Yesterday with the family I had a lovely walk around York. About 8 miles. From the Rowntrees Park end we went up to the museum gardens in the centre and we had a good look at a group of Shap granite boulders which had been brought down by the Vale of York Glacier from the Lake District around 12,000 years ago. Whilst with the boys discussing what the granite was made up of a geologist who works at the Yorkshire Museum overheard our conversation and we had a good chat about rocks and the York Museum Collection. I just love talking to experts, people who really know what they are on about. It made my day. Through the heavy but sporadic showers we made our wet way over to the University to have a look at the new University development. But we could not find it! What we did find because of my eldest sons attentive eyes was a lovely path behind Heslington Village which wound its way back up to the University. It is interesting what you discover sometimes. After tea, we went to see some Baha'i friends, Sarah and Rick Wollny and Sarah's parents Keith and Audrey Mellard. Keith and Audrey were the two Baha'is who told me about the Baha'i faith just over 23 years ago. We had not seen them for over a decade. Like nearly all the people who have been a very good influence on my life they recommended a book to me. In this case one about the Baha'i faith so I could sort out my own thoughts and feelings about this particular religion. The teachings and political structure of the faith were interesting to me and I always believed that some form of world unity, religious, secular, or a mixture of both, would have to happen so that all the peoples of the world benefit from all the world's resources instead of the present situation which is just a few of us benefit and the majority are left in abject poverty. It still pleases me that the Baha'i model roughly splits into two areas of social action; the secular establishment of a world parliament to channel the energies and resources of all the world's peoples and establish a permanent peace; and then if a sizeable amount of people choose to be interested in the Baha'i faith the establishment of a Baha'i Commonwealth again coexisting with the world parliament and in no way superseding it so all the peoples who choose not to be Baha'is will have an equal place on this planet. Thank God eventually religious/political triumphalism will be rooted out forever and no man or woman based on class, creed ideology, nationalism or religion will be able to dominate another. Anyway, we had a really nice time with the Wollny's and the Mellards and Miles and Clifford had a nice time talking and playing with the Wollny's children Luca and Reuben. It was a very nice day out.