bigtallgeezerwithagoaty

Britain has got talent!

2008-05-20T09:13:00.002+01:00

Having been dissapointed with a lot of what I've seen on shows like X Factor, 2 nights ago I was just blown away by one of the acts on Britain's Got Talent.
Flava are a dance troupe from Cornwall. Check this out, and pay particular attention to Simon's comments at the end.

This guy was a bit special, too. Simon got this badly wrong, as you'll see!

The Decade the Music Died

2008-03-27T20:51:00.004Z

Whilst freelancing, the state of the music business, and the rapid decline in record sales, was never far from my mind. The advancement of technology, in particular the popularity of peer-to-peer file sharing, has put record sales into freefall. The ‘grand old’ recording studios are finding it increasingly difficult to stay open, and anyone looking to build a recording studio and run it as a business venture is, for the most part, about to commit financial suicide.

It was thought, not so many years ago, that ‘reference quality CDs’, i.e., recorded at 96khz as opposed to the current 44.1khz, would be the next big thing – consumers would be listening to music recorded with unprecedented sound quality. The idea has not, as yet, caught on. In fact, interestingly, the opposite has happened. People are now listening to less-than-CD-quality MP3s on computer speakers or tiny headphones or, worse still, on mobile phone hands-free mono speakers! It just doesn’t add up! Thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of pounds are spent hiring session musicians, producer, sound engineer, recording facilities (often themselves containing tens / hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of recording equipment) to record a single. This then has to be marketed, again with thousands spent on advertising and PR, artwork and distribution. It gets to iTunes and costs 75p. Lets say, for arguments sake, a song has cost £100k to get to iTunes; by my reckoning (not accounting for royalty cuts, publishing splits, etc) it needs to sell over 130,000 copies to break even! Its got to be bloody good! (As of March 17^th, Duffy’s single ‘Mercy’ has sold 40778 copies, and is so far the most popular single of 2008!) Now, until recently – namely until the boon in popularity of iTunes-type facilities, a single was, in marketing terms, merely a calling card for an album. Album sales were that which generated the big bucks. Nowadays, of course, consumers don’t need to buy the whole album – just the tracks they like. So how is it possible for a record company to financially justify the cost of producing and marketing a single?

Even the sales figures are fairly academic when the phenomenon of piracy is brought into the equation. I’m not sure of actual numbers, but I’d be willing to bet that for any given ‘legitimate’ sale on iTunes for any given chart track, there’d be multiple instances of illegal cloning and ‘sharing’ of that same track.

Even without considering piracy, the amount of music which record companies themselves are releasing as free downloads, is unprecedented. Look at Prince, Radiohead, the Charletans, to name a few – releasing their albums practically for free! Aren’t they devaluing the marketplace further?

In pop music, the only sure-fire way of making a living is by gigging. If your music is available in digital form, and if it is any good, it will get stolen many, many times. The amount of people listening to it will be far more than how many paid for it. Fact. It will not be long before entire albums are merely calling-cards for live shows.

The future of pop music has to lie in live performance. After all you can't clone a good night out and share it on Limewire!

A Great day at the Grove

2007-11-21T20:50:00.000Z

What could be more fun? We arrived this morning at British Grove Studios in Chiswick at 9:00 (following a 5am start), to record strings for 3 tracks on the forthcoming Freya album. The live room was already set up for our strings players, with some of the worlds finest microphones - a selection of Neuman M49s and M50s along with an array of Schoepps - all courtesy of the Decca microphone collection. Alastair Gavin (currently MD for Mama Mia in the West End) was our string arranger and conductor. He'd lovingly scored out parts for 1st and 2nd violins, violas, celli and double bass, for 3 of the songs on the album. The 11 musicians arrived (including prinipal violinist Alexander Balanescu), the session files were loaded into the studio's computer, and at 10am sharp, the baton took flight. WOW! What a sound!!! Brilliant musicians!
I sat and listened as a piece of music written after a couple of cans of beer and a lengthy jam session by myself and bass player Karl Morgan suddenly took on a new life. It was an incredible experience!
The studio itself is stunning - built for, and owned by, Mark Knopfler. A fabulous Neve console in Studio 1, flanked by 2 beautifully refurbished vintage desks, fully plumbed in and working. In Studio 2 is a wonderful API desk. Both studios have a splendid collection of outboard equipment and each have 3 Studer 880s, fitted with 24, 16 and 8 track head blocks. The machine room is a work of art. It houses the power supplys and automation computers for the consoles, the servers, the A-D and D-A converters and the 2 Mac Pros. Everything is clearly labelled - a real labour of love. I love this level of attention to detail.

A truly magnificent day - one to remember. Thanks to all the staff at British Grove; to the musicians; to Alastair; to JD for the ride; to Major Butler for his significant expertise behind the desk, and as captain of the ship!

project:Freya myspace site up and running

2007-10-16T14:55:00.000+01:00

With the album recording in its final stages, we've decided to put a few previews on myspace. Check it out. (Also the more 'plays' we get, the more chance we have of getting reviews in industry publications.)

We're looking to have the album completed by the end of November. The project got put on hold, as Freya lost her voice, and then fell off one of her polo horses and broke her ankle!

She's beginning showcasing imminently, and we're looking at marketing options for early next year with a hope of a spring release.

Linux - I tried!

2007-09-10T12:00:00.000+01:00

Linux is a free open-source operating system based on Unix. Linux was originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers from around the globe.

Many people who are frustrated with the Microsoft family of operating systems, e.g., WindowsXP, Vista, etc, are switching to linux. There are a number of available packages (distros) which are mostly completely free. Free, too, are the many applications which you can install. Many of these rival main-stream products, like Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, MediaPlayer, and so-on.

I've been experimenting with the Fedora Core distro. It comes with KDE - a windows-like desktop environment, a number of Office-like applications, media players, email, contact and calendar apps, and a host of other goodies. There are thousands of completely free (open source) software packages to be found amongst the linux community.

However, there is a bit of a learning curve, and I found that it was becoming a hobby which I did not have time for!

There are a number of configuration issues, particularly if you have fairly new hardware. Drivers for certain things are not always readily available, and the file system takes some real getting used to.

It is an unbelievably stable system, though - mine did not crash once all the time I was using it. Large companies have reported years of constant crash-free operation! It also runs really well on older and slower machines - machines which would not be powerful enough to run XP.

My problem is that I run a (home) network of 5 PCs, two of which are dual-boot, and doing any 'under-the-hood' operations - such as disk management, back-up schedules, calendar and contact syncing, etc, required almost constant research onto the internet to find solutions. I felt that I was over-complicating things by having another operating system on the home network.

If you are not particularly technically minded, Linux is great as a useful (and extremely reliable) Windows / Office replacement - with the added satisfaction that you are not lining the heavy pockets of Bill Gates. Don't let me put you off! However, if you need to manage more system-level stuff, then be prepared to fettle! Having said that, there is a vast amount of knowledge available on the net to help you along.

For me it was causing more problems that it was solving - namely it was taking up far too much of my time!

I will, however, be installing a linux distro on an older PC I have in the garage for fiddling about with when I do have time, but I've discovered I'm not yet in a position whereby I can go completely microsoft-free just yet!

Recording "Freya" album

2007-06-28T16:42:00.000+01:00

Its been a very long time since my last post, but there is good reason for this! I've been involved in a writing / recording project since January 29th, and have not found a great deal of spare time!!

It all started on a family holiday two years ago. We (myself, Penny and the kids) went camping near St Tropez. Freya (Penny's cousin) was staying with her folks, at their house also near St. T. We were invited over for a meal, when I heard Freya playing the piano and singing. I thought it sounded good, and suggested that, when we all got back to blightey, I bring some kit to her place and make a recording. The following April, we hooked up and recorded a demo. She loved the process so much, her heart was set on writing and recording more material. I was duly enlisted to facilitate this!

Freya and I have now written a whole bunch of songs, enough for at least a couple of albums, and are now in the recording phase of the project, due to complete this on July 19th whereby the mix sessions will follow.

For the writing phase, we set up a writing space at her parents fabulous home in the Cotswolds, taking over their shooting lodge whilst the shooting season was in recess. We hired some wonderful musical instruments - Gibson and Fender guitars, Rhodes Suitcase88 electric piano, Hammond C3 and 147 valve Leslie, a set of beefy studio monitors and a nice big mixing console and set to work. Thanks to Tickle Music Hire for this. We also bought a whopper of a computer to handle the recording and midi sequencing tasks required for the writing and demo stage - thanks to Carillon and Turnkey for this. They also provided the software: Cubase 4, Reason and NI Komplete (a brilliant collection of software synths and sample players).

The songs are based mainly around Freya's life experiences - she's kept diaries since she was first able to hold a pen to a piece of paper, so there was plenty of material for inspiration - some jubilant, some quite dark and difficult.

We also did the Dylan thing, hanging out in coffee shops and making up stories about the people we observed! Great fun...

Once the writing phase was complete and some demo recordings drafted, we set about finding a place to record. We'd initially booked Real World - Peter Gabriel's staggeringly sumptuous studio, just outside Bath. However, this would have proved logistically difficult, as Freya had other commitments elsewhere, and would have found the endless hours in the car tiring. By chance I came across Yellow Shark studios, right in the centre of Cheltenham, and happened to call them on a day when a Mr Matt Butler was in residence. Butler was Paul McCartney's engineer for many years, and has recorded and produced many of the worlds finest bands and artists. On meeting him and the studio owner (also in the process of setting up a record label and publishing company!) we played them our material, and their eyes lit up. Suddenly the project had shifted gear! Matt "Major" Butler was brought in as engineer and producer. With his contacts amongst session musicians, we set about hiring some seriously good players to overdub the instrumentation. This has taken the sound of the project to a new level.

The studio itself is excellent, euipped with a virtually new Studer 2" 24 track recorder, along with Radar, and Pro-Tools. It also has a fabulous Yamaha C5 grand piano, a beautiful Hammond A100 (basically a B3 with extra bits and bobs) , a 147 Leslie, a Rhodes 76, a great collection of mics, and some great sounding rooms. Also, being in the heart of Cheltenham, there is no shortage of fine eateries and drinkeries!

So we're now negotiating recording contracts, publishing, licensing, PR and marketing, with a view to releasing the first single in early Autumn.

We've yet to record the lead vocals, brass and backing vocals, and we're going to Czechoslovakia to record the orchestral strings, as this is more cost effective than our original plan (Abbey Road - exciting, but expensive) so plenty yet to do!

I'll endeavour to keep you posted as to release dates, forthcoming gigs and any radio / tv stuff which may (hopefully) be happening.

Sorry, nothing for you to listen to yet - there'll be a myspace site set up soon as part of the marketing and PR campaign where you'll be able to hear what we've been up to...

System Tools

2007-01-24T16:00:00.000Z

I heard a wonderfully simple analogy yesterday during a group meditation on Psalm 23. We were looking at how the concept of rest is a divine source of re-charge for the soul; how the busy-ness of day to day life can de-energize and drain power from the long-term plan; how the onslaught of a thousand emails, text messages and voicemails all awaiting response can clutter the brain so that ones efficiency at dealing with said requests diminishes at a rate which can cause major stress, and eventual melt-down.

The analogy was of the process of defragmenting the hard-drive. Those of you who are used to using microsoft operating systems will know what I mean. For those who use proper operating systems, I'll explain...

If you use your computer a lot, its hard drive gets cluttered. Installing and removing programs can be the worst culpret. Residual 'stuff' which the un-install programs fail to remove remain in-situ. The consequence is that when the hard drive's read-head needs to find a piece of data, it has to trawls through a load of disorganised sludge to get to it. If it has to do this a few times in quick succession, it can cause the machine to slow down horrendously.

Windows includes a program call DiskDefragmenter. What this does is scans your hard drive and re-organise it so that all the folders in use are in one place, all the system (essential for running) files are in another, and the free space on the disk is all in one nice neat and tidy area. This dramatically increases efficiency of the drive to store and retrieve data.

What is great about the program is the Graphicl User Interface, i.e., that which you see on the screen during the process of defragmentation - you can actually see it happening; you can actually see how inefficient the drive has been, and watch all of your files being organised.

If you haven't defragmented your hard drive in a while, you may find that you are not able to complete tasks as quickly and efficiently as you once were, and the arrival of new tasks seems to place a disproportionate load on your system.

Defrag. Defrag often; build it into your schedule. By taking this 'green pastures' rest you are not eating valuable time, you are actually re-energizing your soul, so that the time you have got can be used wisely and efficiently.

Free Downloads Resumed

2006-11-15T21:16:00.000Z

Help yourself to tunes from my website! You can listen to previews, and download full versions. More to come in the not too distant.

Fusions

2006-11-06T19:44:00.000Z

I had a dream a couple of nights ago, and have been thinking a lot about it since. I dreamt that some friends of ours, who we hadn't seen for some time, phoned us up all excited about this new church they were going to. It was a church for believers and unbelievers.

A bizarre mixture of members included aetheists, agnostics, christians, artists, and a sprinkling of the beautiful people and the undesireables.

They all sang with one voice. Like the two trees in the picture fused as one.

They fused songs together - like Del Amitri's "Nothing ever happens", with REM's "Everybody Hurts" (a song which I'm sure was written by God himself to us all, Stype merely acting as amanuensis)

Sinead O'Connor's "Thank you for hearing me":

Thank you for breaking my heart
Thank you for tearing me apart
Now I've a strong strong heart
Thank you for breaking my heart

with Mindy Smith's "Come to Jesus":

Worry not my daughter, worry not my son,
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus, let him hold you in his arms

In order to belong to this church, however, there was a pre-requisite - an open mind - or a willingness to develop one.

I wonder what liturgical framework could serve such a church? Like, how would they do the creed?

Some of us believe in God the father, the Lord the giver of life...
Others of us are still trying to work it all out...

On a wing...

2006-10-31T22:16:00.000Z

Been thinking a lot about the concept of prayer recently. What is it, how do you do it, to whom / what do you 'do' it?

I looked up prayer on Wikipedia and found some interesting stuff. In my quest for a definition of prayer, the following collection of statements proved extremely useful:

* The belief that the finite can actually communicate with the infinite;
* The belief that the infinite is interested in communicating with the finite;
* The belief that the prayer is listened to and may or may not get a response;
* The belief that prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient;
* The belief that prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation;
* The belief that prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient;
* The belief that prayer is intended to affect the very fabric of reality itself;
* The belief that the recipient expects or appreciates prayer

Thses statements follow a short paragraph outlining different devotional acts of the different religions. What I found absolutely wonderful was that it was unclear as to which statements 'belonged' to which religion. I could give an educated guess, but I found, in fact, that all had some place in my own prayer life.

I’m currently exploring prayer using three different approaches. I’m calling them: ‘escapism; reflection; and petition’.

My intention is to practice the belief that God, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, is interested in my sense of wonderment, my reflections and my petitions; the belief that God is interested in my response to creation.

1. I like to think that escapism can be practiced through art, music, nature, literature, theater, film, architecture; silence, serenity, a break from the busy-ness of life in 21st century; wonder at creation; its also a trigger for worship
2. reflective - self evaluative (identity); looking at society; re-thinking (repentance)
3. petition: Wider world – response to local and national news; family and friends; our leaders – church, work, political; ourselves

Each can be used in isolation. Different situations may call for, or facilitate different approaches. Standing on a mountain top; taking in a show, a film, a new addition to the record collection; walking from the office to the board-room; looking back across a number of years; entering a hospital at visiting time; reflecting following the counsel of trusted friends; losing control of a car; watching the news.

However, regarding the latter - watching the news, yesterday my family and I flew back from a holiday in Cyprus. We'd stayed at a 'Louis' hotel, booked through Thomas Cook. Our other choice had been Corfu - to the same hotel where two little children died due to what looks like carbon monoxide poisioning, either from the boiler or the A/C.

I have just kissed my two goodnight. I don't know how to pray. The fragility of life just became terrifyingly close.

euphoria and reality

2006-08-05T20:30:00.000+01:00

I'm currently reflecting on a week at New Wine - a christian festival held at at the Bath and West showground in Shepton Mallet.

It was a bizarre mixture of emotions for me. I've been several times before, and found much of what goes on very helpful. (Some of it wasn't - I don't understand the whole alter-call thing; the session on homosexuality was very odd, and misleading; maybe I'll blog about these in due course.) There is a lot of emphasis on wholeness, and becoming the 'person God designed you to be' and all that stuff, which can't be bad. There is also a lot of euphoria - some refer to it as a 'mountain-top experience', I guess an allusion to the transfiguration scene in the bible. More caravans though. I have never been able to fully engage in the euphoria - not sober anyway! My reflection (aided by my wife, and some good friends in the Highbury Vaults) has led me to conclude that a lot of what I was feeling was anger, borne from my frustration at the fact that there was something missing - an element of reality perhaps?

One event in particular, which highlighted for me the gap between euphoria and reality happened while I was in one of the car parks, oddly enough. I'd had to carry a flat airbed to the car so that I could blow it up from the fag lighter compressor thingy. While I was sat there, I could hear a racket coming from one of the tents by the perimiter fence - a couple were in the throws of a bitter argument. The result was that she'd shouted to her husband/partner/whatever that he was a lazy ******d, that he could keep the ****ing kids, and that she was leaving him for good. I then saw her emerge from the tent, with 2 packed bags, and run off in floods of bitter, but resolute tears. In the background I could hear extravagent and euphoric worship music blaring from one of the stages. That was my 'God moment', there and then. All I could do was pray - and the only way I could pray was to replay what I'd seen and heard in my mind, hoping God could hear me above the noise from 'venue 1'. It was a strange experience, followed by a deeply thoughtful walk back to our encampment, trying to unpack what I'd just witnessed. I was reminded of the time when my mother made a similar departure from a christian retreat in Norfolk.

Also, Someone actually looked at me carrying the newly inflated airbed back to the tent, chuckled, and said "take up thy bed and walk", which was just plain wierd.

However, the camping was great, superb weather, cold beer, bbq, etc. We went with another family who we get on with very well. It has to be said that the kids work at New Wine is just superb too. Ours had the best time. Song of the week was "Shackles" by Mary Mary!

blah

2006-07-16T09:01:00.000+01:00

A series of presentations on the "emerging church" was held on Friday (14th) at the amazing Elim@Bristol church building. Karen Ward, Paul Roberts, Ben Edson, Ryan Bolger and Johnny Baker all talked about what goes on in the communities in which they express church. There will, no doubt, be copious blogging elsewhere on the subject. My particular highlight of the day had to be the wonderful irony of sitting in the amazing high-tech mini mega church building, with just about every conceivable bit of kit you're ever likely to need in a venue of this type, looking at Karen's video presentation of the raggle taggle, untidy COTA church building. Amazing. Beanbags, candles, mismatching chairs, but a real presence of love and community! Brilliant.

Floating...

2006-06-24T09:40:00.000+01:00

In my time, I have seen some incredible recording studios; I'm constantly staggered at the lengths people will go to to creat that perfect creative environment. Real World studios (Peter Gabriels place) in Box just outside bath is no exception - possible the largest control room anywhere. Check the site. Look for the realworld studios link. The accomodation and food is just excellent, too.

Sarm Hook End (Formerly Hook End Manor), is nothing short of pure extravagence. Formerly home to Dave Gilmour, now amongst the world's finest studios. Check it out.

My current favourite, however, has to be Astoria - Gilmour's floating studio. The boat itself was built between 1910 and 1912 as a houseboat for impresario Fred Karno (inventor of the custard-pie gag, according to Wiki). He wanted to be able to seat a full orchestra on the top deck! Flash git! Check the pics and vid

Other great and good studios can be virtually toured here if you're interested.

Downloads Suspended

2006-06-23T16:46:00.000+01:00

Sorry folks, I've temporarily had to suspend downloading of the hi bitrate audio from the jeznashmusic website. This is due to current server restrictions, i.e., I need to cough up for more space! With the administrative costs accumilating, I will be looking at a way of charging for downloads - the Paypal Donate thing is a good idea, but is not really allowing me to meet costs.

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, should you wish to obtain any of the material, contact me via the website.

Education and the Church

2006-06-22T10:28:00.000+01:00

I'm all for raising standards in education. Part of a high profile debate is the issue of whether passing exams is equal to getting a good education. As an educator myself, I believe it is important to commend "distance travelled" as much as actual qualifications. I worked for some time in a college for the blind and visually impaired. There was no nationally recognised way of quantifying distance travelled; learners followed the same courses as those at mainstream colleges - the main difference being the level of support and resources.

A sunday school teacher recently remarked that education in schools is extremely 'prescribed', i.e., pupils work towards passing and exam, and this is the main objective. In one of her classes, she asked the group of children to do a task which involved mainly self expression. She could not believe how uncomfortable nearly all the children felt with this.

Could not a function of the church be to supplement personal and creative development in schools? Could Sunday School be about facilitating children to become the people God has created them to be, rather than focussing primarily on bible stories? What about Sunday art, song-writing and drama workshops? Getting kids to write and perform their own material? Anybody seen School of Rock? I believe this is what Sunday School aught to look like! A whole class of children working as a team, writing, promoting, rehearsing, and performing a "rock show to change the world"!!

Seriously, though, i'd like to see further development of the partnership between school and church, that the lives of our children might be enriched socially, academically and spiritually.

Fruits and Gifts

2006-06-13T14:44:00.000+01:00

The ‘little service’ is a treasured oasis of calm, reflection, meditation and thought. The service I went to on Sunday 4th June was no exception. We looked at the Pauline writings regarding fruit and gifts of the spirit. It was a wonderful reminder of attributes afforded to us as individuals, and resources afforded to us collectively. I’d personally like to thank Nick Martin who prepared and led the service (I believe this was his debut at doing so). It was simple, yet clear and well thought out; a gentle mix of challenge and encouragement. Splendid.

moving

2006-05-23T21:26:00.000+01:00

I may not have a chance to blog for a little while - we are preparing to move house, so I'll be helping to pack, helping to paint the new place, putting up curtain poles, making several trips to several tips, etc. May see some of you in the pub, though.

New Chewns

2006-04-26T13:35:00.000+01:00

Go to the Audio Gallery on the Website. Enjoy. Donate.

Great tips on evangalism. (?!)

2006-04-25T19:41:00.000+01:00

This really has to be seen to be believed.
I watched up to the bit with the banana and then I died.
You'll need broadband...oh, and a narrow mind!

Half Empty

2006-04-25T12:33:00.000+01:00

A very brief one. You'll no doubt think this is completely obvious, but it inspired me. Optimism and pessimism both have positives and negatives. Optimism can instigate the setting up of new projects, hope for the future and so-on. Pessimism is often rooted in perfectionism - "this can be perfect if..." Optimism is capable of charging ahead without thought of consequence. Pessimism will have a tendency not to bother, unless its perfect - "better is the enemy of the best".

A good relationship or team will have a healthy balance of the two - optimism and pessimism. The key is communication. Can optimism effectively communicate, and therefore sympathize and synchronize, with pessimism and vice-versa?

Green Oasis

2006-04-25T12:06:00.000+01:00

Stoke Lodge, Bristol is now an adult training centre, but its expansive grounds, including a moderate arboretum, are accessible to the public. It also serves as additional grounds for the nearby Coombe Dingle sports centre. (Click the picture for a closer view - courtesy of google earth, which you have to ge t!) In this age of increasing in-fill housing development, these green oases are becoming rarer. Whilst taking a leisurely walk with my leisurely dog around the perimeter, I was frozen with sudden terror as childhood memories came flooding back...they'd marked out the athletics track! I wanted to be somewhere else! Give me a concrete jungle and smog and traffic congestion - anything but the sports track! I've always hated sports day. Even now when it’s the mums and dads race at my kids' primary school, I am gripped with phobia as my 8-year-old says "come on dad, have a go - Emily's dads doing it!” I made the mistake at child #1's first sports day of 'having a go - just for her sake (she really wanted me to!). I came last - by a considerable margin (apart from one sensible chap who, after the first 3 yards saw he had no chance, slipped back into the crowd un-noticed!) There was no 'fun', this was war! What my 8yr-old fails to appreciate is that for most of these folks school sports day is the one chance they get to prove they've still got it. Many of these ageing athletes, those who were always in the top 5 on the cross country run back in school days, still use the event to chart personal best times - the culmination of a whole year's training! Unbloodybelievable!
Anyway, I decided to face my fear and found huge relief in strolling gently round the track with my dog, with no-one watching, and no-one in front!!!

Freedom

2006-04-16T11:18:00.000+01:00

I’d heard somebody talking about fasting being a “test of ones freedom”. Those of you who know me also know I have a tendency to enjoy a pint of beer. In the weeks prior to Shrove Tuesday I was enjoying beer quite a lot, in fact, more often than not. I decided to give up for lent, in a way just to see if I could live without it. I was apprehensive, to say the least. In fact this was to have been the longest I had gone without beer since I was 16 – that was in 1988! There was going to be less to look forward too after a hard day’s work, or after the ‘little service’ at Foundation.

I’m not great at the whole temptation thing: is weakness a opportunity, or is opportunity a weakness? Heard that somewhere too! OK, I’ll admit, I did have 1, one, only one, very slight pint of Kronenberg, whilst waiting for a curry about half way through lent. There was a (SERIOUSLY DODGY) pub across the road from the curry house. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a ‘bad pint’, which I can usually spot after the first swig, but I guess I was caught up in a whirlwind of rebellion and greed and thirst and curry-expectant adrenaline, and just got on with it. I spent the next 8 days never more than three meters away from a bog. Depending on your theology, this could be punishment! Mine would say it’s a divine sense of humour!

Anyway – its now Easter morning. I’m going to stop waffling to you lot, and get on and celebrate new life in Christ – over a pint of cold, lovely, thirst-not-quite-quenching, lager, in a glass which glistens as the drops of condensation follow the path of least resistance, in parallel to the brew at the back of my throat. How’s that for freedom?

Happy Easter.

Unfulfilled Expectations

2006-04-12T19:53:00.000+01:00

The meditation from the "little service" hosted by foundation on Palm Sunday

Unfulfilled Expectations

Triumphant arrival…on a donkey
A crown…of thorns
A purple robe…and a slap in the face

A child born…with a bone disorder
A marriage…a divorce
Salvation…and confusion
A new prime minister…higher taxes

A safe home…a burglary
Sunshine…drought and famine
Peace on earth…a war on terror
A prophecy…misinterpreted

Parents…imperfections
A night out…a fight
A prodigal son…who does not return
Dreams…shattered

Triumphant arrival…on a donkey
A crown…of thorns
A purple robe…and a slap in the face

An execution…a resurrection
Death…new life
A cross, nails and a sword,…grace

Information

2006-04-04T17:35:00.000+01:00

Having been a reader of blogs for some time, I thought I'd have a go at starting my own. It seems like a really good way of sharing thoughts and useful/less information. I guess information is either useful (to one degree or another) or useless depending on to whom it is imparted. My father once told me that he knew the sizes of the driving wheels of all BR western region steam engnes in service since the beginning of that period of nationalisation. The guitarist in the first band I joined could recite, in order, every song on every Led Zep album. (That may be more than Jimmy Page could ever do.) It may be that some information we have seems to have absolutley no real use, and then somebody finds a use for it. As an errant teenager, one of my favourite books was 'The Observers Book of Motorcycles'. I fastideously absorbed the facts and figures for all the makes and models of bikes. Some time later I was in the pub with my uncle - a copper in the City Police - and we ended up on the subject of bikes and the fact that his department were investigating bike theft in the city. The facts and figures i'd remembered about marques and specifications were suddenly of great import to the investigations!

I grew up in a vicarage and learnt a fair bit about God, the Bible, hospitality and so on. I've found that on my spiritual journey, a great deal of what I thought was going to be of little use is actually coming into play more and more. I'll no doubt give examples of this in future blogs...

It looks as though we are about to move into a vicarage of our own (actually a Curate's house), so it may be that knowledge which throughout my teens and early twenties I'd regarded as largely irrelevant, may yet be of use!!
However, if you need to know the size of the driving wheels of a Stanier 9f, ask my dad.