Tat, Sausages, and how to navigate country roads April 26, 2009

This weekend held all the glorious components that a weekend should, in my humble opinion. I have arrived at the end of it feeling like much was experienced and much was achieved and much fun was had in the process.

It started well on Friday, with an amusing train journey southwards. Then a jolly taxi driver took us to the glories of the second ‘tat for tat’ party. This time there were lots of people and much more tat. In fact it took about 3 hours to work through it all. My haul of tat (so much for spring cleaning and minimising) was as follows:

• 4 books
• A roman bath sponge
• 2 bags of mongolian wooden animals
• A purple and gold cushion
• a garland of paper flowers
• a wire photoframe
• a dangly 5 photo holder
• a pair of faith sandals
• Some posh cleanser and body lotion
• Some more body lotion
• 8 bags of small beads
• a little star ornament
• A mug with pink roses on
• Some purple hand and bath towels

So all that was very lovely and impressive. I learned some important things too, like (from a good friend) the dangers of drinking tequila before attending a tat party – “oooh yes I’d love that silver handbag” and (from a new acquaintance) the need to be selective about which tat to opt for – “I’m sure my dad would love a new corner shelf”… pure entertainment!

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and was welcomed in the only proper way – with breakfast in Starbucks. I had toasted fruit bread whilst my esteemed companion checked out the brand spanking new chocolate muffins and a strawberry yoghurt. We mused together, putting the world to rights and laughing about the joys and complexities of life. And then spent a while wandering the sunny streets, before we both decided that a sausage sandwich was necessary. The sandwich in question was everything a sausage sandwich should be – thick white bread, brown sauce, well-cooked sausages sliced lengthways… it was bliss.

The next phase of the day was spent walking to the house of some other good friends, who live in a small village. In fact that doesn’t do it justice… they live in the most beautiful village I have seen in a long  old time, but I’ll return to that in a minute.

The walk there was lovely too – just over three miles, in blazing (but not burning) sunshine. Fields and sheep and bluebells and trees. I did however learn that three miles in London is nothing in terms of walking (I’ve done about 25 miles this past week), but three miles through the English countryside is a little more challenging. I realised I have become quite city-fied at the point where the pavement ran out after about a mile and there was just road. I stopped, momentarily flummoxed, but then I dredged up from somewhere in my mind that you were allowed to walk on the edge of roads in the countryside, and that the correct etiquette for doing so was to keep right and face the oncoming traffic. Anyway, I didn’t die, and it was lovely and scenic!

Once I had recovered from my orienteering, we drank tea and ate yummy homemade profiteroles. Then we chatted about multitudinous exciting future plans. After this, I was treated to a scenic tour of aforementioned gorgeous village. I saw the community orchard (where village residents are allowed to pick fruit in the autumn), an amazing water mill, some huge geese sitting in someones front garden (Guard-dogs are so last century…) and countless picturesque cottages. We wandered through some woods down to the clearest stream I’d seen for ages, (I so wanted to paddle) and then back (getting momentarily lost in a nettle field in the process which made it all the more fun!). Then we explored the tiny village church, having been let in by the sweetest, kindest (and probably oldest) church warden I’ve ever seen. Back out into the sunshine we peered through the bowed beams of a real live Tithe Barn with a thatched roof, I’d never seen one before. We both commented that it’d be an ace place for a reception. Then it was back, past more lovely flowers and herbs, with a quick peek into the quaint (but well stocked) village store, and a quick scan of the minutes of the last parish council meeting (where the ’scourge of water voles’ was discussed at length). Genius.

After this, and another cuppa, we headed back and I found my way to a chugging train which brought me safely back to the buzzing metropolis. I unpacked and adored my tat acquisitions a little before heading to bed.

Today has held the usual mix of church, awesome roast dinner with friends, and then youth group. It’s been a nice day, and I’m looking forward to the week ahead

The End of an Era April 22, 2009

I’m feeling gutted today.

This weekend just gone I was up in Oldham, visting friends and staying in the house I lived in from 2003-4. It was a great weekend, and I loved being on Fitton Hill again.  I did a lot of walking, drinking in views I used to see everyday but are now vastly different to my London surroundings. I headed back on a coach on Monday evening, and didn’t really think very much about the estate I’d just left.

Then on Tuesday evening I got a text message from my old housemate saying that the mill at the end of the street was on fire and they had been evacuated. I was intrigued. Maple Mill was probably one of the first landmarks I saw when I visited Fitton Hill. It stood proudly on our street, I could see it from my bedroom window every morning and you had to walk past it to get anywhere. There was something about those old mills that really inspired me, something I could never put my finger on. Maple mill was quite decrepit, and there was some dodgy deals that everyone knew went on in there, giving it a somewhat sinister feel, but I still loved it.

On Monday I walked past and looked up at the mill. I saw the broken glass and the decades of rubbish and the graffiti and the mess. I saw the blackened windows and the discarded cardboard and the spray cans. I saw chaos and rubble but somewhere in it all I felt affection.

Today the story was on the BBC news website as well as the Oldham Chronicle site. Apparently there were 60 ft high flames, and the smoke could be seen this morning even ten miles away. Part way through the blaze, the 60 x 40 metres main front wall of the mill collapsed into Dowry Street, my old road, literally where I had been standing just 24 hours earlier.

I’m not sure why it’s made me feel so sad. It just feels really wrong that the mill won’t be there any more. Like next time I visit the landscape will be altered irrevocably. I think it’s like how I’d feel if my old school got bulldozed or something. I’m just glad I’d travelled home on the Monday and not the Tuesday evening!

So it’s goodbye to Maple Mill, and lots of prayers for those who worked there, and the residents of Fitton Hill as they get used to the new landscape. If you’re a praying type, please offer one up for the Eden youthwork team based on the estate too.

   

  

(photos from Oldham Evening Chronicle)

The Big Church Day Out April 15, 2009

(This deserves a shout-out, if only for the beautiful design work above!!)

24-7prayer are joining up with Delirious? and a huge list of other friends for a one-day festival on Sunday 24th May – called the Big Church Day Out – on the incredibly beautiful Wiston House Estate, West Sussex.

From 2.30pm in the afternoon until 10pm late that night, there will be a whole variety of experiences for all the family… with worship bands and speakers, fun stuff for children and activities for young people, an acoustic cafe and other food venues, and our very own 24-7prayer chapel.

Charlotte Terris and her small team have been dreaming up all kinds of creative ideas to turn the 700 year-old Wiston chapel into a beautiful prayer room, based around the Lord’s Prayer. It’s all very exciting. Tim Jupp, from Delirious, said that the prayer room should become the focus as the day progresses… prayer for the area, and for our nation.

So… we’d love you to be there, if you can come. Already churches have been buying blocks of tickets and booking coaches for the day… up to 10,000 people are expected. For more information, and for tickets, you can click across to the website; http://www.thebigchurchdayout.com

Highlights from Holy Week (so far…) April 11, 2009

I feel a bit bad that most of these aren’t Holy Week related, they just happened to happen in Holy Week. Anyway….

1) Yarns

I randomly banged into a friend… I happened to be at a Mainline London station at a loose end and she happened to be in a road about 100 metres away. Since we live 70 miles apart this was a feat. I went to meet her at this amazing knit shop, where they had this amazing knitting group, and lots of amazing yarn. I loved the different textures and colours and patterns, I loved meeting random people and talking about everything from Harry Potter socks to what you could knit with Possom wool. I will definitely go back (even if just to pick up Rainbow coloured Schoppel Wolle Zauberball for said friend ).

That leads me onto point 2:

2) Giraffes

Not real ones, sadly. Myself and aforementioned friend decided to make the most of the marvellous coincedence and partake of some tea. We wandered around looking for a suitable establishment, but were a little flummoxed. Then via the marvels of iphones (which cleverly tell you where all the nearest restaurants are), we found ourselves in one called Giraffe. I had an amazing Vietnamese chicken and prawn curry and my friend had a scrummy schitzel burger. There were so many lovely things on the menu we couldn’t decide and so will be returning to try out other things. It was lovely to sit and chat and eat and watch the sun go down on the river. A splendid evening all round.

3) Aunts

For the last couple of days I have been staying with my lovely Aunt. It was nice to see her, to sample much home cooked food, to see people at church who remembered me from when I was five, to sleep in a luxurious and very pink bedroom, to go for a long walk in the sunshine (while it poured in Wandsworth. hehehe), to run screaming from huge spiders, to stroll in the grounds of the local castle, to go to various Good Friday-related services, to see my cousin again after about ten years, to put the world to rights and to plan future exploits. She also taught me to Purl… which I have yet to perfect (it makes more sense that plain stitch knitting, but it messes with my head and then makes me forget how to do plain… more practise is required I think), oh, and how to cast on… I will knit a tank top yet!

4) Watermelons

When I was in Latvia last I stocked up on some Watermelon flavoured Mentos. Like Mango, Watermelon is one of those things where I love the flavour but detest the actual fruit… so when my friends told me they’d got me a watermelon-related Easter present I was a little skeptical!! It turned out to be a quater of watermelon & apple fizzers, and a quarter of watermelon jellies. Top marks for nostalgia,  for taste, for ingenuity, and for actual-watermelon-avoidance there!

That’s enough of the excitements for now I think. Will post more post-Easter!

Office Joys April 6, 2009

Today I found myself sat at my desk in THQ (The SA’s headquarters, affectionately referred to as the Mother Ship). I spun around on my chair a few times and found myself thinking how much I enjoyed being there and how much I am looking forward to the weeks ahead.

I spent a good half hour clearing junk from random corners of my desk. I’m really good at keeping stuff, thinking ‘I’ll need that again’, and then it just sits in a dusty desk tray for weeks and weeks. Today I shredded loads of that sort of thing. I couldn’t bear to throw away the odd Bible verses scribbled on post-it notes that had obviously jumped out to me one day or the other, so I stuck those in my journal.

I spent another good while catching up with some of the lovely people who work on my floor. We’re a bit of a motley crew, but there is genuine affection there, and today it felt good just to be chatting over steaming cups of coffee.

A good Monday all round!

Hosanna when heaven is silent April 5, 2009

I didn’t understand what all the shouting was about at first. I’d gone for a walk to try and clear my head, to get a change of scenery, to try and calm my nerves and get some space from the clamour and head noise.

I thought perhaps it was a riot, or that there was a demonstration. My head, tired as it was, spun through potentialities of terrorist bombs or maybe an accident. There were sirens, and police in protective gear, and there were many, many people, all ignoring the repeated ‘there’s nothing here to see” ’s.

I was tempted to turn around and walk in the other direction. This was not what I needed right now. Living in the city had its perks, but mass hysteria was not one of them, and the bustle and excitement of the crowds was doing nothing for my jarred nerves.

Something didn’t make sense. If there had been a disaster, why was everyone so enthiastic? Why were people fighting to get a view? Shouldn’t they be running, or screaming, or at least poised to back off if their curiousity looked like it would prove mortally dangerous? Then I wondered if they were watching out for some film star, making an impromptu appearance in our small South London borough. or maybe it was the Queen’s car or something? but would that really cause all this furore?

I gave up on my hope for a peaceful wander and stood at the back of the crowd, trying to get an idea of what was happening. I wondered how many other people had just been going about the busyness of a weekend and got caught up in the excitement. I heard snatches of conversation – apparently some religious figure was marching into the city, straight up the A3, and right into town. I still didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, never having gone in for that religious stuff much. To be honest I thought it caused more problems then it solved.

I waited for what felt like an hour. More people thronged in behind, and I couldn’t have retreated then even if I’d wanted to. People were saying that this was Jesus, that he was going to march in and change everything. Rumours that he was going to overthrow the Government abounded, helicopters circled overhead, clearly expecting chaos. The tension in the waiting ranks of police was tangible.

And then, there he was. I think I’d expected some sort of cavalcade, maybe some horses, maybe an open topped car, or one of those glass things the Pope rides in. I’d expected armoured protective glass; surely if you were going to march on a city you’d need that kind of thing. I expected him to be shouting about hell and damnation and stuff, or at least decrying the government and the state of the nation. As it was, the whole thing messed with my head.

Firstly, he was riding on a donkey. Just imagine with me for a minute what that looked like – a lone figure, riding the wrong way up the A3. Riding slowly, deliberately, past Barclays sat on a donkey. The other thing was that he wasn’t saying anything – no shouting, no hell and damnation, no whipping up the crowds into fury and violence. Everyone started shouting stuff – calling his name and welcoming him – I think they were hoping that would make him do something, do anything except keep riding at that slow and maddening pace, without saying a word.

Many thoughts circled in my mind as I watched the scene. The confusion I’d been trying to distract myself from was still there and still clamouring. If this man was God, why the bizarre set up, why the weird donkey thing? Surely it was a missed opportunity – if I was God and I had all these people watching me, I wouldn’t miss the chance to show off some of my powers! And surely that was the whole thing about religion – it promised a lot but delievered little. If he was marching on London to bring about transformation and change, he wasn’t going about it in a very logical way.

I tried to be angry with this Jesus man, as he walked on, out of my view, up the hill towards the town hall. I tried to heap all the rage I was feeling about the world onto his shoulders. I wanted to scream at him for doing nothing, saying nothing, for not answering the prayers I had whispered late in the night when there was noone else to hear, he made no sense to me.

But for the rest of the afternoon, and that night, when darkness fell again, the thing I remembered most about the strange procession was Jesus’ face. I guessed I’d expected superiority, power, judgement; but what I’d seen was humility, compassion, sadness even. His face was set on the path set before him, but even in his passing it felt like he’d seen every person in that crowd, and communicated something individually to each of us. Instead of looking into the face of an authoritarian conqueror, it felt like I’d seen the expression of a sorrowful lover, a man heartbroken and longing for reconciliation, and his humanity had done something to soothe my own doubt and pain and loss.

Dual Birthday Fun April 5, 2009

I like to think I am blessed with some of the most lovely friends in the world.

In what I like to see as a nod towards my appreciation for order, two of them were considerate enough to be born on consecutive days, just at the end of the month of March. Last year, we inaugurated a tradition of celebration this, and (logically) nicknamed the day ‘Dual Birthday’.

Instead of packing the day with zany exploits this year, I decided to go with a more relaxed affair. So the day began with the instruction for my two lovely friends to meet for brunch at my house (an instruction they managed skillfully). I had spent the week cooking and baking (much to the consternation of the builders who have been amending our house this week… they were much saddened by the enticing aromas that they never got to taste!).

I made butternut squash soup, and potato and bacon salad, and apricot crumble cake, and chocolate tiffin. Then there was spinach and ricotta flamme, pigs in blankets, yoghurt & honey, pancakes & maple syrup, crisps and multitudinous other goodies.

My room was set up as Cafe Pterodactyl, with placemats which had a photo of each of our heads stuck onto a pterodactyl body. I liked that touch. There was also an ambient background of Take That playing, to drown out the intermittent African drumming from my neighbour!

I regaled my lovely friends with pressies, including teabags and star-shaped dangling decorations. We also had a mug each with some selected photos of us from the past year super-imposed on them, and a hoodie bearing the DB09 logo, and with each of our names on the back (you can see them in all their glory in the above photo). It was much fun wandering round London later, wearing these to boldly advertise the day.

After we had eaten, we spent some time engaging in some creative prayer excercises. I couldn’t have picked better people to share this with. Funniest moment of the afternoon had to be one of my lovely friends electrocuting herself on my slightly dodgy laptop wire – I know that it is near-fatal to touch to the two ends of the exposed wires together, unfortunately I didn’t manage to communicate this to said friend, and the resulting crackle,  blue flash, and minor burn provided us all with merriment for the rest of the day. Second funniest moment had to be when she decided her life was more important than trying to extricate music from my lethal laptop, and ‘treated’ us to the music on her phone… I will be loyal and not share my opinion of said music!!

After we had set the world to rights some more, we headed out to the beauteous location of a local park, where Hugo ran wild, terrorising the residents, and we lay on the grass enjoying the sunshine. We ate chocolate birthday cake bedecked with raspberries, and yummy cupcakes too. Then we took a bundle of photos, my favourite being the one above, where we had to balance my camera on top of a precarious pile of bags and tupperware to create a tripod. (I may look like I’m smiling, but inside I’m like ‘Eeek, my camera is going to plumment to his death at any moment).

Posing done, we jumped aboard some of London’s finest public transport, and headed to a restaurant near my favourite station in the world. Bumbles, on Buckingham Palace Road, offered a fair selection for a bargainous price (Even if they did try to bump up said price with some intriguing supplements). I enjoyed Smoked chicken and pork salad, followed by fish and triple cooked chips, followed by lemon tart. Lovely friends enjoyed french onion soup, followed by Pork rib with caponata and chips (chips that initially didn’t appear and had to be wrangled for. I think our “It says it comes with chips on the menu” followed by their “It doesn’t come with chips tonight.” was another of those ‘quote of the day’ moments) followed by lemon tart and ice cream respectively.

After this grand fayre, we wandered lesuirely back to Victoria, where one lovely friend jumped on a train homewards. Then other lovely friend and I found a bus that took us back to my house, where we reminisced on the joys and celebrations of the day.

I love my friends, and I loved the chance to again be able to celebrate who they are and what they mean to me. I loved doing fun stuff, but I also loved it that this year we could mix that in with some more serious, meaningful stuff. I guess you know relationships are deep when there is no need to fill every minute with hilarity.

Roll on DB10 I say!!!