Ginger-nuts

The new College year has officially begun, and we continuing students have been delighted to receive the newbies. We have tried to set the ethos as a welcoming and open College community, and hope that the new folks will pick-up on this.

I decided to experiment with gingerbread the night before and, albeit a little burned, seemed to be enjoyed by all... repeatedly... before eventually being eaten.

You see, having left the biscuits in college overnight, I found that someone had been playing 'anagrams' with them by the time I arrived in the morning! Then, by the time we were released from our first lecture, there was a second configuration, that could only have been done by a member of staff!

This tutorial example became a part of ethos-setting which was eagerly embraced, and as many as could reach the gingerbread attempted to form further words.

"You need to make more vowels!" someone cried accusingly. Do I look like Carol blooming Vorderman?! So I ate an "O" to make my point!

With half the teaching staff retiring at the end of this academic year, there is more than a little feeling of demob-happy about the place!

Cramptastic

So I was having a serious conversation the other day, with someone I had not previously met. Having been sitting still with my legs crossed, for a long time, I got cramp. Embarrasing eh?

I was told "See - that's because you didn't drink the water I gave you!"
True enough I expect.

I didn't like to point out why I had not drunk it. There was nothing wrong with the water, except I was nervous and, when first handed to me, I had instantly spilt a not inconsiderable amount of it down my top. I thought putting it down and leaving it might be the safest option.

Apparently not!

It's the end of the world as we know it...

I'm not the brightest student at my University, by any stretch of the imagination, but I often find myself being asked for advice. Maybe it's the 'mature' student status.

Yesterday I was asked (dead seriously) the following, as we waited for a lecture to begin:
Student: "Is Bolivia in Brazil?"

Me: "No, but they're both in South America"

Student: "But I don't understand!"

Me: "Sorry, What don't you understand?"

Student "How come these nuts are produce of Bolivia if they're supposed to be Brazil Nuts?"

Me: (When I'd recovered myself)
"Well, it's just about the type of nut they are, like Cheddar cheese, or Eccles Cakes."

Student: "Those are places?!"

How on earth the poor lecturer was supposed to explain eschatology after that, I have no idea!

Interpret it however you like!

I received some wonderful gifts this Christmas, for which I'm very grateful. The small selection photographed are all from different people, and I love them all for different reasons.

I sometimes wonder how much the presents you receive are a measure of how people view you? I am not, I hasten to add, talking about monetary value here, but about who people think you are....

If you're a regular reader, at least the Tommee Tippee cup should be self-evident!

Ideal Christmas

I was catching up on my holiday comedy downloads, and came across a couple of classic comments in the 'Ideal' Christmas Special. Unfortunately I can't find a clip...

Moz (Johnny Vegas) has a visit from him Mum on Boxing Day. 15 mins into the episode, his Mum reveals that the man who brought him up was not really his father.

Moz's upbeat response:
"But hey, look at Jesus. His Dad wasn't his real Dad was he? And he made summat of himself. Lived fast, died young. Left a good looking corpse... that came back to life!

Also...
Moz's Mum: "How was your christmas love?"
Psycho Paul: "Went down midnight mass. All kicked off a bit. Bit of a family tradition..."

Prayer time at the Mosque

Before you start to worry, I did not cause an inter-religious incident!

Yesterday, our 'Islam in the Contemporary World' class had the privilege of visiting the Butetown Mosque, and observing prayers.

I had dressed carefully, with modestly in mind, wearing trousers and a long, high-necked and unfeasibly-long-sleeved top. I even wore a nice scarf in case I was asked to cover my head. All was fine until we arrived and removed our shoes. For the first time in (honestly!) a year or more, I had allowed myself to put on odd socks... At least both were stripy, even if that's all they had in common.

A member of the Mosque showed us around and spoke with us at length. The time came for the traditional showing of thanks for his time and effort, but my brief attempt to initiate a clap was resolutely ignored by my colleagues. Words of encouragement came as we left the venue,
from the blindingly obvious "Your attempt to initiate the clapping fell a bit flat, didn't it?" to the rather charming "Yeah, that was pretty 'special'!"

Politeness is dead folks.

A giant performance

Thanks Jazzy J for directing me to this video. A great mash-up of two very cools things -
The Bible and Queen!

Peek-a-boo music!

I often feel like a small child these days. Clumsy, unable to master a simple drinking exercise without spillages, and increasingly aware of how little I know.

I imagine that most folk will have played peek-a-boo with a baby, or at least watched it being played. The child understands full-well that you are there all along, and can usually still see most of you, but will enjoy waiting expectantly for you to pop out at them. They take enormous delight in your appearance, which happens at unpredictable moments, and from a variety of strange angles.

This is the closest analogy I can find to describe how I most frequently experience God. I will go to meet with Him regularly, but I never know when, or where he will pop out at me. My greatest joy is in the times that He side-swipes me at a random moment, and in such a strange way.

Perhaps, if we should be seeking to be like small children, my regression is not as regrettable as I first thought!

Well God’s been making me jump quite a lot recently, and this evening, He did that through a book which explores an author’s relationship with a particular selection of songs. In Chapter 5 (all 3 pages of it!) Nick Hornby focuses on Rufus Wainwright’s cover of One Man Guy. I happen to really like Wainwright’s music, but Hornby’s writing doesn’t rely on any knowledge of the track.

I find it wonderful that this man, a self-proclaimed Atheist, is able to best express how through music, and often the most unlikely type, God leaps out at us in an undeniable way.

(I wish I could type-up the pages to add here, but I’m sure I’d be breaking copyright.)

If you love music, you’ll enjoy this book. Even if you don’t, I can highly recommend you read this chapter. (I’ll have my copy handy if anyone would like a peek.)

There Hornby, despite his supposed disbelief in the divine, manages to pull-off one of the best arguments for the existence of God I’ve heard in a while!

He begins:

"I try not to believe in God, of course, but sometimes things happen in music, in songs, that bring me up short, make me do a double take..."

This BBC news magazine article intrigued me, for obvious reasons.

"Alan Petrie has travelled from Aberdeen to research the possibility of starting a ginger community in Scotland."
Finally, a place where Ginger Nuts, Carrot Tops and Duracell Batteries are free to roam in peace and harmony...

Check out the following genius from Catherine Tate. It never fails to crack me up!

Apolstles' Creedish

This evening I found an old bracelet, made of copper, that I used to wear 'religiously'. Not for any particular reason, other than I liked it. It brought to mind this Not the Nine 'O Clock News clip though!