A Journeyman's Log

Snow, December, Worthing, south coast of England, a little enclave sheltered from the harsher weather on the northern side of the Downs. Except this year this town was suddenly under 10-12 inches of snow. Most came down through the night, down straight enough to form vertical edges on roofs, garden furniture and even telephone lines. Then came a night and day of rain that washed all of it away. Now the temperatures are very low and frost makes things white again.

Not a time for travelling, as many have found across the U.K. and Europe. So, no way do I travel far these days.

7 December, 2010

A step backwards brings progress. Vive IT!

16 September, 2010

I bought Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder on 8th May, 1999. I finished reading it a few days ago in September, 2010. Like so many other books, I bought this one to read on a trip for Feba, that time as I flew out of Heathrow to Nairobi and on to Seychelles. On the way home I visited Kampala, Uganda. Well, the book then went on the shelf and stayed there on and off as I accumulated others on different trips.

This particular literary journey to the end of Sophie’s World began with a visit to Francis Schaeffer’s Escape from Reason in the hope of understanding how British culture has so wholeheartedly turned away from Christian faith. His brief review of the history of philosophy made me want more, so I turned to Sophie. I only wish I was as bright as this fictional young lady, just 14 years old but able to absorb with great ease and rapidity all her mysterious philosophy teacher gives her.

14 September, 2010

In one of the many emails I get from helpful (sometimes) groups and lists, DropPic was mentioned as a quick way of reducing the size of a digital image for use on a web site. Even the little camera I most often carry makes a picture of about 1MB. DropPic reduces to around 20KB, much faster to load from this log, for example. DropPic is for the Mac, so Windows users will have to find another solution. (Whenever I move back into the dark side my blood pressure rises.)

6 September, 2010

Sunday afternoon, Marian had a convincing cough but wanted to get some fresh air. So, we drove over to Pulborough, stopped in the car park near the library and walked south across to Pulborough Brooks. The path crosses the River Chilt just where it joins the Arun. The whole flat plain reminds of the area between Rumney, where I lived in my teen years, and the River Severn.
The Brooks has the RSPB reserve; that afternoon there were hundreds of Canada Geese. A helicopter passed overheard, disturbed the geese who flew around making a marvellous racket before settling down again.
Now September’s here, so are autumnal signs, like these berries — possibly of the viburnum opulus — beautiful against both green and redding leaves.

6 September, 2010

And that raises the question – what is the church?

10 August, 2010

Walking is claimed to be the safest way of exercising, with little collateral damage to the body. Last Saturday Marian had some ladies here at home for a breakfast together and I thought it wisest to go for a long walk. Walking east along the A27 past Lambleys Lane I took a path north that climbs the hill with Sompting Church on the right, then Sompting Abbots School.

First hazard
The path had been blocked off at its northern end, no one had walked it for ages and stinging nettles had conquered the territory. That discovery came as I clambered through, moving nettles with my feet before every step. My thin cotton walking trousers are permeable to nettle stings.

Second hazard
The path opens up into a large, south facing field, following what used to the dividing hedge between two. On the breast of the hill I saw numerous cattle, walking east. Fine, I thought, I will cross their path behind them. They decided to reverse direction. Fine, until they stopped, straddling my path.
They turned out to be curious, year-old heifers and bull calves. So curious they pressed towards me until I took refuge behind a broken signpost surrounded by old wire fence. Still they pressed. Eventually I noticed a more diffident heifer and shouted until she started to move away, the rest following like a flock of – well – young heifers and bulls.

Third hazard
The path goes due east, then turns north again over the brow of the hill. The farm has seen much investment in the past couple of years, especially on the fencing.
In the field behind the fence was some flowering clover and buttercups, pretty enough to photograph. My camera does not have a great telephoto lends, so I crouched and leaned towards the fence, framing the picture carefully. Wham! The top wire of the fence was electrified. My forehead touched it, I sprang back after a loud sound in my head and a degree of pain. The only damage was to my camera that stored the photos in internal memory, neglecting the memory card in it.

The rest of the walk was great and hazard free, along the valley where Marian and I have seen many deer, up to Cissbury Ring and back down alongside Worthing Golf Course.

9 June, 2010

Marian and I went to the Big Church Day Out at Wiston House on Sunday, 30th May 2010, our first time at such a big Christian music event. Last year’s event was not so well organised, apparently, but this was well done – from traffic flow and parking arrangements, to food supplies, facilities for thousands of people, plus an interesting programme.

The Goring family used to live at Wiston House; the vast estate is still farmed by them and a forbear planted trees at nearby Chanctonbury Ring, atop the South Downs – the chalk hills lying just to the south. The main stage and b-stage lay north of the house, nearly far enough to avoid interference with gentler performances near a tea tent and inWiston Church, right next to the house.

My first stop was to hear Bosh on the b-stage. Their message was clear and the music convincing. Turn the sound off, though, and I doubt I could distinguish them from hundreds of similar guitar-waving, stage-hopping bands. Maybe that’s a good thing; why should Christians stand out on the basis of just appearance? Wouldn’t that be legalistic?

On the hill slope down to the main stage people settled for nearly 7 hours of music by British, American and Australian groups. “It’s going to be loud,” a friend warned. Not as loud as a Kings of Leon concert, it turned out, but why was the bass drum amplified to sternum-splitting levels when that part of a drummer’s kit does so little for the overall sound?

One lady took to vigorous worship in flag waving, but not as energetically as the wind keeping numerous flags at stiff atttention through the day. Others were absorbed in the worship songs, swaying, lifting up arms and faces, oblivious to wind, sky and cloud.

For Marian and me the tea tent was important, being the age we are. But a heavily pregnant Lou Fellingham demonstrated that advanced expectancy need not inhibit good breath control when singing. StuartPendrel sang a lot in Italian, a language he learned to help his operatic career, his fine baritone expressive and beautiful. The Kings Chamber Orchestra played in the church after Stuart sang. What fun to hear such a varied programme in such a small space! No need for amplification at that distance. The players moved to different stations in the church for some pieces, a truly surround sound.

For me the most moving aspect was being with such a large number of Christians in one place. Sharing in worship with a crowd evokes words of heaven, thrones and innumerable multitudes in musical adoration, totally focused on God. And no amplified bass drum, I bet, or solitary policeman pondering how well the crowd behaved.

7 June, 2010

I happened across this web site earlier today – Atheist Anne Rice’s Surprising Discovery – which relates to my last post about her book. I don’t know much about its host site, but this article made an interesting read for me.

7 March, 2010

Over Christmas I read Called Out of Darkness by Anne Rice, which turned out to be a very interesting story of a famous and wealthy writer, brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, who lost her faith, yet “…after thirty-eight years as an atheist, she turned back to Christ, not in blind faith but in a profound transcendental surrender made with open eyes to an all-knowing God…” So says the dust jacket.