the pilgrimage

ughh... that 's why I don't drink instant

2009-02-11T13:11:00.002+01:00

Those who know me know that I take my coffee seriously...

In fact I either take a flask of "home brew" with me or I stop off on the way to work to get one filled.

Today I thought, "ah, I'll stay in bed for the extra five minutes and just use instant..."

So now I remember why I don't drink instant...

Which lead me to this famous clip... and No.1 in my new occasional series- "Famous Film coffee mistakes"

So, what was the mistake?

Answers in the comments please

The Cathedral of St Mac...

2009-02-05T17:21:00.002+01:00

As a mac user... (and occasional Mac evangelist) I had to laugh at this account of a visit to the cather...er Mac store!

Go on, have a laugh... its been a long day!

Beyond the Summits

2009-02-05T15:53:00.003+01:00

I've just got a copy of Catherine Destivelle's film, Passion des Cimes (Beyond the Summits)...

When my jaw's stopped dropping I'll post a review... however here's a couple of (compared to the DVD) very bad quality clips to keep you going:

the "bishop", the "right-wing extremist group", and "that" film...

2009-02-05T15:25:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago several of my disparate feeds in my blog reader came together.

It started with the Swedish News feeds."Right Wing Extremist allowed to use Church buildings" caught my attention. Expecting it to refer to the usual suspects- neo-Nazi, skinheads, motorcycle gangs, etc, was read on to discover that they were referring to SSPX in Sweden.

This group of extremist catholics had, in a reaction to Vatican 2 become schismatic after they went ahead and consecrated 4 bishops without papal authority. Because the Roman Catholic Church in Sweden wouldn't allow them to use their buildings they used (Lutheran) Church of Sweden and Church of England (the Diocese of Gibraltar has two Anglican Churches in Sweden) buildings for their services.

At the same time other news feds (both secular and religious) started running a story that SSPX bishop Williamson had been quoted as denying the Holocaust (again).

At the same time, Catholic (and Anglo-Catholic) blogs were running stories that rumours were surfacing that the pope would lift the excommunications and start the process of allowing SSPX back into the fold.

The rest is history... the rumours became fact and the excommunications were lifted... the outrage at Williamson's words grew and after Several weeks the pope declared that he would have to recant before being allowed back.

However, whilst everyone seems to be castigating Williamson they are forgetting the context of his interview- the original Swedish documentary which gave rise to the first news feed.

For whilst everyone seems content to distance themselves (rightfully) from Williamson's shameful words, and attempt to portray this as one twisted person (his comment on women in trousers didn't help either!), they have failed to respond to the central argument of the documentary.

The film was not an expose of Williamson (a quick google search will show that he's been providing evidence that he's a pallium short of a full set of vestments for a while...), but instead a catalogue of links between SSPX in Sweden and far-right, extremist, and anti-Semitic groups. The film argues that this is more than a simple problem of one troublesome priest, that the whole organization is riddled with this kind of problem.

Again, this is not a new allegation, what is new is that this is being overlooked and one man is being scapegoated so that the rest of the organisation can continue. Williamson may be under censure for his remarks, but what about the rest of the whole sorry lot?

Now, in case your Swedish isn't up to it, you can watch the documentary with English subtitles here until 21st Feb.

...But I've got the milk...

2009-02-04T17:15:00.002+01:00

On Monday England came to a halt... we were so shocked to see some strange white stuff on the ground which we were informed was called snow.

Apparently it necessitated shutting the country down...

Sadly a few of us didn't receive the message and made our way into work.

There our receptionist told us that she had heard them say on the radio that you should only drive if your journey was absolutely necessary...

So why was she in work?

..."but I've got the milk for the office!"

A new definition of an absolutely necessary journey is born!

New Year (and all that)

2009-01-05T14:14:00.002+01:00

Regular readers (all 2 of you!) might remember a post a put up a few years ago about resolutions (and yes I'm still keeping that one!).

But here is this year's list... lets see how long it lasts:

1)Build up my strength/get back to fitness
2)Learn more Swedish
3)Continue to rediscover our Christian roots (my greek-eng Apostolic Fathers in on its way)
4)Learn to sing (that'll strke fear into the heart-and ears-of anyone near by!)

What about you?

They think its cold here...

2009-01-05T14:09:00.002+01:00

Got back to Blighty yesterday with a wry smile.

I saw on the web people complaining about -3 C at midnight on New Year'Eve in Edinburgh... It was -4 durring the day where I was!

When I got to the airport yesterday morning I watched them de-ice the wings and plough/scrape the runway as it was -10!

Softies!

A day out

2008-12-07T20:18:00.004+01:00

I thought I deserved a day out so I was out of the door by 9am and at Watford Station by 9:25.

This is where the problems started... one train cancelled, the second delayed and then cancelled (I think... they never announced it as such it just disappeared!), a third announced on time (10:07). It arrived at 10:15, stayed at the station for 5 minutes, chugged slowly to Bushey where it stayed for over 10 minutes before depositing me at Euston at 11! (For those who don't know, the train journey normally takes 20-25 min!)

So I missed the start of the service I planed on attending, but I snuck into the back of the church...

Afterwards I found a Scandinavian Deli where I got my real Swedish filter coffee (yep, this coffee snob is lament the fact that at the moment he's separated from both his stove top Espresso and filter coffee maker and has to rely on instant... oh the shame...)

Then I found a book in Mowbrays (as was, now part of Hatchards) and i then found a quite back street pub and cofeeshop to quietly read...

I would have popped into evensong only I didn't trust the trains to get me home later!

Oh well...

back to work in the morning, just time to watch the BBC's version of Henning Mankell's Wallender- Tonight its the first one of his books I read... lets see what they make of that!

Advent II

2008-12-07T20:11:00.002+01:00

Heavenly Father,
Who didst send they Son to redeem the world and wilt send him again to be our judge: give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that when he shall come again, we may be found ready to great him with joyful love and steadfast faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen

(post-communion prayer)

Conversion

2008-12-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

…
What is conversion? Not at all
For me the experience of St. Paul
No blinding light of faith I know
Which sometimes goes completely out
And leaves me plunging round in doubt
Until I will myself to go
And worship in God’s house below-
My parish Church- and even there
I find distractions everywhere.

What is conversion? Turning round
To gaze upon a love profound.
For some of us see Jesus plain
And never once look back again,
And some of us have seen and known
And turned and gone away alone,
But most of us turn slow to see
The figure hanging on a tree
And stumble on and blindly grope
Upheld by intermittent hope.
God grant before we die we all
May see the light as did St. Paul.

John Betjeman, The Conversion of St. Paul (lines 62- 83)

Advent 1955

2008-11-30T18:00:00.001+01:00

The Advent wind begins to stir
With sea-like sounds in our Scotch fir,
It's dark at breakfast, dark at tea,
And in between we only see
Clouds hurrying across the sky
And rain-wet roads the wind blows dry
And branches bending to the gale
Against great skies all silver pale
The world seems travelling into space,
And travelling at a faster pace
Than in the leisured summer weather
When we and it sit out together,
For now we feel the world spin round
On some momentous journey bound -
Journey to what? to whom? to where?
The Advent bells call out 'Prepare,
Your world is journeying to the birth
Of God made Man for us on earth.'

And how, in fact, do we prepare
The great day that waits us there -
For the twenty-fifth day of December,
The birth of Christ? For some it means
An interchange of hunting scenes
On coloured cards, And I remember
Last year I sent out twenty yards,
Laid end to end, of Christmas cards
To people that I scarcely know -
They'd sent a card to me, and so
I had to send one back. Oh dear!
Is this a form of Christmas cheer?
Or is it, which is less surprising,
My pride gone in for advertising?
The only cards that really count
Are that extremely small amount
From real friends who keep in touch
And are not rich but love us much
Some ways indeed are very odd
By which we hail the birth of God.

We raise the price of things in shops,
We give plain boxes fancy tops
And lines which traders cannot sell
Thus parcell'd go extremely well
We dole out bribes we call a present
To those to whom we must be pleasant
For business reasons. Our defence is
These bribes are charged against expenses
And bring relief in Income Tax
Enough of these unworthy cracks!
'The time draws near the birth of Christ'.
A present that cannot be priced
Given two thousand years ago
Yet if God had not given so
He still would be a distant stranger
And not the Baby in the manger.

John Betjeman

Advent 1

2008-11-30T06:00:00.002+01:00

Almighty God,
As your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin to the light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ

Today is the First Sunday in Advent, the start of the Christian year.

I told you there was a reason why I hadn't blogged!

2008-11-25T18:51:00.005+01:00

As some of you may know (or not as I haven't got around to telling you!), at the start of November I started work as the Bible Tutor at the ADC office in Watford. My task is to mark all the bible courses (paper and online) and to then process them.

However after two weeks, on the 16th November this happened!

This was the view the next morning

The ADC was in the bit on the left. Structurally it is the least damaged part of the building and apart from smoke and some water damage we're not too badly affected...

except we are now homeless.

Last week I marked courses from home, this week we are using a room in the Stanborough Church and hopefully we'll have a home soon as its quite hard to operate without access to the net, our printer, stocks, telephone, etc!

So as I said before, normal service will be resumed... but it might take a while!

(more pictures can be found here)

Normal Service Will Be Resumed Shortly...

2008-11-25T18:35:00.002+01:00

Sorry guys...

I was going to blog earlier but I got a little busy getting the hang of the new job. So after 2 weeks I thought I would blog again, however something came up (see the next post) which has put things on hold (removed my access to the net, etc...)

Soon I Will be back!

I'll be back

2008-11-04T16:06:00.001+01:00

No seriously, I will!

I'm still alive and have just started a new job and have access to the net reguarly again so I'll be back soon!

I am Alive!

2008-08-14T10:11:00.002+02:00

Despite all evidence to the contrary, I am still alive... I just haven't had regular access to the net for a month!

Thank you to everyone who sent a card or a message for my birthday this week!

I'm back in the UK at my parent's in Watford. I had to return to sort out some things with the flat/sick pay/etc. And it looks like I might be here for a little longer, even though I wish I was back in Sweden.

So that's the brief update... more may follow if I get access to the net again!

Sadly I know a few churches like this

2008-07-11T12:10:00.001+02:00

A minister was ignored when he stayed outside his church dressed as a "tramp"
Read all about ithere

Lord have mercy...

The wisdom of footballers

2008-07-08T14:47:00.002+02:00

I remember a Guardian column a few years ago asking why we were concerned about footballers being "stupid"- after all it asked, we don't expect our philosophers to play good football...

Well this quote from Germany's Lukas Podolski has almost knocked out my favourite "Beckhamism"

"football is just like chess, except without the dice"

Priceless!

(h/t

the basics...

2008-07-05T17:08:00.000+02:00

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening. But he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words. One who cannot listen long and patiently will presently be talking beside the point and be never really speaking to others, albeit he be not conscious of it. Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Life Together)

The bottom line

2008-07-04T16:28:00.001+02:00

Whoever thinks he understands divine scripture or any part of it, but whose interpretation does not build up the twofold love of God and neighbour, has not really understood it

St Augustine of Hippo

Finally... Midsummer!

2008-06-22T21:13:00.002+02:00

So after being rained away on Friday we managed to get bit of a traditional midsummer today.

I'm afraid I didn't do "the little green frog"- my excuse is that no one would show me how!

I'll post some more pictures from today and from our meal on Friday later

Midsummer

2008-06-20T09:49:00.002+02:00

If the previous video clip failed help you understand the Swedish holiday, maybe this article (from the official Swedish portal) or this (more irreverent article from The Local) will make it clear!

If the weather stays clear I may be able to bring you the reality later!

My Swedish lesson!

2008-06-17T17:20:00.004+02:00

I'm trying to read my way through a Swedish magazine I got last week.

(I find them good because they use fairly simply language, have short paragraphs, and are on a subject I have some interest/knowledge of)

Its called "Allt Om Flugfiske" (all about fly fishing) and the article I'm reading is about the history of Farlows .

In case you want to try the article is here:

(I'm actually just over half way through!)

Öströö Fårfarm (lamb farm)

2008-06-17T17:06:00.004+02:00

Last week we went to Öströö Fårfarm, a Lamb farm about 30 minutes from here. As we drove in and saw the lambs running around for a moment I thought it was going to be like the old fish restaurants... I had visions of them asking, "which lamb would you like? before returning with some cutlets!

As it turned out we didn't get any meat. It was all frozen, not fresh (although that might be because the lambs are still too small). However this traditional wooden cottage housed was filled with different items all made from wool, sheepskin or other lamb related products! We might be back later!

What's the most important news story here at the moment?

2008-06-17T11:20:00.002+02:00

Well it might be the proposed electronic surveillance bill been debated and voted on tomorrow (I might post about it later), but actually its more likely to be what the weather is going to be on Friday.

Why?

Because Friday is Midsummer's Day and highlight of the festive year!

(and sadly since the weekend its being grey, cloudy, showery, and sometimes stormy)

The weather centre say that Friday could be dry, or showery!
-They'll be more certain after Wednesday.

So what is Midsummer's all about... maybe this will help!

(this is an IKEA Germany ad which was pulled after IKEA HQ saw it and was banned from being shown on TV)

(I'll let you know after the weekend if its accurate!)

I am a number not a name

2008-06-12T11:07:00.002+02:00

I got my "co-ordination number"/(tempoary) personal number yesterday in the post.

I think this means I can look for work, apply for language classes, etc.

It reminds me a bit of this...

Eurovision ("Melodifestivalen") 2008- The Swedes lose their innocence? (things I didn't get around to posting...)

2008-06-12T10:31:00.003+02:00

The Swedes take Melodifestivalen very seriously- they even repeat the whole (and I mean whole, no editing here, the whole 3 hour plus) thing the next day in case you missed it...

By comparison the only reason its on UK TV is the fact that Terry Wogan needs a job (and that the BBC is one of the 4 networks that pay for it...)

I will admit to watching it in the past- We would get together on a Saturday night after a days work at Russell's and make fun of the contestants, flip popcorn at the screen and generally abuse the performers- I think that's the traditional British approach. We realise that its useless fluff and drivel and either ignore it, or mercilessly mock it. (The first time I realised that somebody took it seriously was when I was at college: I was working in pizza restaurant and a Croatian colleague was bemoaning the fact that he was missing Eurovision. It took us all a while to realise that he was serious!)

Anyway as I was saying, the Swedes take it all seriously (I don't know, maybe its their ABBA History...) even holding televised regional contests in order to find their entrant.

You see the Swedes make the mistake of thinking that the music really counts and that Eurovision is a genuine cultural, artistic and musical event...

Oh dear...

So they turned up with their entrant, Charlotte Perrelli (although why anyone would want to change their name from a normal sounding "Nilsson" to a topless car tyre calendar is beyond me...)- the only singer who can make themselves look 10 year older than they really are, and expected to win.

To be fair, even the BBC news website tipped them, so I suppose someone outside this small country must have rated her song (I will admit to hearing it- I wore some radio headphones on the afternoon of the contest to drown out the sound of a chainsaw- although personally I preferred the sound of the saw to "hero"... sadly the 43% of Swedes who bought the single disagreed). So the country went into corporate shock when she ended up 18th!

Newspapers called it a scandal, editorials claimed they should pull out of future contests, and I even heard it referred to from the pulpit the next morning!

Sweden had finally discovered that Eurovision is a thinly disguised political freak show with votes going to fraternal nations with little regard to the quality of the music (although as that too is lacking is this surprising?). This is something that the rest of us knew and took for granted for years.

Have the Swedes lost their Eurovision cherry? We'll see what happens next year!

June 6th- Swedish National Day (things I didn't get around to posting...)

2008-06-12T10:17:00.003+02:00

Yes its National Day (not "national commemoration day"), but what does that mean?

As this article in The Local shows, people really don't know what to do! Although the day goes back a long time- its commemoration is only a recent thing.

The real celebrations take place a few weeks later at midsummer.

Instead everyone seems to just fly a flag, stick yellow and blue ribbons up, watch the royal family on TV, enjoy a public holiday (which gave everyone a long weekend this year), and look forward to midsummer!

The "Bullet Button" (things I didn't around to posting...)

2008-06-12T10:07:00.005+02:00

I got a new keyring at the Vargerg Fortress Museum.

As it says on the label...

'The bullet button has been exhibited in the museum since 1932. Karl XII was considered immortal and "hard against bullets".

To be able to use supernatural powers you had to take a button from the king's uniform and use this to kill him. This was done at the fortress of Fredriksten, Norway in 1718.

The legend lives on through the bullet button'

We were going to go to Varberg to get one last year when I was here in July, but my frequent trips to the doctor and a hospital stay put pay to that plan. Now I have my keyring... just need a key to put on it!

Varberg Fort (things I didn't get around to posting)

2008-06-12T09:58:00.004+02:00

Whilst In Varberg we visited the Fort. Despite being an imposing looking building it never saw any action, instead becoming a jail and now a museum (although the jail hasn't really changed- its become a youth hostel!)

There are several interesting exhibitions including one about a mysterious preserved medieval body found in a peat bog near by.

Apparently some sort of "lake monster" lives in the moat... although having visited Loch Ness and Loch Morar, I doubt the moat could hide anything bigger than a pike!

Varberg (Things I didn't get around to posting...)

2008-06-12T09:50:00.000+02:00

Last week we went up the coast to Varberg.

Its a nice little (although larger than you'd think) coastal town with a harbour and old fort.

As you can see from this old postcard, we're not the first tourists to visit!

(Things I didn't get around to post...)

2008-06-12T09:46:00.001+02:00

- This is my new series of late posts covering all the things I forgot/didn't write about at the time!

It's Grey Today...

2008-06-10T09:10:00.002+02:00

Today it is overcast, windy and chilly.

Why is that worth noting?

Because apart from one hour of spotty rain, since we've arrived here almost four weeks ago its been hot (25+ has been normal!), bright and clear...

Oh well, can't have it like that all the time!

Fortuitous timing...

2008-05-27T17:07:00.003+02:00

Last week google launched a Swedish version of its translator.

Its not perfect- but in tests on theological and fishing (as varied as you can get!) websites showed it to be good at getting the sense of a page...

give it a try!

At last... real CAFEchurch

2008-05-27T11:21:00.003+02:00

I'm not a big fan of "cafechurch".

Why?

Because although I like the contemporary setting, service and atmosphere, its still cafeCHURCH.

Or in other words its still a church, just one laid out as a cafe rather than a church. But its still church and the people who don't go to church don't go to "cafechurch" (ok, I'm generalising here but for the most part cafechurch simply attracts Christians who dislike traditional church and want something more contemporary- nothing wrong with that, I understand the desire).

I've said it before- real cafechurch would be in a cafe in which there happened to be a church meeting. Here people who would never go to a church building might be found.

And at last its happening- in major UK coffee shop chains.

Read all about it here

UPDATE: Our boxes (should) arrive today... (they did!)

2008-05-26T10:46:00.003+02:00

Without retelling the whole saga, we decided to use a firm to move most of our goods to Sweden.

When we arrived just over a week ago we received an e-mail on the same day telling us our things would arrive today.

This morning we tracked down the Swedish office to call and see when they would arrive... after a while they said that they didn't have anything booked and couldn't see our delivery on they schedule.

We can't get hold of anyone in the UK as its a bank holiday.

So we'll just wait and see if our things arrive today!

UPDATE: They did arrive- on a UK truck. Which is why the local depot know nothing about it...

Falkenberg: S:t Laurentii kyrka

2008-05-26T10:30:00.000+02:00

I decided to visit the local church yesterday

The main church is being refurbished so services are been held in the older St Laurentii church in the old town.

Inside the church has a painted ceiling and walls and the service looked fairly well attended (on par with the C of E services I've been too- with a corresponding age range!)

I had fun following along with the Swedish service book (fortunately enough was familiar to make sense!) and trying to sing along to the hymns.

Until my Swedish improves there's not a lot more that I can say about the service- I'll make a few observations abut the church here later.

A cottage by the lake

2008-05-26T09:23:00.005+02:00

We had a couple of nice days away at Peter's summer house on the lake. It changed a bit (in a good way) since I was there 2 years ago. Here's our green car blocking the view of his cottage!

We stayed in the annexe

I did get out and fish (twice)...

But we caught nothing!

We also helped out with some of the odd jobs around the place. This is part of my mountain of split logs (fortunately, in the 10 years since I last tried it there is now a machine to do the job so you don't have to swing an axe!)

So we had a really nice time, thank you!

Gone Fishing!

2008-05-23T11:40:00.000+02:00

I'll be away for a few days. My friend is over here at his summer house doing a few jobs before the next guests use it and he's invited us down (it will be a nice break, and interesting to see what he's done to it since I was there 2 years ago).

So we're on our way (its not too far from here). He says the fish are in the lake so we'll take the boat out and see what we can catch.

I think my trout fly set up will make landing a pike "interesting"- so I'll either borrow some spin gear or try to catch some smaller fish on the fly...!

A week...

2008-05-21T17:23:00.004+02:00

I haven't updated the blog as much as I wanted-I've been settling in, trying to get out and walk a bit more (I'm trying to get a bit better!), and the pictures I took of the town came out badly as it was too sunny! (Although I spotted, stalked and photographed two sea trout in the river the other day- and here are the pictures to prove it!

If you've emailed me... well I can receive on both my addresses, but I can't reply on one of them so you might find my reply in your junk folder as I'm using googlemail to reply to all emails.

Falkenberg: The weather today will be...

2008-05-19T07:59:00.002+02:00

Skrea Strand is a beach a few km from here. So if you want to see what the weather's like here check out their webcam

It looks like its going to be another good day (did I mention that we need to go to some shops in Skrea today?)

Reasons to like Sweden: clothes that fit!

2008-05-18T12:00:00.001+02:00

Ok, so this might not be a big deal for most of you, but for me it is.

I'm slim- in fact in UK sizes I'm a waist 28. The problem is the smallest trousers/jeans/etc most UK shops stock is 30 (with some only starting at 32...).So you can imagine my surprise at seeing jeans going down to 26 (with a few 24) in a high street jeans store here in Falkenberg at Christmas.

With the exception of two pairs all my jeans and trousers come from Sweden!

We went shopping for shorts (my only pair is a child's 3/4 pair I got last summer which look knee length on me!) I even managed to find a pair of "combat" style (you know- the ones with hundreds of pockets on them) shorts in my size. Big deal I hear you saying... well I haven't been able to wear them before because if I put things into the pockets of larger shorts they simply fell down!

So another reason I like it here- Clothes that fit!

Falkenberg: The River Ätran

2008-05-17T19:30:00.000+02:00

I thought I would start sharing my new surroundings with you...

Less than 100m from the place we're staying in is the river Ätran- there is a walkway accross bridge (with a forest walk/park area on the opposite side).
-here is the view upriver from the bridge

-and here is the view down river to the town centre and eventualy the sea (the building you can see is a famous open air theatre)

There is a walk along the left hand (southern) bank which leads towards the centre

In the centre you find the Tullbron (toll bridge- the historic entrance across the river into the town

You can cross the bridge and walk back up on the other side...

That's all for now- I'll show you some more next time.

(oh did I mention that the Ätran is one of Sweden's best known Salmon rivers? I didn't- well I'll come back to that when I unpack my fly rod!)

Falkenberg? Where's that?

2008-05-17T19:25:00.000+02:00

In case you wondered were we were, we're here in Falkenberg on the west coast of Sweden.

You can visit there tourism website here, and watch a videoabout the town (there are also some other brochures available as .pdf's)

Arrived!

2008-05-17T13:49:00.002+02:00

Just a short note to let you know we arrived on Thursday morning- since then we've been catching up on our sleep, trying to put away all the things we managed to stuff in the car, enjoy the sunshine and shopping for a few things we needed.

I'll start to tell you more about life here soon!

Update

2008-05-12T12:12:00.003+02:00

Ok,

Sorry for the blog silence but things have been quite hectic what with packing, arranging transport, changing transport, repacking, being ill (at times quite badly ill), more packing, etc.

The flat still hasn't sold...argh!

But we have someone to stay in it temporarily until it sells...phew!

The boxes finally went... at last...

We're not to well and need to leave quickly... sorry

So,all the people who I wanted to see and say good bye to...

I'm sorry... (but too be honest I haven't been very well and it might have been a struggle to get around...)

But don't worry- I need to be back quite soon because I need to sort some things out so I will be back and I have already started planing to see you all...

I hope you understand...

I think we're leaving tomorrow sometime to catch a boat on Wednesday morning... yep, that soon

I feel a bit like this!

2008-05-12T12:10:00.004+02:00

Another of Jon Birch's excellent Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus

don't they teach history in San Francisco anymore

2008-04-23T11:07:00.004+02:00

spotted at a Free-Tibet demo when the torch was passing through...

Stuff of life

2008-04-22T16:31:00.001+02:00

Who's Irresponsible now?

2008-04-21T11:44:00.005+02:00

The Union Unite (disclaimer: I used to belong to this union in of its earlier guises...) is threatening a 48hr strike at the Grangemouth refineries over pensions... The owners Ineos, claim that they will have to shut the plant down for safety reasons and that this will put it out of action for a month. Now I've heard two "experts" give differing views about this proposal, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and accept the stoppage is necessary for safety.

What I won't accept is Ineos claiming that this "risks petrol shortages" and claims that the union would be responsible.

The same "experts" claim that the UK has a 70 day reserve...

So the talk about shortages is just Ineos spouting rubbish in an attempt to portray the union in a bad light...

The thing is, if they aren't lying, and they didn't know about the reserves, then they really shouldn't be in business and the unions claims sound much more believable...

A few rough days...

2008-04-14T10:43:00.002+02:00

ok, so I felt pretty rough and sore at the end of the last week... well, over the weekend my hands and feet kept going numb and tingling and I found it hard to concentrate... hope I'm not getting worse... We'll have to see how today goes

Fair Share?

2008-04-10T10:56:00.003+02:00

This story is rather telling.

The Swedish town of Södertälje (population 84,00) has taken in more Iraqi refugees than has the whole USA. This despite the fact that Sweden had nothing to do with the invasion of Iraq and its "reconstruction". What happened to the old signs in shops,"all breakages must be paid for?"

This New York Times piece has more about the USA's scandalous behaviour when it comes to Iraqi refugees.

ouch...

2008-04-10T10:54:00.001+02:00

Ok,I don't know what I did yesterday, but last night every muscle in my body ached, I had a really bad headache, and felt sick... I haven't felt that bad for a long time... This morning I still feel sore all over- I think someone must have hit me with a baseball bat all over whilst I slept!

Starting to worry? (update)

2008-04-09T10:21:00.005+02:00

OK, I'm starting to get worried...

Things are moving ahead and seem to be spinning out of control...

No new viewers for the house- the problem is that while house prices in Scotland are either holding up or still increasing, there aren't many first-time buyers looking for houses as they are struggling to get mortgages... and yes, my flat falls in this category. So I'm getting worried...

Katarina's only got just under two weeks left at work... we're waiting for the removers revised quote, and she's ready to move home.

I'm still waiting for my papers to be sent to me from my last employer's so that I can claim sick/incapacity...

So, flat not sold, money about to stop coming in, things being packed, trying to work out the future... its all rather complicated.

And then I was reminded that I'm supposed to be at a Danish pathfinder camp in a few weeks time- that will be odd. Firstly, I hope to be well enough. Secondly, it will be strange considering all that's happened over the last year!

My health? Up and down. I some good days and some bad ones... I think I know what causes the difference, so I'll try to work on that (except that mean I might need to move...)

So I'm starting to get a bit worried...

(Oh, the article I wrote for the Spectrum blog got a link form the Times Religion correspondent's blog! Also if you're on facebook you'll have seen that I've put some old pictures up. Also I seem to have forgotten to keep you updated about the motorbike racing... oh well, I'm sure you'll survive...)

Update

2008-03-13T19:09:00.004+01:00

Well its been a mixture of ups and downs...

On the plus side I'm able to do a little more and I'm feeling up to using the car so I'm getting out and about a bit more.

On the down side, I'm still getting really bad headaches, have no stamina, and a recent session with the physio reminded me that all my muscles have practically withered away. Also my immune system is so low that in the last 6 weeks or so I've had 3 colds that have knocked me back like flue and sent me to bed!

We've almost got the house ready and its on the market... no one has shown an interest yet. Hopefully soon, I need to get out of here.

I still use ... far too much- I've gotten lazy.

My mind's finally started to work- I've written a short introduction to Radical Orthodoxy for the Spectrum site.

I might have finally gotten somewhere with my sick pay. I've finally had my employment terminated on grounds of health. Which means I should get paid notice and should now be able to claim the correct benefit.

I still look wishfully at climbing sites/videos/magazines and wish I was well enough to go climb... especially as it looks like a great winter season and I really used to like grabbing the ice axes and strapping on the crampons...

Anyway, lets hope things keep improving...

Flat for sale...

2008-03-05T14:29:00.002+01:00

The flat is now up on ESPC...

so now we just have to wait...

Book Review: Mari Jungstedt's Unseen

2008-03-05T11:44:00.003+01:00

I arrived late on the Scandinavian Crime Scene!

My first book was a copy of Henning Mankell's Firewall which I received as a Christmas present over a year ago. Since then i have read some more and recently got the chance to read Mari Jungstedt's first novel set on the Island of Gotland.

First Impressions?

Well I have a problem with the translation. This problem surfaces at several levels. The first is the fact that an “american” english often grates with my “british” english ear. In a couple of places the translator's choice of words leaves a british reader reaching for a dictionary as she chooses rather singular american words when other “bi-lingual” options were available. On another level, her translation is simply unbelievable; “tomorrow was national commemoration day” er, what... that had Katarina choke on her cereal when she read it. Its called National Day. “I'm going to the state liquor store...” OK so the Systembolaget, is state run, but other translators manage to say “the off licence, the alcohol shop, etc”. The third level of translation errors is one which I missed but Katarina (obviously) didn't. These were mistakes translating places (i.e. mistaking an “en” ending for an article, etc.)

The Plot/story?

Whilst it drew me in and I enjoyed it I thought that there were some major problems with the believability of the story in places (spoiler alert). I'm sorry but if I saw pictures of people who had been murdered on TV, who I had been to school with I think I would recognise them and start to put things together a little sooner.

Having said that I thought it was well written and it drew me in. I would definitely read the next book in the series.

WSBK Update: Rounds 3 & 4 Phillip Island

2008-03-03T17:31:00.002+01:00

Here are the highlights of round one:

And of round two:

Bayliss won both...

still MotoGP starts soon...

Another one for my old colleagues? Maybe not!

2008-02-25T15:36:00.002+01:00

I was reminded of this advert, whilst reading another blog...

WSB results... after opening 2 rounds

2008-02-25T14:18:00.002+01:00

As its been avoided by most of the media... here's the standings after the opening two rounds this weekend.
1 Bayliss 38
2 Biaggii 36
3 Nieto 34
4 Xaus 33
5 Corser 25
6 Neukirchner 19
7 Fabrizio 18
8 Checa 15
9 Smrz 13
10 Lanzi 10

Music of the day

2008-02-24T21:21:00.002+01:00

I went for a short walk yesterday morning with my ipod (I'd forgotten it was portable- it spends most of its time docked to some speakers!) I ended up sitting on a wall looking out over the dockyard and onto the firth of Forth.

I was lost to my thoughts until they were interrupted by the words to the song I that came on.

I wouldn't describe The Manic Street Preachers as religious in the traditional christian sense (in spite of their name!). Spiritual maybe... (one of their gigs I went to did feel more like worship than some churches I've been too, though!)

However this song just spoke to me, particularly the lines, "With grace we will suffer, With grace we shall recover"

So here is The Manic Street Preachers and There by the Grace of God

“neither a borrower nor a lender be...”

2008-02-22T14:51:00.002+01:00

As I’m packing up my things I keep coming across books and videos that aren’t mine and searching for books and DVD’s that I’m sure I had...

If I’ve borrowed anything from you, please drop me a line or call to make sure I’ve put it aside and haven’t packed it.

And if I’ve lent you anything can you please remind me...

By the way has anyone seen my copy of:
Finding Darwin’s God by Kenneth Miller
Mountain Navigation by Peter Cliff (no really!)
or these DVDs:
Layer Cake
National Treasure
Sex & Lucia
The Hunting of the President

This makes me want to cry...

2008-02-22T11:41:00.007+01:00

(nicked from ukclimbing.com

Arghhh...

It's not been a good week.

First the physio on monday (more later) and then I cane down with a cold/(fluey)thing for a few days and got confined to bed (yep just like last week...) and then I saw a program about hillwalking in the Lake District yesterday. The weeks been almost too much to bear.

I have walked/climbed(summer and winter)/driven through most of the mountain/hill areas of Scotland. I used to climb 2-3 times a week. I would think nothing of long (12-14) hour days on the hill. And yet now I find a walk around Edinburgh tiring. I used to lug a heavy pack filed with climbing rack, ropes, food etc and not worry about it. I could support my weight on my fingertips as I climbed or pull myself up on a pair of ice axes. And yet U get tired doing 5 reps with 1kg weights with the physio.

So You’ll forgive me for wanting to curl up in a ball and cry after watching a lakeland walk last night.

I have a love hate relationship with climbing websites/books/magazines... I yo-yo between two extremes. I get inspired and say, “I’m going to get better, I’m going to go climb this, I’m going to be a climbing instructor, etc.” And then it just reminds me that It’s been a year since I “climbed” (over a year since I went to a climbing wall and almost a year since I bouldered a bit at the local quarry) and I just want to give up. Everything.

So I’m going to jump in the shower, and then try and walk around the block (and not get blown over- its still almost a gale out there... wimp you’ve been almost blown off the top of Ben Nevis in a winter white out before... argh... you see what I mean) and tell myself that I will get better. I will move and get healthy. I will climb. I will climb. I will climb.

(I just need to start believing it...)

thus far and no further...

2008-02-21T11:25:00.002+01:00

Over the last year and a half I’d like to think that I’ve grown to appreciate different aspects of swedish life and culture (both from my UK viewpoint and from the trips we’ve taken there)...

So... I enjoy inglad sil (pickled herring), learnt to eat jam with meat (lingonbery, etc), enjoy crispbread, drink blueberry and rose-hip soup (although I can’t yet take nyponsoppa cold...), I will (under duress) own up to having a pair of “plastic shoes” or croc rip-offs, I enjoy Swedish crime novels (still only in English), (I could go on)...

However, I’m afraid there is a rubicon that I just can’t cross...

Watching the weekend’s Melodifestivalen (song for europe/eurovision song contest trials) I was reminded that I just don’t get swedish europop. (Ok I get their indie and alternative rock scene... just look at some of my old MOTD’s). And I’m afraid that I’ll have to admit to the cardinal sin of not liking ABBA.

There I said it. I’ve admitted it out loud...

Which is why I’m going to post this classic Not the Nine O’Clock News clip of “ABBA”

For all my old colleagues... (sad but true!)

2008-02-21T10:11:00.003+01:00

Another one of Jon Birch's excellent Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus

As you try and juggle these roles and your family life, here is a prayer for you:

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, give all ministers your spirit of humility;
Jesus, poor and worn out for souls, give all ministers your spirit of zeal;
Jesus, full of patience and mercy for sinners, give all ministers your spirit of compassion;
Jesus, victim for the sins of the world, give all ministers your spirit of sacrifice;
Jesus, lover of the little and the poor, give all ministers your spirit of charity.
Amen

Music of the day

2008-02-19T11:19:00.003+01:00

We had a good day out on Sunday...

We started with sung Eucharist at St. John's Edinburgh in the morning, which was a nice start to the day. This was followed by a short walk into up through the Royal Mile and into Grassmarket where we had coffee at The Lot before having a birthday Lunch (not mine...) at The Petit Paris (excellent, as always- they are also happy to change the dishes to suit dietry requirements-and remarkably good value)

But back to the music...

I noticed that in the Lot, playing away in the background was Semisonic's 1998 album, "Feeling Strangely Fine"... Which took me back a decade to studies, part time work in hotels, and off course the title song...

So here is Semisonic and Closing Time

Law & Faith

2008-02-15T14:07:00.002+01:00

Here's a video of an interview with N. T. (Tom) Wright, Bishop of Durham, talking about law, faith, democracy, secularism and fundamentalism, politics and religion. (I know I promised myself not to prop up the Times religious correspondent, but on the plus side, she only asks the questions...)

A (brief) Update

2008-02-14T15:44:00.002+01:00

Well here's the news at the moment...

I'v had a mild cold this week (except that at the moment, for me a mild cold almost means being confined to bed!)

However I've had to try to keep going because someone from the agents are coming to see the flat tomorrow so that it can be put on the market...

So I've been trying to finish off some simple (is it ever? especially if you're not well) DIY and clean a bit... well most is done, I'll have a another go tomorrow and I'll have to admit defeat and finish over the weekend.

I've also been trying to get removal costs, etc...

Basically I need a quick sale (possibly selling just below its full value in order to do so- another flat in the block went this way last week, if I get what he got I won't be too disappointed as long as its quick), as I can’t afford to keep paying for it.

So, please, either keep your fingers crossed or say a prayer or two (depending on your preference!)

And then what... well I’m taking it slowly, once I get an idea of any (potential) interest in the flat I’ll know wether I need to move out sooner (to cut down on bills) or can wait till its sold.

And then? Well keep posted, I’m working on that too!

Oh, don’t forget to look at the stuff I have to get rid of!

SO that's me. I think I'll try to finish off here, have a shower and collapse with a book!

what on earth is this?

2008-02-09T10:04:00.000+01:00

When I first went for a walk in Falkenberg over a year ago I saw several of these dotted around the park. What were they? Was it a straw holder to feed animals in spring? Was it a place where you could tie your kids up and let them play whilst you left them for a while?

Well no... today on the TV I saw a news story and all of a sudden I shouted out, "that's what they're for!"

See if you can guess! Leave your suggestions in the comments section and I'll let you know who gets it right!

(New Stamps)

2008-02-08T17:28:00.000+01:00

Before Christmas I blogged on the Royal Mail's Christmas Stamps... well as a service to my philatalicly interested, dog loving, non UK residing reader(s) (yes you! you know who I'm refering to!) here's the next special issue... "working Dogs"

Dialogue at Davros...

2008-02-08T14:35:00.000+01:00

Over at God's Politics Brian McLaren has a reflection on (inter)religious dialogue at the recent Davros World Economic Forum.

Its worth the short read... You can find it here. Please go check it out.

Poor Old Rowan...

2008-02-08T09:02:00.000+01:00

I feel sorry for the Archbishop of Canterbury. ++Williams always puts a lot of thought into what he says and his words are well chosen and nuanced...

Sadly that doesn't make for good sound bites.

So it’s not surprising that his latest comments about Sharia law are causing controversy.

If you actually looked at what he said, he was saying that it should be introduced in only certain areas- notably family law and some financial cases.

The funny thing is this... despite all the claims that the courts should not be based on religion, or that the laws shouldn't be varied, etc, etc, what the commentators are forgetting is that in the UK we already have faith based courts which routinely rule on these matters and which are binding in English law. They are called the Beth Din and they serve the UK's orthodox Jewish communities.

If it works for one (smaller) religious community in this country, why not with Sharia? And if the politicians, community leaders and journalists really have a problem with the principle of religious based jurisprudence, surely it’s hypocritical for them not to call for its abolition- or are they just Islamophobic (or worse)?

Got to go...

2008-02-07T10:42:00.000+01:00

Sadly, It looks like I’m going to have to sell my flat and move on…

There are a number of items that I’m not able/want to pack up and move so I’m offering them for sale (got to pay the bills somehow before the flat sells...). If you see anything that you like the look of please get in touch. I haven’t put any prices down- just make me an offer and arrange to pick it up (obviously some of the items are ready for immediate collection, others you can reserve and pick up when I move out!).

Also- if you need (or know anyone who needs) short-term temporary accommodation, maybe you’d like to “rent” the flat whilst its on the market… again if you’re interested get in touch for a chat.

I'll update this list here on my blog when an item is gone (and keep an eye on the main page for more information about my plans...

2 bedroom flat in Rosyth!
03 SMART fortwo car
fridge freezer (old but in working order)
2 seat sofa
5 CD/DVD/Video shelf units
coffee table
CD storage unit
3 drawer bedroom dresser
XXXXXTV/DVD combi unitXXXXX
2 DVD players
VCR
Digi box (sony)
4 beach/blue fabric dining chairs
2 plain dinning chairs
double bed & matress
plastic swivel office chair
corner computer desk unit
ironing board
weight bench
electric mixing machine
microwave oven
classic style radio (BUSH)
kettle
toaster
10 cup filter coffee maker
XXXXXwood wheeled kitchen/serving benchXXXXX

various:
plates
bowls
glasses
cups/mugs
pots
cutlery
kitchen utensils
mixing bowls
towels (hand/bath)
bedding (sheets/duvets/pillows/duvet covers/pillowcases)
extension cables
electrical/AV/Scart cables
lamps

Ett Ögonblick

2008-01-11T10:55:00.000+01:00

(or just a moment... normal service will be resumed shortly... a few things more important than this blog are taking up time...)

I don't believe it... snow!

2008-01-03T12:31:00.000+01:00

So I go to Sweden and all the snow I see is 3 flakes on Sat and some left over flakes I saw from the train on the way to the airport yesterday...

Now I get home, and outside huge flakes are falling, some are even settling!

I don't believe it!

(Bag & Break) Update

2008-01-03T09:33:00.000+01:00

So the bag which was promised us on the 23rd arrived on the 26th!

You can see its journey on the map!

View Larger Map

(despite arriving in Copenhagen later on the 22nd, it stayed there until it was flown to Stockholm on the 25th, then onto Halmstad on 26th and couriered from there that evening!)

Anyway we arrived back in the UK last night.

I'll post some photos a little later.

So wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

So this is Christmas...?

2007-12-24T11:08:00.000+01:00

So we arrived, and there's no snow (not unexpected)...

but also no suitcase!

So we're in a really festive house with lots of lovely decorations waiting to enjoy Julafton, only we have no clothes, no toiletries, no presents...

BA promised the bag would arrive later and be with us yesterday... its not here, their agents haven't reponded to calls, emails or faxs... so its not going to be a nice Christmas later this afternoon...

On the plus side, my hearing is back (my ears were agony on the two flights- very unusal for me), my throat's getting better...

and it really does look very nice with all the decorations, the tree and the lights...

So to everyone

Gud Jul

Music of the Day (Christmas Series)

2007-12-21T09:58:00.000+01:00

In 1982 one of the nations favourite Christmas TV programmes was first shown. Every year since then Raymond Briggs The Snowman with its classic song "walking in the air" has been shown on TV as a tradition...

But, the best version is this one. Made as an advert for IRN-BRU it features some of the best known places in Scotland...

Enjoy

Music of the Day (Christmas Series)

2007-12-20T11:10:00.000+01:00

OK, this might be embarrassing to admit, but I had a thing for old Bob Hope films when I grew up...

moving swiftly on...

Every time I hear this song I think of the film it was written for (The Lemon Drop Kid) and my mind goes back to my childhood... and I can't help trying to sing along...

So here is Silver Bells

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

2007-12-19T11:51:00.000+01:00

This is where we'll be spending Christmas... only it probably won't snow, and I doubt we'll see the fat man in red!

Music of the day (Christmas Series)

2007-12-19T09:59:00.000+01:00

Christmas Music is normally dire...

Apart from Carols and Classics, contemporary attempts are normally banal fluff (Fairytale of New York Excepted!)

But... back in 2000 XFM (UK based radio station) asked some (then) leading indie and alternative bands to either cover a Christmas song or write one. The result It's a Cool Cool Christmas raised money for charity and finally produced a Christmas album worth having...

I went into the Glasgow church one Christmas to prepare it for a Christmas program. After the service we were going to have a big "Christmas dinner/potluck/international food fest" and then after sunset games, etc. A few of us went in on Friday to get the hall decorated, etc (I even made a gingerbread model of the church) and I tool the CD in to play on the sound system... however, I forgot about it in the CD player. The next morning the head deacon arrived and went to switch on the sound system in order to play the CD he had left in from the week before... It wasn't the Bach he was expecting... luckily I managed to get my CD out before it got embarrassing!

The problem is finding any videos from the album,. It has little gems which were never released anywhere else...

So here is (because I can't find any thing else from the album on youtube...The Dandy Warhols and Little Drummer Boy

Music of the day (Christmas Series)

2007-12-18T11:04:00.000+01:00

Over the next few days I'm going to post some of my favourite music from the festive season and open up a bit and tell you the story behind them...

I used to find it very hard to get into the Christmas season. For me it was a busy time. I had all the normal church programmes, visits, and activities to plan and deliver. On top of that were the special gatherings, church, community, charity, etc. Then there were the extra visits, the extra services to plan (and normally nominating committee ran on into December too!). I was often too busy to really feel as if I was grasping the reality of the time, and was struggling to pass it on.

So I used to go to another Christmas service. You see, I really couldn't worship in my own, after all I had probably planed it and was too busy ensuring it went to plan to get to worship properly.

So I would find another Churches service. I would look for an Episcopal (Anglican) church as I felt at home there, and go to a traditional service of nine lessons and Carols. I went to the cathedral in Glasgow a few times and then when I moved to Edinburgh I went to St John's.

2004 was my first Christmas in Edinburgh and my first year on my own in the church (in Glasgow I worked with another minister) and I had only just arrived at the church. So on top of all the usual business I was trying to settle in.

The Scottish Mission had its Christmas Dinner in Crieff at the Hydro and then when it finished I shot down the motorway to Edinburgh and got to the church just in time to find a seat. Desperately needing to rediscover the meaning of Christmas I waited to the service to start.

And there at the back of the church, the single voice of the solo began and the choir processed singing this hymn.

And all at once the glory of the Advent was rediscovered.

"Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" Ar. Elizabeth Poston
(This is the only version I could find... It wasn't a male voice choir at St John's... but you should still get the effect)

More Tests Yesterday...

2007-12-18T09:56:00.000+01:00

I had to go into Edinburgh for some breathing tests yesterday. It appears that I "over breathe" or hyperventilate. When I breathe I expel to much carbon dioxide which can lead to dizziness, light headedness, cold extremities, pins and needles, etc.

Although this is only part of my overall package of symptoms, this one is supposedly easy to cure and hopefully in the new year I'll see someone about this. This is probably;y an issue because I used to be very active, and now that I'm not because of the CFS my body tries to over compensate...

Still, if I can get this under control and continue to make physical progress, things might look up for the future!

The Real Meaning of Christmas

2007-12-14T09:48:00.000+01:00

The future of the Church... is already here

2007-12-13T09:48:00.000+01:00

I’ve been watching a few conversations develop online and thought I’d comment on one of them.

Over at Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight was looking at the subject of “EGens”: some recent research from the US (see his post post for the links to relevant articles) argues that the current generation of 18-30 year olds threatens the future of the church. He highlights 4 social forces which it is argued will effect this generations decision to attend church.

The four social forces are
1) A growth in higher education, which most if not all will take up
2) Delay of marriage (in the US the average for a male is 28)
3) A changing economy, no jobs for life, many career/job changes
4) Parents extending support to children for longer

These, it is argued will lead to a fall off in church attendance (see the articles for the explanation as to why, but they include: an unstable family life, EGens missing out on church for 15-20yrs, “sexual serial monogamy”).

Yet as I read the articles I didn’t get a feeling of aha, or a sudden sense of seeing the light. Instead I kept thinking, “what’s new about this?” Because these are the social contexts that I’ve grown up in here in western Europe... (in fact here in the UK- as I blogged on my old blog several years ago- we are even further down this path, the average age for marriage is 32 and rising, more than 50% children are born out of wedlock, etc...)

When I went back to the Scot McKnight's blog I saw several others from Europe make the same point.

So maybe Americans shouldn’t look across the pond and sneer (the cathedrals of Europe are “so inspired... so grand... so empty..."), instead maybe they should eat humble pie, and instead of trying to export church growth programs, they should be coming here to try and learn from us in Europe. Maybe its time for a reverse, instead of all the Europeans going to see Willow Creek, Saddleback, etc, Americans should come here and see Holy Joes, Grace, Ikon, Greenbelt, etc...

(and whilst they’re here we’ll also use our history to show them the error of their ways when it comes to church and state!)

That Romney Speech...

2007-12-13T09:43:00.001+01:00

I’ve watched several online conversations following Romney’s speech last week. And yet I find it hard to join in enthusiastically. I think its because I look at things from a European context.

Such a speech would not be made here. Our former prime minister has since gone on the record stating that he didn't talk about his faith because he would be viewed as a "nutter". Whilst it made an amusing soundbite, I think the real reason is deeper contemporary European resistance to the role of religion in public life.

We resist for several reasons; secularism/multiculturalism, the decline in religious practice, historical precedent.

We in Europe, unlike the United states have either had wars of religion, or conflicts which used religion to further secular/political causes (unless you count the Governor of Missouri's 1938 Mormon "extermination order"). These wars have affected pretty much every country in our continent over the last thousand years, so you can see why we are weary of people in power who argue theta religion and freedom are inseparable- that simply hasn't been the European reality. We also look back and see examples of where the state has co-opted religion. Hitler's first speech declared that he saw that "both Christian denominations the most important factor for the maintenance of our society". The German church was largely subverted by the Nazi regime (the church was used by Franco in spain too).

We are also weary, because historically our rulers claimed a divine right to rule. This led them to act, often in the interests of a small minority without accepting dissent. It was the abuse of this claim that led to the down fall of several of Europe's ruling dynasties (through revolt or rebellion) and the beginning of constitutional secularism. So you can see why we get shivers down our spines when someone like Franklin Graham saying G W Bush was president because "God wanted him to be" (I thought he was president because the supreme court wanted him to be) or when Mike Huckabee tried to claim, God was behind his recent improved poll showing last week..

Europe is also a continent where religion is in decline. In Western Europe (even in the few countries which still have established churches) church attendance averages between 3-15%. So we recognize we are in a minority and so Christianity can't claim to be a dominant tradition anymore. Within the 27 EU states religious discrimination (either negative or positive) is illegal, so Europe is a de facto secular or multicultural continent. (This also leads to some interesting questions about popular Adventist eschatology, for example how can one envisage a universal Sunday law in such a context?)

We also worry whenever anyone tries to use a Christian "tradition" as an argument is that in Europe this is often code for nationalism/neo-fascist/"white" supremacy movements.

For all these reasons, we Europeans find it hard to believe that Mitt Romney not only said what he did, but that he felt he needed to in the first place. We find it hard to believe that a country which claims it is so advanced and is an example to the rest of the world would want advocate a medieval view of church and state. We understand that the USA lacks the history, but we hoped it would look to Europe and see the problems we had.

I'm not convinced (as many in Europe are) that faith has no place in politics, however the contemporary, evangelical US example does little persuade me that European lessons have been learnt.

Arghhh... or The Secret

2007-12-13T09:05:00.000+01:00

One of my biggest frustrations at the moment is that I've been unable to walk, climb or just get out and enjoy the outdoors since I got Ill in April. For those of you who know what I used to be like (2-3 trips to the climbing wall a week, climbing trips to Mexico and Europe to climb, winter walking/climbing, about to get involved in instructor training, etc...) will have some idea what it must be like. Every time I see the local quarry through the now leafless trees I just go mad... something so near and yet so far...

But, I am getting better and the desire to climb is getting stronger.

So every time I see something I have a feeling of inspiration, tinged by a feeling of deep regret.

But, on Monday, in a great early (for the Ben) start of the Scottish Winter Climbing Season, The Secret was climbed. The story of what is probably the hardest onsight winter lead in Britain can be found here.

Now there's no way I can claim to climb anywhere near this level, but you got to find it inspiring...

(This video of the ascent Will give you a taste of the day)

(this video sums up Scottish mixed climbing beautifully... a lot of hanging around, trying to trust your placements and your gear, trying to Psyche yourself up for the move, and finally a move.... this is why it takes so long to climb!)

Please, I don't have to be able to climb this hard, but please just let me be able to feel the touch of rock and ice again, please, please, please...

Music of the day

2007-12-12T10:16:00.000+01:00

Ok, so this one's almost 3 years old, but its still a little newer than my usual choices!

So here is Athlete and Wires

(next will be an (old)new version of a classic Christmas song)

Music of the day

2007-12-11T11:56:00.000+01:00

I know I promised an newer song... however, it is almost Christmas, and it is my blog...

So, with one of the greatest Christmas songs ever, here is The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl and Fairytale of New York

Gratitude

2007-12-11T10:25:00.000+01:00

I want to thank everyone who drops by with encouraging words, or who calls or e-mails. I really do appreciate it. I'm sorry that I'm not very good at getting back to people at the moment- I still have good and bad days. Hopefully I'm on the road to recovery and will get back to normal (although I wasn't the best at keeping in touch even then...)

I also want to thank an old friend who I'm afraid I've not kept in touch with as I should, who somehow found my unadvertised amazon wishlist and sent me a book from it. Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to reading it when I travel at Christmas.

Thank you all very much

Sermon Update

2007-12-11T10:23:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone who posted encouraging comments or who e-mailed or spoke to me last week.

Somehow a sermon(ette) came together (the first three words survived, but not at the start), and despite a few little complicaions on the day, everything seemed to go well.

Thank you.

Tomorrow's sermon

2007-12-07T10:12:00.000+01:00

I'm supposed to be preaching tomorrow- it's the first time I've done that in year. Here's the problem. I'm having difficulty preparing. I'm not able to get into my old routines, I'm not in touch with any of the issues in the church...

But to make it worse, this hasn't been a good week. I've been struggling to concentrate, I have been getting headaches, etc... so at the moment I have an order of service, a title, and the first 3 words...

To make matter worse, my mind isn't working so well and I can't trust my memory, so I need to have it all written out...

This is not looking good.

Holocaust Memorial Day

2007-12-04T13:12:00.000+01:00

Yesterday the Muslim Council Of Britian voted to abandon its boycott of Holocaust memorial day. It had previously argued that the focous should be wider, the day should not just focous on the holocaust but also on other acts of genocide (such as Darfur). However, this position has been misinterpreted as anti-semitism so they have decided to support the day.

Interstingly, on the same day the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust released some results of a survey. It says that although 53% of Britons know that genocide is taking place in Darfur, only 17% will do anything about it...

Maybe the Muslim Council of Britian had a point...

(Christ/X)mas

2007-12-04T13:06:00.000+01:00

A few stories in the press have got me thinking about christmas/securalism/”christianophobia”.

The first was a story in the “torygraph” which was picked up by the BBC. It claimed that in a survey of 100 schools, only 1 in 5 was having a nativity play. This was, it was claimed (with no quotes from the schools/local authorities/etc to back their propaganda up), “because schools don’t want to upset non-christians” and held up as an example of political correctness gone wrong.

Sorry but the rag has got it wrong.

Thinking back to my primary school days (over 20 years ago) even then we only had 1 nativity play in 4 years. The rest of the time it was plays based on fairy tales, or classic children's stories. This wasn’t due to political correctness either (the only non white was a Sikh classmate of mine...) no it was because school found it boring to produce the same play every year and wanted to mix it up a bit...

next...

Tory MP Mark Pritchard is calling for a parliamentary debate on what he is calling ”christianophobia”. He wants the country’s “Christian tradition” protected (oh yes he quoted the bogus nativity play “research” as evidence...). He went on to say "It's gone far enough. If there are those who want to see the Christian church reduced to the margins in this nation they should have the courage to say so, rather than using the rights of other religions as an excuse."
Well maybe he should check out the facts... less than 6% of this country goes to church on a regular basis... the church IS on the margins... and whilst I’m not happy about this I don’t think attacking multiculturalism is the answer (unless you’re a tory who is frightened that the BNP are getting your votes...)

But (before you write me off...) I was saddened on sunday to go to a christmas shop. There were over 20 different snowy town scene you could buy, but only one crib set... yep, we’ve forgotten the origin of christmas...

Music of the day

2007-12-03T12:30:00.000+01:00

Another 90's indie (I think I still have the single somewhere...)

I think I'll have a break and post something a little more up to date next,

but first here is 3 Colours Red and Beautiful Day

Music of the day

2007-11-30T15:33:00.000+01:00

As part of my ongoing campaign to get 90's indie the respect it deserves I'm highlighting another classic today...

So here is Monaco and What do you want from me

Swedish Word of the day...

2007-11-30T15:15:00.000+01:00

I've been having fun watching a goat being built on a webcam...

OK, I know that doesn't sound too savory, but over the past few days the Gävle Goat has been built in the centre of Gävle. Its been quite entertaining. Last year was the first time the unofficial tradition of burning the goat failed due to the fact the straw was treated with special fire retardant chemicals...

If you want to watch the fun you can view the live feed here (don't forget to call the fire brigade if you see anyone trying to set it on fire!

So today's SWOTD is Julebock or "Christmas Goat"

Music of the day

2007-11-29T15:00:00.000+01:00

Time for some real old fashioned indie...

So here is Mansun and Wide Open Space

Swedish Word of the day...

2007-11-29T14:44:00.000+01:00

Because I seem to be catching any bug going around (the CFS seems to lower my immunity), and because these bugs tend to exaggerate my CFS symptoms, I got a flue jab from the doctor when I had my monthly check-up on Tuesday. Which means that instead of a week, I just get a few days feeling rough!

Anyway I seem to be getting over it and back to (for me) normal (thankfully the sinus problems have gone too!)

So today's SWOTD is vaccinera or "vaccinate".

(family friendly) Music of the day

2007-11-23T10:51:00.000+01:00

(to make up for the adult rated song I posted earrlier, here is Mitch Benn & The Distractions and Everything sounds like Coldplay Now)