The Commonwealth Games...

I did have plans for a bigger, grander post, but for now I'd like to bring to the attention of you wonderful people the Commonwealth Games which begin in Melbourne, Australia, in about two weeks time.

The Commonwealth Games are like the Olympics without America and odd European countries etc. In essence all the countries that used to be a pinky-red colour on old maps, because they were in the British Empire, come together for a few weeks of international competition. And its cool. Ok so it is lacking as America is admittedly very good at sport, but we have Australia who are sporting mad and its just fun. The last games, held in 2002, where held in Manchester and for all you Agape STINTer types who go to that venerable city you walk past the Commonwealth swimming pool every time you go down Oxford Road. Anyway, find out more here:

http://www.melbourne2006.com/Channels/

Jack Johnson

Last night I went to watch Jack Johnson at the Manchester Evening News Arena, and it was a fun evening. Jack put together a good, and comprehensive, set which had everyone tapping their leg, or hand, or bobbing their head with the beat. It also gave you the feeling that you weren't in Manchester, a city famed for its rainy climate, but rather that you were in some far of sunny place with a beach and few palm trees. Ahhh... Admittedly I do like the rain, but on a day when I was feeling the effects of a cold it was nice to think of a more sunny climate. Thanks Jack.

And aside from being at the gig, it was a cool evening with some good friends. Just making the trip to Manchester and back, as well as having a meal at Bella Italia, brought what had been a bit of a stressful week to a very pleasant end.

Here are some pictures.

To begin Mr Johnson in action on a very colourful stage...


Another shot of the stage which went a bit wrong and yet produced a pretty funky picture if you don't mind me saying...


The delightful people I was sat with. L-R: Sarah, Steph, Woody...


The M.E.N crowd, or at least half of it. Whenever I'm in a place like this two things always come to mind - firstly, it gives you some idea of what it would have been like to have been in the Colosseum in Rome (inner historian for you there folks), and secondly, it always amazes me how one person, or one group of people, can start to clap etc, and then the whole crowd will be doing the same thing. So many people influenced by so few...


And finally a random pic from the train home. Notice how studentesque everyone is. This is unusual on trains normally filled with scallies. As I said at the time, it made me feel like I was with my 'people'. Safe and secure with fellow Jack Johnsonites..

Awesome Sunset...

So technically a week has passed without an update on this site. Such a highly unusual occurence requires some form of an explanation. And...The reason is that I am busy. Busy, busy, busy. Work, future, and post-graduate things on the one hand, and, some really cool times of hanging out with great friends on the other. This weekend for example was absolutely brilliant and for all those involved - thankyou - you are all marvellous, wonderful people.

Things I would like to bring to your attention this week include the brilliance of Johnny Cash, a man I knew little about until a few weeks ago, and then I went to see Walk the Line. Now I own a Johnny Cash best of album and like it a lot.

Also I would like to put in the spotlight Band of Brothers the book. This rather nifty book which I recieved as an amazing present a few weeks back is just quality. I already loved the tv programme and the book just adds a whole other dimension to the story of Easy Company. Fantastic.

And finally the British weather this week has come through in spectacular fashion, producing some trully amazing skies. I, ladies and gentlemen, am a man who likes to look at the sky, and this week has been a grand week for that.







Enjoy the pics.

Panoramic Toilets

Ok. I love Liverpool as a city for various reasons, the Anglican Cathedral for example, but I discoverd a new one today.

If you go to the bbc Liverpool website they have actually taken the time to put a panorama of the toilets of the Philharmonic pub on there. Admittedly they are listed (historically preserved) toliets. But seriously what other city would advertise themselves with a panaorama of the gents toliets?

What a wonderful place.

You can check out the panorama here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/panoramas/philharmonic_pub_toilets_360.shtml

Banoffee History

I know, I know. Two blogs in a not very long space of time. But hey...

I have just realised that I have been sat at my desk pondering and sighing. Repeatedly. Again and again. Interesting, though thankfully I have now stopped.

I have also just found the research students practical version of banoffee pie (I.e. an amazing thing) - a huge, nay - massive - article on my main research topic. I just gave it a quick read through and it looks incredibly useful. Sadly my printer has an adversion to printing it out, and its now definately too late to start making notes on it.

However, it does mean that I have something to look forward to tomorrow (in a rather random historian kind of way). That is in addition to studying some more of Ephesians, going for a nice walk in the park, going to Tescos for some grub and doing lots, and lots, and lots of washing... Hmm.. Well half the day should be good.

And now I shall go to bed, leaving you all with this literary wonder.

Valentines and Postgraduates

Well today is St. Valentine's day and though I could simply pass this day by, it is almost impossible to avoid it - even blogger has a little heart shaped logo today. As such, some mention will also be given in my blog.

Valentine's day truly is one of those odd days which can almost go un-noticed by many people, is either a time of great joy and thankfulness or great sorrow and pain for others, and just brings about some very odd behaviour in general. As I am being informed by those around me I am an 'incurable romantic', but even I approach today with a shudder. It is just random. So much pressure placed on one random day in February to be 'super romantic'. Why not give someone you care about a card or flowers at numerous other times of the year? Hmm... Anyway. It is an day of oddness and odd behaviour.

And University is a place where the odd behaviour becomes even more apparent. A particularly bizarre part of valentine's day at Liverpool is the 'Vet Valentine'. For those unfamilar with this vet 'tradition', then it is common place for the first year vets to offer to perform a 'Vet Valentine' on some unsuspecting person, in return for a small amount of money to be donated to an animal charity. Those lucky people who are nominated to recieve a 'Vet Valentine' will, in the course of the day, be tracked down in their lectures and, well, humiliated in vet related ways. For example people may be given a 'physical', during which a 'team' of first year vets will invite the honoured recepient down to the front of the lecture theatre, and infront of200 of their peers, they will be asked to drop their trousers, get down on all fours, have their legs shaved (if they are a guy), be given their worming medicine (usually vodka adminstered with a worming gun normally used on sheep), and then forced to be 'ridden' like a horse around the front of the lecture theatre whilst neighing. So, very, very, very odd. And yet it fits in perfectly well with the rest of vet/medicine culture at uni.

Admittedly it is probably the most extreme example of university valentine's day oddness but hey, there you go.

Away from valentine's day then i've been having a few days of being an extreme post-graduate. By that I mean that I've had lots of contact with postgrads in the last two days. Yesterday I went to meet up with an old friend from my history degree who is now also a postgrad at Liverpool, and it was cool to meet up and discuss courses, reminise about liverpool two years ago, and to discuss our respective futures. I also had the opportunity to spend some time with two other postgrads who joined us in No. 5 (the Faculty of Arts coffee shop - synonomous with postgrads and arty people). One was a grandmother who I worked with before as part of my research training course last year, and she continues to amaze me in her rebellious tendancies. Seriously, inspite of being both a grandmother and a retired teacher, she fights tooth-and-nail against all forms of university authority. It is amazing to see sometimes, believe me.

The other post-graduate was a guy who used to serve in the army, and he happened to be stationed in N Ireland. And man, did he have some interesting stories. Over the short time that I had to speak to him, he explained to us the reality of being on riot duty, as well as other interesting stories. Facinating.

And today I also came across some more interesting postgrad types in a 'poster making workshop' - yes, yes, I know it sounds like something more akin to primary school (they even tried to encourage us by saying that we were 'poster pioneers'), but hey I had to go. Postgrads really are a different breed though.

On that however I shall stop blogging and go and try to be more productive. The picture is from my brief trip home the other day.

The Mini

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you a true wonder of British invovation and engineering - the 'Mini'. This little offshoot of the 1960s truly is a wonderous vehicle. It is almost too small to be in-any-way practical and has a non-existent engine (forget V6s and V8s - the basic model had 899cc. Awesome.). And yet... It is SO MUCH FUN. As in, ridiculously good fun.

I myself was fortunate to own a Mini much like the one in the pic when I first passed my driving test and it was QUALITY. For one it went round corners like it was on rails, which first of all put a great big grin on my face, and also meant that the executive in a BMW that had been tailgating me on that long strech of straight road all of a sudden had to watch me disappear into the distance as I cornered at ridiculously high speeds.

And then it is just plain quirky. The steering wheel looked like it belonged in a bus (remember that this car was designed in the 1960s) and there wasn't enough room to sit with your legs straight, plus my head was always in contact with the roof. This meant that you had to adopt this kind of crouch like driving position, but again it just added to the novelty of it all.

Every part of the engineering was old and simple and therefore every gear change was accompanied with a substantial application of force and an odd grinding sound. Still, this also meant that nothing would go wrong.

The boot (trunk) opened by folding downwards (like a 1930s sedan) and was large enough for one small bag, as it also housed the spare wheel and some other bits of archaeic technology, which always made extended trips interesting.

That is of course if you were brave enough to make an extended trip. The few times I drove my mini into Liverpool down fast roads, once the car reached speeds in excess of 66 mph it started to develop a distinct 'shudder' and made lots and lots of noise as it only had four gears.

And then there was always the issue of space. Though it was large enough for four adults in theory, in reality the word 'cramped' still doesen't do it justice. But again as with all things British it was 'character building'. Ha!

I really loved my mini. I had a Jet Black version (this meant that it had some exciting red piping along the side of the seats and jet black written in red in lots of different places) which again, like all mini's, had its own unique brand of quirkiness. For example, when I started the car I had to open the 'choke' to allow more petrol into the engine (most cars do this automatically these days) but the lever that was supposed to allow you to carfully adjust the 'choke' level never worked properly and therefore I had to regulate it with different size coins - 50p to start, 10p for a few mins, 20p to finish.

The aerial for the radio was an old coathanger (some scallies snapped the other one off), the heater didn't work (it just blew hot dust from the engine into the cabin), and best of all there was a fist sized hole in the door that was plugged with blu-tac and stickey tape. All incredibly inpractical but SO MUCH FUN. Man that car really did have character.

Of course on a day to day basis I love my punto all the more, as it just does what it is supposed to do which is much easier to live with, but I miss my mini.

And to finish, the reason I am talking at end about mini's is this. Me, Andy and Ryan just watched an amazingly, wonderful thing. That of a mini, equipped with rocket boosters and skis, being launched at speed off a ski-jump in Norway by the wonderful people at Top Gear (British tv programme). Awesome! So, so good.

Whistle Stop Tour

So i've just been on a whistle stop tour of St Helens to chat to my Dad about next year, and to see my parents before they head down to London for my Dad's biannual hospital check-up. And it was fun. I had a really good chat with my Dad about a whole host of things, and theres always the delicious food and nice scenery of course.

Here's a cool pic of me and my parents.


And one of me just being daft...

Mr Hardwick and Mr Dickey

As the exhaustion of NSC wears off and life begins to return to some form of normality in Liverpool (at least for me anyway), this week has been a time to sit and begin thinking even more about that thing called 'the future'. I won't post about what my options are right now, but lets just say that i'm thinking and praying about it a lot, and that for next year at least it will involve being in Liverpool. Fun.

However, in thinking and praying about the future its always nice to reflect on how some of my friends from Uni past are leading their post-Uni lives, and that has been made all the more easy by two of my good mates who have been updating me of late.

To begin i'll introduce you to my mate Alistair Dickey. This is Alistair after having put up with 4 annoying English blokes for a weekend....


I had the privilege of getting to know Al, or 'Dickey' as we usually call him, in my second year of Uni. He was just completing his Masters degree before going home to Northern Ireland, but for a few months me and some of the other guys at Bridge Chapel, including Dickey would hang out, and it was cool. Over the last few years me, and later a whole group of us, have made various trips over to Northern Ireland to catch up with Mr Dickey and just generally hang out. Anyway Alistair is about to head out to Lebanon to begin working with local kids as part of an overall Gospel outreach programme and its really cool to see how he his looking to serve God in a part of the world he seems to have a fondness for (he is currently out in Egypt on an archaeological dig). Marvellous and pretty inspiring when I look to how I will lead my life in a post Uni setting.

I'd also like to introduce you to my mate Joseph Hardwick. This is Joe and me looking a bit daft at our graduation. Pink, fury hoods and all...


Like Dickey, I was blessed with getting to know Joe pretty well in my second year of Uni, again in the context of Bridge Chapel. Over the course of the year and later my third year we became pretty good mates, and even though he plumped for the option of entering the 'real world' after Uni whilst I stayed in Liverpool, we have remained in contact which again has been pretty inspiring. Joe is a unique individual and has been a major influence on my Christian walk, and indeed remains so. He currently works for a charity named Christian Partners in Africa, which specialises in various projects in four African nations. Its only a small charity, but Joe has had various opportunities to head out to Africa and meet those with whom his charity works. Indeed, part of his work has seen him give his testimony to Muslim guys with rifles and other scary impliments, as well as sit with desert peoples who had been experiencing long term drought and pray with them for rain, and sure enough to awake the next day and the heavens have opened. I mean seriously guys how inspiring is that?! Joe is still working hard for CPA, both in the UK (helping to lead Christian conferences in his local area) and Africa.

The faith and the trust that both Alistair and Joe have in the Lord in terms of provision and guidence for their lives inspire me no-end, as does the way in which they actively seek to serve the Lord. Perhaps more than ever, as I look to my imediate post-Uni future, I feel blessed to call these guys my good friends. Splendid.

NSC

Zzzz.... Well I have just, literally just, returned from the Agape National Student Conference held in an 1890s Candian themed Christian conference centre near Kidderminster. And it was fun...

I had been umming and ahhing about going for a few weeks and pretty much decided to go on the last minute, and I' m glad I went. It really challenged me in areas of my faith that I wouldn't necessarily say are too strong, namely evangelism, and it was good craic just being down there.

I had the privilege of sharing a room with Mr John Norwood, which is always fun, as well as hanging out with some cool peeps on the way to the door-to-door evangelism in Birmingham and whilst actually doing the evangelism. I had the privilege of taking a lass called Rebecca, a lass named Amy, Mr Ryan Hawkins himself, and a guy called Ian with whom I later went surveying with. And they were all cool, especially Ian, who dealt remarkably well with a spiritualist guy that we met, and is going to get married soon. Marvellous.

Away from the evangelism, which was pretty cool in itself, then it was generally a good weekend of hanging out and chilling out with people that I know and love like Ms KC Clark, Ms Steph Gillette, Mr Danny T and Mr A Moll, and a whole host of other cool types.

Oh and I got to have lots of fun driving fast on country roads. Marvellous... :-)

Here are some pics, courtesy of Ms KC Clark who borrowed my camera today...

Helena and KC...


KC trying to eat me...


...and then failing in that (i have a big head ;-) ) she tried to pick my nose...


Some of the Liverpool peeps...

Solerno...

Well hello there. Just a quick post to say hello and keep people occupied as I'm off to Agape's National Student Conference for the weekend. Should be a lot of fun.

Tonight I had the privillege of hanging out with our beloved Liverpool STINT team AND the equally cool Solerno STINT team. It was great to meet y'all. Head back to Liverpool soon.

Ok. I need to drive tomorrow and i don't feel all that good right now. Good night.

G.D.P.S

So another day, another post. But to begin it is February. FEBRUARY! How on earth did that happen? The last time I checked it was early January and I was relaxing at home on a couch. Life does move on fast.

Anyway, the other night I was having a discussion with one Daniel James Temlett about photos, and the covnersation pretty much turned to Danny not being overly photogenic. He then suggested that there should be a new form of qualification for budding photographers, namely the Good Daniel Picture Standard.

So this will be a blog dedicated to the all new G.D.P.S. Essentially the premise is that if you can take one good picture of Danny T then you are infact a great photographer. I however think that is a little harsh on Mr T, and therefore reckon that it should be at least 5 good pics.

I reckon I can live up to that... What do you reckon?