Self-worth...

Nipped into a pub near the library I was working in for a quick bite to eat at lunchtime on Friday. Heard an interesting series of statements spoken by a guy, I'm guessing not too much different in age to myself, for all to hear as he sat at the bar with a pint. Went something like this:

"I love alcohol! It's the best thing God created."
"I'd be permanently drunk if I could effing well afford it, it's just too damn expensive; effing government and their taxes."
"I'm a better person when I'm drunk..."

Without wanting to be patronising this made me feel sad - the last bit especially. Maybe it was just bravado / drink speaking, but I think there was more to it than that. He sounded like he genuinely meant it, and it said a lot to me about his own self-worth. Self-worth - such a big issue, that underlies so much, causes so many problems, for so many people. Hmmm...sad and thought provoking.

Post-Easter blues...

Why do things have a tendency to go wrong after something's been really good?!! Feel like having a little moan on here for a change!

After a great Easter weekend (see previous entry below), we've had a really rubbishy week. Having really wanted a complete break from everything for a week, we'd decided to treat ourselves to a couple of nights B & B up on the North Norfolk coast - 1 of those parts of the country that we've been meaning to explore a bit while we're within reach, but not quite got around to it yet. But Lisa got knocked for 6 by a really heavy cold / flu and we weren't able to travel. Things like this always seem to happen to her in school holidays - though this was particularly bad, for a couple of days she was as ill as I've ever known her to be! So instead of heading for Norfolk I ended up spending a couple of days trying to get started on my penultimate essay in the library, while Lisa was recovering - not the week I had in mind!

Shouldn't moan too much 'cos fortunately I seem to have avoided coming down with it as well. Also we've only lost out on a small deposit for the cancelled B & B, and have just taken the risk of re-booking (though different B & B this time) and so barring any mishaps we're heading off in the morning for a couple of nights to a place called Wells-next-the-Sea. Might get a few pics up here at some point.

...and having said all that the last few days haven't all been that bad - just enjoyed a visit from my Aunt and Uncle for the last couple of days, which gave me yet another excuse to play Cambridge tour guide (still not bored of that, despite doing it countless times now!), and have just got back from the pub where I enjoyed Liverpool's victory in the derby match against Everton. Maybe things are looking up again...

Holy Week / Easter 2008...

...A Holy Week and Easter Sunday with a difference this year! Due to Easter being so early it meant that Holy Week fell within the Ridley term. This doesn't happen very often so it was decided it should be marked in style with a series of services and events over the whole week. Morning prayer each day with a series of talks from Richard Bauckham on 'the pattern of the cross in Genesis' and optional daily Holy Communion services. Then a really poignant and special series of services:
Maundy Thursday - a dramatic, lively, funny, meaningful all age ceder (agape) service / meal, and a far quieter, extremely moving footwashing / chapel stripping service later in the evening;
Good Friday - thought provoking morning prayer with various Crucifixion images and then an amazingly creative, well thought out 'liquid worship style' Stations of the Cross service making use of all kinds of things: handcuffs (!), music, artwork, film, hammers and nails, clay and much more besides;
Holy Saturday - an impressive performance of the Passion story put on by people from various Cambridge churches in the town centre in nightmare-ish weather conditions unfortunately;
Easter Sunday - just a fantastic time, starting pre-dawn with a vigil from 5am (even Lisa made it into college with me for this) and going on to include lighting a fire; processing to chapel behind the Easter 'paschal' candle; remembrance and renewal of baptismal vows and promises; music such as Eastern Orthodox style chants, Taize music, trad Easter hymns, modern worship songs, all done amazingly well; celebration of Holy Communion; all of which was then followed by 'optional' sparkling wine, a fry up and then a snowball fight (not sure I ever remember an Easter snowball fight before)! Just an amazing celebration of the risen Christ!

Like I say - a Holy Week and Easter Sunday with a difference, a time I will never forget. I feel more than ever this year that I've been taken on an incredible journey of remembrance of, and focus on, the amazingness of the Easter story and what God has done for us all in Christ - in a way that's made it all more real and more meaningful than ever for me. Alleluia, Christ is Risen - He is risen indeed, Alleluia!!

Here's a few photo's - though unfortunately I've only got a selection from the Saturday passion play and Easter Day celebrations:

Holy Saturday

Getting Ridley chapel ready for Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

He Has Risen - Jesus is Alive!

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). (John 19:15-16)

HE HAS RISEN, He has risen,
He has risen, Jesus is alive.

When the life flowed from His body,
Seemed like Jesus’ mission failed.
But His sacrifice accomplished,
Victory over sin and hell.

In the grave God did not leave Him,
For His body to decay;
Raised to life, the great awakening,
Satan’s power He overcame.

HE HAS RISEN, He has risen,
He has risen, Jesus is alive.

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 19:24-28)

Holy Saturday

Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance...The next day...the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive the deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. (Matthew 27:59, 60, 62-66)

Good Friday

Come and see, come and see
Come and see the King of love
See the purple robe and crown of thorns he wears
Soldiers mock, rulers sneer as he lifts the cruel cross
Lone and friendless now he climbs towards the hill

We worship at your feet
Where wrath and mercy meet
And a guilty world is washed by love’s pure stream
For us he was made sin
Oh, help me take it in
Deep wounds of love cry out “Father, forgive”
I worship, I worship the lamb that was slain

Maundy Thursday

...so Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel... (John 13:4-5)

Meekness and majesty
Manhood and Deity

In perfect harmony

The Man who is God

Lord of eternity

Dwells in humanity

Kneels in humility

And washes our feet

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in

remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

Happy St Patricks Day (well in 2 hours...)

Psalms...

For different reasons the Psalms are becoming quite a recurring area of reflection / study for me at the moment. I've been working my way through a course in the Ignation Spiritual exercises with the help of a spiritual director over the last few months which has encouraged a fair bit of reading of and reflection on various Psalms. During the Ridley prayer retreat last weekend one of our staff gave some of us what I found to be a really inspiring session on praying with the Psalms. Also one of my MA modules this term is at the moment focusing on the Psalms and different ways in which they have been understood, interpreted and used down the years.

Before arriving at Ridley, coming from quite a non-liturgical background, I had relatively minimal knowledge and experience of the Psalms - and it would be fair to say that at times over my 2 1/2 years here I've found that the daily recital of them in Morning Prayer can be slightly monotonous, and so not always approached them with the right attitude and given the words the attention they deserve. But I'm realising more and more how much there is in there that can connect with where I'm at at any given time and express so powerfully what I want to say to God at certain times. To take an extreme eg Psalm 22:1 'My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me..' There is so much to encourage: Psalm 139 'O Lord, you have searched me and known me...', Psalm 136 'O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever...'; so much to challenge: Psalm 133 'How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity...', Psalm 127 'Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain...'

I really feel that they are enriching my life greatly at the moment; and that they could be of so much benefit for Christians generally - both individually and communally, if only used and taught more widely - but creatively and imaginatively!!

On a lighter note, in my MA module reading I came across this 'modern translation' of Psalm 23 written, I'm surmising, as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek dig at attempts to modernise liturgical language. It appeared in the Telegraph titled David Lyric Two-Three. Makes me chuckle:

The Lord and I are in a shepherd/sheep situation, and I am in a position of negative need. He prostrates me in a green belt grazing area; he conducts me directionally parallel to non-torrential aqueous liquid. He returns to original satisfaction, levels my psychological make-up; he switches me on to a positive behavioural format for maximal prestige of his identity.
It should indeed be said that notwithstanding the fact that I make ambulatory progress through the umbrageous inter-hill mortality slot, terror-sensations will not be instantiated within me due to para ethical phenomena. Your pastoral walking aid and quadruped pickup unit introduce me into a pleasurific mood-state.
You design and produce a nutriment-bearing furniture-type structure in the context of non-cooperative elements; you act out a head-related folk ritual employing vegetable extract; my beverage utensil experiences a volume crisis.
It is an ongoing deductible fact that your inter-relational empathetical and non-vengeance capabilities will retain me as their target focus for the duration of my non-death period: and I will possess tenant rights in the housing unit of the Lord on a permanently open-ended time basis.

Shrove Tuesday / Ash Wednesday...

Enjoyed some pancakes on Tuesday and then went to a 7.30am Cambridge Theological Federation Eucharist yesterday at which I was 'ashed' to mark Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Afterwards I noticed this on the asbojesus site:-

The Batman Band...

Made to chuckle again by the asbojesus cartoonist!

6 Nations Kick Off...

Off to the back of beyond (somewhere on the Norfolk / Suffolk borders) later today for the annual Ridley Hall prayer 'retreat' weekend, and while I'm looking forward to a change of scene and some 'quiet' time I must admit I'm already trying to work out how I can factor in TV access to see tomorrow's Rugby 6 Nations kick off with England playing Wales and Ireland taking on Italy! Will be interesting to see whether England's run to the World Cup final was a sign of good things to come or whether they'll come back down to earth with a bump, and similarly whether Ireland's disastrous time in the W.C. was just a blip that they can put behind them in this 6 Nations. As ever my loyalties are torn between the 2 countries and I'd like nothing more than to see England and Ireland taking the tournament by storm and being the 2 left fighting for the crown at the death - destroying France along the way! Ok, ok, dreaming maybe...but you never know!

Liverpool also happen to be playing Sunderland tomorrow. Surely that's 1 the Reds can wn at least?! Not blogged about Liverpool much recently - a combination of the general mess the club seems to be in with all the gossip and rubbish flying about regarding the owners and Rafa's job as manager just doesn't fit with the Liverpool FC I know and love! Combine that with the atrocious playing form of the team at the moment, and it's just all far too depressing for me. So that's enough about that!

Simon says...

Hahahahaha...
Is this what's going to happen to start happening with me following my ordination in a few months time??

(Just in case anyone out there is slightly worried - I'm not really big headed enough to go with this thought. Did make me chuckle though given my name and impending ministry!)

Thanks again to the asbojesus site.

God and church

Came across this today on the asbojesus cartoon blog:

Some not easy to accept truth for the church (very much including me) to consider here? Challenging?...Any views on this?

(If too small to read click here to see it properly)

Liverpool: European Capital of Culture 2008

Really wish I could be in Liverpool tonight for the people's launch of the city's year as European Capital of Culture - it sounds like it's going to be an amazing event, including Ringo Starr playing a new song from the rooftop of St Georges Hall. From the websites and things I've looked at it does seem like there is lots of good stuff going to be happening over the year, so that's another thing to look forward to as we move back there in June. I have heard that there have been grumblings about the organisation of it and the way things have been run - as Phil Redmond put it:

"It's like a scouse wedding - a lot of rowing but it gets there in the end."

So I'm hoping that the rowing etc. can all be put to one side and that the year shows Liverpool off as the great city that it is, as well as being of real benefit. Hoping that it is something that people will really be able to feel part of and proud of!

Liverpool's a good place to visit anyway, but I'd say even more so over this next year - so if you get a chance go for it! Here's a few links for info about the culture year and events etc.:-

http://www.liverpool08.com/index.asp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool08/
http://www.visitliverpool.com/site/welcome-to-liverpool
http://www.liverpool08.com/Events/2008EventsProgramme/index.asp

Christmas / New Year etc.

Just sat in my study at Ridley getting used to the idea that another term is about to kick off - my 8th out of 9! One thing I'm going to have get used to quickly after leaving here is not having the long holidays, having just enjoyed a 4 week break. Having said that the best part of 2 weeks of it was spent working fairly hard on the 6000 word MA essay that was due in today. Had 2 weeks completely clear though which was great! Spent 10 days including Christmas itself over in Ireland at Lisa's parents place near Dublin - guessing it will be a long time before we will be there on Christmas Day itself again! Did a fair amount of walking on Portmarnock beach just a 5 min walk down the road from the house, enjoyed a few pints of Guinness, saw some live Gaelic football, did a bit of shopping, visited my godmother who was over there staying with her daughter and my 97 year old Great Aunt who lives over the other side of Dublin, caught up with various friends etc. A good break - though it went very quickly.

Flew back to Stansted on the 30th - got home about 5pm, and by 7pm were in the car heading off up the A14 to spend a couple of days with my family. Stayed with my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece in Shropshire, did a bit of shopping at the Cheshire Oaks outlet village, saw my Aunt and Uncle, and then on New Years Day saw my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and went to the hospital in Warrington to meet our new nephew Joshua for the 1st time. He was born 8-9 weeks prematurely in December, but seems to be doing really well and is hopefully going to be out of hospital any time now. Came back to Comberton for a rest late on New Years Day!

Anyway, enough waffle. Here's a few photo's:

Portmarnock beach

Christmas Dinner (from left Ross, Michael, Pat, and Lisa's Aunt May)

Dublin Gaelic football players in a friendly match at Portmarnock Gaa Club.

Ross on the sand dunes

Our nephew Benjamin

and his sister Amy - 1 of Liverpool's youngest fans!

That's the life!

Pete (my brother) with Lorriane, Benjamin and Amy

Me and Nathaniel (nephew / godson)

And his younger brother Joshua on our 1st visit to him with Louise and Kev.

A Guinness a day...

Heading for Dublin for 10 days tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with the in-laws, so was delighted to spot this among the most read news items on the BBC website this morning!


Guinness good for you - official

The old advertising slogan "Guinness is Good for You" may be true after all, according to researchers....

Go listen...

Have newly discovered the delights of Sigur Ros and Sufjan Stevens this week, and have really enjoyed having the below to accompany my essay writing this week:

Sigur Ros - Takk

Sufjan Stevens - Come on feel the Illinoise

and on a festive note:

Acquired taste some of it maybe - but I'm enjoying them and definitely recommed!

Have also enjoyed a re-discovering (though not to Lisa's liking unfortunately!) of the delights of Led Zeppelin via their new compilation album Mothership. Treated myself to the bonus edition with a live DVD included. Fantastic!

Go read...

Have really enjoyed reading this over the last few days. Really engagingly written, and extremely moving and thought provoking. Click here for a brief synopsis. Won't say anymore than that, other than to highly recommend if not read already. Also just heard that it has just come out as a movie - will be interested to see how they have done it in film form, so that will be a trip over the Christmas period.

4 goals and a baby!

Came home from my essay writing at college yesterday slightly on edge about Liverpool's match away to Marseilles which they had to win to stay in the tournament. Was not expecting my pre-match tension and build-up to be rudely interrupted by a phonecall to say that my sister's baby was on the way 9 weeks early! Louise had taken herself to the hospital for a quick check as she had not felt quite right during the afternoon, only to find that she was 8cm dilated and the baby was coming! 40 mins later just a short while after the football had kicked off had another phonecall announcing the birth of Joshua Ethan - less than 2 hours after Louise had driven herself to the hospital!! He's now in the special care unit being well cared for and may be there for some time, though he seems to be doing well at this stage and not giving any particular causes for concern. Here's a few photo's:

The proud parents.

And proud grandparents.

So congratulations to Louise, Kev & Nathaniel, and welcome to Joshua - thank you for forcing me to keep my nervousness about silly football matches in proper perspective!

Having said that, despite everything going on it was still a pleasure to see Liverpool win what could have been a very tense and difficult match so comfortably. 4-0 away in Marseilles is a great result! Torres and Gerrard were amazing. So from a position of needing to win all 3 matches to qualify Liverpool have beaten Besiktas 8-0, Porto 4-1 and now Marseilles 4-0. Fantastic! But it makes even more of a mockery of the silly results in the earlier matches that left us in the position of needing those 3 wins, and also mean that we only qualify in 2nd place from a group that we should have won comfortably. Means we're likely to end up with a far harder tie now in the next round against 1 of the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC or Inter Milan etc. Still Liverpool have shown that they can beat anyone on their day in these European knockout stages. Here's hoping we'll do it again!

Ordination Service

Had a letter through on Tuesday confirming that (assuming nothing goes badly wrong in the next 6 months!) my ordination service will take place in Liverpool's stunning Anglican Cathedral at 10.30am on Sunday 29th June 2008. Thinking about it - it's actually not very far off! It's all becoming quite scarily real all of a sudden, and I'm getting the impression that these next 6 months are going to fly by. The letter had details of what I need to wear in terms of robes for the service - I'm so clueless on that sort of stuff, any advice from anyone who happens to know about C of E clerical wear etc. will be gratefully received!

Anyway, if you pray, please pray for Lisa and I over this time as we go through our final months here, begin to get ready to move, and prepare for the next step of our journey along the path that we believe God is leading us along.

2 down 1 to go...

Another pretty good win for the Reds yesterday against Porto at Anfield - even if they did leave if fairly late, scoring 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to give a slightly flattering 4-1 victory. Having left ourselves in the silly position of needing 3 wins from our last 3 matches in the group to qualify for the next round, that's now 2 of them dealt with convincingly and just the 1 to go now. The fact that we're beating these teams 8-0 and 4-1 just goes to show how poorly we played to be in this predicament - these are not particularly good teams and we shouldn't be having this difficulty in qualifying. Going to be a really difficult and tense match against Marseilles at their ground now to see if we can get the 3rd win needed. But if we can do that, and with our league form picking up again, this season might just not be a write off yet. Here's hoping...

England, England, England...

Nearly tempted to say I'm glad because England have made such an unbelievable hash of what should have been a relatively straightfoward qualification group, and simply have not deserved to go through. But I'm not glad - in reality I am gutted! What I do honestly believe though is that if we had held on for the draw last night and qualified it would have just been a papering over of the cracks, and could have led to a continuation of what has been an extremely mediocre couple of years.

I think McClaren got things horribly wrong with his team line up and tactics and has consistently done so over his whole time in charge. The only area I feel slightly sorry for him in terms of last nights game was the defence where injuries / suspension meant the entire 1st choice back 4 were missing. But to change the whole formation that England are used to and to bring in a new and inexperienced keeper for such a key game was just crazy. Never saw the game, but poor Scott Carson will have nightmares about that 1st goal for the rest of his career and the midfield (from what I've heard) just didn't seem to know what they were meant to be doing, where they were meant to be playing. The players must take some of the blame, but ultimately when the tactics go as horribly wrong as that the manager has to take the ultimate responsibility.

Also think the FA need to have a long hard look at themselves. For 1 thing the pitch at Wembley was in a shocking state which didn't suit the England players at all. Something seems to be wrong throughout the English game as well, we've got supposedly the strongest league in the world and yet our national team is in such a mess. Is it just down to things like the number of foreign imports playing here - does that restrict the progress of English players?

Finally, I know it is easy to say in hindsight, but I did say at the time he was appointed that I thought McClaren was the wrong choice - and I do feel sorry for him, good club coach and nice guy, but not the right man for the England job. When Sven went I wanted someone to come in fresh, wipe the slate clean and bring new ideas and impetus, instead they just appointed Sven's sidekick and though he tried to make a couple of changes to stamp his authority at the start it was pretty much just the same old England. Why they didn't bring in someone like Martin O'Neill is still beyond me! Hopefully this will be rectified with the right appointment of the next manager now, but who will that be? It's like being handed the poisoned chalice, volunteering to be the next back page hate figure! Will be interesting to see what happens. I would still like O'Neill, and as much as I'm not a big fan of the guy to say the least Mourinho could be an interesting choice. Hmmm...

24 - 13 years ago!

Enjoying watching 24 series 4 at the moment, and came across this spoof clip via Ellen's blog. Quality!

(Unfortunately can't get the video itself to appear directly here - so click HERE to watch)

Only in America!

Enjoyed the 2nd 'most read' news item on the BBC webaite this morning. The title and 1st sentance says it all:

Man hurt using gun to change tyre
A US man has injured himself in both legs after attempting to loosen a stiff wheel-nut by blasting it with his gun.

Click here for the full story.

Let him who is without sin...

Asbojesus making me laugh again:

Graduation Day.

Spent most of the day yesterday wandering around Cambridge feeling like a bit of a prat in the get up you'll see in the photo's below. Having worked hard over the last couple of years to get a 2:1 in my BTh degree I thought I might as well attend one of the 'degree conferral congregations' as they call them here to be 'admitted' to my degree and receive the certificate officially. Ridley can't validate its own degrees, so I have also been a member of Wolfson which is one of the University colleges - but not had time too get involved in much there or got round to going to any of their formal / posh dinners etc. They're not really my scene anyway. So this was my 1 last chance to do the 'formal' Cambridge Uni bit while I'm here, and my parents were happy that I was willing to go anyway!

Anyway, talk about pomp and ceremony! The instruction email about the day set the tone for what to expect - here's an extract from it about dress code:-

CLOTHING TO BE WORN WITH ACADEMICAL DRESS : BY MEN
· The overall effect should be formal and tidy.
· When proceeding to Degree, men must wear a plain dark suit or black dinner jacket and trousers. “Dark” means black, or very dark blue, or very dark grey. A plain white shirt with a white dress tie and academical bands must also be worn. Shirts with a pronounced pattern are not permitted. Cummerbunds are also not permitted.
· Men must wear academical bands, except when service uniform (see below) or national dress is permitted to be worn.
· Shoes must be black and of sober style. Sandals or boots are also not permitted. Socks must be black or very dark blue or very dark grey.

PLEASE CONTACT THE PRAELECTOR IF YOU WISH TO WEAR NATIONAL DRESS (The Praelector must request of the Registry, special dispensation if you wish to wear national dress)

Having been sent this in advance I was then told that I had to arrive at Wolfson in time for a guy called the 'Praelector' to inspect me to make sure I was correctly dressed - they weren't joking, he even asked me to lift my trousers so he could check my socks!! After that we got to go to the President's lodge for a drinks reception and then to the Dining Hall for a very enjoyable 3 course lunch. At the end of the lunch the 'Praelector' gave us a bit of a talk about the history of Cambridge graduation - I didn't realise that no women were awarded Cambridge degrees before 1948! He also talked about the University Police called 'proctors'. Supposedly in the past they used to prowl around Cambridge to catch any students not wearing their gowns etc. and also to spot any students out and about with girls! They had the power to arrest the girls and send them for 30 days to the local 'spinning house' as 'correction'! Nowadays they are there on graduation days to make sure that 'graduands' are dressed correctly and behave correctly at the ceremony, and the reason why the Praelector was checking our attire so carefully was that if the proctors spot anything wrong with our dress or if we 'misbehaved' he gets fined a bottle of port! Only in somewhere like Cambridge! I was slightly bemused and finding the whole thing a bit surreal at this stage!

After that I had to go with the other 'graduands' for a run through of what would happen at the ceremony. Then we had to 'precess' from Wolfson; in the order that we were to go forward at the ceremony mainly in rows of 2 or 3 - but with me as the only person there receiving an undergraduate degree bringing up the rear on my own, the 'dunce' of the group; to the University Church in the centre of town, where the ceremony was held. There, I had to walk up the aisle, take hold of the praelectors hand while he presented me in Latin, then move forward kneel down with my hands held out together while the person doing the award held them and spoke some more Latin, then stand take a step back and bow to her, before walking off and receiving the certificate. And that was it. All a bit formal and surreal, and not the sort of scene or clothing get up that I'm normally comfortable with. But I did kind of enjoy it and am glad I did it. My parents seemed to enjoy it, and think Lisa did generally too. Here's a few photo's:

Long time since my Dad last had to dress me! But I didn't have a clue what I was doing!

With Lisa, Mum and Dad at Ridley.

The University Church of Great St Mary's - where the ceremony took place.

On the University 'Senate House' lawn after the cermony.

Ludicrous laws...

Came across on article on the BBC website yesterday that amused me. It was about some research done by UKTV Gold into ludicrous laws that have supposedly never been repealed in England. Here's a few examples:

* It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament

* It could be regarded an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down

* Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned

* In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants

* The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen

* It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing

* It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour

There were some other even funnier ones on there yesterday as well as the above (including 1 about it being illegal to be topless in public places in Liverpool unless you work in a pet shop!), but when you visit the page it now says: "This is an amended version of an earlier story which included several examples of laws from the survey which we have been unable to verify, and these have been removed." Pity!

8-0!!

What a performance and result by Liverpool the other night! Makes a nice change after a very poor few weeks. Sometimes though, football just makes no sense! How can you get beat 2-1 by a team and then just 2 weeks later beat that same team 8-0? Nonsensical! I know it does make a difference playing in your own stadium rather than at the other teams place, nut surely it shouldn't make that much difference? Reminds me of a couple of matches Liverpool played in the same season when I was a teenager against Crystal Palace (early 90's I think). We beat them either 9-0 or 9-1 in the league, but then were beaten 4-3 by them in the FA Cup semi-final. At least they were a few months apart though - not just 2 weeks!

Didn't get to see the match, but it sounds like it was totally one-sided and that we could have scored even more. Wish we'd playe half as well in our previous matches in this group. Have read that it is the best ever winning score in the Champions League. Nice record to have, but it will count for nothing if we don't qualify for the next round. That's still going to be an uphill struggle as we have to win both of our remaining matches against Porto at Anfield and then Marseilles at their ground. Just hope we can keep the momentum from this result going...

Preaching as confessional?

On the note of preaching this morning (see below entry), I was reading a book about preaching recently where the author made a comment that interested me in a list of 'do nots' for preachers. The author said that preachers should not use the pulpit as a confessional - that his confessional is done in private between him and God. I'd be interested in quizzing him further about what exactly he meant by this. I agree that it is right for a preacher to be wise and careful about what they say - and especially if they are in a leadership role of some kind in the situation in which they are preaching. I wouldn't want a preacher to spend a whole sermon sharing their own faults or dark secrets or whatever. A sermon shouldn't be self-centred. But at the same time I'm not convinced that there is anything wrong with a preacher admitting that what they are preaching about is difficult to accept / understand sometimes and that they themselves often find whatever it is hard; to admit that they do often find it a struggle to practice what they preach. I think that it is often easier for people to relate to, and accept what they hear from, preachers who can be honest about their own struggles and difficulties - their need for God and the strength of His Holy Spirit. Like I say I know that a preacher should be wise about this, and the appropriateness of saying certain things has to be judged according to each context / situation - but surely not to the point of not being real at all and running the risk as coming over to people as aloof??

Epitaphs...

Preached this morning on a passage from 2 Timothy 4. Not feeling brave enough to share my sermon text on here. But when I was preparing and 1st read the passage it made me think that Paul could have been writing his own epitaph:

'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day...' (2 Tim 4:7-8)

When my earthly end comes (hopefully not for many a year yet!!) I'd be happy to have such words as these on my gravestone!

With these thoughts going through my mind I went google searching for some of examples of real epitaphs which I used in my introduction:

Winston Churchill – I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

Unknown dentist – Stranger! Approach this spot with gravity! John Brown is filling his last cavity.

Mary Weary, Housewife –
Dere Friends I am going
Where washing ain't done
Or cooking or sewing:
Don't mourn for me now
Or weep for me never:
For I go to do nothing
Forever and ever!

and one that I didn't use but one of the congregation told me about after the service:

Spike Milligan - I told you I was ill!

Lord of the Rings the Show

Treated ourselves on Monday just gone as it was Lisa's 1/2 term with a trip down to London to go and see the new stage version of Lord of the Rings, having managed to come across some very reasonably priced tickets which included a pre-show meal as well on lastminute.com. Had a very enjoyable evening!

Having said that my views on the show are slightly mixed. As a big fan of the book, I did wonder how they could hope to do the story justice in a 3 hour stage show - and to be blunt I don't think it did the job storyline wise. I found myself wondering whether someone who didn't know the story at all would be able to work out what the heck was going on - or would they actually enjoy it more because they didn't know all the ins and outs of the story? Also none of the songs struck me in the often annoying but memorable way that musical songs have a tendency to strike me.

There were some real highlights though - the accompanying / background music was at times fantastic, the actor who played Gollum carried the role off brilliantly and visually the whole show was absolutely stunning! The way the stage worked - different bits of it moving in all kinds of directions including up and down throughout the show (so much work to get that right in terms of sequencing and timing etc.); the different scenes and backdrops; the way 'awkward' characters like the orcs, the ents, the balrog, and especially Shelob the spider worked; was all just incredible! Couldn't find a picture of Shelob unfortuantely, but here's one of the ents and one of the orcs (also showing something of the amazing stage mechanics):

For more amazing photo's and info about the show click here.

Verdict: A must see simply for being so visually amazing! LOTR purists just put your knowledge to 1 side for 3 hours and enjoy this show as the visual spectacular that it is!!

Robbed...

Following on from my brief mention of last weekend's Liverpool derby match a couple of posts below this - just been sent this by my future boss. Couldn't resist sharing it on here!

Jason Robinson

To follow on from my below entry, I felt this guy was worthy of a brief post in his own right. He's been a bit of a hero of mine since moving from Rugby League to Union however many years ago it was. He literally lit up matches when he was at his best - I hadn't seen anyone like him when I first saw him play for England. Pity his career has had to end with going off injured in a world cup final defeat, but I don't think there would be too many arguments about him being classed as the most succesful and best league to union convert! His autobiography is a very worthwhile and enjoyable read as well. All the best for your retirement Jason!

Not this time...

...unfortunately for England in the Rugby World Cup. Don't think we can have any complaints though. Partly shot ourselves in the foot in the 1st half gifting SA 6 points from easy penalties that came from Tait's slip and Moody's stupid and pointless tripping of an opponent, but other than that I think England put in a massive and admirable effort but were just not quite good enough! Kept the dangerous Habana at bay (stopping him from breaking Jonah Lomu's record for number of tries in a world cup), but just couldn't break through to get the points we needed. Obviously the key moment was Cueto's disallowed 'try' - at 1st I was pretty incensed at what I thought was a clear injustice, but having seen it a few times I do think we have to say fairplay to the video ref for getting a very tight and crucial call right. Cueto's foot did just touch the line before he lifted it off the ground and grounded the ball - unfortunately! In terms of hope for the future I think it has got to bode well that we have got so much further than anyone imagined - there are definite signs of improvement and hopefully it will give a much needed kick start after 4 disastrous years, also it was good to see Tait (apart from his slip) playing so well - and hopefully a good blend between youth and experience can be found to take things forward now as players like Dallaglio, Catt, Robinson etc. drop out of the scene. The 1 worrying thing is the lack of commitment at this stage to Ashton's role as coach from the RFU etc. - I think it would be criminal to lose him at this stage, he's made mistakes but given the state he inherited things in and the injury problems he's had to deal with that was inevitable. I don't think there is anyone better at this stage to take the job on.


...also, unfortunately, for Lewis Hamilton. Not a F1 fan particularly, but I still appreciated the magnitude of what it would have meant to be the 1st driver ever to win a world championship in his 1st season. Incredible achievements this season though, and I hope that is not forgotten because he fell at the last!


Can't leave a post about the weekend's sport without mentioning very briefly Liverpool's rather controversial derby win over Everton at the weekend. Having felt very aggrieved at Liverpool's suffering at the hands of a ref against Chelsea earlier in the season - I have to say I have every sympathy for the Everton fans for a change! Don't believe that there can be much argument about the 2 pens given to Liverpool or the red cards that went with them - but do think that Kuyt was very fortunate to stay on the pitch, and that Everton should have had at least one penalty. Glad that Liverpool got 3 points though - and really hoping that it will kick start us a bit, our form has been atrocious! Big match against Besiktas in Turkey on Weds that we really need to win to stay in the Champions league after the disaster against Marseilles 2 wks ago. Just read that Torres still isn't fit to play, which worries me. Come on Reds!

Preaching...

Another asbojesus offering that's given me a bit of a reality check. I'm preaching next Sunday for the 1st time since I finished at my previous placement church last Easter, and as well as the regular congregation some fellow students from Ridley and a member of staff are going to be there. We'll then get together at some point for them to give me feedback on my sermon. Hope I provoke a better reaction than those above!

The cartoon has set me thinking though - as preachers are we called to constantly reinvent the wheel so to speak? Do we need to constantly find new things to speak about? In fact can we? Or is it more about getting the same messages and challenges across but at the same time being innovative, inventive, situationally relevant etc. in the way we do it, finding ways of speaking to people who've been sitting in the pews for many years as well as those sitting there for the 1st time? Do we have to accept that we can't please / speak relevantly to everyone, or is that being too defeatist and not trusting God and his work in and through us enough? This is tough and challenging stuff! Time to stop before I scare myself too much...

Empty worship?

Have been provoked to think a fair bit about what worship means over my time at Ridley. In particular sung worship and the extent to which I really understand a lot of what I find myself singing (well trying to sing in my case!), or even think about it, let alone whether or not it affects my actions and life generally. So many words just trip off my tongue out of habit and familiarity. Came across this on the asbojesus site - I find it rather apt and challenging!

Final here we come!

That man does it again - though only after a few misses this time! Another unexpected victory for England, beating the hosts in the semi-final in Paris itself. Impossible to even think of this happening as England were being trounced 36-0 by South Africa just a month or so ago - it's not been pretty rugby, but its proving effective. Can they really win the trophy again? COME ON ENGLAND!

Homeward bound...

Great to be in a postion to say for definite that we will be heading back to Liverpool in June when I finish at Ridley. It was what we had hoped for all along, but it's good to have it finalised - see it here in black and white! It was agreed at the church's PCC meeting on Weds evening, but I've waited until now to mention it on here as it was announced in the church services this morning. Really pleased as well that it is Crosby we are going to. I feel like I'm heading back to my roots in some ways - it's just a few miles from where I grew up in north Liverpool, and I had plenty of visits to the marina and beach there as a child / teenager. The funny thing about it is that it is St Luke's church where my Dad was a curate in the early 70's - he left there in 1974 2 years before I was born; and also my brother was the news editor, until about 2 years ago, of the Crosby Herald - the local weekly newspaper. There is lots going on at the church (checkout the website: http://www.stlukecrosby.org.uk/), and we've really enjoyed the welcome we've received on our visits there. It's going to be a really exciting place for Lisa and I to be based, and it will provide great training opportunities for me. The trick now will be to keep some focus on / motivation for (and enjoy!) my studies and the rest of our time at Ridley!

Tale of the unexpected...

...seems to be an appropriate way to describe the goings on in the 1st 2 quarter finals of the Rugby Union World Cup today. If you'd told me this morning that England and France would go through to the semi-finals at the expense of the Aussies and the All Blacks I'd have laughed at you, and I don't think I would have been alone! 2 incredible matches both decided by only 2 points, and both upsetting the form books. All part of the excitement of tournaments like this - especially when they get to the knockout stages, previous form counts for nothing.

It goes without saying that I was especially pleased with the England game. Our forwards were immense and the Aussies just had no answer to them. To think it was just a few weeks ago that we were beaten 36-0 by South Africa! Since then there has been a steady improvement by England that I think has had a lot to do with Gomersall and Wilkinson playing together again at scrum half and fly half. But it was the likes of Sheridan, Moody and Shaw who were the stars today - even meaning the normally dependable Wilkinson got away with a few uncharacteristic misses.

Enjoyed the post-match celebrations and interviews, especially the comment of the day from Nick Easter the No 8 who sarcastically thanked the British press "from the heart of my bottom for their support through the tournament so far!"

Strange minds...

This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it

Liverpool 0 Marseille 1

It's not been a particularly good few weeks for Liverpool, but this result at Anfield this evening was especially disappointing and worrying. Never got to see the game, but from what I have just been reading about it I'm quite glad! Was my rather cautious early season optimism (see here and here) misplaced??

Defending champions?!!

Not posted anything about the Rugby Union World Cup so far, because as an England fan who also has a soft spot for the Irish team it has all been far too depressing to think about! Really is hard to believe that just 4 years ago England were the team that the others were scared to play against and ending up winning the tournament. So much has changed since then and we have seen nothing from England that is worthy of the defending champions tag. The win today against Samoa was a bit more promising apart from the 1st 2o mins of the 2nd half when some sloppy mistakes nearly brought Samoa level, but I'm not sure that the likes of the All Blacks / Aussies will be quaking in their boots at the prospect of playing the 'defending champions'! And the less said about Ireland the better. Supposedly after France the Northern hemisphere's best chance of challenging the Southern hemisphere teams for the trophy, but 3 awful games have left them on the verge of going out in the 1st round. It'll take an unlikely beating of Argentina by a margin of at least 7 points with a minimum 4 tries scored to gain a bonus point in the process to keep them in the tournament. At this stage I've got to say the All Blacks are standing head and shoulders above all the rest and it's hard to see past them for the trophy.

Football isn't much to shout about at the moment either. Having been so positive about the 'new look' Liverpool a few weeks ago, they seem to have gone into a slump that has led to 3 pretty unimpressive draws against Portsmouth, Porto and worst of all Birmingham. I'm not one to jump onto managers backs too quickly - I like Benitez and hope he is at Liverpool for a long time to come, but I do wonder sometimes about his rotation policy that has seen Torres (our best striker) left on the bench for 2 of those games. It's all well saying they need to be still able to perform come the end of the season next April / May - but what is the point of that if we are not still in contention to win the league at that point due to dropping too many points earlier on?! Sort it out Reds!

Phoning God

Was made to laugh by a friend's story of a recent conversation with his 3 year old son:

Son: Can we play football?
Dad: It's going too dark.
Son: Why is it going too dark?
Dad: God's turned the lights out!
Son: Can we ask him to turn them on again? What's his number? I'll give him a call.