Life is more...

Life is more than clothes and cars and a new flavour of toothpaste...it is community and creation and beauty and humanity. And I think I am starting to prefer the latter to the former; by that I mean I am getting used to not having any music or television and not pulling over and buying something as a way of feeling some kind of change. There is a serenity in life, after all, and once a withdrawal is felt at having left the lies behind, a soul begins to feel at home in its own skin.

Last night I finished this great book by Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz which I've mentioned before. It's a road-trip book - 2 guys spending a few months driving from Texas to Oregon in a beat-up VW campervan, and the book reflects their pace - mellow, laid-back, take things as they come, with some nice prose and good observations on life, love and the universe.

And if these mountains had eyes, they would wake to find two strangers in their fences, standing in admiration as a breathing red pours its tinge upon earth's shore. These mountains, which have seen untold sunrises, long to thunder praise but stand reverent, silent so that man's weak praise should be given God's attention.

I can't remember the last time I watched the sun rise. I think I need a road-trip.

The things they say...

Heard a great one-liner the other night when I was out working with a group of young people, I was commenting how Baltic the weather had been the previous few mornings and one of the lads agreed saying, 'Aye, the polar bears were chasing me!'

Love it!

Published!

I’m now a published travel writer and photographer! Well, kind of! I subscribe to Wanderlust magazine (a subscription not to be taken lightly because reading those magazines does you serious harm, you just want to instantly skip off across the globe on a big mission of exploration) and about a year ago there was this item on their website about the publication of a new travel book called ‘Weird World’ - they wanted people to send in their photos of the weird and bizarre things they’d seen on their travels to contribute to this book. I sent in a picture (previously featured here) which I’d taken from my work trip to Texas in April ’08 and promptly forgot about it…until I came home from work the other day and found a parcel in my letterbox which made me curious considering I hadn’t ordered anything recently and wasn’t expecting any deliveries. It turned out to be a copy of Weird World complete with my picture credited to me on page 121. And in fact my photo also features on the front cover! (If you look carefully you’ll see the outline of a graffittied car – my photo was of Cadillac Ranch where 10 Cadillacs are buried nose-deep in the dirt randomly in a field.) I've only had a flick so far through the rest of the book and there are some suitably weird photos including ones of people with various sharp implements stuck through parts of their faces, not exactly tasteful, but whatever floats your boat.

Perhaps a new career awaits me? (Hey, it’s nice to dream!)

Editors in Belfast

Ruth & I have been doing well for going to gigs these days – on Wednesday night after some tasty Spanish tapas and a takeaway hot chocoloate to warm our hands, we saw Editors at St George’s Market. We were a bit disappointed with the acoustics and the support act weren’t overly inspiring (just too loud for our wee delicate ears!) but Editors were brilliant!!! Tom Smith’s vocals were so good live – intense and powerful like the music they create. They played all their great tunes from the first two albums and a lot of their new material. I hadn’t been so sure about the new single, Papillon when I’d heard it the first few times on the radio, but on Wednesday night I was sold on it and I’m looking forward to getting the new album, the new stuff is great.

...All Ruth and I need to do now is some research and suss out what's going to be our next gig and all-round good night out!

Across the water

I got back on Monday from a long weekend in Aberdeen catching up with friends from my uni days. It’s hard to believe that it’s over 11 years since I graduated and it's about 3 years since I was last across but it’s always great to know you’ve got good friends with whom you can just pick up where you left off. The weather was generally kind with beautiful blue skies every day although I nearly got blown away on Saturday with the strong winds. And I’d forgotten it’s always a few degrees nippier in the north-east than at home! On Friday I met up for lunch with a friend on the main King’s College campus(King's College chapel in photo above) in beautiful Old Aberdeen and then I wandered into the city-centre to enjoy the luxury of having time to browse in a bookshop and play a little with a DLSR I’ve bought recently. I’ve always wanted to at least half-know what I’m doing with a camera so not being able to kayak these days makes room for learning something new! On the way into the city-centre I came across this beautiful old graveyard.I also got to the beach a couple of times (see below) and my friend Jim took me for a look around Footdee, a small quaint community located at the harbour mouth (also below). I’d never even registered the existence of this old fishing village when I studied in Aberdeen.On Monday morning I took a walk with Norma to the 13th century Brig o’ Balgownie which was very peaceful and we even spotted a few basking seals.Overall it was a much-needed and welcome break I can tell you!

Awake my Soul

Ruth & I headed to the Open House Festival on Sunday night to see Mumford & Sons. Laura Marling was headlining the event with support also from The Lowly Knights but it was the 4-piece from London which I was really keen to see. I happened to catch them one day on Radio 1 back in the spring I think, and I had been instantly grabbed by their ‘New Folk’ sound and also the huskiness of the voice of lead singer, Marcus Mumford. About a month ago I noticed from their MySpace they were playing Belfast and made a beeline for the tickets. We were not disappointed – they were awesome! Moving lyrics, voices blending beautifully to give you chills up your spine, passion and flair…this band creates great music which at times makes you want to stomp with joy and at others your soul is stirred by the depths they take you to. I was struck by their humility, I just got the sense that these are 4 guys who want you to like them for their music and not because they’re ‘cool’, and I daresay that’s a rare thing in the music business. I can’t wait to my hands on their debut album and I hope they come back to Belfast soon!

Julie & Julia

I went to see Julie & Julia last night with a friend. Pretty good – in fact a real feel-good film. It’s certainly not the best film I’ve seen this year (Looking For Eric takes that accolade for me in ’09 so far) but I just loved Meryl Streep’s character, so off-the-wall. She is an amazing actress and actually if she hadn’t been in this film, I think it would have dive-bombed, but she totally made it, I just giggled at all her mannerisms every time she was on the screen. She’s one of the few actors around that acts all the time if you know what I mean, she’s totally that character. The film is a little slow-moving in places and is near enough 2½ hours long, but if you’re looking for something light-hearted, go for it. Oh and it’s the kind of film that makes you hungry, in fact you kind of salivate watching all the food getting cooked, so if you’re a bit of a foodie you’ll appreciate this film too.

Image courtesy of The Film Chair.

Yum

I made the pleasant discovery today that Cadburys are finally producing some Fairtrade chocolate!

Want to be part of a flash mob?!

I just got back today from my first work residential with Public Achievement and it was great! I have to say that considering I only started the job 5 weeks ago and being told ‘you’re running a residential for 26 young people from 4 different areas across NI in 4 weeks’ time’ was kind of like being thrown in somewhere fairly close to the deep end, it’s a big relief to have not only survived but also to have been part of something that turned out really well. My team of 5 trainee youth workers were fantastic – totally dedicated to the young people, and they are doing some really meaningful work with the young people in these 4 locations. This residential represents the start of what’s going to be a really interesting heritage project and we’ll be supporting the young people to produce 4 exhibitions on their communities giving voice to their perspectives of where they live and the issues they face. Over the last 5 days, the young people had a blast, engaged with the issues really well, and listened to and learned from each other at a pretty deep level. Several said that before this residential they would never have spoken to someone from the ‘other’ community. It wasn’t always easy but I believe that staying at Corrymeela was one of the crucial factors in the residential’s success – those guys know how to do community and provide such a sense of safety – the young people noted how the Corrymeela staff and volunteers always seemed to be happy! I also enjoyed being able to smell the sea and look out across to Rathlin Island… It’s a beautiful thing when you get to see young people grow in confidence, hear others (and by that I just don't mean listen!), take a few risks in being honest, and also tell it like it is! I’m absolute bushwhacked but looking forward to chilling out over the next few days.

All in all the new job is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue growing and learning as a youth worker, I’ve so much to take in and learn and already I’m not exactly sure I’m ever going to get on top of things, but I’m loving it! In addition, PA’s offices are in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast and I’ve been enjoying being in this part of town. I’ve been discovering all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies – exhibitions and the like, plus today I had the most amazing bagel from Bagel Bagel on Donegall Street – they called it the ‘Spaniard’ with hard-boiled egg, chorizo sausage, olives and salsa – not the kind of combination you’d expect, but man it was good!

Right it’s time for an episode of the West Wing and then BED!

A few weeks ago I was at Summer Madness helping out with Guest Hospitality which did not do my still-dodgy hip any favours but, as they say in the country, the craic was 90 and therefore the pain was worth it! I didn’t get to attend a huge amount of the event itself but the one gig I got to was really good – the Paul Colman gig. He’s an Aussie singer/songwriter who did a stint with the Newsboys a few years back and apparently is Grammy-nominated with about 15 albums to his name. Fairly successful then but no-one here has really heard of him, so this was his first gig in Ireland and he was flippin’ brilliant, in fact I hope he comes back! He had just been headlining an event in Norway and his bus off his flight to Dublin came in pretty late but he came on site anyway to check things out and ended up spending a good hour and a half talking to the rest of the Hospitality staff - a really genuine and down-to-earth dead on bloke. He was playing in one of the smaller venues and at the start people were just sitting around, drinking their coffees, chatting etc but Mr C has a very easy-going, inclusive way with him – halfway through songs he was making a point of welcoming anyone who wandered in, he did a few covers, a bit of karaoke and sing-a-long stuff to the extent that after about half an hour the room there were loads of people and everyone was totally into the gig. He even got a couple kids up to perform a song (and they were brilliant too!) whilst he stood at the back and listened. He’s probably one of the best performers I’ve seen in terms of generating crowd participation, really funny guy too – his impersonations of Bob Dylan singing Paul Baloche and Third Day were priceless! And he didn’t hold back from being a bit vulnerable and taking the opportunity to make room for a God-moment and share some of the God-stuff of his life. Obviously not in the same league as the 4 boys of the previous post but nonetheless a great gig!

I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight

Last night’s gig was absolutely amazing!!! Man I’d so love to be going tonight again! We managed to get left Belfast at 4pm and were in our seats by about 7.15pm. Glasvegas and Damian Dempsey were doing support – not many took much notice to be honest, and I only knew one of their songs but Glasvegas were a pretty good act. U2 came on at 9pm and performed for 2 hours solid. They did an awesome set. It was class hearing a few blasts from the past like Unforgettable Fire and Desire (which was acoustic along with Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of). Every song was absolutely brilliant, Elevation & Vertigo really got the crowd going. I would have loved to have had a standing ticket but to be honest considering this ticket only came my way on Tuesday I was not complaining! But there was a fairly big empty space at the back of the standing area so I think it was little harder for the people in the tiered seating to get into things. Regardless Ruth & I were loving it and I was singing and dancing my wee heart out! I woke up with Magnificent in my head this morning. It never fails to amaze me just how good U2 are live, it’s phenomenal. The only other U2 gig I’ve been to was the one in Botanic in ’97 but I think this one was even better, it was so good to hear them in Dublin! The stage looked pretty amazing as well. I’ve been given a i-phone with my new job for work purposes (check me out!) so I was taking a few pictures but the quality isn’t brilliant, plus there’s no zoom so that’s a bit pants.To be honest I don't think I can convey adequately just how good last night was, it was something special. I really didn’t want it to end!

(Video clip here of Desmond Tutu's speech used in the ONE campaign plug just before Where The Streets Have No Name)

My Date with 4 Older Men

I'm going to see U2 tonight!!!!!

Friends of mine had their first baby 5 weeks early on Tuesday (little Grace is doing great and parents are very happy too, congrats Graeme & Caroline!) so being the selfless people that we are Ruth & I stepped in to save the day and said we'd use their tickets! The funny thing is that we initially thought the tickets were for Saturday night but at lunchtime today we found out that they're actually for tonight! Hilarious! So we're in a flat spin now getting ourselves sorted to head to Dublin. I'm so excited!

New Hairdo!

To mark the end of my time at PCI and entry into a new era I decided to give my hair a little colour!

New job!

I’ve got a new job!!!! Next Thursday I start work with Public Achievement as a Youth Work manager, coordinating their Away from Violence project which seeks to address the impact of violence on the lives of young people. PA is known for their focus on encouraging active citizenship amongst young people and do it with a lot of innovation and creativity. It’s really exciting though pretty daunting too but I’m looking forward to the fresh challenges this opportunity presents!

What a decent bloke!

Last Day

Yesterday was my last day as an employee of the Board of Youth & Children’s Ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland! I had been on a 3-year externally funded contract and despite various efforts over the last year or so, no further funding was secured. I left with mixed emotions – a certain amount of frustration that the funding couldn’t get sorted to continue the work I’ve been doing and sadness to be leaving my colleagues for whom I have a lot of respect for their dedication, devotion and faithfulness to young people in PCI but also gratitude for how good the last 3 years have been. It’s been a great role, when I started I was lacking a little bit of confidence owing to some previous experiences but the job allowed me to find my feet in youth work again and I’ve learnt so much, particularly about community relations work and peacebuilding – it’s been a personal as well as professional journey of growth and development. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some fantastic people and it’s been energising to work with young people in a variety of projects and spheres. My highlights would include meeting Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, in February ’07, attending the Summer Peacebuilding Institute in Virginia, USA in May ’07, running the PYP programme with a group of young people at the Vine Centre, being involved in the SPUD youth assembly, a day on site building with Habitat for Humanity, training youth leaders and taking them on Field Trips to Stroke City meeting local guides from both sides of the community, leading the Adventure Camps, the project in Tullycarnet last summer…man, there’s been a lot of good stuff!

My colleagues were very generous in their gifts including these 2 books which look great on my coffee-table and I’m going to enjoy delving into them regularly!


It’s all still a little surreal, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet that I’ve left – I haven’t quite got my head round it all, but the lie-in this morning was very welcome indeed. As for what’s next, well I’m not 100% sure just yet but there are a couple of possibilities in the pipeline so hopefully more on that at a later date.

I Miss Communism

A couple of weeks ago I took the opportunity to go to the theatre at the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn with a friend to see a show called I Miss Communism. I’m not often at the theatre and this doesn’t sound like your average production but it’s a funny and heartwarming one-woman show which I’d been wanting to see for a while because 3 years ago I met the actress herself through Couchsurfing! Ines had been performing her show as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival that year and had surfed my couch for a couple of nights. I didn’t get to see the show then but we seemed to click and stayed in touch. We managed to catch up very briefly in ’07 again whilst she was touring Ireland and the UK and then she got in touch last month when she reached Irish soil for another tour.

I’m really glad I’ve had the opportunity to see the show now, it is different and quirky, comical and touching. It’s amazing how one person can carry the audience’s attention for an entire hour and a quarter. Ines is off to spend some time in her native Croatia now but plans to return and should be touring Ireland again in the autumn, so if you get the chance, check it out.

The night after her performance in Lisburn, Ines and I got to hang out over good food (al fresco at Victoria Square with the good weather – even better!) and we also went to see Angels and Demons (Ewan McGregor’s accent was rather duff, but he played a great character. I couldn’t be bothered with the book but enjoyed the action as translated on the big screen and really liked the soundtrack - decent entertainment for a Friday night.)

Incidentally it’s International Couchsurfing Day this Friday. I haven’t received any couchsurfers in quite a while – I’m just not in the right place at the moment – but I definitely recommend it as a great way to meet people from all over the world and show that Irish hospitality hasn't totally gone away! Since I signed up 4 years ago I've met Virginie - a Quebecois, Ines the Croatian actress, Mirko - the chocolate-lover from Germany, Joanne & Lee from Australia, Anne - an American living in Seoul, Cate & Chris from Washington DC who came to Belfast just before Christmas '06 then returned the favour and hosted me when I was passing through their city 6 months later, Mike - a Canadian physiotherapist living in Germany, Ben the Aussie, Chris from Tasmania, Matyas from Hungary, Yorkshireman Pete, Wolf the German tree surgeon competing in the Irish Tree-climbing championships (really attractive bloke, but unfortunately very bad BO!), Anais the Parisian living in Berlin, Hisham from Egypt, Amanda, Brittany, Joanna and Andrea - all from the USA, Diego - the Italian chef who cooked me an amazing risotto, and finally Larry who hosted me in Phoenix, AZ, and Michal Lisa who let me stay for a whole 5 days in Flagstaff, AZ! Couchsurfing definitely makes the world feel a little bit smaller!

I'm loving that the Beeb is streaming the French Open live and I've been keeping an eye on matches from my desk when I get the chance. I couldn't believe Nadal went out yesterday but I figure it'll make him a better player, Soderling was playing out of his socks, it was phenomenal. The photo above is from one of Gael Monfils' matches last week, it's not the kind of pose you expect to get in a tennis match, pretty impressive!

Update: Monfils takes to the air again in another great photo on the official French Open website. And is it just me or does Juan Martin del Potro look a bit like the Karate Kid?

Heart of Darfur

The other night I finished reading Heart of Darfur by Lisa French Blaker, a nurse who works for Médecins sans Frontières. A gripping read yet beautifully written – moving, honest, heart-rending. Part of me almost felt guilty for taking pleasure in reading this book - almost as if I was benefitting from the suffering people are going through in this region, and I questioned why Blaker should gain as a writer out of her experience there. But she doesn't come across as the type who would do something just so she could write the book and ultimately it’s a story that needs to be heard, we need to know what is going on in Darfur. Like Blood River which I wrote about a few months ago, hope reveals itself in the humanity found in even the bleakest places. Blaker writes with wisdom:

Our drama in a small corner of Darfur was one of many, our needs and frustrations just part of living in a chaotic, mad world. But it gave my life meaning, to be part of a solution, no matter how small. Seeing the overwhelming needs and fears in the world we can all be excused for wanting to withdraw. When there is nothing you can do but watch the misery of others’ lives it is self-preservation to close your ears and eyes. I know because I have done it often. But stepping forward and participating, allowing yourself to feel and see and reach out, can cure apathy. It’s about being part of the chaos and refusing to accept all the madness. It comes down to choice.

Life on the Ocean Wave
Yesterday afternoon I got back from having spent the weekend sailing for the first time in my life as part of a project with the Ocean Youth Trust. It was brilliant! In partnership with Youth Link: NI, OYT has been running an OCN Level 3 course in Community Relations Programme Development and I’ve been one of the Tutor/Assessors. So this weekend I was assessing 2 youth leaders as they ran their programme with a group of young people.

OYT Ireland has a boat called Lord Rank which is based at Bangor Marina, it’s a 68ft yacht with berths for 18 people plus sea-staff. On Friday night w had safety briefs etc to do so we didn’t set sail until Saturday morning. We spent the day sailing around in Belfast Lough doing tacks and jibes etc. The weather was absolutely beautiful – blue skies, blue sea – great stuff! We got decent wind on Saturday and got up to about 9 knots, but on the Sunday the winds were very light so we took it easy and just enjoyed the scenery and being on the water.

I would definitely do sailing again though I’m nowhere near getting to grips with all the terminology, ropework etc. The sea staff are fantastic – very patient and good at explaining stuff…again and again! It was great getting the opportunity to be hands-on and do all sorts of tasks – winching, hoisting sails, pulling sails in, flaking sails (folding them so that they can be put to bed for the night etc), looking after fenders, bow-& stern-lines when coming into the pontoon etc. OYTI is a great organisation so if you’re a youth leader/worker I would definitely check them out. Sailing is a great teambuilding exercise for a group of young people and doing a programme in the outdoors like that has that extra something.

I was bushed when I got home yesterday and still had the sensation of being at sea, the room felt like it was gently rocking around me! But I feel re-energised having had a little adventure. A couple of weeks ago there had been some problems with the programme and we thought this weekend would be cancelled so I was feeling that what with my hip injury everything was working against me – no Scotland kayak trip, no Nepal trip, no sailing. But thankfully it worked out and I really enjoyed getting out on the water and feeling all that fresh air on my face! Doing the winches and hoisting the sails took more than just upper body movement – you end up putting your whole body into it, so my hip was a bit sore on Saturday night and last night but I think generally it’s beginning to improve. It’s definitely going to be a long and slow recovery but hopefully it will eventually be ok. It was just really good this weekend, and almost therapeutic, to feel a bit more active, do something outdoorsy and forget about everything for a bit.

Hip Jab
On Monday I had an ultrasound for my hip and the radiologist could immediately see the bursitis so gave me a steroid injection on the spot. It was a fairly big needle but although I could feel it going in the whole way, it wasn’t an overly painful experience. Apparently I need to rest as much as possible for the next week and should notice a real difference in the next 2-3 weeks. I spoke to my physio yesterday who told me that I could do upper body stuff at the gym, I’ve been pretty regular doing upper body & core stuff over the last few weeks so a week off will be good for the muscles and I’ll get back to upper body work next Monday. In 2 weeks I can introduce core exercises and then in 4 weeks I can introduce gentle exercise. It’s going to be a slow process but I’m hoping that I can be back to normal maybe by June/July. It’s pretty frustrating having not been able to be as physically active as I’d like since Christmas time and I do feel a bit sluggish, man I haven’t been in my kayak for over 3 months! The guys in the canoe club are away to Scotland today, I’d so love to have been going with them, but I hope they have a good time and that they get good water. I’m also supposed to be going to Nepal on a work trip in just over 4 weeks but the trip is under question as I don’t want to have to do too much walking too soon and undo the effects of the treatment. I’ll be really disappointed if I don’t get to go but I’d far rather have a hip 100% fit for the long-term. For the moment I have to content myself with resting which is a bit boring & I feel like a bit of a prat, but I’ve got work home with me and can lie on the sofa and patter away at the laptop.

In the midst of this I’m reminded that the LORD reigns:
The LORD rules over the floodwaters.
The LORD reigns as King forever.
The LORD gives his people strength.
The LORD blesses them with peace.
Psalm 29:10-11 (NLT)

…The LORD reigns over all – over my hip bursitis, future jobsearch challenges, the trials & tribulations of family relationships, the NI peace process, Darfur…the LORD reigns.

Church Leaders Ask Everyone To Work "Together For Good"

Having been employed in peace and reconciliation/community relations work over the last nearly 3 years has been a real education for me and whilst I still have a lot to learn, there have been some significant learning points on this journey so far. One of the things I’ve realised is that a peace agreement merely provides a platform for a journey towards reconciliation to take place. The peace process here in Northern Ireland is still very much a work-in-progress and sometimes it can be frustrating when I’ve been faced with apathy to peacebuilding or the kind of attitude that says, ‘sure, we’ve got peace now’. We’re still at the start of our journey to moving beyond conflict.

Reconciliation is also a journey that we must choose to enter into. Recently I heard a great talk by someone who has been involved in peacebilding projects here and overseas (available to download here) and one of the things he said was that peace is something which is found and people must journey together to find it. In other words peace cannot be limited to a strategy or policy or even a commitment but it takes a lot of work, a lot of energy, a lot of working together, a lot of time, a lot of invested relationships.

I’m glad this week that people have come together very quickly reacting against the violence and murders at the weekend and on Monday. I was at the Belfast vigil on Wednesday and could feel the strong sense of solidarity and also of horror at what has happened. We’ve been hurt right to the ‘quick’, the very thought of going back to the ‘bad old days’ has sent a real chill down our collective spine. Even hearing the helicopters hovering overhead was creepy. I guess during the Troubles, we got used to things, we got on with everyday life and tried to convince ourselves it was ‘normal’. But now we can look back and see that we have come a long way and that life now has been more normal than ever before. We don’t want to go back and must stay strong to a commitment to ensuring we don’t go back, we can’t afford to become apathetic to the horrors of the past.

When I started out in my current role at PCI I guess I though that peacebuilding was important but maybe something to be addressed only by those interested in it. Today as a youth worker, the bottom line for me is that youth work and youth ministry cannot take place in Northern Ireland without reference to issues around community relations, conflict, division, sectarianism. Even though many of today’s young people do not remember first-hand the conflict, I believe that they are having to carry the baggage of the past. They may not know what that baggage is, but their lives are dictated by the divisions in our society. I believe that if we don’t tackle these issues with our young people, then we’re failing them.

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places
If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again. (Isaiah 58:9-12 The Message)

It’s time to rebuild, renovate, restore…