Three Comedies - And A First

I've had a very bust weekend just gone, what with watching three films. All comedies, in case you were wondering. Which makes nine since I first got my unlimited card.

I was going to see 'The Inbetweeners 2' with a friend, but she could only manage Friday, and it wasn't on in Cheltenham then. But then I realised I would be working in Gloucester on Friday, so I just randomly checked to see what was on there; and it was on. At 7:45, which was fine, apart form the fact that I didn't know what to do in between then and finishing work at 4:30 - no pun intended. So, I decided to see 'The Boxtrolls' on my own. Yes, it is the first time in a while (about 20 years) since I watched a film at the cinema on my own, but I have done it before - so that's not the first. Nor is it going to see two films in one day, though that's also something I haven't done for a long time - and possibly should do more often, at least while I have the cineworld card anyway.

Incidentally, for those who haven't yet seen it, 'The Boxtrolls' is absolutely fantastic. Both exactly what you'd expect, and completely different at the same time. What I mean is that it's a brilliant children's film, with great animation, really funny with a touch of magic - well worth watching for those reasons alone. But the things you wouldn't necessarily expect beforehand are the plot, the characterisation, the surrealness, and the mild obsession with cheese. Which, you know, is definitely intriguing.

And 'The Inbetweeners' was just as funny, but in a completely different way. Which was probably a good thing. Anyway, it was a really good film, and I would also recommend you consider it - if you like that sort of thing. Which clearly I do. But 'The Boxtrolls' is good for everyone. And when I was on the bus on the way home, there were a whole bunch of students, and I couldn't help thinking about the film while hearing their somewhat random comments.
                                                      

But then we get to Saturday, and after a long day at work, I had an unplanned nap before heading out to a film premiere. Which was the first - I can definitely safely say I have never been to a film premiere before. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered. Just for those who weren't sure, it's called 'Broken Leg', and that's the promo poster. The reason I got to go is that one of the writers/producers has a sister (and brother in law) who lives in Prestbury so the U.K. premiere was at their house. So, the first film premiere I've ever been to (did I mention that?), and not only that, but the first film showing where I got to meet one of the actors - Sarah Sawyer, who plays Karla. She's over here for a year, studying at the Bristol Old Vic; past alumni of which include Patrick Stewart and Daniel Day Lewis. So, hopefully, this could be just the start of what she gets up to. And if you want to find out more about Broken Leg, you could check out the  facebook page- or watch the trailer below. It is a brilliant watch, by the way; a fun and funny family friendly film. Go track it down - you won't regret it. Really you won't.   

                                                       

Chilli Cocktails

I've had an interesting weekend - and a pretty busy one for a change. Usually Fridays and Saturdays are most likely to be free evenings for me, but this week I was out both. And at parties both of them too.

The first was a spectacular combination of events. It was a house warming and a birthday party, also combined with the annual chilli challenge. Which is pretty self explanatory, really. I'm not sure whether this is the third or fourth, but I do know I missed the last two, at least. So I wasn't going to miss it this time. Generally, it was, you know, just like any other party, except with the main attraction of the chillis in the middle of the evening:-
                                          

So, there we have the Master of Ceremonies and host letting everyone know what the rules are before the next chilli is consumed, and we had three five six rounds (I think). To be honest, it was all a bit random in my mind; but it finally got down to three of us, and then it was decided by a vote - probably because Dave didn't want to have the Scotch Bonnet. And after having one, I can see why. I did decide right after that I wouldn't - ever - do that again, but I'm not feeling so strongly now, even a couple of days later. By next year..? Probably want to push it as much as possible again.

So, apart from the minor discomfort of a couple of the chillis, it was just generally a really nice and relaxing evening with friends. Lots of friends. And a couple of people I didn't know who were just as friendly. And a very nice evening that was over far too soon. Probably a good thing though, as I had to work the next day. Which was fun. No, really, it was quite a nice day; even if I was a bit tired.
And then off to Gloucester for the second party in as many days. A much more colourful affair, this one, as it was Hawaiian themed.

I got there a bit late, but as I was still there before the birthday girl, I wasn't entirely sure which table was ours. Thankfully someone saw me with a present and asked if I was there for Helen's party, so after that everything worked out well. Bright colours, colourful cocktails (and food), great company, lots of laughter, a parrot and a flamingo. And I got given a very colourful garland (a lei?). What more could you want from a party? Alcohol? Well, we were in a cocktail lounge. Silliness? Well, with a mastering of completely British understatement, I have given very little idea of just how silly the whole evening was; just go with more. I haven't even tried to describe what happened to the parrot and the flamingo during the course of the evening, and I'm not sure I could.

So, after getting to bed at about 4:30, I didn't do much on Sunday except go to church in the evening - wearing my my lei. Because, after all, why not? Church is supposed to be a celebration, and when else would I get the opportunity to wear it. It was interesting to see just how many people didn't pay any attention to the fact I was wearing it, and I gave it to someone who will probably wear it a lot more often than I would. A great weekend, with some strong and colourful memories, and I'm pretty sure I've made some new friends...

Eating, With Friends

I've had another week off, and I was hoping to meet up with friends during the week. I was semi-successful in meeting this aim.

The week started off well with a thankyou BBQ at the new house of some friends. I was among those who helped them move in in some way, so I was invited to the BBQ they decided to do to thank people. I actually felt a bit embarrassed about it, cos it wasn't exactly any trouble for me to offer the little help I did, and I enjoyed spending some time with them. However, I always enjoy spending time with them, so I happily went along. And it was another great occasion - as all the BBQs I've been at this summer have been. The weather was great, the company better, and it was just a really nice way to relax. And definitely a good start to the week.
And the Monday was good in this way too. I managed to catch up with a friend I hadn't really seen for a while, except in passing. He also has a cineworld card, so I mentioned about going to the cinema. He was up for that, so I suggested grabbing something to eat - our cards give us discounts in certain places. So we ended up having something to eat. Eating is good.

And most of the rest of the week was pretty much quiet. I hardly saw anyone else all week - though I did leave the house a few times. It meant I had a lot of time for thinking and reflection; so I did. I thought and I reflected. I meditated on things. Several subjects, but so far have come to no conclusions. And I tried to write blog posts, but I only managed one. Why that was so difficult, I don't know. Maybe I needed the time to think, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed talking it through with people more.

And on the Saturday, I got the chance to talk to someone else. Another friend I haven't seen for so long that I can't actually remember when it last was. And I'm not going into the reasons why, but suffice to say we've tried to meet up several times this year and it just hadn't worked. Until yesterday. Which was wonderful. It was great to see him again, and also great to have an absolutely amazing long rambling conversation about all sorts of (very) random topics, both serious and silly. More silly than serious, I have to admit. We both like being silly - there's not enough silliness in life, I think. And it's important. Being able to be silly in company and having the chance to do it doesn't happen often enough. I can't speak for everyone, but I think most people would probable agree that they could do with more silliness in their lives. Wouldn't it be great to know that most relationships and meeting up with people would definitely involve seriousness and silliness - that wherever you go, whoever you meet, silliness is on the agenda. And that knowledge of silliness giving you the security to know that seriousness is possible...

Love, Friendship, Trust

I went to a wedding a few days ago, which was wonderful, and the minister gave a talk on love. Unsurprising, really. And it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before; but it is worth thinking about.

He started with some quotes about love and marriage, including this one:-

Which is, apparently, very well known - though it's a bit of a surprise who said it. Not a guy well known for saying positive sounding things. And this is positive, because he's not only diagnosing a problem (unhappy marriages), he's also providing a solution (friendship). A straightforward, common sense view of how marriage should work - a lot of people go on about love being what marriage is all about, and they mean romance/feeling good; but it's a lot more than that.
He did actually talk about romance as well, but he was absolutely for the idea that love is more than that. Things like sharing and forgiving, that are vital parts of any relationship. So, I started thinking about my friends and how I could better love them, be a better friend.

And a few days later (yes, the wedding was during the week), the talk about church was about being friends with Jesus - or about Him being friends with us, as He said He would be. And the important point of the talk was that friendship involves trust. Both that it is a place where trust can grow, and that trust is needed for the relationship to grow. And what applies to our relationship with Him applies similarly to all our friendships...

Barbecue Season!

I recently read 'Treasure Island' for the first time, and saw one of the characters, the ship's cook, was called Barbecue (though he's better known by another name*), which made me think two things. One was to wonder what his cooking was like, and the other was to realise that I'd been to quite a few barbecues this year.

Now, obviously, Summer is the time to have barbecues if you're going to have them (though I know someone who will happily have them all year round), but I don't normally get to that many. I don't know why, if everyone's having them - and I don't know why I've managed to get to a few more this time.

The first ones I went to were in May, which I suppose isn't really Summer, but it was good weather, so why not? One was for a friend's birthday, and that was a really great occasion - a good time was had by all, inside as well as out. It was a real celebration, and I surprised myself by writing a poem about it.
And I got invited to another that month. It was at short notice, but I always appreciate being invited places, so I managed to get there. I was a bit nervous, because I didn't know how many people there I would know. But it actually turned out to be one of the best occasions I've been to for quite some time. There were only a few of us, but we all got on really well - lots of fun and laughter.

And I guess it was really that one that made me definitely decide to host one myself. I'm not good at hosting things, as I'm really bad at organising; but we have a barbecue, so I thought I'd give it a go. My housemate said it was all down to me, but I didn't realise until a couple of days before that he meant he wasn't going to be there. Which left me in a bit of a quandary, as I hadn't used a barbecue for years, and I'm a vegetarian, so I don't really know what cooking meat is like. However, I'd started it, so I meant to do it, so I figured I'd just have to figure something out on the day. I got in a few bits and pieces, like crisps and dips and some meat - and fuel, obviously - and waited to see who would turn up. I got a bit of a surprise when a friend I hadn't heard from in a while phoned me and came over, but that was good, as he then took over the barbecue - which left me free to welcome people and do drinks, as well as make a fruit salad. Which I thought would be easy enough, and it was. All in all, it kind of reminded me of my birthday party, which also worked out a lot better than I thought it might before, and had a surprising mix of people - who all got on really well. Maybe I just know a lot of very nice people.

And afterwards, I was left with a load of food - which was a problem, as most of it was meat. More than my housemate could eat, and I don't; but thankfully, another friend was having a barbecue the weekend after, so I passed a lot of it on to him. And that was the next barbecue I went to. Which was totally different to any of the others, mainly due to it being much bigger. Which meant I got to see other friends I hadn't seen for ages. And, surprisingly, ended up talking theology - which is something I don't get to do enough of, in my opinion. But something may have come out of that conversation which could change that. A bit, anyway.

Which brings me more or less up to date. There were a couple last weekend just gone, which were also good occasions where I spent time with friends I hadn't seen for a while - which definitely seems to be what barbecues are for. And at one of them I got a birthday invitation and an invitation to a prayer meeting; both of which I happily accepted, and am looking forward to. Friendships and God, what more could anyone want? And, if that's what barbecues have in store for me, I look forward to what might happen at the next ones, whenever they may be...

*By the way, Barbecue you may well know better as Long John Silver.

Friends And Relationships

I have had several conversations recently that have stood out to me for different reasons. Different people, different circumstances have all pointed up things I may need to know, to pay attention to.

Friday
I had a conversation with one friend about a relationship I was having problems with, and forgiveness came up. Later, I met up with another friend, and he was talking about a talk he'd heard recently, which was talking about forgiveness and how it needs to work. Which made a lot of sense, and was really helpful at the time. And another thing he said was about the blog - that my strongest posts were ones where I was talking about ideas, rather than what I've been up to. Which is something I've been trying to do more of since then.

Saturday
Work as usual was followed by a BBQ to celebrate a friend's birthday. Which was really nice - one of the nicest evenings I've had in quite some time. Chilling with a bunch of friends, and a lot of silliness was the order of the day. And I managed to have a long, rambling conversation with the person I am having problems with. Which is a very good sign.

Sunday
A nice relaxing afternoon, where I wrote a poem about the previous evening. Which is good - writing is always good. And in the evening, we had a speaker talking about Compassion UK at church, and I thought about my sponsored child, who I haven't been in touch with for a while now. I was chatting with a friend, and she was saying that she was the same, that she hadn't written to hers for even longer. So we both came away feeling that that was something we needed to attend to - I haven't done it yet. I also met someone new at church who was just sponsoring a child, and met up with an old friend who is a Compassion advocate; it was good to see her, to catch up for a bit, and to find out what's new in her life.

Tuesday
I went round to see a couple of friends in the evening. They live pretty near me, and they have invited me to come round often; but I don't often take them up on it - the last time I went round was just after my birthday. But it's always a nice evening when I do go round; and this was no exception. There was a lot of laughter, and we talked about poetry, which is always a good thing.

Thursday
Two conversations stood out today; one on Street Teams and one with a friend a bit later.The first one was with a guy called Darren, who started talking about basically ghost stories that had happened to him. He said sometimes he felt that someone or something was trying to get through to him, and I just felt this nudge to suggest he asked God to speak to him. He said he felt that was a good idea, that he used to pray, and he felt he should get back to it; and also that he wanted to read the Bible more, and asked if he could ask me if he had any questions about it. I agreed, as long as he doesn't expect me to have all the answers, and he said that was fine. So I look forward to hearing more about what he finds. And the other was with a friend, to discuss an idea I had to start a Christian publisher. He was very encouraging, and suggested the next step was to pray about a mission statement, so I've been doing that.

Sunday
Sunday morning was the celebration of the dedication of Adelaide Read, and led to lots of generally quite chatty and relaxing conversations - celebration is always good. And in the evening I was chatting to a couple who may want to get involved with Street Teams. Which would be good, as we may well be losing a few members over the next few months.

So, all sorts of different conversations that made me think in some way about (my) relationships. Relationships both show you something of who you are, and to a certain extent shape you too. And the fact that mine are so varied is almost certainly a good thing. And thinking about them has brought certain things to mind. For instance, that relationships work best when you are able to just be in each others' company. However, conversely, they only really grow when you make the effort to actually do things together, to spend time together; it doesn't just happen. But, most importantly, they are one of the things that make life worth living.

Bank Holiday Busyness (!)

We've just had the first May Bank Holiday weekend, and, surprisingly, it was quite nice all weekend. So, obviously, I spent most of the weekend inside. And hardly saw anyone.

Not that I particularly dislike the sun as such (more that I just don't mind it), nor that I didn't have anywhere to go - things just worked out that way. I was working on the Saturday as normal, so I was quite tired; so I didn't go out in the evening either. I was invited to a barbecue, and I was told some friends had gone to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, but I really didn't feel like going anywhere at that point. So I didn't. I stayed in and read and wrote a blog post and stuff.

And, because I'd had a couple of tiring days, I didn't get up that early on Sunday, either. I was invited out to the Jazz Festival again, but again I didn't feel like it. So I read for a bit. And then I was struck by the thought that my team was probably on duty at church that evening. But I wasn't sure. So I had to check online, and because my computer was playing up, it took me a while to find out that was the case. About 5 minutes before I was due to be there. So, what with one thing and another, I got there 10 minutes later than I should have done. But at least I now know when the next date definitely is, so hopefully I'll get to that one on time - or even early, who knows?
Church was fun - and, you know, not being ill made it much better. I ended up on the bookstall again, which kind of surprised me; and this time, I actually sold things. And met someone new called Alice, who's just moved back to Cheltenham after a couple of years in Malawi. Being on the welcome team means you might get to meet new people. And after clearing up, I went down the pub. Which was nice. Had a nice chat with a bunch of friends, and a couple of interesting things came out of that. One was that I discovered a friend is moving round the corner from us soon - she's not sure exactly when - and that led to a nice chat about theology and the like. It also came up that another friend is thinking of moving, and may well move in with us, which will be nice - he's a good guy. But the most important thing that happened was that I somehow got myself agreeing to do a sponsored walk sometime in the summer. It won't be that long; certainly less than 10 miles. It's to raise money for Hope for Justice, and it's called the Zoe Challenge. Have a look if you want to find out more; maybe you could sort out a walk for yourself as well.

Monday being the Bank Holiday, I didn't have anything to do except relax; so I did that. Then I realised I had to go into town, so I went and did what I had to do, then decided to go up and wander around the Jazz Festival. As I got there, I walked past an acoustic stage where a band was playing, so I watched the rest of their set, which I really liked; especially 'King of the Swingers', which they finished with. I then wandered around the main arena, where I met a few people I knew, including a couple called Stuart and Jade. They were with a friend of theirs, who they were trying to persuade to come on an Alpha course; and I tried to persuade them to come. I hope they do; it will be good to see them around again. I then went home via Grumpy Whiskers, where I got one of their waffles (mmhmm); and, when I got home I felt I should ask if anyone wanted to go to the cinema, now I've got my unlimited card. So I did that, and ended up going to see Spider-Man with Rhys. In 3D, which I wasn't planning on; but at least that now means I have a pair of glasses for the future. Anyway, it's a really good film, and I recommend it. And they showed a trailer for Godzilla, which definitely looks worth seeing. A good start to my year of films, I think.

Easter Week In

I had Easter week off work, which was nice. It's always nice to have a bit of a rest. So, what did I do?

Well, I also had Good Friday off (which is actually Holy Week, I know), and that was an interesting day with two main things that happened. The first was a meditative service, in which I had the opportunity to display a poem I wrote about Easter. I actually submitted two, but the other wasn't about Easter, so it was turned down - but if you want to read both, they can be found here. Anyway, the service itself was interesting, though different than it has been in the past few years. At least it felt different; it felt more like a 'normal' Sunday service, though that may just be my impression of it.
It was based around the seven last words from the cross, with various prayer stations around the church with different actions that could be done, and you could could go to as many or as few as you wished. I went to two: one which was about forgiveness, and one which was about giving God painful circumstances - the two were connected. Then we all came back together for a dance piece, and a short talk (yes, short) based around the last two words. What I got from it was that Jesus' surrender led to God's victory; so, if we surrender to Him, we can share in that victory. After that, they asked people to come up to the front if they wanted more of God's grace, so I went. Someone came and prayed with me, and I gave him the bare bones of the situation; at the end, he said it was important to remember that I am one of the good guys.

And then Saturday was pretty much a normal day, in that the shop was open as normal. And an abnormal day, in that we were really busy. We have been particularly quiet recently, so I can only put it down to the fact that we were closed on the Friday. Anyway, the day was pretty good, and I got a proper break. Which was nice. And then afterwards, I had to go look for Easter eggs; which was more difficult than you'd think because I was looking for fairly traded ones. Normally I would have done it before, but I was particularly busy this week, with the little matter of a wedding. And then I went to my mum's. I got there just in time to meet them on the way to church, and rescue Phoebe, who didn't really want to go to that service (well, she had been to every other one that week). And a nice evening was had by us playing games on our phones and tablet. Honestly, it was a nice evening.
And the next day was Easter!! To celebrate I went to church in the morning with them. Well, not with them exactly, as they got there early and I got there late; but I was there. It was a really nice service, and it had a happy feel; which was definitely appropriate. And I saw quite a few people who recognised me who hadn't seen me for a few years. We had a bit of a rushed lunch, as Phoebe had to go, and then I had a quick nap - apparently a genius idea. I got dropped back home shortly before church, and put up a post containing the poems I had offered, and then went to church for the second time that day. And again I arrived late.

And then began my week off - and mainly in. To start off with, on Monday I got ill, and was feeling pretty rough. I did go out that evening, as it was a friend's birthday, and I hadn't seen her for a while. I almost didn't make it out, as I didn't think I could do it; but God forced me, and it was definitely worth it. However, the next day and a half weren't at all good. I didn't sleep Monday night until about 6ish, so most of Tuesday was basically written off too.
Which meant I got up pretty late Wednesday, as well. So I didn't do that much, just a lot of reading. Until the evening, when I went out to a friend's to help her move house. And then we all went to a pub to join the rest of cluster in a social time. Which was nice.
Thursday was the first day I really spent a fair amount of time out of the house. I went to the library - what with all the reading, there was a fair few books to go back - and then to Starbucks, which I haven't been to for ages. Last year sometime, I think. I saw another friend I hadn't seen for ages there, so that was good. And then in the evening, I went to Hungry. I prayed for peace, as I definitely needed it. And I saw the friend whose birthday it was, and we had a good chat afterwards. Which was nice.
I didn't really do much Friday, but on asking if anyone was free at the weekend, I discovered a vegan fair at Gloucester Guildhall that a friend was going to be at. I hadn't seen her for pretty much a year, so that was a good chance to meet up with her - and meet her daughter. I figured that even a short time seeing her would be worth it, and in the end, we spent a good few hours chatting and just generally relaxing. Which was very nice.

So, all in all, the week off started off pretty badly, but there were some definite highlights in it. And I was feeling a lot more positive about things in general, even though I do have to go back to work in a couple of days.

Sort-of Social Diary

And so, following on from my last post, I'll start telling you a few of the things I've been enjoying this December...

Starting on the 6th, which was a day earlier than I was expecting. The 7th was, unfortunately, triple booked, so I had to move one thing to the Friday; which was going to see friends at their house. Which was nice. Bit of a shame that one of them was ill, and couldn't really join us, but still a nice, relaxing evening was had by the two of us who remained. I was kind of half expecting to see the kids, but they were in bed; so we just had a bit of a random conversation and watched amusing T.V., and made fun of the cat. Because what else are cats for?
And then on the Saturday, I did one of the other things I'd agreed to do that evening-go to the theatre. It was easy to choose, because of the whole having paid for the ticket thing. It was the Jacob's Well performance of the year, with the profits once again going to charity-Hope for Justice this year. This year, the production was 'The Sound of Music', and it was brilliant. I've never seen the film, and I really enjoyed it-I'll have to get around to seeing it, so I can see how different it was. The main thing I was surprised by was how many of the songs I actually knew quite well; but, also, how sad the tone of the whole play was. Apparently, that was definitely down to the director; so I look forward to seeing the film at some point.
And then, on Sunday, I didn't go to church-at least not mine. I went to a event for people from any church in the local area, which is held once a month called Seek His Face. Again, as has been the case before, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be there, but felt that I should be; so I went. And was glad I did. On the way there, I was praying about something (well, sort of complaining, really)-something that I don't know how it's going to turn out or what to do about. And when I got there, that didn't seem to matter anymore. It definitely isn't sorted, and won't be for the forseeable future; but I spent some time with God, where He wanted me to be, and that's what mattered. The other thing I remember about the evening was the music. Often, when worship music is played, it sounds sort of like AOR, but this sounded different. More like folk/country/blues singer/songwriter sort of sound. Certainly not like anything else I've heard recently. And I really liked it.

Monday was quite quiet, with nothing in the evening, but Tuesday was quite different. It was my day off, as usual, but instead of me basically spending the day on my own until Alpha in the evening, I was with people from early afternoon. Because one of the Element evenings had been cancelled, that was on then, but there isn't so much to do for that, so the chefs had decided to hang around and play games; and I joined them. Which was great fun, with chocolate and music and Monty Python, followed by Cluedo. And then, in the evening, I went off to the cinema to meet a few friends to see 'Frozen'. And thoroughly enjoyed it, by the way. It's well worth seeing.

Wednesday was my cluster as usual, and we were meeting at the new house of one of the couples. And someone new joined the cluster. And it was very Christmassy, what with their tree being up, and 5 boxes of mince pies to be consumed. Other than that, it was a pretty normal cluster evening. Which is to say it was fiun and interesting. We ended by splitting into smaller groups and saying positive things to each other. True ones, obviously. Which was interesting as well as encouraging. And then some of us went to the pub at the end of my road, which is already a firm favourite. And even better, when we got there, I saw a couple of friends I hadn't seen for ages-months in one case. So we caught up a bit, and talked about meeting up soon.
Thursday likewise was pretty normal. I decided not to go out with Street Teams, though I definitely intended to the week after. But I did go to Hungry for God.
Friday was a surprisingly quiet evening. I did have the chance to go and see Riding Lights Theatre Company, but decided I was too tired, and actually quite fancied a night in. And then I was invited out to the pub, and thought about going. I didn't go, and later discovered it was someone's birthday celebration. Oh well, never mind-I probably needed the rest.

Saturday evening was quite busy, in contrast, so that was probably a good thing. I met up with one of the friends I saw on Wednesday in the early evening, and later on, I went to 'Christmas Drinks' at another friend's. It was good to see Rose, and catch up, as I hadn't seen her properly for literally months. It looks like I may be seeing quite a bit more of her in the future, as she may well join my cluster. Which will be nice, I think. And 'Christmas Drinks' was also good, catching up with a few other people I hadn't seen for a while-and mixing mulled wine with Archer's. Very nice.
And on Sunday, the talk at church was part of a series called 'A Christmas Carol'. It was based on 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing', and it was about several things. It was about the fact that when God came, He came as the lowest of the low, only attended by His earthly family; it was about how the first people the news was proclaimed to were the lowest of the low, that right from the start, He was about inclusion; it was about the fact that He is a King worthy of beong proclaimed by a crowd of angels; and it was about the fact that when God speaks, we should respond in some way-different things said requiring different responses.

Mainly Men

So, after a week off, how did I fare back into the real world, as it were? You know, with schedules and things. Well, actually surprisingly well. Quite often I don't feel rested after time off, and could do with another couple of days, but this time I felt great. I was actually feeling ready for work and quite well enough rested this time, which surprised me. But obviously nothing much had changed in the world of work, but I had an unexpected theme arising in the evenings.

Monday evening was an event put on by the men's ministry at church-such as it is. Which at the moment isn't really anything. The reason for this is that the guy who used to lead it has now gone off to train to be a vicar, and the leaders decided they wouldn't do anything straight away; but would ask the men what they wanted out of the ministry. Which is what the meeting was all about really. First, we talked about what it means to be a man, and then a Godly man; and then we were talking about what sort of things we wanted to have which would help us become more like that. A bit, anyway. That came right at the end-deliberately. They wanted us to think about what we thought we wanted to be/should be, before anything else. With that in mind, they wanted us to go away and think about what we thought would help us achieve that and email them. Which reminds me-I still have to do that.

Tuesday was Alpha as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But Wednesday was small group, and instead of the usual small group, we had split into men and women. I was in the men's group, if anyone is unsure. Apart from having 'man snacks' instead of cakes, it wasn't actually that much different. Except that I listened a lot, and didn't really talk much. Not exactly what I usually do-so much so, it was actually remarked on. Someone asked why I was so quiet, and I said it was because I didn't have anything to say. Always better to keep quiet in that case, I think. 

And on Thursday, I also did something a bit different. Instead of going to a prayer meeting, which I could have done, I spent time with a friend. Just chilling, chatting and watching a DVD. We watched 'Green Lantern', which isn't as bad as you may have heard; but almost certainly won't have a sequel. Anyway, we just had a nice, relaxing time. Which was great.

Friday was probably more relaxing. I say that because I can't actually remember doing anything that evening. At all. And that brings us to the weekend, which was pretty good, all in all. After work, a friend came round-this one female. You know, that's why the title's 'mainly' men. It was good to see her, as I haven't seen her properly for ages. She had about an hour or so spare in between the sessions at the Third Person conference. Which was apparently absolutely fantastic, and the podcasts are apparently just as powerful. I intend to check them out.
And after she had gone, I got picked up to go to a party. It was a friend's 30th, which he was sharing with another friend of his; so they'd hired a venue in Gloucester and invited loads of people. And there were certainly a good few people there. It was a great night, I think, celebrating with him, and catching up with some people I hadn't seen for quite some time. The place was all decorated out with Marvel themed wrapping paper and balloons-and he got given Marvel monopoly as a present. Not from me. I went for a simple option-chocolate. I couldn't think what to get him, so I decided to see if I could get 30 different chocolate bars. You know, what with him being 30 and all. Which is one thing I did do on Friday actually-go and look for them. I did manage it-sort of. I think there was a Wispa and a Wispa Gold, and a Mars and Mars Caramel. But I'm sure he didn't mind that.
And then on Sunday, I relaxed. Which is what I think is a very good weekend.

Alpha Weekend And...

So, last weekend was the Alpha weekend away (if you don't know what that is, you can find out here), and I was helping on the catering team, as I had been during the course. Don't worry, I haven't been doing the cooking.

It all started on the Friday-I had the week off starting then, so I was going down early to help set up, and I had to catch a train. I caught one that left just after 1, and I should have got there just after 3-if everything had gone to plan. However, I had two changes on the route, and two of the trains were late, so I was almost an hour later than I had aimed for. Which at least meant I had plenty of time to read and pray during the journey. I am reading a book currently called 'The Circle Maker' by Mark Batterson and I felt God wanted me to write down and keep a record of the things I wanted to pray about and what the answers are. So I started that on the journey. The first thing I did was write general categories of what I wanted to pray for/about, and prayed a bit about that. And it was pretty much non-stop after that, or at least it seemed that way-when we had cleared away from one meal, it was basically time to get the next one ready. I did get a bit of a rest on the Saturday afternoon, when I should have been praying about some of the things I had been turning over on the train journey. Because I didn't do it then, I didn't get to go to the pub in the evening; God was very firm about that. I'm glad I did it, though, because as well as getting some much needed time, just me and God (that was about the only time that weekend I did), some interesting things came out of that. I'm still turning them over at the moment, so I won't write about them yet. And then, it was all over-quite abruptly, as I had to leave pretty much straight after lunch.
And got back home in plenty of time for the baptisms, so I just had to decide whether I was going to go. I don't think I did decide in the end, I just got there. And I'm so glad I did. The people's stories, as always, were amazing-and amazingly different. But it was what happened after that was truly brilliant. Two of the people getting baptised are in my cluster, and speaking to them afterwards, and hearing how it was for them was just incredible. Partly because it was more personal, and partly because I could actually see the difference in them. Wow. Just wow.

And then, the rest of this week has been a week off. Which was brilliant in itself, but also had some brilliant times in it. I spent the first couple of days resting, pretty much doing nothing, just because I could. I did mean to write a blog post about the weekend, but, as I didn't get it done by then, it's merged with the rest of the week. On Monday, I went to Costa and relaxed there; on Tuesday, I relaxed at home, and also prayed over and around the things I'd been writing in my notebook that I've been praying for and about. It was Alpha in the evening, which was fun, though I was still tired, strangely. Possibly because when you stop, you pretty much completely collapse-or at least, I do. People were talking about the baptisms; or at least one of them. On Wednesday, I went for a very long walk. I did have a destination in mind, but somehow, I got lost, and ended up somewhere I don't think I've been before. I did manage to get back, though, and got where I was intending to go, and learned a bit more about the local area in the meantime. Maybe. I'll see, if I manage not to get lost the next time I go that way. And, after that, it was cluster. I didn't know at the beginning of the week whether I was going to go, as there was a session at church on how to deal with violence, which as a member of street teams, I was invited to. Anyway, I got there-just across the road, pretty much-and had a good evening. Though for some reason, I felt a bit out of sorts all evening; and I found it difficult to concentrate. Looking back, it's difficult to remember much about the evening, which probably means that it was very important. The most important thing I can remember is that it was about not comparing yourself to others; not seeing your behind the scenes stuff in the same light as someone else's highlights-which is what you most notice. 

And then on Thursday, I went down to Faringdon to see a friend I hadn't seen properly for ages. She was at my church before she went home, and I've only seen her briefly since then. I figured since I had the week off, I should try to get down there. Thankfully, it's actually quite straightforward, so I sorted that out, and met up with her; which was brilliant. I miss having her around, cos she's one of the few people I can really relax with, as she seems to not mind my sense of humour. And it was really refreshing to spend the day with her. I mean, I was expecting it to be a good day, but right from the point we saw each other, it was good. It was essentially one very long, random, slightly silly conversation-apart from the serious bits. Which were still interspersed with random silliness. It was good to catch up, to get some sort of idea of what we had each been up to, and at the end of the day, we got to pray with each other. Just what was needed, I think. I look forward to doing it again at some point. Hopefully not too far away.

And Friday, I got to catch up with my mum, which was great. I saw my sis and niece last week, and my mum this week. We went to the art gallery, which reopened after a massive revamp, and I hadn't managed to get along there before. It was really good, apart from having to stand out in the cold for a while when the fire alarm went off. At least we assumed that was what happened, as no-one told us. We saw most of the exhibitions I think. There was a glass sculptor who had most of the space; his exhibition was huge. Some of the pieces were too. Anyway, we managed to spend over 3 hours there, and then we went and got something to eat. Which was nice. All in all, a very nice day, and it was good to see my mum again.

Saturday I kind of relaxed, and then a friend I hadn't seen for a while came round, which was great. We watched 'Pontypool', which is sort of a zombie film; and then, because he felt he needed to relax a bit, we watched 'Music and Lyrics' (my favourite film), because it's probably the lightest film I own. And it has a great 80s type music video. As well as Drew Barrymore. Sunday I was kind of hoping to go up and see a friend in Worcester area, but that didn't work out, so he came down to see me instead. It was great to catch up with him as well. I have to say that overall, it was a really good week off, and very relaxing-just what I needed, I think.

Welcome Weekend

And last weekend was a very welcome one, with some very good things happening. I liked it a lot.

On Saturday, I was invited round a friend's house to eat. Well, I was actually invited a while ago. He's from Nigeria, and he's decided that he has got out of the habit of cooking Nigerian style, so he decided to invite a few friends round to try his cooking on us. Which was lovely. Both to be invited, and the actual food. There were just a few of us-him, me, my housemate, and another friend; but then he lives in a flat, so he probably couldn't fit many more in there anyway. We had a simple meal involving a LOT of chilli peppers; more than I would normally put in a meal, but it was tasty. I hope Nigerian cuisine becomes a semi-regular invitation. We also watched a film-we tried to watch 'Rango', but gave up on that, so we watched 'The Italian Job' instead. That's definitely worth watching. Overall, a good time was had by all, and I hope this happens again. And again.

And then Sunday was very relaxing, as I didn't have to do anything until the evening. I mean there were all sorts of things I could have done, but I didn't have to do any of them. I vaguely recall reading at some point in the afternoon (I don't recall the morning at all-probably because I was alseep), and I think I went online a bit; but in general, I wasn't actually doing anything much at all. And then in the evening, I went to Seek His Face again-and I even got there a bit late, even though it's later than my church service starts. So I got there while it was going on, and just joined in. I 'just happened' to see some friends from Stroud, and stood/sat near them, which was nice-and even better, when at one point, we were asked to pray for the people next to us, and my friend Sarah came and prayed for me. And then, a bit later, a lady got up and told us about God healing her from something very painful-clearly she wasn't in any pain while she was standing there. And then He told me to go up and tell people about what happened Thursday. Which was fairly easy, after actually doing it. I hope and pray that encourages a few people to listen to God and speak out when He says so-I'll mention it if anyone tells me of anything they've done recently.

So, all in all, a very good weekend. I liked it a lot.

A Great Greenbelt Weekend

So, at the last Seek His Face (next one coming up soon), the band were talking about going to Rivercamp, which is held over the August bank holiday-the same weekend as Greenbelt. So you might think that would be an easy decision for me, as anyone who knows me well knows I don't really like Greenbelt. (This isn't anything to do with Greenbelt itself, really, it's just that it feels too big for me to be really comfortable.) But Rivercamp, although not that far away, is just far enough that I would need a lift to be able to get there. However, I did feel that maybe, just maybe, I should make the effort to do so.

That's sort of by way of being a prologue. That thought, or something similar, continued to buzz round my head for the rest of the week. The main thing that was happening that week was a friend coming to stay the night before he went off to Greenbelt himself. Which was unfortunately a bit short -just one night- but it was great, as he doesn't live locally, and he'd just come back from travelling round New Zealand, so it was going to be good to catch up with him. So we sorted that out with my housemate, and figured out when he was going to get into Cheltenham, and I met him off the coach; ready for an evening's entertainment. We needed to get something to eat, as he'd just been travelling for about 5 hours (and there was no point in me getting food separately), so we went to a pub-where we ate, and then happily stayed for the next couple of hours.
We had a pint with our meals, and then decided to experiment a bit with the cocktail menu. By avoiding the pitchers, we had the possibility of trying quite a few more, including ones we hadn't tried before. Or for a while-like the red Aftershock, which used to be cinnamon and is now citrus. We bought a couple of rounds each, which I struggled with, not because I didn't have the money, but because my natural inclination is not to spend it -even on myself. But a while back, God spoke to me about being generous as a general way of living; and, though I'm still not good at it, I knew that I want to be. So I made the effort. And then we went home, where he met my housemate. And they immediately got into a long conversation. Which was good. And after that, we prayed. One of the things we prayed about was the buzzing thought that I should maybe go to Rivercamp. Or Greenbelt. Or something.

And so, the next day, off to work I went. Early in the morning for a change. And I met up with a friend after work. His last day home before going back to the army. And the Saturday was the same, as far as getting up early went. But I went out in the evening that time. I met up with a friend after work, and when I met her, I saw another friend who was only around for the day, purely by coincidence (maybe). And we ended up going to the cinema and seeing 'Kick-Ass 2'. Which was great-but quite different from the book. Which is hardly surprising, as I don't think they'd have been able to get a certificate if they'd filmed the book exactly. Sunday I ended up relaxing most of the day. Another friend phoned at some point and asked if I wanted to go to Greenbelt with him, but quite frankly, I was just too tired. I ended up going to church, which turned out to be fantastic. Apart from church itself being great, there were some friends of mine I hadn't seen for months-who also have been away recently. So, that was amazing. We caught up a bit, and chatted about going to Cwmbran, where they have been quite a few times recently. They said they'd be willing to give me a lift at some point when they go, so I look forward to that.

So, I ended up not doing anything out of the ordinary particularly that weekend, but I do think that thought was from God. Because of that, I thought about going to church or going somewhere else. It wasn't exactly as usual, as I hadn't actually been to my church for 3 or 4 weeks. The things that stuck in my mind about it are about being intentional, that often it doesn't matter what you do so much as actually choosing something. And also that relationships are important. Both of which I kind of knew/know, but that whole process really brought it home to me.

First Impressions - And The Rest

Well, after all the time it took to get sorted to get to New Wine, it seemed to come upon me very quickly. I kind of thought I would have loads of time to get ready, and then Sunday was upon me. At least I knew what it was like, and what I needed to take-and I wasn't taking a tent, which would be all ready for me when I got there. So we left Cheltenham shortly before 6, and got into Somerset just after 7-pretty good time, all told. probably because there was no other traffic most of the way at that time.

We got onto the site after the main meeting had started, but as we wanted to unpack, we didn't intend to go-so we had a fair bit of time to relax. The tent I was staying in was already up, so it didn't take me long, and I knew my way around the site, so I got to go into the meeting after all. And then after it, I popped along to the marketplace to say hello to my work colleagues (I was working in the art gallery) and find out when I was supposed to be in.
I was in at 10 a.m. the next day, though I didn't have to be. However, I wanted to have the evening off. It was a bit different from last year, when there were only 3 of us. Now there were 6, as there was supposed to have been last year, that meant we got time off. Which came as something of a shock to the system. And the way things worked out, it actually turned out that I had most of Tuesday off, as well-I was just on in the evening. So, in essence, I basically had 24 hours off. Which worked out really well for me. On the Monday evening, after the evening meeting, there was a quiz night, which was what I wanted to go to. I got in a team with a couple of friends and their friends, and a good time was had by all. We didn't win, but we did pretty well-and it was great fun. On Tuesday, God wanted me to fast during the day, which meant I didn't need to get to breakfast, so I had a leisurely shower, and got into the morning meeting a bit late. During which God told me that He wanted me to rest. Which I thought meant just that day, but actually turned out to be the theme for the whole week. So I didn't try to get to any seminars. I went off by myself and read some of  'The Prodigal God' for a bit-which naturally led into prayer and worship. In the afternoon, I went and spent some time with friends on the campsite, just chilling and relaxing. I felt like I got to know them a bit better, and really enjoyed it. A very good day, all in all.
The next day was the actual day off, and a whole bunch of us went into Castle Cary for a pub lunch, and then the girls went off shopping. The rest of us got back, and more chilling and chatting was the order of the day. Which more or less continued for the rest of the week. Most of my memorable moments were chatting with friends, including a good few gatherings in various people's tents after hours-and an idea for a couple I know to take on putting on my birthday celebration next year. Well, ours. We have one other friend whose birthday is the day before mine, so it looks as if it could well be a large joint celebration. Which I'm fine with, as long as I don't have to do most of the organisation.

Something God has been nudging me continually for some time now, is the importance of relationships; and, for me, that's what New Wine was really all about this time. I loved it all.

Cafe Church Weekend

Well, after hearing about the cafe church from Rich (in my last post if you want to know a bit more), I decided I wanted to go and visit. And, as well as that, I felt I should go, at least once. There was one coming up on Sunday 19th-and as it's currently only on every other month, I felt I should take the opportunity that was presented to me straight away. I'm not good at making that sort of decision, but I asked Rich that evening if it would be okay for me to come and visit on the Saturday, and then join him on the Sunday for that month's cafe church; as it would be a lot easier for me to come up then than try to find a way of getting up in time on the Sunday. Straight away, he said that would be no problem, and to let him know as soon as I could either way.

So, after a few days sending messages back and forth, and checking train times (it didn't take long to discover that coaches would be no use), we eventually figured out where and when he would pick me up-and, in the meantime, he'd got me invited out for a meal with him. Which was nice. He'd been invited out, and his hosts were generous enough to invite me to join them. So he picked me up at the train station and we went there via Asda and some very winding roads. We were just two of a large party, and conversation flowed well. A good time was had by all.

So we got back to his quite late, and I just about had time to meet his 'lodger' before going to bed. I got up a little later than the others, so I had to make my own way to the 'cafe'-but that was easy enough. I could see the church from the window, but it took a little longer to go round by the road than straight across the fields-still less than 10 mins, though. I got there to discover things were well under way, and a couple of friends of mine were there from my church. So I sat with them and read our paper-every table had one to inspire conversation and thoughts. I grabbed smething to eat, and sat down to chat. After a bit, the programme started, as it were. Rich and his boss, David, got up and opened proceedings by asking what people had been reading in their papers. We had The Church Times, so we read an article about how heresy is good for the church; but I didn't really think that appropriate. Anyway, a few people said stuff about things like the tax avoidance issue with Stabucks and Amazon, and they engaged with that; and then the M.A.D. youth did a sketch about miracles (that's Martley Amateur Dramatics to the uninitiated), and we had a few songs led by the Rev David. And then the main presentatin began-which this time was an interview with a friend of Rich's who had had a major heart attack, and was talking about how he drew closer to God as a result-and also how he is now healthier than ever. This touched lots of people in different ways for different reasons-the thing that touched me about it most was a bit where he said he was praying when things went really bad for him, and he was pleading with God, saying something along the lines of 'have I really been such a bad son'?; and God replied 'Now, you know that's not true'. Which is along the lines of something He's said to me over and over.

And, all too soon, it was over. The only other thing of note before we packed up was from a girl called Lottie, who was telling us about how her fundraising was going for a trip to Africa she's doing next year. She's going out to do some building work of some kind-she doesn't know what yet, as it's not til next year, and they will be doing whatever needs doing at the time. Whatever that is. In the meantime, she has to raise about £4000 in order to go. I will pass on something at some point, and if anyone else feels they wish to contribute, I'm sure that would be gratefully received.

And then, we all helped pack up, and it was off to lunch. Which was also nice and relaxing. it was a cafe in the middle of a sort of wildlife park called The Cob House; and the four of us had a nice chat about life, the universe and everything-or, as much of it as we could in the all too short time we had. The cafe church goes on every month, and my friends say they are going to go to most of them, so I may join them. They're away for the next one, so I may turn up again in July or August. I look forward to it...

Resurrection To New Life

So this week I had a week off, and was so busy I needed to go back to work for a rest-certainly a rest from spending money.
Sunday was obviously Easter, or as some of my friends prefer, Resurrection Day. That was quite busy as I started off serving at church, then went home to probably relax. I phoned a friend to see if he was around, and he said maybe, so I started to relax, when the doorbell rang to reveal my sister and niece-with chocolate. I wasn't expecting that, surprising as that might seem, but I just happened to have some thorntons chocs that I gave them, and then we played Scrabble at my niece's insistence. She's not too bad at spelling, so that went alright. And then my friend came round, so that was cosy. Not long after that I went off to church to have fun in the evening. And that was loud, a real celebration. And fun was had in the pub afterwards as well.
The next day, Monday, I went off up to the top of Cleeve Hill with a few friends. I figured that most people might be free on the bank holiday, as I was (it's nice being in a job where that's always the case), so I asked if anyone would be up for it. We had a good walk, and then went and had lunch at The Rising Sun. A great pub with great food and great company! So that was nice. And I may well try to arrange another for the next bank holiday in May-if anyone else is up for it. Let me know.
And then Tuesday, a friend of mine came down. Which I really wasn't expecting when I first booked this week off. We spent the day in town, and then tried to figure out what we would do for the rest of the week. And in the evening, my landlord came round to pick up his last rent cheque from me, along with my written notice-now I just have to actually sort myself well enough to actually do everything that needs doing before I move. And after that, another friend came round and we all prayed together. Which turned out to be mostly praying for Neil-standing in the gap for him, as it were.
Wednesday, he went off to see his folks, as it was his dad's birthday, and my mum came round to help me clean-another task that needs to be done. Thankfully, she has been helping with this from January, so there's not actually that much left to do. But it was quite an exhausting day, at least for me.
Thursday was quite interesting, as I did all sorts of things. I had an 'interview' with a friend as I'm kind of mentoring him. First time I've ever done anything like that. Then I went to Pittville Park to meet up with some other friends, who wanted to let their children run around for, well, as long as possible, really. It was nice to see them, but upon them deciding it was too cold, we went back to theirs-with chips. Which was nice. And then 3 of us went to see the Passion cycle of the mystery plays at Gloucester, which several of my friends were in. It was interesting, as they had been adapted from original scripts from the 14th century, I think. Anyway, we all enjoyed it-although they had some problems with taking the final scene seriously. Honestly. I thought it was mostly pretty good, though I was having problems with some of it, until I got it in my head it was originally written for a 14th century audience. Once I remembered that, I enjoyed it a lot.
And then Friday was also pretty busy, as we went to Stroud to see some friends we don't see very often. Being in Brimscombe, I don't see them much more often than Neil does, and he lives in Leeds. It was great to see them (and meet their lodger), and we had a nice long chat and listened to music. Sarah recommended City Harmonic to us, and I mentioned Building 429 and Collective Soul-all definitely worth listening to. And we heard their daughter's song that she had made and recorded with friends. She is going to Bethel school of worship, so all I'll say at the moment is that Bekah Jones is a name you may hear in the next few years. You heard it here first. Oh, and we had a very fine plum cake as well. And in the evening we went to AlliandDarren's again to relax without the boys, although they did come downstairs to say hello to us. Anyway, more chatting happened, and eating, and a lot of laughter.
Saturday, Neil went back to his parents for the day, so apart from popping over to Newent to buy a baptism card, I just relaxed all day. Which was nice. And then I relaxed in the evening. Which was also nice. About all I did was to write the card for the baptism the next day, as I wouldn't really be awake enough to do it in the morning. I also wrote a poem to go with it.
So, on Sunday, I had the choice of arriving 30 mins early or late, so I went for early-which meant I had to catch a 9 a.m. bus to get there in time. So then I get there, only to discover that my friend isn't getting baptised that day. I didn't get it wrong; up until the evening before she was, but because her mum was ill and couldn't make it, she'd decided to put it off. Which made me think that God has a sense of humour-last year, He told me to start visiting other churches, while not leaving mine, and this was one that I'd always intended to go to; but before that point, I just hadn't put the effort in. So I do so for a celebration which didn't happen-sort of. By which I mean there was a baptism going on, just of someone I didn't know. And then a couple of my friends turned up, who like me, had never been to that church before. Like I said, God has a sense of humour. Well, it was a great service and we all really enjoyed it-and will all definitely be back at some point. After the service was a shared lunch, so that was also good, and then they gave me a lift back. Which meant I got a bit of time to relax before going to church in the evening.
So that was a very good end to the day, as always. Enjoyable, encouraging, and helpful. And afterward, I had some with friends. Both in Trinity House and in the pub. And an encouraging chat before going to bed with Neil pledging to put some money towards me going to Afghanistan-if that happens.
And after all that, I was looking forward to getting back to work for a bit of a rest!

Painting and Praying

Well I got home on Monday to find things moved around in the flat, and painters rags covering other things up. I wasn't totally nonplussed, because I did know my landlords were planning to have the place painted, but I didn't know when. So I checked the phone to discover a couple of messages from them, one asking if I could get in touch with them to say when would be convenient, and one saying that as I hadn't got back in touch with them, they'd booked the painters in anyway. As it happened, this week was actually pretty convenient, as I'm still working full time hours, so I'm out most of the day anyway. Apart from Tuesday, which was my day off; so I had to think about what I was going to do then.
And on Tuesday, I had decided that sleep was important, so I didn't set my alarm, and just got up whenever and spoke to the painters. They were working at one end of the flat, so I quite happily stayed at the other end and read for a bit. After a while, they came and had lunch and we chatted; and, after, I carried on reading and went online for a bit. Until they finished for the day at about 4, when they cleaned up and left shortly before 5. And then I left to go to ALPHA, where I was helping with the catering. You'll no doubt be pleased to know that doesn't involve me cooking in any way-that's pretty much finished before I get there. I just help with the clearing up, and, this week (because we were short), I helped serve food. And then sat around chatting (and prayed a bit), until it was all over. When I went down the pub. Not on my own, I would like to be absolutely clear, but with a few others. Thankfully, most of the racegoers had gone elsewhere by then, so we were pretty much on our own-all 12 of us. So a bit more chatting ensued, and I discovered another friend of mine was a painter of a different sort-though she insists she's not very good. We shall see at some point, I hope.
And on Wednesday, I was back at work, so that meant I didn't have to concern myself with the painting. Except that I'd arranged to meet up with a friend to pray, and had to rearrange it to be at his house. With wet paint around, I figured it would be better if I went out, rather than inviting someone else over. But that was simple enough, and it meant he cooked for me. Sweet potato, mmm. So we chatted about all sorts, from 'The Young Ones' to the effect thoughts have on life. Not positive thinking, but the idea that tohughts can actually have a direct effect on others people without being vocalised. I hadn't really heard of this before, but, as we discussed it, we realised that there was a lot of power in thoughts that we hadn't considered before, and that isn't really considered much among Christians. But it probably should be. No, make that definitely.
One of the things I prayed about was whether I should go out on the streets to pray. As it was Race Week, some people in church thought it would be a good idea to go out on the streets each evening, and chat and offer prayer to anyone passing. And just see what God did. Anyway, I felt He wanted me to go out on Thursday. But before that, I went to a friend's house in the evening. She had arranged to have a Skype conversation with another friend who is currently in Canada, and invited a few people round. I was the first to arrive (which is probably the first time that's ever happened), because I had to come straight from work. So I got to watch 'In the night garden', as her daughter was teething and needed to be cheered up. And then other people arrived and we had our Skype conversation, and then prayed for Lydia, and then went our separate ways. I got home and grabbed something to eat, before going out to the meeting place for those about to pray. And no-one was there. So I went into church, where we have a weekly prayer meeting, to discover some people just about to set off. So I joined them. In my group was someone from Bristol, who was in Cheltenham working, and knew about our church-she goes to a church there called Woodies, which works with us. Anyway, we went out, and after one short conversation with a guy with a leg in plaster who was quite happy to chat, but definitely did not want to be prayed for-I've never seen anyone move so fast-we got onto the High Street. Where we almost immediately stopped by someone who knows me-who I hadn't seen for literally years. Which was really nice. She invited me to her baptism in three weeks time, which I'm looking forward to, and asked us to pray for a friend of hers. And the friend she was with, who doesn't believe in God, was quite happy to allow us to ask God to bless him. She did get a photo taken of us all, but I haven't got a copy. Yet.
Well, that was clearly the highlight of the week, but I did go out Friday as well. A friend texted and asked if anyone was up for going into town. Apparently no-one else did, but we had a good time. Yes, the pub was fairly full, but not crowded; and it was good just to relax and chat. Nice. Saturday I stayed in-probably a good thing I didn't even try to get to the A.S.E.T. dinner, as I was so tired.

My Birthday (Week)

So, after a rather hectic weekend, I looked forward to what would hopefully be a nice relaxing week off, starting with my actual birthday on the 12th. I'd sort of arranged for my sister to come over, and my mum got in touch to tell me she would be coming round as well. She got here first, we had a cuppa, and together we wondered where my sister was. She got here after a bit, and gave me a card, but told me I wasn't allowed to open my presents until my niece got here, as she would want to give them to me herself. She was at the Cheltenham animal shelter-apparently they do days out for children to get them used to animals and looking after them, and she goes there quite a bit. So after a bit, we went to pick her up (she had very much enjoyed herself), and came home. And then presents were presented, and cards, and a bit later, cake was shared. Which was nice. Cake is pretty much always nice. And a very nice time was had by all of us. And in the evening I went to help with serving food at ALPHA, and got pancakes, because it was Shrove Tuesday. Nice.

The rest of the week was actually pretty quiet. Which was nice, but a little boring in places. For instance, I almost went to a pub quiz on the Thurs evening. I had discovered the theme was all things American, so I thought I would bring some Americans with me. But unfortunately, the only Americans I know who were somewhat local were busy, which was a shame. I didn't really want to go without them, as I figured I probably wouldn't know that much about America.
However, I did have a good time online. It toook me a couple of hours to reply to all the good wishes on Facebook, and, in the process, having several conversations with friends I hadn't spoken to for a while. Which was brilliant. And I also discovered that I share my birthday with a certain Nicola Elizabeth (Nicky) Day, who is one of the guitarists in Hearts Under Fire, a band I was introduced to a couple of years ago. Who are great, so check them out.

I did, however, have a very good Saturday. I had that day off as well, so a friend took the opportunity to go to Good News Centre, a local(ish) Christian book shop with cafe, in Newent. It's a lovely place to go (Newent or GNC), but if you don't drive, as I don't, it's difficult to get there. So I don't go there much, but I always enjoy it when I do. And in the evening, we did something which I don't get to do very often, and that's play 'Risk'. I really love that game, but as a short game can take in excess of 3 hours, I don't get the chance to get enough people together to give it a go. So that was the way I ended my week off, more or less. A few friends round, snacks in, and a game of Risk. And, to top it all off, another birthday cake. Anyone would think I liked birthday cakes or something. Well, I definitely do, so more of them please.

Folk, Folk Music

This weekend was notable for two reasons-first, that it was the weekend of Cheltenham Folk Festival, and, second (more importantly to me), it was the first day of my week off-I usually work Saturdays. I had a few days holiday left before the end of the financial year, and as my manager is on holiday abroad for most of March, February is better for me. Plus my birthday is in half term, so if I take it off then, it means I should be able to see my sister and niece and several friends who are teachers. It is also quite convenient, because my best friend ususally comes down for the Folk Festival, so it meant I would be free all weekend. So that all worked out well then.

I left work on Friday with the knowledge that I wouldn't have to go back for another 10 days, and went to meet a couple of friends. Neil, who was staying with me (yes, we have the same first name; it's not deliberate, honest), and Alli-someone who, although local, I still don't see that often. Which is a shame. She was attending a conference that evening by Freedom In Christ to help her help others. As she's a social worker, I'm sure she'll find plenty of opportunity to use what she learned. Anyway, it was good to catch up with both of them, and we had a meal together before going our separate ways. I then relaxed a bit at home beforee Neil got back at about midnight, and we chatted for a couple of hours, as well as me doing my last blog post.
And then the weekend started properly. Unfortunately, it started with me being ill, so it was particularly good that Neil was here, as I'd arranged for someone to bring me round a new washing machine. Not just on a whim-the old one had stopped working, and he figured it wasn't worth repairing. If I'd been on my own, it would have been that much more difficult to get up in time for him. But it was managed-unfortunately, however, I missed meeting Alli for lunch. I was kind of feeling like I really didn't want to leave the house at all that day, but another friend who I haven't seen for months got in touch to say he could get over to Cheltenham today, but probably couldn't during the week. So I decided to make the effort to wander down to town and see him. It was good to see him, and I got to see something of the Folk Festival as there were some free gigs in various locations around town. I saw a duo in Rise, and Sam Holmes in Costa, where we went for drinks a bit later-and where I managed to drop my drink. However, the staff were very lovely and made me a new one free of charge and brought it to the table. Nice of them. And on realising there were so many free gigs, I did wonder whether people I knew could get in next year.
Sunday was similar, in that I again had to get up early ish to get to church (and avoid my landlord), but I wouldn't have managed it anywhere near so well if Neil hadn't been there. I left later than I intended, but I got there-just in time for communion. I was feeling almost well again by the end of church, and then when I got home, I fell asleep on the sofa. I was supposed to meet Neil in town to catch a bus to Alli's (and Darren- and family), but in the end, I had to get a taxi. Which was probably for the best, as I really wasn't sure I would be able to walk that far, feeling like I did. So that was managed, and then a good evening was had by all, despite the fact that Darren wasn't feeling much better than I was. So he spent most of his time upstairs with their oldest boy, building a Lego tank. Which was pretty impressive, when we saw the finished article. Alli gave me a card and present (pear cider, very nice)-and also sent me a text actually on my birthday, which was a couple of days later.
And then on Monday, Neil left in the morning, to go and spend time with his family, and I didn't get up. Well, I did in the end, but it was a lot later than I had hoped. Didn't do much that day, apart from arrange with my mum and sis them coming round the next day-my actual birthday.

What A Week!

Well, I finally get around to another post after an unusual week; some of it fun, some definitely not. And, in that, all sorts of reasons why I couldn't post any earlier.

Starting on Saturday with a panto, which was great. A friend of mine, who has recently started a curacy in a rural parish near Worcester invited us to see him in a panto he was in. Apparently, his parish started Martley Amateur Dramatics as part of their outreach several years ago, and have put on one ever since the 100th anniversary of one of the churches. Some of the group belong to one or other of the churches (mainly the men, which is unusual), and some don't-it's a very good way to both build community and get the church involved in the community. And as he's now started in a rural parish where getting into the community is vital, he was basically told he had to be in it. His vicar takes one of the main parts, as he does conjuring and juggling-apparently the main problem they have is getting him to stick close to the script.
So, anyway, I was picked up by a friend after work, and off we went to Martley for their production of 'Cinder Ella' (the German version) 'a small but subtle difference'. And a most enjoyable time was had by all, especially the cast. It was clear that most of the audience was connected in some way to some or all of the cast, and they seemed relaxed and enjoyed themselves. One of the best amdram shows I've ever seen. And afterwards, we were invited to the after-show party; which was basically everyone in the hall heading down the road to the local pub, The Admiral Rodney, and generally having a good time. The food was good, the company better, and the overall atmosphere was great-I found a perry I hadn't had before, so that's a good excuse to go back there.

And then on the Sunday, there was the latest Seek His Face event, at Elim Church, which was interesting. I've been having a difficult time praying recently, because I've been thinking that I've been praying about the same things for ages, and my life doesn't seem to be much different than it was X number of years ago. Or any different. I suppose I may be different, but it's difficult to tell how much and in what ways. And, more importantly, what difference this may make. I don't see what I can do to make much of a change in my circumstances, so it's really up to God; but I don't see Him doing anything (much). Anyway, the guy leading worship had a prophecy for me-that God was tattooing something on me, that I would have a ministry to people who no-one else would want to/be able to. This was very interesting, as one of the things I've been thinking about recently is getting a tattoo, though I haven't decided yet-and also, I went to a prayer meeting recently where the phrase 'soul tattoo' was used. So it seems that it wasn't just something general that could have been said to anyone, the way he said it was as important as what he said. Something to consider, anyway.

After that, it was back to work Monday, as usual, and then on Tuesday (my day off), my mum came round to help me clean the flat. As my flatmate is leaving soon, it will have to be looking good for a new tenant, or the landlord will complain. So, that was both intense and exhausting. And then, after that, what really held up the posting of this post, I got ill. I don't know why, as I don't really get ill that often, but I felt bad enough to be off work. As the last time that happened was about 6 years ago - I can't actually remember - you can see that I wasn't really in any fit state to do this post. Or, indeed, to do anything much. And, just as clearly, you can now see that I'm better. ;). Which is good. And now I have posted. Nice.