Unplanned benefits and (as yet) unsuccessful culls

In one of my recent posts I commented about swapping rooms in our house (Dolly D's bedroom and the study). After the dust has settled - literally and metaphotically - it seems to be working out OK so far. One of the unplanned benefits is that I've been able to set up my antiquated record deck in the study and listen to vinyl LP's regularly.

In the coming weeks, I intend to listen to the vinyl that has survived previous culls and decide which - if any - merit digitising in some way, shape or form. This is supposed to be part of a concerted effort to lighten our load of accummulated possessions in our house. Since there's little prospect of finding a replacement stylus for my more than 25 year old record deck, there is an imperative to complete this task systematically and quickly. The trouble is that I keep getting distracted and listen again and again to tracks that I haven't heard for many years. Oh well, it's fun while it lasts!

It's my first blogging anniversary...

... and 250th entry. The combination of milestones was achieved with my customary forward planning and attention to detail - i.e. none at all. I should have planned to write a literary gem describing the strange joy and complulsion of blogging. But I didn't.

So instead I'm just going to post this clever flyer that came through e-mail today. I hope the humour transcends parochialism.

As I can't get the image any bigger than this, I should explain that it's advertising "a three week guide to bluffing contemporary art" at the Baltic Centre in Gateshead.

Loose change

His Girl Friday commented on my Friday photo that she hadn't seen a coin with a portcullis on it before. At the time I didn't think much about it... then I realised that I have (apart from the thrupenny bit!). The answer was right in front of me - lying on my desk.

Aye the 'new' penny also features the portcullis. ('New' is of course a relative term - these coins were introduced in 1971!) I hadn't spotted the connection before. In a sense it's not surprising that some of our coins feature medieval architetural features. Not because we're stuck in a time warp or we're always looking backwards (although a case can probably be made for each of these!). No, the reason is that the portcullis is the symbol/ icon of the Houses of Parliament.

On reflection, I wonder if I'm oblivious to the coins that I use (not very frequently) because of the general affluence and associated carelessness of our lifestyles or if I simply haven't noted the detail because of all the other nonsense swirling around inside my head?

This random musing begs another question - what else is right in front of us that we don't notice?

Tagging #2

OK, so I'm playing now...according to my rules! (Well, you didn't really expect me to conform that much, did you?)

AnneDroid's challenge:

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

1 - I was born in Australia

2 - I've always had a Scottish accent

3 - I have brown eyes

4 - I once had to stand and watch as a mechanic almost drove my car into Crail harbour (while my so-called friends - including the Fish Wife - were laughing their heads off!)

5 - I can juggle - with 3 balls and only 1 trick - but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks

6 - I have a degree in theology

7 - I'm happy with my life (but still endlessly restless)

And just for the sake of completeness - HGF's final question "What was I doing 10 years ago?"

Actually very similar to what I'm doing now.

Married to the Fish Wife (for almost 10 years at that time)

Playing with Dolly D - when that was still considered acceptable (by her!)

Doing the same job

Preparing nurture group studies

Living in the same house

Trying to conquer our garden

One significant difference - I was getting ill more often then, until I changed a few things in my life to sort that out. But more of that another time... or maybe in another place?

Tagging

What is it with blog-tagging? I've managed to get tagged twice this weekend.

My first instinct is not to play - but that seems to be a joyless response (although it is an approach that I've adopted before!).

I don't mind playing - up to a point. But I'm not going to tag anyone else. If people want to play after seeing soemthing here then that's fine...

So first to HGF's tag (Anne Droid's might follow tomorrow)

Five things on my to-do-list for today

• Write a nurture group study on Ehud (Judges 4);
• Have breakfast together as a family
• Go to church
• Do some calligraphy
• Get out into the garden (and do some work)

If I were a billionaire...

... I've never thought about it. I'd probably worry more though!

Three bad habits (only 3??)

• Grumpiness
• Accumulating books at a greater rate than I read them
• Impatience

Five places I've lived

• Melbourne
• Irvine
• St Andrews
• Thurso
• Perth

Five jobs I've had

I've really only ever been a bean-counter (in various guises!)

Five books I've read recently

• John Smith by Andy McSmith
• Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth
• Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
• The Incarnate God by John V Taylor
• Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn

iPod religion

I listen to sermons and other stuff on my iPod as I drive to work every day (I also listen at other times). So I was intrigued to come across this news story today:

Religious teaching straight to your iPod

I found this paragraph particularly interesting.

"A survey last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that more people used the Internet to look for religious and spiritual information than to download music, participate in online auctions or visit adult websites."

I'm always a bit suspicious of surveys of this kind - and the name of the organisation doing it might infer some bias - but nevertheless, it's interesting even if it isn't entirely accurate.

However, I have some nagging doubts about the danger of privatising religion - and hear I'm really talking about Christianity - with people choosing to listen to podcasts rather than be part of a Christian community/church.

But then, there are downsides to lots of things, and for my money the increased availability of podcasts is a good thing. It allows you a degree of selectivity - to find styles of teaching that meet your needs and preferences - and allows you to follow trends and thinking in the wider church - anything that can be used to promote thinking and education gets my seal of approval.

Even on our best days

Even on our best days we need to remember how loved we are.
Because even on our best days we forget this.
And even on our best days we don't deserve it.
But even on our best days we desperately need it.


"Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed."
Samuel Johnson

Meet Dolly D

I was sitting in our senior management team meeting today, doodling away (aye, that's exactly how interesting it was!), when this face started to appear. My immediate thought as I fleshed it out was "That's Dolly D!" Actually it doesn't look much like her, but she has authorised its use.

Funny things happen when you stir up the other side of your brain!

Network Rail ... has a silver lining!

I drove down to Ayrshire to visit my parents today. I would have travelled by train (as I was going on my own – it’s a bit more environmentally friendly, and would give me 4 hours of reading/ thinking time). However, Network Rail continue their outstanding (as in outstandingly bad!) record of never finishing a job when their supposed to. This meant that the normal 2 hour train journey would have taken about 1.5 days with 14 changes of station, trains and buses. Aye, I know I’m stretching a point, but I’m grumpy so I feel entitled to exaggerate.

Actually, they did me at least two favours. The drive down was beautiful. It was a cold, crisp morning, and the countryside was awesome. See Lins Honeyman’s blog for some photos. While I would have been able to see most of this from the train, I would have missed the view that I got of Arran as I approached Irvine today. The snow-capped hill tops rising above a layer of cloud at sea level was fantastic.

Secondly, on the way home this afternoon I was listening to the fitba’ on the radio, and enjoying the commentary on Hearts v Motherwell. Anyway, after the game had finished I hit a radio black spot. I scanned to see what stations I could pick up – nothing at all first time round. Second time around I got a signal from (BBC) Radio 3, It must be more than 20 years since I listened to Radio 3 and I would normally have just switched it off. But they were playing a version of Blue Skies by the Benny Goodman band. This is the music that my Dad loves – and used to play in his dance band days. So I listened on, thoroughly enjoyed it, and am listening to it again as I write this. (I must remember to tell Dad about the programme - Jazz Record Requests, Radio 3, 17:30-18:30 on Saturdays).

So thanks to Network Rail for these two happy accidents – but next time can you please fix the railways when you’re supposed to??!!!

The wonder of irony

On a lighter note than my last entry … I came across this snippet on the BBC website, and almost fell of my chair laughing.

Question - What did the Communist MEP Sahra Wagenknecht say when she was caught eating lobster?

Answer – “I’m fighting for a society in which everyone can afford to eat lobster.”

There must be dozens of slogans that could be used in such a campaign. For example:

"Crustaceans for common people"

"Prawns for the proletariat"

Fight the good fight comrade!

Little things annoy us

No - not children! Although ...

I'm thoroughly enjoying the paperless advent calendar from the Bishop of Kensington. However, today (Day 15) I spotted an error - a typo, a mis-spelling - and as I watched it again to check, this small error took on epic proportions for me. It leapt off the screen, in font size 3-billion.

I'm not a skilled proof-reader (don't have the patience), but these things can bother me. Especially in formal documents.

Don't people use spell checkers? Do they ever read the words that they've written before issuing their material? Do they care?

And don't get me started on apostrophes!

And yes I am aware of various typos that appear in this blog from time to time. I'm not perfect, just crabbit!

Do we all have these little things that distract/annoy us?

Sometimes - for me - the good quality of the material means that I can overcome my irritation - for example, I still think that the paperless advent calendar is cool! But at other times my irritation leads to an irrational prejudice or at least bias against the article.

It's a disappointing character trait, but it's who I am.

Feel free to point out grammatical errors in this entry - that's not a strong point of mine.

Rest and be thankful

When wondering what to blog about, four words popped into my head :"Rest and be thankful". This is the name of a place on a road in Scotland. It's a very long time since I've been there - but it's a point at the top of a long climb up a slope, and so the name is self-explanatory.

So why blog about it? Maybe it reflects my mood after a tough couple of days and a tough workout at the gym. Maybe it's a good thought to reflect on during Advent and the Christmas period. Maybe it's a thought to cling to if family tensions or emotions run high in the coming days. Maybe it's just something that we should all do a bit more often.

I really don't know - but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to 'rest and be thankful'!

Therapy and retail

I’m not one of life’s natural shoppers. By contrast, Dolly D seems to have an insatiable appetite – not for spending money, just for looking and enjoying the experience. Inevitably shopping featured in our trip to London, but with agreement about how the time was balanced. I’m sure that she would have taken up residence in Selfridge’s, given the opportunity.

To be fair the shopping experience wasn’t too bad for me – given agreed limits and my permit to be elsewhere at times while ‘shopping’ was happening.

When we were in London some, but not all, of the Christmas lights were on. I found Oxford Street to be disappointing, although some of the individual department stores had made an effort.

By contrast, I thought that Carnaby Street was fantastic – really captured the mood of the season and the street. Maybe they use the same lights every year, but they seemed to me to be innovative and fun – definitely worth the detour from Regent Street to see them.

But behind it all I still have nagging doubts about our (societal) propensity to consume. Hmmm…

Hey Ho Let's Go

Something a bit lighter after yesterday’s entry.

There’s something about my age – a mixture of dangerous nostalgia, searching for lost youth (I like to think of it as disappearing rather than completely lost!), and a modicum of disposable cash.

On one of our shopping trips to Newcastle a couple of weeks ago, I wandered into the Virgin Megastore to have a look at CD’s – OK I was never going to just look. Anyway they were selling some CDs at 2 for £10. Well, I had a tenner in my pocket – so how could I resist?

After a brief glance at the selection I knew that choice would be a problem. So many albums that I wouldn’t have dreamt of buying when they were first released, but now …. Well, I went for a safe choice - Who’s Next by The Who. It contained a handful of classics – Baba O’Riley; Behind Blue Eyes (my favourite Who song) and some previously un-released material. As soon as I listened to it I understood why it hadn’t been released before!

My other choice was a bit less safe… But it was 57 tracks for a fiver!! I mean you don’t get better value than that. Yes, I chose The Ramones Anthology!! And it’s great. More diverse than I remembered (no, really). It’s just perfect music for the gym - although the idiotic grin on my face seems to alarm people.

What can I say? Hey ho, Let’s GO!

(OK HTM, I know that it’s payback time - bring it on!)

Feeble Friday

Pretty feeble blogging today ("No change from usual!", the crowd roared in response).

Anyway I'm on holiday for a week, so need to go and pack etc etc. Going to our favourite place in Northumbria for a week (that's Northumbria, England NOT North Umbria, Italy).

Two moments of light relief before I go. And since this is inspired by Lins Honeyman, pride of place goes to him. Witty. topical and timely - no wonder the girls all love him.

Second, but by no means last (except in the sense of being last in this post) is Reverend Fun.

Off to iron, then pack. Bye for now!

Garden visitor

We had a visitor to our garden today. I think it's a hawker of some sort. We haven't seen any here (Perth, Scotland) before. All the more surprising since we had a sharp frost the other night.

Looking at it up close (the pink background is a towel that it landed on), it was truly amazing. It makes me realise how wonderful God's creation is - and therefore the responsibility placed on us to look after it.

If anyone knows anything about this amazing insect, I'd love to know more (but please remember that I'm not at all scientific).

Sporting prowess

I’ve been reminded a few times in recent day about some of the more memorable moments from the sporting events of my youth.

First of all the exploits of TJ over at the road less travelled, reminded me of a rugby sevens competition between the halls of residence at St Andrews. The competition rules stated that anyone who was playing for the University first or second teams was ineligible. This seemed fair, and the rule was adopted consistently. We fielded a motley crew of moderately skilful players, some reasonably skilful but chronically unfit players and others whose enthusiasm compensated for their lack of knowledge (without being chauvinistic this last group could also be described as Americans!). In those days – it was a long time ago – I was considered to have a reasonable burst of pace (over a short distance), so in the first match I was given the task of marking the opposing team’s star player. The trouble was this guy was very good. He didn’t play for the University teams because he was too good. In fact, he was on the fringes of the Scottish international squad. That day re-defined my appreciation of pace. We were soundly trounced, and I only ever came within touching distance of my opponent when he trotted back after scoring (with annoying frequency) and threw the ball to me for the re-start.

The second reminder came the other night, when some friends told us about a trophy that their son was sharing with another boy – there were only 2 of them eligible for it. I only ever won one trophy in my sporting career – and it was shared with a team-mate. This time it was football. For one season I played for our hall of residence second team in the Sunday afternoon league. I know – football on a Sunday!! It’s an outrage and clearly contrary to many Biblical principles and I put my lack of success down to the sinful timing of the matches!

(Tongue out of cheek, he continues with the dull story …) I have always nurtured a sense of un-fairness about having to share the award. My goal was beyond doubt the best goal – a screaming left foot volley from the edge of the penalty box that flew straight into the ‘postage stamp’, leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot. It was – and I say this in all modesty – absolutely spectacular. However, in fairness to those who judged the awards it wasn’t strategically important as it made the score 5-0. By contrast, my colleague’s goal did tip the balance of a key game – and, in fact, proved to be the winning goal. By the way, did I mention that they were the own goals of the season?

Our prize wasn’t the golden boot, but a silver slipper – well we each received one silver ladies stiletto (from a pair rescued from a charity shop). Eventually – well two days later – the pair was reunited, by our cleaner who spotted the shoes in our separate rooms and asked if she could have them, since they fitted her. Neither of us had any reluctance to part with our trophy!

While I haven’t found fame and fortune in the sporting world, I think it’s fair to say that I fulfilled my potential, and but for one foolish venture form retirement (a game of rugby 10 years ago), I recognised when I had peaked at quit at the height of my prowess!

Good news of great joy

Anyone who has read this blog recently will have noticed that I’ve been acting as cheerleader (without pom-poms!) for The memory of place installation in St Mary’s Church in York.

The York Museum Trust usually have an installation per year in this de-commissioned church. However, this year The memory of place will close in October this year… and re-open in May 2008. This is due to the positive reaction to the piece.

If you are anywhere near York you really should go and see it. No, go and experience it. It is fantastic.

In my enthusiasm for others to go, I’m reminded of Bill Bryson’s reaction to arriving in Durham in Notes from a Small Island:

"I got off at Durham... and fell in love with it instantly in a serious way. Why, it's wonderful - a perfect little city.... If you have never been to Durham, go there at once. Take my car. It's wonderful."

Go, go now … just don’t ask to borrow my car!!

That's very nearly an armful!

I gave blood today and couldn't stop thinking about Tony Hancock's "The Blood Donor" (you can find it in three parts on YouTube).

Skived off work early after a meeting finished early. My giving has been a bit erratic over the years. In one place that I worked we were able to give on site. This fostered a sense of community spirit and also made it easier to give regularly. When I left there, I got out of the habit - primarily due to laziness. Back on track now.

It's painless and there's the lure of Tunnock's tea cakes afterwards!

Enjoy the Hancock, and think about giving if you don't already do so.

" something for the benefit of the country as a whole ... become a blood donor or join the Young Conservatives?"

No brainer really!!