And then it was on to Tampa, Florida, the headquarters of Central Command that oversees Bahrain and the hotspots of Afghanistan and Syria and we arrived just as news was breaking of the chemical weapon attacks in Syria. We were staying with the Whitworths but Trey, in command of intelligence was working hugely long hours so there were fleeting conversations with him, but it was good to catch up with Amy, Taylor Frank and Claire and we were delighted that Trey was able to join us for Baseball with the Bishop (the New York Yankees vs the Tampa Bay Rays), a whole new cultural experience for us and a Bahrain reunion meal with Mark and Priscilla Fox – Mark was taking over as the No 2 of Central Command on the day we left and Tim and Alison Fraser – Tim was the Royal Navy Commodore in Bahrain when we first arrived. I had the privilege of preaching at the two morning services at St John’s Episcopal Church, Tampa on Sunday 25th August and a parish picnic followed. |