Sev-ern!

If you've not got a clue what the title is about I suggest you type in Len Goodman to youtube or the BBC and have a watch of Strictly Come Dancing at some point.

At the end of my week of holiday, I managed to get back to Billericay, after driving in the snow for a good hour. This was in preparation for the follow days activity... Mum had decided to spend money on tickets to see the Strictly Come Dancing Tour, little did we know, or I forgot that level four means we're 'up in the gods' (which has become a phrase to use when talking about high seats in concert halls), which means and you'll see by the photos below that you're so far away from the action that it becomes hard to be involved in whats happening.

But before we got to The O2 there was some travelling to be done... so from Billericay to London, the main attraction at the moment is the 2012 venue. This is what it currently looks like.


You can just see the white zigzag of the stadium structure. It's going to be an interesting three and a half years, until the whole of East London is taken over but tourists and athletes. Then after that... who knows, we get a different report every week about what the legacy of the games is going to leave behind, what the stadium and surrounding villages and buildings are going to be used for. This week there's talk of it being a school and sports academy (I think with talk of the school actually being in the middle of the stadium... but I wasn't listening properly). The local football clubs won't spend any money to buy it, because it's being purpose built for the athletics. Some less local purpose built venues are up in arms because the planning committee have said that they would spend £42 million on a new shooting range (is that the right name?) overlooking a place that is already available (but at a cost of £30 million). It's a strange thing to be going though, especially with a recession.

And if you want to know what 'up in the gods' looks like while you're in the O2 here's a picture for you...

There's not much to be seen, but I can assure you that there are four judges, one couple and a presenter as well as a band down there!

It's crazy! Fortunately, my cousin and nan were found tickets so that they could be closer to the action. However, we tried to join them at half time and the woman on the information desk was the least helpful person I've met in a long time. So here goes my mini rant...

Your tickets get scanned as you go into the venue, so that the O2 know who have turned up and who haven't. Therefore, by the half time whistle, you'd think that they would know who's arrived and who hasn't... and therefore can give some unsuspecting people a chance to sit somewhere different... but the policy states that the tickets had already been purchased, so there was no chance for my mum and I to join the others on the same level. If you haven't turned up by half time, it's very likely that you're not going to turn up at all, so why not, knowing that we'd already been split up, let us sit ner each other?

I resigned a little too quickly from that fight, but went away really angry, knowing that I had a good point under my belt if I'd have stayed a little longer.

We missed out on the atmosphere, being too high up and far away. It just doesn't carry well when you can't actually see the faces of the people who are dancing, but still it was enjoyable, though I would push to get level one seats every time I go to the O2 now. Even if the website says sold out!

Lots of the white stuff

Here they are in order of creation...


Boris - looking a bit like a girl, but for a first attempt its not too bad.


Casper - our second attempt - we tried to go bigger than Boris, but it didn't quite work, so we ended up with a pile of snow and Kay gave it a face and a name.


And this is our third attempt and his name is Andrew - just because he is as tall and as skinny as my younger brother!

All fun, not too cold, but lots of snow fell while we were creating them. It was really cold, but we layered up and went out. Snow is a lot more fun when you're with someone who is incredibly excited about it all! (Kay's 24, she got the day off work and I've never seen her so excited!)

So now we're warming back up again and taking it slow.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get home and then go into London for the Strictly come Dancing Tour!

Taking a walk

Through Bristol town centre, also taking a few photos of the unusual things I've seen while I've been here...

Namely this...
This is a shot of the Harvey Nichols store in Cabot Circus at the centre of Bristol... yes that is a mannequin with its arms stretched wide, wrists at a funny angle and the others posed in a oh-so-stylish model like way... ridiculous. I had to stand off-centre cos there was a man watching me. I'm sure there is an ironic or biblical point to that...but as it stands all I can think about is scarificing all your worldly possessions to follow Christ.

This is the second photo I took...


This is a picture of one of the 'main streets' of Cabot Circus... you can clearly see that the roof isn't all one piece, so in my opinion, you could be dry one minute and wet the next if you're walking through. It's like the developers either couldn't decided what to do or didn't have enough money... All in all it's a strange and expensive experience (£3 for up to two hours of parking - so I didn't stay long), but its a shopping experience none the less, and a chance to spend some time looking at all the shops... even if I've not got enough money to buy! Some of the stores, like H & M (one of my faves) have a smaller store in Cabot Circus and a large store in another part of town... I don't know if that's a marketing ploy (i.e. come and see our store in CC, if you can't find anything you like, go to our bigger store and spend money there!) or just not very joined up thinking.... I thought there would be more of an opportunity for bespoke stores, but I guess the rent could now be excessively high (how else are they going to get the cost justified?) for small businesses starting out.

Still its shopping...

Finally here's a picture of the linking bridge, between the car park and the shops


Bottom left is the path, its a wonky bridge, so I took a wonky picture! (It's meant to be arty!) Again, in my 'I'm a member of the public' opinion, it's poorly designed. If you take a proper look at it, you'll notice that there's a gap between the sides and the roof. While above you is covered, there are gaps where sidewards rain can get in an soak you if you're walking across. It's a sturdy structure, so no chance of it being closed in high winds, but people might not park because they don't want to get battered by the weather!

Speaking of weather... driving in snow storms and wet conditions yesterday was interesting! I got in the car after stopping at Reading services and it started to absolutely chuck it down! I've never driven in snow like that, I hope that I don't have to do it again too soon, but I'm getting some motorway driving in!

Staying away

Because of the weather, because of the snow, because of the cold, I am at home tonight. Not the start I thought of when I planned a week away from work and away from Essex. I was really upset this morning, I woke up to an inch or so of snow, but then it started again and hasn't stopped since. We must be on three or four inches now... I've been watching the news, keeping an eye on the road reports, and the railways... there's no chance I'm getting out of here for at least another 12 hours.

So while I'm able here is a collection of photos that I have taken... first off, the traditional snow photos
The back garden
The front of the house.. yes the milkman still managed to do his job today.

Yes, I find it ridiculous that all the schools in Billericay were closed. When I was 4 we had worse snow than this and I still went to school...the snow was up to my waist and I remember being in school before being sent home. I agree with BBC London today... we're in a culture that is so worried about health and safety that eveything just stops, it is easier to be closed than to risk injury... we've been through world wars, and we're worried about a little bit of snow. London came to a grinding halt. It's crazy... I wanted to be in Cheltenham tonight.

Secondly a photo that has been a once in a life time opportunity.


Yes, look closely, this is no ordinary £1.83, but the special design for 2008. It's never been done before in bristish coin history as far as I'm aware. The £1 coin is the picture of what the other 83p should look like! Pretty!! Now there are regular coins in circulation, so its becoming harder to do this, thankfully I have people around me who love to do something until its done!

There are no more photos!

So the holiday isn't going well... I'm not where I want to be!

Cold Weather

Yeah, it's 10pm... so I'm watching the news and already the cold weather and snow have affected the roads and rail links across the country. We knew it was coming, we've had fair warning... why then is there disruption?

Last night before things got too cold, we had our first ever mingles night at Christ Church, well, not quite, we ended up in the pub and I knew everyone there! But never the less, we got to spend time together, we got to chat, drink and laugh... Hopefully this won't be the last time we meet, so keep your eyes peeled for new dates and events!

Tomorrow, I take my first proper, full week away from work, away from Essex. I'm not going to training, I'm not going on an organised retreat, I'm just going away. So to Cheltenham tomorrow, Bristol on Tuesday and Luton on Thursday...

Of course I'll tell you how it goes... you don't need to ask!

One month in...

Well, we're nearly a month in to 2009 and this year already has held some surprises and some shocks.

Like Karen says its a year of hope, faith and love... hope and faith that the new president will do well in his job and restore a failing America.

Hopes that Andy Murray would win the Australian Open have been dashed in a shocking manner.

Sadly hopes that this year would be better from a London perspective have been put on hold when we found out that another young person had been killed this weekend. Prays of faith and the knowledge of God's love and peace go to the families involved.

I'm surprised and shocked at turn outs for two events that have happened this month. One was SOLID:Remix. 300 plus young people crammed into chelmsford cathedral for the first event of its kind, and answer to the prayers of many of the planning team, who had only catered for 100 people...here's hoping that the SOLID Youth Festival is just as much fun and full of new people. The other event was much smaller...a church prayer meeting for the youth and local community only drew two people. Only God can explain why we got the lowest attendance of the week.

But at the same time God can only explain the verse I was given in preparation for the prayer meeting

"Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don't forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I'm locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I'll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out."

How awesome is that - this is The Message version of Colossians 4:2-6 and has become my prayer for the year, for myself, for the young people who possess faith and for the team of youth workers.

So I wasn't blown away by the attendance, but I was blown away by God!

I live in hope that this year doors will be opened and in faith that I am are clever enough to make the most of the opportunities the open doors create, and that I live in love, building people up wherever I go.

What a year... lets hope I can say that in December.

For an update on the state of my Dad's shoulder you can go here.

Annually away

There are various times in a year when I'm not going to be in the local vacinity but away on some sort of training/retreat time.

This week was one of those times. I was up in Audley End, taking time out with other youth works from across Essex to learn about Young people, Sexuality and Spirituality. David and Brandy came all the way from Knoxville to share in a very specialist subject it seems. David is only one of about 80 people in America who provide christian based sex therapy for families and teenagers.

Now be honest... Did you know it existed? I had some sort of idea, but still wasn't 100% sure, so as always I went into the unknown, head on, wanting to learn about this.

I learnt a lot. Things about teenagers that I never knew and had some really interesting discussions with the people that were there. Some of the behaviour I see has been explained, some of it is still a mystery, but I've got a way of finding out why that behaviour occurs.

David's work website is here.

I know I'm going to try and read up on this more and I've got a couple of CD's to listen to that are going to be good. David and Brandy were brilliant, easy to understand and consistently good with all their information. The whole time away was constructive for me, I did some thinking and started to understand my behaviour a little more. Made some good connections with people and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.

I've also got another link for you to look at, head over to schoolswork.co.uk to see the new 'we love our youthworker' charter that has been launched, also check out Dave's brilliant postcards that go with the charter. (I want to retreat to the top of a column!)

Today is a 'do the minimum' day... I like it!

Damage Update

Check out the extent of the bruises my Dad has received from falling over on 5th January.
What you really can't see on my camera phone photos is the darkness of the bruises and where they are.

The go from the top of his right shoulder, all the way down his right arm and down the front of his chest. It would have been a lot worse if he wasn't wearing a back pack...

The way he got his injury is still not a full story. He was on his own, ad his memory has not allowed him access as to how it happened, but he's got a graze on his right foot, so starts the story with that and concludes that his arm was flung out behind him and ended up behind his head... you try it now... you arm will not do that willingly, unless you've got very loose muscles.

Still we're now 9 days into recovery and for the second day in a row he has been out of the house, firstly to visit the doctor to get his dressing changed... a full 19 staples in his shoulder to hold his wound together, something tells me this family are going to have a lot of dot dash dot jokes soon! The staples come out in two days time and far from being grossed out by this, he's rather intrigued as to how the work and what they look like.

I'm waiting for an email from our local councillor to find out who's in charge of pavements and salt bin up keep.

Of course, this is a spectator blog, for the patients account you need to go here.

I'm trying to keep my distance from him at the moment as I have been blessed with a virus or infection of some sort. I didn't feel too good yesterday and decided to stay at home today.

This is what happens....

when you fall over on the ice...

Yes, dad is at home and this is the extent of the damage. He's got a plate in there and some screws too.

The bruise has gone down, it's not as bad as it was, but he's unable to move his arm. The nice blue thing you can see is a sling - it wraps around the bottom of his arm and then around his shoulder and his waist. The yellow thing is a pillow case and that's just a comfort thing.

The white stripe is currently covering the staples and we think his scar will be between 15 and 20cm long in the end.

He's been signed off work for three weeks and will go back to have the dressing changed regularly and get it checked.

The good news is that there is currently not loss of sensation in his hand or the rest of his arm, though he is quite frustrated that he's only got one useful arm!

It's a treacherous world

It may look pretty...


... but I tell you, it's a dangerous place to be!

Yesterday afternoon, I got a text message from my Mum saying that my Dad was in hospital with a possible dislocated shoulder.

He'd fallen over on the way to work on the ice. He went on to his back and got up fairly quickly. He got all the way to work, thinking that he'd not done too much damage but realised that he couldn't move his right arm at all. He came home, went to see the doctor, who sent him to accident and emergency.

He had x-rays and found out that he had done a lot of damage to his right shoulder joint. The hosptial immeadiately took him onto a ward, and told him that he would be needing surgery, to fix the damage and to put a plate in his arm.

He went into surgery this afternoon and sailed through it, so hopefully we'll get to see him tomorrow and Karen comes back on Saturday to say hello.

I don't know how long the recovery takes for this kind of injury, but I'm guessing that its not just going to be a week!

And it was Andy's birthday yesterday, so we're going to know the anniversary of the worst injury in our family (so far) for a very long time!

Ringing in 2009

Happy New Year!

With Christmas well and truly over we started to focus on New Years Eve and the celebrations that have been in the pipe line for a good six months.

This year the theme was 'Hollywood Glamour' and the red carpet welcomed the biggest cast calling of them all. The leading lady and man were presented with Oscars on the night and the supporting actors and actresses were awarded with chocolates. The in-house band provided an award-winning performance and the DJ had everyone on their feet for the post-ceremony celebration.
The star of the night striking a pose with her best friends.

It's fair to say that this celebration was the best one of them all. Jen, party organiser extraordinaire, did a stunning job with her vision and drive, plus incredible selflessness that she possesses every time December 31st comes around. She works incredibly hard, as do the band and the caterers!

A good night, and we're all looking forward to 2009 being a good year!

In our news, I gave blood today, I'm on my 9th donation and I'm really looking forward to my 10th and 11th!! Do something amazing...

A thoroughly modern Christmas

A thoroughly modern bouquet - a vase of sweets! sadly, you can guess the amount, but you won't be getting any sweets from me!

This Christmas was a little different this year. I spent all of Christmas Eve doing Christingle services, leading them none the less. now I can normally do three Christingles but before it has been 'just for fun' as it were, no direct pressure on me, and not really a huge deal of preparation either but this year, I had to stand at front of church, prepare a power point, write a service order and learn it and remember to light the advent wreath. I also had to do a song sheet and speak to a number of people about how the whole service was going to work. The adrenalin soon wore off at the end of the last service and I came crashing down. It's tough working for 6 hours straight.

Then my sister returned home and after resting for a little bit, we watched the Gavin and Stacy Christmas special...which was a little long and I didn't really get it, because I've never really watched it before. We then headed to church for midnight communion.

All normal so far...other than being really tired.

Christmas Day, I spent the whole day with my family, not really unusual, but we had a change of plan mid-way through December my Nan decided that she was going to spend Christmas in London with my Aunt and Uncle, so no chance of a Christmas dinner at Nan's, which after spending 24 Christmases there, to not be at hers was different. Normally we head to church and then to Nan's where we sit and chat and dinner just appears, this year though, I helped with dinner. I really enjoyed it, I didn't over indulge but had enough to eat and then for the first time in 24 years, we opened all of our presents. After a couple of hours watching TV and playing about with new things, we headed to my cousins for dinner and more presents. I ended the day very tired but happy.

Doing all of this means that Boxing day was unusual too, I've spent part of the day outside and the boys have gone out to a friends house. We would normally have a family dinner and watch tv together, but that hasn't happened.

I feel like I've lost a day somewhere, but I really haven't, it was over a lot quicker than I expected and I've already done some sale shopping!!!

Merry christmas to you all and I hope your celebrations have filled you with joy, just as mine has!

P.S. Don't watch POTC before Christmas, you'll end up watching it twice!

The Office

No - I'm not going to talk about how Ricky Gervais only has one acting style or that one of his co-stars is far better than him...

No - I'm going to talk about my office, the hub of all the youth work at Christ Church. Since I began working for the church in July there have been various bits and pieces going on while I've been out of the building, and it's nearly finished, so here are some photos for you...


Ok, so it's a mess at the moment, but it's functioning as a great space for me to check my email, write letters and create talks...

Check out my lazy chair in the corner - from IKEA - an at a third of the cost, that is my bargain buy of the year! I love it! (it does need a cushion though!)

There's still a little bit to do, it's got to be painted, and I've got to find a sensible way of cutting out the draft...

A special Event

Want to meet some new people, but not sure how to? Well, come along to the event above, spend a couple of hours in the company of young adult christians, in a safe environment and in the knowledge that you'll come away knowing more people than when you started!

Search for us on Facebook, you can't miss the bight orange picture that's being used for our publicity! If you're not on facebook and would like to join us, please leave a comment and some contact details and I will get back to you as soon as I can... (I check my blog every day!)

Photo Blog!

Just some of the things I've seen over the past week or so for you to take a look at!


A rainbow above Mayflower School - yes we were stood in the rain, and yes, we all got our phones out to take a picture, whilst Gary proclaimed "That's a sign that God will never again flood the earth, that is!" Brilliant! Isn't it funny how God reassures us?



At the end of the Youthwork Conference on the way home, driving through the countryside - couldn't ignore the sun shining in my eyes - so had to take a couple of photos! We had a really good weekend. I still haven't really thought about it, I can't get my head around the weekend, it started well and had various highlights, Mike Pilavachi, Ben Cantalon and the Sunday morning seminars being the ones I can remember the clearest. God has definitely started speaking to me in a loud and clear voice again, so I've got to keep listening.

The next event was Jen's birthday, here's the lovely lady herself...


Ten of us went out to celebrate her birthday this year. We had a great time at Macaroni Grill (which I've never been to before) and then on to Chicagos, which has had a complete refit and looks absolutely amazing now. We had so much fun, dancing, laughing and eating that we're going to do it all again very soon!


Also, a formal congratulations to Mandy and Rob, who got engaged at the end of November. I'm very happy and can't wait for the wedding!!

And finally...


A packed church for the Advent Carol Service. A lot of work went into making a very special service to celebrate the start of the church year. We welcomed all of the different schools in our district and were blessed with a choir and hundreds of stars to decorate our stunning tree!

I have really loved the last couple of weeks, there's been so much good news. Looking forward to spending the next few preparing for Christmas with friends and family. I don't know if I'm ready for it, or even in the mood really, but whatever happens I'm sure it'll hit me soon and I'll get a little panicky!

P.S. This is for the third time of trying - for some still unexplained reason, connecting to the internet is still hit and miss.

Pulling a muscle

In more ways than one...

It's true, Wii sports is dangerous... I've pulled a muscle - how unfit am I? But it's totally addictive... especially if a young person has beaten your score and you know you can do better!

And laughing too hard... Mike McIntyre is hilarious! You know how your sides ache... He's someone I'd really like to see live... he's really clever and Live at The Apollo is so much better... I didn't like Jack Dee... he's far too dry.

This week has been good, I haven't been in school as much as normal, due to lots of things going on for other people.

Tonight we're out celebrating a birthday of someone who is very dear to me! I'm quite excited, we haven't been out as a group for ages, we get to spend a lot of time together which is great!

Also this week, a member of the same family got engaged to her long term boyfriend. I cried, I'm so happy for them!

Youthwork: The Conference

Spending a weekened in Eastbourne, wet, cold, windy, by the sea, in a hotel which bearly had a sea view...

The highs and lows of youthwork. Above the lows. Below the highs (does someone feel I'm doing this the wrong way round?)

Ok lets start with company... I joined the youthworkers of Luton on the retreat day after spending some time with my sister in Luton, we travelled down together and shared in a 24 hours of being fed, both spiritually and physically, in a lovely church called All Saint's. Luton youthworkers are great... very funny and they do get on with each other really well. It was good to spend time with people just chatting and chilling.

The rest of the weekend was just right, I took time out, I listened to seminars all of which was helpful to me. The worship from Ben Cantalon was brilliant (if in my old age it was a little loud at some points) and I've got some good resources to read and use.

I absolutely love the 'We love our youthworker' which is a new charter for churches and youth workers, which helps youth workers and gives them a voice...

More when that comes into the fore during 2009! More when I've reflected some more!

Good clean fun...

Just watching some of the Children in Need programme from last night... It's a fundraiser for children in the UK who are disabled or struggle with life in some way.

It's good clean fun, there's nothing that's close to the mark or controversial... Terry Wogan is always a laugh and they focus so much on English bands and artists, it's nice to see the stars of our small screen enjoying themselves (newsreaders, soap stars and lifestyle shows)!

(Unlike Comic Relief/Red Nose day, which is just cringe worthy i.e. Tim Westwood pimping some old people's minibus - they don't need DVD players installed! and Ricky Gervais' sketch that was just wrong)

Personally, I spent the day collecting money from people, at a fundraising concert and with the young people of Christ Church, watching the evening unfold.

Last night alone £21.9 million was raised, I don't know when the final figure comes out, but I'm sure it will be a lot higher than that, for a start, I've got to add £20 to it!!

Something less fun was shopping in Basildon for a birthday present... so many people around, the Christmas lights were switched on this weekend and it seems that people have started to panic a bit about Christmas being just around the corner... 5 weeks 5 days....

Playing with fire

Well, not quite fire, but definitely sparklers. And not really playing with them, more watching the young people to make sure that they didn't attempt to hurt each other.

For something that happened and we weren't quite sure of how it would go, all of the leaders were positive at the end of the night... 20 young people from two youth groups... sparklers, food and a uni-hoc game...oh and some indoor fire works that set off the fire alarm (which reminds me that I don't know where the smoke alarm is or how to shut it up). It was a good night and we've been invited across town to the christmas party in a month or so.

It's saturday, yeay!! I've almost got rid of my cold, after spending a lot of today in bed...

Going to Come Dancing at church this evening... Should be interesting, I always enjoy learning new things and raising money at the same time. There will be photos!

Where do we go from here?

This is a question that haunts me. It's one that is always being asked...no doubt there's one man who's asking it more than everyone else.

If you've slept for the last 18 months or so, you won't know that the American election has happened and the new president of the free world is Barack Obama. I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I ended up watching the BBC results programme for two hours. They talked and talked about how much McCain was like President Bush, and were absolutely sure that he wouldn't be in power when the presidency changes hands in January.

I guess one of the reasons I couldn't get to sleep was because I'm worried (as well as being ill). I'm worried about how Mr Obama will put in to practice the ideology that he's talked about for so long. I'm worried that if it doesn't work out (in my very English way of not trusting politicians) there may be a horrible backlash and America will take some steps backwards (dare I say, more steps backwards).

I saw a postsecret that said 'It's only a matter of time' - a postcard of famous political faces who had been assassinated, people who wanted change. You can take that two ways, either as a threat or as someone who is worried for safety. I'm the latter.

I want to see this world get better, in so many ways...

I'm praying hard for the government that is going to surround this man.

We're also asking the question about our alpha group...but we haven't come up with any ideas yet!

At it once again...

Ok, so when did I last blog? An hour and a half ago...?

Guess what my little brother is doing again...yes, drinking soup and eating as noisely as he can... do things not stick in peoples minds? Does being told off, or warned against something not make an impact in the minds of teenagers any more?

I know the answer to the last question, there is no impact to be made, no matter how many times...

Here he goes again...

Youth Alpha talk is going well so far...blogging and facebooking takes my mind off it temporarily, so that I can refocus and get it done for tomorrow evening.

There's doing things quietly

and then there's doing things noisely...

I'm complaining quietly about my brothers noisey soup drinking...don't get me started on how annoyed I am today...

I had to ask him to do what he was doing quietly (or I would've taken his soup away from him) and he gave me a dirty look!! It's rude to slurp at the best of times, but least of all while I'm quietly stewing about how the next couple of days are going to turn out.

I've always been concerned for safety, for good teaching and for everyone to have a good time. So to be told that I've got to be careful with the sparklers that I'm going to give to my young people next friday annoys me a little. I've had all three things drill into me since I was very young. I know the rules inside out, and I will be passing my knowledge on to the young people who will be holding the sparklers so that no-one gets hurt and everyone can have fun.

I don't make up the rules as I go along and everyone will get a fair chance - those who play up will feel the consequences. I've got a mobile phone and I will have all of the young peoples names and emergency contact details so if anything goes wrong there is a plan.

I really don't know what else to say...some poeple are helpful, others not so. That's life and we give thanks in all circumstances - so thank you Lord, that there are people who are concerned for my safety and thank you that they haven't completely scuppered all of my plans as the new youth worker in town.

I'm sorry that's the wrong answer

I'm always facinated by how things work, how they are made and what drives the people to create things that can make our lives easier, or more fun.

Finding out the answers to my questions though is sometimes a little frustrating - big companies like to keep secrets.

Take walkers for one - they pretty much run the snack empire in the UK at the moment, so they can reinstate crisps and the like at their will. They've brought back monster munch, quite successfully, which leads me to me first question - How is monster munch made?

Being internet savy that's where I'll always go first. Type in whats in my brain and see what happens...normally I don't get the answer straight away, because my mind seems to work slightly differently from those who add to the internet daily. But I keep searching and eventually get some sort of answer...however, there's nothing online, so I went to 118.com, because they've got an 'ask us anything' policy, so I did - guess what? They haven't got the answer either. ARGH...so I'm going to suffer for a little longer. I don't understand the snack world and I probably never will!!

And I'm trying to find out the background song to the new Rimmel London advert with Sophie Ellis Baxter - no joy there either, the other problem with the internet is that you can always find outdated information...I won't tell you about the time that I asked about a job only to be asked where I found the ad and that the position had been filled for over a year.

Talking of outdated...I need to update the CCYM website!

(P.S. Kate Moss looks awful on the Rimmel London website - how is having your mouth open in a photo ever attractive?)

I had an interesting day yesterday...it started with purchasing tickets to see Take That in concert on Saturday 4th July 2009. Fastest ever sell out tour, it took 9 excuricating minutes for me to get on to See Tickets to buy tickets, but here I am, still alive and very happy that I won't have to take a day off work to see them, and I will be taking all of my best friends with me.

The rest of the day was taken up with prep for the Club night at St Marys, a very successful night, and we're hoping that it will grow and grow in the coming years!

A Nautical Night

Happy 21st Birthday!!!
So the images loaded backwards, and it takes a lot of effort to move them around. So this is Helen, hugging her balloons. Very pink and very big...Post cake at the end of the night...


Post blowing out candles...speeches time as always at 21st, the dad just has to say something. I can't remember what my Dad said at mine, simply because I was a little embarrassed, and probably too stressed out by the whole day.


This party, however, was a lot different, here we are (Heather and I) waiting for everyone to arrive so that we could give Helen her 21 presents. We were rushing around like lunatics in Basildon shortly before hand...but Sailor and Lifeguard...we were ready and Helen got the shock of her life when we arrived!

So its half term at the moment...there's not a lot going on, which is relaxing, but frustrating too. I know that I've got a busy term ahead of me...Christmas is racing up on us really quickly and I know I've got a lot to do, but I can't plan for it, until I've got an idea of what actually needs doing.

Still, Friday is a big day, Take That tickets go on sale and we've got our second club night at St Mary's on the High Street. Big smiles all round! :-D

You can't stop the Beat!

It's Saturday...Yeay!!

For the second time this week I have watched Sky 1's 'Hairspray: The School Musical' and I'm absolutely besotted by the whole thing. Teenagers doing something enjoyable and showing the world and themselves that they are totally capable of producing a West End production in such a short amount of time. A couple of well known celebrities took a group of students and coached them through 6 weeks of rehearsals, and at the end they went to the Lyric Theatre and preformed to a sell out crowd of friends and family.

If you haven't seen any of it, see if you can find it online...when I was their age I just didn't have the confidence to do anything like that, even now it would take a lot of convincing. But seeing young people working hard and producing something that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives really makes me smile.

Tonight we're all heading to church to celebrate Helen's 21st birthday...all in Nautical gear...it's going to be so much fun...we've got a lot of different outfits and of course there will be photos!

Christ Church Weekend Away 2008

Here's the official report of the weekend away...

We started by getting lost - or at least I got lost on the way to High Leigh Conference Centre...more stressful than I'd ever imagined, and I now know that following someone other than Jesus is an experience that's not so good for me!! Thank you Helen and co for being patient with me though!

We had a good weekend...the young people learnt a lot...here they are with 'Loser' written on their foreheads after the second session...


For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Luke 9v24

Bravely showing off that they'd give up their lives to be followers of Jesus.

In the afternoon, we went to Lee Valley Boat hire to have a go at Pedaloing...

Us after hour on the river...it was really good fun, I'd suggest it as a good afternoon out, if the sun is shining and there's a pub you can get to afterwards!

The rest of the weekend was interesting, I shared my time with people I'd not really spoken to before and having communion altogether on the Sunday was a really good idea.

Stars in his Eyes is our regular saturday evening entertainment, and hopefully everyone enjoyed it, from those taking part or those just watching. I'm very proud of some of my young people who thought of things to do.

I'm still recovering after being at work for the whole weekend, but it does take time. I have a day off this week, so hopefully I can use that time to think more about what went on, and make some notes for the next time I have to do something of this magnitude!

Restrictions

Mainly parking ones atm. There were people in our road putting out notices for the local council this afternoon. I don't know how long they have to be up before the council can start painting yellow lines on our road, but that's what is going to happen. They're also going to put up signs that say 'no waiting 08:30 - 09:30 and 14:30 - 15:30' it's worded slightly differently on the actual sign but you get the drift.

Now the problem with this is they won't actually enforce the no waiting thing at all. Well maybe for the first week. But after that it will be a free for all, and there will still be people parked across our drive come 3 in the afternoon, or whenever one of us needs to be somewhere and the car they are using is on the drive. Yes, mothers, fathers, guardians and carers will intially be scared out of their whits, but the fear will subside and life will continue on as normal.

I've seen it happen, nay, I have parked my car in a zone similar to the one that will be implied and I did not feel the wrath of the council bearing down on me for disobeying their rules.

One problem we have is that we have 5 cars in our family currently, and only three have spaces on the land that my parents own (or are leasing permenantly - not sure how it works, not being a home owner an' all!) So two people will potentially get fined (if a traffic warden would like to watch the road for a whole day). There are two (possibly three) arguments to this -

One - no-one who can prove that they live in the road should get fined for parking on it - it's where we live, we should really have space outside our houses to park our cars.

Two - We as residents should have room for the cars that we own on our properties, so that they can sit during the day without getting fined.

Three - We should have less cars (which is impossible)

And this won't solve the problem, it'll only move it somewhere else...

I don't know how many people protested, but it doesn't seem to have done any good. Which just leads me to believe we're heading for a world where the opinion of the public doesn't matter.

Andy says he will rip up a parking fine if he gets one...We'll see....

Off to High Leigh this weekend, but first I have to pack, go to youth group, lead emarge and raid the hall of all the fun things that I own as a youth worker, and finish what I'm going to say on Sunday morning!! Not busy at all... :S

All wrapped up...

In my own little world recently...lots has been going on, but I still feel like I've got loads of time, when really actually I probably haven't.

I think the problem may be to do with the strange times I'm sleeping at the moment, I really can't seem to get into a routine that means I get up at a sensible time, work through the day and go to bed at an equally sensible time.

I'm working on it...I just seem to be lacking discipline right now. It's like living at home seems to have bitten me and I feel like I'm a teenager again, waiting til the last moment to crawl out of bed and go to school. It's got to change...but as with getting up, I keep putting off that change...

At the moment, there is only so much I can do at home, I'm currently suffering some interference technologically at least...the laptop has decided that it won't connect to the internet, even when it's sat next to the router, and the booster...Dad can't figure out what is wrong, so a phone call to Dell may well be on the cards...but I'm saving that until after the church weekend away.

Yes, we're near October half term, which means its going away time for many churches. This time we're going to High Leigh Conference centre in Hoddesdon. For teaching (which I will be doing with the young people and so will Karen), music and games, as well as a little bit of fun chucked in for good measure. I don't know quite how I'm going to survive, but I know that I'm going to need prayer and sleep.

Episode Two

I feel like I've had an episode, nevermind watched one...I'm going to have to watch the last 5 mins of S3 E2 again, just to understand what went on in a little more detail, cos iPlayer is brilliant, but big screen tv is better!

I'm talking about Heroes, if you're totally lost...it's so much quicker than Series 2, jumping from story line to story line, without losing the intensity of it all and moving rapidly forward with each shift.

I watched the sneak peak build up the other day and now I seen everything twice. I want to give the story line away and say 'wow, this happened' and 'woah, she/he....' but I can't for fear of people hating me because I just don't do cryptic very well.

I'm refusing to watch BBC Three this time round, just because I did exactly what i'm trying not to do right now...

Roll on Wednesdays!

Lee Evans live at the O2

This man is a comical genius...I must have been following him for a good 8 years...but he's been doing observational comedy for 20.


Last night, 4 of us headed to the O2 arena in North Grenwich, to join with 20,000 other people in the biggest stand up tour this country has ever seen.

I love it, I would add explitives...but I really don't want to offend anyone... The second half was better than the first and the experience was made better by Mike having and O2 contract, so we could get exclusive access to a horribly over priced bar. (£7.50 for a cocktail) The bar was nice, forking out £20 for four drinks hurt lots.

Speed dating, footballers, referees, all were mentioned in some vain and I can't wait to buy the DVD to see it all over again and relive the memory of seeing him live for the second time.

It was all new material, a Lee was at the top of his game, I don't know how he does it, but I've got a huge amount of respect for him!

Harvest Service 2008

Aren't we a clever bunch? Three crosses (the yellow one created by members of Christ church) to signify the local harvest (red), the global harvest (orange) and the harvest of the people who are in the world (yellow).


The cross at the front of church, drapped with the colours.

I really enjoyed the service, it got a little heavy, but all the commets were positive.

So thank you CMS for providing and inspirational service pack, to Mark and the band for the brilliant music, to Stephen for creating the crosses on the floor and the Pathfinders for their prayers. (And thank you to everyone who did something in or for the service).

I'm tired now though...I've been building myself up for a long nights sleep. It's not over yet!! I've got Evo to entertain first...

Lun - don Tuawn! (Think Lily Allen)

I have been in London for most of today...time spent on Chadwell Heath station (due to a fatality on the line) with my MP3 player to keep me occupied, on taking pictures of famous landmarks - hence the photo blog and on worshipping God with 400 other women at a conference.


Biker, bus and time piece...London at its most typical..


I was stood eating a crepe at this point...I wrote in September about Child Poverty and this was a 'Keep the promise' march, organised by the End Child Poverty campaign. Basically the government aren't doing anything about what the current situation is.

So I found myself caught up in it, without really thinking about it. Lots of noise, lots of people...no traffic. Watching a walking protest is moving ('scuse the pun). If you've ever been to a carnival you'll know it's very easy to get a beat going with your feet and you start to dance along, well it's the same with this. People feel strongly enough to join together and stop central London to make their point.

I don't know if it was on the news, but I'm sure their will be pictures somewhere...check it out.

So the conference was really good. I missed the set up session and the day ran over, but on the whole it was well attended and thought through. The sung worship was top class, even though it was just a piano, guitar and violin...I met some nice people, got some encouragement, and gave some too. Learnt something about culture and a lot about being a single woman, which I will pass on, to the people around me.

Tomorrow is the event that I've been preparing for all weekend. Harvest service...I'm going to bed...

Harvest 2008

Not only am I leading the Sunday morning service this week, I'm also doing three mini-preaches during the service. Why? Because it's our harvest celebration this week and we (I) decided to do something different this year. Hopefully it'll work, I'm going to give the whole church a chance to take part in the service and what we're doing could be really effective, obviously if everyone chooses to take part. I'm taking my camera, it's going to be visual!

That means my week has been pretty busy, both with running around and trying to think theologically and logically about what to say and how best to get everyone involved.

More blogging when I get over the excitement of Heroes!

Hitting the nail on the head...

Welcome readers old and new...

People seem to be visiting my blog after typing in some key phrases in to Google...I've checked the links and this blog seems to be in the top ten for a fair few searches...Exciting.

So I'm getting between 15 and 20 visits a day - which adds up to a lot of people at the end of the month. (Nick'll tell you that it's not a lot and he gets far more visitors...Check the link in 'Want to read more...' on the right when you've got a couple of years to spare :) )

At least there's a reason for me writing...however this entry seems to be a little lacking in direction, other than to gloat!

Youth work thingies are going well...Mum and Dad are on holiday at the moment, so the house is a little studenty at the moment, I've given up trying to 'run' the house whilst they're away, it causes me far too much stress to clean up after my brothers. So I just tidy up after myself.

Anyway, youth work thingies...love it...it's getting busy and I'm starting to fill my time effectively. Still no office though...

Looking forward to the new season of Heroes starting on Wednesday, that's something that is definitely going on the Sky+...shame I've got no one to talk to about it as I don't work with anyone who's as obsessed as I am!

'I'll pray for you'

What do you think of when you hear this? Is it a comfort or annoying to you?

I've been involved recently in a conversation about this phrase, some people think it's great, that they've got a lot of people they say this to and they hope it makes a difference, other people (who have it said to them) find it condescending.

Someone said 'Why don't you go and do something useful...feed starving children in Africa or save an animal'.

My response was a little angry, not all of us are called to feed starving children or look after animals...I believe that I'm called to pray for those who do and don't have faith, that God might help them in their day to day issues, even if they don't see it.

I'll keep praying...what are you going to do?

Child Poverty cont...

Ok so in reply to my Dad's comments...wiki tells us that poverty can be extreme (living on less than US$1 a day) or moderate (less than US$2 a day). You can check out the Wiki site for more information. There's a lot to read and take in...

My gut reaction is to say 'surely this 'cover all' does not do that job?' On the Wiki site the definition of poverty is this

'to be poor is to be deprived of those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted'

Which is better than a monetry value that certainly doesn't mean anything to me when it comes in dollars, therefore each countries cost of basic living should be set by the government, as they have the biggest idea of what the minimum is to live.

Helpful?

Child Poverty

Some time ago I attended Spring Harvest with St Mikes Youth, we decided that we'd do the student stream after the main meeting. We talked about various topics and even got involved in a voxpop moment or two, but there was one statistic that stuck in my mind.

Here it is

1 in 3 children lives in poverty in the UK today.

Spring Harvest was 18 months ago and this hasn't changed. I've had a lot of conversations with various people who refuse to believe that anyone in this country can be poor or in poverty, but the simple fact of the matter is that it is all relative. You would be stupid to deny that there are people who do not have enough money to live on.

So this has been bugging me ever since I heard all about it and in a couple of weekends theres a march happening in London. Sadly, I can't go, but I will be showing my support by writing to my MP. Have a look at http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/ and let me know what you think, or just take action, after all things like this don't get solved by people just taking about it!

'Let the children come to me' Jesus said and I think that is just as important today as it always has been...after all it's in the news today...Gordon Brown is repeating what Tony started...They do need to actually put it all in to practice though, the Lib Dems are talking about the educational needs of those who are living in deprived rural areas (the gist of the article in Children and Young People Now was that poverty doesn't just happen in urban areas), so it's on everyones minds...we just need to make sure it doesn't go away, that we keep reminding people about it and not ignoring it, making sure that we find a way of helping these families out.

It's bugged me so much that when I was first looking for a job, I started to look into working with people who are in poverty. I didn't really find anything, I think its something that's just not in the social conciousness, because we believe we're in a stable, wealthy country. Sadly there is a line, its happening all around the world, equality does not exist anywhere...there are poor and rich, no matter where you come from.

Don't ignore it...

A surprise...

Every time I have blogged for the last 6 weeks I have wanted to say 'There's a party that I'm organising and this has happened...' but it was a surprise - my parents celebrate their 25th Wedding anniversary this week and Karen and I have spent a lot of time on the phone organising a party for them.

I hate lying...

Here's a couple of photos for you so that you can join in too...

Karen's car before we left home...the ribbon was matching the bridesmaids dresses.

Karen and I mid party ... Mandy got hold of the camera!

A picture of everyone who attended - great idea Dad!

And a family portrait to celebrate...

It was a reallt good day, I really enjoyed it and everyone played their part. There are loads of photos and loads of memories...

I'm tired now though and I'm not doing another surprise party for a long time...

Becoming the 'bad guy'

One thing I really haven't had to get used to in my life is confrontation. It's one of the things that scares me, but I know that in my line of work, I have to sometimes use my authority to make a point, and most of the time, that means confronting someone.

Tonight was the first time in a long time that I've had to tell someone off for their behaviour. I had to ban someone from youth group for a week because he decided to use a fire door. Part of me thinks 'why didn't we use this punishment before?' A one week ban for using a door and setting off an alarm is a good idea. The more we use discipline in the correct manner, the more we're likely to be able to control situations and understand what is going on too.

More news on facebook...people are joining a group that give instructions on how to get the old facebook back, but I've read the instructions at it seems ridiculously complicated, just so that people can feel comfortable about using something that didn't even exist 3 years ago.

How has this social networking site taken over our lives?

I get it, but i don't really see why it's so important for me to be friends with as many people as possible, for me to keep up to date with those friends through their status updates. Yes its a revolution, it's instant, it fits the consumer society and we can laugh at the photos...what would Paul say about it? Is there a problem with letting this social networking site become part of our lives so rapidly and all encompassing?

I have had some brilliant conversations with my friends online, I've spoken to people that I haven't got in touch with for years...in fact the Viz-a-Viz reunion was organised on Facebook, but there's a line that needs to be drawn...don't quite know where that is, but I'm sure I won't step over it. Will society be so conscious of it's decisions? We'll wait and see I guess...

All things new...

It's funny how people react to new things...some love the challenge, but most just complain or make a fuss about it.

Take the new facebook, for a while now I've been getting used to working it and finding out where everything is. So I understand it, I understand how it works, and what bugs still need sorting (like walls disappearing) some poeple have had it forced upon them... kind of cruel, but it's not hard to switch over and if you're advanced enough to be on facebook, you'll pick up the new one easily!

Have just watched the closing cermony too - amazing again...our part was interesting and Boris was a laugh, as always!!

Youth Alpha

It's that time again...lots of food, lots of questions and a load of fab memories...

This time we're in Billericay, we're in the high street and we're above Costa. If you're 14-18 and you've got questions, come and join us on a Monday night from 8pm.

If you're a little older, have a look at the Alpha website...

Going out tonight to pray for this, it's an all together event, so lots of different styles and ideas as to how it should work. Pray with us if you're not joining us.

SKY+

Is a wonderful invention, not perfect, but nothing is these days. my main problem with it at the moment is family viewing...there are programmes that we record as a family on it, but don't watch as a family, so I end up seeing two or three of the same programme.

Take Neighbours, Mum watches it just before Mike comes in from work, then what's the first thing that Mike does? 'Can I watch Neighbours please?' Obviously the answer is yes...I'll trot off somewhere else because its the kind of programme where you can only tolerate one episode once a week.

Sleeping during the day is not, I am finding really quickly, a handy thing to do...we joked at uni about being cranky if we hadn't had a nap, but i think it's the other way round for me!!

An answer to a prayer...

Well...not a prayer as such, but a blog, a frustration and a moan...

The delivery man turned up about 20 mins after I blogged, which was great. Testament to God answering cries for help even though it wasn't in the form of a prayer. It meant that i could take some time out before going ovr to Chelmsford for a session on the 'Gospel according to John Lewis'.

A very good evening, I learnt a lot and I hope the church I attend is one of the better churches. We've got all sorts of ideas from a guy who used to be an executive of John Lewis. They built their customer service reputation through their staff...amazing...

There's quite a lot to take in and it's late, so I'm going to sleep on it!

Time Check 2

It's 15:49 and I've been sat in Christ Church Office since 09:00 this morning, waiting for a man in a van (or possibly a lady) to come and collect my old laptop and its box.

I'm annoyed, I'm tired, I'm hungry and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. I can't really even lock to door to stop people from coming in, for fear that I might miss said collection person.

So I'm sat in a cold office, I've had the heater on all day... I missed the sunshine and the slightly warmer part of the day, it's now raining and I'm getting a little bit upset by it all.

Here's hoping that posting this will encourage said person to hurry up...yawn...

Doing the geek thing...

I'm far too competitive for my own good...Tetris has taken over my life...sad eh? Facebook is addictive too...

I've had problems with it though, Facebook seems to work best on IE, but I use Firefox and there can be problems with social networking sites. So we've had to make sure that the cache clears itself every time I shut down.

I'm watching the paralympic opening ceremony whilst blogging...I'm absolutly amazed and in wonder of it all. I don't know whether we can top this. The use of technology and the stories are brilliant...Visually its incredibly strong. The outfits are amazing too...

My youngest brother turns 19 today...

On retreat...

(or under a tree as it was once interpreted!)

The SMB/Youth worker contingent in Billericay headed to Bradwell for the afternoon, to find space to pray and listen to God.

This is a picture of the church at Bradwell, its situated in a very open part of the countryside, near the estuary, which makes it very windy... Today didn't disappoint.

Inside the church is wonderful, I really wish I could have taken some more pictures and spent some more time exploring the area.

We met at Costa and did an introductory game (which I may well steal for my young people in a couple of weeks) and travelled to Bradwell for lunch and reflection time. We had lunch with the Othona Community (who make the best colslaw) and walked across the field to the church.

Retreat and reflection are a great way to start the academic year and I feel that God spoke to me through other things that were said during the afternoon. I found it very hard to be still and quiet in a cold and windy place! Though the first of many visits I think!

I know I'm not insignificant to God, even when I feel like it, and if I can't cope, God will shelter me and give me a resting place.

Tiny shells house even tinier creatures...God designed it all...

All things Advent...

I bet you've had at least one thought about what you're going to do at Christmas...well, if you haven't I reckon by now you've started to think about what you're going to have for dinner in 113 days.

I started thinking about Christmas in mid August, we've got a party to organise for Shaken Up! More recently, today and yesterday, I've been thinking about Advent. Advent is the beginning of the Church's year, and we start the 'new year' by preparing for the coming of Christ. This year's Advent service is based on invitations and gifts.

Between now and Advent we've got Bible Sunday, Back to Church Sunday and Harvest, during Advent there's three Christingle services and then Christmas Day services (including a midnight service), there's a lot of preparation to do and a lot of people to involve.

So have to go any idea who you're going to invite to church over the rest of this year and on into the 'new year'?

A comment on a comment...

If you read the post dated Friday, August 29 2008, you'll see Sarah's comment and the link that she posted regarding the song Healer.

I did go on YouTube before my meeting last night and was greeted with a whole host of angry vidoes and replies. Apparently the guy who wrote the song had been lying about the treatment and illness he'd received.

Australian TV has pretty much ripped Mike Guglielmucci apart for the way he has deceived the church, his parents and his family.

I'm not a medical expert, and I'm not really sure what to say. Obviously it's a shock for everyone who knows Mike and for everyone who has given money or committed to praying for him over the last two years. Soul Survivour have made a statement and pulled the song from this years live album and Hillsong, well, the site seems to be a little quiet about it...

Personally, the song for me is a good one, and I guess I don't really identify with it from Mike's stories, it's difficult to make a decision based on what other people are saying, but I guess that's how it has to be.

All I can do is pray for healing, for Mike, the church and all the relationships where the trust has been broken. The song, strangely still applies to the situation, God is good and He will make right the wrongs that have gone on...it's not up to us. God's love endures forever (Ps 136) and there's nothing we can do to earn His love, He forgives us, and He will heal us when we ask.

That Monday morning feeling...

Seems to have lasted a day for me...first day at work...my line manager back part time and a couple of emails to catch up on...

I must admit that getting up this morning was hard, but I've got to get into a routine, otherwise I won't survive...

Here's hoping the rest of the week gets better!

Circle Line Challenge

Saturday night saw some of us head into London to take part in the 'Circle Line Challenge'.

Let me explain... The idea is to go to a pub and have a drink at every stop on the circle line, from London's underground system. Simple! I hear you cry...

Well... if you know where all the nearest pubs are... I'm surprised that Mayor Boris Johnson hasn't cottoned on to this idea and put a bar in every station... he'd make a load of money to pay for 2012!

As always, picture included...12 of us, all dressed as service men and women, getting some strange looks (you'd think that London would know what's going on by now...), trying not to get lost or beaten up... Us in the Weatherspoons at the top of Liverpool Street Station...didn't mind that pub.

Next we skipped a few stops and headed to the O'Neills nearest Kings Cross...I think we may have made/disrupted some peoples quiet Saturday evening drinks.

We decided to abandon going all the way round (you need a lot longer if you're going to get all pubs at all stations - and a sensible choice of shoe is a good idea.) and headed to Covent Garden instead.

The Punch and Judy which over looks the performers square is a lovely pub, so is Henry's Bar...which is just off the square. Not a hugely expensive night (a kitty is a brilliant idea) and there's no pressure to drink huge amounts plus there's quite a lot of time between drinks if there's a large group of you.

Shame the last train to Billericay is 00:50 and we didn't get into London until 20:15.

Still...maybe next time...