a small island

View from the island

2008-04-01T21:10:00.001Z

Well we have finally made the decision to relocate to the Western Isles - the isle of lewis
if you are interested we are blogging our journey on a new blog

go to a view from the island

Shibboleth

2007-11-19T12:27:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago we went to London with the purpose of seeing Sound of Music (Steve's birthday present - don't ask!!) - whilst we were there I wanted to go to the Tate Modern to see Shibboleth in the Turbine Hall.
I am generally a fan of the Tate Moderns exhibitions in the Turbine Hall. It is a fantastic space and i think the Tate are good a pushing a few boundaries as to what is art.
Shibboleth is basically a huge crack in the halls' floor - it is fascinating. From the perspective of how on earth did they manage to do that but also the artists perspective on what it represents. Doris Salcedo has done some really inspirational pieces of installation art around the world. i particularly like the thinking behind the piece in the Tate Modern - the tate's website says the following

Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth is the first work to intervene directly in the fabric of the Turbine Hall. Rather than fill this iconic space with a conventional sculpture or installation, Salcedo has created a subterranean chasm that stretches the length of the Turbine Hall. The concrete walls of the crevice are ruptured by a steel mesh fence, creating a tension between these elements that resist yet depend on one another. By making the floor the principal focus of her project, Salcedo dramatically shifts our perception of the Turbine Hall’s architecture, subtly subverting its claims to monumentality and grandeur. Shibboleth asks questions about the interaction of sculpture and space, about architecture and the values it enshrines, and about the shaky ideological foundations on which Western notions of modernity are built.

In particular, Salcedo is addressing a long legacy of racism and colonialism that underlies the modern world. A ‘shibboleth’ is a custom, phrase or use of language that acts as a test of belonging to a particular social group or class. By definition, it is used to exclude those deemed unsuitable to join this group.

If you are in London i would highly recommend it - it is also really interesting watching others interact with the piece.

Oh and of the Sound of Music - the singing and set were brilliant - Connie's acting though left a little to be desired, but lets be honest it is the songs you go for!

Pictures

2007-10-24T22:26:00.000Z

We have put lots of pictures on the Flikr account recently!

Scottish holiday ones ...

Frank even has his own set ...

there are more links on Steve's blog - Frank

More festival fun

2007-08-04T16:25:00.000Z

A couple of weekend's ago we went to Trowbridge Pump Festival
This has become a bit of a regular in our round of festivals. despite the awful weather and broken toes we had a good time with friends,

Saw some great music - Levellers were brilliant, the Spooky Men's Chorale were very funny, and I liked some stuff we had not heard before - Van Eyken, Roy Bailey and Ruthie Foster.

It was also the first outing in our new van (Evie picture below), once we eventually got her started thanks to the AA man - always a good start to any holiday! - and we got use to the new quirks i think we both felt she is going to be a good travelling companion this year.
some pictures of the festival below and here

Evie the new van!

last Sunday i reconnected with part of my soul...

2007-07-14T12:24:00.000Z

Last Sunday Steve, Jen and I went to see Metallica at Wembley Stadium.

IT WAS AWESOME!!

Given that they are in their late 40's, Metallica still know how to play and put on an amazing show... the rifts and amazing skill as musicians (whatever you think of the genre of music) resonate so soundly with my soul - it is a great feeling!
Wembley is pretty cool too!

more photos are here

this picture was taken by JBrown

goodbye Flo ...

2007-06-08T13:20:00.000Z

Well yesterday saw a end to a big era in my life - we made the decision to finally scrap my campervan (affectionately known as Flo) and sending her to the big scrapyard in the sky.

I bought Flo about 5 years ago for a very reasonable price and she has been a great van for touring about in and doing festivals even though at times she would over heat and had funny quirky things about how she operated - it all added to her character!

After Greenbelt last year - Steve was driving her home and her engine blew - the garage assured us that it would be a case of fitting quick replacement engine and then we would be off again - they proceeded to do nothing about it and so she has sat in their garage rotting away all winter.

I feel quite upset about getting rid of her and strangely attached to what is actually a block of metal and oil ...why is this?
why have i formed such a strong attachment to an inanimate object?
I have decided that it signifies a loss, not just of a possession but of a freedom that somehow having a home on wheels gave me.
Having the campervan for me when I was a single person enabled me to travel around and feel safe when i locked the doors at night, Flo being scrapped some how is the final possession that was 'mine' that has been sacrificed now i am a married woman, my Independence gone and now accountable to another.

So thank you Flo for all the journeys and sights we have seen and for making my holidays and exploring safe

P.S. think Steve is secretly pleased as he was too long for the bed and so Flo mark II will be bought with his height in mind! and be assured there will be another van in my life...

Free ticket to Greenbelt ?

2007-06-06T21:23:00.000Z

if you are looking for a free ticket to greenbelt we are looking to recruit a team of stewards in the new forms cafe venue, you need to be friendly and happy to count people and point people towards the door! you'd get some meal vouchers when working too.
leave a contact e-mail below if interested.
it's an indoor venue and where a lot of the alt worship is happening on site.

The Onion

2007-05-31T20:18:00.001Z

The Onion website and newspaper (if you are in San Francisco) has always been a delight for satirical news
Now they bring us the Onion News Network (ONN) - click on the link below the clip for their other latest new story - brilliant!

Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line

Chef for the day (well evening!)

2007-05-25T14:51:00.000Z

Last night i had the wonderful opportunity to be a chef at Loch Fyne on Welsh Back - it was a competition I won as part of their fish week.
It was great fun and the staff in the kitchen were extremely friendly. I even got to cook food that was served to real customers - which amazed me! i also learnt how to properly fillet a fish and cook and pick a crab, as well as some top recipe tips!

on top of this i then was given a free meal for 4 - which obviously was fabulous.

thank you Loch Fyne!

some dodgy pics of the event!

The Zimmers http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

2007-05-15T15:54:00.001Z

This is brillant! thanks for the tip Steve

Let's go to San Francisco

2007-05-09T16:54:00.000Z

Over a week ago i returned from San Francisco having spent a week there with a friend. I didn't know what to expect - having been to New York and loving it and then LA and hating it - i had been assured by everyone that i would love it and indeed i did. what a great city!
Friendly, chilled out, small and accessible - if you don't mind walking up hills!, great transport system, clean and really interesting.

It is hard to say what my favourite things were but a big surprise was the street cars which run on tracks and powered by electric cables and run north-south along Market (one of the few none hilly streets) - these were beautiful machines and well maintained, i seemed to follow in my friends footsteps and became a bit of a transport geek!

Alcatraz was also really interesting - with a brilliant guided tour narrated by ex-prison guards and prisoners.

The views from cocktails bars on the top of the city's skyscraper hotels were also a amazing (or should that be the cocktails were a highlight!).

I think my favourite area was North Beach - with the most fantastic bookstore i have ever been in - Citylights. Home of the start of the beatniks movement it has an ambiance which sucks you in and you get lost wondering through the shelves of books on every conceivable subject. i could of spent my entire savings in this store! Along with citylights there were great coffee shops, Italian restaurants and good bars!

A trip outside the city revealed the stunning Muir woods with the gigantic Coastal Redwoods and a tour of wineries were much wine tasting was undertaken!

there are lots of photos here and here but below are couple of my favourite

Nakedpastor

2007-04-15T16:14:00.000Z

Go and have a look at the nakedpastors blog - some intersting stuff on there and good comic insights

Coping ...

2007-04-12T20:54:00.000Z

I love this latest post on the Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus. Sums up how i feel!

This blog is by Jon Brich - one half of Proost and and member of Sanctuary in Bath. He is a very creative man!

Some food for thought this Easter

2007-04-06T16:16:00.000Z

I've just been catching up with some blogs and there is some good stuff out there for this Good Friday.
I particularly liked Kesters' blog about the end of strategy - particularly the latest blog entry today which resonated with me
Moot have also posted a couple of interesting bits today
and the Grace Lent blog (over the whole of lent has had some gems)

Community Cohesion

2007-03-26T15:04:00.000Z

Today for work i went to a conference at the council house - was not overly enthused it has to be said but this one was about 'Faith in the Community - Building a cohesive community'. I spend so much of my work life talking about community cohesion - what it means, why it can't work, why it needs to address racism, why different groups need to be funded etc etc - so i was not thinking that anything new would come out of today.

I was actually pleasantly surprised! Firstly on a personal level I found some of the discussion quite interesting - interfaith conversations I feel are going to become a more necessary and frequent part to our faith communities. I think there is a lot to learn from other faiths without having to feel threatened by others faith.

Secondly and perhaps most surprisingly, was a presentation about Radio Salaam Shalom. A radio station truly run by Jews and Muslims, discussing real issues that divide and unite them. Peter Brill spoke very passionately about the project but i think the thing that inspired me most, is that when all the time in my work it is about why people don't get on and why people shouldn't be here, it showed that when people genuinely want to have dialogue and find out about others - it works.

Radio Salaam Shalom is an internet radio station click here to read more about it! I would recommend it!

Super heros

2007-03-25T14:05:00.000Z

Last week we went to visit my nephew for his 4th birthday - he had a superhero's party - and Frank (yes our dog) was invited!
as a bit of fun I decided frank needed a costume and decided to make a cape (I had 1/2hr and some tartan material i think i did pretty well!)
Steve thought really i had turned the corner and lost the plot until a friend suggested i looked on the internet for inspiration - i had no idea that superhero dog costumes were such big business 'Costume dogs' was my favourite website

Frank's doesn't really live up to these does it, but he does look very smart doesn't he!!

New Religion

2007-03-12T06:48:00.000Z

On Saturday I had a GB meeting and for our devotions to start the meeting we went upstairs (GB is under All Hallows Church /Wallspace) to look at the new Damien Hirst exhibition New Religion.
I am not usually a big fan of Damien Hirst - but i really liked this collection and i think one of the things that made it, was that it was in a working Anglican Church, so the exhibition has to be looked at in the context of its surroundings - you have to make a connection between God and Art. New Religion uses Christian iconography to explore the areas of belief, life and death. Damien Hirsts use of pharmaceutical images in place of the usual images suggests medicines/medical science is our new god.

New Religion highlights the conflict between science and religion. Damien Hirst said "People tend to think of them as two very separate things, one cold and clinical, the other emotional and warm and loving. I wanted to leap over those boundaries and give you something that looks clinical and cold but has all the religious, metaphysical connotations too."

if you get a chance to see it i would highly recommend it

Duke

2007-02-16T16:23:00.000Z

Last night some friends and i went to see Duke Special at the Thekla
It was brilliant!
His music is so quirky, as my friend said - a mix of 70's Queen /Led Zep and a clarinet and triangles!

I have seen him before at various festivals but the intimacy of the Thekla gave the gig a whole different atmosphere - Duke interact with the crowd and clearly enjoyed playing on a ship - with his particularly special rendition of Sinking boat blues - sung from the middle of the crowd!

here is a cute little video/animation of his latest song Freewheel

McDonalds Subliminal Advertising

2007-01-23T21:20:00.000Z

Video quality not great but keep watching ...

not so well travelled

2007-01-22T19:27:00.000Z

create your own visited countries map
I have always considered myself as someone who was really well travelled. Ellen's blog put pay to that!
the world is a big place!

Is this really in Nepal?

2007-01-17T13:27:00.000Z

Reuters reported yesterday that Nepal showed Machu Picchu in an tourism ad - whoops!

Have you seen Nepal?

Emigration

2007-01-16T19:23:00.000Z

Yesterday my parents emigrated to Portugal after nearly 9 months of living with them - we had kind of got use to having them around, and it is with mixed feelings we said goodbye.

Relationships with parents is a strange thing and influences so many of our other relationships. I am lucky i have a very good relationship with mine (even after 9 months!) but still there are times when they manage to bring out the 16 year old in me - stomping off to my room and slamming my door. But they are also the ones that no matter what i did would still be there for me and there is a real security in that and it is not until you are faced with others families and their relationships - sometimes more dysfunctional sometimes more healthy than yours that maybe you see what a strong influencing relationship that is.

When i was at college Christians all around me where talking about the influence parents (particularly fathers - a i went to a very patriarchal church then and God surely could only be male) had on your relationship with God, and though some of it i now think is sentimental rubbish i see there is a truth in it as well. If parents influence the type of relationships we form on earth they must influence the type of spiritual relationships we form and how we respond to the spiritual world.

another slight at christmas

2006-12-05T20:06:00.000Z

2 cartoon posts in a row - not good but it sums up the feeling!

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

My sister and i had a long discussion last week about retired people choosing to shop on a Saturday during decemeber - "why would they do that?" was the general jist of the conversation, but the tone of the conversation later turned to a more dictorial approach! we decided that any who did not work monday to friday should not be allowed to shop on a Saturday during December!

O the world would be so much better if I ruled it!

great cartoon

2006-11-20T22:08:00.000Z

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

Love it, want it, need it, have it...

2006-11-19T10:39:00.000Z

over the last week I have had 2 experiences that makes me want to start a revolution about Christmas.
1.
Yesterday Mum and I entered the fray that is known as Christmas shopping! We left early to go to Cribbs (always a traumatic experience) in high spirits with a short list knowing exactly what family members wanted. By shop three my head began to throb, the relentless Christmas music, sparkley lights, the screaming children and the sheer volume of people were entirely to blame - the joy of giving gifts was beginning to wear thin and the idea of cheap and fun stocking fillers was over.
The final straw for me came when we went into a well known high st clothes shop and their slogan "love it want it need it have it" was plastered everywhere.
Where on earth was God in all this.

2.
Last week at work a board member started a series of email discussions (never a good idea) about a party that has been organised by staff members and it is called a winter celebration.

This is an ongoing argument in an increasingly multi-cultural society - are we alienating people by using the term Christmas or is it part of our heritage. From a personal perspective if something is a Christmas celebration - then it should be called a Christmas celebration and I know from my Muslim colleagues that they are not at all offended by this. But what is a Christmas celebration?

The parts that disturbed me about the email was: people's understanding of what Christmas is, what is a Christmas celebration and the use of this discussion to further alienate people of different faiths from our communities.
the email went along the lines of "Christmas is about good will to all men" and "a time for family and eating and drinking."
Everything in me screamed no it isn't. This is what we have made it...
Is Christmas about getting as many presents as humanly possible, is it about drinking as much as you can and is it about eating as much as you can.

I found myself returning to my more evangelical days of thought! Surely Christmas is about the Word being made flesh, a time to celebrate Jesus's birth. Feasts and presents are appropriate but not what Christmas is about, they are a way of marking this significant occasion. Somehow we have been dragged into this consumerist world where there is no mention of Jesus.
Along time ago I took part in a drama/skit as part of the Christian Union at school (you probably know it) where there is a photo shoot at Christmas - it starts with the Holy family and gradually all the trappings we put onto Christmas are added in and in the end the photographer gets rid of the manger with the baby Jesus in. Part of my cringes slightly with embarrassment when I recall this! But part of me also thinks this is what we are allowing society to do.
How, as someone who believes that the son of God being born is a central tenant to my faith, do I reclaim Christmas? I enjoy giving and receiving gifts, I enjoy the feasts we make, I like the fact we get time off from work and I enjoy spending time with people I love - but I think I would be ready to give this all up for it to be something more 'real'.

(The additional point about the email and how it was used to further alienate people is a whole other blog! But in short, the tone of the email was about blaming Muslims (in particularly) and those that work in the community to try and bring unity for having Christmas "taken away" from them. In my experience the part of Christmas that alienates Muslims is the amount of alcohol we consume and the location of these Christmas parties. I also think in a society where increasing number of people do not subscribe to any religion - is it even appropriate to have Christmas parties? The organisers of the party felt particularly strongly that the party had nothing to do with Christmas but was about a closure of a building and an opportunity to socialise with other people)

-----------------------------
Having just published this blog I went off to read what others had been up to this week and discover Paul has been blogging on a similar theme - maybe we could start the revolution together?!

Bank of America

2006-11-12T13:48:00.000Z

this is unbelievable! i think the scariest thing is that it might be real!

click here for this Bank of America video

to the tune of One by U2 (one of my all time favourite songs!)
"one bank
one card
one name that is known all over world

one heart
filled with spirit
with feeling, with sharing

one bank working every day
to bring higher standards, higher standards
one....."

(thanks for this one Jonny)

Kick it out

2006-10-22T13:25:00.000Z

On friday myself and 2 colleagues ran an event for inner city primary school children at the City Academy to raise awareness about racism in football. Knowing nothing about football the day was quite enlightening to me! 7 schools (14 teams inc 5 girls team) took part in a morning of football games. and then in the afternoon we ran a forum theatre piece that looked at racism in football as well as touching on other issues, like pressure from parents, conflict of training over school work etc. Kick it out is a national organsisation that works with the FA to tackle racism within football.

Last week was their focus for the year, when lots of events take place including 30 community events (of which we were one!).
We had a great day - though I was somewhat exhausted after hearing over 100 9-11 yr olds scream all day! The one down side was that the theatre group had not checked out the venue in which we were running the theatre and due to it being a sports hall and other pupils at the City Academy were using it as well, we could not hear anything (not good) after a quick relocation though, the day was salvaged - big lesson learnt there - and the children seemed to get lots from the day. This part of the job I enjoy!
The one aspect of the day that seemed to really disturb me though was the parents that had decided to come along. They were not offically invited but apparently some parents always come along when their 'little darling' is playing. They were horrible - screaming at the children to run faster, kick harder, pass quicker and also screaming at referees (who happened to be 6th formers from the City Academy who are doing a qualification in Community Sports Coaching). The language they used was appalling (given they were surrounded by children). They complained it was not a knockout tournament and that there was no trophy (depsite the winners of each group getting prizes) I have to say not much shocks me - but this did! what happened to enjoying a game of football without making it so competative that children end up in tears and feeling like they are letting their parents down at every turn. I felt like the parents had missed the point of the day but thankfully the children seemeed to get it!

London and things

2006-10-11T20:09:00.000Z

Yesterday I was in London for the beginnings of GB 07 planning - yes really!, after my meeting I headed down to the Tate Modern with Jonny to have a look at the slides that are the new installation in the Turbine Hall - first question we asked was "is this art?' to be honest does it really matter? As it looked like great fun as the tall ones are very fast! in that space you need to have something very experiential and so this fitted the bill perfectly, as I was leaving a school group had gathered to cheer their teachers as they hurtled down the slides! Bet they went home with great stories of their trip to London! there are some pretty poor pictures (taken on my mobile) here and some better ones here (not taken by me!)

-----------------------------

Jonny blogged today about a fantastic sounding book - recommend you have a look - it is good to hear that people are writing stuff that is challenging and culturally relevant

Photos of weekend

2006-10-11T20:07:00.000Z

As promised there are some pictures on flickr of our weekend in the Cotswolds - there are various slide shows on Steve's flikr account, but click here for the Hailes Abbey ones

A Cotswolds delight

2006-10-09T20:51:00.000Z

this weekend was our first wedding anniversary (can't believe it is a year already!), and we went away to the Cotswolds for a couple of nights and had a lovely time. The Cotswolds are so charming with beautiful countryside, B&B's that let Frank (the dog) stay as well and quaint English towns. One of the highlights for me was an unexpected discovery of Hailes Abbey, a Cistercian Abbey that was established in approx 1240 and ran for about 300 years until is was dissolved and the building was ransacked for stone, glass, sculptures etc. What is left today is a mere outline of the building before.
With the entrance ticket comes an audio tour - I don't usually like these things but as it was free... It was very well done though, giving you space and time to wonder through the ruins and imagine the monks going about their daily routines. The audio tour drew you into the story to the extent when an older woman who was visiting, who was just behind us on the tour exclaimed to her husband "Eric the pastor at Stanway [a local village] has stolen the abbey's windows!" as if it was the current vicar who was liable for the crime!
There was something extremely peaceful about the ruins - so far from the hustle and bustle of daily life, with the fields surrounding you, you can see how monks would find it easier to seek God on this environment.
(pictures to follow hopefully)

Autumnwatch

2006-10-05T20:23:00.001Z

for the first time the BBC are doing an Autumnwatch (instead of the usual Springwatch) there is something extremely compelling about these programmes, (despite not being a huge fan of bill odie!) I don't know if it is watching everyday nature up close and unfolding on a day to day basis, when you can't get out yourself and do that?

I am loving the Red deer parts of the programme - mainly because it is filmed on Rum! which is a beautiful Scottish Island on the west coast of scotland.

There is also a seal diary - which is filmed on another scottish island (the Monach Isles) off the west coast of Lewis (the outer hebridies)

if you've not seen it i would recommend watching it (BBC2 week nights at 8pm)

Work v leisure time?

2006-10-01T20:21:00.000Z

Sunday evenings are my time to just be by myself - I usually watch the re-runs of west wing. This Sunday I also indulged in a little bit of without a trace' - a typical American cop drama. The theme, as ever, is: a teenage kid goes missing and the team of agents have to find them before they wind-up dead. Tonight there was an extra spin on it though - institutionalised racism.
2 kid go missing, one is a white girl, one is a black boy. The white girl gets all the publicity and media focus, all the agents are pulled of the black boys case and put on to the white girls case and so on. This is challenged at various points through-out the programme but nothing happens to change it. The programme ends with us being told one is dead and one is alive and finishes with the chief approaching the 2 mothers to tell them the news - we never find out which one it is that has been killed.
Every working day I have to deal with institutional racism as part of my job - it is not normally that blatant though. It can be very demoralising and wearing working within a context that means you have to battle twice, may three or four times harder to be heard, to have achievements acknowledged, to ensure the black residents are getting their fair share of the deal in the area, to explain over and over why perhaps people need to think more creatively about engagement and barriers, why there might be a need for a specific service for refugees and so on.
Prior to working where I do - I had not really ever given a great deal of thought to these matters in the way I have to now, I know for me, whatever I go on to do with my life, having worked as a race equality officer has given me an insight into "Great Britain" I never would have had - not one I particularly like or am proud of either. So despite Without a Trace being a little predictable and corny and too sugary sometimes - good on them for even thinking to raise the issue!

What do you blog!

2006-09-03T18:15:00.000Z

Well I have succumb to my own internal pressures to start this blogging business. Very strange as I am sure I am talking to myself! As yet I am not entirely sure the theme of my rants but hope it will reflect conversations I am in at the moment. I also was keen to swell the ranks of female bloggers!