a travers adventure

2010-06-16T22:12:00.002+01:00

http://oscaranddoris.blogspot.com is the home of our new family blog, Giddy Up Oscar and Doris.

Thank you for your curiosity.

on hiatus

2010-05-07T10:35:00.000+01:00

we're regenerating the blog at the moment. cheers

Old and New Music

2009-02-27T11:50:00.003Z

These two albums have pretty much hogged the stereos for the last few weeks. Bruce in the car and Alela Diane on the computer via spotify. Listen to bruce here and Alela here.

Our shared considered opinion of Bruce's album is that it is a solid 3 stars out of 5 album. There are 2 classic tracks on there, Working on a Dream and The Wrestler, there's a lot of good solid songs and a couple of clunkers, but even they have their endearing qualities. I think the key track is Queen of the Supermarket, if you like that track, you'll like pretty much everything on the album but if you think it's rubbish, download the tracks mentioned above and move on.

Alela Diane is currently getting lots of excellent reviews from broadsheets and music magazines alike. She has a great voice which fits well with the folky/Americana-y soundscapes that she creates. Best track on the album is Lady Divine, but everything on the album is worth listening too.

Here is the video for White as Diamonds.

The House of the Dead - Dostoyevsky

2009-02-27T11:38:00.002Z

One of the things that both Alex and I wanted to achieve in 2009 is to reinstate time in our lives for serious (and entertaining) reading. And I just finished up today on a novel by Dostoyevsky, The House of the Dead, which I have been reading for the last six weeks (slow work!!!)

My previous encounters with Fyodor have been through trying to read The Brothers Karamazov and aborting. I'm interested in him because he is recommended by Eugene Peterson, and that kind of recommendation gets my interest.

I actually loved this book, even though it's a bit hard to follow in places because of it's deliberately meandering and unstructured structure and is unremittingly grim in others. It is a fictionalised account of Dostoyevsky's own time spent in a Siberian prison before he became a writer for political dissent. Although it is one of his lesser known works, House of the Dead is noticable for its observations, particularly on the character and worldview of the convicts (which can be applied into our own culture), it's honesty, but also the life which Dostoyevsky manages to capture in his language. I would imagine that is in part due to the job of translation made by David McDuff. You can read the first few pages of it here.

So, now the plan is that I'm going to spend the run up to easter with my copy of the new Eugene Peterson, as well as perhaps a bit of Shakespeare, before spending the spring immersed in the world of James Joyce. Hopefully, I'll survive all that in good enough shape to revisit some more Dostoyevsky in the summer.

Buxton

2009-02-16T22:35:00.003Z

We've been to Buxton before. Back in 1999, we went for a romantic weekend and had the most amazing meal i think i've ever eaten, and got the best advice about wine too for free (if the bubbles go straight to the side, it's ok to drink).

It's partly those nostalgic memories that made us want to go back again this year. Buxton did not disappoint. It's a great example of the kind of laid back small town place that we can imagine that we'd find ourselves in if the pace of city life ever became a bit too breakneck.

As a place to visit, Buxton has a great centre. We found two different charming coffee shops. (One attached to a mental health charity and one to a local church who are clearly committed to bringing heaven on earth in the form of reasonably priced chocolate brownies) and a great chocolate shop who can match anyone in the country in a truffle off.

However, the jewel in the crown is the lovely, lovely, deeply lovely Scriveners. A second-hand bookstore spread across five floors, it is full of charm. The staff are all really helpful and polite, and it didn't harm them in our opinion that they took a shine to Rocky, even though he was taking book after book off the shelves. Their selection of books is fine and the overall effect is that you feel like you are in a treasure trove. We went in there 3 times. I bought some James Joyce and Helene Hanff and we got a couple of books for Rocky with a contribution to the charity box. If there are bookshops in Heaven, they will be a bit like Scriveners.

Beyond the shopping and town centre, there is a lovely park that we walked in a couple of times, as shown in the photo. We also took advantage of the good transport links to Manchester which helps keep a place like Buxton in touch with the outside world.

Holiday snow

2009-02-16T22:17:00.003Z

The day after we arrived in Buxton, the snow came. The picture above was taken when the worst snow came on the monday morning. You can tell it is an indoor shot because the camera is reflected in the mirror.

It was very cold. We were in an apartment with only night storage heaters. While things got better over the two weeks there, if you're renting a cottage in February, we recommend going for proper central heating.

As the snow eased off a bit, we could get a sense of how deep it was. It was about 3-4 inches deep. We were fairly unprepared for this turn of events. We didn't expect we'd be living out of our walking boots on holiday, but we did.

The big bonus was that Derbyshire council seemed to do a really good job at keeping the roads clear. Although the locals were a bit disgruntled at the lack of clearing for side roads to villages, we were happy that we could get everywhere we needed to go. However, we didn't want to risk trying to get up an icy slope to the parking outside our appartment. So we parked further down the road.
The highlight of the holiday, and what made the snow worthwhile, was the multitude of splendid views that we were treated to as we explored the peaks. Here is a view from down the lane from where we were, a view that changed a number of times due to the light, snow levels and cloud cover. But we come home with memories of spectacular drives wending around the A6 under snow covered forests and over glacial panoramas.

Holiday - Reaffirming a travers adventure

2009-02-15T20:23:00.003Z

We've just got back from spending the last 2 weeks holidaying in Buxton. There's too much to talk about in a sensible post, and in one blogging sitting, so i'm going to update it all over the next week.

However, I wanted to take the first post on this to share something personal. The reason that there is alot of fluff on this blog is that it's very difficult to try to explain what is really happening in our lives without being deeply boring when much of what happens in our lives is about the mundane details of each day. Sometimes it's hard to see the life for the weetabix.

Being away though has helped us remember why we have this sense of life being an adventure though. It wasn't an average holiday. We went to Buxton the day before the start of the worst snow storms that they had seen in 20 years. We slipped and slid as we saw the sights. Our car constantly complained about the cold temperatures we took it through to reach Sheffield and Tideswell, Rawtenstall and Matlock. We drank mild ale and talked religion with the locals at the pub that still has a sticker up celebrating it's inclusion in the 1977 good beer guide. We fed llamas in the snow and taught Rocky (mostly by accident) how to roar like a tiger.

We had a great time. I doubt it would be what everyone would choose for a holiday, but it suited us fine. We are contrary people. We don't necessarily do things just like everyone else. Some of that is just the way we are and a shared upbringing in the arts of stubborn determination. Much of it is also that we are very much a part of a wide community of people who don't tick all the boxes because we are sold out on living out and sharing our love for Jesus. And getting away up a hill for two weeks helped us to remember that this is our bigger picture, which we love to weave the details of our life into. We're against the odds, we're friends of the random, we're the Travers family and we're on an adventure..

Spotify

2009-02-15T20:20:00.001Z

I don't trust twitter. I'm not sure that level of blogging is healthy or interesting, but the new internet craze, www.spotify.com is brilliant and is very much worth your attention and time.

This year's national anthem

2009-02-15T20:15:00.002Z

I'm not sure what it is about this time a year, but just like last year, a pop song comes along that just sets the tone for the year and encourages alex and me and gives us vision. Last year, it was I keep faith by Billy Bragg, but this year, we have fallen hard for Working on a Dream by Bruce Springsteen, watch it here.

The mood here in Plymouth is that we've had enough of just getting by. Last year, getting by was an achievement, but this year, we're getting on and we're working on a dream. It feels good.

And we'll probably buy the album very soon so you can expect more jabber about this in the next few weeks.

superbowl

2009-01-25T19:38:00.002Z

It's been twenty years since i first videoed a superbowl. I was into american football before that game, but it totally cemented my love for the sport. I can't believe it's now twenty years old. It's still one of the best ever superbowls mostly because of the tightness of the finish.

Here's some (fairly poor quality) highlights. Superbowl 43 is next week and my beloved Steelers are playing. Go Steelers!!!

How did we end up getting into country (and maybe even folk?)

2009-01-21T13:54:00.002Z

This is a question that has been on my mind recently. While you couldn't exactly say that we are country buffs, if anyone asked who our favourite musicians are, we'd both list the dixie chicks, i'd list Alison Krauss and Billy Bragg too. We both love the once soundtrack and the bon iver album. I like the fleet foxes. And I saw an awesome documentary last week on Kate Rusby which makes me want to go out and buy one of her records, even though it's possibly a 180 degree turn on the passions of youth. And at some point im going to get the kathryn williams and neil mccoll record 'two' because it sounds awesome.

Are we getting old? Probably. Are we appreciating acoustic music more? Definitely. How did that happen? Don't know.

Alex balks at the thought of folk. And she may be right. I think you have to be picky with it (and with country). Obviously there's no need to like the levellers, or anything that's new age bobbins, or anything too redneck either from the states, but there's no need to rule it all out either.

Anyway, here is some dixie chicks.

FAMU at the inauguration

2009-01-21T13:45:00.002Z

What a great day yesterday was. We watched the ceremonies on CNN, because you want your american news from americans. Even with countless adverts for Adure wrinkle reduction cream, it was far superior to the bbc.

We stayed up until 11pm watching some of the parade. CNN, Sky and BBC all were faffing about elsewhere when FAMU were doing their thing. So thank goodness for C-Span. This is how it's done, folks. Oh, and good luck President Obama.

Thoughts on the Obama Inauguration

2009-01-19T18:43:00.003Z

Tommorow is the Obama inauguration and we will definitely be watching. Me in my newly aquired official Obama campaign t-shirt. Which at great cost and effort was organised by my sister and her friends.

It's going to be an emotional day. I know that Obama is not the perfect politician, and we've all learnt again with Tony Blair and Brown that governments come and governments go and the trains still run to Pimlico. But still. America elected an intelligent, thoughtful, liberal by inclination black president and tommorow he gets to work. I love the way that when Americans do democracy, it's infectious, you feel democratic.

My thoughts tomorrow will be added to by the fact that I had the privilege to witness Bill Clinton's second inauguration while I was in the USA. 12 years ago tomorrow. I had just arrived back in Washington from my travels around the country. In fact, if I hadn't got conjunctivitis, I would have been in New York or Boston on that day. But I got on the train and went to the Capitol.

It was a cold cold day. And we witnessed the ceremony via the big television screens on the mall. I can remember that the pictures were out of synch with the speakers that we heard the ceremony from. They reckoned that the crowd was around 250,000. Maybe it will be bigger tomorrow.

Then I was lucky enough to get a good view on the streets of the parade. I don't remember much about the parade apart from one thing, FAMU. FAMU stands for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Its a predominantly black college with arguably the best marching band in the country. All I can remember from the parade was a young black boy from Washington who was just incredibly excited that he got to see the FAMU band doing their thing. He was literally bouncing up and down. I wonder what his emotions, and many others like him, will be tomorrow when FAMU do their thing for President Barack Obama. I would imagine it will be a moment of pride and genuine joy.

Here is a video of FAMU doing their stuff to give you an idea of how special they are.

Happy New Year from us all Travers-es

2009-01-06T14:56:00.002Z

Here we are on mountbatten pier,
Wishing you all a happy new year.

Christmas clips

2009-01-06T14:26:00.008Z

Despite a little illness along the way that helped us to slow down over the Christmas period, our Christmas was a good time. The highlight of Christmas day itself was a walk on the hoe which turned into a stop at the coffee shack and a 200 yard amble before realising that it was all too cold. It was another opportunity as well for Rocky to indulge in his growing love for coffee froth, as the photo below suggests.
As we started to recover from being a bit ill with a bug thing. We started to get out and about a bit more. Rocky and I took a trip up to hannifore point on the edge of Looe. It was freezing, but still really beautiful.

For new year, we took a trip up to London to see my sisters and nephew. We had a great gallivant in the city which took in the Rothko exhibit at the Tate Modern, Le Pain Quotidian (amazing restaurant for puddings on south bank) the winter wonderland at hyde park (see my nephew below on the mechanical reindeer) and Bethnal Green. And of course we saw lots of fireworks from my sister's flat window. It was great.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS - The Lights of Leigham

2008-12-24T16:41:00.002Z

Happy Christmas to you all.

As a Christmas treat, and as our special 100th post of the year, here is a video we made last night when we went to see the lights of Leigham.

Leigham is a suburb on the other side of Plymouth from us, and it isn't really remarkable for anything except that there are 3 houses who get together every Christmas and raise money for the Derriford Children's Cancer Ward by liberally festooning their gardens with lights for people to look at.

It's a piece of Plymouth folklore. The legend goes that Mr. Motivator turned on the lights one year. And it's also a family tradition that we go and see the lights every year as part of our christmas preparations.

We hope that you enjoy them too. Have a very happy christmas and God bless you all.

How we're doing

2008-12-23T13:53:00.002Z

Well we got to the end of 2008 in one piece. Which is good news. And for the second year running, I kept my New Year's Resolution, which was to take life as it finds us. Pretty good resolution as it turned out.

Here's how we're doing.

The house - Has changed a lot in the last year. We've been blessed enough to get the bathroom, living room and windows sorted. We even managed to get the shed installed, even though it's not up and running yet as a place of prayer. Our house pretty much functions as it should now, which is really nice after 4 years living here. One of the biggest changes of this year has been that we've finally given up on being the eternal students and embraced the fact that we are a family and we ought to behave like it. The house has changed to reflect that.

Rocky - Is growing up and more independent with every day. Sometimes this is good, like when he was able to walk and hold my hand at Tescos today. Sometimes this is bad, like when Alex recently wagged a finger at him to tell him off about banging his toy hoop on the coffee table and he saw an opportunity for a game of hoopla.

Alex - has been astonishing this year. To come back from a caesarian and a 3 week stint in hospital (with another week for afters in May) and juggle being a mother, a lawyer, a pastor's wife and many other things as successfully as she has is testament to the fact that she is amazing. It's not all plain sailing. Alex still feels the after effects of the illness she had and gets tired alot and it's taken a lot of effort for her to achieve what she has. However, I reckon she is winning.

Simon - I'm just grateful that I get to live the kind of life that i always wanted to. I get to do a job that i love that is going somewhere. I'm close to my brilliant, beautiful family, and I get to live with a bit of passion and joy. Life is good, even though it's still changing.

Soundtrack of 2008

2008-12-23T13:26:00.005Z

Here are the songs that we have loved and lived to this year. I've put links to all of them, videos where possible. And I've listed them in ultimate mixtape order.

1. Dixie Chicks - The Long Way Around

2. Billy Bragg - The Beach Is Free

3. Sigur Ros - Inni mer syngur vittleysingur

4. The Ting Tings - That's not my name

5. The Go Team - The Wrath Of Marcie

6. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

7. The Specials - A message to you Rudy (the song that taught us Rocky loves music)

8. Row row row your boat (Generally sung when Rocky shouts ro-ro-ro)

10. Gareth Robinson - Even as I look upon your face

11. Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly

12. Girls Aloud - The Promise

13. Sigur Ros - Ara Batur

14. Murray Gold - Song of Freedom

15. The Carpenters - Jambalaya (with Karioke!!!)

16. Billy Bragg - I keep faith

Tell it slant - Eugene Peterson

2008-12-09T20:20:00.003Z

One of the guaranteed pleasures of 2009 is that the new Eugene Peterson book, Tell it Slant is going to be published in this country. It's already out in hardback in the us, which means it will probably be in our shops by spring. This is a really big big deal for the Travers household.

Tell it Slant is the fourth of a five volume series that Peterson is writing on Spiritual Theology. The first three, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eat This Book and The Jesus Way are astonishing in their brilliance.

You can read some excepts of the new book here. And here is a review. Here is a great interview with Peterson, takes half an hour to watch, but is worth the time.

For now, apart from to mention that my heart is already giddy at the thought that the last volume is going to be on Ephesians, my favourite book in the Bible, here is the poem by Emily Dickinson that Tell It Slant is named after.

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind—

Christmas Mixtape.

2008-12-05T20:40:00.002Z

It's a christmas tradition in our house that every year we buy one cd's worth of Christmas music. That started off years ago with buying the White Christmas album from Woolworths, which ranges from the great to the i saw mummy kissing santa claus, my least favourite christmas song (santa baby comes a close second, but doesn't have kids laughing about their mum's doing the dirty with a bearded man)

Over the years we have consumed the good and the bad and the crazy. From the Hillsongs version of God rest ye merry gentlemen to the most depressing Christmas song in the world by Johnny Cash, here below

You know you're in trouble when your Christmas song includes the lyrics, 'And daddy killed a squirrel.'

Last year, we bought Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass Christmas Album because, believe it or not, i had been looking for a Tijuana brass christmas album for 15 years. It is mental and not necessarily easy listening.

So, getting to the point, this year, Alex let me spend some money on making a Christmas mix tape of tracks and I'm really pleased with the results. The overall collection has an american folky feel with a bit of a classic twist. Here is the track listing with links so you can listen (some for full songs, some for snippets).

1. Point of Grace - O holy night

2. Sufjan Stevens - Joy to the World

3. Casting Crowns - O come all ye faithful

4. Sixpence None The Richer - Angels we have heard on high

5. Sufjan Stevens - The little drummer boy

6. Sixpence None The Richer - Silent Night

7. Sufjan Stevens - Once in royal David's city

8. Casting Crowns - Away in a manger

9. Yo Yo Ma and Alison Krauss - Wexford Carol

10. WG Snuffy Walden - The first nowell

Tales from the front line

2008-11-25T21:17:00.002Z

Here is the latest tale about Alex from the front line, as reported by the Plymouth Herald. All those who think that law is glamorous, look away now.

Christmas Devotional Blog

2008-11-24T21:56:00.003Z

As part of our Christmas celebrations at church, our theme this year is WHEN HISTORY MEETS DESTINY!!! Our aim is to encourage people to embrace the spiritual side of Christmas as well as the traditions. You can join in our journey towards Christmas at whenhistorymeetsdestiny.blogspot.com

Here is a flyer for it.

Time to tune into countdown again...

2008-11-20T23:38:00.002Z

You have all the rest of your lives to climb the eiffel tower or kilimanjiro, travel in the australian outback or the serengeti, or see the view from the top of the Empire State Building. However, you only have one more month to catch the Vorderman in her natural habitat, in front of a square A1 writing pad, solving incredibly difficult maths puzzles and laughing because the first four letters chosen spell RATS. Do not miss your opportunity, even if it means you end up watching deal or no deal by accident afterwards.

Comedy thingys

2008-11-20T23:22:00.002Z

There is some really cool comedy around at the moment. Milton Jones is on Radio 4 at 6.30pm on Mondays. Listen to the last episode here.

Also, we're excited about the new series of The IT Crowd on 4 this Friday. It's taken us ages to catch up with this, but we saw it on catch up earlier this year and fell in love.

The Rocky Principle Sermon

2008-11-15T07:29:00.002Z

This is a recording of the sermon that i preached on the day Rocky was dedicated at church. It was possibly the most personal that i've preached. I hope you listen to it and know that everything i said came straight from the heart.

More sigur ros in Bristol

2008-11-15T07:22:00.002Z

Here are some more you tube moments from the sigur ros gig we went to.

Vid Spilum Endalaust (is what it says on the t shirt i bought)

Saeglopur (surprised this got the best reaction of the night but a great use of webcams)

All alright (better live than on record)

X Factor - Laura's Exit

2008-11-11T08:14:00.003Z

Thought I'd weigh in on the issue of the day. Was Laura White robbed in the X Factor? No idea what that is, watch here.

Well, yes and no. Clearly she wasn't the worst performance on the night, take a bow Rachel, who we thought was going to get the boot for her off key performance. Clearly, she has been better than Daniel all through the competition. But to me, it's no surprise that she found herself in the bottom 2, and when she did, she got beaten fair and square by the marvellous, the one and only Spanish Bonnie Tyler, Ruth Lorenzo.

Why is the more interesting question here and here is our theory. Everyone has noticed that the standard has risen in 2008. There are a lot of people in the finals who can actually hold a tune. Even Daniel gets through because within his limited range, he can hold a tune. And there is no singer who has the vocal gift of a Leona Lewis just to blow away the competition.

Therefore, the X factor this year people need is personality as well as talent. Laura is clearly talented in voice, but had very little in the way of personality. Diana is the kooky one, Alexandra is the star, Eoghan is the cute one, Daniel is the cuddly dad, Rachel is the one with the past, JLS are the bestest mates in the world and Ruth Lorenzo is the Spanish Bonnie Tyler. But who is Laura? Who can tell because she didn't let it show. Which is why she ended up in the bottom two, because for all her talent, there wasn't a lot for a viewer to hold onto.

Once she got into the bottom 2, she gave a performance, which while technically sound, conformed to the growing evidence that there are rules to the new sing off. Over the Rainbow was a really bad choice of song, because it said nothing about her, and even if it is her favourite song, does the world really need another pop star who's favourite song is Over the Rainbow. Also, because that song has been done to death on the X factor, it just feels cliched. Secondly, she looked like she was beaten as she walked down the steps, whereas Ruth looked really excited to sing one of her favourite rock anthems. Lastly, uptempo seems to work better than downtempo in a sing off.

There's lots of fuss about Laura going out, but it will die down, and i doubt she'll get a record deal. And if Saturday proved anything, if it comes down to an old fashioned Diva-off, Alexandra will win by a mile.

Sigur Ros Live - The videos

2008-11-10T21:51:00.002Z

Thankyou very much to a person called murderscenerevenge who went to the sigur ros gig armed with a mobile phone. Here are some of the (many) highlights of the gig.

Flotjavik (look at the pretty lights)

Hoppipolli / Meo Blodnasir (Great version, stripped of strings and brass, it rumbles like a train.)

inni mer singur vittleysingur (look how they almost lost it on the bridge-y bit)

gobbeldygook (audience handclaps, support band on drums, SPANGLYBOOM!!!)

Apparently, murderscenerevenge has more to put up, so i'll post those too, like the geek i am.

Sigur Ros - Bristol Colston Hall 7th November, 2008

2008-11-09T15:34:00.003Z

We went to see Sigur Ros at the Colston Hall on Friday night. They were simply breathtaking. They are the best rock band on the planet.

Cool stats from the presidential election.

2008-11-07T09:55:00.002Z

Obviously there are far more qualified people to talk about how Obama won this week, but i just wanted to have a go at highlighting some good stats.

As Michael Tomasky points out on the guardian, Obama had his cake and eat it in that he managed to get out more democratic voters and appeal to more independent voters. Of the voters 39% were registered Democrat but only 32% registered Republican. (In the US, you are allowed to register to vote as the affiliate of a party so that you can vote in the primary elections.) This meant that Obama got a big head start before the Independent voters waded in and went for Obama on roughly the same levels as the final national vote.

This is backed up by the fact that Obama won 70% of the first time voters, the young and the dispossed were motivated to go and vote for him. And also by the measure that the 13% of people who voted in 2008 but not 2004, went for Obama by 71% to 27%

A lot was made of the grass roots campaign that Obama won, and it seems rightly so. The effectiveness of both campaigns in reaching individuals was about equal. 64% of those who were contacted by Obama voted for him, 60% of those who were contacted by McCain voted for him. But here is the thing, 26% of voters were personally contacted by the Obama campaign, while only 18% were contacted by McCain. This is a big edge.

In the light of the banking crisis, the two thirds of voters who own stocks and shares just went for Obama 50/48, but the third of the country who don't own shares went for Obama 61/37. It's an interesting stat which shows just how far Obama came in being the people's champion. And here is, I think, a key point that the Republicans are going to have to learn, being the people's champion, being for someone like Joe the Plumber, means interacting with people from the cities and suburbs. Both the cities and the suburbs went for Obama and they represent 80% of voters. The Republicans need to rethink their role as the custodians of small town values, because only one in five voters live in a small town.

Which leads us on to Sarah Palin, who 60% of voters thought was not qualified to be president. Of that 60% the split for Obama was 82/16. That will be a tough number for Palin to turn around if she wants to run in 2012. However, it should be clear that Palin is nowhere near as bad a drag on the ticket as George W. Bush. Of the 51% of voters who strongly disapprove of the job Bush is doing, 82% voted Obama.

Random stat, 1% of all voters polled thought that the US economy was in excellent condition, and that 1% voted for Obama by 59% to 39%

Still reading? I could go on and on, one final stat that might say something about the weight of expectation on Obama. 72% of voters think the economy will get better or at least stay the same in the next year. Of those who think it will get better, Obama won 61%, and for those who think it will stay the same, 52% voted Obama. Interestingly, Obama only won 43% of the voters who think the economy is going to get worse.

Read the full national exit poll here for hours of fascination.

Quantum of Solace Review

2008-11-06T19:29:00.004Z

We went to see Quantum Of Solace on Monday night and I wanted to blog some thoughts about it. I'm not sure how good my sensors are as to whether this was a good film or a great one due to the fact that it was our first time at the cinema in over a year. The actual act of eating popcorn and making jokes about local adverts and just being there without the boy was a little weird, and meant that we were probably always going to love the movie.

Secondly, as a disclaimer, I have a very low threshold of quality when it comes to bond. I am of the bank holiday + bond = must be watched even if it's moonraker point of view. So again, I was always going to like this movie.

I liked Quantum of Solace. I can see why some people are criticising the movie, but i think that all those criticisms are answerable and therefore not necessarily making for a bad movie.

So does it work to have a bond film that is so close a sequel? Maybe. You definitely have to have watched casino royale to get what is going on in this film. It would be better to think of it as a volume 2 rather than as a discreet story.

Is it too much like Bourne? The filming style is very bourn-esque, especially on the action sequences. I don't really have a problem with that. HIGH FALLUTING BOND THEORY ONE - One of the most significant reasons that we still all watch bond movies is because they act as a cultural hall of mirrors. They take trends and tropes and tap into the emotional undercurrents of our times and reflect them back to us in a gaudy glamourous way. You still feel like you are in Bond's world rather than Bourne's as the car getting wrecked is an Aston Martin and so on. This is added to by the referencing of previous bond films. I counted references to The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldfinger, The Living Daylights and I'm sure i missed some.

Is it too one paced because it's action all the way? Maybe, but to me this is justifiable in setting up the Quantum organisation. The first thing we find out about them is that they are everywhere, therefore it shouldn't be a surprise if everywhere Bond goes, they are waiting for him and look to kill him. It's part of having a more vulnerable bond that the odds are stacked up more against him. In the 21st Century, it appears that the henchmen of evil have done more than basic training.

All this ties into what i think is the most interesting theme in the whole film which is that Bond is an agent provocateur rather than a secret agent. HIGH FALLUTING BOND THEORY TWO - the key to the action of Quantum of Solace is based not in Bond being a young or naive agent, but in him being an agent who has a moral centre where some people are good and some people are bad and something must be done about it. However warped it may be, Daniel Craig's Bond is about justice. This is what makes Bond relevant in a post 9/11 world. We get the world of secrecy opened to us in this film as thoroughly amoral. Quantum, elements of the CIA, and dictators co-operate for what they perceive as mutual benefit without any hint of ideology or agenda beyond control and finance. Bond in this world becomes a bull in a china shop, full of vengance and wrath and anger.

The style of the film comes from the message, there is no messing with this Bond, no quips or asides, because he is too focused on his 'just cause'. For the viewer, the message is that within a complex world of international power and control, there is still good and evil and it's good to be on the side of good. The film implies that the perpetrators of Abu Gheraib and 9/11 are linked, both levers being pulled by a wider network of control. Whether you are a conspiracist or not, this film denounces both the levers and controllers and suggests the way to deal with them is to give them all a good old fashioned kicking.

Fleet Foxes

2008-11-06T19:26:00.002Z

Bought the fleet foxes album today, which is great because i've been into this band since i first heard the single above White Winter Hymnal. The album doesn't disappoint. Obviously they are severely in love with pet sounds, but there's another element to their sound that i can't quite pin down yet. And whatever, it sounds great, especially driving along mutley plain in the traffic at night.

Dedication Day 2nd November 2008

2008-11-02T20:08:00.007Z

Well, we dedicated Rocky to our God today and promised that we would raise him the best we could to know of faith in Jesus.

What a great day. It was lovely to have so many friends and family present. The church was full even though it was a bit cold with the water supply playing up. Thank you to everyone who generously gave cards, gifts and lent their support. A special thankyou to the catering team at Carmel, who were tremendous.

It was a privilege to be able to dedicate Rocky and also to be able to preach and share about how he got his name. That preach will be on the blog as soon as we can get it. But for now, here are some pictures that my dad took that give an atmosphere of the day.

Dedication this Sunday.

2008-10-27T13:42:00.002Z

Well, nearly 8 months after we tried to do it the first time, this Sunday at 10am at Carmel Church, Plymouth, Rocky is going to be dedicated. That means that Alex and I will be making serious promises to God that we will try to raise Rocky right and raise him to know and understand our faith.

If you are reading this as a friend and you would like to come, you're more than welcome and there's going to be a buffet afterwards.

Silly McCain Gaffes

2008-10-25T08:26:00.003+01:00

So, in any political campaigns, you want some gaffes. Not controversial statements that candidates should not have said, but proper flat out silliness and malapropisms. McCain is pulling ahead in these states.

This is fun. Especially Palin's reaction.

But this is just perfect. Bravo Senator McCain.

Going to see sigur ros. WOO HOO

2008-10-21T10:10:00.002+01:00

Just found this video of a recent sigur ros concert, which is just getting me giddy again about seeing them next month. Even though Sæglópur isn't one of my most favourite sigur ros songs, this is awesome.

Happy Birthday to Rocky

2008-10-18T18:20:00.003+01:00

A year ago yesterday, Rocky joined the family. We're still both amazed by that.

Anyway, he celebrated his first birthday with a massive teething bout which left him uncomfortable and puke-y. But he likes his new toys and birthdays can only get better.

Feist on Sesame Street

2008-10-10T13:19:00.002+01:00

Ant, a friend from uni, sent me this clip. It is so groovy it should be illegal.

X Factor Ruminations

2008-10-05T22:59:00.003+01:00

So the live shows start next week and the final 12 has been announced. Time for some X factor ruminations.

Firstly. Here's something i would like to change. Instead of those who make it to the judges houses being sent home, how about if there was an extra live show where each of the 12 not to be picked by the judges gets 1 chance to sing live, the winner of the popular vote gets a people's wildcard entry into the final 12 and then you have a double eviction the week after.

Anyway, that's never going to happen, so lets stay in the real world. Most of the final 12 was predictable. Felt a bit sorry for Hannah who is clearly a great singer although a little scary. Which is probably why she wasn't picked. Was commenting to alex that this year there seemed to be a lot less camp-ery going on, until JLS did that silly foot move on the 'we're in the finals' close up. (At which point it might be interesting to note that Eton Road are still going, although Anthony the high pitched one has gone solo and so has his replacement and Same Difference World is here)

So it all seems like it might be a bit less panto this year. Although we're already sick of the crying.

Time for some predictions.

Out by big band week...

Daniel Evans - The one who looks scarily like Ricky Gervais. Good backstory but dull voice.

Scott Bruton - Odds on to get caught in the karioke trap trying to make an impression with a song that's too big for him.

Girlband - Often a group goes early. JLS are more talented, Bad Lashes have a better name and probably a bit more personality.

Muddled Middle...

Eoghan Quigg - Will get votes for being cute, but is too young.

Laura White - Her X factor is that she is very 'now' in a Duffy/winehouse/adele sort of way. Has talent but might not connect with public.

Bad Lashes - Glad they beat Desire. May well fall for the same trap Hope did last year of trying to be too sexy too soon. Two things they (and girlband) need to remember. 1) Mums and daughters votes win x-factor not nuts readers. 2) On a similar theme, you have to be both sugar and babe, both spice and girl, both banana and rama, if you really want to be a successful girl group.

JLS - Guaranteed to get picked a rubbish song by Louis at some point in the competition.

Top Five...

Rachel Hylton - Who will either blow it or make the final. But has the talent to make the final.

Ruth Lorenzo - Who was stunning in both bootcamp and judge's houses auditions, but needs to be careful not to overplay the spanish card.

Diana Vickers - Who we like and will probably vote for.

Austin Drage - Because Simon Cowell says so.

And the winner will be...

Alexandra Burke - Couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the tone of what they seem to be looking for is female and soul this year. All through the auditions, that's what's really been doing it. Secondly, when it comes to the final few weeks, you need to crack open the big songs, and she's got a voice that can handle big songs. Thirdly, she's probably more consistent and at least as determined as the others in the top 5. Fourthly, the editors of the X Factor seem to think she's the favourite. Last person to perform and last person to be put through on the Judges Houses programme = First person you remember.

So, we'll see how desperately wrong these predictions are. We didn't get Leon at all last year, so what do we know?

So, although we'll probably vote for Diana, I think Alexandra can probably beat anyone in a straight out sing off.

fivethirtyeight.com

2008-10-05T22:55:00.002+01:00

With the US presidential race very much in mind at the moment, a really good resource for daily comment and opinion polls is fivethirtyeight.com

The people who run it started off doing detailed baseball statistics, so it's politics, but with from a sport's geek angle. As such, it's excellent, detailed and entertaining.

And for those who are wondering, if the election were tomorrow, fivethirtyeight say Obama would have an 87% chance of winning.

Big crisp alert

2008-10-04T10:52:00.001+01:00

In what seems to becoming a regular feature of this blog, Alex found this hula hoop in her packet last saturday and she let me eat it after we'd taken a photo. Greater love hath no woman...

Climbing upstairs

2008-10-04T10:50:00.002+01:00

Rocky can now climb upstairs as long as one of us is supporting his bottom. This is both scary and brilliant. He is also learning more and more about the art of a strop when he doesn't get his way. However, like a good Travers, he's learning to wear his heart on his sleeve so it's usually fairly easy to tell the difference between strop and something more important.

The Hurlers / Cheeserings

2008-10-04T10:45:00.002+01:00

Had a day off yesterday, so decided to enjoy the gorgeous weather and take the boy down into Cornwall for a walk. We went to a place known as either the Hurlers or the Cheeserings or both. It's just by the little village of Minions, which makes me laugh because I used to have a year 9 group that called themselves 'Travers'es Minions' for a while.

Anyway, we walked, saw horses and rocky climbed up his first hill before we decided it was all a little windy and came home. But if you're ever in that part of Cornwall, you should go because it's stunning.

Matt

2008-10-04T10:39:00.003+01:00

I'm not sure that there are many reasons to read the Daily Telegraph. However, for many years, since the days I would sit in the school library at lunchtime and read the paper, I have been an admirer of their front page cartoonist, Matt. Wry, gentle and English to the core, Matt finds most of his humour in everyday people's reactions to the news events of the world. As such, today's cartoon is a fantastic example of his work.

Ideas for getting fit.

2008-09-24T16:23:00.002+01:00

Alex and I have been talking recently about how we might need to get ourselves active, around and about more. So today, in that vein, I took rocky to the park and tried to shoot some basketballs. I am woefully out of practice, scoring 11 baskets in about 20 minutes. Then we walked into town after finding out that rocky still doesn't want to be on the swings yet.

But I'm thinking that to get me active, I need a variety of activities to get me going without doing my knees in. Any ideas?

if Sarah Palin was my mum

2008-09-24T16:21:00.001+01:00

If Sarah Palin was my mum, I'd be called Crunk Petrol Palin. Check the link to find out what you'd be called.

http://politsk.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah_13.html

Family Update

2008-09-17T11:03:00.002+01:00

Just a quick update of family news.

We have now started working at Whitleigh Christian Centre, which is merging with Carmel Church. By God's grace, we're going to be working to help it grow into a vibrant christian community and a valuable resource in one of the needier areas of Plymouth.

The decorating is coming slowly but surely. The living room ceiling is done. The ceiling under the stairs is done, the detour to varnish the doors of the bathroom and toilet is almost done. Its now time to prime and paint the walls. Yay.

Rocky is trying to get the hang of balancing on his own, his record is about 20 seconds. He has also developed a charming new habit. He still likes to eat any scrap of anything that he finds on the carpet, but when he has put it in his mouth, he will now crawl over to us, and if we say 'Say bleuuuugh', he will stick his tongue out and let us pick off whatever he has put in his mouth.

Sweet Home Bella Emberg

2008-09-17T10:57:00.002+01:00

I don't like the Kid Rock song in the charts at the moment. Apart from the fact that it's a bit crass and stupid, there is nothing for me to relate to with it.

There's a lot of things that don't translate from American rap culture to England. They have the shizzle to the dizzle, but I left my thingumybob by my oojimy. When they say West Coast vs East Coast, they mean Los Angeles vs New York. When we say west coast vs east coast, we mean Weston Super Mare vs Great Yarmouth. And while Kid Rock might have grown up trying funny things and smoking funny things and singing sweet home alabama all summer long, I grew up on (amongst other things, mum=) crisps and Russ Abbot and Bella Emberg.

US Election

2008-09-15T15:36:00.002+01:00

We have been following the twists and turns of the us election avidly over the past few weeks. I have been watching the two conventions. It's getting harder for me to comment on the election objectively because I just want obama to win now, so i see pretty much everything through that bias.

However, for all the talk and hubris, i still think that the big question of this election, the fate of the republican coalition, is still unanswered and the thing to focus on. All through the year, the problem has been that Bush won 2 elections on a core republican vote of about 51%. His performance has shrunk that vote to the point where the Republicans have to reach out to new independent voters. But reaching out to independent voters turns of the Republican activists. Especially because the 3 main strands of the Republican party economic conservatives, military conservatives and social conservatives have less of a united agenda.

Clearly McCain has given up on the independent voters with his Bush-ist tactics and picking of Palin.(boo hiss) And is trying to get everyone who voted for bush to vote for him. It might work, but it probably won't, just because there are not enough republicans left in that core.

Of course, we will be glued to the election for the next 2 months. More real than x factor, shorter than a sports season. I thought you might be interested where we will be following it.

Firstly, The Daily Show on More 4 weekdays at 8.30pm. While this comes with a health warning because sometimes it's a little too crude for us, at it's best, this is brilliant, brilliant satire and incredibly informative entertainment. I can't believe i'm about to be this show-off pseudy, but, Marshall McLuhan wrote 'Our time presents a unique opportunity for learning by means of humour - a perceptive or incisive joke can be more meaningful than platitudes lying between two covers.' Or two news anchors for that matter. The Daily Show proves this theory right.

Secondly, Michael Tomasky in the Guardian is consistently pro-bama, but useful for understanding some of the mechanics behind the election. Hear him talk strategy here.

Thirdly, politics.cnn.com gives a good american perspective on what is happening.

Fourthly, The God's Politics blog provides a useful alternative evangelical perspective to the radical far right views of the likes of Palin (boo hiss). Jim Wallis, the main author, is a better preacher than policy maker, but the site is thoughtful and challenging.

Fifthly, C-Span Washington Journal on BBC Parliament makes great comedown watching after church on a Sunday afternoon.

Lastly, this is just a very funny video from Saturday Night Live this week.

Oasis and Kaiser Chiefs

2008-09-15T15:30:00.002+01:00

I've been listening to radio again over the past few days and have heard both the new Oasis and Kaiser Chiefs singles. I prefer the oasis one, just because, for me, the Kaiser Chiefs are a good old fashioned hate-them-on-the-principle band. I could make a list of the reasons I don't like them, but i can't be bothered.

Anyway, both songs reminded me of this song, except that this song is way, way, way better.

Been a while...

2008-09-03T12:54:00.003+01:00

Since i last blogged. That's because things have been ridiculously busy since we got back from holiday.

DIY BONANZA!!!

We've had a DIY bonanza in the last month, experiencing a rare combination of funds and inclinations, we've had brand new windows and doors put onto our house and also had the front room plastered. It's starting to look good already. The outside of the house is transformed and it's great when there's a storm and the wind doesn't whistle in through the creeks.

However, we are now reaching the decorating phase. We are going to paint the living room in wild primrose, which looks like this.

That's quite small, but it's going to look good on the walls.

All of this monumental diy stuff is giving us a chance to redefine what our living room is about. When we first moved in, we wanted to create something like a common room where people could just come in and not have to mind themselves. That's why it was fun to paint the room camel colour. However, we're feeling the urge to be slightly more grown up now and turn the room into a proper family space. We're working on it.

MOVING ON IN CHURCH.

The other big change is that we are moving on in our church life. Our church, Carmel, has been asked to merge with a local church in the Whitleigh area of Plymouth and Alex and I have been asked to go and be the day to day leaders of the church, under the supervision of my senior minister, Mike.

It hasn't really sunk in what this means yet totally. It's going to mean more responsibility, but also more opportunity. It's a genuinely exciting thought that we are moving. But it's taking lots of time to prepare and work through how things will actually work.

Not this bloke's day

2008-08-24T19:59:00.002+01:00

Loved the olympics. Can't wait for 2012. But here is a great clip from the modern pentathlon showjumping. One day, when dictionaries define 'not my day', they may well think of this

China and the Persecuted Church

2008-08-15T18:18:00.002+01:00

We are really enjoying watching the Olympics and we are cheering on Team GB as much as we can. However, it would be wrong for us to let this time pass without doing a little to highlight how China's terrible human rights record affects the church.

The Christian religion is not banned in China completely. However, the only state allowed church is called the 3 self church and because the state allows it, the state controls everything about it, including what is taught in churches and who leads the church. Many Chinese christians, rightly in our opinion, refuse to be told by an atheistic communist government what to believe about God, and so they meet in people's houses and organise in house church networks. Because these networks are illegal, the government regularly cracks down on them with terrible force.

There have been many examples of pastors and church leaders in China who have been imprisoned, beaten or killed. If you would like an astonishing in-depth account of this, we would recommend you read 'The Heavenly Man' by Brother Yun. We heard Brother Yun preach in 2003 and he is the real deal.

However, one small story that affected me is the story of Mr Li Ming, Mr Jin Jirong, Mr Wang Yuan, Mr Li Mingbo. Christian Solidarity Worldwide writes about them, "These four Chinese pastors had visited their local police station to try to secure the release of 14 of their church members who had been arrested on their way home from church. They have subsequently been sentenced to two years’ “re-education through labour”."

The bravery of these men astonishes and challenges me.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to boycott the Olympics, and i couldn't do that myself, but the point of this post is to remind anyone reading that it is not just Tibet. China's government is persecuting its people and Christians are in the front line of this.

Holiday 08 - Stowting Common

2008-08-11T22:07:00.003+01:00

We had our annual holiday last week. It was our first holiday as a family, and also special because we were celebrating our 10th anniversary together.

We thought about going back to Sheffield, but in the end settled on going back to Kent. I had never taken Alex around all the places where I grew up. So we headed on a sort of nostalgia tour.

We stayed at a self catering cottage called Shaws Farm, in Stowting Common just outside Ashford. It was lovely accomodation in a beautiful valley that we would recommend to anyone. I could go on, but i'll let the pictures do the talking.

Holiday 08 - Travelling

2008-08-11T22:02:00.002+01:00

Travelling was one of the most challenging parts of our holiday. Partly because we did so much of it. We racked up over 1000 miles by road and rail on this holiday. We need to learn that family holidays dont necessarily happen at the breakneck pace of the city breaks we used to do. Then partly because you need to stop more because of Rocky. Also, the traffic both ways was astonishing. We've never really done holiday traffic before and it was hard work.

Partly, traffic was also challenging due to our incompetence. Take the time we went to see family in twickenham. I had a nice neat routemap printed out from the aa. But I had taken the wrong postcode and so got off the M25 a junction too early. On the plus side, we found Thorpe Park, but on the minus side, we weren't actually going there.

However, the new car held up to all these shennanigans and we got there and back safely. We tossed around the idea of going to the lake district next year, but on the form of the last week, maybe exmoor would be better.

Holiday 08 - London

2008-08-11T21:52:00.004+01:00

On the Sunday of our holiday, we went to london to hang out with my sister, hannah and her boy, rob. We decided to go up by train, which was a bit more problematic than we thought because we forgot to bring a toy for rocky. Still, we all just about got there in one piece.

We started out hanging out on the South Bank. We saw this amazing statue guy, so still that the pigeons even sat on him.

The highlight of the day was the food. We went to a Leon's restaurant. Which is far too sophisticated for simple Plymouth people like us with their gorgeous fast food. Delicious. And then, we went to a restaurant called Le Pain Quotidian for pudding which turned into an all out chocolate melee.

We had a chance to drop in too to the tate modern, where alex took this photo of the rest of us.

Holiday 08 - Ashford

2008-08-11T21:47:00.002+01:00

We went to see where i grew up in Ashford on Monday afternoon. Although Ashford has radically changed in lots of areas, the places I grew up were all very familiar. The only real change was how much smaller it all seemed.

The highlight of the trip was revisiting South Ashford Baptist Church, where my dad was a minister for 7 years.

Holiday 08 - Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

2008-08-11T21:34:00.004+01:00

Continuing with the nostalgia trip of the day in Ashford, we spent Tuesday on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. My first ever school trip was to see the lighthouse and lifeboat at dungeness before going on this railway.

We got on at Hythe, and squeezed into the very petite carriages. Rocky enjoyed going on these trains in a way he didn't like the train to London because it was slower. He could take it all in.

Our first stop was St. Mary's Bay. I wanted to stop here because i remembered going to a pretty beach when I was young here. I have since found out that there are two st. mary's bays, and we got off at the wrong one. Amazing beach, but bleak as anything, especially in the drizzle. No wonder everyone looked at us a bit funny when we got off at this stop.

So we got back on the train pretty sharpish, once we realised that there was nothing actually at St. Mary's Bay, and in my nostalgic frame of mind, we went onto Dungeness.

Now, I clearly didn't remember the real Dungeness because if i had, we would have gone to Dymchurch or New Romney. It's hard to do justice to the astonishing sites of Dungeness. Words like 'Post-apocalyptic', 'wild-west', 'god forsaken, 'end of the world' spring to mind.

Whereas Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Florida has Disneyworld, Dungeness has a pub, a cafe, a lighthouse, a nuclear power station, some ramshackle shacks and mile upon mile of shingle. Strange, foreign, compelling, but maybe not so much that you'd want to go there again.

Holiday 08 - Folkestone Triennial

2008-08-11T21:17:00.005+01:00

On Wednesday and Thursday of the holiday we did some family visiting, but on Friday, we went to the Folkestone Triennial art exhibition. The idea of this is that the bloke who runs saga holidays wants to regenerate Folkestone through the medium of art. So all across the town centre, there are art installations that reflect something of the nature of Folkestone.

We first heard about the exhibition through the TV programme The Culture Show. You can watch the clip by following this link

We loved everything that we saw, although tiredness and weather meant that we didn't see everything. I was disappointed to miss the giant seagull, but we did see the folk-stones, the sunglasses mobile, the sci-fi van and the crazy golf beach huts. You can also see our inclusion in the folkstonomy exhibit here

Here are some photos that we took.

After this, we went back home to the cottage and quietly celebrated 10 happy years of marriage with a rib eye steak, a pot of ben and jerrys and Atonement, which is a very good film.

Song for freedom from doctor who

2008-07-29T16:01:00.004+01:00

boomp3.com

On Sunday, there was a Doctor Who prom, celebrating the best of doctor who and interplanetary music. They played the Song for freedom linked to the doctor's theme. Song for freedom is the most beautiful thing i have heard this year. So i thought i would share a link to it so anyone who missed it can listen.

new car - Citroen Xsara RIP

2008-07-28T20:41:00.003+01:00

As a result of the odyssey, we have now bought a new car, because the Xsara has passed that tipping point of no return. We spent most of the weekend choosing and ended up with a new family sized ford after much deliberating.

Our odyssey this week.

2008-07-27T18:41:00.003+01:00

Hi to anyone reading. Sorry there has been no posting for the past few weeks. Has been entirely too busy.

To give you a sense of how busy we have been, let me tell you about our little odyssey this week. On Wednesday, I had my interview for probationary status as a minister for the church, which was in Taunton. So, we decided that we would go and see alex's parents and my mum too and then come back the day after.

So far so good, except we have a car which has been a bit dubious in the radiator department. We've been crusing up and down the a38 for the last few weeks/months at 60mph max, which is ok.

We managed to get as far as taunton ok, but i started to worry when going to my mum's that we were struggling to get to 50 on the motorway. So we pulled off and realised at street that there was virtually no water in the radiator. We prayed up the hills of the mendips and limped home for the night.

The next day, coming home, we tried to patch up the radiator with some radweld and more water. Cutting a long story short, it didn't work. it took an hour to get 25 miles down the road to yeovil, and then we were going at 40mph in 5th gear and the car was telling us we were massively overheating. We pulled in at cartgate picnic park.

As patrons of this park for a good 3 1/2 hours, we can thoroughly recommend its facilities. We called out the rescue people who said we were going home in a recovery van. And it took us 7 hours to get home from somerset!!! While we were at the picnic park we had to find some way of entertaining rocky, so we got out his play pen and put it in the middle of the park, as you can see below. He liked this, although he didn't want to sleep in the way we wanted him too.

Hillsongs

2008-07-11T18:25:00.003+01:00

We got the new Hillsongs live album today, and i thought it might be good to use that as an excuse to blog about Hillsongs and the Australian church.

For those who may not know, Hillsongs is a big church in Sydney with something like 20,000 people who belong to it across many congregations, including satellite churches in London, Paris and Kiev. They are reknowned throughout the worldwide church for their worship songs. Every year for the last 15 years or so, they have put out a live cd from their church, or more recently their conference. They also put out albums from Hillsong United, their youth programme, as well as childrens cds and special cds for things like Christmas.

For a large majority of modern Christians, including us, Hillsongs form part of the soundtrack of our life. The style has changed over the years, the early albums sound like Abba crossed with the Blues Brothers, although recent years have seen them move to a more U2-ish stadium rock style sound.

The hillsongs template is highly influential for uk churches, and especially in pentecostal churches, we look to Australia for leadership before america. The combination of passionate worship, down to earth Biblical teaching, a passion for hospitality and social action all presented in a contemporary way with a high standard of excellence are hall marks of the best Australian churches. Hillsongs, and churches like them, inspire us.

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2007

2008-07-11T18:16:00.002+01:00

Plymouth is not the cultural capital of the world, but it's great that there are 2 good exhibitions in the city centre at the moment. Scribing the Soul is still on, but an exhibition of top entries to the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 competition is being displayed in the 'currently being enhanced' City museum and gallery. Some of the pictures displayed are simply stunning and i'm sure Rocky and I will be making multiple visits over the next few months.

Here is my favourite picture which was in the animal portraits category.

Things that we can do

2008-07-01T19:28:00.003+01:00

Rocky got to paint again at nursery last week and this is the result. We have pinned it up on our kitchen wall, which was a good moment.

It feels like suddenly everything is changing with him again. He's not always easy company at the moment as his top teeth are pushing through. However, he is crawling at speed, able to pull himself onto his knees, eat a banana without it being mashed up, and even, when the wind blows in a very nice direction, understand that it's better not to grab the digital tv box when mummy or daddy says no.

Things feel like they are changing fast for rocky. But in a good way.

Where where at

2008-07-01T19:23:00.003+01:00

For the first time in a while, i really think that we can say we're doing alright. Alex is settling back into work and we're finding ourselves into a routine. I'm also finding it easier to get into work, at the moment i am working on a summer devotional for our church and i'm getting involved in the older adults ministry.

We had a really busy weekend with friend's wedding but that was fun, even if it was a little weird to be without the little one, who my sister sarah baby sat excellently. That meant we did not get to watch the doctor who episode until sunday. but we have watched it 3 times since, mostly at my insistance. Also enjoying glastonbury highlights and wimbledon.

All in all, life is pretty good at the moment.

Once upon a time...

2008-06-25T19:37:00.003+01:00

We looked like this, in the summer of 1997, when we'd just got engaged, to be precise.

Garden Update

2008-06-18T15:40:00.004+01:00

Today is not really the day to be taking photos of the garden, but it is the first day i have had free with batteries in my camera, so there you go. Anyway, with a bit of work, the generosity of alex's mum and the grace of god, the garden is continuing to improve from the old jungle to something a bit more christian.

Susan Aldworth - Scribing the Soul

2008-06-18T15:17:00.002+01:00

I took Rocky to an art gallery for the first time today. The new university arts building has a public gallery and they are currently showing an exhibition called 'Scribing the Soul' by Susan Aldworth.

It was quite strange to be in a gallery again. The last time I was in a gallery was last July. It's been a while and it took some time to acclimatise to decide whether I liked what I saw.

I think that i decided i did. Susan Aldworth paints and makes videos about the brain and consciousness. Her basic point, after studying lots of brain scans and working with neurologists is that you can't pin down people's identity by just looking at the science, however amazing the science is. A brain scan, for instance, can tell you nothing about memory, or tastes, or character. However, all those things can be profoundly affected if the brain is damaged or the chemical reactions inside it altered.

Perhaps naturally, the work that is on display is abstract. It trys to layer on projections of self or of metaphors for thoughts and chemical reactions in the brain on to brain scans. I liked it because not only were the visuals good, but it met one of my personal criteria for good art, which is that it has to say something and say it well.

You can read more about Susan Aldworth and look at her work here or watch the video below which is part of the exhibition in the gallery.

Time off in newquay

2008-06-12T17:30:00.002+01:00

While Alex had a fun day with the boy today, I took some time out to go to Newquay. I love my life. I love the choices that Alex and I have made about how we live. We are who we are and we're great. However, every now and then, I need a bit of time to get out on my own and recharge and today was one of those days.

I love it down on Fistral Beach. I love the power of the waves and the wind on the headland. It's beautiful. Newquay is not just for the surfers.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust review

2008-06-10T22:09:00.002+01:00

Sigur Ros' new album comes out on the 23rd June, entitled 'Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust' (with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) and it's great. I got into Sigur Ros very slowly. I was able to download a few tracks from the Agaetis Bryjun album for free back in 2004, but then when I heard Takk on the NME player in 2005, I was blown away. Since then I have been a massive fan.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is a big surprise but still a great album. What's surprising is its immediacy, openness and poppiness. Normally, you would expect stately sparse beauty from Sigur Ros, but opening track Gobbledygook's acoustic gallop catches you off guard and then inní mér syngur vitleysingur sounds like Pet Sounds era Beach Boys. They manage to still sound like Sigur Ros, but unashamedly happy.

góðan daginn is perhaps more what you would describe as business as normal in it's post-rock prettyness, but the feedback has been dialled down and there's a tenderness to the sound. However, við spilum endalaust is the weakest track of the album as the one moment where the happy pills overdose into a track that sounds too close to Coldplay.

Festival changes the mood though by further stripping back the sound and allowing jonsi's vocals to shine before launching back into a lo-fi instrumental that will indeed sound amazing at festivals. Suð í eyrum keeps things mellow and they've found that great drum sound again that sounded like fireworks on starafalur.

However, all the subtle loveliness of suð í eyrum gets completely trumped by ára bátur. This is not just the best track of the album and perhaps the greatest song Sigur Ros have ever written, it's rites of passage music. If I was 10 years younger, I would want it for my wedding, if I were 50 years older, I would happily have it playing as the curtains closed.

The only negative thing that you could say about ara batur is that it makes the rest of the album seem a little anti-climactic. Which is unfair as the unassuming acousticness of illgresi, the gentleness of fljótavík which melts into straumnes and the quiet finishing track all alright are all fine in their own right. They are just not orchestra and choir chewing masterpieces of pop music.

með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is just great. It's the most accessible and fun Sigur Ros album to date. It's still true to the band's sound, but the guarded cool has been let down. It should sell millions and you will hear excerpts on every tv show for the next year, but so what, Hoppipolli still sounds great today and this album will last the test of time and overplaying. This is easily the album of the year, with a stand out track of genuine beauty.

It's out on 23rd June, but you can listen now here.

Rocky's First Bit of Artwork

2008-06-09T13:16:00.003+01:00

Rocky had his first ever painting session at nursery last Friday. He got more covered in paint than the paper, but here are the results. Brilliant.

How we're doing.

2008-06-04T22:50:00.002+01:00

We're doing alright. Alex is back at work and we're trying to settle down into our new routine again. We're all pretty tired at the moment and trying to catch up on ourselves. Rocky is happy that he has a new play pen in the living room and I'm happy as I have somewhere safe to put him while we do the washing up.

The garden is looking pretty good at the moment. The roses are coming out in bloom and there are lots of flowers around. Our new acer is looking a bit scorched around the edges though.

Still haven't seen indiana jones yet, but will do soon.

We have new neighbours, which is exciting.

We also have a new banner for our blog. I'm planning to make a few sprucings over the next few weeks and this is the start. Hope everyone who reads this blog likes it.

Possibly the stupidest young people in britain

2008-06-04T22:45:00.003+01:00

Saw this report on the news tonight.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7436563.stm

While knife crime is obviously a very serious issue and a tragedy for all the victims involved, watch the bit at the end for a clip of possibly the stupidest young people in britain. You really shouldn't have to explain to a bunch of young boys why putting a meat cleaver down the front of your trousers and repeatedly pulling it out again is a very, very, very bad idea.

Wall-e related cuteness

2008-06-02T16:07:00.002+01:00

Just another reason why wall-e might be the best movie of the year.

Adventures in Rocky-town (pop: 1, motto 'life, liberty and pursuit of the remote control')

2008-05-28T13:40:00.002+01:00

Just a few quick updates about how Rocky is doing.

He has become much more of a handful in the past few weeks, needing a lot more stimulating, adjusting to the upheaval of the last few weeks, crawling around, throwing a few more strops when he doesn't get his way. But the trade off is that he is still doing lots of cute things too.

Rocky is taking to eating really well. He has a fruit based, veg based and cereal based meal every day and he seems to be of the belief that on the 8th day, God created Weetabix.

Also, by accident, we discovered the other day that Rocky is a fan of The Specials, but he doesn't seem to like Madness as much.

New Sigur Ros album and track

2008-05-28T13:28:00.002+01:00

Sigur Ros announced that they have a new album out at the end of june. They released the first track for download yesterday called 'Gobbledygook'. It sounds nothing like Sigur Ros normally do, acoustic, spontaneous and playful. It's a grower, but it's a great track and if the rest of the album is as good, 'med sud i eynum vir spilum endalaust' (with a buzz in my ear i play endlessly) is going to be the album of the year by a mile.

The artwork is interesting, as you can see. Lots of bottoms. The video for gobbledygook runs in the same theme but there is way too much nuddiness in it for little old me. I'll stick to the sound. The theme makes sense in some ways when you hear the song because it really does sound like the band is shaking off a lot of formality in their music. It's a much more 'naked' sound.

I don't have a problem with nuddiness in art. The human body is a beautiful thing, especially when artists represent it honestly and challenge the airbrushed preconceptions of the world around us. But, you know, everything in moderation.

Alex is back out of hospital

2008-05-26T11:12:00.002+01:00

Alex got home from hospital on Friday night. The pain in her muscles and joints has gone, she's getting strength back in her hands too. The doctors think it might have been a virus but are not sure. Just one of those things.

Anyway, Alex is resting. Her health is still not perfect but she is hoping to get back to work at the earliest opportunity. Thanks again to everyone who has shown love and support and prayer.

How to save Eurovision

2008-05-26T10:28:00.005+01:00

Saturday's Eurovision was great apart from the result. Could have taken a Ukranian win, having a song called Shady Lady is some sort of genius, but it is clear that something must be done.

Here is the 3 part Travers plan for saving Eurovision, without forming a breakaway competition or kicking anyone out because they're not actually from Europe.

1) Change the rule that says the winner gets to host the competition next year. Hosting Eurovision should be decided like the Olympics or the World Cup, by people bidding for it with the best bid winning. The hosting country should put the vast majority of money in for arranging and televising the event. This would take away any real economic benefits for countries from winning the Eurovision. There would be no tourist boost for winning. No benefits to winning apart from the prestige of the competition and therefore, less reason to block vote

2) Change the semi-final format so that there is a Western European and an Eastern European semi final with the same number of finalists coming from each. Hold the semi-finals a week before in different cities to share hosting duties. We should be prepared to lose the automatic entry into the final. (Not that it counts for much at the moment anyway, why automatically qualify just to come last). The only automatic qualifiers would be the host nation and last years winner.

So the Western Europe Semi would look like

UK / Ireland / France / Germany / Spain / Italy / Portugal / Andorra / Belgium / Holland / Iceland / Denmark / Malta / Norway / Sweden / Switzerland / San Marino / Luxemborg (We miss you) / Greece / Cyprus / Czech Rep /Austria (We miss you too) / Israel - 23 Countries

And the Eastern Europe Semi would be

Albania / Armenia / Azerbaijan / Belarus / Bosnia / Bulgaria / Croatia / Finland / Estonia / Macedonia / Georgia / Hungary / Latvia / Lithuania / Moldova / Montenegro / Poland / Romania / Russia / Serbia / Slovenia / Turkey / Ukraine - 23 Countries

Equal representation would also dilute the ability to block vote.

3) Voting should be done by groups of countries rather than by all individual countries. This would allow the voting to go back to the old days where all the votes got read out, not just the top 3. It would allow for closer competitions as there would be less points to give and it would stop some countries voting for each other. No one in a voting block would be allowed to vote for other members of the same voting block.

So it would work like

North West Europe - Iceland / UK / Ireland
France and Flanders - France / Belgium / Holland
Spanish block - Spain / Portugal / Andorra
Scandinavia - Denmark / Norway / Sweden
Germanic Block - Germany / Czech Rep / Austria
Alps Block - Switzerland / Luxemborg / Italy / San Marino
Mediterranean Block - Greece / Cyprus / Israel/ Malta
Baltics - Latvia / Lithuania / Estonia / Finland
Russian Block - Russia / Belarus / Ukraine
Eastern Europe Block - Poland / Slovakia / Hungary
Black Sea Block - Romania / Bulgaria / Turkey / Moldova
Balkans 1 - Slovenia / Croatia / Bosnia
Balkans 2 - Serbia / Montenegro / Albania
Former Republics - Georgia / Armenia / Azerbaijan

The aim of the game is not to eliminate political voting, just to dilute it enough to make it a fair contest again. This can be achieved by taking away an incentive to block vote (the 'our turn' impulse) balancing up the geography of the finalists and regionalising voting.

Any thoughts?

DAVROSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-25T09:36:00.002+01:00

Seen the mid-season trailer for the rest of season 4 of doctor who and am unreasonably excited about it. Not just because rose is back and the daleks are back but because davros is clearly back. I remember Davros from the original series and he is a special special villain. Happy days.

Here's the mid season trailer in all it's glory

And here is a taste of davros's greatest hits

Happy Eritrean Independence Day

2008-05-23T14:12:00.002+01:00

Today is Eritrean Independence Day celebrating the day that Eritrea got their independence from Ethiopia. However, as many of you may know, the day has a bitter edge to it because Eritrea is run by a ruthless dictator who persecutes Christians. The churches are shut in Eritrea, it's illegal to meet, pray and worship or to own a bible, especially in the military. Christians are abused in prison and thousands are suffering.

Of those who escape, many make it to England, some to Plymouth. They are our brothers and sisters and we stand with them today.

big crisp in my lunch

2008-05-23T14:08:00.001+01:00

I had a big crisp in my lunch today. It was massive. The width of my hand. It was a Tesco brand ready salted ridged crisp, and it was delicious too.

Alex is back in hospital

2008-05-18T20:30:00.002+01:00

Just a quick update to say that Alex is back in hospital.

She has been in Derriford since Friday. Early last week, we thought she was coming down with flu and that some of the symptoms of that were achy muscles and joints. As the week progressed, the achiness grew but the flu symptoms didn't. Also, Alex started to lose mobility and strength in her hands. We took it to our GP, who sent us to hospital and they admitted Alex.

Alex is well within herself, responding to pain medication and stable. The doctors have been doing lots and lots of tests, with more to do tommorow, but at the moment there is no definitive diagnosis. So Alex will be staying in for the time being for observation and more tests.

Hope day of action

2008-05-10T21:15:00.002+01:00

Today was a special day. Our church and a local methodist church took to the streets in the name of hope.

We had organised with the council and with the north prospect partnership to tidy up a street, doing heavy rubbish clearing, litter picking and some garden clearance. It was an amazing day. We had three trucks that was carrying stuff away, with help from some people on probation, and we carried away over 10 truck loads of stuff. We cleared the street. This was a miracle of God because everyone in the street brought out stuff to clear.

But then, what was great was that the residents all joined in, there was a barbeque, people were clearing their gardens and doing their bit to make the street nice. By the end of the day, barring one or two things that the council need to do, we had cleared the street.

God blessed the day with sunshine, with lots of willing volunteers, with peace between volunteers and neighbours and with opportunities to share the love of God with people who need it. Beautiful day.

Toni Basil or the Ting Tings - You Decide

2008-05-10T21:11:00.002+01:00

It's been 26 years since mickey by toni basil came out. What a great daft pop record that was. But now, here are the ting tings with just as great and daft a pop record. Alex and I heard this on the radio a few weeks back, not knowing who it was by or the hype that surrounds them, and this song just made us laugh.

So who is better in the great daft pop stakes, Toni Basil or the Ting Tings, or do you have a better nomination?

Gareth Robinson - You Make Everything Work Out

2008-05-09T15:14:00.002+01:00

There's a slight bit of brand loyalty involved in this, as he used to be our worship leader in Sheffield, but Gareth Robinson has put out what is almost certainly the best worship album of the year. It's the soundtrack of our summer until the sigur ros album comes out.

It's very poppy, which is a really good thing as most worship albums try a bit too hard to rock out at the moment. But it's also got some beautiful songs, good lyrics and a great heart.

Dot

2008-05-09T15:12:00.001+01:00

I've added the dot player at the top of our blog. As a massive fan of Sigur Ros, I'm very excited that they have a new album out this year, and so should you be. This player has clips of them in the studio as well as other stuff. Hurrah for Sigur Ros.

The Evangelical Manifesto

2008-05-08T09:28:00.005+01:00

The Evangelical Manifesto is a document that has been published this week in the US by a wide range of Evangelical leaders. It's aim is to help explain what an Evangelical is and why it matters.

Both Alex and I would consider ourselves to be Evangelical Christians. I've read this document today and have put my signature to it. It's a very helpful, challenging, exciting read. I would recommend it to anyone. Follow the link to find out more.

Random Thoughts

2008-04-25T18:15:00.002+01:00

Here are some of the things that i have thought randomly this week.

If you need the Welsh national anthem singing, pay the money and get Tom Jones cos he's brilliant.
It's a bad time strategically for teachers to be striking, not because on the face of it they don't have a case, but because in times of economic insecurity, teaching becomes an attractive option. Who knows if in 12 months, a fairly guaranteed job and a pay award under inflation will look very good indeed?
20/20 cricket is like village cricket for millionaires. It's the same game I played when i was a kid, except they ought to make players retire when they have got 30 runs and force everyone to bowl two overs.
I'm cooking Alex sausage and cauliflower tandoori tonight.
I'm looking forward to a holiday soon.
I don't like it when Alex helps me with sermons, but she generally makes them better.
I'm glad the Sontarans were actually properly regular characters on the original doctor who. It makes much more sense to revive them if they are.
Prospect magazine is as good as i hoped it would be.

Can't remember anything else.

Simon Preaching.

2008-04-25T18:10:00.003+01:00

Along with all the family stuff that has been happening over the past months, this month has been busy for me because my boss has been away for a month resting in Adelaide. This has meant me taking more responsibility in the church, including the last 4 weeks worth of preaching on Sunday mornings. I'm adding a preach onto the blog, not because I think I'm the greatest preacher, but because it's what i do, and it's what i think.

I've learnt a lot in the past few weeks. I've had to do some new things. Next week, I'm doing my first funeral. I'm really pleased that I got to have the experience and 90% of the time, it's made me more sure that I want to be a minister.

Alex's up-date and a belated "Thank you"

2008-04-22T20:27:00.003+01:00

For those of you who read our page regularly, you'll have noticed that it is almost always Simon who provides the entries. However, I thought it was high time that I posted an entry, particularly in light of recent events.

I'd like to say a big thank you to all of you who have loved, supported and prayed for me, Simon and Rocky over the recent weeks and months. Also, all the staff at Derriford Hospital who looked after me deserve the highest commendation. It is the second time in six months I've been in the hospital and the care has been first class on both occasions.

I'm now well on the road to recovery, for which I thank God. Fatigue is likely to be for some time, nevertheless I'm back to work next week. (My doctor tells me, is quite remarkable considering the seriousness of my illness.)

I am thoroughly looking forward to returning to work. I am returning three days a week. This is the best of both worlds as far as I am concerned. It will allow me to continue to spend time with Rocky but also give my brain some much needed exercise. (If you're wondering why I would want to go back to work and why I enjoy my job so much, you may want to check out our old posts. I think I wrote on the subject last year sometime).

Anyway, that's my news for now. I'm going to get off the computer because I think Simon has some more trivia to brighten you day! :)

God Bless.

Lots of learning

2008-04-13T16:08:00.001+01:00

Rocky is doing lots of learning at the moment. Learning to sit up more, learning to eat rusks and banana and little stars yoghurt. All this is very tiring for a young boy.

What's next?

2008-04-09T16:53:00.002+01:00

We're starting to feel like we're moving into a new chapter of the year. Alex is feeling a lot better and is starting to think about her imminent return to work with enthusiasm. Simon is back into the business of church life, preaching every Sunday in April as his boss takes a sabbatical to Australia. Rocky is displaying a taste for rusks and banana as we start to ween him. We've finished watching all 7 series of the West Wing, and in true Bartlet style, we're starting to ask, 'What's next.'

Prospect Magazine

2008-04-09T16:43:00.002+01:00

I like reading magazines, and ever since I was a little kid, I've always had a mag that I read regularly. I have progressed through the years from the likes of the Beano and Tiger to Shoot and Match Weekly and Touchdown to the likes of Metal Hammer and Melody Maker to the likes of National Geographic and Empire.

We took a subscription out to Empire last year, but stopped reading it this year because the fatal combination of parenthood, a rubbish year for films in 2007 and a downturn in Empire's journalistic standards made it feel not worthwhile anymore. However, i still trust Empire reviews more than any other news organ.

We've been on the look out for a regular magazine to enjoy ever since, and while we've flirted with the economist, we're going to try with Prospect magazine because it seems interesting and well informed but also digestable.

If you're interested, follow the link here.

NCAA round up

2008-04-09T16:32:00.002+01:00

Well, the basketball is over, and I came 504,373th out of all the people who made predictions on facebook. I got 3 of the final 4 right, but my predictions were blown out by the thrilling Kansas vs Memphis title game which Kansas won after hitting this great 3 pointer to force overtime

My personal highlight of the tournament was watching Davidson's upset run, beating Georgetown and the Wisconsin Badgers (their fans had t-shirts that just had the word BADGERS written on it, so cool) with Stephen (pronounced Steffan) Curry acting as baby-faced assassin.

March madness article.

2008-03-18T14:16:00.001Z

Following on from yesterdays bit on march madness, read an american eulogy for it here.

March Madness - NCAA tournament.

2008-03-17T10:38:00.002Z

This Thursday is the start of March Madness, one of the coolest sporting events of the year. I'm quite excited about it.

March Madness is the nickname for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's men's Division 1 national basketball tournament. Hence the need for a nickname. Division 1 men's basketball is a confederation made of 31 leagues consisting of over 300 teams. These teams compete from November to March to win their leagues and also to make a national reputation about how strong they are. This is because to get into March Madness, you either have to win your league (like 31 teams do) or you have to be nominated by a committee (as the other 34 teams do).

What you end up with is a knockout tournament of 65 teams of incredible diversity from all across america, competing to be the national champions. Some of these teams are multi million dollar programs that you will see people wear the T shirts of in the UK like UCLA, North Carolina or Georgetown, others are little back water colleges like University of Texas-Arlington or Coppin State (incidentally the first team to lose 20 games in a season and make the tournament)

March Madness is like the FA cup played over 3 weekends. The first weekend is the best because there is a game on from 10am in the morning until 2am at night (US time) and there is the greatest chance of a giant killing. March Madness is also the most participatory sports event in the US as everyone fills in predictions of who is going to win each game with a similar kind of feel to our grand national sweepstakes.

I've already filled in my bracket and i'm tipping North Carolina to beat UCLA to become national champions, however, I reckon that Oregon, St Josephs, Michigan State and West Virginia are capable of pulling off some upsets.

North Carolina are probably the best team in the country, although it hurts as a Maryland fan to admit that, and the reason i think they'll win is they have the player of the year in Tyler Hansborough. He is an incredibly determined athlete who can carry his team. I think when the big games happen, he will make the difference. To see his determination in action, here he is dunking over a 7 foot 7 monster called Kenny George.

If this has somehow whetted your appetite for the tournament, you can watch games online for free via the CBS website, or you can do what I do and watch them on NASN.

Alex is home

2008-03-15T10:13:00.002Z

Just a quick post to say that Alex was released from hospital yesterday afternoon. She has completed her course of anti-virals and had a lot more tests.

We have to wait for the detailed results of the tests, but the first signs look ok. It's been explained to us that while the illness has gone, there may be some longer term effects. We don't know how it's going to work out yet, so the watchword is wait and see.

For now, we're just grateful to be a family again. Grateful to my dad who has been awesome in looking after us. Grateful to be doing ok.

Wall-e trailer

2008-03-14T11:43:00.001Z

The last movie we went to see at the cinema was Ratatouille, which may or not make it surprising that the movie we're really excited about over the summer, even more than indiana jones and batman is wall-e. Watch the trailer for super cuteness.

Remembering how much i love billy bragg

2008-03-14T06:49:00.002Z

Billy Bragg has a new album out and I bought it and although i haven't listened to it all yet, i'm already loving it. Especially I keep faith and M for me, which for all you budding preachers, is a cracking wedding sermon.

I'd forgotten how much I loved billy bragg. Probably because he hasn't had an album out in 5 years or so and it's 10 years since he had an album out that caught my attention. I haven't listened to any of his stuff for ages, but now i remember that it's great, i'm going to have him on the stereo all year. Billy Bragg is this years Bruce Springsteen.

I bought the song above on 7 inch single when I was 10 years old. Im still not sure i entirely get all the references, so I can't of had a clue back then, but i love this song very much. The first billy bragg album i bought was talking to the taxman about poetry. I don't have it anymore, but i remember the line 'if it takes another war to fill the churches of england, then the world the meek inherit, what will it be worth?' My favourite album of his is probably don't try this at home, which among it's many virtues, has a pretty cover of Dolphins.

Now Dolphins is one of my most all time favouritest desert island discs songs, and while Billy's version has been overtaken in my affections by Tim Buckley's version (see below)

It's still pretty good. Also around that time, i recorded a live thing that he did for radio 1, back in the day when Radio 1 put out a recorded live concert every saturday night before the rock show. And that stayed on my stereo forever, especially because of the cover version of groove is in the heart and the one liner in waiting for the great leap forwards when he says 'Have you heard about the new world order yet, it's the same as the old world order, them and us' (which incidentally, may not be such a bad thing, but that's a whole other load of stuff)

I took alex to see Billy Bragg live in 1997 as a birthday treat for me before we got married. It was a Sheffield uni 'raise your banners' event and he played solo. The song i remember from that night was the 'never cross a picket line' one about the dockers strike in the 1990s.

I'm rambling now, but I just wanted to share some of the many happy memories i have of billy bragg and say something about how he has influenced my life and how i am happy he has an album out and it is good. He's not always right, but he's always thought provoking. So lets finish this post with his waiting for the great leap forwards, which has the added bonus of being introduced by henry rollins.