112 posts and almost 2 and a half years in, I'm moving blog sites. Why? Because I want to.
Change your RSS's and stuff and go here:
http://alindop.wordpress.com/
Viva la revolution.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sweaty palms
My shiny Macbook has started going yellow. Yes it's a bit wierd, but for the last 2 months the bits where you rest your hands and press buttons bellow the trackpad have got a wee bit discoloured. So I did some research on the net and found its not an entirely unique problem and the Apple are replacing the covers. So I call up Applecare and 5 minutes later a report has been made and I have to take it into the local Apple retailer and they'll replace the cover.
Mundane insights into my life, indeed. But I tell you this for a reason. Inspired by my friend Beth's bletherings about flirty tech help people (I won't say anything about you encouraging him, Beth), I thought I'd mention how good Apple are (obviously it woul dbe better if the discolouring hadn't happened) and how I can be prejudiced without me realising.
Basically when I called the number, and Indian voice answered. "Oh no", I thought, "even Apple have outsourced to India, this guy will have no idea what I'm talking about". Well, not only did he know exactly what the problem was, he knew all about the shop in Edinburgh as well when I mentioned it. So either Apple train their staff in India exceptionally well, or Apple have a multi-racial staff in the UK. Either way, it doesn't matter. They're doing their job well and my predjudices were unfounded. I repent.
Mundane insights into my life, indeed. But I tell you this for a reason. Inspired by my friend Beth's bletherings about flirty tech help people (I won't say anything about you encouraging him, Beth), I thought I'd mention how good Apple are (obviously it woul dbe better if the discolouring hadn't happened) and how I can be prejudiced without me realising.
Basically when I called the number, and Indian voice answered. "Oh no", I thought, "even Apple have outsourced to India, this guy will have no idea what I'm talking about". Well, not only did he know exactly what the problem was, he knew all about the shop in Edinburgh as well when I mentioned it. So either Apple train their staff in India exceptionally well, or Apple have a multi-racial staff in the UK. Either way, it doesn't matter. They're doing their job well and my predjudices were unfounded. I repent.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Things to do before I leave.
As some of you know, I'm leaving the fair city of Edinburgh in 3 weeks time (well, i'll be back in July, but only for 10 days). As I reflect on my depature, I'm realising there's a lot of things I still haven't down. Therefore, I've created a list of things I'd like to do before I leave.
If you live in Edinburgh it'd be great to have you join me in them (or even suggest things you think I should do). Get in touch!
In no particular order
1. Walk the water of Leith
2. Climb the Scott Monumnet
3. Eat at Khubla Kahns
4. Zoo
5. Go camping again
6. Swim off Portabello beach at night
7. Watch the sun rise from Arthur's Seat/Blackford Hill
8. Drink Pimms in the meadows
9. Go to more museums
10. Get more rounds of pitch and putt in
If you live in Edinburgh it'd be great to have you join me in them (or even suggest things you think I should do). Get in touch!
In no particular order
1. Walk the water of Leith
2. Climb the Scott Monumnet
3. Eat at Khubla Kahns
4. Zoo
5. Go camping again
6. Swim off Portabello beach at night
7. Watch the sun rise from Arthur's Seat/Blackford Hill
8. Drink Pimms in the meadows
9. Go to more museums
10. Get more rounds of pitch and putt in
Monday, May 14, 2007
Five Peak Challenge: Journal
It's been a couple of weeks since we completed the 5 Peak challenge (which, to recap, is climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all withing 48 hours) and I've finally got around to writing some sort of journal/account of what happened. Hopefully it will be vaguely interesting and possibly even useful for people who want to try a similar thing - web accounts were invaluable to our preparation. Anyway, without further ado..
So, April 27, 2007 12:15am, Ralph and I rock up at the pub where we left the car and attempt to squeeze our bags, pillows and mountains of chocolate. We've hired a 7 seater car and although, there's only 5 of us travelling, there doesn't seem to be much room....anyhow, this process takes all of 2 minutes, giving us plenty of time for a quick Guiness before the pub closes and we take to the roads. Lest you worry, our driver, Peter, goes dry.
1am, Led by the esteemed John Cleese on the SatNav (who seems to particularly favour turning left), we depart. 5 Minutes later, we return as Christian realises he's left his hiking boots behind. Numpty.
And so, we drive to Stranraer. Sleep comes pretty quickly, and I wake up in the ferry terminal. So if anything interesting happened, I missed it.
4:55am The ferry leaves and we all find a bench to lie down on. The most blissful 2 hours of the weekend follow and I wake up to a big bright dawn.
7am Drive out into Belfast and intermittently sleep - those who know me well know that I can sleep pretty much anywhere (although I've not managed to do it underwater yet). However I'm rudely awakened by a billboard poster from the British Heart Foundation, encouraging people to take 30 mins of exercise a day. You might expect it to have pictures of old and overweight people jogging, cycling or swimming, but no, here is a picture of a naked old man and a woman in a swimsuit on a beach next to the word 'sex'. Yes, you can get your 30 minutes by doing it on the beach. Not the most pleasant thought to start the morning.
Ireland's road's are terrible. Their motorways are barely A roads and even John Cleese gets lost. When we eventually get close to the mountain we have to ask a half naked man on a tractor (don't worry, we were nowhere near a beach) what track to go down.
2pm Arrive at Cronin's Yard, the start point. Kit up take pictures and begin the challenge!
2:36pm Start Carrantuohill
6:41pm (4:05 hours) Finish. It's a pretty simple climb - Fortunately it was dry and the Devil's Ladder wasn't too wet, although we all had slips and mini falls coming down. I slipped off a rock with my foot landing on a mini ledge, which if it hadn't been there would have meant a 5 foot drop (still feeling the groin strain 2 weeks later though). The view from the top was gorgeous, just a shame we didn't have long to hang about in the area.
7pm On the road again and as we head out along the road we meet two dogs, a spaniel and red setter, come bounding down the road at full pelt chasing after each other. No owner in sight, just 2 dogs, tongues hanging out having the time of their lives, on a well used road. Weird.
1:10am Arrive in Newcastle for Slieve Donard.
1:20am (10:44) After a briefing from our driver Peter on how to climb the mountain (none of us have done it before), we set off. This is where our months of planning come to the fore as we realise that maybe a map would have been a good idea. "Don't worry" says Peter, "it's dead easy, just follow the river, get out the forest and follow the wall to the top". It takes us approximately 3 minutes and 42 seconds to get lost. We can't find the river and a phone call to Peter ensues. Soon we find the river and something that vaguely resembles a path and head up it. Its pitch black and our lostness has a vague Blair Witch feel to it.
Eventually we come out of the forest after another couple of wrong turns and corrections and set about finding a path. We do so and follow it to a waterfall and start climbing. About half way up it becomes pretty clear that there isn't a path any more (when it becomes almost like rock climbing than actual hiking), and our only hope that people have been this way before is the occasional coke can on a rock. Fortunately for us, there's a lot of moonlight and we can see the summit once we hit the ridge. So we set out in the general direction, hoping we cross a path, which we inevitably don't.
It is at this point, as the wind howls around in the early hours of the morning with the bright light of Newcastle far below, that the first pangs of regret cross my mind: why didn't we bring a map (actually this feeling started as soon as we left the car park)? why aren't I in my bed? why are we doing this stupid thing at all? As a group, we're pretty demoralised, but plod on past false peak after false peak and eventually hit the top, where upon we find the wall. Great - we can follow the right path down! Except there are two walls...
So after some frantic phototaking of us looking quite depressed and some terse phonecalls to peter we head down the wall we think is correct. Inevitably, it's not and we find ourselves somewhere on the wrong side of the mountain. It was at the this point that the chaffage started and the real hero of the expedition came to the fore - Gold Bond extra strength powder. If you're an American guy, you might know what I'm talking about. Anyway, in the end (knowing we had a ferry we HAD to catch) we decided to cut our losses and head for the nearest road and let Peter and Laura in the car find us. This journey took us through a river, drainage works, cow fields, more barbed wire fences than I want to count and a farm (why is it that the gates are never in the corner of the field you expect?)
4:55am (14:19)Arrive at some public toilets at a random place called Bloody Bridge and arrange pick up. Phew! Lesson learned - never climb a mountain you've not done before in the dark without a map. We were stupid and I dread to think what it would have been like had it not been a clear night and the weather been worse.
8:45am Catch the ferry in Dublin. We booked the fast one to save time, which only went and ended up being half an hour late due to engine problems.
11am Get off ferry in Holyhead.
12:28pm (21:52) Get dropped off and start up Snowdon. This turned out to be a pretty dull walk. Loads of people around, literally every man and his dog, which made it hard to set a good pace because you were always trying to get around people in jeans and trainers. Eventually get to the top to discover that they've knocked down the cafe and the summit resembles a cross between a building site and a company picnic. Take a picture and get down as quickly as possible. It's at this point that Ralph starts having trouble with his knees (the Pyg Track is almost completely made from flat boulders, giving us a lot of impact stress on the legs), but we get down without too much bother.
3:45pm (25:09). Get down, stretch off and get out of there.
9:00pm (30:24) Start Scafell Pike. Due to the clear weather it's a good hour or so before we have to use the head lamps. On the way up we meet a lot of 3 Peakers coming down and also manage to avoid making the wrong turning which meant we had to go straight up a scree slope when we did the 3 peaks last year.
As I reach the trig point, I let out a (deserved) cheer, upon which I spy something that looks like a bag on a nearby rock. There's no-one else on the summit, so I go over to check it out and trip over a bloke in a sleeping bag. Fortunately he doesn't seem to upset and we sit around eating our cereal bars trying not to make too much noise.
On the way down we pass a few more 3 peakers looking pretty knackered and then see the most wonderful shooting star I've ever seen. It was big and fat and looked more like a firework than anything else. Beautiful.
12:50am (34:14) Get back to the car to find Peter and Laura (finally) asleep. Wake them up and start the long drive north.
According to Ralph, who couldn't sleep (I got the longest undisturbed sleep of the trip), Peter broke several land speed records trying to make up time. I wouldn't like to comment.
6:40am Arrive in Fort William for Ben Nevis. Get out of the car and stare at the bags for a long time. Motivation at this point is pretty low, but at least the sun is still shining. None of the people we invited to walk with us were able to make it - not sure if this is a hindrance or a blessing. We try and stuff more pasta down our throats, and Christian and Ralph chug another of the evil Lidl energy drinks, and eventually, we're ready to start walking.
7:09am (40:33) Finally set off. Half an hour in, for the first time in the trip, we're overtaken - by a lone Aussie guy who seems to be walking on jet powered boots. Somewhere near the top, in the midst of the zig-zag bit of the path, we all crash. Fortunately, the last reserves of nuts come to the rescue and we power to the top. There's a lot less snow than last year (global warming?!?) but the view is stunning. It's an awesome to be feeling to be at the top early on a Sunday morning, before church has even started! At some point while we're up there, we realise that if we get down in less than 2 hours 20 mins, we'll also complete the 3 Peak challenge in under 24 hours (we still have about 5 hours to spare for the 5 peaks) so, with a new target to drive us on, we set off.
We still get overtaken by the fell runner (maybe he was training for this INSANITY ) on the way down, but a bit of fast walking and a little jogging later, we make it to the bottom with 10 minutes to spare!
12:22pm In the end we finished in a total of 45 hours, 44 minutes (and completed the 3 peak challenge in 23 hours, 50 minutes)! We celebrated with a pint at the Nevis Inn (who's food I can highly recommend!) - honestly, beer has never tasted so good!
So to conclude this rather long winded account, advice I would give people intending to do this would be 3 fold:
And here's a little video of our adventure!
So, April 27, 2007 12:15am, Ralph and I rock up at the pub where we left the car and attempt to squeeze our bags, pillows and mountains of chocolate. We've hired a 7 seater car and although, there's only 5 of us travelling, there doesn't seem to be much room....anyhow, this process takes all of 2 minutes, giving us plenty of time for a quick Guiness before the pub closes and we take to the roads. Lest you worry, our driver, Peter, goes dry.
1am, Led by the esteemed John Cleese on the SatNav (who seems to particularly favour turning left), we depart. 5 Minutes later, we return as Christian realises he's left his hiking boots behind. Numpty.
And so, we drive to Stranraer. Sleep comes pretty quickly, and I wake up in the ferry terminal. So if anything interesting happened, I missed it.
4:55am The ferry leaves and we all find a bench to lie down on. The most blissful 2 hours of the weekend follow and I wake up to a big bright dawn.
7am Drive out into Belfast and intermittently sleep - those who know me well know that I can sleep pretty much anywhere (although I've not managed to do it underwater yet). However I'm rudely awakened by a billboard poster from the British Heart Foundation, encouraging people to take 30 mins of exercise a day. You might expect it to have pictures of old and overweight people jogging, cycling or swimming, but no, here is a picture of a naked old man and a woman in a swimsuit on a beach next to the word 'sex'. Yes, you can get your 30 minutes by doing it on the beach. Not the most pleasant thought to start the morning.
Ireland's road's are terrible. Their motorways are barely A roads and even John Cleese gets lost. When we eventually get close to the mountain we have to ask a half naked man on a tractor (don't worry, we were nowhere near a beach) what track to go down.2pm Arrive at Cronin's Yard, the start point. Kit up take pictures and begin the challenge!
2:36pm Start Carrantuohill
6:41pm (4:05 hours) Finish. It's a pretty simple climb - Fortunately it was dry and the Devil's Ladder wasn't too wet, although we all had slips and mini falls coming down. I slipped off a rock with my foot landing on a mini ledge, which if it hadn't been there would have meant a 5 foot drop (still feeling the groin strain 2 weeks later though). The view from the top was gorgeous, just a shame we didn't have long to hang about in the area.
7pm On the road again and as we head out along the road we meet two dogs, a spaniel and red setter, come bounding down the road at full pelt chasing after each other. No owner in sight, just 2 dogs, tongues hanging out having the time of their lives, on a well used road. Weird.
1:10am Arrive in Newcastle for Slieve Donard.
1:20am (10:44) After a briefing from our driver Peter on how to climb the mountain (none of us have done it before), we set off. This is where our months of planning come to the fore as we realise that maybe a map would have been a good idea. "Don't worry" says Peter, "it's dead easy, just follow the river, get out the forest and follow the wall to the top". It takes us approximately 3 minutes and 42 seconds to get lost. We can't find the river and a phone call to Peter ensues. Soon we find the river and something that vaguely resembles a path and head up it. Its pitch black and our lostness has a vague Blair Witch feel to it.
Eventually we come out of the forest after another couple of wrong turns and corrections and set about finding a path. We do so and follow it to a waterfall and start climbing. About half way up it becomes pretty clear that there isn't a path any more (when it becomes almost like rock climbing than actual hiking), and our only hope that people have been this way before is the occasional coke can on a rock. Fortunately for us, there's a lot of moonlight and we can see the summit once we hit the ridge. So we set out in the general direction, hoping we cross a path, which we inevitably don't.
It is at this point, as the wind howls around in the early hours of the morning with the bright light of Newcastle far below, that the first pangs of regret cross my mind: why didn't we bring a map (actually this feeling started as soon as we left the car park)? why aren't I in my bed? why are we doing this stupid thing at all? As a group, we're pretty demoralised, but plod on past false peak after false peak and eventually hit the top, where upon we find the wall. Great - we can follow the right path down! Except there are two walls...So after some frantic phototaking of us looking quite depressed and some terse phonecalls to peter we head down the wall we think is correct. Inevitably, it's not and we find ourselves somewhere on the wrong side of the mountain. It was at the this point that the chaffage started and the real hero of the expedition came to the fore - Gold Bond extra strength powder. If you're an American guy, you might know what I'm talking about. Anyway, in the end (knowing we had a ferry we HAD to catch) we decided to cut our losses and head for the nearest road and let Peter and Laura in the car find us. This journey took us through a river, drainage works, cow fields, more barbed wire fences than I want to count and a farm (why is it that the gates are never in the corner of the field you expect?)
4:55am (14:19)Arrive at some public toilets at a random place called Bloody Bridge and arrange pick up. Phew! Lesson learned - never climb a mountain you've not done before in the dark without a map. We were stupid and I dread to think what it would have been like had it not been a clear night and the weather been worse.
8:45am Catch the ferry in Dublin. We booked the fast one to save time, which only went and ended up being half an hour late due to engine problems.
11am Get off ferry in Holyhead.
12:28pm (21:52) Get dropped off and start up Snowdon. This turned out to be a pretty dull walk. Loads of people around, literally every man and his dog, which made it hard to set a good pace because you were always trying to get around people in jeans and trainers. Eventually get to the top to discover that they've knocked down the cafe and the summit resembles a cross between a building site and a company picnic. Take a picture and get down as quickly as possible. It's at this point that Ralph starts having trouble with his knees (the Pyg Track is almost completely made from flat boulders, giving us a lot of impact stress on the legs), but we get down without too much bother.
3:45pm (25:09). Get down, stretch off and get out of there.
9:00pm (30:24) Start Scafell Pike. Due to the clear weather it's a good hour or so before we have to use the head lamps. On the way up we meet a lot of 3 Peakers coming down and also manage to avoid making the wrong turning which meant we had to go straight up a scree slope when we did the 3 peaks last year.
As I reach the trig point, I let out a (deserved) cheer, upon which I spy something that looks like a bag on a nearby rock. There's no-one else on the summit, so I go over to check it out and trip over a bloke in a sleeping bag. Fortunately he doesn't seem to upset and we sit around eating our cereal bars trying not to make too much noise.
On the way down we pass a few more 3 peakers looking pretty knackered and then see the most wonderful shooting star I've ever seen. It was big and fat and looked more like a firework than anything else. Beautiful.
12:50am (34:14) Get back to the car to find Peter and Laura (finally) asleep. Wake them up and start the long drive north.
According to Ralph, who couldn't sleep (I got the longest undisturbed sleep of the trip), Peter broke several land speed records trying to make up time. I wouldn't like to comment.
6:40am Arrive in Fort William for Ben Nevis. Get out of the car and stare at the bags for a long time. Motivation at this point is pretty low, but at least the sun is still shining. None of the people we invited to walk with us were able to make it - not sure if this is a hindrance or a blessing. We try and stuff more pasta down our throats, and Christian and Ralph chug another of the evil Lidl energy drinks, and eventually, we're ready to start walking.
7:09am (40:33) Finally set off. Half an hour in, for the first time in the trip, we're overtaken - by a lone Aussie guy who seems to be walking on jet powered boots. Somewhere near the top, in the midst of the zig-zag bit of the path, we all crash. Fortunately, the last reserves of nuts come to the rescue and we power to the top. There's a lot less snow than last year (global warming?!?) but the view is stunning. It's an awesome to be feeling to be at the top early on a Sunday morning, before church has even started! At some point while we're up there, we realise that if we get down in less than 2 hours 20 mins, we'll also complete the 3 Peak challenge in under 24 hours (we still have about 5 hours to spare for the 5 peaks) so, with a new target to drive us on, we set off.
We still get overtaken by the fell runner (maybe he was training for this INSANITY ) on the way down, but a bit of fast walking and a little jogging later, we make it to the bottom with 10 minutes to spare!
12:22pm In the end we finished in a total of 45 hours, 44 minutes (and completed the 3 peak challenge in 23 hours, 50 minutes)! We celebrated with a pint at the Nevis Inn (who's food I can highly recommend!) - honestly, beer has never tasted so good!So to conclude this rather long winded account, advice I would give people intending to do this would be 3 fold:
- Have a map for every mountain
- Have a car with ample space (you REALLY don't want to be crushed in the back of a Corsa or something) and a designated driver.
- Bring something for the chaffage. You'll thank me for this later.
And here's a little video of our adventure!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
You only sing when you're winning
On Saturday, I won my first ever trophy. In the past, I've been on the losing team in a football cup final (4-3 after extra time. Nightmare), and more recently been losing in abandoned cup finals (reply next Saturday, incidently) and won some lower divisional stuff in intermural leagues at university (a whole 3 medals to my name), but on Saturday, i finally was part of winning something worth something.
The Haggis Cup was held in Glasgow and featured teams from Dublin, London, Brussels/Strasbourg, Glasgow and us, and to cut a long and not very dramatic story short, we won every game (beating London twice, including the final). The satisfying thing about it was that it was really competetive. It wasn't a bunch of hungover students who halfheartedly play on a Saturday afternoon and win because the other time have got a bigger headache - everyone REALLY wanted to win. Especially London, who were satisfactoraly agressive and suitably angry with everyone except themselves when they started to lose (we even beat them in one game having had a man sent off for retaliating to a smack in the jaw and punching a guy in the face). It didn't rain and my ankles held up. Good times.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
I still haven't found what I'm looking for
5 Peak Challenge completed: 45 hours 44 minutes
So my feet survived. I was blessed with a blister free hike! Can't say the same for the others unfortunately...and the chaffage, that's a whole new story...
Anyway, there'll be a journal up sometime soon, but for those who haven't seen it on Facebook, here's a link to a selection of pictures. There will hopefully be a video being made sometime soon too.
Question of the day:
Is it possible for a vegetarian in the UK to eat a sufficiently nutritious and varied diet of locally produced food or do they have to rely on imports, or food from heated greenhouses grown out of season? If the latter is the case, is it 'more' ethical (making the assumption that animal rights has ethical value) to be a vegetarian or be an omnivore, eating locally produced meat and vegetables?
So my feet survived. I was blessed with a blister free hike! Can't say the same for the others unfortunately...and the chaffage, that's a whole new story...
Anyway, there'll be a journal up sometime soon, but for those who haven't seen it on Facebook, here's a link to a selection of pictures. There will hopefully be a video being made sometime soon too.
Question of the day:
Is it possible for a vegetarian in the UK to eat a sufficiently nutritious and varied diet of locally produced food or do they have to rely on imports, or food from heated greenhouses grown out of season? If the latter is the case, is it 'more' ethical (making the assumption that animal rights has ethical value) to be a vegetarian or be an omnivore, eating locally produced meat and vegetables?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The only way is up
This weekend I'm going mountain climbing. In a rather serious manner. This is going to hurt a lot. Prepare yourself for pictures of my feet in shreds.
In other news, I bought flights to Honduras today. Prepare yourself for pictures of idyllic beauty.
Adios.
In other news, I bought flights to Honduras today. Prepare yourself for pictures of idyllic beauty.
Adios.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Cuban nightmares
Yeah yeah yeah, it's been a while.
So for those following with a keen eye, today was the cup final. The less said the better, as we were losing 2-0 when the match was abondoned in the 55th minute as our captain broke his fibula, ruptured his ligaments and dislocated his ankle. I will have nightmares about looking at it for a long long time.
My afternoon was slightly more pleasant, spent showing my buddy Zac around town, culminating in whisky and cuban cigars outside a pub in Rose Street. Nothing particularly abnormal about that, until we spied a group of guys starting to chat up a bunch of women on a hen weekend in the pub opposite. Again, nothing particularly unusal, until after further spying, we spotted one guy wearing ski boots.
They were indeed a random bunch, some in surf wear, others in public school attire, and were also chaperoned by a small cocker spaniel (no doubt to keep the ladies' interest). All was quite pleasant, until one chap decided to impress the women by drinking a pint by pouring it into his mouth from a distance of one foot above his motuh. The next guy decided to go one further and drank thirstily from his sweaty ski boot. What shenannigans. And the whisky was beautiful. Shame my throat is now more sensitive than the East/West Berlin border (I watched The Lives Of Others last night).
I'm gonna miss this town.
So for those following with a keen eye, today was the cup final. The less said the better, as we were losing 2-0 when the match was abondoned in the 55th minute as our captain broke his fibula, ruptured his ligaments and dislocated his ankle. I will have nightmares about looking at it for a long long time.
My afternoon was slightly more pleasant, spent showing my buddy Zac around town, culminating in whisky and cuban cigars outside a pub in Rose Street. Nothing particularly abnormal about that, until we spied a group of guys starting to chat up a bunch of women on a hen weekend in the pub opposite. Again, nothing particularly unusal, until after further spying, we spotted one guy wearing ski boots.
They were indeed a random bunch, some in surf wear, others in public school attire, and were also chaperoned by a small cocker spaniel (no doubt to keep the ladies' interest). All was quite pleasant, until one chap decided to impress the women by drinking a pint by pouring it into his mouth from a distance of one foot above his motuh. The next guy decided to go one further and drank thirstily from his sweaty ski boot. What shenannigans. And the whisky was beautiful. Shame my throat is now more sensitive than the East/West Berlin border (I watched The Lives Of Others last night).
I'm gonna miss this town.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Feminism is evil
Feminism is the root cause of our society's (I'm talking UK here) ailments. Discuss.
I wonder whether the title will get the googlers in. :)
I wonder whether the title will get the googlers in. :)
Saturday, March 31, 2007
It's not quite Wembeley, but still...
In case any of you were wondering, we won the semi final 2-0 against the league leaders (We're 4th bottom)! First clean sheet in a while too...April 21st is the final. Hurrah!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Self Tanning Lotion
So Sunday began the trip to Skye. The original departure time of 12pm was well missed by Christian's lameness and arrival 3 hours late (which incidentally left me to look after a girl I'd never met before, who we were giving a lift to, for 3 hours in our flat), meaning we finally arrived at the car park in the dark around 8. The one advantage of this was that we got to drive through the mountains on the approach to Kyle of Lochalsh at sunset, but then I cocked up all bar one of the pictures at Eilean Donan castle :(.
However, there was a lot of moonlight, so the 5km walk to our little bothy which we would call home for the next 3 nights, wasn't too bad and head torches weren't required. For those of you who don't know what a bothy is - it's basically a little hut with no heating (bar an open fire), water or power, situated somewhere in the mountains that hikers can use.
Ours was situated in the most gorgeous bay, right next the sea and right at the foot of some not insignificiantly sized mountains (The little white hut in the corner of the picture. And fortunately for us, we got the best weather of the year so far. Two full days of beautiful sunshine and just enough breeze to stop you getting too hot on the climbs.And so, that is how we spent our days - hiking. The first day we climbed ever single one of the 928 metres up Bla Bheinn, which allegedly has the best summit view of all the mountians in Skye - looking out over the Black Cuillins. And the second day, we took an 8 or 9 mile walk around the sea, a big loch over some hills and far away.
Much fun was had by all, we saw some cool wildlife - deer, a golden eagle (pretty darn rare) and some rabbits, some of us went skinny dipping in the river, most of us went in the sea (it was so hot and flipping gorgeous, we forgot about how cold the actual water was), and all of us had the liberating experience of doing a number 2 in the open air (under moonlight was my favourite). It was also encouraging to see my ankles hold up and realise that I am actually fit enough for the 5 peak challenge (more about that soon).
More pictures can be found here
And then I came home to 42 new emails, almost all of which were important and work related. Joys.
Tomorrow is another exiciting day though. My football team have an important cup semi final clash (against a team we beat 3-1 last Saturday) and I'm heading off to Spring Harvest. This is a christian conference that was a large part of my growing up during my formative years and for a time was the only place I could seem to find girls who liked me. I think I went 19 years on the trot, but this is the first time I've been back for 3 or 4. It will also be interesting going with a different perspective - I'm not a teenager, I'm not a student, I'm a 'full-time Christian worker' (whatever that really means), and it'll be fun to approach it from a different side.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
I bore myself...
This is my 100th post. Who could know I could write such rubbish, so inconsistently yet, consistently enough to make it to 100. I certainly didn't. Anyway, in honour of the occasion, here's 100 things you might not know about me (and probably didn't want to either).
1. Alasdair is the Scottish Gaelic version of Alexander. Very few people spell it right.
2. The name means defender of men. Grr.
3. I've had many nicknames in my life, most of which aren't an indication of my character:
4. Al
5. Ally
6. I really hate being called ally
7. Bongo
8. Ster
9. Stud
10. Studling
11. Sleazy Al (This REALLY wasn't a reflection on my character)
12. Northern Al
13. Lundip
14. Alan Dop
15. Dop
16. Dopface
17. I'd be happy if people just called me Alasdair.
18. My 18th birthday was spent mostly on a train.
19. My 19th birthday was marred by the Big Brother final
20. My 20th Birthday was spent in a field somewhere in the Scottish highlands
21. My 21st Birthday was spent on my own in LA after a girl (who I was in no way romantically attached to) ditched me.
22. My 22nd birthday was spent recovering from infected jellyfish stings in a field.
23. I still have the scars
24. I say that because I've been told chicks dig scars.
25. I also have a scar from when my sister bit me when I was a kid.
26. So far, the chicks haven't particularly digged the scars.
26. I still love Bon Jovi as much as I did when I was 13
27. But don't like their newer stuff so much.
28. I'm pretentious enough to be proud of my eclectic taste in music.
29. But don't know enough about it to be a music snob
30. Yet I'm still proud enough not to initially like something (regardless of how good it is), simply because it's popular.
31. I used to play the saxophone more than I did pretty much anything else.
32. I haven't played it for over 18 months
33. This makes me sad.
34. Even though I know spend a lot more time playing sports than I do playing music, I still think about myself as a musician.
35. I have spent more than 3 days of my life underwater.
36. Only some of this time was spent being cold.
37. I hate cats
38. I love dogs
39. Small rodents I'm ambivalent towards.
40. I REALLY love the sea.
41. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not in love with fish - I merely love the who oceanic ecosystem. Fish included.
42. Shipwrecks are my favourite thing to dive on.
43. Making up this list is more boring than I expected.
44. Maybe I'm not as interesting as I expected.
45. I used to be bullied at school and succeeded in getting the bully to miss sports day (Go letters from mum!)
46. I used to a lot shorter and chubbier and played hooker in rugby at school
47. My Chemistry teacher in 6th form had a chart showing how many times people int he class had made me blush.
48. So they shouted vagina and penis a lot. I stopped blushing soon after.
49. I dance a mean waltz
50. I dont dance anything else very well.
51. Apart from ceilidh dances. Which I'm pretty good at.
52. Funk music will get me dancing regardless of my ability, every time.
53. I once spent a lot of money on an oversizes cushion
54. But it gave me a good story
55. In another life, I would like to have been a professional photographer.
56. Or a professional footballer.
57. Or be born in Australia and be a professional Aussie Rules player.
58. But I'm very happy with the life God has given me.
59. I cry at inappropriate times.
60. Such as when I saw Shamu at Sea World.
61. By cry, really I mean 'well up'.
62. I think 'The Notebook' sucks.
63. I'm very opinionated.
64. I really like baked beans.
65. I don't really like chips.
66. I really like fancy sausages.
67. I hate courgettes.
68. I like the idea of having a mysterious persona
69. I'm a commitmentphobe.
70. I would love to live in Edinburgh for the rest of my life.
71. That's not gonna happen though.
72. Newcastle's a good second best.
73. And if I end up on a tropical island somewhere, I cordially invite you to come visit.
74. The only Russian phrase I know is how to order 5 beers.
75. I have only been to one foam party in my life.
76. I'd rather not go to another.
77. I'm allergic to something.
78. The something is possibly mussels.
79. Last May, I nearly died after eating a plate of them.
80. Well, I didn't really die, but I got very ill and nearly passed out.
81. I'm eating a lot more icecream recently.
82. Which leads me to fear I'm becoming too feminine.
83. Which is why I'm not cutting my hair or shaving my beard at the moment.
84. I actually have a baby face, which is the real reason why I have long hair and a beard.
85. Having long hair is much better than it being short.
86. I wish 86=100
87. I'm much more proud of my Scottish ancestry than I am of my English
88. I pick scabs and eat them.
89. I also pick my nose and eat it.
90. It is maybe these that the chicks dont dig, rather than the scars.
91. I have a complete inability to be tidy, as much as I wish I could.
92. My favourite vitamin is vitamin D
93. My favourite food is bread sauce.
94. If I could eat cookie dough all day without it making me sick or fat, I would.
95. My BMI is an apparently perfect 22.5
96. I wish I wasn't so cynical.
97. I have Oriental blood in me.
98. But no-one really knows much about it.
99. If you have read this far, I salute you.
100. .................
I've left 100 blank so you can add something which you think I've missed that you think should be known. A little challenge for all of you who read, but never comment...
1. Alasdair is the Scottish Gaelic version of Alexander. Very few people spell it right.
2. The name means defender of men. Grr.
3. I've had many nicknames in my life, most of which aren't an indication of my character:
4. Al
5. Ally
6. I really hate being called ally
7. Bongo
8. Ster
9. Stud
10. Studling
11. Sleazy Al (This REALLY wasn't a reflection on my character)
12. Northern Al
13. Lundip
14. Alan Dop
15. Dop
16. Dopface
17. I'd be happy if people just called me Alasdair.
18. My 18th birthday was spent mostly on a train.
19. My 19th birthday was marred by the Big Brother final
20. My 20th Birthday was spent in a field somewhere in the Scottish highlands
21. My 21st Birthday was spent on my own in LA after a girl (who I was in no way romantically attached to) ditched me.
22. My 22nd birthday was spent recovering from infected jellyfish stings in a field.
23. I still have the scars
24. I say that because I've been told chicks dig scars.
25. I also have a scar from when my sister bit me when I was a kid.
26. So far, the chicks haven't particularly digged the scars.
26. I still love Bon Jovi as much as I did when I was 13
27. But don't like their newer stuff so much.
28. I'm pretentious enough to be proud of my eclectic taste in music.
29. But don't know enough about it to be a music snob
30. Yet I'm still proud enough not to initially like something (regardless of how good it is), simply because it's popular.
31. I used to play the saxophone more than I did pretty much anything else.
32. I haven't played it for over 18 months
33. This makes me sad.
34. Even though I know spend a lot more time playing sports than I do playing music, I still think about myself as a musician.
35. I have spent more than 3 days of my life underwater.
36. Only some of this time was spent being cold.
37. I hate cats
38. I love dogs
39. Small rodents I'm ambivalent towards.
40. I REALLY love the sea.
41. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not in love with fish - I merely love the who oceanic ecosystem. Fish included.
42. Shipwrecks are my favourite thing to dive on.
43. Making up this list is more boring than I expected.
44. Maybe I'm not as interesting as I expected.
45. I used to be bullied at school and succeeded in getting the bully to miss sports day (Go letters from mum!)
46. I used to a lot shorter and chubbier and played hooker in rugby at school
47. My Chemistry teacher in 6th form had a chart showing how many times people int he class had made me blush.
48. So they shouted vagina and penis a lot. I stopped blushing soon after.
49. I dance a mean waltz
50. I dont dance anything else very well.
51. Apart from ceilidh dances. Which I'm pretty good at.
52. Funk music will get me dancing regardless of my ability, every time.
53. I once spent a lot of money on an oversizes cushion
54. But it gave me a good story
55. In another life, I would like to have been a professional photographer.
56. Or a professional footballer.
57. Or be born in Australia and be a professional Aussie Rules player.
58. But I'm very happy with the life God has given me.
59. I cry at inappropriate times.
60. Such as when I saw Shamu at Sea World.
61. By cry, really I mean 'well up'.
62. I think 'The Notebook' sucks.
63. I'm very opinionated.
64. I really like baked beans.
65. I don't really like chips.
66. I really like fancy sausages.
67. I hate courgettes.
68. I like the idea of having a mysterious persona
69. I'm a commitmentphobe.
70. I would love to live in Edinburgh for the rest of my life.
71. That's not gonna happen though.
72. Newcastle's a good second best.
73. And if I end up on a tropical island somewhere, I cordially invite you to come visit.
74. The only Russian phrase I know is how to order 5 beers.
75. I have only been to one foam party in my life.
76. I'd rather not go to another.
77. I'm allergic to something.
78. The something is possibly mussels.
79. Last May, I nearly died after eating a plate of them.
80. Well, I didn't really die, but I got very ill and nearly passed out.
81. I'm eating a lot more icecream recently.
82. Which leads me to fear I'm becoming too feminine.
83. Which is why I'm not cutting my hair or shaving my beard at the moment.
84. I actually have a baby face, which is the real reason why I have long hair and a beard.
85. Having long hair is much better than it being short.
86. I wish 86=100
87. I'm much more proud of my Scottish ancestry than I am of my English
88. I pick scabs and eat them.
89. I also pick my nose and eat it.
90. It is maybe these that the chicks dont dig, rather than the scars.
91. I have a complete inability to be tidy, as much as I wish I could.
92. My favourite vitamin is vitamin D
93. My favourite food is bread sauce.
94. If I could eat cookie dough all day without it making me sick or fat, I would.
95. My BMI is an apparently perfect 22.5
96. I wish I wasn't so cynical.
97. I have Oriental blood in me.
98. But no-one really knows much about it.
99. If you have read this far, I salute you.
100. .................
I've left 100 blank so you can add something which you think I've missed that you think should be known. A little challenge for all of you who read, but never comment...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
99 Red Love Balloons
The title refers to Gordon Brown's budget and the associated labour tainted balloons from westminster. If you don't understand, don't worry.
Anyway, forget 300, 100 is on it's way!
Ambiguity is my new friend
Anyway, forget 300, 100 is on it's way!
Ambiguity is my new friend
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Curry with moderately famous people
Tuesday saw the return of the public debate to Edinburgh University, when 2 Oxford professors, Alistair Mcgrath (doctorates in biophysics and theology) and Peter Atkins (Chemist) debated "Darwin and Humanity: Should we rid the mind of God?". Student apathy has been made much of this year, with the Student Union AGM struggling to get 100 people at it and was nowhere near getting close to numbers needed to ratify the votes. So it was encouraging to see the largest lecture theatre on campus (allegedly seats 400-500) full to the rafters. In fact, a good 150 or so were turned away as well, which was a huge shame, but i good indicator of the fact that people are actually thinking about these things.
Actually, I was one of those turned away. But after a few sneaky dashes through fire-exits and doors with big no-entry signs on it, I ended up sitting in the dark behind the stage, unable to see a thing, but able to hear everything just fine. As it turned out, the debate itself was a little disappointing. The title didn't really lend itself to clashes and most of what the speakers said was rhetoric, keeping things within their camp. Dr Atkins said we should rid the mind of God because it was a delusion for the weak and led to wars etc., Dr McGrath argued that God provided a framework for life. Peter Atkins also said a few interesting things such as how he didn't be live there were ANY 'why' questions that mattered, only 'how'. And also how he always thought the least complex explanation was right. for example, God creating the universe is more complex than nothing creating it in his eyes and therefore not viable.
Things only really got interesting in the question time, when someone asked why the least complex answer should necessarily be right, which he didn't really have an answer for. It also threatened to get interesting when the speakers flirted with talking about moral absolutes, but there wasn't really time. After the debate I was invited out for dinner with the speakers and some other Christians and philosophy types so ended up at the end of the table with a friend from London and a couple of philosophy students. The curry was very good. The conversation was, shall we say, 'interesting', but very good for me learning how to be graceful in the face of someone taking cheap shots and just on the lookout for a fight. That said, I had some great conversation with the other girl at dinner and have had some really interesting and fruitful times over the week with other friends who were there.
On reflection, I should have written this on Tuesday. The account of my daring caper with another Christian worker to make sure we were able to hear the debate, despite the authorities attempting to kick us out at least 3 times, would have been much funnier.
Only 2 posts until blog number 100. Look out for something special. Probably.
For those that wanted photos of my alternative parting, I didn't take any. Have one of the results of my football match today instead.
And I finally finished my bumper newsletter this week. If you haven't received it and would like to, let me know.
Actually, I was one of those turned away. But after a few sneaky dashes through fire-exits and doors with big no-entry signs on it, I ended up sitting in the dark behind the stage, unable to see a thing, but able to hear everything just fine. As it turned out, the debate itself was a little disappointing. The title didn't really lend itself to clashes and most of what the speakers said was rhetoric, keeping things within their camp. Dr Atkins said we should rid the mind of God because it was a delusion for the weak and led to wars etc., Dr McGrath argued that God provided a framework for life. Peter Atkins also said a few interesting things such as how he didn't be live there were ANY 'why' questions that mattered, only 'how'. And also how he always thought the least complex explanation was right. for example, God creating the universe is more complex than nothing creating it in his eyes and therefore not viable.
Things only really got interesting in the question time, when someone asked why the least complex answer should necessarily be right, which he didn't really have an answer for. It also threatened to get interesting when the speakers flirted with talking about moral absolutes, but there wasn't really time. After the debate I was invited out for dinner with the speakers and some other Christians and philosophy types so ended up at the end of the table with a friend from London and a couple of philosophy students. The curry was very good. The conversation was, shall we say, 'interesting', but very good for me learning how to be graceful in the face of someone taking cheap shots and just on the lookout for a fight. That said, I had some great conversation with the other girl at dinner and have had some really interesting and fruitful times over the week with other friends who were there.
On reflection, I should have written this on Tuesday. The account of my daring caper with another Christian worker to make sure we were able to hear the debate, despite the authorities attempting to kick us out at least 3 times, would have been much funnier.
Only 2 posts until blog number 100. Look out for something special. Probably.
For those that wanted photos of my alternative parting, I didn't take any. Have one of the results of my football match today instead.
And I finally finished my bumper newsletter this week. If you haven't received it and would like to, let me know.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
At least dogs love us.
This week I realised I don't like people. Now it may be just that I'm a grumpy cynic (I can almost hear the dissident cries of "No, Alasdair, you're a great big ray of bubbly sunshine all the time!"), but this society depresses me.
Leaving aside all the sociological stuff about broken families (The Scotsman's front page today ran an article on how divorce rates have risen 19% and nearly 50% of kids are born outside of marriage), failing schools and a TV generation, I don't think people like each other anymore. It's not just me. People don't seem to like anyone else.
The two things that have stimulated this thought process: On Wednesday I went to see The Good Shepherd. This is a LONG film. Not as long as Lord of the Rings, but definately less entertaining. It just seemed that nobody could take this kind of tedium or bum ache - the couple next to us talked all the way through, and a girl in front even had a phone conversation 20 minutes before the end (ok, it was whispered, but I could hear the guy talking on the other end). So the point I'm driving at is that none of these people had any care for anyone else.
And today, I was having a retreat day and went up Blackford Hill to pray and read the Bible. There were a lot of dog walkers around and for some reason (it must be my bubbly sunshiny character) a decided to smile at everyone I walked past. Not one person returned it.
So I'm losing the thrust of this, and because I can't be bothered to proof it and re-edit, I'll summarize. This society is depressing: people are inward looking and largely have little respect for the rest of the community outside their friendship group. David Cameron reckons the breakdown of family values is to blame. I'm inclined to agree. Maybe I'll vote for him this time.
Leaving aside all the sociological stuff about broken families (The Scotsman's front page today ran an article on how divorce rates have risen 19% and nearly 50% of kids are born outside of marriage), failing schools and a TV generation, I don't think people like each other anymore. It's not just me. People don't seem to like anyone else.
The two things that have stimulated this thought process: On Wednesday I went to see The Good Shepherd. This is a LONG film. Not as long as Lord of the Rings, but definately less entertaining. It just seemed that nobody could take this kind of tedium or bum ache - the couple next to us talked all the way through, and a girl in front even had a phone conversation 20 minutes before the end (ok, it was whispered, but I could hear the guy talking on the other end). So the point I'm driving at is that none of these people had any care for anyone else.
And today, I was having a retreat day and went up Blackford Hill to pray and read the Bible. There were a lot of dog walkers around and for some reason (it must be my bubbly sunshiny character) a decided to smile at everyone I walked past. Not one person returned it.
So I'm losing the thrust of this, and because I can't be bothered to proof it and re-edit, I'll summarize. This society is depressing: people are inward looking and largely have little respect for the rest of the community outside their friendship group. David Cameron reckons the breakdown of family values is to blame. I'm inclined to agree. Maybe I'll vote for him this time.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Big Blue
So diving was great. I was wrong about the weather thouhg. It sucked. Typical Scotland on Saturday - torrential rain for 20 minutes, then 20 minutes of brilliant sunshine, wash, lather, repeat. And then on Sunday, it was just the torrential rain. They even got a (possibly first ever) hurricane warning for Monday morning (don't think they got one though). And my dry suit was leaking (I need a new neck seal), so I ended up being damp and cold for most the day. Apart from that, it was great. Once under the water, the rain doesn't matter so much.
We dived the Breda and did a few other scenic things.
Some people saw a shark (don't get too excited, it was only a dogfish), but my highlight was a mad nudibranch I'd never seen before. Saturday also involved an interesting "made up 80s super hero night". I'm not really sure who I ended up being, but apparently I bore resembelence to a character called Al from Quantum Leap. A show I've never seen. Decide for yourself..
However, the weekend's exertions did raise an interesting thought - I've currently completed about 170 dives, which equatates to 85 hours at an average of half an hour a dive. That's three and a half days underwater in the last 5 years. Which I think is pretty cool. People come up with all sorts of stats about how long you spend eating, watching tv, sleeping etc., but this isn't just some menial task, this is breathing from compressed air tens of metres below the surface of the sea. It just isn't a natural thing to do. It is, however, really cool and is currently ranking alongside Aussie Rules as my favourite thing to do.
Today it was sunny. I wore sunglasses for the first time outside my car this year. Vitamin D coursed through my body and has made me happy. It's been a good day.
Edit: Another reason why I don't use Xanga. I clicked the worng part of the page and was directed to a personals site for 'Big Beautiful Women'. Not nice. Not that I'm sizeist or anything.
We dived the Breda and did a few other scenic things.
Some people saw a shark (don't get too excited, it was only a dogfish), but my highlight was a mad nudibranch I'd never seen before. Saturday also involved an interesting "made up 80s super hero night". I'm not really sure who I ended up being, but apparently I bore resembelence to a character called Al from Quantum Leap. A show I've never seen. Decide for yourself..However, the weekend's exertions did raise an interesting thought - I've currently completed about 170 dives, which equatates to 85 hours at an average of half an hour a dive. That's three and a half days underwater in the last 5 years. Which I think is pretty cool. People come up with all sorts of stats about how long you spend eating, watching tv, sleeping etc., but this isn't just some menial task, this is breathing from compressed air tens of metres below the surface of the sea. It just isn't a natural thing to do. It is, however, really cool and is currently ranking alongside Aussie Rules as my favourite thing to do.
Today it was sunny. I wore sunglasses for the first time outside my car this year. Vitamin D coursed through my body and has made me happy. It's been a good day.
Edit: Another reason why I don't use Xanga. I clicked the worng part of the page and was directed to a personals site for 'Big Beautiful Women'. Not nice. Not that I'm sizeist or anything.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Yessir
Yesterday, whilst walking through George Square, I passed a woman walking with (presumably) her son, going home from school. Nothing odd about this, except the kid was dressed entirely in army desert fatigues. Jacket, trousers, boots - even helmet (although this was painted for jungle warfare). The kid couldn't have been more than 8. Very surreal. I would have got a picture, but I was too afraid of the kid attacking me with a swiss army knife if I pulled out my camera.
In other news, I'm going diving in Oban for the weekend today. Hurrah. And the weather finally got better, just in time.
Did I tell the story about my car breaking down and when the AA turned up, discovering it had an embarrasingly simple problem? Oh well another time maybe...
To make up for lack of child pictures, I googled "Kid, camouflage" and this came up. He certainly isn't British. And he's a hunter, not an army kid, but never mind...
In other news, I'm going diving in Oban for the weekend today. Hurrah. And the weather finally got better, just in time.
Did I tell the story about my car breaking down and when the AA turned up, discovering it had an embarrasingly simple problem? Oh well another time maybe...
To make up for lack of child pictures, I googled "Kid, camouflage" and this came up. He certainly isn't British. And he's a hunter, not an army kid, but never mind...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Ye of little faith...
What good is a man
Who won't take a stand
What good is a cynic
With no better plan Ben Harper, Better Way
What good is a cynic? I would describe myself as cynical. I can't help it. I think most British people are. According to one friend, it's a result of us being 'bruised and damaged idealists', never the same after 2 world wars. Whatever the reason, we're a miserable nation. Now, I don't mind being cynical. It's part of me, and I quite like me. But what good am I without a better plan?
I was eating lunch today and Ben Harper's music video came on the TV and that lyric really struck me. The song wasn't even supposed to be on. The presenter had announced a Flaming Lips song, and it's title came up in front of Ben Harper's face. What good is a cynic with no better plan.
This week we have been hosting 31 Canadians (if any of you are reading this, thank you SO much!) who are associated with Agape (Campus for Christ as it's called) over there. If I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about them coming and being a burden and a pain to look after. In reality, they couldn't have been a bigger blessing. They came with expectation, faith and positivity, blowing my cynicism out of the water. Over the course of the week 8 (EIGHT) people decided to follow Jesus for the first time. That's more than I've heard about directly for the last 4 months.
It's easy to be pessimistic about our culture, the spiritual climate and lame Christian attitudes (myself included). And there are somethings its good to be cynical about because it may well drive change (and if you've got an hour maybe I'll share them with you). But there is a better plan, and if I don't have one, God certainly does. For all of us.
I'm learning.
Who won't take a stand
What good is a cynic
With no better plan Ben Harper, Better Way
What good is a cynic? I would describe myself as cynical. I can't help it. I think most British people are. According to one friend, it's a result of us being 'bruised and damaged idealists', never the same after 2 world wars. Whatever the reason, we're a miserable nation. Now, I don't mind being cynical. It's part of me, and I quite like me. But what good am I without a better plan?
I was eating lunch today and Ben Harper's music video came on the TV and that lyric really struck me. The song wasn't even supposed to be on. The presenter had announced a Flaming Lips song, and it's title came up in front of Ben Harper's face. What good is a cynic with no better plan.
This week we have been hosting 31 Canadians (if any of you are reading this, thank you SO much!) who are associated with Agape (Campus for Christ as it's called) over there. If I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about them coming and being a burden and a pain to look after. In reality, they couldn't have been a bigger blessing. They came with expectation, faith and positivity, blowing my cynicism out of the water. Over the course of the week 8 (EIGHT) people decided to follow Jesus for the first time. That's more than I've heard about directly for the last 4 months.
It's easy to be pessimistic about our culture, the spiritual climate and lame Christian attitudes (myself included). And there are somethings its good to be cynical about because it may well drive change (and if you've got an hour maybe I'll share them with you). But there is a better plan, and if I don't have one, God certainly does. For all of us.
I'm learning.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Forget-Me-Not
So, after the rather problematic loss of my keys last Thursday, I have finally decided to compile a list of things my absent minded nature has caused me to misplace. I was going to do this two weeks ago, when another Thursday (these days seem to be bad for me) mishap involved the loss of my wallet on a bus. But the keys put me over the edge.
I told my mum I was going to make this list and she told me not to bother because I'd only lose it. But I feel it's gonna be pretty safe if I post it on the net...
In no particular order:
1. Keys (retrieved when person who's house I left them at discovered them several hours later)
2. Wallet (retrieved when kind person(s) handed it in to the police who used ingenious methods to contact me)
3. Phone (retrieved when man who ran a retreat centre found it in the muddy puddle I'd dropped it in)
4. Dropped at an Electric Six gig (Incredible, incidentally) (lost forever...)
5. Leather jacket, containing wallet (left in toilets at Vienna airport, and retreived when hours later (without me realising it was actually missing), my uncle whilst waiting to pick someone up heard my name on the PA).
6. Passport (retrieved when person sitting next to me on the plane found it where i had left it and chased after me)
7. Leather jacket containing minidisc player - left at a hotel in the country where I'd played a gig. Remembered the morning after and due to Christmas holidays back home, wasn't able to pick it up for a month
8. Wallet insert containing drivers license, student cards, free train pass and other important documents (retreived when the random person who picked it up recognised me in the street from my picture and gave it back to me).
Notable near miss: During the Three Peak Challenge, whilst changing trousers at the end of the Scafell Pike climb, I left my wallet, phone and keys on the roof car. Then got in the car and we drove off. I remembered roughly half a mile later. By some miracle, the car roof had a lip to it, and the things had all got trapped there.
There it is. I'm sure its incomplete and will definately be added to in the future. If anyone knows of any magic cure for the absent mind, I'd love to hear it.
Edit: So I forgot about the favourit jacket I left on a train, the jacket I left in a swimming pool changing room containing my favourite hat, a favourite sweatshirt left in a gym, the hoodie left on the meadows, the football boots also left on the meadows, and the beloved Buff, left somewhere....All never to be returned
Friday, February 16, 2007
Baa.
Well, I haven't read much poetry recently, hence the distinct dearth of such postings over the last 3 weeks. Instead I have been working like a bandit. (Although, do bandit's work really hard??)
Anyway, this link has to be shared. Thanks to Red and Josiah for the tip.
The Fainting Goats
Anyway, this link has to be shared. Thanks to Red and Josiah for the tip.
The Fainting Goats
Saturday, January 20, 2007
A little more poetic
To sinful patterns of behaviour that never get confronted or and changed,
Abilities and gifts the never get cultivated and deployed-
Until weeks become months
And months turn into years
And one day you're looking back on a life of
Deep intimate gut wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered,
Lives you never touched,
And you're sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul.
And forgotten dreams,
And you realise there was a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself -
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.
You never got out of the boat.
Let us not be those who never risk but those who are the first to climb over the side.
Abilities and gifts the never get cultivated and deployed-
Until weeks become months
And months turn into years
And one day you're looking back on a life of
Deep intimate gut wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered,
Lives you never touched,
And you're sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul.
And forgotten dreams,
And you realise there was a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself -
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.
You never got out of the boat.
Let us not be those who never risk but those who are the first to climb over the side.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Not quite Agincourt, but.....(something meaningful for once)
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk to failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
So, the man (or woman) who does not risk, is not free. The man who lets his actions be determined by uncertanties that the future may or may not hold, is not free. He is controlled by the future.
Jesus said: "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6: 31-34)
Blaise Pascal:
“The present is never our goal: the past and present are our means: the future alone is our goal. Thus, we never live but we hope to live; and always hoping to be happy, it is inevitable that we will never be so.
So it is my hope and prayer that I never live my life bound by 'what if's'; that I live in the 'now' using whatever God has given me and the time He has allowed.
Let us be the people who risk and are free.
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