Following another trip to Heathrow today, both our children (is that the right word?) are now overseas doing marine conservation work for the Summer. So Toni and I will have to adjust to not having children around, as after the Summer they will both be at university.

No doubt there will be a sense of loss here, but as I always seek to be optimistic we'll settle for a celebration meal with some Pimms on this warm, light, evening!

Logos Hope is the latest ship in Operation Mobilisation's fleet. Renamed and commissioned at the end of last year, she replaces their ship Logos. A former car ferry from Scandinavia, she is the first of their ships to be refitted for purpose rather than used "as is."

I spent a few hours in London seeing her, having an on-board tour, and viewing the extraordinary vast bookshop on board. Along with her sister ship Doulos she tours the world seeking to bring something of the Christian message through word and action at every port. Her schedule is such that it may be another ten or twenty years before she visits the UK again, and it is a strange sight to see her moored alongside modern office buildings in Canary Wharf.

She is crewed entirely by volunteers. The refit has been good: although the ship still feels like a car ferry in places, she is far more comfortable and homely.