Ah man... 'Ave got no hair, innit!!

Evans shaved his head. One wonders how long it'll be until he starts wearing a full-length leather coat, tinted sunglasses balanced only on his nose, and asks questions about whether we'ld like the red pill or the blue pill... Hmmm...

African Headware...

I went to the beach today. It was nice. I didn't take my camera which was a shame. But it still works which is a bonus. Ha!

I had a good chat with Bob (Simon Gilliand) which was cool - hardly spoken to him at all this year - and had a bit of scramble over some of the dunes with Bob and a Malaysian guy named Shaun.

It was nice to be at the beach in the fresh air and the sun, but it has now left me feeling incredibly tired. Fresh air, walking up undulating sand dunes leaves me in a state of... Zzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Evans came back from London today with a veritable treasure trove of African things - shirts, dresses, ornaments, and a hat (as modelled by me in the picture below) which are actually from our friend, and one time housemate, Samson in Kenya. They are a real mixture of gifts for people in Liverpool. Tis cool. I should send him a postcard.

Theres a really nice sunset at the mo.. Ok. I'm hungry, thirsty and just a bit tired.

Urban Wilderness

'And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.' Genesis 2:9.

A lot of people may take the meaning of my title to represent a ghetto of a city perhaps; an area of poverty, deprivation, and a place that is generally run down. Broken glass, concrete, the odd burnt out car may come to mind.

I on the otherhand wish to apply it to Sefton Park in Liverpool. This place - this vast green space in the middle of south Liverpool - trully is amazing. It is surrounded by a real mixture of council-owned tower blocks, old and dilapidated mansions, terraced houses, upmarket apartments, hotels, and student halls of residence. And yet, it is in so many respects a true wilderness - that of nature, of long grass, of old and majestic trees, of open spaces.

Indeed, it is for that very reason that I love it so. It trully is one of my favourite places in the city, and after 5 years, probably one of my favourite places in the UK.

Green Trees, Green Grass

Silly, silly, silly me...

I am working hard right now - honest - but I also have this great urge to procrastinate by posting more pictures of me being working, me being silly, and some nice ones I took in Calderstone Park this morning. Enjoy...

Travel..

Hmm... I've been coming to a realisation over the last week or so, namely that I don't enjoy travelling. Or, rather, that I don't enjoy the planning and general preparation that has to go into planning a trip somewhere.

As long as the planning is done, I really enjoy flying, taking a ferry etc, and of all the places I've been fortunate to have visited in my life, each and every one has left me with fond memories.

However, in attempting to put together a research trip to Dublin recently I have been reminded of the frustration, and indeed stupidty of much that goes with modern travel. Sure its better than the old days when a trip across the Atlantic would involve a good few months at sea, on a crowded ship rife with disease, often passing through horrendous storms, only to arrive at your desination (be it America or Europe) and step off the ship and be immediatly fleeced of all your belongings by someone seeking to 'assist' your arrival in your new home.

Now though we live in a world of electronic commerce where a simple debit card expiry date can cause havoc with all your travel plans, a world of budget airlines that are frequently overbooked.. And so forth. Ladies and Gentlemen I am frustrated this day by the world of travel. Britain is nice. Yeah.. I might just stay here. Ahhhh.....

The Mighty Wig

Its amazing how much you can do with a wig and a few hats. Today Evans went for a more Jamaican look...

Ah... yah man... am just chillin' innit...



Before returning to the standard Sarpong look...


And then later on tonight Danny got in on the act... First he went for the Russian 'feminine' look...


Then he joined Evans for some Rasta style...

And to round things off he looks a bit like a Mike Myers character here methinks... Hmm...

Pictures....... Pictures... Get your new pictures...

So you know that i'm going to bombard you with pictures now, right folks? Here are some from Sefton Park (including some very green looking trees kc) and of me and my housemate Damien...

New Toy...

Haha!! So I was blessed today with a new toy. A new camera no-less... Ha! Here are some pics from a nice wee day at home...

Ahhh... Nice.

Sefton Sun...

I've had an interesting day today. I somehow dragged myself out of bed at 7 54 am (i made an agreement with a rather spiffing friend of mine that i'd try and get up at 8 am every day for a week) even though my body wasn't a big fan of the idea. Anyway, having sat zombie like for about an hour - not kidding - I had some breakfast, generally got up, and then headed out into the beautiful sunshine to meet up with my rather spiffing friend.

Me and said friend, who is a pretty amazing individual, then headed down to Sefton Park for a very enjoyable few hours. Ice cream, fantastic company, beautiful weather, nice surrounds - splendid. So very splendid.

After that I headed home to look at a presentation i have to prepare for Saturday 20th May, which isn't particularly enthralling me at the moment. Its an interesting task that lies ahead - presenting to my department for 20-25 mins, followed by a time of Q&A - but its also difficult to see the relevance in some respects as the task isn't assessed and I know that I need to work hard on my thesis as a whole. However, the task needs to be completed and it will be a good experience in terms of public speaking and presenting - something I haven't done for a while now. So yeah... Work. Ha!

And this evening I have just been to CU which was good. An interesting talk on the fall of man, the absolute importance of God's word and a reminder of Jesus salvation for all those who obey the Gospel. Marvellous.

Bonjour..

This is a cool pic so I thought i'd post it. Life is good, I am blessed. I also have some recommendations for ye.

Firstly go and read The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. It is a cracking book.

Secondly check out www.caradillon.co.uk. Cara is an Irish folk singer (hold your amusement for a second folks) that my mate Joe introduced me to a while back and she's just brought out a new album. I think she's pretty cool and has an amazing voice. As someone who tends towards the indie and the rock i think she's well worth taking a look at.

Ok folks I hope you are all well..

An American theme...

I'm blogging for two reasons really. Firstly I just managed to throw two pieces of rubbish into my bin from across my room. YAY!!! As a person with limited athletic ability this is a wonderful thing.

Secondly, I just finished Made in America by Bill Bryson. And it was great, right up to the last page. I've actually read quite a few good books this year now, all of them with a distinct theme (see if you can work out what it is):



1776 by David McCullough
Letter from America by Alistair Cooke
Made in America by Bill Bryson

and last but most certainly not least,

Band of Brothers by Stephen E Ambrose, which i absolutley flippin loved. Amazingly good book to read. Thanks again Steph. Much appreciated... :-)

Is the end of the blog nigh?

So, over the last few months i've noticed that the blogging world appears to be running out of steam. Fewer and fewer blogs are being updated, while those that are updated are updated less frequently. Even I will confess that I am considering bring this blog to a halt once i've reached the (rather worryingly) landmark of having been a blogger for a year. ONE YEAR! Yikes...

So I ask you folks? Is the end of the blog nigh? Or is it just a lull before the return of bloggin en mass. Who knows, who knows...

I know, I know...

I know, I know. No post for a wee while. Things are a little busy right now. But hey, I hope you are all well. (I nicked this picture off that DK, as he's so hot right now... http://dkwonsh.blogspot.com/ Thanks DK)

So what have I been up to? Well i've been busily working away on a large essay which currently stands at 7,000 words thereabouts, which kind of sounds good but it should be closer to 10,000 words. Ne'the'mind.

I've also been planning a wee trip to Dublin to research for my thesis. And sadly its a bit complicated trying to gain access to various libraries and the like. Still its good to be planning.

This week has also consisted of a short trip home which was great. Good food, time spent with my parents, and some amazing countryside to enjoy. I even went for another thing called a 'run' or something. It was actually really good fun this time round. Nice.

Oh, and I have taken the plunge and bought myself a new toy which takes nice pictures. Hopefully it'll be in my possession sooner rather than later so I can start bombarding you with photographs again. Ha!!

And finally today was a fantastic day. So, so nice. Beautiful sunshine, warm temperatures, and the trees, flowers etc, are all coming to life. Spring is awesome guys.