I read in the newspaper today about a prospective MP who decided to walk through the communities of his constituency. He said it gave him a better sense of what those towns and villages were really like. Perhaps I should do the same in my three parishes!

Is there a spiritual something about walking? It requires a slowing down, it provides space, time to observe, to think, pray if we pray or simply to meditate. We need n't think that the world without cars, trains and spacecraft is somehow more spiritual than our own, although it is certainly greener. Yet there is something counter cultural about walking when we walk for a purpose. It doesn't necessarily make the walker a better person, but the combination of slowing our world down and having a worthy aim can be enriching. At one level it gives us time for the people we meet in a world where there is little meaningful encounter. At another level it is an apparently gentle activity which can galvanize and produce companions in a cause. Think of Ghandi walking through India or Martin Luther-King at Selma.

In my own case, as well as raising money for needy children, giving travelling companions and better fitness this exercise has had a mysterious influence on my inner self.

Happy New Year to everyone. It was good for me to get out for a gentle walk today after the relative inactivity of the past few days. I say relative because I have been to the gym twice since Christmas and I had four sevices the Sunday after Christmas. Yet today felt like a new start in a year when I hope our walk to Carrow Road might raise 50 thousand pounds.

It was lovely taking a solitary walk in the direction of Ramsey Marina which is so tucked away and surprising with its Narrow Boats nestling amongst the banks surrounded by acres of flat fen farmland. The day was very cold (-0.5) but the sun was shining from a clear ice blue sky. I had plenty to think about as I walked. I was reminded again of Bishop Cottrell's words about the work I do not being conducive to frenetic activity and about the dangers of trying to dance to everyone's tune in the interests of popularity. This job requires its leaders to be a still centre in a frantic world. I suspect that excellent advice might apply to lots of other people too from very different walks of life. So I sat on a bench and watched a young swan swim beside the boats. One boat with smoke rising from its funnel was called 'ItsGoodEnoughForMe.' That said it all, how the simple can be the most satisfying. I sat wondering what had brought this boat owner to live in such an isolated Fenland refuge.

There is a sense that with the dawning of 2010 comes some serious walking, reconnoitre-ing and hard graft as the 1st March doesn't now seem quite so far away!

There have been two large gifts for building this school in Uganda. When I first thought about doing the walk I announced it out of desperation. I had told Bishop Edward that I would support the school. However,there was no money forthcoming, there was a recession and little interest. I decided to walk to Carrow Road as a daft gesture to raise what I hoped might be a couple of thousand pounds. When others said they would join me, my hopes were raised. Then I had an anonymous offer of ten thousand pounds although the condition was that the money should buy needed equipment for the Ugandan School rather than be used for building purposes. So I raised the bar and decided I would go for twenty thousand. Last week a Church said it would provide twenty thousand to build accomodation for the school children. I have been bowled over by these acts of generosity and thank God for them. I was speaking to a journalist from the Hunts Post who said, you should aim now for fifty thousand!

I don't want these big gifts to take the spotlight away from all those people who want to raise money and who can only give the odd coin or so-let's not forget what Jesus said about the widow's mite, "she gave eveything she had." All efforts are welcome. Neither should the big gifts take away from the innocence of what we are doing. Furthermore even 50 thousand would be a tiny drop in an enormous ocean of poverty and need. No, we now have the opportunity of doing something really significant, perhaps by being able to pay for more teachers etc. Besides who knows where this will all end, and what people's generosity will achieve.

There was a photographer waiting at 9am on Monday morning to take a picture for the local paper of those of us going to Uganda. She had us line up in a Conga!

So much effort is going towards helping Uganda. Joan sent twenty pounds from N Ireland, some local scouts have raised over seventy pounds by holding a cake stall, local Guides wanted the proceeds from their Carol Service to help The Bishop's School,people have promised sponsorship money for the walk in March etc. There has also been a substantial amount given anonymously to provide equipment for The Bishop's School. Through local contacts we have asked the Headteacher in Uganda to tell us what equipment is needed and he has sent a list. He is trying to equip a science lab and all the items he asked for are by our standards very basic, telling us that he is starting from scratch. We understand that the equipment can be bought in Uganda, presumably from Kampala. I am becoming more hopeful that we can raise twenty thousand to build the dormitory for The Bishop's School. When Canon Gershom was with us recently he told us why the dormitory is necessary. At present the children are being housed in a nearby village, which is not always the safest option. He spoke of abuses against children and in extreme cases child sacrifice posing a threat to their safety. The latter sounds unbelieveable in this age, but I have it on the best authority that it does happen in Uganda.

We realise that in the grand scheme the best we can do is only a drop in a mighty ocean. To help Africa, fresh initiatives at the highest governmental and international levels are required. That doesn't mean we should do nothing; every little helps make life more bearable. "Cast your bread upon the water and it will return after many days."

"Will you write more? I'm disappointed when you haven't written up your blog". I was staggered to get that message today from two people who live in Northern Ireland. The fact is I had not written for a while because I didn't think there was anybody out there reading it on a regular basis. But I will write now, even if it's only for two people in Northern Ireland! If there is anybody else out there let me know, or join the followers by clicking on to that logo. I don't need to be psychic to know that there is a horse lover out there who hasn't signed up be being a follower yet, and it isn't Mary King!

So where are we now? Well as I write Norwich have shot up to third in the league. What's more my leg muscles are getting well developed for this walk on 1st March. My trainer at the gym has increased endurance training on the treadmill. I had complained that it was getting too manageable, now I'm like one of those cartoon figures with legs moving fast and sweat pouring off me. But it feels much more challenging.

The trip to Uganda in August is now booked. At present there are six of us paid up and ready to go. June and I will be preaching at a Convention. Some will be helping Watsan which stands for water and sanitation. I'm not sure what they will be doing, but it will be something practical. Sharon is a Funeral Director who also wants to find out how the Ugandan people bury their dead. Martin works in a hospital here and so will team up with the Kisiizi Hospital. Jeremy used to be a headteacher so will be able to give us good advice about our school work. Alan, an old school mate, is a Director of his own business but is willing to get his hands dirty. I think people's hearts are being touched by this trip. When we saw Canon Gershom's pictures of the school we want to support, we were all moved by what we saw, and by the lack of progress on the dorm. It's foundations were dug so long ago that grass has grown over them. What a challenge!

What have the Queen and an African vicar got in common? The answer? I met them both on the same day. Naturally, I slightly exaggerate. I met the African, I saw the Queen. The Queen and Prince Philip visited Ely Cathedral for the 900th celebration of the Ely Diocese. It was a great occasion.(For me another Forrest Gump moment!). I sat opposite them in the service, with lots of others. The African vicar, Gershom Muhanga, was staying with us. I'm aware that all this can seem an exercise in name dropping. The point is the amazing contrast between these two worlds and being there to witness them both; just like Forrest. There was the pomp, the protocol,the fleeting glance of royalty and the sense, "I was there." But to be there to encounter the Ugandan man was more amazing. A man who took a photograph of me lighting a domestic fire, who had never seen a piece of coal, who had no choice but to live a simple life. Here on a scholarship, he arrived at our house with one coat which had been given, a rolled umbrella we had bought him and a small brief case which was borrowed. He talked to our people about the suffering of the orphans, the terrible conditions of Rwandan Refugees in Mbarara and our need to be grateful for all we have in this country. When asked what he liked about England he said "everything,you should be grateful for everything." Of course someone has to buy the coat and the umbrella to give, but I learned from him that life can be simple and uncomplicated; we need so little to live. When I explained to him as I left for the Cathedral the complex arrangements he asked "are such people free?"

I was thinking about Mr Miagy. As I raked leaves I remembered his words to Daniel "wax on wax off." The Karate Kid was essential viewing in those halcyon days of the 80s when our boys were young. Watching it with the children was a great excuse for those of us who were 30 something. There is that part in the film where Daniel gets to wax the car and paint the fence, until he flipped and quit. Finally, the truth was revealed by the master. The strokes of the paint brush and the circular movements of polishing were the precise movements for karate. So what about my leaf raking? I should have been on my next long walk, but the thousands of leaves on the lawn had to be dealt with and this kept me at home. "Walk on, walk on," could I hear the rake on the leaves saying that? Perhaps not. Then the master revealed a truth, or at least the decorater told me of some advice on the radio that very morning. "You don't need to rake, no, put the lawn mower over them, make mulch and let the worms do the rest!" It came like a moment of enlightenment, not to mention relief!

Our garden is about an acre; an acre covered in leaves! It's a size of garden dating from the days when vicars were something and had a gardener! Pushing the mower over the acre, guiding it across the thick layers of fallen leaves, putting one foot in front of the other, I didn't need Mr Miyage to make the point!