Oh yes, I meant to say – I thought the two Archbishops’ contribution was excellent.

The Archbishops of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and York, Dr John Sentamu, have called on Anglicans to “pray, fast and give” to highlight Zimbabwe’s slide toward starvation.

Absolutely spot on.

Well, here we are again at another Lent.

Going for the slightly boring route of “biscuits/snacks” for my Lent this year. Puddings and starters are allowed, it’s just those extra biccies at work/home/church/youth group which are getting the chop. To give up puddings and cakes would be a bit sad, as our wedding anniversary and my birthday almost always fall in Lent.

So tonight at youth group we’re bending the liturgical calendar slightly in order to have pancakes and pancake based activities – but we’re finishing off the evening with an Ash Wednesday liturgy (or, at least, part of one). The concept is you burn last year’s Palm Crosses on Shrove Tuesday, then use the ash to mark a cross on everyone’s forehead as a sign of penitence and commitment for the Lenten period.

I don’t think I’ve done this before (although the youth group have in the past) – but I’ve started tapping in to a deeper seam of spirituality in the last few years, with a stronger emphasis on reflection and contemplation. Should be interesting.

I’m just getting into Twitter (as you’ll have noticed if you know me on Facebook, or have looked at my homepage), and so far I like it.

It feels a bit like coming full circle – when I first started blogging, it was a mini-jotter for any random one-line thought I had, and kinda grew from there. BTW, the first entry is number 99 just to fool you. 🙂

Blogging has kind of become this big thing, where you have to write several paragraphs each update, and have something worthy to say.. actually scratch that second bit – but it just feels like a blog entry should be more than 140 characters.

Which is, of course, where Twitter comes in.

Check it out – twitter.com. If you like, you can follow me too.

Don’t normally got for these meme thingies – but why not, eh?!

Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

Instructions:

1. Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read.
2. Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE.
3. Star (*) those you plan on reading
4. Tally your total at the bottom

How many have you read?

Sigh – just broke the blogging part of my website, which means the long and elegant prose which I spent the last hour composing is now lost forever.

I think it’s fixed, but I can’t really muster the enthusiasm to write it all in again, especially as I’ve got just about enough time to watch Shooting Stars before my boy gets back from his haircut if I’m quick.

I suppose 2008 was an eventful year by any normal measure – we both started new jobs, and my boy started going to school. These are major life events, it’s true. However, I get semi-superstitious about leap years, as the last 4 have all contained some sort of major rite of passage for me (turning 18, graduation, getting married, PhD, losing a parent, having a child), so for 2008 to not have one of these is almost disappointing. I know a new job is a big thing, and I certainly spent the better part of the year settling into it – but on the other hand I’m probably on my 7th or 8th job, and with over 30 years to go until I retire the odds are that I won’t still be in this job then (it could happen, just not as likely these days). Starting school is a rite of passage, and we’re now obviously tied to school holidays, but it’s not quite the same, somehow.

No, it’s been more of a ‘bedding-in’ year really. My job has a strong emphasis on self-awareness and improvement, so it’s fun and interesting to develop my understanding of myself, and how I work with others (I can’t really believe it’s almost a year, as its just flown past.) At home, we’ve also been working through all the stuff that’s been going on, and getting back onto an even keel really. Life is in danger of feeling ‘normal’ again, and it’s actually very nice.

We had a lovely holiday in Northumberland, which I now see I never actually did finish blogging about. The usual family jaunts to London, Norfolk, and Cornwall (including visiting the aquarium in Plymouth, which was cool). I finished my first Wii gane (Super Paper Mario), and have a keen interest in obtaining Tomb Raider, Lego Star Wars/Batman/Raiders, and Wii Fit. The wife won’t let me extend the mortgage to this end though, so I’ll just have to keep dropping hints. 🙂

I’ve been thinking about the associations I make between songs and people. Typically it goes from a song to a person – i.e. I hear a song and immediately a person comes to mind. I don’t mean the singer/band member (except for one or two cases), just ‘ordinary’ friends of mine. The reason it’s interesting is because I don’t know that I really make any other association with people so consistently (except for the obvious ones of name and where they live, or places I’ve been on holiday with people).

I don’t associate different drinks or food or smells or words with different people, or films. Possibly books, I suppose, if I’ve been introduced to an author/series by a particular person. It’s not usually ‘special’ songs (in the sense “this is our song”), again with the exception of one or two instances.

No, songs are quite different. For example, everytime I hear or think of the song “Jolene” by Dolly P, my mate penguin immediately comes to mind. Similarly, “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” (Milli Vanilli) and “Poison” (Alice Cooper) is immediately an almost-girlfriend from when I was 15. Either “Revival” (Euthryhmics) or “Soul Man” (Sam & Dave) is Mark who I was at school with. “Unchained Melody” is another almost-girlfriend I slow-danced with to this track (which is an obvious connection, I guess). Several tracks from Avril Lavigne’s first album remind me of Al (I think, perhaps, because of a heart-felt “bl**dy Avril Lavigne” when we were discussing the social ramifications of “Sk8r Boi”). “Listen to Band” (Monkees) (which co-incidentally has just come on MP3) is one of my sisters.

“Eternal Flame” (Bangles) always brings to mind a young lady called Catherine, who randomly turned up with a friend at my 15th birthday party. I fell hopelessly head over heels in love with her at first sight, and never saw her again – but this song (newly released) captured what I was feeling. Probably a very un-original story.

“Pump up the Jam” (Technotronic) bring to mind a posse of friends from secondary school.

“Something Inside So Strong” (Labi Siffre) is a very strong link with my IC Radio contempories (for a reason I never got to the bottom of). “The Time Warp” (original, if you please, not the nonsense by Damian or anyone else) brings to mind my first girlfriend, because I went with her to the Rocky Horror Picture Show at a West End cult-cinema who’s name escapes me (which was certainly an eye-opening experience – my first experience of audience-participation cinema (and no, I didn’t dress up or take a water pistol)).

Casting the net wider, “One of us” (Joan Osborne) always makes me think of Zoe Ball, and “Here’s The Love” (Hayley Hutchinson) brings to mind Terry Wogan.

I think the connection is usually with the very first time I heard the track or heard of the singer/band, especially (but not always) if the lyrics re-inforce that connection.

Alternatively, if I have a particularly string association with a song and a event, the people who were also there come to mind. For instance, “Venus” (Bananarama) brings to mind when I worked at PGL, and “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Communards) always reminds me of Southside Discos at university.

Curiously, while typing this, I realise that there are some songs I have previously associated with people, but I can’t remember who that person is anymore! Similarly, there are people who I’m sure I have associated songs with previously, but I can’t remember which one.

… now I’ve thought about it some more, I might have been lying about food. Wagamama always brings to mind Penguin and also Kie. Mongolian Barbeque brings to mind another ex, and Pizza Express is inextricably linked with my lovely wife in my mind. Perhaps it’s just that I listen to music far more than I go out for meals.

Came across this interesting experiment on the beeb website:

BBC News embarks on a unique project telling the story of international trade by tracking a shipping container around the world for a year. The Box

It caught my eye for all sorts of reasons:

1. I was at college with Declan, who is fronting it (or at least, did the first bit – dunno if he’s doing all of the reports?)
2. It’s a really nice use of current technology. Live tracking is “in” at the moment, and it’s nice to see it being given a showcase.
3. The whole concept is just cool. Let’s stick a GPS device on a shipping container, and see where it goes. It’s like the guy who did the (self claimed) Biggest drawing in the world (with the help of GPS and DHL)
4. The name (and, sadly, this only just struck me). Watch The Box on The Box. 🙂
5. They’ve put together a live mashup so you can see exactly where it is all the time (pirates taking note? Avast me hearties!)

Good job – I shall look forward to tracking The Box!

My son and heir is often coming out with very funny things. The ones he doesn’t intend are generally more amusing:

God knows everything.
… Just like Funky Monkey

(Funky Monkey is a glove puppet, by the way).

On another occasion, the three of us are snuggling up in bed on a Saturday morning, in companionable silence. Then

Mummy, I’ve got something to ask you

Mummy turns over to look at Ben: Yes?

Actually, I’ve got something to tell you, and then something to ask you.

Ok

Mummy, the thing I’ve got to tell you is that your nose is in my eye, and the thing I want to ask is….

One of my favourite anecdotes is still him saying I love you…

I went karting on Friday, for a colleague’s leaving do.

I have been before – once – at a Butlin’s or something, but to be honest that was a bit noddy. The carts where single engined, and the track was indoor, but what fun!

It was absolutely fantastic, and I loved it. I wasn’t particularly fast (over a second off the pace of the quickest in our group), and I was very aware of one corner in particular where I could have gone faster, but couldn’t work out how – and instead got it wrong almost every lap. It’s actually quite tricky assessing whether you’ve improved or not, as you have no real feedback about timing until you get out of the cart.

I hadn’t really appreciate how physical it was – after a 10 minute session followed by a 15-20 minute session, when I got out my legs were shaking, and I felt shattered. When I got home and into bed, I discovered a large bruise on my back, which meant I had to sleep on my side.

Of course, I spent the weekend looking up karting tips, how to work out the racing line, etc – and I’m just gagging to have another go. Think I might have to organise my next birthday party around karting!

In the tradition of the best viral/memes/whatever the latest buzzword is for things your friends post and you post it too:

www.isthisyou.co.uk