Monday, February 25, 2008

Cherry Blossom

Today, walking home from aquafit, I stood for a while in the silence. The streetlamps on my road are clear white rather than sodium yellow. Beneath one light, an ornamental cherry tree grew. As I looked up the soft white light filtered through the tree's early white blossoms. Their translucent petals seemed to glow against the night sky. I looked and looked, standing still in the quietness. You cannot steal images, only burn them in your mind. When I went to walk off again, beneath my feet, the tree was a dark sillhouette against the grey pavement, the regularity of the blossom shapes intersecting the random, organic twists and meanders of the branches. Each streetlamp left a pool of sharp vision in the landscape of surburbia ahead of me.

Cherry Blossom

Today, walking home from aquafit, I stood for a while in the silence. The streetlamps on my road are clear white rather than sodium yellow. Beneath one light, an ornamental cherry tree grew. As I looked up the soft white light filtered through the tree's early white blossoms. Their translucent petals seemed to glow against the night sky. I looked and looked, standing still in the quietness. You cannot steal images, only burn them in your mind. When I went to walk off again, beneath my feet, the tree was a dark sillhouette against the grey pavement, the regularity of the blossom shapes intersecting the random, organic twists and meanders of the branches. Each streetlamp left a pool of sharp vision in the landscape of surburbia ahead of me.

Love It!

Love It!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Finally finished my gobbet…


….lots going on in Alex land. Gobbet is finished and being handed in tomorrow. Tom has been a rock during the writing of this as I've been a nightmare to be around. Kudos and brownies and lots of thanks to you. Thanks to Spanky for proof reading it for me. Thanks to Felicity for all her encouragement whilst I've been trying to write it and thanks to Laura for helping me keep up with the new term's Aramaic.


Lots of knitting going on all over Chaplaincy over the last few days. We're knitting a blanket as a keep sake for Chaplaincy. Lots of people are leaving, so we're all doing a square, and then Ruth will crochet them together. It should look great when its done. Then we're moving on to making teeny tiny clothes for premature babies at the Princess Anne Hospital here in Southampton. Any friends out there who want to get involved, please look up preemie patterns on the net and knit away. Drop the finished items in at the Chaplaincy when you're done. If you can't knit but still want to help, please make a small donation towards yarn and needles. We and the tiny babies would appreciate it.


Here is a very belated picture of the gloves I made Tom for Christmas. I think he likes them. He wears them a lot. That's me by the way.


What else has happened to me then? Well I didn't get the place at UCL. I was quite disappointed. In the last week or so before the interview I had started to let myself believe I might just get the place and it was not very nice to be rejected. Apparently I don't have enough experience in the Museums sector to do the course. Unfortunately I'm now in a bit of a catch 22 situation where it's almost impossible to get an entry level museums job without a MA in Museum Studies and I can't get on the MA course I want without more museums experience. The only way out this cycle is to volunteer a lot. I do have a place at Durham, but I can't take that up as I can't afford to live in halls in a college. So I will be taking 1 -2 years out to work in a soul destroying sales role to save up the £8k I need to do an MA and live, and volunteer at as many museums as possible around the place. I've just applied for a bursary from our careers department for 2k towards career development. I've said in my proposal that I would put the money towards learning to drive and rent. I started to learn to drive before I came to uni, but had to stop when I lost my nerve and ran out of money. Museums around here tend to be off the beaten track a bit, and not accessible by public transport, so a car is a bit of must. As for rent, I currently pay my fees and live off about £9k a year. Take out the fees and that's about 8k. The extra money from the grant would be a nice bit to tide me over while I Iook for work the summer after graduating. There's no loan then!

Oh well… just need to sort out my dissertation now! It'll have to wait till next week for the huge kick start as my little sister is down to stay for the weekend. It's great fun.

Finally finished my gobbet…


….lots going on in Alex land. Gobbet is finished and being handed in tomorrow. Tom has been a rock during the writing of this as I've been a nightmare to be around. Kudos and brownies and lots of thanks to you. Thanks to Spanky for proof reading it for me. Thanks to Felicity for all her encouragement whilst I've been trying to write it and thanks to Laura for helping me keep up with the new term's Aramaic.


Lots of knitting going on all over Chaplaincy over the last few days. We're knitting a blanket as a keep sake for Chaplaincy. Lots of people are leaving, so we're all doing a square, and then Ruth will crochet them together. It should look great when its done. Then we're moving on to making teeny tiny clothes for premature babies at the Princess Anne Hospital here in Southampton. Any friends out there who want to get involved, please look up preemie patterns on the net and knit away. Drop the finished items in at the Chaplaincy when you're done. If you can't knit but still want to help, please make a small donation towards yarn and needles. We and the tiny babies would appreciate it.


Here is a very belated picture of the gloves I made Tom for Christmas. I think he likes them. He wears them a lot. That's me by the way.


What else has happened to me then? Well I didn't get the place at UCL. I was quite disappointed. In the last week or so before the interview I had started to let myself believe I might just get the place and it was not very nice to be rejected. Apparently I don't have enough experience in the Museums sector to do the course. Unfortunately I'm now in a bit of a catch 22 situation where it's almost impossible to get an entry level museums job without a MA in Museum Studies and I can't get on the MA course I want without more museums experience. The only way out this cycle is to volunteer a lot. I do have a place at Durham, but I can't take that up as I can't afford to live in halls in a college. So I will be taking 1 -2 years out to work in a soul destroying sales role to save up the £8k I need to do an MA and live, and volunteer at as many museums as possible around the place. I've just applied for a bursary from our careers department for 2k towards career development. I've said in my proposal that I would put the money towards learning to drive and rent. I started to learn to drive before I came to uni, but had to stop when I lost my nerve and ran out of money. Museums around here tend to be off the beaten track a bit, and not accessible by public transport, so a car is a bit of must. As for rent, I currently pay my fees and live off about £9k a year. Take out the fees and that's about 8k. The extra money from the grant would be a nice bit to tide me over while I Iook for work the summer after graduating. There's no loan then!

Oh well… just need to sort out my dissertation now! It'll have to wait till next week for the huge kick start as my little sister is down to stay for the weekend. It's great fun.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Geothermal energy – Nicks Ideas!

Use ground source heat pumps under the large areas of land at airports to de ice runways and heat buildings.

Also possible at carparks, football pitches, recreation grounds, university campus, school fields.

Geothermal energy – Nicks Ideas!

Use ground source heat pumps under the large areas of land at airports to de ice runways and heat buildings.

Also possible at carparks, football pitches, recreation grounds, university campus, school fields.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

response

The response to my email...


I totally agree that as Christians we should do as Christ would and welcome all and I hope that I do. I also pray for all those of other faiths including those who are persecuting Christians and burning down their churches. I agree that love is the only response even to the Islamists but are you aware that our government has already made concessions to them to appease them? I am not advocating either approach, I just think it's good to be aware.

I don't think this is about people losing ther homes - I didn't read it like that anyway - I think it's got more to do with respecting one another and caring too for the place we've been able to choose to live. There are many Muslims and other faiths who live here who do just that, I'm not racist Alexandra I thought you knew me better than that, and where I grew up I mixed with people of other faiths and races but if I went to live in another country I would accept that I would have to abide by their laws. It's because Britain and Australia have respect for freedom of choice that we are now facing a group of very zealous people who want to take over with a very different set of rules. I am not advocating violence or hatred and I very much hope and pray that the public doesn't react in that way and I also hope and pray that those who are taught that there only chance of salvation is to blow themselves up and take innocent people with them will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I am aware of Ghandi's quote and others like it and I have also done some study into the story of the Samaritan woman.

I am truly sorry if I have offended you, I had no intention of doing that, I hope you will forgive me. When you are not studying you may like to read a book called 'Secret Believers' by Brother Andrew and Al Jansenn if you haven't already, it is based on true stories but is written more as a novel to protect the identities of the characters.

response

The response to my email...


I totally agree that as Christians we should do as Christ would and welcome all and I hope that I do. I also pray for all those of other faiths including those who are persecuting Christians and burning down their churches. I agree that love is the only response even to the Islamists but are you aware that our government has already made concessions to them to appease them? I am not advocating either approach, I just think it's good to be aware.

I don't think this is about people losing ther homes - I didn't read it like that anyway - I think it's got more to do with respecting one another and caring too for the place we've been able to choose to live. There are many Muslims and other faiths who live here who do just that, I'm not racist Alexandra I thought you knew me better than that, and where I grew up I mixed with people of other faiths and races but if I went to live in another country I would accept that I would have to abide by their laws. It's because Britain and Australia have respect for freedom of choice that we are now facing a group of very zealous people who want to take over with a very different set of rules. I am not advocating violence or hatred and I very much hope and pray that the public doesn't react in that way and I also hope and pray that those who are taught that there only chance of salvation is to blow themselves up and take innocent people with them will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I am aware of Ghandi's quote and others like it and I have also done some study into the story of the Samaritan woman.

I am truly sorry if I have offended you, I had no intention of doing that, I hope you will forgive me. When you are not studying you may like to read a book called 'Secret Believers' by Brother Andrew and Al Jansenn if you haven't already, it is based on true stories but is written more as a novel to protect the identities of the characters.

NO I DO NOT AGREE!

AN EMAIL I RECIEVED TODAY....


The Australian Prime Minister John Howard..... What a GREAT man!!!!!!

Isn't this refreshing?

The UK Needs A Leader Like This!




Prime Minister John Howard - Australia


Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.'



'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,

'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens and Leaders will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.


If you agree ... please SEND THIS ON.



My reply:

I'm sorry to make contact for such unhappy reasons, but I would prefer if you didn't send emails like this to me. I don't think telling citizens of a country who want to adminster their personal, not their public lives, in a different way to the ideas of the Prime Minister is a very worthy cause. In fact it goes against the free will God granted us to make up our own minds about our lives. We are free to choose our religion and to choose how we live. I think infact that sending emails like this beautifully illustrates a quote from Ghandi, " I like your Christ, but I don't like his Christians ". I believe Jesus would not be chasing people out of their homes, rather finding ways to minister to them with love. I quote from a website here,

"In the story of the Samaritan woman, Jesus crosses both social and religious barriers (John 4:4-42). While much attention has been given to this aspect of the story, few have pondered the significance of Jesus conversing with not only a Samaritan, but a Samaritan who was a woman.

Jewish society frowned upon conversation between male and female. This was particularly true of Samaritan women, who were deemed perpetually unclean. The laws of purity declared that "the daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants {55} from their cradle (Daube, 137). The Samaritan woman's surprised reaction to being addressed by Jesus is evident (4:9). The latter part of the verse is often translated "for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans" (RSV). The verb sugchrontai alludes to the cultic code that forbade a Jew to eat or drink from the vessel of an unclean person such as a Samaritan, and especially a Samaritan woman whom they considered a perpetual menstruant. The Samaritan woman's shock is understandable as Jesus requests a drink from her vessel.

When the disciples return, they are shocked to see Jesus and the Samaritan woman in conversation. The Greek does not attribute the disciples' shock to the fact that Jesus was talking to "the woman" but rather "a woman." Schnackenburg points out that "the disciples are not taken aback . . . to see him disregarding the barriers of race. They are thinking of the reserve imposed on all Jews, and a rabbi in particular, with regard to the female sex" (1:443). The attitude of Aboth Rabbe Nathan is typical of rabbinic thought when he says, "One does not speak with a woman on the street, not even his own wife, and certainly not with another woman, on account of gossip" (Haenchen, 1:224)." http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?680

Jesus here chooses to spend time with someone who is of effectively a different religion to that of his own, takes time to talk to them and engage with them rather than ignoring them or berating them. As a result of this, the Samaritan women does indeed respond to the good news.

If perhaps the Christians of today followed Jesus' example and minister to the Muslims of the world with love and kindness, tolerance and understanding, showing them a path whereby one has a relationship with God, they might be more inclined to listen to the good news. Treating them as a threat and alienating them will not do this. Misunderstanding breeds fear and fear breeds hatred. I hope that you can break this cycle.

With love, and the hope that you would understand my point of view,

Alex

Discuss....

NO I DO NOT AGREE!

AN EMAIL I RECIEVED TODAY....


The Australian Prime Minister John Howard..... What a GREAT man!!!!!!

Isn't this refreshing?

The UK Needs A Leader Like This!




Prime Minister John Howard - Australia


Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.'



'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,

'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens and Leaders will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.


If you agree ... please SEND THIS ON.



My reply:

I'm sorry to make contact for such unhappy reasons, but I would prefer if you didn't send emails like this to me. I don't think telling citizens of a country who want to adminster their personal, not their public lives, in a different way to the ideas of the Prime Minister is a very worthy cause. In fact it goes against the free will God granted us to make up our own minds about our lives. We are free to choose our religion and to choose how we live. I think infact that sending emails like this beautifully illustrates a quote from Ghandi, " I like your Christ, but I don't like his Christians ". I believe Jesus would not be chasing people out of their homes, rather finding ways to minister to them with love. I quote from a website here,

"In the story of the Samaritan woman, Jesus crosses both social and religious barriers (John 4:4-42). While much attention has been given to this aspect of the story, few have pondered the significance of Jesus conversing with not only a Samaritan, but a Samaritan who was a woman.

Jewish society frowned upon conversation between male and female. This was particularly true of Samaritan women, who were deemed perpetually unclean. The laws of purity declared that "the daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants {55} from their cradle (Daube, 137). The Samaritan woman's surprised reaction to being addressed by Jesus is evident (4:9). The latter part of the verse is often translated "for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans" (RSV). The verb sugchrontai alludes to the cultic code that forbade a Jew to eat or drink from the vessel of an unclean person such as a Samaritan, and especially a Samaritan woman whom they considered a perpetual menstruant. The Samaritan woman's shock is understandable as Jesus requests a drink from her vessel.

When the disciples return, they are shocked to see Jesus and the Samaritan woman in conversation. The Greek does not attribute the disciples' shock to the fact that Jesus was talking to "the woman" but rather "a woman." Schnackenburg points out that "the disciples are not taken aback . . . to see him disregarding the barriers of race. They are thinking of the reserve imposed on all Jews, and a rabbi in particular, with regard to the female sex" (1:443). The attitude of Aboth Rabbe Nathan is typical of rabbinic thought when he says, "One does not speak with a woman on the street, not even his own wife, and certainly not with another woman, on account of gossip" (Haenchen, 1:224)." http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?680

Jesus here chooses to spend time with someone who is of effectively a different religion to that of his own, takes time to talk to them and engage with them rather than ignoring them or berating them. As a result of this, the Samaritan women does indeed respond to the good news.

If perhaps the Christians of today followed Jesus' example and minister to the Muslims of the world with love and kindness, tolerance and understanding, showing them a path whereby one has a relationship with God, they might be more inclined to listen to the good news. Treating them as a threat and alienating them will not do this. Misunderstanding breeds fear and fear breeds hatred. I hope that you can break this cycle.

With love, and the hope that you would understand my point of view,

Alex

Discuss....

Saturday, February 09, 2008

T Signing Off

Now Alex has returned and told you her story, and can carry on doing so
for years to come, I relinquish my responsibilities here.

Alex has saved you all from hours of fevered chattering and discussion
of the question "Who was T?"... it was, of course, Toddy.

I may still write for this page - Alex said that we could do it jointly,
but really I don't know if I'm blissfully eccentric enough. I'm not
sure what it means.

I'm finding my feet on this new plateau, though, so go <a
href="http://www.moabon.com/cjt/todd.htm">here</a>, and don't complain if it falters.

See you there.

T Signing Off

Now Alex has returned and told you her story, and can carry on doing so
for years to come, I relinquish my responsibilities here.

Alex has saved you all from hours of fevered chattering and discussion
of the question "Who was T?"... it was, of course, Toddy.

I may still write for this page - Alex said that we could do it jointly,
but really I don't know if I'm blissfully eccentric enough. I'm not
sure what it means.

I'm finding my feet on this new plateau, though, so go <a
href="http://www.moabon.com/cjt/todd.htm">here</a>, and don't complain if it falters.

See you there.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

All Pictures and Lists...

Sat here listening to Lisa Mantchev's Playlist, (she's my current author du jour, and I've been reading her blog for years so when she gets big you've heard it here first!), enjoying the 40s swing, I thought I'd let you have the pictures of what I've been up to recently. But first a list:

G O O D T H I N G S O F T H E D A Y
  1. My nice bf giving me a lift to the station even though it was early o'clock.
  2. Getting around London really easily with my Oyster card.
  3. The buskers under Millenium bridge who combined djembe drumming with jazz trumpet. In The Mood sounded awesome with an african undercurrent.
  4. My interview being almost enjoyable, and being told that deferrment is definately a possibilty.
  5. Buying a hat for £1.
  6. The Islamic art exhibition in the British Museum.
Now Pictures....

Take these yummy ingredients...

...Stir into gently heated condensed milk...


...and bake to make Nigella's fabulous breakfast bars.


Tom and I also made her chocolate brownies...



... those these were much better the next day when they had gone all cold and gooey.


I went to visit Winchester Cathedral with Tom and got all arty...


I found some really odd keyrings in the shop.



I also got some beautiful flowers from Tom. Just because.


All Pictures and Lists...

Sat here listening to Lisa Mantchev's Playlist, (she's my current author du jour, and I've been reading her blog for years so when she gets big you've heard it here first!), enjoying the 40s swing, I thought I'd let you have the pictures of what I've been up to recently. But first a list:

G O O D T H I N G S O F T H E D A Y
  1. My nice bf giving me a lift to the station even though it was early o'clock.
  2. Getting around London really easily with my Oyster card.
  3. The buskers under Millenium bridge who combined djembe drumming with jazz trumpet. In The Mood sounded awesome with an african undercurrent.
  4. My interview being almost enjoyable, and being told that deferrment is definately a possibilty.
  5. Buying a hat for £1.
  6. The Islamic art exhibition in the British Museum.
Now Pictures....

Take these yummy ingredients...

...Stir into gently heated condensed milk...


...and bake to make Nigella's fabulous breakfast bars.


Tom and I also made her chocolate brownies...



... those these were much better the next day when they had gone all cold and gooey.


I went to visit Winchester Cathedral with Tom and got all arty...


I found some really odd keyrings in the shop.



I also got some beautiful flowers from Tom. Just because.