Swine Cartoon

This one seems to be doing the rounds on e-mail.... no idea where it comes from!

Almost Making Use of My Life Insurance on Buachaille Etive Beag

Buachaille Etive Beag - South Ridge

It's been almost a decade since Mrs Hideous & I have been out hillwalking together, on our own. Many happy days in the hills with assorted friends and children have been enjoyed in the meantime - but we have missed getting out by ourselves like we used to. This weekend we put this right with a great walk over the Munros and tops of Glen Coe's Buachaille Etive Beag; while my parents entertained Boris, Norris and Doris for a couple of days.

Buachaille Etive Beag, is a mountain which is usually overlooked because of its proximity to its glamorous and oft photographed big brother, Buachaille Etive Mor. Derided as the 'little Buachaille', this mountain always suffers from the obvious comparison, and spoken of in terms of what it lacks. I am convinced however that were it not for its glamorous sibling, (and the pairing of their names) mountain books would rave about this large, bold striking mountain; its graceful lines, stunning views, and elegant peaks set between deep dramatic glens sweeping around its sides. Several years ago I admired this mountain from the top of Buachaille Etive Mor (after a scramble up The Curved Ridge and Crowberry Tower!), and described its beauty to my wife on my return to Perth. She requested that I save 'doing' this hill until she was able to come with me.

After an amazing breakfast at our favourite hotel where we love to go whenever the grandparents want to spoil our kids, we went to Dalness to climb the hill by its steep Southern ridge. A signpost at the roadside points the way up a track which soon forks, with a leftward path heading (via two large gates in the deer-fencing), straight up the centre of the ridge. On paper it is a straightforward ascent. In practice there are two obstacles to overcome. The second is some very steeply-angled and loose scree-fields near the first summit; these took some considerable effort and determination to get across. The first was a fairly innocuous looking stream above a waterfall....... I jumped over the stream and waited for Mrs Hideous to follow suit. She looked at it and hesitated. Then she looked again, and hesitated some more; before deciding that she wasn't going to risk it. She rightly pointed out that while stream itself didn't look too bad, one small slip would send you over a good sized waterfall onto the rocks below. Brimming with the over-confidence of foolishness and the pride awaiting its inevitable fall, I climbed back down the river bank to quickly put an end to such silliness and help the distressed damsel over the stream. As I reached out to help her I was immediately swept over the waterfall, landing a few metres below on the rocks (unscathed) only to be swept down a second set landing with a bump in the river bed below. Thankfully my skeleton, my glasses, my rucksack, my trousers and my hands were all unbroken and all I was required to do was to collect the various shattered pieces of my dignity and climb back up the rocks to my very shocked looking wife. Sopping wet, and with the prospect of some rather moist sandwiches for lunch - I was glad that I didn't have my camera with me which would have been ruined. More importantly we were both amazed, and extremely thankful that I wasn't seriously hurt, given how far I had fallen.

The rest of the day was incident free- and we enjoyed the great weather, grandiose mountain architecture and a great walk out along the path through the Lairig Gartain between the two Buachaille's. The fine drive through Glen Coe, and past Ballachulish was made even sweeter with the prospect of a hot bath and fine meal to come. On 'The Marriage Course' they talk about the importance of couples making time for each other so that they don't lose each other amidst the busyness of life. Small amounts of such weekly 'marriage time' are great; but a weekend away together at least once a year is almost like a refresher course in being 'us'. I am still a bit shocked at how close my greatest contribution to our marriage this weekend could have come in the form of a cheque paying out on my life-insurance though.

Christianity and the Media

Two articles have caught my eye recently, relating to Christian faith. What has surprised me about both of them has been the unlikely combination of author and subject.

In the first one, Matthew Parris writes about the positive and observable effect of Christian faith and Christian mission. His piece in the Times is intriguingly entitled, "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God" read it here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece

More recently the one-time somewhat sour critic of Christianity, A.N. Wilson (author of the book "Jesus" which attempted to 'de-bunk' the gospels as myth), has described how he has changed his mind, now believes that Christ rose from dead - and what he has observed that has persuaded him. That article is here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169145/Religion-hatred-Why-longer-cowed-secular-zealots.html

Hazy Arran

From the Larne - Troon Ferry

The Lowry Bridge, Salford Quays

On the road with Boris (3) John Lees' Barclay James Harvest Live at The Lowry

The grand finale of the weekend away that Boris and I had was a gig at Salford's futuristic looking Lowry Centre. Boris and I are both fans of John Lees Barclay James Harvest, whose thoughtful majestic take on British 70s rock encompasses classical, folk, hard-rock and prog elements.

Arriving early we met many other fans of the band, some of whom I have chatted to online, under their various entertaining on-line pseudonyms such as "the umpire's finger", "the poet", "madwoolyfan", and "sparkly flames". Boris surprised a few people who have been BJH fans for three-times the length of his life, with his

astute comments about the relative merits of the bands output; and his hopes for what might be in the evening's set. It was most enjoyable meeting up with all these various characters, and sharing a common enthusiasm. Boris was predictably as high as a kite, not only was this his first gig, but we had second row tickets in a sell-out performance by our favourite band!

On Sunday night, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest delivered a brilliant set of material drawn almost entirely from the bands' classic era. They kicked off with John Lees' passionate anti-war anthem, "For No-One" from 1974 - a song which showcases all the bands trademarks; thoughtful lyrics passionately delivered, layered vocal harmonies, soaring melodic guitar lines all built upon a base of 'Woolly' Wolstenholme's atmospheric Mellotron sounds.

The set included heavier numbers such as Medicine Man, once again played with in the arrangement that made it so popular amongst the bands original fans three decades ago, alongside new arrangements of numbers such as Mockingbird, and classic songs like Child of the Universe. On the more delicate side of the repertoire John's sublime Galadriel was featured as was Woolly's The Poet - as ever the prelude to the show-stopping After the Day. For an encore the band played the epic "She Said", and closed the Easter Sunday show with one of their most Christian influenced songs, the anthemic Hymn; a brilliant singalong to end a brilliant evening.

But there was more... as the crowd was filing out of the auditorium into the bar area, the band came up to say goodnight to everyone leaving. Young Boris was chuffed to be able to sit down and have a blether to the ever affable Woolly Wolstenholme. He told John Lees he'd just got his first guitar and asked him how often he practiced when he was learning. John advised him to play for at least an hour; and had a chat with him about the pain, scabs and trials of the aspiring musician. Young Boris left the place with a huge grin, and an autographed programme.

We had a brilliant evening together - a wonderful conclusion to our weekend away.

Full set-list, photos and fans reviews are on the band's website here: http://www.barclayjamesharvest.com/lowry3.htm

On the road with Boris (2) The Imperial War Museum North

The Imperial War Museum North is housed within an amazing building in Salford Quays, Manchester. Boris and I spent a fascinating hour or so there on Sunday afternoon - but it was not quite what I had expected. As we walked to the entrance we saw an old battered Russian tank, and Boris was immediately attracted to it and asking questions about the range, power, armaments of the vehicle. This was what I had expected to find, and was prepared to follow the visit with a lecture of my own to counteract any jingoism and glorification of war. Part of this was because I had visited the Imperial War Museum in London as a teenager and had thought that the place reeked of "Hurrah for the Army, Hurrah for War, and Thrice Hurrah for dead foreigners".

Thankfully times have changed since that visit. This museum does contain a lot of military hardware, planes, bombs, uniforms, vehicles, technology and the like. These are all labelled and detailed as one would expect in a decent museum. What this museum also has is a series of powerful film presentations which depict all aspects of war. Yes, like museums of old it does contain references to the heroism and comradeship of war - recognising many acts of courage, bravery and sacrifice. However, it absolutely does not do so at the expense of considering the cost, horror, chaos and victims of war. The film clip about nuclear warfare is particularly disturbing in this regard. While it begins with the mechanics of the bomb, its development and delivery, what sticks in my mind are the remarks of the official observers of the Hiroshima blast and their description of the burning bodies of children in the boiling city.

My prepared discussion about the seriousness of the subject and the awfulness of war was scrapped - instead we had a chat about whether young Boris was OK, or if he had found it too disturbing. He was certainly affected by it, which I think is good- but not to the point where he didn't really enjoy going up to the amazing view-point at the top of the museum's tower.

Manchester Ship Canal

On the road with Boris (1)

Young 'Boris' and I are just back from our long-looked-forward-to weekend away together. We packed our stuff, he packed lots of CDs for the long journey and we went South. I drove and navigated while he fed me with his choice of music and a never-ending supply of chocolate that he seemed to have accumulated for the journey. The music choice was excellent, chosen as it was, exclusively from my collection... it might therefore be considered minority interest, but we liked it.

Travelling with Boris (who is 9) is great fun. Having two younger siblings is a wonderful thing, but also limits what he is able to do, it means listening to nursery rhyme CDs in the car sometimes, it means climbing smaller mountains on one hand but also having rivals for time, toys, attention and dominance. We've noticed that both our boys are far better behaved and much more fun, if given a break from each other. So being on the road with Boris is great.

We went down to Poynton in Cheshire and stayed with our old friends The Leese' family. It was good to catch up with them, exploit their hospitality, go to church with them on Easter Sunday morning to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and go out with them for a good curry - another of young Boris' great loves.

Little Norris has also, of course, been promised a weekend away. His choice of activity I think will involve camping, probably in the Spring.

The Lowry

The Lowry Centre, Salford Quays (of which more another time)

The world's best T-shirt

I am the happy recipient of this present- maybe the best T-shirt, in the world!

Film Notes: Goodbye Lenin!

I haven't enjoyed a film as much as Wolfgang Becker's "Goodbye Lenin!" for a very long time. The story itself hangs around the unlikely premise that an East German communist falls into a coma and misses the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of Honecker and the GDR and wakes up in a unifying capitalist Germany. The doctors warn her family that any major shock could kill her - so they set about recreating the old East Germany in her apartment, unleashing an escalating and ludicrous sequence of events in a bid to maintain the pretence, which encompasses friends, neighbours, and colleagues!

The film is brilliant because it works in two ways. The plot is pure farce, and there are many laughs not least when the son Alex sets about producing fake old-style programmes to allow his mother to watch TV. On the other hand, the human emotions, family and relationship dynamics, and serious emotional pull of the acting, is convincing and moving in a way that is wonderfully un-farcical!

In one brilliant scene, the mother rises from her sick bed and staggers out into the streets to be confronted with a helicopter taking away a huge Lenin statue, which flies low past her - his outstretched arm beckoning her from the past, even as he is airlifted away! As the story unfolds, it transpires that several of the characters have also told lies with the best of intentions which have lead to whole swathes of untruths being told to substantiate them. This is all layered on the conflicting emotions the East Germans felt, as liberation was gained on one hand, but humiliation accepted on the other.

This film cleverly welds together personal emotions and big political events so that the 'lying to preserve the system' theme is practised by states and individuals alike; nostalgia for a semi-mythical lost golden age works both in the home and in the post-unification East Berlin as it lost so much employment, industry and its currency. Funny, heart-warming, witty, thoughtful and most unusual - this was two hours of excellent entertainment.

(German with English subtitles, cert 15 - presumably because of some of the language)

Smash!

Boris and Norris are in a little bit of trouble this evening!

Book Notes: Total Church by Tim Chester

I have read many books about ‘the church’, from weighty academic tomes to popular critiques; from apologetics for conservative theology and practice, to emergent and liquid ‘radical’ critiques of both. Several of the most helpful ones have been biblically based and realistically helpful in terms of honing the Christian faith-community’s self-understanding and the practices which flow from it. Of all the books on this subject I have read, ‘Total Church’ is the one that has made me think most. This is not because it is a massively complex or academically dense read; but because it does not satisfy itself with the mere tweaking of the church’s performance; but to systematically challenging many of the assumptions upon which church life has been organised for over a millennia!

Chester and Timmis are advocates and practicioners of ‘household church’; in direct contrast to the institutionalised church, which they see as being an unhealthy diversion – part of the unhappy legacy of Constantine’s domestication of the church as a department of state. So far that sounds like the usual ‘emergent’ critique; but ‘Total Church’ is not so easily categorised. True there is a strong respect for narrative theology running through the book; ‘biblical theology’ is after all a story; but far from an assault on propositional truth – the authors are members of a community which is decidedly ‘word’ centred, and outwardly focussed in intentional mission, especially towards the marginalised. On page 169, they interact with post-modernity like this:

Truth is corrupted by power. The postmodern case is valid. The problem however, is that the postmodern solution does not work. The rejection of truth does not work. Truth is rejected as a tool of power. But disregarding truth simply leaves the field open to power. There is nothing left with which to resist power. There is nothing worth fighting for. The pen may or may not be mightier than the sword. But if you take the pen away, you are simply left with the sword. Postmodern people fear that truth-claims are coercive. But if you take truth away you are left with pure coercion.

The key difference about what they are advocating and the ecclestiastical norm; is that they have no programmes, no buildings, and virtually no budget – but instead everything they do is relational. They do not strive for effective delivery of slick programmes; but for open homes and community living; seeking to show the effect of the gospel of Christ upon their lives, rather than investing in persuasive advertising of well-constructed events. The heart of the vision for which they argue persuasively, is not for the growth of large churches, but the proliferation of tiny ones.

Such a vision is nicely summarised in their looking at Deuteronomy 6:6-7, which says: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” They comment:

We should be teaching one another the Bible as we are out walking, driving the car or washing the dishes. People should learn the truth of justification not only in an exposition of Romans 5, but as they see us resting on Christ’s finished work instead of anxiously trying to justify ourselves. They should understand the nature of Christian hope not only as they listen to a talk on Romans 8, but as they see us groaning in response to suffering as we wait for glory. They should understand the sovereignty of God not only from a sermon series in Isaiah, but as they see us respond to trials with ‘pure joy’. We have found in our context that most learning and training takes place not through programmed teaching or training courses, but unplanned conversations: talking about life, talking about ministry, talking about problems. Let us make a bold statement: truth cannot be taught effectively outside of close relationships…… (p115)

A final quote will help to give a flavour of the vision of the church they have the challenge it is to those of us who inhabit more traditional structures. They argue that too many Christians are burnt out by seeking to run both their lives and deliver programmes - whereas it is more biblical to live the Christian life openly in front of others... and that's the whole programme!

Church without programmes, structures or buildings can make you feel very vulnerable. Leadership in which your life is open can feel scary. But we should embrace this fragility because it forces us to trust God’s sovereign grace. (p193)

This book was a Christmas present. I was expecting to enjoy a pleasantly stimulating read. Instead it has caused a lot of heart-searching, and thinking. Time and time again I found that Chester and Timmis articulated things I instinctively felt. I wish I had read this book years ago when at college, the line which was consistently pushed was that the Reformed doctrine of the word reduced church to being a ‘preaching event’ and so inherently militated against the grander biblical theme of community. This book would have at least exposed that as a false dichotomy. There are so many more sections of this book I could quote; instead I’ll just recommend that you read it, if you care about the life of the church today.

Total Church, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, (Leicester: IVP), 2007

Alien?

The evils that lurk in the darkest recesses of the vegetable cupboard...

maybe it's time for a clear-out!

Walk the Line

Walk the Line, is the highly acclaimed Johnny Cash biopic, starring Joaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon, based directly on Cash's autobiography. It's a compelling story, which is very well told, containing an explosive mixture of fame, music, betrayal, breakdown, marriage, unfaithfulness, divorce, passion, and loaded with as many hopeful redemptive themes as it is with moral ambiguities.

Joaquin Pheonix' performance is excellent - enough of a growl for authenticity without allowing it to degenerate into a mere impersonation of this often troubled man. The relationship with his father (Robert Patrick) is well explored, as is the effect of the childhood death of his brother, in the first of many close parallels with that other recent celebrated musical bio, Ray.

Reese Witherspoon is fantastic as June Carter Cash, attractive, charming and with an uncanny ability to deliver the songs in a convincing way too. It's a shame that the script-writers didn't give Witherspoon more to work with in terms of exploring the darker side if her character, the turmoil, remorse and divorces only hinted at, where there was much more to say.

The best part of the story is the tale of how June Carter - with the help of her parents, rescued Cash from a drug-addiction fuelled breakdown which was destroying him and his career. The scene in which they drive drug-dealers away from the house at gun-point while Cash is going through cold-turkey is a great story of the protective nature of love. When Cash emerges 'clean' from the ordeal, Carter tells him, "God's given you another chance" - and takes him to church. The faith element of Cash's life and songs was strangely absent from this however, and there is little mention of the Cash who would go on to record the apocyliptic When The Man Comes Around.

The tragedy of the story is the jettisoning of Cash's first wife, Vivienne, in times of constant touring and his growing obsession with Carter. She is evicted from his life and from the film, but whose tragic desertion lingers in the background muddying the redemptive narrative with awkward complexity. We are asked to see the Cash-Carter relationship as one of true redemptive love, but asked to forget that there was a victim in the narrative too. Was there any hope or joy for Vivienne? We are not simply not told anything more.

The message the film tries to convey is of the redemptive power of true love. Cash, it seems, could only be free from his demons when the object of his infatuation, became committed to him. Pursue the infatuation at all costs, it argues, and become committed to it. Autobiographies are always self-justifying to a degree, and this no doubt colours the message. However, the film still ends up perpetuating the great Hollywood love myth; that feelings lead commitments. The truth so often is that mere states of emotional intensity are no basis upon which to shatter commitments made and forge new ones. The art of furnishing the existing commitments with passionate emotions is a more wise and tested path - and the absolute opposite of the 'Hollywood Love Myth', writ large in Walk The Line.

So this is a really good film, well made, well acted, a fascinating story well-told. It has a strong underlying current of the redemptive power of true love (Cash and Carter were married for 35 years until her death); but told through the tangled relationships and moral ambiguities of a complex man. Well worth watching.

Attic Additions

The attic is starting to look like a pleasant place to sit, think, read or work. (It'll soon be a mess again once I move all thebooks up here though!)

Amazing to think it's not that long since it looked like this:

Meanwhile

More progress on the extension to the church premises.

Gadget of the Week!

One of the dilemmas in moving the study up into the attic was going to be what to do about the broadband line. Virgin wanted £100- to move the cable, regardless of the simplicity of the task. Wireless might have worked, but might have been slow or too pricey and this old house already presents a few obstacles to portable phones which might affect wireless networks too. The perfect solution was provided however by the D3 boys. They handed me a couple of the boxes you see pictured left, and explained that they would run the broadband signal upstairs via the existing electrical circuits in the house! It works too, and seems to be really quick. I'm amazed - I didn't even know that was possible to do - never mind so simple.

It seems our whole house is already networked - and I didn't even realise it!

And now for something completely different..

John 14:15-17, the words of Jesus, set to music by Thomas Tallis:

"If you love me, you will obey my commands. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth."

Ben Chonzie (no more deceit!)

Irvine Butterfield in his book, "The High Mountains of Britain & Ireland" describes Ben Chonzie as a "dull Munro". Cameron McNeish retorts in his "The Munros", that there are,"no dull Munros, only dull people", which seems unnecessarily harsh. Today I joined Mr Boom (a local typo of some repute) for a walk up this much maligned hill. It turned out to be anything but dull, in fact the views of Lawers, Beinn a Ghlo, The Lomonds in Fife, Vorlich and the Crianlarich hills were dramatic and expansive, and the harsh, icy wind positively bracing!

Today's walk gave me the opportunity to remove a deception from my life which has been something of a weeping sore on the conscience of my Munro chart for too long! Many years ago I attempted this hill with a friend in quite extreme winter conditions, and being somewhat under-equipped were beaten back by the weather...somewhere on the summit ridge. In almost zero visibility we failed to find the summit cairn within the time we had allotted ourselves, and instead tobogganed off the side of the hill on our bivvy-bags! Claiming to have got close enough to the summit for it to count, I duly ticked it off on my Munro-chart. However, I have always felt that this particular 'tick' was fraudulent, and almost mocking me every time I saw it!

Today, this grievous wrong was righted. I actually made the top this time - and realised just how far away from it we had been the last time I was up there. I was a bit shocked at how unfit I have become over the winter, but it was good to be back in the hills. I am however, the numpty who took his camera all the way up, but without a memory card in it!

Kinnoul Sunset II

Under the Bridge

You Need Feet!

Book Notes: Christianity and Social Service in Britain by Frank Prochaska

Frank Prochaska's "Christianity and Social Service in Modern Britain: The Disinherited Spirit" is a well-researched and pretty readable account of the church's once dominating role in social care and its path to being almost completely eclipsed by the state.

The most intriguing parts of the book are those which deal with the details of some of the most important movements in Christian education, home visiting ministries, mothers organisations, and nursing. The detailed account of Mrs Ranyard and her missionary Bible-nurses, who later became just "Ranyard Nurses" and who became state health visitors is a nice little summary of wider movements in secularisation. Similar studies in other fields are also helpful. One aspect I was under-aware of was the number of such organisations that existed throughout the inter-war years but who were finally killed-off by WWII, by migration, call-ups and through the massive bomb damage city-centre mission halls and care-facilities sustained in the blitz.

Less convincing are some of Prochaska's sweeping generalisations, which he uses to bridge between his detailed ground-level research and his over-all conclusions. In one sentence he dismisses Calvinism as a dour creed disinterested in social care. Such a stereotype might suit his purposes but Prochaska seems unaware that just such unresearched assumptions have been shown to be an entirely inaccurate portrayal of this aspect of Victorian city life by Shaw (also Oxford University Press), 2002. Likewise his attempt (p76) to see Thomas Chalmers as a social theorist moving the churches towards a more secular vision of social provision is hardly persuasive to anyone who has ever read Chalmers. The author states up-front that he is not a Christian - and at times this gives the book a sense of dispassionate objectivity, but on other occasions he allows his anti-Christian views to colour his judgement too much. In this regard the opening and closing chapters are perhaps the weakest.

A major omission of the book is any analysis of the movements within the churches which sapped their interest in social questions from the 1890s onwards, especially within evangelicalism which had been in the forefront of such work for over a century; these included dispensationalism, Keswick 'holiness' movements, and the burgeoning Pentecostalism. These factors merit discussion alongside the church's numerical decline and the growth of the state which are well covered.

Nevertheless this is a fascinating study into a neglected aspect of the history of the church in this country.

Boys Day

Over seven years ago, when we only had young Boris, (Norris and Doris were yet to even be considered), we had a child-care crisis. The only resolution we managed to find was that I re-arranged my hours at work (and cut them a bit) leaving me free to cover the missing day in the schedule. 'Boris' immediately named these occasions, "Boys Day" - and even though he was but a toddler we explored all kinds of places. He wasn't quite big enough for mountain-climbing, but we did have a book of all the decent waterfalls in Scotland, huge numbers of which we walked/clambered, to with him on my back in the redoubtable 'MacPac'.

Our 'boys day' jollity was rudely halted however, firstly by the appearance of further offspring and subsequently by the requirements of education. Today however has been boys-day revisited! Young Norris was very disappointed to have missed a school trip to the Glasgow Transport Museum because of a hospital appointment, so today we left little Doris at home with Mum (to do gardening!) and jumped on the train to Glasgow, and following a hasty pizza, took Glasgow's mad little underground train to Kelvinhall.

The Transport Museum is a great place, not only is it stuffed full of beautiful old steam locomotives from Glasgow's past, but it has got an amazing collection of old cars, trams, motorbikes, and model ships - memories of the Clyde's industrial heritage. Most amazingly, access to all of this is completely free, saving a few pennies with which to delight the kids in the inevitable tat-shop at the end of their tour.

Perspective is a strange thing! Looking at a Caley Single-Wheeler (that's a steam engine that's over a century old, by the way) in a museum alongside a Hillman Hunter, Talbot Horizon and a Honda 400 'super dream' exactly like the ones my Dad drove when I was a kid -was interesting. What was equally interesting was the way in which the kids saw little difference between the respective ages of these various antiquarian relics. They have tendencies to view 'the past' as being as uniform a moment in time as 'the present'. The fact that they clearly view me as a lingering irrelevance from this undifferentiated and long-forgotten era is as amusing as it is increasingly accurate.

One quiet corner of the museum has a sobering memorial to all those killed at Lockerbie.

The wife of noble character

Proverbs 31 contains this famous description of the 'wife of noble character'. Commentators have noted that King Lemuel whose oracle this is, was taught about this 'superwoman' by his mother! (31:1) She certainly had high aspirations for her son's bride and no doubt had the potential to be a fairly demanding mother-in-law.

Reading Proverbs 31 again this evening however has amazed me at just how well these famous words from the Old Testament wisdom books actually describe my own wife! Lemuel writes:

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (Prov 31:10-31)

Proverbs asks me to recognise 6 things about my wife.

Firstly a wife of noble character is to be valued as a rare and precious person. Lemuel writes of such a wife, "who can find?". Well, I have - and yet when I married her in 1996, I had no idea of the extent to which it was the case. She has proved to be 'more precious than rubies' and I have 'full confidence in her'.

Secondly, the text calls me to recognize and honour her industry, business acumen, hard work and career success. Anyone who knows us will know the extent to which these verses describe my wife, who endures much stress, long hours and intense labour but of whom it can be said, "she sees that her trading is profitable" and that none of her family are in need.

Thirdly, the Bible describes her as someone whose money-making abilities are not merely harnessed to the pursuit of self-agrandisement, but who "opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." I am repeatedly humbled by my wife's continual desire to give increasingly significant sums of her very hard-earned salary to others in need, materially and spiritually, from sponsoring children in the developing world, to Water-Aid, to Christian projects to church.

Fourthly the text notes that this 'noble wife' brings 'great honour to her husband'. I am proud to be known as her husband, in all contexts, from her workplace, to the school-gate to church. Lemuel notes that as a result of her nobility, he can 'take his seat at the city gate' which refers to the 'elders' of an ancient near eastern city, in council at the city gates. I have no such power, or position, but I do know that I would not be in a position to help in the leadership of our church, if I had a wife who brought chaos, dishonour or wickedness into our home. She brings me great honour.

Fifthly the texts speaks of her 'wisdom' and the 'faithful instruction on her tongue'. My wife has proved to be a lot wiser than I had anticipated. She is perceptive, sensible and a remarkable judge of character. I tend towards self-defeating pessimism, she is more mentally robust, positive and realistic than I usually am. Yet her wisdom is not only practical, the 'faithful instruction on her tongue' extends to her spiritual life too. She has real faith, and it is a joy to hear the way in which she answers our childrens ever-expanding list of questions about the Bible, Jesus, God, the cross, or prayer.

Sixthly the text warns me that youthful beauty is a passing thing. I hope and pray that I live long with my wife to enjoy the ever-emerging inner beauty of her character. "A woman who fears The Lord is to be praised" it says, and as I write these words she is at the piano playing and singing the praises of God, singing words of adoration and worship to God, filling the atmosphere of our house with the sounds and presence of her saviour. "To Fear The Lord", is Old Testament parlance for acknowledging Him and seeking to live in His ways. This again describes my wife.

I once did a spiritual excercise in which I wrote down all the things with which I had been blessed in life, for which I had never properly thanked God. It was a useful thing to do in that it made me aware of the extent to which I had become acustomed to taking the whole world for granted. In my wife God has given me a most amazing, wonderful gift, 'more precious than rubies' indeed. The text concludes "give her the reward she deserves, let her works give her praise at the city gate". The city gate is of course the open arena of public discourse. I do not have a city gate at which to bring her such honour. I only have a blog.

Kinnoul Hill Sunset

Comet: The Worst Customer Service In The World

A business can create the impression of competence and decency if all they are required to do is to sell boxes of kit with a suitable mark-up for themselves. The measure of a company however, is how they respond when things go wrong, when equipment fails or you have to bring service deficiencies to their attention.

Comet electricals are experts at creating the impression of professional and polite service. If you enter their store with money to spend, you are met with smiling helpful staff and useful advice. Sadly however, when something goes wrong electronically, something also goes radically wrong with the customer service too. The attentive service vanishes, the helpful offering of advice turns to groans and scowls, the open, pleasant staff become resentful, angry and seek not to help, but to deflect.

The problem at Comet is that the customer service system through their entire operation is either deliberately designed to obstruct customer satisfaction or is simply a shambolic quagmire through which it is impossible to wade. The store advises customers to phone the repair centre, who tells to you to phone another repair centre, who tells you to phone the manufacturer who in turn deny all knowledge of the issue and refer you back to the Comet head office, who then say that only the store can settle the issue. Comet's head office insist that only a local store manager can issue refunds, the store insist that only head office can do so. And so it goes on.. and on. There seems to be no-one in the organisation who has the authority to actually deal with issues and get them resolved. There are plenty of people available to read company policies out to customers (especially the bit about 28 days no longer being a legally defined 'reasonable' time to fix a faulty item), and endless call centre charm-school rejects to defend the bureaucratic time -wasting that goes on. There is though no-one but no-one who can give helpful accurate information, let alone issue the refund that trading standards say that we should have. Each person working within this wretched organisation is desperate to deflect the call and get you off the line, because they know that although they are the public face of this company - there is no-one within it who can sort issues out for customers and no incentive for the call centre operative to even try. I asked to be put on hold until someone with the authority to deal with the problem was available. They hung up.

Comet's only response is to say that we should sue them or shop elsewhere. Sadly I can't afford the time or money to do the first, I shall absolutely and certainly be doing the second. If Comet were to have a theme tune, playing on repeat in all their stores, I would suggest that they use, Gerry Rafferty's "take the money and run" - it would seem to rather nicely capture their customer service ethos.

If you shop at Comet you take a huge risk. If you are *lucky* and the product works, no problem. But be warned, once your Visa card has been charged, and the money has left your account and flowed into theirs they have absolutely no interest in providing you with decent, or polite service. They are not bothered if your equipment is lost somewhere in their hopeless system and they will rudely not help you get the issues resolved, and will refuse your legal right to a refund unless you have the wherewithal to sue.

It seems extraordinary that at a time when retailers should be fighting to maintain the loyalty of long-term customers, Comet are actively seeking to drive them away. From now on, I am going to use smaller, local firms whose may not offer such big discounts - but whose pride in their company and basic decency, integrity and competence is worth so very much more.

Comet: don't say I didn't warn you.

Get Spotified!

The latest on-line music tool that is gaining a lot of attention both in the press and by word-of-mouth is Spotify. I came across it being recommended on an online forum, and so thought I should give it a road-test. Here's what I found.

Spotify is a data-bank of music which you can play online via your PC, the sound quality is very good, the range of music on offer absolutely vast, the music streams very quickly and efficiently, and it costs.... er, nothing! It's not a 'themed' radio station in which it generates tracks it 'thinks you will like based on previously expressed preferences' rather it is a genuine on-line juke-box in which you can choose whatever you want to hear from its seemingly inexhaustible play-list. What's more, all this is available completely free.

Realistic readers will already be wanting to know what the catch is. Well there are three. The first is that Spotify only allows you to play, not download music, so you can play as long as they are functioning. The second is that they are funded not by selling music but by selling advertising space and so you have to listen to an advert every so often. The third is that it requires a small download to work, and doesn't just play through your web-browser. These however are very minor inconveniences to pay in order to be able to freely browse through their vast audio catalogue.

In the last hour, in order to relieve the bordeom of folding the washing and matching socks, I have done a few searches and found Rock, Prog, Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Classical, Folk, and Contemporary Christian Music from artists as diverse as Champion Jack Dupree, Memphis Slim, Chris Tomlin, Deep Purple, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Tallis, and of course, Barclay James Harvest. The possibilities seem endless.

This is one of the best on-line toys I have seen for ages. I wonder if the music-industry are happy about all these giveaways. Will they shut it down? My advice is to enjoy it now while you can!

At the bridge

(trying to take a sara! style photo - and almost managing it!)

They bought me a "study bible".....

I was given a "study bible" for Christmas, which has turned out to be a fascinating and wonderful present, perhaps somewhat to my surprise. The reason for my reservation was, I suppose, a matter of principle. I always felt slightly awkward with the text of the Bible and comment on it, being bound together (however scholarly the notes) as if this began to blur the important distinction between the two. It's the same problem that makes me treat Peterson's Bible paraphrase The Message, with a little caution. In that he actually blends his interpretation with the text itself on several occasions. In practice, he does it rather well most of the time, but as a method it has to be rather suspect! My study Bible though I have found a really useful tool, the fears unfounded and the study tools helpful - and more practical than wandering about carrying armfuls of commentaries!

In the segments which are displayed above (if the text is too small, click on the image to enlarge), a sample of the notes are displayed. The story from Matthew 21 of Jesus cursing the fig-tree reads at first glance like a inexplicable fable of messianic petulance. The study notes here are very helpful. The first box of comments explain something of the biology of the fig-tree which makes the story meaningful, transforming what looks likes spite, into a devastatingly powerful rebuke to hypocrisy. The final comments box makes some suggestions about how to harmonise the various gospel accounts, making the sensible (but useful) suggestion that Mark's account is chronological but Matthew's is more thematic. A good present this!

JL' Barclay James Harvest Confirm Perth Date

Perth Concert Hall have confirmed that John Lees' Barclay James Harvest will be playing here in our little town on October 23rd 2009. The above YouTube clip is not an official band video, but some fans tribute, a nicely edited montage of photos and video-clips taken from the band's four-decade long career.

Two Thoughtful Links on Science and Faith

With all the attention focused on Darwin at the moment (and the irritating spectacle of dear old Attenborough misrepresenting the Bible!)I have read/heard a couple of good things on the web recently. As readers of this blog know, I am not impressed by either the fundamentalism of the new atheism which reduces all human experience to science; nor by the fundamentalism of so-called creationism which denies the validity of scientific discovery. Both, it seems to me, are locked into rigid thought systems which do not do justice to the very principles of their respective fields, human experience, language or key texts.

http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/CIS/lucas/index.html

This link is Earnest Lucas' Faraday Lecture on Science and Faith, available both in text and audio formats.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/whats.wrong.with.darwinism/22647.htm

Here, the ever contraversial Tony Campolo attacks the ethical implications of Darwinism, especially the social-Darwinism that Darwin himself spent so much of his later life promoting. This is a newpaper article, not an academic paper, stimulating nevertheless.

Air Sea Alarm Clock

Mrs Hideous' lie-in was rudely interupted by this air sea rescue helicopter searching the Tay this morning. All worth it, if they mange to pull someone safely out of those dark waters.

My Addiction

Book Notes: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a short, easy-read, which for all it's delicacy, charm and rich scene-setting observation, is disconcerting, and troublesome. The book, (of which there are countless on-line reviews following its short-listing in the Man Booker 2007) is set in a Lahore cafe in which a lone - and entirely silent- American is approached by Changez, a young Pakistani, whose love-affair with America has turned sour.

Two things mark out this book as unusual. The first is its method of story-telling. The entire book is the spoken words of one man, the answers given by the other person in the story are not recorded, merely alluded to. The character who emerges from this is wounded, angry, intelligent, educated, patriotic, but feels emasculated and betrayed by his encounters with the West. The second element is that the author allows one character to speak, but never allows any other interaction with, or evaluation of his story. As such the book is full of allusions, allegories, suggestions and possibilities, but suggests more than it reveals, leaving the reader with countless tense ambiguities with which to wrestle. It is this element of the book which the author quite deliberately plans and achieves with considerable force.

Whenever there is a terrorist outrage, a psychologist is wheeled onto the TV to explain 'what makes them do it'. Some, of presumably more Freudian leanings, talk about a crisis of masculinity, and note the profoundly erotic nature of the rewards such fanatics believe await them in Paradise. Mohsin Hamad plays a devious game with such theories in this book. As Changez tells his painful tale of rejection in the bed of an American lover, who is unable to give herself to him because of her own mental scars - he initially presents the beginnings of radicalisation in such terms. However, the story is interwoven with an alienation and rejection from his position in a global capitalist corporation, suggesting that more than just love, lust and sexual identity are at stake here. This is re-enforced by the names that Mohsin Hamid has given his characters. The lover who initially adores him but who can never be fully his is Erica, and her failure is because of her completely self-destructive attachment to her long dead lover, Chris. It seems that while this individual story of loss and pain is played out, it is also to been allegorically. Erica is surely America, and Chris presumably Christianity. If so, then America can never embrace Changez himself, either as an individual or a people.

The lone American in the bar, gets increasingly shifty and nervous as the tale is told. The ambiguity is that Changez could be a gracious host - or could be a potential kidnapper. He is certainly charming, urbane, vulnerable and engaging. He wins the confidence of the reader even as the confidence of the American is being won in the book - but to what happy or sinister end? The growing menace is intensified by the fact that neither the American, nor the reader (who are of course addressed together as the book is written in the first person) is completely sure how to gauge Changez and his heart-rending tale. Bombs are raining down from American planes in neighbouring Afghanistan, anger over American foreign policy is intense, this is clearly coupled with an intense personal narrative; the glowering angry waiter does hate Americans and he is following them... all of which leads to a crescendo of tension, and a climactic....... ambiguity.

I suppose the outcome is related to the title. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is in itself an oblique phrase, as it asks us not to picture a chanting fanatic in a state of religious fervour about to commit a heinous act of violence - but rather a somewhat bewildered, beaten-down and world-weary soldier trudging to a duty. The author makes this point when the American worries that the aggressive waiter is praying and is told by Changez that he is merely reciting the menu in Urdu! The question upon which so much of this book hangs though is 'what fundamentalism' was reluctantly embraced? On one hand it might refer to Changez embracing of American Consumer Capitalism, especially as the job he had within it was what we might call a 'corporate-evangelist' roaming the world evaluating smaller companies for American takeover. If this is the case then he has backed away from his dangerous fundamentalism and so the American in the bar is safe. On the other hand, if the fundamentalism into which he has entered is the dark heart of Islamism, which he has embraced as the only viable vehicle for his increasingly powerful Anti-Americanism, then the American has not long to live. The fact that we are not told, leaves the reader in a tense, dangerous scene, full of intrigue, misunderstanding and menace - as individuals are locked between two unresolved fundamentalisms, Islamism and Americanism. Indeed the human carnage of such clash seems to be exactly the point of the nervous end to this serious book.

Good Morning Perth

JLBarclay James Harvest for Perth?

Perth Concert Hall have yet to confirm, but internet rumours suggest that John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are booked to play there on October 23rd. Young Boris and I are big fans of this band, who are the underrated giants of British 1970s rock, whose intelligent and intriguing lyrics, overlay John Lees' melodic guitar lines and Woolly Wolstenholme's classically influenced arrangements and atmospheric mellotrons. UK Gigs from Barclay James Harvest have been few and far between over recent years, I last heard them in Edinburgh three years ago where they delivered a stunning set of material from their classic era (quietly avoiding their less convincing pop experiments of the 1980s) to a wildly enthusistic packed Queen's Hall. The days in which the band used to spend months on the road, performing show after show on endless tours have gone, along with their stadium-filling European adventures, but why Perth has been chosen as a venue on their more modest 2009 tour, I don't know. We are not quite the last ditch motel at the end of the road to nowhere, but then again we are hardly a bustling metropolis, either! I hope they do take the risk of coming to this little outpost though, it's scheduled to take place the night after Boris' tenth birthday - and he's already decided how he wants to celebrate!

http://www.barclayjamesharvest.com/

Book Notes: Paisley by Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce, a Sociology Professor from Aberdeen Uni, has produced a book about the Northern Irish militant Unionist, and Fundamentalist Protestant leader, Ian Paisley. His book is not a biography, more a thematic assessment of the influences that came to bear upon the formation of his religion and politics; his religious and political visions for Ulster; his successes and failures in seeking to achieve them; tensions between those ends - and a fascinating chapter about his relationship to the violence in general and to the various loyalist terror gangs in particular.

Bruce writes as a social scientist who neither backs Paisley's political stance, nor believes in Paisley's God. What makes this book so fascinating is that he avoids the trap of so many books of writing simply to demonise a controversial figure - but rather seeks to understand and interpret him in context. He has taken the time to interview countless leaders and members of both the DUP and the Free Presbyterian Church in order to comprehend their world-view.

Bruce believes that the heart of Paisley's appeal has been harnessing the inherent distrust in middle-class liberal elites within both the political and religious spheres. The usual line is that Paisley has generated such distrust - but Bruce argues that given the UUPs increasing willingness to forge a conciliation with Nationalism (culminating in the post Good-Friday-agreement Trimble-ism, of government now - guns later) in the political world and the embracing of theological liberalism by the hierarchies of Irish Methodism and Presbyterianism, Paisley's non-compromising stands haven given voice to a section of society feeling deeply threatened and betrayed. Worse still, on many occasions elites were moving away from traditional views but publicly denying it! That gave Paisley his trump card, of declaring his opponents as hypocrites and traitors - which, when he was proved to be correct, gained him huge credibility. When he accused John Major of negotiating with the (then still active) IRA, Major famously denounced him and him thrown out of Downing Street, to great public acclaim. Yet, Paisley was proved to be the truth teller and Major the liar (even if one agreed 100% with both Major's aims, strategy, and economy of truth!). Likewise, it was Paisley's rejection of the Good-Friday deal, that actually put pressure on Sinn Fein to persuade the IRA on decommissioning, Bruce thinks.

There are two weaknesses with this otherwise remarkable book. The first is that it ends prior to the recent massive changes in Northern Irish politics and in the Free Presbyterian Church - despite its very recent publication date. It does not deal with the DUPs post-IRA weapons disposal, partnership in government, does not address the infamous "chuckle-brothers" routine with Martin McGuiness, and does not discuss his retirement from both his major roles, following increasing unpopularity amongst his own followers. Perhaps a second volume is required. The other disappointment is the way in which the author repeatedly makes the very error that he accuses Paisley of. He explains the way in which Paisley's analysis of the world reduces everything from the SDLP to the EU to the opening of shops on Sundays to a 'Romish Plot' - and so fails to perceive the huge differences within these bodies. Yet, Bruce repeatedly uses the phrase, "evangelicals think" to describe Paisleyism, or "in evangelicals' eyes" to describe the DUP position. In so doing he fails to see the vast differences between the Paisleyite extreme and a hugely varied landscape of belief within Ulster Evangelical Protestantism, in which on many issues 'the big man' speaks with a decidedly unrepresentative voice.

Bruce is however very good when he comes to discerning the tensions within Paisleyism (and between Paisley-ites), making his discussion sensitive and nuanced in seeing neither the DUP nor the Free Presbyterians as a monolithic block, but riven with differences of emphasis and aspiration. The sometimes awkward relationship between the Free-Ps and the DUP is also probed, and the massive overlap in personnel between the two not assumed to mean that the two are the sides of one coin. Tensions have specifically arisen, he argues, between the DUPs need to reach out to as wide an electoral coalition as possible; and the Free P's constant haranguing of others about their heresy, apostasy, treachery, spiritual adultery and so forth. Bruce nicely argues that the differences between the two can be seen clearly in the issues of Sunday Trading. While the Free P's fervently (prophetically they would claim) have denounced the "Republican Sunday", as a violation of God's laws under the influence of the antichrist; DUP councillors have often voted to allow such activities. What unites both is a belief in democracy, for the Free P's it is a gift that comes from the Reformation; for the DUP it is the basis for a secular political philosophy, based not on biblical commands but on fairly traditional social contract theory. What both accuse the Republic of Ireland of having is undue church influence in the state, which they denounce - and so allow popular opening of sports facilities on the Sabbath, even where it is perceived as offensive to God.

Social Contract theory is in itself fascinating. If the state and the people are locked together in mutual agreement of protection and compliance respectively, then all well and good. Where Paisley has been most controversial is where he has begun to suggest that the state is either beginning to, or planning to violate its requirements, leaving the people to enforce the rule of law themselves. His repeated denunciations of terror and violence (from both sides of he sectarian divide), have been infamously accompanied by various flirtations with "third forces". Bruce analyses all of these and contends that while Paisley has on occasions contributed to the environment which others have used for terror, has consistently opposed terror, denounced violence, expelled people drifting towards it, and is absolutely hated by all the loyalist terror gangs - not least because he so fervently calls their violence "sin", calls for the execution and fought against their early release under the Belfast Agreement. In Bruce's analysis, Paisley is a brandisher of unpleasant words, provocative placards and civil disobedience, but not weapons. Bruce compares the percentage of young men involved in terror in Northern Ireland's loyalist population, with the percentage of them in the Free P church. He finds that a member of Paisley's church is less likely to be involved in sectarian violence than a non-member. Fascinating!

This is a very well researched and illuminating insight into one of the most colourful, controversial and strange political and religious characters of recent times. If it could be completed with a chapter on the chuckle-brothers era and retirement, it would be much improved.

Perth on Monday

In London they are getting proper snow - all we have had so far is this derisory dusting...

Decorating

My Dad has been up here helping us decorate for a week (he just got back home as the snow began to fall last night). In only a few days a lot was achieved!

Attic Day 1











Day 2













Day 3














Day 4

More Decorating

Bathroom Day 1

















Day 2




















Day 3

















Day 4

Day 5