27 November 2006

24 November 2006

whether the weather...

Am I the only weather geek who has the Beeb’s RSS weather feeds in my feed reader? (Probably.) Al and I always say that Auntie has trouble telling the weather whilst looking out of the window but today’s feeds take the biscuit!

So far for today (and issued today) I’ve had three:

The forecast for Manchester (M1), United Kingdom on Friday: light rain. Max Temp: 10°C (50°F), Min Temp: 10°C (50°F), Wind Direction: S, Wind Speed: 12mph, Visibility: moderate, Pressure: 985mb, Humidity: 96%, UV risk: low, Pollution: low, Sunrise: 07:47GMT, Sunset: 16:02GMT

The forecast for Manchester (M1), United Kingdom on Friday: light rain. Max Temp: 11°C (51°F), Min Temp: 10°C (50°F), Wind Direction: S, Wind Speed: 12mph, Visibility: moderate, Pressure: 985mb, Humidity: 96%, UV risk: low, Pollution: low, Sunrise: 07:47GMT, Sunset: 16:02GMT

The forecast for Manchester (M1), United Kingdom on Friday: light rain. Max Temp: 11°C (51°F), Min Temp: 8°C (46°F), Wind Direction: S, Wind Speed: 12mph, Visibility: moderate, Pressure: 985mb, Humidity: 96%, UV risk: low, Pollution: low, Sunrise: 07:47GMT, Sunset: 16:02GMT

Wow! Three feeds just to tell me the max temp could be one degree higher and the min two lower.

What is the point?
(rhetorical - for those of you who are feeling funny/ overly serious)


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21 November 2006

Shhhhhhhh...



It's No Music Day today. Observe it. Or Bill will come and see to you... That's Mr Drummond to you.


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20 November 2006

reel spirituality - OLDBOY (sun 3 dec)


Reel Spirituality (from Sanctus1)

Ba-humbug! Who needs twee Christmas films when you can have award-winning Asian extreme?

OLDBOY (18)

Sunday 3 December

The third in our 'The Outsider' series - four films exploring alienation, isolation, exclusion and ‘the other’






Every first Sunday of the month at Nexus
Doors: 6.30pm Film starts: 7pm prompt

If you want to explore the film’s themes and issues:
Post-film discussion: 9.15pm onwards Evening ends: no later than 10pm

Feel free to bring your own food. Drinks and snacks available on the night.
+ Book stall of film and spiritual books +


The Outsider series concludes...
7th January - The Life Aquatic (15)

Heroes and Villains
4th February - The Proposition (18)
4th March - House of Flying Daggers (15)
1st April - Leon (18)
6th May - 15 Minutes (18)


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17 November 2006

t-shirt design?

I seriously hope that someone somewhere is producing a T-shirt with the following slogan:

"Ben Bradshaw made me do it…"


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13 November 2006

squirrel jam...

There are days when language just seems to fail me. Not because I don’t have an adequate grasp of it, but that somehow it doesn’t quite suffice for the task in hand.

As a child, when I couldn’t describe what I did want or make a decision, out of frustration I would sometimes say I wanted “squirrel jam” – originating from the inexpressible thing that I wanted on my toast because I didn’t want any of the other things that were on offer.

Today I want the linguistic equivalent of squirrel jam. If a noun is something that names name a person, place, thing, quality, or action, and a verb expresses existence, action, or occurrence, then today I want a nerb or voun or something.

For instance, I hate it when people refer to me only as “M’s wife” or “S’s sister”. Nope, I’m Laura. Yes, I am married to M, and yes S is my sibling, but I’m not purely defined by them either – I’m my own person…

So over the next little while I’m going to propose a list – of things I am/ not, of things I do/ don’t – sort of based along these lines. I am married to M/ I'm not M’s wife – that sort of thing…

Does this all make sense, or is it just more squirrel jam?


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sorry seems to be the hardest word...

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion. ... I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I collected all the little stickers and put them in my book. ... But the reality is that organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate." (Sir Elton John in The Observer Music Monthly)

Sorry Sir Elton - it wasn't me but I can't deny we did do it. And I think saying sorry for things we personally didn't do but have to take some responsibility for can sometimes be a step forward...


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10 November 2006

09 November 2006

fifteen

M mentioned this morning on the way into work that I'd not written much on the blog of late. “Not true”, I cried. Turns out he meant I’d stuck up some phonephotos but not actually written much else. Oh… So I’m here to address the issue.

One of the things that I didn’t get around to blogging about (cos it deserved a post all of its own) was my surprise trip to fifteen whilst we were in London. Yep, that’s right – one of the world’s biggest Jamie fans got to eat in one of his restaurants. And the worthy one that helps da kidz dontchaknow…

It. Was. Stunning. The whole thing, from start to finish, was like a dream (apart from the fat, sluglike, snobby couple who were sitting on the next door table, and were from something far more nightmareish).

We went for lunch and had a great selection from the set menu, plus a glass of wine each. I opted for the chickpea and herb soup (much sexier than it sounds) and Mark had the goats’ cheese and beetroot salad. And then we both had the braised rabbit (drool…). [It’s amazing how many carnivores have got all “you ate a bunny rabbit?!” at this point when I tell people in conversation. C’mon you eat lambs don’t you?] Gorgeous! M declined to eat desert on the grounds that he was full (there IS a first time for everything!) but I managed to scoff a panna cotta with apple puree and mini donuts. YUM!

No sign of Himself – but well worth it nonetheless. Now we just have to go back to the Big Smoke sometime having saved our pennies for the six course tasting menu with wine… (gulp)


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07 November 2006

a sneaky peak at some of my re:source "homework"...

As part of the culmination of the re:source course at the end of November, we're supposed to present to our huddles what we've learned and our thinking over the year.

Not being the most conventional person (!) I've opted to do visuals for mine, one sheet of collage/ writing covering each of the five weekends - mission, culture, leadership, church and transformation. Here's a peak at my sheets for leadership and transformation.






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06 November 2006

things we do to lessen our office's environmental impact

Use degradable bin bags, return our laser cartridges, print on both sides of every sheet of paper, and then recycle it...









Plus the usual fairtrade coffee and milk in bottles bought from a co-op, recycled toilet paper, etc etc. Any other ideas?

our building floodlights when it rains




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no sex please, we're the church...

Men in leadership in the church – listen up! (unless of course you think that listening to a woman might be part of the problem…)

Do you find the anonymity and fatigue of the road too tempting? Do you feel like your wife has let herself go and succumbed to laziness? Do you think that having a female assistant (God forbid, co-leader?) is a temptation too far? Do you ever think about sticking closer to Jesus to avoid sin?

Then get yourself over to Mark Driscoll’s blog for his handy hints on men and women working together in church, in the wake of the Ted Haggard allegations…

[The BBC has the back story about Ted Haggard here.]


No but seriously…

You couldn’t make this up, and Ben’s comment about laughing/ crying goes for me too… How 19th century and sexist does this all sound? I’m utterly convinced that unless and until men and women can model working together in church as partners, equal in God’s service and with gifts to offer together – whilst NOT having it off together all the time - no-one is going to take us seriously.

I work closely with male freelancers, designers, artists, chief execs and programmers every day. I’m the female third of an emerging church leadership team. I’m friends with men, see them in the street, get served by them in bars and shops. My husband even lets me out the house unaccompanied... So why is church seen as being so different, such a hot bed of inappropriate sexual desire and activity?

Anyhow, I think that Mark Driscoll’s given me, Ben and Cris a lot to think about in advance of our Sanctus1 team meeting this week… like – do we now need a third party chaperone? ;-)


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03 November 2006

01 November 2006

some london film festival highlights


Walking the red carpet three times and papping the paparazzi

The soundtrack of Breaking and Entering (by Underworld and Gabriel Yared)

Seeing Charles Clarke (ex-Home Secretary) going into Odeon West End - either to the screening of Bobby or Princess (I know what I'd prefer to imagine the answer to be!)

M and I observing the “10 Minute Rule” (talk about anything but…) at the end of each film, and then (mostly) all hell breaking loose as we both simultaneously try to say what we thought of it, how many stars, etc


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