Ford Mustang

This is a nice car. It is a Ford Mustang 2005 and if I lived in America I would very much like to own one. Hmm... Nice

Revelationary moment

Good morning. Ever have one of those revelationary moments? You know... A moment of sheer utter and total 'whoa'. Well i've just had one - well maybe it was a few hours ago, but the whens and wheres are unimportant. What is important is that I had a moment of revelationary 'whoa'.

And the revelation? Well it was one of 'how incredibly lucky am i?'. Self-centred yes, but hopefully self-centred in a thankful way. I am thankful. Thankful for the incredible and blessed life that I am able to lead at Uni. Thankful for my amazing parents. Thankful for my good health. And- thankful for amazing people that I am so richly blessed with in my day-to-day life.

Nice thought to begin my day with, and, in addition to a most welcome phone call, it somewhat justifies my so far sleepless night.

And the gang at said wedding. Left to Right - Moll, Yaqi, 'The Pong', Cass, and Samo..

Wedding...

Yesterday, I went to a wedding. And a fine wedding it was too. Here is a wee snapshot of the over-the-moon bride and groom and their equally ecstatic parents.

Whats the craic with ye?

Ah hello there? Whats the craic with ye today dearest reader? I hope all is well and good in your everyday experience with this world that we live in.

So here is a little summary of my thoughts and experiences of the last week or so...

Firstly, I actually managed to make some progress with my work - only a fraction of what I need to accomplish ultimately, but progress nontheless.

Secondly, in preparation for the proper game that is cricket and England's regular opportunity to hammer the Aussies at it (hopefully anyway), I ended up watching two wonderfully obscure sports from the US of A. They were 'Slam Ball' (Basketball with trampolines. Ha!) and Extreme Dodge Ball. And they were most amusing.

Thirdly i've been enjoying have a relatively quiet, straightforward week. With weddings, posh meals, and, sadly, funerals to attend, life can seem a bit hectic sometimes. So to have a week of just being in Liverpool was most welcome. Nice.

Fourthly i've had a week of missing Americans - thats right Americanos - I miss you guys...

And lastly i've become hooked on the tv programme that is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This is embarrasing of course, but, I actually really like it. For a long time I held out as a cynical Brit - but now. Hooked, line and sinker...

And on that - laters innit

Mates from 'ome..

This delightful bunch to the left are my mates from home. I had hoped to get a picture up a while ago but never quite got around to it. But - here it is. We all look a bit young (this was taken four years ago when we were all 18 and just finishing sixth-form college), and I don't see some of these guys anymore. Nonetheless - my mates from home ladies and gents...

At the movies...

A new computer - a new blog...

So a bit of movie theme tonight. To start with we (my house - give or take the odd one) have just been to see 'The Wedding Crashers'. For those who don't know this is the new Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson tale about two blokes who... well they crash weddings in the interest of general merriment. And after a slowish start it was a very funny film. A bit dodgy in parts but very good.. Plus it had a Will Ferrell cameo - always a good thing.

On a more serious note I watched 'Hotel Rwanda' last night. This is essentially the story of a Rwandan Oscar Schindler, who against all the odds, managed to shelter over 1000 Hutu and Tutsi refugees through the genocide that took place in Rwanda in the mid 1990s. And it was a deeply moving film to watch. Equally it was incredibly shocking. As a whole it captured remarkably the horrendous scale and brutality of the genocide. It also highlighted the complete pointlessness of it all and more disturbingly, the complete lack of assistance from the western powers. It tooke Tutsi rebels to end the bloodshed, while we western nations stood by and watched.

It made me feel very, very sad indeed.

Techological breakdown....

A quick blog today since i'm on Danny's computer - thanks Danny.

So today i've been computer hunting...and come away with two cd's. Hmm... Something went wrong there. But. They are good cd's - Amos Lee (based on an enthusiastic recommendation from at least two Americanos) and Jason Mraz. Very relaxing...

The lack of a computer has also highlighted just how lucky and...spoilt, I am. And in a strange way it has reminded me of how significant and awe inspiring God is. By that I mean we come to depend on these wonderful and yet remarkably annoying man-made machines and then they fall apart - but God's amazing provision continues.

Of late i've felt that the computer has started to take over my life - i need it to work for one thing, but, also with some very dear people to me being out of our fine land, i see it as a key form of communication. MSN, e-mail and blogging et al. But as consequence of this I feel that i'm taking my focus off God and onto the computer. Sounds odd I guess but seriously - instead of praying or reading the bible i'll go onto the net for the millioneth time that day to check my e-mails.. Not good.

So maybe I need this technological break?

Anyway - laters...

R

So. My computer just died. This is one of those moments when the word 'bummer' is definately justified. I'm writing this on my mate Samo's computer for which I am most definately grateful.

However I had hoped to start some long-over-due work tonight. As in essay writing. This is no longer a viable option really.

Ne'the'mind. Tomorrow I shall head into Uni to use the computers there, before heading into town to check out whats available in the world of computers these days..

Fun, fun, fun...

Dr David Wood

A proud man with his tractor...

Anglo-American cooporation...

Ah.. A true symbol of Anglo-American cooporation on each and every table.. Splendid.

The 'lads'...

The 'lads' on the lawn at Hassop Hall....

The meal...

Recently most of my posts have been, er, shall we say a little on the negative side. On the one-hand thats fine - they reflect my thoughts at the moment and also provide a little breathing space for my mind.

However today I want to write about something more positive. You see today a few of us from the house went over to Derbyshire for my housemate Dave's graduation meal. And it was great.

Firstly it was simply a priviledge to be present. For the meal was a thankyou from Dave to those closest in his life - those whom he feels truly grateful to for helping him through the last ten years of his life. And the fact that he asked us to be present was fantastic - a real honour. It trully felt remarkable to be part of an occasion like that.

Secondly it was just a great time of friendship between me, Steve, Danny and Evans. There is something about going doing something different with people that can strengthen friendship remarkably - no matter how well you know people. And today felt like that. Call it the 'road trip' effect... Or whatever. It was great.

Thirdly it was a fantastic opportunity to meet new people, and also people you hear of over time, but never meet. For example - over the years Dave would tell us about his family, but most of us had never really met any of them. Until today. And... it was cool. We sat on a table with one of his brothers, who was a class guy - very funny and remarkably like Dave. Also on our table we had Dave's best mates from home and elsewhere and again it was fun. We'd never met before but still we had a good laugh and the spirits were high.

Fourthly, well there are the asthetics. Food wise, we had a delicous 4 course meal. Really nice, plus of course we didn't have to pay for it. Bonus. Add to that the location - Hassop Hall ( a house probably about 400-500 years old) set in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. It was fantastic. Oh and we had free drinks too - wine, champagne, and sherry - though not too much was consumed. Honestly...

And lastly it was a splendid day for some stand out reasons. On the one hand we had Dave driving up to the place in a tractor. This was something I really don't think we were expecting (nor was he by all accounts), but it is his boyhood dream so it was great that it was fulfilled. Raises my hopes that my parents will one day fulfill my boyhood dream of flying a jet fighter. Hmm.. Maybe not..

In addition its not something you do every day. Ie put on a suit, drive to a manison in a national park, drink sherry on the lawn before retiring to a sumptuous room to eat a four course meal in good company.

So it was a grand day.

R

Graduation...

Its a year-to-the-day since I graduated. That is a very strange thing to ponder on...

Home...

Whoa... Its like total picture overload.. So this morning I set off from my house (in St Helens) for a quick walk over the nearby fields. And I decided to take my camera. This is a visual record of but a small part of the resulting 30 min walk. I love my home area. Technically I live in a huge industrial town of more than 200,000 people, located in one of the UK's most urbanised regions, directly inbetween Liverpool and Manchester. And yet, its so amazingly serene and picturesque, and, within 30 seconds walk from my house. Quality.

Funeral...

Today I attended a funeral. It was the funeral of my friends mother, who sadly died of cancer last week.

And... It was an odd experience. I'm glad I went - with my other friends - but it was an unusual position to be in. The church was full of family and friends and though we were all invited to support my friend we did feel a little out of place, since we didn't really know his mother too well.

But... The service was good. It didn't shy away from God (many funeral services hide away from the truth these days) and it was a beautiful service. The music for the hymns was provided by a local coillery band (as in a brass band that used to be formed by members of local coal mines) and it was amazing. Maybe its because I used to play a brass instrument myself but I find brass music to be incredibly emotional and it can stir me at the most placid of times, let alone a funeral. It was... touching.. Yep thats the right word.

Since the funeral service itself I've been to the crematorium (which was weird because I was in the very same building for my Nan's funeral three weeks ago), and no less than 3 seporate public houses. Though I will add that i have had no alcoholic beverages at all today....

Overall: a weird day.. But one that I feel priviledged to have been able to attend, and, one that has really highlighted how amazing my mates are (see below)...

R

Friends from home...

Today I've had the rare opportunity to spend some quality time with my friends from home. By 'friends from home' I mean the guys that I went to primary school, high school, sixth-form college and even, in some cases, Uni with.

These are the people that I've grown-up with. The people that i saw almost every day for at least 10 years of my life. They are the people with whom I've shared so many firsts in my life, such as going abroad for the first time.

And I just want to say they are great. Today, one of my friends really needed our support, and we came through for him. En mass. Even though we are all slowly moving in different directions in our lives and in many cases living far away from home, we all came home to support and be with our friend.

Today has truly reminded me of the value of close, long-term friendship. It has also highlighted how great my mates from home actually are. Inspight of our growing differences, inspight of not living in the same town we are still a close knit group who care and watch out for each other. And that is fantastic. Such a priviledge. Such a blessing..

So heres a shout out to my mates:

Chris
Ste
Si
Ben
Alex
Rich (not me!)
Andy
Liz

(P.S. Uni guys... You are all great too...)

A Hommage....

A hommage to what you may ask? Well a hommage to our friends across the pond in the good ole' US of A. Today may remember a historic low point in British/American relations, but on the scale of British military defeats, it has to be one of our finest.

Why? Well first of all it resulted in a very cool country, a country which is home to some very, very cool people who I am delighted to be able to call my friends. It is the handful of US citizens that i've been so privileged to have met in the last few years that have well and truly transformed my view of America. Never have I met such a generous and friendly group of people. You guys are great - really looking forward to your return.

Secondly, defeat in America (well apart from Canada :-)) forced Britain to look elsewhere in the world. And the result? Well, it was called the British Empire. For the moment i'll put to one side the numerous downsides to the Empire (and there were many) and concentrate on the tremendous diversity that the Empire has brought to Britain. It has enriched our diet (Indian food - mmmm...), and has produced much of the English speaking world. I think thats pretty cool.. And its all thanks to those American patriots - and a little help from Le France...

Cheers guys...

Hotel Hallville...

I know I keep going on about my house and people in it. But - in the last week we have had no less than 15 different people living here. 15!!! That is a LOT of people. Not all at once (11 is the current record for that, set two days ago) but still its a lot. As my housemate Steve pointed out before it feels like a completely different house. Not sure how well I'm coping with it.. Rather than feeling relaxed and comfortable, I feel on the defensive - trying to protect 'tradition'. This is selfish and unfair on those moving in.. But when you've been here for 3 years already it feels so... so odd.

Away from the house, just been to see War of the Worlds, the new Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg (that how you spell it?) movie. Pretty good - though it had a very understated ending...

Anyway... Laters...

New Housemate No. 2

And on this picture you will see Mr Damien Parkinson. Standing to the right this time, Damien is again an interesting chap. On the surface he's quiet, unassuming and generally a good lad. However as with Samo you can be certain he has a more devious nature just waiting to be unleashed. Slightly crazy - the first time I met him he was talking about Purple lizards crawling on the roof (?) - he is a welcome addition to the house and a mean chess player. So there you are two new members of the clan Hallville.

New Housemate No.1

Ok.. So I thought it'd be good to introduce my two new housemates. These are the people braving the world that is 31 Hallville... On this picture you will find Samson Wachira. Standing to the left of the picture, he could be said to be rather quiet, retiring in personality - all in all a pleasant individual. Of course he is also wise, and has a tendancy to show a rather devious smile. Interesting chap.. And now also the oldest in the house. So there you go. Samo Wachira from Kenya.