A Gentle Heart

“Gentle heart never hurt a soul.
You live in trust and you learn to love.
In silent darkness I hold your hand.
I don’t get much but I get the way she rolls”.

From “A Gentle Heart” by Neil Halstead.

This week we had the good fortune of making the trip across the M8 to see Neil Halstead play at the Captain’s Rest in Glasgow.  Whilst the bar upstairs was crammed full of punters watching Man United get beaten by Barca in the Champions League Final, there was a stark contrast downstairs.  I almost found myself centre stage left as I spilled through the doorway at the bottom of the stairs amidst support act Larch’s set.  The venue is so tiny.  It’s pretty rudimentary and it reminded me of a school disco as I looked around and saw folks lining the walls in the darkness desperately avoiding the space of the dance-floor.

Neil took the stage and played through a couple of tracks acoustically including the ever wonderful and heartbreaking “Martha’s Mantra (For The Pain)” before inviting Adam and Ben up to play the rest of the set.  They played a wide range of songs from “Sleeping On Roads” and “Oh! Mighty Engine” (an album I keep listening to with enormous regularity months after I ought to have grown at least a little tired of it).  He included a choice selection of Mojave 3 numbers including requests from the floor.  “In Love With A View”, “Yer Feet” and “Between The Bars” stick out in my mind.

An intimate gig it certainly was.  Do artists get discouraged when hardly anyone turns out to hear them pour out their souls and observations on life?  Just like Neil’s gig at King Tuts last September I will cherish this as a beautiful evening in the presence of an individual whose songs I have carried around as a soundtrack to parts of my life for 12 years or so. 

Ever affable, it was nice to manage to talk with him for a few moments upon leaving – just to say “thanks” and ask how the tour had been going and talk briefly of Cornwall.  Then and again, if you read this you’ll see that there is much common ground…

Thanks again, Neil – hope to see you again soon.

Holiday

“Holiday.

Celebrate.”

From “Holiday” by Madonna.

We’re counting how many sleeps till our second pilgrimage to Cornwall within the space of nine months.

The above photo bears some resemblance to what our family portrait might look like if we overindulge in clotted cream scones, Cornish pasties and Sharp’s Doom Bar.  Thank goodness for high metabolism and the knowledge that a wetsuit isn’t too flattering.  All things in moderation.

Here’s to sunny day-trips and surf being up.

Also looking forward to going to church here:-

My Favourite Things

“These are a few of my favourite things…”

From The Sound of Music.

We all have favourite things.  A favourite item of clothing, a favourite book, film, place.  A comfort blanket of sorts…

I discovered a new thing today and I really like it.  I was talking to my wife this evening about Finisterre in the context of an environmentally friendly, surf related, clothing company.  She smiled with a look of wanderlust in her eyes recalling memories of an excerpt of a book she had heard read on Radio 4 some time ago called “The Price Of Water in Finisterre.”  Then she went on to pass comment on the meaning of the word – the idea of “finis” meaning “end” and “terrae” related to earth.  So whilst used on ancient maps to depict “Land’s End”, it could also be interpreted as “the ends of the earth.”  I really like that…

The great commission is to take the truth of our beliefs to the ends of the earth.  To live out our convictions and demonstrate grace, mercy and humility.  To preach the gospel and, if necessary, to use words.

A few of my favourite things? 

Smell:  wood burning on a frosty day.

Word:  Kindle or tinder.

Book: Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland.

Song: “Freak Scene” by Dinosaur Jr.

Film: “Rushmore” or “The Big Blue”.

Place: a cozy room with good food, close friends, coffee brewing, red wine open and the wee small hours beckoning to talk honestly, to do life together and put the world to rights…

Transatlanticism

“I want you so much closer…”

From “Transatlanticism” by Death Cab For Cutie.

I recently looked at the structure of my daily routine: the amount of time I spend in front of a PC at work; the number of lunch hours spent scoffing sandwiches whilst checking emails; the amount of time in the car with the radio on; the number of evenings spent simply preparing for something else in the diary; the constant pressure of trying to beat the clock; places to be; people to see…Was it any wonder I constantly felt tired?  Was it any wonder that my mind was often elsewhere?  Was it any wonder that God often felt distant?

Of late I’ve tried to take 20 or 30 minutes over lunchtime to find an empty room in the office and to eat my sandwiches and fruit slowly, to read my bible and scribble in my notepad.  A small thing has made a huge difference.  I’ve tried wherever possible to walk or cycle instead of using my car for non-essential car journeys.  Life is so much better with the wind in my hair, my iPod in my ears and a range of smells in my nostrils (cherry blossom and bacon butties were notable moments today).

 Maybe a walk with God can be literal aswell as metaphorical…

Time Stand Still

“Summer’s going fast, nights growing colder.
Children growing up, old friends growing older.
Freeze this moment a little bit longer.
Make each sensation a little bit stronger.
Experience slips away.
Experience slips away…
The innocence slips away”.

From “Time Stand Still” by Rush.

The stabilisers are off.  A new chapter begins.  Grazed knees beckon.

Ich Bin Ein Auslander

“If they come to ethnically cleanse me,

 Will you speak out?

Will you defend me?

Freedom of expression doesn’t make it alright .

Trampled underfoot by the rise of the right”

From “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” by Pop Will Eat Itself.

Maybe I’m becoming middle aged and middle classed, but I was genuinely shocked when the flyer photographed above was lying in our porch when I came home tonight.

The European elections are on the 4th of June.  Surely there should be no room for fascist propaganda such as this.  I’m alarmed that someone has taken the time to shove such nonsense through our letterboxes and I want to rid our postcode and politics of such twisted logic.

I never really thought of our area of town as particularly diverse racially.  Yet any city is cosmopolitan by nature as people are attracted to fill the labour market. 

Can I imagine my neighbourhood without the spread of cultures it has?  I enjoy the banter I have with my neighbours in the Indian takeaway.  I always chat to the guy who runs our newsagent.  The girls who work in the coffee shops are often foreign and there is something nice about their accents.  The vacant church opposite us is about to become a Mosque. 

I might not share the same belief systems as many of my neighbours, but I would stand up for them rather than see the venom of racism infest the place I and so many others call home. 

Breathe Deep

“Breathe deep.

Breathe deep the breath of God”

From “Breathe Deep” by The Lost Dogs.

Sometimes we just need to pause.  To stop.  To catch our breath.

Sometimes we need fresh perspective.  Sometimes we need to see ourselves as we really are.  At other times we need to see that God wants to make something beautiful out of something broken.

When I read the gospels, I see that Jesus didn’t spend his time particularly with those who considered themselves righteous.  He didn’t seem to have all that much time for organised religion.  His heart seemed to be with the lost, the marginalised, the “sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes”. 

Do we really believe that God loves everybody?  Do we really believe His grace is sufficient?  Do we really recognise that we were pitiful, blind, wretched and poor without Him – or were we quite self sufficient?  Do we feel that we have messed up too many times to come back?

This one’s for all of us. 

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

“The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you’ll go.”

From “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!” by Dr. Seuss.

I was a late developer when it came to reading.  Now we have a wall of our living room dedicated to a bespoke bookcase which takes up the whole surface.

Friends of ours recently returned from the Q Conference in Austin.  They’ve been there as delegates for the last three years and every time they have come back with ideas, books, essays and DVDs that have really stimulated my thinking.  Whilst they probably don’t have a clue about it, I think they have  brought resources and discussions into my life which have directed, stretched and shaped my thinking and growth these past few years, more than any other friends I know.

This year they both received a bag full of free stuff and they gave one of them to us.  It may sound like a small gesture, but we are so grateful for it.  More brainfood and I’m excited about getting stuck into it and seeing what I learn.

One of the things they have introduced me to in recent years is the ever excellent Paste magazine.  With the downturn in advertising revenue resulting from the present economic downturn, the magazine is sadly struggling financially.  A campaign to save Paste has been launched out of necessity and it includes 75 free downloads which some really cool artists have donated specifically to the cause.  You can get the low down and add your support here.

These Are Days

“These are the days.
These are days you’ll remember.
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky.
It’s true that you
Are touched by something.
That will grow and bloom in you”.

From “These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs.

The little small group collective that gather around our dining table and inhabit our home and hearts have been working through a series looking at the topics of simplicity, love and justice in recent weeks. 

There are some big and small ideas that seem to challenge me to the core weekly.  Some little changes I can make and some bigger ones I am trying to work through. 

It’s good to enjoy food and laughs with friends who are also determined to encourage one another to grapple with things it’s easier to dismiss.  For each of us to become who we are meant to be and to think and live counter-culturally at times.

I seem to be hearing lots about consumerism at the minute.  I always falter with that when the new Howies or SAS catalogues arrive.  Mind you, this little piece made me smile:

“Come rain (and there will be), come shine (here’s hoping).  Even if our knees have knobbles and our calves are like sticks, we’ll be hunting through our wardrobes for our favourite shorts.  Because just a few hours of sunshine is all we need to remember those summers when we were kids.  When the sun shone for longer, the days were endless and our only deadline was tea on the table.  And when we got up in the morning and threw on our shorts and t-shirts, grabbed some toast and our bikes or skateboards and left for the day we knew that one day in the future the sun would be shining and we’d be putting on our shorts and remembering that feeling.

These are the days and they always were.”

Peace.

I’m A Message

“I am the best message out of the rest of them.

Are you all alone?  Are you all alone?”

From “I’m A Message”  by Idlewild.

So, Andy and Hugo from Surfers Against Sewage came to Dunbar on Sunday.  They gave a really good overview of environmental issues affecting recreational water users.  It wasn’t just some dusted down powerpoint slide show, but it was pretty obvious they’d really looked into the stuff that affects us locally.

The numbers may have been small, but a really good discussion ensued afterwards.  Some local concerns about the proximity of our surf spots to a cement works, incinerator, landfill and nuclear power station may all seem obvious, but how often do we talk about it?  Some key areas for action were identified.  Thanks, guys.

You can watch the TV coverage on this little clip.