Phone Dies

Disaster as my mobile phone dies badly with no signs of life. No immediate help from Virgin when I called them on Sunday evening. I was just charging and downloading app updates when screen froze. Removed and replaced battery, nothing. Tried charging via mains and laptop USB. nothing. Tried hard reset, nothing

Phoned Virgin on Monday morning and they will be sending me a returns envelope for repair.

(Envelope finally arrived on Wednesday and was at the Post Office on its way on Thursday lunchtime and I had confirmation on Friday afternoon that it had arrived for looking at)

Strictly Come Dancing: Series 9, Week 5, 60 Seconds

A Walk In The (Lister) Park

Decided that fresh air and exercise was the order of the day so went with the kids, Dave and Joseph for a yomp round Lister Park including an amazing Caramel Latte.

“Do”-ing All Age Worship

Must have lost the plot this week in prep-ing. Did not do the song words or Bible reading sheets so had a mad panic before we started rushing to get them done.

Usual stress of making sure that all the clips/music on laptop etc all cued up and relying on the technology to hold up throughout. Lots of different tools being used today. All went without a hitch – that graceful swan thing, paddling like mad underneath!

And this tweet summed up how I was feeling after the meeting …

wrecked/shaky after nervous energy at all age worship, #sugarrush #coffee #cupcake #fruitcakewithcheese #allhelping #notspoilinglunch ;))

All Age Worship: The Christian Olympics #5 – The Right Clothes and Equipment

The 4nd in our series on the theme of The Christian Olympics looking at the parallels between The Olympic Games and the Christian faith. We are using SE Gregg’s The Christian Olympics book to prompt us for subject topics to cover.

Running order:

Songs: Our God Is Greater, Our God is a Great Big God

Film Clip: The Incredibles: Scene 14 (Mrs Incredible is taken through the family superhero outfits by Edna (darling!))

Intro to the craft activity: Armour of God (cut out and stick)

Song: Pressed Down, Shaken Together

Offertory Prayer and Notices

Hilary’s Fave Olympian: Geoff Capes (gentle giant)

Songs: More Love, More Power, Jesus You’re My Superhero

Quiz: Name the Olympic Sport from the picture of the equipment

Bible Reading: Ephesians 6:10-17

Talk

Song: Armour of God (to this video http://www.ishmael.org.uk/karaoke/karaokeMI14.swf)

Film Clip: The Incredibles: The Wrong Clothes: Scene 12 (some way in), NO capes!

Song: In Heavenly Armour

Benediction

A Saturday at church mostly

Family all at the coffee morning where the older members were doing a coffee and cake morning to raise money for the centre using the £10 we were all given to “grow” at the Harvest Festival. Ace carrot cake from Ann’s sister’s hubby!

Later in the day was overseeing coffee for adults while we did 2 kids alternative halloween Super Heroes parties one after the other for separate age groups.

2nd 2-day Break for Half Term

Isaac was off for his 2nd week with the girls off just the 1 week this week.

Thursday

Lazy start to the short break at home. Watched the 3rd episode of BBC’s Hidden for a 2nd time after nodding badly through the 1st watch. Missed loads!

Then had an avoid the rain trip to Odeon (with the free tickets from the recent TV purchase) to see Johnny English Reborn. Not my choice but was not as bad as I had feared.

Tesco shop including me picking up 2 DVDs for The Culture Club. Made in Dagenham and The Adjustment Bureau.

Watched the final episode of BBC’s Hidden as it was broadcast.

Friday

A morning in Bradford dipping into Grace Dent’s Twitter book with the girls while Isaac had his hair cut with Rachael. Was well-behaved and did not succumb to a Waterstone’s Latte of any description.

Lunch at Mamma Mia’s. Always a favourite with the kids. Food ace as always.

Topped up on Paul Smith’s Optimistic after mine had run out.

Watched The Adjustment Bureau on DVD. Great film.

Travel Guides (including Italy and France) from The Little Bookroom

The Little Book Room publishes exquisite themed travel guides, featuring gorgeous photography of covetable items and quaint design. British tomes from its global collection include Jane Austen in Bath, with four walks to crescents, pleasure gardens and spas; Traditional Shops and Restaurants of London (find umbrellas, jellied eels or antique shoes); and the Civilised Shopper's Guide to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
(from this Guardian article)

Little Book Room web site

Also some interesting books on Italy, including:-

Italianissimo: The Quintessential Guide to What Italians Do Best
from which:
IL CAPODANNO (New Year’s)
Every December, red underwear begins to make an appearance in shop windows of mercerie throughout Italy, in anticipation of capodanno, or New Year’s. The color red is reputed to eschew the evil eye; the tighter it is worn to the body, the more effective its powers for bringing luck in the coming year.

Never knew that!!

Music to play while travelling: Forget bagpipes. When it comes to Scottish mountains, only Dvořák's will do

I love listening to music while driving …

Driving from London up to the north-west Highlands of Scotland the other week, I made my own version of a songline. A songline, according to Aboriginal cultures, is a musical route across the land. OK, my songline didn't have much to do with ancient creation myths: you might more conventionally call it a pile of CDs. But the way the music seemed to imprint itself on the landscape made for some spine-tingling moments.
Guardian article

Also see this poem referenced in the article. Great mountain pic too.

Obituary: Stan Barstow; writer whose novels signalled a sea-change in British literature

Stan Barstow, who has died aged 83, belonged to a generation of working-class writers who became famous in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Like his peers Alan Sillitoe, John Braine, David Storey and Keith Waterhouse, he was born in the depression years of the interwar period and flowered as a novelist in the booming welfare state of postwar Britain. Barstow and his fellow, primarily northern, writers were products of this remarkable transformation in the social landscape of Britain, and their creativity was fuelled by the opportunities and anxieties that such an enormous process of change inevitably generated.
Guardian obituary

Loved this story about the author too.

I remember watching A Kind of Loving in the 1980s, starring Joanne Whalley.

Obituary: Michael Bukht; Radio programme director, TV chef and Classic FM co-founder

Lots of my classical music collection was triggered by hearing pieces on Classic FM.

Bukht was not a musician, but was determined to apply the formula of popular music stations to the classical world, giving the audience what he reckoned were the essentials of companionship. He considered radio stations to be disseminators of information, entertainment, ideas and wit. He thought that an audience did not like to be challenged all the time, just some of it, and there was a time in the day for this: the evening. Commuters needed the time, the weather, the news – all interspersed with movements of music, though not usually whole works (again, except for the evenings). Mozart, he said, understood this piecemeal approach to performance of his works, with not all the movements all of the time, and so what was good enough for Mozart was good enough for him. When commercial stations had come to London in 1973, he was programme director of Capital Radio, and he applied the popular principles he had honed there to the more sober presentation of classical music, delivered until then primarily on Radio 3.
Guardian obituary

Wikipedia entry

How to Build Community

These words were  on a notice board at the entrance to the herb garden and walk at Armadale on the Isle of Skye.

Turn off your TV
Leave your house
Know your neighbours
Look up when you are walking
Greet people
Sit on your stoop
Plant Flowers
Use your library
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Take children to the park
Garden Together
Support Neighbourhood Schools
Fix it even if you didn't break it
Have Pot Lucks
Honour Elders
Pick Up Litter
Read Stories Aloud
Dance in the Street
Talk to the Mail Carrier
Listen to the Birds
Put up a Swing
Help Carry Something Heavy
Barter For Your Goods
Start A Tradition
Ask A Question
Hire Young People for Odd Jobs
Organize a Block Party
Bake Extra and Share
Ask For Help When You Need It
Open Your Shades
Sing Together
Share Your Skills
Take Back the Night
Turn Up The Music
Turn Down The Music
Listen Before You react To Anger
Mediate A Conflict
Seek To Understand
Learn From New And Uncomfortable Angles
Know That No One is Silent
Though Many Are Not Heard
Work To Change This

Film: Johnny English Reborn

Watched this with the family over half term. Not as bad as I feared.

Official site
Wikipedia entry

TV: Hidden

Struggled to follow some of this 4-part TV series which has just finished – not a novelty – but loved it. I always enjoy Philip Glenister’s performances. Also enjoyed watching Thekla Reuten who starred in the recent film The American.

Conspiracy thriller centred around a small-time solicitor who is forced to revisit his murky past.
BBC site

BBC page including video clip
BBC press release

Book: “Eccentric Wealth: The Bulloughs of Rum”, Alastair Scott

I remember seeing Kinloch Castle as one of the projects competing for funding on BBC’s Restoration programme many years ago. Also noteworthy for me as Rum is close to the Isle of Skye.

In Eccentric Wealth, Alastair Scott traces the life of Lancashire industrialist Sir George Bullough in this absorbing biography which explores his family’s connection with the Hebridean island of Rum, particularly the building of Kinloch Castle, the most intact preserve of Edwardian high-living to be found in Britain. Based on new information, the book offers a fascinating insight into the life and times of one of the great eccentrics of his age, including the Bullough myths and scandals which continue to make extraordinary reading more than a hundred years later.
Publisher’s book page

Kinloch Castle web site
Kinloch Castle Friends Association

View Larger Map

Wikipedia entry

Book: “The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the Way We Tell Stories: Entertainment in a Connected World” Frank Rose

Not long ago we were spectators, passive consumers of mass media. Now, on YouTube, blogs, Facebook and Twitter, we are media. While we watch more television than ever before, how we watch it is changing in ways we have barely slowed down to register. No longer content in our traditional role as couch potatoes, we approach television shows, films, even advertising as invitations to participate—as experiences to immerse ourselves in at will.
In this field guide to the visionaries—and the fans—who are reinventing the art of storytelling, Frank Rose introduces us to people like Will Wright (The Sims), James Cameron (Avatar), Damon Lindelof (Lost) and dozens of others whose ideas are changing how we play, how we relax and even how we think. The Art of Immersion is an eye-opening look at the shifting shape of entertainment today.
Publisher’s book page

Book web site

Storytelling: digital technology allows us to tell tales in innovative new ways

As the tools available to publishers grow more sophisticated, it's up to us to experiment and see what sticks
Guardian article

Untangling the web with Aleks Krotoski

How has the most revolutionary innovation of our time - the internet - transformed our world? What does it mean for the modern family? How has it changed our concepts of privacy? Of celebrity? Of love, sex and hate?
Observer articles
Blog
Web site

David Nicholls, the man who made a nation cry (author of “One Day”)

David Nicholls achieved phenomenal success with One Day, his bittersweet love story which has now been made into a film. But that doesn't stop him from worrying in bed at 4am
Guardian article

Betty Magazine and Blog

Stumbled over this Observer piece on Skye over the summer. The cool art and crafts bit caught my attention …

Betty Magazine
This started to try to fill the gaps in conventional women's magazines. Inside you'll find cool art, crafts, and its own particular brand of fashion. It's got a quality to it that reminds me of [now defunct weekly teen mag] Jackie. It's a beautiful read.
blog.bettymagazine.co.uk

Life Group: Meeting Notes (1st part of “KJB – The Book That Changed The World” DVD)

Met at Joly and Tracey’s with Ben, Lynsey, Dave E and Maria.

Watched the 1st part of the documentary “KJB: The Book That Changed The World” about the King James Version of the Bible borrowed from Bob B. This was mainly setting the story up with historical background.

Good discussion plus worship and prayer.

Kidney Stone gone

Had an outpatients appointment this afternoon and had an x-ray. Relieved to find that the stone had gone! Great news.

But because this is the 2nd stone I have had, I need to get urine checked to see how much salt I am producing. So at some point when i am at home for most of the day I need to collect 2 x 24 hour periods worth! At least its not further invasive tests …

DearPhotograph.com

Love this web site (dearphotograph.com) …

Guardian article

Interview: Richard Parks, former Welsh international rugby player and the 737 Challenge

When a brutal injury cut short his international rugby career, Richard Parks thought his world had collapsed. Then he discovered a way back, the longest imaginable. He tells Euan Ferguson about his incredible journey to the ends of the earth
Observer interview

Wikipedia entry

Book: “Then”, Julie Myerson and Interview

It was 9.22, the moment when everything stopped. First there was the burning air, then came the darkness, the fire, and finally the frost.
Now, in a frozen, wasted London, a woman - uncertain even of her own name - is fighting to stay alive. Along with a small group of fellow survivors, she takes refuge in an abandoned skyscraper in what was once the financial centre. But spectres stalk the empty offices and endless corridors, and soon visions of a forgotten world emerge, a world of broken love and betrayal, and horrific, shocking mercies - a world more traumatic even than the desolate present.
Then is a novel of singular invention and bravery. With it, Julie Myerson has created an echo chamber of the heartbreaking and the terrifying, and an enduring apocalyptic vision.
Publisher’s book page

Guardian book review

Interview: Julie Myerson was pilloried for writing about her son's battle with addiction but the fallout made her fearless
Scotland on Sunday interview

Shop: The Duvet Store

Don’t know how i got on before duvets. A big duvet lover. “Hammy hamster” even in summer!

Stumbled over this interview with the MD of The Duvet Store in Scotland on Sunday whilst on Skye in the summer.

But what, I wonder, does Lumsdaine himself go home to after a long day dealing with jungle celebrities, perfectionist hoteliers and big-spending cat- lovers? "I have two three-inch toppers I sleep on. They're fantastic," he says. "Then I have a pure Hungarian down one on the top."

So, has he discovered the secret to a great night's sleep? "I wake up a wee bit with the bright mornings," he admits, "but a wee whisky and good bedding - that always seems to do the trick."

TV: Spooks (last ever episode)

Acknowledging the end via Twitter:

farewell #spooks #theharryandruthrollercoastercontinuedtotheend #greatbbcdrama #youwillbemissed

BBC site

Strictly Come Dancing: Series 9, Week 4, 60 Seconds

All Age Worship Planning

Lunch was the Hairy Bikers’ Honey and Marmalade-glazed gammon with new potatoes, caramelised butternut squash (as recommended by a fellow tweeter), asparagus and apple sauce.

Planned with Lyns, Ann and Dave. The speediest planning session for ages if not ever. Two great clips from The Incredibles that were perfect for the Olympics themed session on the right clothes and equipment.

Elders Prayers

Led the elders prayer slot this morning, using the tweet linked to from the tweet below:-

@benvelikulta used @davidhalljones's tweet bit.ly/rnpcAI as basis for elders prayers @ HCC Bradford today positives/negatives ;))

Ham and Parties on a Saturday

In tweets:

started cooking my largest ham yet http://yfrog.com/kkqi1nuj for Hairy Bikers Honey/Marmalade-Glazed Gammon recipe http://bbc.in/hw7B9Q

ham ready for glazing http://yfrog.com/hsu73lzj for Hairy Bikers Honey/Marmalade-Glazed Gammon recipe http://bbc.in/hw7B9Q

http://yfrog.com/j2t8ctj ham glazed, job done for now, for Hairy Bikers Honey/Marmalade-Glazed Gammon recipe bbc.in/hw7B9Q

at Smile Train (fixing cleft palates in Africa) event incl African food http://www.smiletrain.org.uk/ http://4sq.com/pavY8l

(great food at the Smile Train event and we were able to have food before leaving for the 2nd party of the night)

at Will's 50th with the family on Rach's side, venue was where I 1st had Kopparberg fruit cider :)) http://4sq.com/qIO4LI

In the raw: One-on-one theatre with Adrian Howells

Read the review on Skye over the summer. Well worth a read. Would you do it? Think I would if the performer was a woman.

Bathtime with Adrian Howells could hardly be more intimate. Chitra Ramaswamy dares to go bare to explore the unsettling extremes of one-on-one theatre
Scotland on Sunday review

Big picture: Busseau viaduct, by Yannick Labrousse

Guardian article

Film: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

That’s a lot of tomatoes!!

Story of love and tomatoes leads Bollywood's global charge
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a Spanish-set road movie, is the latest example of the Indian film industry's new confidence and success
Guardian article

Wikipedia entry

Book: “Stuart Adamson: In A Big Country”, Allan Glen

Saw this book in a bookshop in Portree on Skye over the summer. Big Country were huge in the 80s and I saw them live. The Crossing remains one of my fave albums. A sad day when I heard he had died a few years ago.

This is the book that fans of The Skids, Big Country and The Raphaels have been waiting for, offering a critical perspective not only of Adamson's music and its wider cultural influence, but also of the excesses of fame and how the music business really works. It tells the story of how a teenager who was raised in a small Fife village released his first single at 19, wrote three Top 40 albums in the next three years and was written off as a has-been at 23, but then went on to form a new band and sell more than 10 million records worldwide, touring with The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Queen. Although Stuart Adamson was one of the most respected and popular figures in the music industry, his personal life was complex - depression, alcoholism and estrangement - and ultimately tragic, ending with his suicide in a Hawaiian hotel in December 2001.
Amazon UK

Publisher’s book page

Book: “The Chapel at the Edge of the World”, Kirsten McKenzie

… and another book on the same subject as the previous 2 posts.

 

Shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year award, the novel is a fictional account of the men who built the Italian Chapel on the Orkney island of Lamb Holm during WW2, and of the families they left behind. The Chapel, built out of salvaged materials, still stands on the island and is now a major tourist attraction.
Author’s book page

Book: “And On This Rock: The Italian Chapel Orkney”, Donald S Murray

.. a book on the same subject as the previous post

 

'The chapel now has a book that can match it in artistic merit,' - Shetland Times
'Above all, this book is about bringing colour, light and art to a dark northern island,' - The Scotsman
Publisher’s book page

Book: “The Italian Chapel”, Philip Paris

I hadn’t heard about the true story of the building of a Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm on Orkney by Italian prisoners of war during World War II until seeing this book in a bookshop in Portree on Skye.

The Italian Chapel is a story of forbidden love, lifelong friendships torn apart, despair and hope, set against the backdrop of the creation of a symbol that is known around the world. Amidst strikes, conflicts and untold hardships, the Italian prisoners of war sent to a tiny Orkney island during WW2 create a monument to the human spirit’s ability to lift itself above great adversity. One artist falls in love with a local Orkney woman and leaves a token of his love in the chapel … it is still there today, and until The Italian Chapel, no-one has ever known its true meaning.
Author’s book page

Wikipedia entry
Undiscovered Scotland page

1st 2-day Break for Half Term

Isaac was off for 2 weeks so I took off Thursday/Friday for the 2 weeks (before Rachael’s ankle incident).

On the Thursday we did a shopping trip with Isaac and Jean.

Tweet: A rare, for me, food etc shopping trip and 1st time in Leeds for a while (@ Costco)

We spent a fortune. Another reminder of why I am not usually allowed out to go food shopping :))

On the Friday, Isaac was at school rehearsing for his street dancing performance so Rachael and I took advantage of some rare free time together and “did” lunch at the Sukothai Restaurant in Chapel Allerton in Leeds, very close to where I lived in Leeds before moving to Bradford. The food, service, presentation etc was all amazing.

Tweets:

"Do"-ing lunch with Rach, on a holiday-from-work day, love Thai food/restaurants (@ Sukhothai) http://4sq.com/pXOJC8

chilled lunch @ Sukhothai, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, 1st time, will defo go back #highlyrecommended http://bit.ly/nQevdX

* wondering where i can get hold of a Singha Beer glass from like the one in Thai rest't #greatshape #gotathingaboutexoticbeerglasses *

and then did monster school and guide camp run with Izzy.

Interview: Brewdog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie (The Scotsman)

Love the Brewdog beers from Fraserburgh … This interview caught my eye when on Skye over the summer.

Lifelong friends Watt and Dickie started BrewDog in 2007 with their combined life savings of 30,000, a 20,000 bank loan and a business plan that was more creative writing course than Harvard Business School. From a site close to their homes, Dickie made the beer, Watt marketed it, and Bracken the dog kept them company and inspired their name.
Scotsman interview

Brewdog web site

Book: I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59; Douglas Edwards

Comparing Google to an ordinary business is like comparing a rocket to an Edsel. No academic analysis or bystander’s account can capture it. Now Doug Edwards, Employee Number 59, offers the first inside view of Google, giving readers a chance to fully experience the bizarre mix of camaraderie and competition at this phenomenal company. Edwards, Google’s first director of marketing and brand management, describes it as it happened. We see the first, pioneering steps of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company’s young, idiosyncratic partners; the evolution of the company’s famously nonhierarchical structure (where every employee finds a problem to tackle or a feature to create and works independently); the development of brand identity; the races to develop and implement each new feature; and the many ideas that never came to pass. Above all, Edwards—a former journalist who knows how to write—captures the “Google Experience,” the rollercoaster ride of being part of a company creating itself in a whole new universe. 
Publisher’s book page

Fast Company interview with the author

Rugby: Memory of greatness never to be forgotten (Joost Van Der Westhuizen)

Stumbled over this whilst on summer holiday

Van Der Westhuizen reacted with characteristic courage, counting himself lucky that he wasn't run over by a bus; this way may be infinitely more painful, but at least he has the chance to say his farewells and right any wrongs. It was the sort of defiance which made me cast my mind back to 1994 and count myself lucky to have that cameo of him fixed in my mind. It even made me muse on whether that old rugby boast - that the game doesn't build character, it reveals it - may just be true.
Scotsman article

Wikipedia entry

Documentary: “From The Sky Down” (U2)

Watched this documentary last Sunday night. Loved it. I was not expecting the history pre-Achtung Baby which was great to see again. And amazed that my fave Achtung Baby tune Even Better Than The Real Thing (the recent Glastonbury performance) was the final part of the documentary over the titles.

From the Sky Down is a 2011 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about rock band U2 and the production of their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The film documents the difficult recording period, the band members' relationships, and the record's legacy. Archival footage and stills from the recording sessions appear in the film, along with unreleased scenes from the group's 1988 motion picture Rattle and Hum. For the documentary, the band were filmed during a return visit to Hansa Studios where the album was recorded, and during rehearsals in Winnipeg for the Glastonbury Festival 2011.
Wikipedia entry

Stella Gibbons: Cold Comfort Farm was just the beginning

I do like the sound of Stella Gibbons’ book Westwood.

As welcome new editions of Stella Gibbons's lesser known novels are published, Rachel Cooke celebrates an author whose incisive wit extended far beyond the confines of Cold Comfort Farm
Guardian article

A pint on the Highlands' Knoydart peninsula

Loch Hourn to the north of Knoydart is my favourite loch in Scotland.

Accessible only by boat or on foot, the Knoydart peninsula in the Highlands of Scotland has the remotest pub in Britain. But don't expect a quiet pint
Guardian article

Strictly Come Dancing: Series 9, Week 3, 60 Seconds

Bono and The Edge perform an acoustic set for The Clinton Foundation

Via

Setlist:-

• Desire
• I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
• A Man And A Woman
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Staring At The Sun
• One
• Miss Sarajevo

Joint Churches Lunch at East Bierley Cricket Club

Another civilised lunch at this venue.

Tweeted: Lunch with our/sister church, enjoying a Thwaites Wainwright :)) (@ East Bierley Cricket Club) [pic]: http://4sq.com/nx04OE

Specsavers Ad

eeek I am a varifocals wearer and blind as a bat without them …

Isobel’s Dance Show

Isobel was amazing performing at Cleckheaton Town Hall in her various routines.

Couple of tweets:

at Cleckheaton Towh Hall for Izzy's ballet show with the rest of the squad, on Appletise (driving), saw Copper Drag... http://4sq.com/nLzxXE

izzy nailed every dance #balletshow

Life’s A Peach (Mark Greene)

First heard this analogy at Spring Harvest a couple of years ago when we heard Mark Greene. Love hearing him speak!

Cover to Cover Book Club (Michael McIntyre)

The latest meeting of the book club at Vicars Cafe at Saltaire.

Very small attendance this time with only 3 of us and 1 only coming to let us know that she wouldn’t be coming again with other things she is doing. Disappointing.

Jane and i had a good discussion about the Michael McIntyre autobiography. It was well-written and I could hear him speaking as I read it. The audioobook would be a good listen I bet.

We may not meet again but Jane picked the Sebastian Faulks book “A Week In December” from my list.

We will see what happens from here.

My Cover to Cover Book Club Selections for November

It’s my turn to provide a book list for the Cover to Cover Book Club members to choose from at this afternoon’s meeting. Here’s the list (click cover to see book info). We meet at Vicars Cafe, Saltaire at 2pm on 3rd Saturday of the month.

  

Arguments for and against academic publishers

For, see THE article

Against, see blog post

Life Group: Meeting Notes (1 Timothy 2:1-6)

Met at Joly and Tracey’s with Ben, Lynsey, Anthony, Dave E and Jon.

Started with an A-Z round the room for characteristics of a healthy church and then a sick church.

Went through 1 Timothy 2:1-6 and discussed it as things came to people’s mind.

.. and worshipped and prayed together.

Emerald founder, Keith Howard, receives OBE from the Queen

From an Emerald communication:

Congratulations to Keith Howard who received his OBE from the Queen during the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 12 October.

Keith was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to business, sport and the arts in West Yorkshire

Busy Sunday

Isobel is rehearsing for her dance show next weekend so took her to Richard Dunn Sports Centre for one of the last rehearsals.

Off to church with the rest of the family and only just managed to sneak in elders prayer slot before going back to pick Isobel up.

Started the prayer slot by drawing comparisons between Steve Jobs and Margaret Wells who both passed away this week. Both changed the world in markedly different ways. I ran through some of Steve’s background re being adopted, dropping out of college and being on food stamps and going on to change the world and a number of industries. Also ran through some of the things that I will always remember Margaret for.

The main part of the prayer slot was doing a “Pray The Week” which is the 3rd time I have done it, Styled on Mock The Week, i get 4 volunteers up and then say 1 of 4 themes and the first person to the mic prays for the subject. This time we prayed for the family of Margaret Wells, our preparations for Christmas (and how we will be spending the time and our work with the homeless), our lives (how we are using the gifts and skills that God has given us) and how God is changing us.

Lunch at home.

Read lots of the Michael McIntyre book, loving it.

Took Isaac out to show him bus routes and best ways to walk if he does not get any lifts with Rachael not being able to drive.

Led the latest Culture Club session in which we watched/discussed Slumdog Millionnaire.

Watched the latest episode of Spooks and the new U2 documentary “From The Sky Down” which was a great watch.

Strictly Come Dancing: Series 9, Week 2, 60 Seconds

Culture Club: Slumdog Millionnaire (film)

Led the latest Culture Club meeting, the ninth one of the year, when we watched the film “Slumdog Millionnaire”. Attended by Mark, Hilary (plus a couple who were two of her friends and first-timers), John, Ben, Richard, Tracey and John. All enjoyed the film especially as it had a happy ending which seems to be a novelty with Culture Club films. Lively discussion with lots of laughter as we chewed over the questions. It was fundamentally a romantic drama featuring destiny very heavily. Great use of the lead character’s experience to equip him to answer the quiz questions. Great film and I loved the happy ending!

Meeting details here.

Margaret Wells passes away

Holme Christian Community lost a well-loved mighty woman of God today. She was a prayer warrior and served selflessly for those inside and outside the church usually behind the scenes and just getting on with the things that most people would not even be aware needed doing. We loved her loads and thank God for her service, her love, her compassion and her prayers. She finished well serving the God she placed above everything  else.

Rachael tears her achilles tendon

Rachael had an accident today. Setting off running for her car at Isaac’s school this afternoon she felt a pain like a zip opening on her ankle. This was later diagnosed at A&E as a torn achilles tendon and has had a plaster cast put on which will be on for some 6-8 weeks. Much upset all round with no work or driving for Rachael and consequent changes to the family routines. Its going to be a fun few weeks …

(on the following Saturday the cast was changed as it was crumbling at the base and then a few hours later she went back to have the top of the cast cut back and smoothed over as it was scraping Rachael’s toes badly)

Obituary, Steve Jobs; computing entrepreneur and inventor, and the co-founder, chairman and recognisable face of Apple

A sad day for the world as we lost a visionary and innovative leader.

Guardian obituary
Guardian lead article

Economist artlcles:
The magician
A genius departs

Ben’s Finland Summer Ministry Tour

A select group met to hear Ben run through a summary of the things he got up to over the summer when he toured Finland on a ministry trip. Great to hear how God used him and to learn about the country (so much forestry and a staggering number of lakes). I was going to do a sweepstake on how many times “sauna” got mentioned but gave up early doors as the number was so high.

Some tweets post the session:

• srjf RT @benvelikulta @srjf thanks for coming out mate, was a real encouragement to c u Thanks for the prayer too :) / Tekisin mitä varten Pulla

• srjf RT @benvelikulta Big thanks 2 all that turned out to hear summer testimonies, you're massive blessings #NowGoDoLikewise #CarryGodUnselfishly

• srjf great night hearing @benvelikulta go large on all that God did in Finland when he was there over the summer

• srjf Finnish pulla baked by @benvelikulta does Tracey B (life gp host) have anything to worry about? http://t.co/BXbw5Nir

• srjf off to Holme Christian Community Bradford to hear about @benvelikulta's summer trip to Finland, he says will fin(n)ish by 9:30pm, yeah right

TV: Time Shift; Nordic Noir: The Story of Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Draw the curtains and dim the lights for a chilling trip north for a documentary which investigates the success of Scandinavian crime fiction and why it exerts such a powerful hold on our imagination.
BBC programme page

TV: Time Shift; Italian Noir: The Story of Italian Crime Fiction

Documentary which profiles a new wave of Italian crime fiction that has emerged to challenge the conventions of the detective novel. There are no happy endings in these noir tales, only revelations about Italy's dark heart - a world of corruption, unsolved murders and the mafia.
BBC programme page

TV: Romanzo Criminale

Stumbled over this TV series via this tweet

Sky Arts page
Review

Wikipedia entry for the earlier film

Don Draper Presents Facebook Timeline

Video

Obituary: Linda Christian, B-movie actor who could lay claim to having been the first Bond girl

In 1954, Christian played Valerie Mathis, James Bond's former lover now working for the French secret service, in a CBS television version of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, therefore allowing her to lay claim to being the first Bond girl.
Guardian obituary

Actress: Sally Hawkins

Guardian Q&A
Independent Cultural Life

Wikipedia entry

Footballer: Josh McEachran (Chelsea)

Roberto Di Matteo, the assistant manager, said: "He's an exceptional talent and has a very bright future, which is good for England as well. He has all the ingredients. He's technically very good, has good vision and his distribution is excellent. He never really comes under pressure as he gets himself into good positions. He checks and sees what he's going to do before he receives the ball. In Italy we would feed him pasta to build him up but, as he's still growing, he'll get stronger. It depends now if he keeps his head and goes in the right direction. Early indications show that he will."
Guardian profile

Wikipedia entry

Obituary: William Gillespie, landscape architect

Bill Gillespie founded one of the first landscape architecture practices in Scotland - now the internationally renowned Gillespies - and was a past president of the Institute of Landscape Architects (now the Landscape Institute). He was part of a generation of landscape architects who recognised the need to develop the profession away from its roots in garden design in order to address a broader range of environmental issues and contribute to the process of creating and regenerating urban areas.
Scotsman obituary

Strictly Come Dancing: Series 9, Week 1, 60 Seconds

Exhibition: Scupltor Hayashi Takeshi’s Haku-u (White Rain)

Stumbled over this sculptor via a Scotsman article whilst on summer holiday.

Exhibition info
Official site
The Stone Project page

Hayashi Takeshi, Tokyo Geidei (University of the Arts), Japan | Tool making demonstration from STONE project on Vimeo.