A Tonne of Running

This coming year I'm going to be undertaking something a little ambitious. My friend Jonny Farrell (one who has proved himself up for a challenge many times over...he's just coming to the end of a year of drinking only water, nothing else, to raise money for clean water in Africa) has upped the bar for this year and has come up with "The Tonne Run". He's getting people motivated to each run at least 1,000 miles over the course of the next year in aid of children's projects in Ethiopia.

The idea is that there are many children in Ethiopia for whom 1,000 miles a year is the norm, many who travel that distance and more just to provide water (which is often not even clean) for their families.

If this is the reality of life for so many children in the world we live in, then surely we can do our bit.

So 1,000 miles is the goal (and also the width of Ethiopia itself), £1,000 is the fundraising target, and December 31st next year is D-Day.

I'm thankful for legs that are able to run and health that keeps me upright, and for clean water from multiple taps in my house that I take so for granted. Thankfulness is great, but it shouldn't just be words, it should spark action. I'm thankful for what I have, and because I have, it means that some may not. This year, I'm thinking particularly about water, and will be running my legs off to try and do something about it.

Stick around to find out how I'm doing and if you feel so inclined to find out how you can donate to this excellent cause. And if you fancy taking part (come on....!) you can learn a bit more about it and sign up at this link.

https://www.standby.me/news/fundraising/start-the-new-year-with-a-tonne-run

The Neighbour

Matthew 4:13 says that "leaving Nazareth, [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum."

In my mind, Jesus' baptism and temptation in the desert marked the last time that he had a house to base himself from, that he stayed in one place for a stretch of time. I assumed that these events began the wandering itinerant stage of life that would characterise the next three years of his ministry. And yet this small verse that I discovered in the depths of the opening of Matthew this morning seems to suggest otherwise, that there was a time after all the excitement at the outset, when Jesus once again took a house, settled down somewhere for who knows how long, and lived in one place.

I am of course reading into the text, but it made me wonder what it was like for Him, and what it was like to be his next door neighbour.

The passage tells us that it was "from this time on Jesus began to preach, 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'" At this point, no longer was he just the carpenter's son, blending into the background of the village melee, no, this man was now front and centre and saying some pretty radical and scandalous stuff.

What would it have been like to live on his street and see him coming back at the end of the day, rumours circulating about the crazy things he had been up to. Did he have a nosy neighbour who lived across the street, peeking at him from behind her curtains? (Though she probably didn't have curtains...from behind her camel...?)

We compartmentalise the life of Jesus. We make it easy for us to understand, thinking about him at the front of a crowd making a handful of food go far further than it should, hands on the sick making them well, preaching the new way of the kingdom of God. Easy for us to get our minds around, because, after all, we know Him to be God.

But we forget that he was also human. We forget about those little interactions that happen in our everyday that no one even thinks about, that no Gospel writer would consider wasting precious ink on due to their routine and mundane nature.

We forget that God himself had neighbours, friends, teachers, someone he bought bread from. How did they feel when they met him? Did they know there was something different about him?

At this time of year, we remember Him as a baby, marvelling at the fact that God became an infant in a manger. Let's also not forget what it meant for Him to grow up among humanity, living a relatively normal life among others just like us.

A normal life, but lived a different way. Lived the way it was meant to be lived.

May each of us discover more with each day what this life could look like for us.

Chris

I thankful for my great friend Chris Hunter. He is so wise and wonderful.

(edit: this is a special guest photo from the one and the same Chris Hunter, for whom, yes, I am thankful...but have learnt shouldn't be left alone with my computer.)

Rejoice!

For a child has been born-for us!

The gift of a son-for us!

He'll take over the running of the world. His names will be:

Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.

His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom.

He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going.

With fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always.

Isaiah 9:6 & 7
[The Message]

One Night, One Moment

I'm a sucker for a good Christmas movie, and most of the time I'm content with the bubblegum fluff of an "Elf" or a "Santa Clause". But every now and then, one comes along with a little bit more heart.

"Nativity!" from a few years ago is one of those ones.

It's basically the story of a primary school in England that decides to put on a show-stopper of a Nativity in order to show up the local over-achieving school. Things escalate and hilarity obviously ensues. 

But it's the end of the film where we actually see the results of what they've worked on that is the crowning jewel of the film. Below is one of my favourite parts, apologies for the bad quality. Blame youtube for that...!

I love the lyrics, and it really hits home on what Christmas is really all about. 

"One night, one moment, and everything is changed."

One instance in history when everything changes. And because of that moment, as the song says "We'll never feel lonely again."

Incredible. So I'm thankful this Christmas Eve for Christmas itself, and exactly what it means, and hoping not to forget it in the busy-ness of tomorrow!

Green fingers.

Yesterday I posted about the depths of Winter.

And yet that didn't stop me using my day off on Monday to do a bit of planting. The weather has thankfully taken a turn for the mild, and I realised that if I don't get some things planted now, I might not see them in time for Spring.

In a few months, my mind will turn to vegetables, but for this week, it was all about the flowers.

Daffodils and tulips. And I need to investigate sunflowers...though I think I might have a bit of time to play with before those need to be in the ground.

So today I'm simply thankful for outdoor space in the city (even though I'm actually rockin' the 'burbs). Watch this space for more garden updates as (hopefully) things grow!

Winter.

I sat shivering in my car on Sunday morning as I turned the heater on full (which served merely to blast arctic air in my direction) and willed the 3-inch thick (or so it felt) ice to melt so I could get on my way.

As I sat there, hating the experience and bemoaning the fact that, once again, I had forgotten to leave that vital "defrosting time" to get to work on time, I thought about thankfulness. Winter is not my favourite time of year...but as I sat in the car with a few minutes to spare, could I come up with a few things that this time of year made me thankful for? What are the things that make the cold wait in the car in the morning worth it?

• Hot water bottles. At any time of the day.
• Listening to the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album without having to justify it.
• Crunchy ice grass.
• During the snow last year, my car got stuck in a pile of ice and snow brushed to the side of the road. Seriously stuck. I was attempting to get out on my own, until people kept popping out of the woodwork to help me. Cardboard for under my wheels from their boots, a shovel from their shed, an extra set of hands to push. It was not a fun situation, but I left (finally free!) with a smile on my face, cheered by the sense of community that I had experienced. You don't get that in the Summer...
• Scarves, layers, and wrapping up.
• Hands curled around a warm cup of coffee when you actually NEED warmed up.
• Christmas, and the anticipation of Advent.

So those were my few thoughts before I was on my way, happier and more content with the season we're in. (But it doesn't stop me being glad that the weather has taken a turn for the mild...!)

Full Sundays

This was a full day.

It is Sunday night and I am one sleepy church-employee.

Not one. Not two. But three family services. All within 7 hours of eachother...! Different locations and different congregations. Different types of services, different talks, and about a gallon of post-service instant coffee.

It was a busy day, but I drove home with a big smile on my face. I love what I get to do. I love standing at the front and seeing full churches celebrating the run up to the birth of our Jesus. 

Great stuff. So thankful tonight.

X Men

Warning: This post contains a minor spoiler for Ultimate Comics: X Men #  1. If that bothers you, you can stop reading now... And if it doesn't bother you, then why not? You should read Ultimate Comic: X Men # 1.

I maintain there is no other medium of media that is as perfectly suited to the "twist in the tale" than comic books. Films twists are great, but there, the pace of the interaction is dictated by a far off director. A good twist in a book is great, but the visuality of it all is up to you. 

With comics, it's a juxtaposition of both the visual effect and the turning the page when you are ready and at your own pace. That, for me, results in more gasp-worthy moments than I've had anywhere else.

One book that never disappoints on this front has always been the X Men.

At its core, the X Men is the story of a persecuted minority coming to the aid and protection of the persecuting and bigoted majority because of a belief in the basic tenets of humanity. The very humanity that is denied to them by the majority.

Powerful stuff. (If you buy into it!) Of course, there are space battles and the stuff of sci-fi along the way, but at it's heart, the X Men is all about the battle to embrace difference, and the struggle that it is to be unaccepted, and also to be the un-acceptor (if that's a word...).

In the most recent comic in the Marvel Ultimate universe, Jean Grey, great stalwart of the X Men, arrives at the house of a newly powered teenage mutant (stay with me....!) who we see in the background playing joyfully in a home video on the TV screen with new powers of telekinesis. 


This story has been told before, so many times up to now Jean Grey has wowed the parent with the promise of excellent education combined with the assurance of control over the aforementioned uncontrollable powers. However, this time the spiel doesn't go as expected. Halfway through the conversation, the mother breaks down, and they hear a bang from upstairs. Turning the page, the next panel is this:

The parents of this 12 year old girl chose to put her out of her "misery" rather than force her to grow up in a world that sees her as an abomination. The mixture of the images of the joy on the girls face on the TV screen and the utter devestation on the parents faces is not an easy one to look at, but a powerful one to remember.

They have given in to the fear of what's different, and it's clear that this is a direction and a theme this run of issues is going to go in. The parents in the story have allowed this fear to consume them, to the extent that they are willing to sacrifice the child they have brought up.

Shocking stuff. Bet you weren't expecting that were you?

So, out of this, I'm thankful for messages and lessons in unexpected places, and for art, artists and storytellers who try to translate those messages in creative and ever-reaching ways.

And I'm thankful for the X Men. For all they have taught me over the years and continue to, both shocking, challenging and entertaining.

You should give them a go...

Good music

After driving from Belfast to Dublin this afternoon, with Radio 1 on the whole way, I am thankful that there are some musicians out there who make great music, unlike some of the stuff I heard this afternoon... Naming no names.........Kelly Rowland

But generally I love music. Love it. Today I'm thankful for some great stuff. 

I'm not always the best at listening to lyrics, I can often find myself parroting off words, only months later to stop and realise what I'm actually singing! But when I do, I'm glad I have. One of my favourites at the minute is a guy called Dallas Green, who goes under the pseudonym "City and Colour"... Dallas...Green... Great. 

Here's the chorus from one of the best tracks from his new album. (Link on the name.)

"How can I instill such hope,

and be left with none of my own?

What if i could sing just one song,

and it might save somebody's life?"

- City & Colour "Hope For Now"

And then, a bit of a classic at the minute, a great cover by one Mr. Bon Iver, if you listen to nothing else, make sure you listen to the piano introduction for the first 55 seconds. It's like eating a Galaxy Caramel with your ears.

The Sea

Sometimes I forget the blessing that it is to live by the sea.

That for many people, seeing that great expanse of water is not an everyday experience.

This morning, it was all sunny blue skies and wind, and I turned a corner whilst out running and was faced with a blustery, choppy sea. I just smiled. It's so easy to forget the little blessings, to forget that ocean-side life is not the norm.

So I'm thankful for where I get to live.

After all, I'm in easy walking distance to the sea, a cinema and a book shop. What more could I ask for?

---

Devotion

Robert Frost

The heart can think of no devotion

Greater than being shore to the ocean-

Holding the curve of one position,

Counting an endless repetition.

Work

This evening I'm thankful for my job.

I've just had a manic week of preparing for some big stuff we have coming up in the next couple of week in church, and though it's been long days stretching into evenings to get things ready, I love what I get to do.

I love the variation in my days. The rhythm of groups that repeat weekly with programmes that are constantly changing. 

This week I prepared two upcoming services, made Christmas baubles with a kid's club, wrote intercessions for church, painted 8 4-foot Christmas tree posters, had a great youth group where 9 signed up to do a drama in our Christmas service, took communion with some senior members of the congregation, had tea and homemade shortbread whilst hearing a life story and then discussing an amazing Christmas appeal for presents for underprivileged kids in Ireland, and met with our curate to look to the future for our exciting parent and toddler church service that just won't stop growing.

That was this week, and I love that it was fantastic but I'll never have another week exactly the same. I'll do it again, but it'll be different. I love the change, and that I've gotten to the point in this position where people have started asking me in for tea and shortbread to share their stories. To share their lives.

A year ago I was in a very different place when thinking about work, and so this evening I'm so thankful to the One who can turn things around, both the situations we are in, and the eyes we see them with.

This coming week promises to be very different, I have been given the incredible opportunity to take part in the Arrow Leadership Programme over the next 18 months, and it all starts tomorrow with 5 days of residential lectures. 

I think I have heard enough about it to know that this is something I can be very thankful to have the opportunity for.

The cracks

Today I am thankful that the writers of the Bible don't paper over the cracks. 

I've been reading through parts of Acts and I'm thankful that, like my life and ministry, it isn't perfect. People fall out, there are disagreements, plans come tumbling down, there are times that it looks like these early faithful followers are hypocrites, like they are compromising their values, and many times they are! But throughout it all, God is at work in their human frailty, in their brokenness. 

I'm thankful that God doesn't need to paint over the imperfections or sweep past the inadequacies and mistakes. I'm thankful that he doesn't need or ask for perfection in order to be used by Him, because I know myself, and I am far from it.

"For your tomorrow, we gave our today."

Today is Remembrance Sunday, and the service in church was focused on remembering those who fought and died for the freedom of the nations that we live in.

I'm thankful for the sacrifice of those who went before me, who gave their lives so that I could grow up in freedom. Who gave all of their tomorrows so that I could see today, and live safely and freely beyond it.

I liked the Act and Prayer of commitment that we spoke at the end, which reminded us that our God is not a god of war, but a God of peace. He does not revel in the "glory" of war, taking sides and trading pieces like an enormous game of Risk, but is (I assume) saddened by our inability to be peace-builders and forgivers, mourning alongside the families of the fallen on both sides. I'm thankful that God is like that.

Act of Commitment

Let us pledge ourselves anew to the service of God and our fellow men and women; that we may help, encourage and comfort others and support those working for the relief of the needy and for the peace and welfare of the nations.

Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves to serve you and all humanity, in the cause of peace, for the relief of want and suffering, and for the praise of your name. Guide us by your Spirit; give us wisdom; give us courage; give us hope, and keep us faithful now and always. Amen.

Adventures

I'm thankful today for good friends, and adventures.

And for good friends going on adventures.

My age-old amigo Karen headed off to New Zealand for the year this morning, so I'm thankful for her friendship over the last 7 years and thankful to God for the opportunity he's given her to travel and work over there. Much celebration has been had over the last week as our little group said our farewells (including many failed attempts at lighting Chinese lanterns, almost ending in a fiery blaze...perhaps if this whole youth work thing doesn't catch I might have a career in firefighting ahead of me) but this yokel didn't take any pictures, so you'll have to imagine it...

Thankful for Karen and praying for safe travels and big adventures.

"I've found the one who my soul so long craved."

8 years ago I went to South Africa for 3 months, and while I was there, I learnt to sing and play a song from some of the people I had travelled there with. I remember loving it, and the sentiment behind it really meaning a lot to me in the place that I was with God during that season in my life.

I was flipping through an old journal and found the words to that song. Memories of haunting melodies in beautiful hilly valleys came flooding back to me. I love this song.

Poughkeepsie

I thought I'd go out Poughkeepsie

Searching for a clear spring

That I'd hoped would quench the burning

of the thirst I felt within

Leaning on the world around me

Till my strength was almost gone

Longed my soul for something better

Only still to hunger on

(Chorus)

And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

I've found the one who my soul so long craved

And if heaven's not my home then Lord, what will I do

Because I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Poor I was, and sought for riches

Something that would satisfy

But the dust that gathered round me

Only mocked my soul's sad day

Well of water ever springing

Bread of life so rich and free

Untold wealth that never faileth

My Redeemer is to me

The Unsung Heroine of the Warsaw Ghetto

A few years ago, I came across this eulogy in a magazine that was lying around. An incredible story of bravery and heroism in the face of great risk to personal safety. I've carried this story around with me for the last few years, both literally and in my mind, inspired and thankful for the example of faithful and dedicated people who refuse to lie down and accept evil in this world triumphing over the downtrodden and persecuted.

You won't regret taking the time to read this, it's one of the most inspiring stories I've read. The last sentence gives me goosebumps every time. To me it's the Kingdom of God at work.

The Unsung Heroine of the Warsaw Ghetto

(Taken from "THE WEEK", 24 May 2008)

Irena Sendler, who has died aged 98, is credited with having saved the lives of some 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. She risked her own neck to do so, said The Independent, but never considered herself a heroine. "That term irritates me greatly," she reflected in 2005. "The opposite is true - I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little."

Born in Warsaw, the daughter of a Roman Catholic doctor, she was brought up to help the needy. "If you see someone drowning," her father used to say, "you must jump into the water to save them, whether you can swim or not." When the Nazis herded the city's 500,000 Jews into an area of barely four square kilometres, to await transportation to the death camps, Irena joined Zegota, the secret council for Aid to Jews. She and her colleagues visited the ghetto disguised as nurses, purportedly to treat the inhabitants for disease. In reality, however, they were spiriting the children to safety in sacks, in baskets, even in coffins, before hiding them in convents or with sympathetic Gentile families. They told the Nazis that they infants in question had died of typhoid.

Late in 1943, Sendler's house was raided by the Gestapo after a tip-off. She just had time to give her list of the identities of the rescued children to a friend (who hid it in her underwear) before being taken away. She was tortured, her broken legs and feet leaving her permanently disabled, but she told her captors nothing. Finally she was sentenced to death, but Zegota managed to bribe her guard to release her. After the War she became a social worker and director of vocational schools. For decades, Sendler's wartime bravery went unrecognised, said The Daily Telegraph - the communist authorities were more concerned with rewarding the deeds of party members. It wasn't until 2003 that she received Poland's highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, and in 2007 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (it went to Al Gore). 


She spent her last years in a nursing home being looked after by one Elzbieta Ficowska, whom, in July 1942, Sendler had smuggled from the ghetto in a carpenter's toolbox.

Camp

This morning I'm thankful for an excellent weekend away with some fantastic young people in Kilkenny. Tiring, but oh so worth it!

I'm thankful for leaders who dedicated many hours into the preparation, organisation and then set up of the weekend, for speakers, singers and seminar-leaders for speaking and sharing into the lives of the teenagers. 

For many of the young people, attending from every corner of Ireland, this is the only time in the year that they are able to get together with a bigger group of like-minded peers, so watching them make the most of it really makes it worth while!

I'm also especially thankful for the extra hour in bed we got on the Saturday night. Never is the hour change more welcome than when it comes slap bang in the middle of a youth weekend...

Daily Thanks

I saw this a while back, and while I don't think it's necessarily something that theologically God would be behind, it's a good challenge to think about whether we are really acknowledging with a "Thank You" the things that we are given by God.

Holidays

This morning I'm thankful for...

- The Belfast-Dublin motorway. It's been so improved over the last few years that it's so quick to journey between the two cities. So easy to move between them and makes feeling like having home in both places a little more manageable...!

- Great family time over the last week. Lovely to be at home with the added bonus of Gemma and Harry around. Over too soon! 

- The weekend camp Anois which I'm about to get on a bus to take me to Kilkenny for. I'm hoping I'm still thankful for it in 72 hours time...

Frozen Planet

A new series has started on the BBC, following in the footsteps of David Attenborough's previous offerings, he now turns his cameras to the coldest areas of the globe in "Frozen Planet".

Stunning visuals once again combined with the dulcid tones of Attenborough to form the first hour long programme that went out on Wednesday night. Combine it with HD and it's a treat for the eyes.

I was struck by the beauty of the planet that we live on. The incredible thing about these documentaries is that often they are showing landscapes and environments rarely seen by human eyes or captured on camera.

One can look at the stunning beauty of the world unfolded by Attenborough and his team and appreciate it for that, simple beauty. But add a creator into the mix and it takes on a whole new dimension. The hand of a God who sculpts the icebergs and directs the ocean currents, who tames the animals in their wild ways and sets the laws of physics on their path to create and guide the natural wonders on display.

There is a verse in the Bible that talks about how if we as humanity fail in our role at worshipping God then "the rocks will cry out" declaring the wonder and awe of the creator God. 

Well if the Frozen Planet is anything to go by the Earth is doing a pretty good job of proclaiming the glory of a creator God. 

Perhaps we need to up our game.

Raindrops on Running Shoes

These are a few of my thankful things....

- A return to assignments! I recently started a part time leadership course and sat down yesterday afternoon to put together my first assignment, a book review. Haven't written anything like that for a few years, and it was good to sit down at a computer and think for a bit.

- Afternoon naps following assignments...

- Running in torrential rain. It may gain a few odd looks from people driving by warm and cosy in their cars, but running in the driving rain is the best. So refreshing.

- Finishing a good book. I'm a bit of a John Grisham junkie, and I just finished his most recent offering "The Confession". I sped through it. Highly recommended and definitely some food for thought given the subject matter.

Citizenship

I had the great privilege yesterday of attending the ceremony for UK citizenship in Hillsborough Castle yesterday morning. One of my greatest friends Lidia was receiving her citizenship and I was thrilled to be asked to be a witness to the ceremony. Lidia has been a great friend and blessing to me over the last number of years, there have been many times when I have been incredibly thankful for her, and it was great to be able to share this morning with her and watch as she became a citizen.

Lidia, Jonny and I

One of my favourite parts of the ceremony was watching an elderly woman receiving her citizenship. I don't know where she was from, but assume the middle East somewhere. She didn't speak English and a younger man was translating everything in her ear. I would have loved to hear her story, hear what journey brought her to this country and to citizenship in her later years. 

Lidia and I outside Hillsborough Castle

I am also incredibly thankful to be able to be in Belfast this week to spend some good quality time with my sister who is home for a few weeks with this young man to whom I am Uncle Tom. Gemma and Harry are enjoying a week in Belfast which I'm glad to be able to be up for some of! Thankful for some good family time.

A Little Thank-You Goes a Long Way.

We humans have a bit of a problem.

We don't exactly like staying on one path for too long. Survey human history and you'll see a pattern of disatisfaction develop, individuals and nations who are happy with their lot and then begin to become dissatisfied, only to start looking for something else, the next thing to take them to bigger and better places.

Dip anywhere into the Old Testament and you'll see a people completely dependent on God. And yet, time and time they turn away from Him. From the One who provided them with everything they needed; a land to call their own, an identity that set them apart, even food on their plates for the better part of 40 years (even if the menu plan may have gotten a little tedious after a while...)

So why did they turn away? Why turn away from the One who is very clearly providing at the time of your greatest need.

Because they forgot.

Time moves on, a pattern of life developed and they forgot the very simple fact that they couldn't do it on their own.

We are no different from these ancient people. We turn away from God and start doing our own thing when we forget that we need Him, when we forget that without Him our existence is finite. We think that we can go our own way, do our own thing, forgetting that nothing has ever existed that has not been wholy surrounded and upheld by the presence and grace of God.

When we forget to say Thank You, we forget what we have been given, our need of and dependence on the one who is the generous and merciful Giver.

Graditude to the Giver keeps us where we should be, in a place of dependence upon the only one that we can truly depend on.

Confirmation and Michael Jackson

Today I'm thankful for a great group of 5 young people that I've been working with for the last 8 months who saw the end of their journey (and the start of another one) towards their confirmation ceremony into the Church of Ireland.

We had a special service to celebrate yesterday morning, led by the recently appointed Archbishop, with a name you'll recognize, but perhaps for different reasons. It was the first visit of Archbishop Michael Jackson to Malahide, who presided over the service. 

There was a great turn out of friends and family of the young people, there to support and celebrate with them as they made the decision to own the faith that they were baptised into for themselves. 

An encouraging day for me to sit in the congregation and watch young people making decisions for themselves to follow and serve God. So I'm thankful for the opportunity to play a role in their journeys, and for the 5 young people St. Andrew's has taken through the confirmation preparation over the last period of time.

The Archbishop in St. Andrew's, Malahide

The vestibule following the service

Photo op with the Archbishop

Memory Lane

I spent the day yesterday with a good good friend of mine, Karen, who is moving to New Zealand for the year in a few weeks. We were talking about an odd experience that we had years ago where we were in a chippy on Botanic Avenue in Belfast which had a DJ in it late one night. A DJ playing music just for that chippy. 

It's one of those experiences that you are never quite sure whether it really happened when looking back... We knew there was photographic proof though, so I sifted through my hard drive yesterday evening looking for the photo. I haven't found it (yet) but it was fantastic flicking through the photos laughing about things I had forgotten.

One of my favourite memories from college was when a few of us attempted to boost the numbers for the small college choir by putting posters up around the place, but we thought we'd try and make them funny, so we took these photos:

It was only once we actually started putting the posters up that we started to question whether this was a good idea...but unfortunately by then it was a little late, but it makes for a good, if not a tad ridiculous, memory...

That boost in numbers never did appear either.

So today I'm thankful for good friends, and good memories. 

I'm also thankful that my sister and nephew arrived safely in Belfast yesterday morning after a long trip across the Atlantic. I'm looking forward to heading up north for a week off and to see them later on today.

Simple things.

I found a rogue book voucher left over from my birthday while tidying up, and when I went in  search of something new, I decided upon something old. This is one of my favourite books  that I read when I was part of a book club in Belfast. This is one of those books and authors that I have never tired of, and chances are high that you may have received this book as a present from me...

I love it when authors use words in unusual or unexpected ways, conjuring such accurate images in your mind, and Rohinton Mistry is the Sheriff of that town. One of my favourites is when he talked about how news of local scandal was "percolating" through the village. 

"A Fine Balance" is no easy book to read, set in India 40 years ago it seems to present life as it really was in India. This is no Hollywood version. But the heart behind the book and the excellent writing is what puts it up there for me, so I'm glad to be delving in once again, here's a sneak peek of the first few lines:

"The morning express bloated with passengers slowed to a crawl, then lurched forward suddenly, as though to resume full speed. The train's brief deception jolted its riders. The bulge of humans hanging out of the doorway distended perilously, like a soap bubble at its limit."

I also have another book token. Any suggestions?

Being struck by the vivid green of the grass outside the church that I work in. It was almost neon in the light of a cloudy day yesterday!