Pink and the Indigo Girls

I am writing something on faith and social justice at the moment and am feeling especially irritated by our government influence of US policy. The images in the Sundays of Tony Blair topless sunbathing on a BeeGees estate in the USA has not helped my irritation. I know the man needs a holiday (don't we all) but perhaps he might have chosen his host and location a little more carefully given the current political situation. Anyway, I felt that Mr President and Mr Prime Minister might like to cuddle up and listen to a nice song by some lovely girls...

Saturday Blues

I woke up this morning feeling really out of sorts. I couldn't shake it. I even made a list of all the things that were on my mind - hoping that this would make me realise that none of them were that bad. None of them are. I just feel that all together I am a bit out of sorts. Anyway, apart from giving them to God (which I did - symbolically I wrote my depressing list of the envelope my Church Times had come in yesterday and popped in my bible). There isn't much that can be done to magically resolve them. There are practical things that I can do to move some of the things on but most just need time. When there is so much on your mind it is difficult not just to get perspective but also to shake off the feeling of foreboding. Like you have to watch your back. It isn't logical but then these things never are.

I was the first person downstairs (this doesn't happen very often...I tend to stay in bed until the last possible moment) and turned on the telly. The image of Saddam Hussein being led to the gallows and having the noose tied round his neck was incredibly disturbing. His barbarism is not in doubt but how does this additional barbaric act solve the anything?

Amnesty's statement on the execution is significant. Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme, said:

"Every accused has a right to a fair trial, whatever the magnitude of the charge against them. This plain fact was routinely ignored through the decades of Saddam Hussain's tyranny. His overthrow opened the opportunity to restore this basic right and, at the same time, to ensure, fairly, accountability for the crimes of the past. It is an opportunity missed, and made worse by the imposition of the death penalty."


Anyway, I have spent the day cleaning and clearing after the Christmas paper tearing and cardboard stacking celebrations. An unbelievable stash of boxes and plastic bottles have also been amassed. I went to the dump and then onto the living hell known locally as Cribbs Causeway . Neither mission did anything to lift my spirits.

The last episode of Robin Hood is on soon...

Jarvis Cocker

This video seems to capture a few of my Christmas events. My car crash was not as dramatic as his...and no glitter ball in my peugot!

good news

It feels like I have been having a bit of a rubbish time with bits and bobs recently. I have definitely been a bit stressed with the amount of things I have managed to break. Well, just in case anyone is following the trail of damage I am leaving behind me and wanting daily updates on broken things I thought I would let you know some GOOD NEWS!

My laptop, once declared dead, has been resurrected and is back with the living! PC Tech has worked a miracle (if anyone in the Bristol area has a similar disaster or just needs some IT help then I will gladly pass his details on to you) - his name is Rob Heavens (oh the wonderful irony - I think he is a human and not an angel but I will ask him when I see him!).

Anyway, on the day that I discover that my 'little bump' may end in the righting off of my mum's beautiful car this is certainly good news.

other news:

• My neck is still very sore!
• Elise has gone back to Liverpool
• My mum has gone back to Virginia Water
• Joe and Harriet have gone back to Bath
• Eva is watching My Neighbour Totoro for the 4th time this Christmas
• We have finally eaten all the Christmas meat
• We have finally started the Christmas cheese
• We have polished off all the Christmas beer and Baileys
  
• I have worn proper clothes (ie not lounge pants) for the first time since I got back from Church on Christmas day!
• I cried because I realised I really had broken my mums car!

Crashed the car

We have had a great Christmas. Visitors = Joe, Elise, Harriet (Joe's girlfriend), Celia (my Mum), Paul (Mark's old friend from Belfast), Andy Del, Annabel (with unborn child - 1 week late), Rupert and Walter. So, it has been very busy. We have nearly eaten all the food and the young people have done a good job of polishing off the booze. A few Christmas arguments.

But, I have managed to CRASH THE CAR! So, this is the 2nd very important material object that I have managed to break in the last 4 weeks (the laptop being the other one). I was going very slowly up to a junction having come off the motorway on the way to Bath. Having got 5 foot away from the car in front my foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator. So, I lurched into the BMW ahead of me. No damage to the BMW but I was in the Peugeot 205 my mum had given to me which seems to be mostly made of plastic. So, it crumpled. I was gutted. Elise, Eva and I were ok (though our necks are a bit sore and Elise has the mark of the seat belt on her chest).

I can't actually believe that I could be so foolish. How did I manage to let my foot slip? It is a mystery. Anyway, the damage is quite bad really - mainly because the car is made of plastic. So much of it needs to be relaced. Even a crash at 5mph can cause considerable damage when you hit a BMW. So, it goes into the garage tomorrow - we will know better the prognosis then.

Hey ho. I am knacked now and a bit sore and feeling very foolish. Early night!

Elvis - Blue Christmas

Christmas lights

Musical Christmas Pub

getting ready for Christmas

These two really are like two peas in a pod!

We are slowly gathering for Christmas at Loudon Bristol HQ. Joe has been here and gone back to Bath for a few days - he should be back soon. My mum is coming over by train from Virginia Water tomorrow. Elise is also ariving tomorrow from Liverpool. We are hosting the Foundation winter solstice stomp out to Blaise Castle tomorrow night - a walk in the woods then stories/poems/songs by the fire here at home.

We have at least one additional guest for dinner on Christmas day so it is going to be pretty packed. But I am quite relaxed though (don't know why?). Making plum chutney today - which is going well. It's a bit sticky and vinegary but I needed to room in the freezer so those plums had to be defrosted to make way for red cabbage, stuffing and various other Christmas bits. Feeding up to 10 people daily for a week is going to stretch us in all directions.

Anyway, Mark is working at snapy snaps today so Eva and I have spent the morning stoning plums and watching crap tv. We are off to the One25 Christmas party this afternoon. Ho Ho Ho!

Schism

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

if you have been following the 'debates' on the evangelical covenant on Paul Roberts blog and perhaps seen Dave Walker's previous cartoons on the issue this will make more sense.

Anglican Mainstream issued a further statement yesterday. Only one woman signed up. What a surprise. What a fantastic Christmas pressie for the Baby Jesus. Just what he wanted - a load of Anglicans fighting.

Ulm 1592

Said the Tailor to the Bishop:
Believe me, I can fly.
Watch me while I try.
And he stood with things
That looked like wings
On the great church roof-
That is quite absurd
A wicked, foolish lie,
For man will never fly,
A man is not a bird,
Said the Bishop to the Tailor.

Said the People to the Bishop:
The Tailor is quite dead,
He was a stupid head.
His wings are rumpled
And he lies all crumpled
On the hard church square.

The bells ring out in praise
That man is not a bird
It was a wicked, foolish lie,
Mankind will never fly,
Said the Bishop to the People.


Brecht again

ranting

Some great Christmas ranting going on...
Lindsey Horner - always good for a rant.

Paul Roberts - ranting about covenants.

Dream Blog - Richard - ranting about carols

and this is just a selection from my 'blogs of interest'. Please keep them coming. Get it off your chest before Christmas.

OK GO! Pop music video of the year?

Pop Genius.

Eva being Mary

Eva played Mary (mother of God) in her school carol service yesterday. It was a proud moment for Mark and I. I mean I am the mother of the girl who played the mother of God at her Roman Catholic school nativity carol service in 2006. She was fantastic. She kept up a solemn and holy face throughout. She was a little upset with her Joseph but managed to keep it together and they looked a lovely couple. My favorite characters (apart from Eva as Mary mother of God) were the 3 kings and their camels (the camels were very amusing - they had fancy humps and crazy dancing legs). The costumes were 'authentic' nativity garb and the use of recorders and glockenspiel added a truly festive sound. fantastic.

YIHO is leaving

At Trinity I have the privilege of being in a pastoral group with this fine group of men and women. In the few months I have been part of this group we have lost a few and gained a few. Today we said goodbye to YIHO who is returning to South Korea next week. We will miss him.

all is not lost

The files have been recovered! The laptop is dead but at least my essay is saved. I will get back to were I was yesterday before it all kicked off. More thrilling installments when I am out of the woods (metaphorical 'essay' woods).

laptop water water laptop

There has been an accident.

I reached for my bible - which was on a shelf above to the right of my desk at college. My bible was the biggest book on the shelf and as such was propping the whole lot up. Like dominoes the books fell one by one finally knocking the glass of water off the end...and onto my laptop. I did not move quickly enough to pull out the power lead. I heard a nasty fizz, then smelt a terrible smell of burnt plastic and wet electricity. I feared the worst. My worst fears were true. The whole thing had gone up in smoke along with a 1,500 word essay on global Christianity which I had not backed up for 3 days!

hey ho!

I may well have found a way out of this mess...but tonight I will sleep for tomorrow is another day.

To Hull and Back

In 2007 John Davies is Walking the M62 from Hull to Liverpool. I have done very little walking in my life so this sounds like a. a long way, b. treacherous (the M62 is a mean place even in a saab) c. lonely. But I suspect these are just some of the challenges that John has set himself. It feels like a good old fashioned adventure.

I suspect he is not actually going to walk along the hard shoulder of the M62 (apart from being illegal it would be really quite foolish). I guess as long as he can see the mighty M62 from the path he is walking on it will still count.

Of course this isn't Johns first walk...if you take a look at his site you can see that he has been doing quite a lot of walking - particularly around his parish in West Derby, Liverpool.

Anyway, we are planning our own trip to Liverpool in January (just enough warning for you to get the flags out). We will be in town by Fri 5th January. Staying at Bob and Sue's (to marvel in the beauty of the new kitchen), little Alex is being Baptised on Sun 7th so there wil be a little trip to Southport for that. The full schedule will be announced nearer the time.

Sacred Dodger

I am writing essays and getting ready for Christmas. There are only 2 things on my mind - Jesus and biscuits. xxx

Loving little Alex's tank top

He really is a big boy now. Looking forward to his Christening in early January. Well done Andrew and Gaby. XXX

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Today is Human Rights Day and as we are all aware so many people live with their human rights violated each day. This is what 'the World' (via the UN) agreed were the rights of all humanity on December 10, 1948:

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.


Article 9.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.


Article 21.

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Human Rights Declaration

This year Amnesty are marking the day with worldwide protests at the ongoing human rights violations in the Sudanese region of Darfur. You may well also have got flyers in your Sunday newspapers about their campaign to stop human trafficking. Please join Amnesty today and/or support Protest4.

Irony = Pinochet dies on Human Rights Day. What a turn up! BBC Pinochet Dead report

On being ill

I have been ill...'womens problems'. It has meant that I haven't been to college and although I am feeling a lot better I am taking quite a lot of painkillers so I am a bit dopey. Hey ho. I thought I was in the clear because, although I spent 2 weeks in the summer in Liverpool women's hospital, I haven't had a symptoms since we moved to Bristol. Anyway, I am going to have a load more tests including a Laparoscopy to see what is going on. Until then I will have some painkillers and try to remember not to overdo things.

Sometimes being ill is a wake up call, a time to take stock. Virginia Woolf referred to illness as "the great confessional". The place where your weakness is exposed and decisions have to be made. It makes you look differently at the world.

Jesus Shops for Sandals

If you feel like joining an on-line cartoon story on the buy nothing site then Jesus shops for sandals will give you a lot of pleasure.

Buy nothing this Christmas

I was looking at the generous website today trying to get inspiration for Christmas living when I found this: Buy Nothing Christmas 06. I am not sure that I am going to fully succeed in my attempts to buy nothing but I do feel inspired to seriously cut down. How on earth have we got ourselves into such a consumer muddle?
I have been reading a lot about Christian counter culture living recently...Christmas is a time to 'put my money where my mouth is' (oh the irony! Stop it hurts).
ps children and step children don't be scared - there will be presents but smaller ones, with less packaging. xxx

The Garden of Love

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.

William Blake from Songs of Experience




feeling a bit 'bound with briars'. Not really the priests fault. More the domination of capitalism and the endless Bristol rain.

Tommy Cooper

As you may remember I am busy reading
Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing: The Definitive Biography of a Comedy Legend. I am nearly finished. It is a great book for fans, not least because it is written by a fan. Someone who knew TC and obviously loved him, warts and all. Also, it makes you want to watch Tommy Cooper again, study the routines and look at what is actually going on...comedy magic? Magic Comedy? Comedy?

So, I have posted 2 You Tube routines for you to enjoy. The first is 'spoon jar jar spoon' and the other 'bottle glass glass bottle'.

Is he the funniest person who ever lived?

Advent

Advent has started with a melted moment - last night's Foundation service Frozen was a great start to the season. I feel thawed out and ready to greet the King (Jesus not Elvis - obviously).

Eva has a great advent calendar which has bible verses in each of the windows. She has set up a bible next to it with a bookmark in the shape of a cross (all her own work - I think it is the RC influence). She is reading the advent story VERY slowly from Luke - verse by verse. I guess that is the point! Anyway, I thought this Advent Calendar from Electric December, c.o The Watershed, was an interesting secular take on the season.
Hope Advent is a beautiful lead up the Big Day for one and all.

Take That - Back for Good

I am sure everyone was glued to their TV's last night. Not just to see Carol Smiley get knocked out of Strictly but even more importantly to see An Audience with Take That. It was good olde Saturday Night TV - they even had cheer leaders with pom poms. I mean, what else could a girl want from ITV. I am sure Mr Grade will be proud. I am proud. I am proud to be an owner of a TV licence. Anyway, in honour of The That I have posted the Video of Back for Good - my favourite Take That tune. Take it away boys...

Urban Strawbery Lunch

Missing Liverpool. This is the next best thing! New Age Pensioner from Uban Strawberry Lunch . This is for you Simon (because I have just discovered quite what a small world it is) and St Claire (because, despite the fact you have been very mean about my new look, I am hoping that you get to be one of the Lunch).

Halle Barry

On the Critical Attitude

The critical attitude
Strikes many people as unfruitful
That is because they find the state
Impervious to their criticism
But what in this case is an unfruitful attitude
Is merely a feeble attitude. Give criticism arms
And states can be demolished by it.

Canalising a river
Grafting a fruit tree
Educating a person
Transforming a state
These are instances of fruitful criticism
And at the same time instances of art.

Bertolt Brecht

I am struggling with 'fruitful criticism' but sinking into 'feeble attitude'. I wonder if I am missing art?