressed by his sermon and delivery - it felt like a breath of fresh air. The Geordie accent may have contributed to this positive impression my husband Peter’s family comes from North Shields. His sense of humour and anecdotal material definitely appealed. Far more than this, however, it felt as if he looked at the Bible passages for that day with a searching scrutiny and a desire to consider what it could possibly mean to a city centre congregation in the twenty first century - one struggling to understand its own identity and how to live the gospel today. I remember saying to him after the service - ‘If you ever need

a new challenge, why don’t you come here?

A few years later we became a Methodist, URC, LEP. By then, he had agreed to become one of our ministers and to share in our mission as a city centre church. It wasn’t an easy task. We are in the heart of the city centre - and we are constantly challenged by people who live on the streets, by homelessness, by family poverty, by effects of addiction and drug pushers and dealers who operate nearby, by people suffering from mental health issues and by a need to consider what our response to these issues might be. Neil led us through many Elders’ and Church Meetings, helping us to reassess our role

in the city without judging our feelings of inadequacy, accepting our searching for what our mission entailed. He nudged us forward to recognise that we could do something to address the suffering around us, little by little starting to open our doors, step outside, invite people in. For that patient and positive leadership, we are hugely grateful. The Gospel of Good News to the Poor finally meant that we had to act - slowly, sometimes reluctantly, but inevitably if we were to mean anything to people in the city at all.

Neil also brought Emma, Anna and Naomi with him. Anna and Naomi attended Junior Church and developed a strong sense of Social Justice as they moved through teenage yearsno need to guess where that came from! Emma’s full time teaching positions, headship and oversight of three Birmingham schools did not get in the way of her willingness to join in with TC@CL activities whenever possible. Her warm enthusiasm, empathy and willingness to ‘roll her sleeves up and get things done’, have been hugely valued by us and, no doubt by Neil and the girls.

These qualities must also have sustained the family through difficult times.

In the last few years, Neil introduced us and other church and synagogue groups to the concept of Street Banquet. Every six weeks or so, eighty to a hundred people, some of whom live on the streets, are invited to join us for a substantial meal, The food is organised by Emma with a team of helpers, cooked fresh and served by volunteers. Neil talks to and sits with the invited guests and they welcome him to their tables - he engages with them, offering respect and a warm welcome into the extended family of ‘church’. Neil never complains about being too busy - In the past few years, he has studied for and gained his PhD, become Superintendent of the Birmingham Methodist Circuit and minister to three churches. Yet he has felt a calling which goes beyond the walls of our churches. His experiments in Street Communion, his chairmanship of Hope Housing for the homeless, and support for organisations who work with people at the margins of life have enabled Neil to rethink what ministry means to him.

Neil, your honesty, integrity, realism and desire for justice have led you to begin a new ministry developing your vision for homeless people in Birmingham. We pray that this work will be productive and will bring you a sense of fulfilment. You know that we will be your friends and supporters whenever you may need us in this work, and we pray that your genuine interest and involvement will give people a chance to restore their hope of a better life.

May God bless and support you in your new work.

Eulogy: Thelma Justham

by Diana Cullum-Hall

It is an honour to have been asked by Jamie and Julia to share with you something of the long and eventful life of their beloved mother, Thelma. I am blessed to have been able to count Thelma as a dear friend for the last 28 years. Isobel Thelma Thomson was born on the 13th June 1924 in Clifton, in Bristol. (Near the famous Suspension Bridge). She was the second child of Gordon and Dorothy Thomson - she had an older brother, Hugh, and two younger sisters, Sheila and Nancy. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Isobella, but was always known as Thelma. Thelma’s father, George Gordon Thomson, grew up in Aberdeen and came south to join the Gloucestershire Regiment as a second lieutenant. He became a commercial traveller in clothing for boys. He was a musical man with a fine voice and also greatly enjoyed golf. Thelma’s mother Dorothy was the daughter of a Bristol businessman who owned a

furniture business Charles Newth and Sons. The Newth family were Baptists. Dorothy was devoted to her young family. Family outings would often be Dorothy having a picnic with the children while Gordon played a round of golf. Thelma wrote that she was fortunate to be born into a loving, Christian family. Thelma attended Clifton High School. She was good at sport and enjoyed tennis, ice skating and cricket. She recently told me that she couldn’t bowl a ball straight but was good with the bat! Watching Wimbledon and Test matches on television continued to be a pleasure throughout her life. How she would have delighted in the test match yesterday with her great-nephew playing. It was while she was at her first school that she met her life long friend Audrey, whose daughters, Carole and Wendy, are very sorry they can’t be with us today.

Outside of school, attending Henleaze Congregational Church had a big impact on her life.

She wrote that, when she was about eleven, a minister’s teaching influenced the religious experience of her life

greatly. Bible quotation stayed with her “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in Prayer.”

At the Young Person’s Fellowship, she took part in the drama group and debating society. It was there, she says, that she learnt that she was a Martha, not a Mary - good at serving the refreshments. She was a Girl Guide and taught in the Sunday school. And it was at Henleaze Congregational Church that she met David Justham, the love of her life.

When the war came, David joined the RAF. He went to train to fly Liberator aircraft in Canada and was then posted to the Far East and served in Northern India. Thelma and David corresponded all through the war and kept every letter. David bought a gemstone for an engagement ring for Thelma.

By 1944 Thelma had joined the VAD and served in Harrogate and Shrewsbury nursing Prisoners of War. She wrote that her faith helped her cope with much that she encountered in a military hospital. Recently, when she was in hospital in Worcester, she told Julia how she remembered that the POWs

would sometimes pinch her bottom!

After VJ Day, David was demobbed and went to work as a bank clerk in Lloyds in Halifax. He proposed to Thelma, but her father would not give consent until David had “prospects”. David became an articled clerk in a firm of solicitors and, after some time, took his Law Society Finals.

At last, on 31st March 1950, Thelma and David were married at Henleaze Congregational Church in Bristol. They went to live with David’s widowed mother in Halifax on the 4th floor of her house. Jamie was born in February 1951. It was not the easiest start to their marriage, coping with a baby on the top floor and David’s mother wanting to have a cup of tea with him when he came home from work each day.

After two and a half years the couple were able to buy their first little house in Lightcliffe in Yorkshire. Thelma’s grandfather was able to help with furniture from his business. Julia was born at home in Lightcliffe. The family attended the local Congregational Church and

became involved with the local community.

In 1955, David joined the ICI legal team in Manchester. The next ten years involved moving every two years because of David’s work. The family lived in Bramhall in Cheshire, Reigate in Surrey and Troon in Scotland. Thelma wrote that they continued to worship in the Congregational tradition until they went to Troon, where they experienced worship with the Scottish Presbyterians. The minister asked Thelma to start a Young Wives’ worship group. She found it a bit hard going as a Sassenach at first, but eventually, with the help of an Ayrshire mum, they had quite a little congregation. David joined the Round Table, Thelma joined the Ladies Circle and they were involved in charity work.

In 1965 the family moved to Birmingham to Hamilton Avenue, as David was involved in creating IMI from the metals division of ICI. He became a director of the new company. Thelma devoted her time to family and supporting David’s career. She hosted wonderful dinner parties, became involved in the opera and music scene in Birmingham and joined the Wives

Fellowship. The family wanted to worship in the Congregational tradition again and joined Carrs Lane at a time of change at the church. The Church was setting up a counselling centre and the training for counsellors was about to begin. Both David and Thelma became involved, and Thelma completed the training and David became a Trustee. They both found the work interesting and worthwhile. Thelma also joined the Red Cross and the WRVS as practical expressions of her faith. Thelma became a magistrate and Chairman of the bench in the Juvenile Court. Birmingham is the busiest magistrate’s court in the country and Thelma worked there most Thursdays until her 70th birthday. She became Trustee and Secretary of Carpenters House for Girls. Jamie and Julia were also busy in some of Thelma’s charity work Julia remembers helping with Meals on Wheels and Jamie remembers driving to collect people for the Christmas morning breakfasts at Carrs Lane.

Christmas was a special time of year for Thelma, and she loved to have members of the wider family to stay at

Christmas. Sally, her niece, was a regular at Christmas. Thelma loved her brother and sisters and always kept in touch with them. She liked to dance with Hugh - he was one of the few men who was taller than she was! Thelma was very close to her Mum. They wrote to each other constantly. She has always taken a keen interest in all the goings on in her wider family.

In 1981 David received the royal appointment to be the 8th High Sheriff of the West Midlands. Thelma’s great social skills were much in demand at this time. They moved to Birch Hollow to give more space for entertaining the Judges and other important people who came to dinner. In 1983 they bought a bungalow in St. Mawes and would spend each August there. It was a favourite part of the world for Thelma.

In 1988 David had a stroke while chairing a meeting. He also had diabetes. He had a year off work as he learnt to walk again. Thelma supported him through this difficult time and cooked new recipes for him because of his diabetes. He returned to work but became very dependent on Thelma. In September 1991

David died. Thelma was bereft and grieving for a long time.

In September 1993, I joined Carrs Lane Church when I came to train for ministry at Queen’s College in Edgbaston.

I was having a difficult time too and I remember when Murdoch MacKenzie, the minister, introduced me to Thelma and said, “I think you two would be good for each other!” How right he was! I valued her friendship.

I remember hearing about the trips abroad that she made with her friends - Audrey, Betty and Phyllis. She would go on art trips and music holidays, but I think her favourite holidays were going on cruises around the Scottish islands. She went to the Scillies with Nancy and Ken and loved to talk about her experiences of going to China when Julia was working there.

Thelma spoke often about her children. She was immensely proud of them and all their achievements. I heard about Jamie’s business and how much he and Alison loved Wagner, cycling and visiting cathedrals. Thelma enjoyed visiting Jamie and Alison in their home in Budleigh Salterton. I heard about Julia’s

teaching and coaching, chairing the WI, her time in China and was pleased, with Phill, to be invited to her marriage to Michael. Thelma and Julia had a very special mother/ daughter relationship. Thelma so looked forward to the highlight of Julia’s regular visits when she was living in Burcot Lodge. Jamie enabled Thelma to go to many musical events in her late 80s and early 90s. She would always relish these occasions. Her life was full of fantastic opportunities, and she really had a wonderful time.

And how shall we remember this remarkable woman? She had a wonderful gift of friendship, and we are all testimony to that gift. Thelma had a lovely smile, a joyful sense of humour and infectious laughter. She was optimistic and thoughtful; she would accentuate the positive and always see the good in others. Many people have used the word gracious when talking about Thelma. She would accept a challenge, was pragmatic and never a moaner. The staff at Burcot Lodge, where she lived at the end of her life, commented on her

stoicism. She appreciated their kind care.

She was practical. Jamie and Julia remember when she made a Christmas tree out of left-over bits of tree because they couldn’t afford to buy one. She had had to be frugal in her early married life and remained careful with money and would never waste resources. She was not above ironing wrapping paper so it could be used again, and I appreciated her sewing skills. She took up the sleeves on this jacket when she passed it on to me. Her arms were a bit longer than mine! Although she was ‘careful’ she used her resources generously and gave to many charities, especially to do with music and the arts. Her last trip out was to the Hippodrome when a plaque was unveiled in recognition of the contribution that David had made in reviving the fortunes of the Hippodrome. Thelma had broad musical tastesfrom jazz to classical and, of course, opera. Going to Glyndebourne was a special treat. She was a great supporter of Symphony Hall, the Welsh National Opera and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Thelma delighted in her garden,

especially her roses; she enjoyed walking. She read a wide range of books and tried not to miss an episode of “Call the Midwife”. She was kind and welcoming and interested in people’s stories. She was quite a royalist and would celebrate significant events in the life of the Queen and the country. She would put up the red, white and blue bunting and she and Julia would wear their fascinators! The last time was the 75th Anniversary of VE Day.

Thelma had many roles at Carrs Lane - she started the Fair Trade shop, she had a talent for flower arranging, she was a counsellor, an elder, a card sender and, above all, an encourager. She much appreciated the music at the church - the organ playing and the choir.

Thelma had a strong faith throughout her life and certainly lived by that Bible quotation which stayed with her -

joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

12:12)

Goodbye, dear friend. God bless you and welcome you home.

When Words Fail

by Chris Avis

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Semantics. How we use language to define the physical and ethereal world around us is often fraught with ambiguities, misinterpretations and misunderstandings, perhaps nowhere more so than in the realms of religion.

Some Christian fundamentalists might consider they have an advantage here: after all, God is an objective reality; the Bible is the inerrant Word of that same God; Sin is evil; Salvation is conditional and so on, with no woolly edges. Clarifying the language of a more liberal, open, progressive, reformed (take your semantic pick) Christianity can be more challenging when expressions like ‘progressive evangelical’ or ‘Christian agnostic’ can seem like oxymorons.

During a stint on Midnight Mint (a now extinct late night safe space ‘chill and chat’ community service for pubbers and clubbers provided for a time by an Exeter Methodist church a few years back), I

found myself in a pavement conversation with a couple of young men, at least one of whom was sober enough to quiz/challenge me about my faith. As I listened to him, I became aware yet again of the meaning muddles that can hinder fruitful communication between the public who walk the pavements and Christians who strive to follow ‘the Way’, like the early disciples of

Jesus.

“So you’re a Christian, are you?” he began, to which I replied, “I try to be, but I’m probably not the kind of Christian you think I am.” “Do you believe in God, then?”

Remembering the important SWord, I said, “It all depends what you mean by God.” There followed quite a lively and engaging discussion on some of the common ideas about ‘God’, after which he continued with, “Are you going to heaven, then?”

automatically assuming that for me (and probably other Christians he had encountered before) the existence of ‘heaven’ was beyond question. “I have no definite idea. I think some form of continued existence after this life is more likely than not, but neither I nor

any other human knows for sure in spite of what they might claim. For me, living this life to the full now is what matters, not wasting time on the existence or not of an ‘afterlife’.” Our conversation drew to a close and I have to confess to a degree of satisfaction instilled by his parting words: “That’s the most sensible conversation I’ve ever had with one of you lot, thanks mate,” as he and his friend continued on their way, only slightly unsteadily. It occurs to me that those with whom Jesus communicated on the pavements of his time usually seemed to have no difficulty understanding him; certainly the authorities did, all too well.

Jesus was not encumbered by a manmade ecclesiastical hotchpotch of dogma. Words like Trinity, Fall, Ransom, Intercession – even Church –would not have been familiar to him, having been applied retrospectively. Semantics were simple for Jesus: the only word was Love, unconditional, undeserved Love offered to all.

Christians are rarely at a loss for words. But have we become lost in our translations?

Reproduced with thanks to Chris Avis

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

“Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.”

George Eliot

Resurrection Recycling?

by Julie Grove

‘Alaskan Panhandle’ northwards towards Seward and calling at many of the small ports in the Inside Passage along the way. We finished up with a road trip to Anchorage for a three-night extension to our cruise.

Whatever could possibly be hidden or stored in here, or made available if one had the key to undo the padlock? Is resurrection recyclable? Isn’t the announcement tautologous anyway because, if resurrection is anything, surely it’s essentially a recycling of life in some form?

However, this wasn’t meant as theological discussion! It’s an attempt at an eye catching title and introduction to a travelogue! We’ve been able, finally, to take the holiday we booked in 2019 to Alaska. In 2022 we sailed from Vancouver, travelling up the

Alaska has an interesting history. It is rich in First Nation culture which we saw everywhere we went. Some of the tribes are believed to have settled in Alaska thousands of years ago, successfully living their hunter-gatherer existence, in extreme conditions but always at one with nature. For generations, they built their tribal houses, travelled by canoe, traded their furs and skins, crafted elaborate ceremonial robes and carved intricate totem poles from red cedar, declaring the identity of the tribe and marking their presence wherever they settled.

Ketchikan, our first port, has the largest collection of standing totem poles in the world. We visited Potlatch

Totem Park, a recreated traditional village built on the old fishing grounds of the indigenous Tlingit people and designed to educate and inform both tourists and local First Nation children. We learned that totem poles express the deeply held mythology of the people and tell their tribal history. Their totem animal is a guiding spirit which lasts for an individual’s lifetime and the family’s whole lineage. Carved images of the raven, the eagle, the killer whale, the thunderbird, the beaver, the bear, the wolf and the frog are symbolic of some feature of life and of the stories of the tribe they each represent. The eagle represents strength and Raven is honoured as the one who released sun into the world. A ‘Potlatch’ is the name given to the celebration when a new totem pole is completed and raised, hence the name of the park.

At the end of our holiday, we visited the Anchorage Museum where there is a wonderful collection of original First Nation artefacts and images. Just how skilled and imaginative these people were is evidenced in the way they used the resources available to

them. They created lightweight, waterproof parkas

from the intestines of seals, sea lions, whales and grizzly bears. They used pelts from

many different native animals to produce winter parkas, for example ground squirrel pelts with strips of white caribou fur.

The life of these indigenous people was threatened by the arrival of Russian settlers who came in the 1760s seeking their fortunes in fur trading. It became a lucrative trade and, as the land was colonized and settlements grew up, Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived to evangelise the native people; the Russian legacy can still be seen in the many Orthodox churches that remain all over the state. A couple of decades later, as trading with the Tlingit started to take off, the Russian-America Company was formed to ensure a

monopoly in the fur trade. Battles ensued as the indigenous people tried to take back their land, but it was not until the mid-19th century, when many animals had been hunted almost to extinction, that the Russians decided Alaska was too costly an enterprise. In 1867 it was sold to the US for $7.2 million (apparently about two cents an acre) and the US flag was first raised on the shoreline in Sitka. The last port we visited is called Seward in recognition of William Seward, Secretary of State at the time, who oversaw the purchase. The places we visited all had a ‘frontier’ feel to them, having been captured by frantic gold rush fever in the late 1890s when gold was found in the nearby Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory. In just a few years an estimated 100,000 prospectors followed the trails to the gold and many died seeking it out. Skagway was where many started their stampede - the town’s main street in Skagway is called Klondike Highway and it’s where many lives ended. We visited the Gold Rush Cemetery and heard stories about the characters buried

there, including a famous con artist and truly ‘wild west’ gangster called Jefferson “Soapy” Smith who manipulated and robbed his way to a fortune but pushed his luck too far and lost a gunfight.

high face at ocean level and 250’ below the water.

Alaska is a wild place with spectacular scenery. Although the tree-lined waters of the Inside Passage are gentle, they are framed by high, jagged, snow-topped mountains. Being so far north, there are glaciers of course and we saw two quite close up. The largest and most awesome is the Hubbard Glacier, 76 miles long, 6 miles across at its mouth, with a 400’

Smaller but more scenic, the Mendenhall Glacier comes down from the Juneau Ice Field; we stood watching small icebergs float by and Arctic terns buzz around us, making it feel colder than it was, but sadly it’s warmer than it should be.

Juneau is the state capital, the only one in the US that is completely inaccessible by road. It is also one of the most spectacular with its fjords and dramatic icy mountain backdrop. Like many of the ports we visited, it’s said that there are three ways into Juneau: by air, by boat or by birth canal! Most families own a boat and many a light aircraft as well. Here it is more important for a young person to have flying lessons than learning to drive and, if your town has only 14 miles of road,

as Sitka does, you can understand why.

The wildlife is similarly spectacular. Bald eagles are known as Alaskan pigeons and we saw lots of them, some at close quarters.

follow and monitor any wild animals that are reported to be venturing into town, usually on the look-out for food.

Whales are also quite prolific but, despite Chris’s patience and best observational efforts, the only evidence we had was a splash one evening which turned out to have been an orca…heard but not seen by us! We did see a black bear sniffing around the quay just before we left Valdez and we were told the authorities must

We also saw grizzlies but in a wildlife rescue park, which was cheating!

The wildness of Alaska reaches below the ground as well. It’s unstable seismically and has frequent earthquakes. But one is etched in the collective memory. On Good Friday 1964, a massive quake, magnitude 9.2 and the largest ever in the US, shook the state and the tsunami reached well beyond its shores. The epicentre was under Prince William Sound (hard to imagine as we sailed up the calmest waters you could find!) and Valdez, on the Sound, was almost totally destroyed; thirty one of its residents were killed and many injured. The local people took the brave decision to re-site the town on Mineral Creek where it would be safer

and to build a new community there. And we were shown the extent of the rift in Earthquake Park in Anchorage. Valdez is now a thriving port – the only one that is ice free all year round with the southern terminus of the Trans Alaska Pipeline bringing oil from Prudhoe Bay to the Arctic coast.

However, the lifeblood of Alaska’s trade is salmon; Ketchikan is known as the salmon capital of the world! An old canning factory in Icy Strait Point, a village restored by the Tlingit, has been developed into a museum, to show how the salmon industry used to operate.

Well, every picture tells a story and, putting aside the irreverent and rather flippant musings above, in this case location provides the context...doesn’t it always?

The Resurrection Recycling bin was in Seward, at the head of Resurrection Bay (where they take recycling extremely seriously!)

The bay received its name from Alexandr Baranov, who was the first governor of Russian America in the late 18th century. On one occasion, he was forced to retreat into the bay during a bad storm in the Gulf of Alaska. When the storm settled it was Easter Sunday, so the bay and nearby Resurrection River were named in honour of his safe passage.

Later, in Anchorage, we walked to Ship Creek, just one of the places where the salmon leap on their way to spawn, but were told we were a bit too early for the spectacle although there was hopeful fishing going on. Now the salmon are sustainably farmed and the industry is as important as ever.

We were grateful for safe passage too! It had been a wonderful holiday and, as we left our hotel in Anchorage at 5.30 am, two weeks after we set out, we knew we had a pretty wearying journey home via Seattle which took 20 hours in all…but it had been worth it!