Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2007
Have a good one everyone, God bless, and I’ll see you all in the new year.
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Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
The Boosh Are Back
November 13th, 2007
That’s right, the moment you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner. Thurs 15th sees the boys return in series 3 of the Boosh on BBC 3. If you’re a UK dweller, you can see it now on the BBC 3 website - That is if you can put up with the turd that is Realplayer… Why oh why did the BBC choose such a cack media type?
Oh well, You Tube has it too (no, I’m not going to link to it - where would be the fun in that?). And yeah, they’re back in true form. Maybe not quite as quality as the genius that was Old Greg with a funky ball of tits from outer space, but good things will come.
Episode one, Eels, sees the return of the Stitcher and his Chelsea boots - and some obvious increases in production budget. Genius genius genius all the way. They’re back! Get in!
Lake Garda - Italy
October 16th, 2007
The weather was warm, the food was amazing and the wine was cheep. After 7 nights in Italy drifting around Lake Garda, being awed (and a little romantic) in Verona and getting (very) lost in Venice the reality of being back to work has hit like a tonne of bricks.
But I prefer to think of the amazing time we had.
As we landed at the tiny Besica airport we realized that the turbulence we had just endured was in fact heavy rain that drenched us as we ran from the plane to the cover of the arrivals lounge. From there we found ourselves sitting in the hire car, rain pounding on the windscreen, trying to get used to the uneasy feeling of sitting in the passenger side with a steering wheel in front of me.
By the time we reached our hotel we’d driven on three motorways and had a tiny disagreement with a barrier. Thankfully the wing-mirror was unharmed and the rain had stopped to reveal blue sky. Things got even better when we got into our room - it was clean, big and had a balcony from which you could see the lake (sort of) through the trees.
We spent the week exploring Lake Garda’s small towns and excellent restaurants, and venturing out to Verona and eventually Venice after planning to go on Wednesday and finally getting there on Friday - Due to a couple of days missing the train. Whoops!
My favorite place by far was Sirmione which was at the end of an tiny outcrop of land that juts into the south end of the lake. We spent an evening at the naturally heated spa followed by dinner at L’Archimboldo run by a really friendly guy who’s English was better than ours. If you’re going to Lake Garda Sirmione is a must.
Venice was amazing. Stepping out of the station, you’re immediately greeted with throngs of people walking up and down the banks of the Grand Canal. Wow!
We took a water taxi up to St. Marks Square and stopped for lunch and some shelter from the hot hot sun before we ventured into St Mark’s Basilica and mooched around the Square, avoiding the millions of pigeons that randomly landed on anyone they fancied, whether they had food or not.
We then set off around the labyrinth-like city on foot, exploring the seemingly unending passageways and tiny bridges. Needless to say we got horribly lost, and only just made our train back to the hotel. But I loved Venice, a day was just not enough.
In usual style, I took nearly 700 photos - and you can see some of them over at flickr. Oh well.. Back to reality I suppose.
Calling All Peacemakers: Rob Bell in Wolverhapton
June 29th, 2007
So Rob tells us all about Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount, specifically the part where Jesus is talking about the law ‘and eye for an eye’ and he says
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt 5:39)
Which is arguably one of Jesus’ most quotable moments. It’s fundamental to some people’s understanding of who Jesus was. If someone hits you, stand there and take it, don’t hit back, don’t do anything. The message bible even translates what Jesus said as this. But last night, Rob explained it in a way I’d never heard before.
In Jewish culture at the time of Jesus people had a ‘clean’ hand (right) and a ‘dirty’ hand (left). The right hand would be used for greeting people, eating, working and all manor of task you couldn’t really use your left for as your ‘dirty’ hand was often engaged in matters of personal hygiene and it was considered unthinkable to use it for anything but it’s intended, very specific, job.
So when you hit someone, you’d obviously only ever use your right hand.
There’s something else about the culture at the time that you need to know. It was a highly class driven - Everyone knew their place, and everyone had their place. So the way you hit someone depended on who you were to them. A master hitting a servant for example would only ever slap them, they would never ever use a fist as this would validate that servant as an equal. And if all the other servants are watching, well, you’ve got yourself anarchy on your hands.
So if someone strikes you on the right cheek, with their right hand… They’re not making a fist.
No, they’re slapping you. They’re saying ‘you are not worthy of a fist’. In other words, they’re better than you. And in Jesus’ time, the most likely people to think they’re better than you are the conquering Romans.
So turning the other cheek is an act of defiance, it’s saying ‘you cannot take my dignity’. It’s saying ‘take your best shot, but this time as an equal‘. Jesus doesn’t go for the hit back or do nothing approaches, no, he goes for the third option. The option which takes infinitively more courage and imagination than the first two.
And this is how Rob Bell started his hour or so talk, I’ve no where near done it justice here. There’s what I think I knew about Jesus, and there’s what I find out when I actually look at the scriptures and what they’re saying in the context of the society of the time. Jesus wasn’t a passive, weak individual. He was a subversive, who stood up for the oppressed, weak and poor. I for one want to find out more.
Rob Bell continues his tour in Glasgow on 30th June. If you can, go check him out.
Where Am I?
November 21st, 2006
Well, Sunday night I was poohing my pants waiting to speak at 20×2. Besides my random drivel about the history of my name, there were some pretty interesting answers to the question of the evening: Where Am I?
Some that stuck out for me were… Diego and his trumpet playing fairy; David Frew’s 2 minute speed read of no less than two sides of A4 of his prose. Not only a cleaver chap but a thoroughly nice bloke; Steve Marshall’s answer which saw the entire audience standing up and sitting down on cue thanks to a cleverly written presentation.
So, cheers to Kevin and the rest of the guys who put on a superb event which was enjoyed by every single last person in the room - and probably warmed the lives of those around just by it’s pure existence.
Oh, and you can find the original image used in this post here… Thanks to agsystems, cos some di*k didn’t take his camera. Oh, and the flickr pool here.
North Korea Goes Nuclear
October 11th, 2006
I’m at a bit of a loss of opinion on the whole Nuclear testing “thing” that’s been hitting the headlines the last few days. There’s an uproar, and rightly so I think, but Korea’s purpose in all this still remains a mystery to me.
Apparently now Kim Yong-nam says there will be more testing unless the US change it’s “hostile” policy towards them.
To me all this political wrangling smacks of desperation on the part of North Korea (were these tests even real?) who maybe feel (and possibly rightly so) somewhat bullied by certain other countries. Agreed the US (or the UK for that matter) shouldn’t be the worlds police force, but I for one would sleep a little easier with less nuclear weapons in the world, rather than more.
Where Will I Be?
October 9th, 2006
Next month sees a popular sxsw event get it’s UK premier in London. 20×2 is 20 people given two minutes each to answer the same question, and I’ve taken the plunge and agreed to speak.
So “where am I?”… To be honest I haven’t got the first idea of what to say (or even if they’ll understand the Brummy dribble that will fall from my mouth). I’m excited, but know it could be brown trousers time on the night. Maybe that’s where i’ll be… on the loo.
If you’re free on Sunday, 19th November and in the London area, come along to Madame JoJo’s at 7pm, should be a good night (at least the other guy’s will be entertaining).
Wild West Midlands
August 11th, 2006
On my Friday lunchtime stroll in Lichfield park today I was surprised to find a whole load of Cowboys and Cowgirls gathered in tents, tee-pees, motor-homes and caravans for the Wild West Weekend. Ok, so Lichfield isn’t in the Midlands, but it’s near enough. Besides it’s a clever title right? Right??
I love Lichfield for stuff like this, we’ll randomly get interesting things in the park, but this has to be one of the most surreal ones I’ve seen to date. Especially the shootout at the OK Corral, where two guys shoot at metal targets about half a metre in-front of them
Wish I’d have had my camera with me rather than just my phone, those guys shooting stuff would’ve made some pretty cool pictures. Oh well, just thought I’d tell you about the random craziness that is occurring this weekend. If you’re interested, get down there. It’s on til Sunday apparently.
Oh, and I resisted the lure of the Coca-Cola today!
Bakewell Weekender
July 24th, 2006
Has it really been over 12 months since I last went camping? But it was certainly worth the wait! Last week we’d had some of the hottest temperatures on record, and looking forward to a camp weekend was just the thing I needed to get me through the work week.
As the weekend approached, it got hotter and hotter and as temperatures soared to the mid 30s the good old bbc weather told me there was torrential rain forecast for Saturday in Derbyshire. Well, the weather didn’t disappoint! Amazing lightening and the welcome refreshment the rain brought just added to the fun of the weekend.
So as the rain set in we decided to visit some caves called the Devil’s Arse, so called because of the wet farting noises the river makes when it’s draining away post-flood. Unfortunately we didn’t get to hear the cave’s flatulence, but we did have a very interesting cave guide. She was magnificent to say the least!
Anyway, we got some cool photos, so if you’re interested have yourself a look.
Dudes: Dunked
June 19th, 2006
I know I said I was taking a short break, and I still am, but this is just a short break from the short break to bring you this one post…
It was an amazing privilege to see four people I know and respect get baptised. For those of you that don’t know, the idea behind baptism is as a declaration of faith. It says that you’ve chosen to follow the message of Jesus, and symbolises new life, basically you believe and get dunked! Maybe you should see what answers.com has to say about it.
A brilliant day for all involved! If you’re interested (probably only if you were there), you can see ALL the photo’s I (and whoever had my camera) took. Feel free to help yourself to the ones you want. You can find them here.
