Thunder and lightning

Last night we were treated to a rare (for Lancater) display of nature's power in the form of a spectaular thunderstorm. LittleLanky slept right through the excitement, but MrsLanky and I were woken by the show. 

I know some people find it scary, and I can understand why, but I just find it exciting. It's like taking part in an extreme sport without leaving the comfort of your own bed. A little bit of risk, but zero effort!

Needless to say, the rain that accompanied the thunder and lightning means that the water butt is now full, and I certainly don't need to water any plants today. Maybe United Utilities can postpone the hosepipe ban for a little longer.

Here comes the rain

I'm not often pleased to see the rain, but today is an exception. The rain has arrived (with its customary odd smell), and I'm happy. The strawberries in the garden would be delighted if they were capable of emotion. I can feel the water butt filling as I type... It's still warm though!

79 days

New BBC 2 comedy: Rev

Tonight sees the first episode of a new BBC comedy starring Tom Hollander as a new vicar in an urban setting. From what I've read, I'm expecting something more like 'The Thick of it' than 'The Vicar of Dibley'. Anyway, tune in tonight: BBC2, 22:00.

Read more about it at the Church Times website...

The many joys of a British summer

England are through the group stages of the world cup and set to take on the old enemy this weekend. Shock exits for Italy and France have shaken the tournament up a bit after its slow start! Live streaming footage available from ITV and the good old Beeb mean that those with a desktop PC at work (and no bandwidth or IP restrictions) are able to watch and work (I learnt I could actually multitask during England's last game).

Wimbledon is off to a flyer! Warm and dry weather mean no lost time so far, and the most epic of matches concluded yesterday to give us all a reminder that, for all the training and precision of the serve-volley game, it's still possible for a surprise to turn up occasionally.

The England cricket team have beaten the other old enemy, Australia, twice in three days! And it was in the 50 over format of the game; one which we are meant to be bad at (though opinion seems to be turning).

Add all this to the hospipe-ban-weather, and the rare site of yellow-brown lawns in Lancaster, and it makes me realise why I love the summer. The only way to top it off would be if a farner came to me and asked me to help with hay-making. That would bring back some very happy childhood memories of Salesis Farm.

Gareth Malone and my telly face, part 2

Regular readers will remember my glowing praise for the Gareth Malone series about the South Oxhey Choir. Well he's back on the telly again, and this time he's trying to bring together a young people's chorus for a new opera at Glyndebourne.

As a rule, MrsLanky and I are not opera fans; I'm certainly not sure what I think about modern opera. I can say, however, that we have been very impressed by this latest BBC series. The best moments of the show are when Malone works one to one with someone who is struggling, or who thinks they can't sing. He shows how, in many cases, the issue is not ability but confidence. And Malone has the disarming ability to give people confidence in their ability to sing.

The particularly interesting aspect of this series is the fact that Malone has been asked to work with a piece that is still a work in progress. It hasn't been completed by the time he needs to start teaching it! 

I don't know if it makes me a bad person, but it's affirming to see such a capable person working at the edge of his ability. It gives me confidence from watching him; especially seeing him receive coaching on conducting! His balance of humility and confidence is an inspiration. The telly face was definitely in evidence last night.

Anyway, iPlayer has the first 2 episodes, and you can catch it on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursdays.

82 days

A hosepipe ban, in Lancashire?

I thought I was dreaming when I heard John Humphrys quizzing a representative from United Utilities about a possible hosepipe ban in the Northwest of England. Normally the Southeast are the first to suffer. The last time I remember a hosepipe ban in this area, I think I was more concerned about whether I would still be allowed to use a water pistol or not! OK, it may not of been that long ago, but I am struggling to remember it.

I know I mentioned the other day about the good weather in Lancaster, and I noticed the low water level in Thirlmere when we passed it a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't think we were that dry.

Anyway, it seems we had some drizzle during the night. Maybe that will hold off the ban for a little while longer.

First of the lasts

This weekend saw the first of many things we will do for the last time in Lancaster over the coming weeks. At the end of the summer term, the 'Postgrad Group', to which the Lankies belong, are 'volunteered' for the job of providing a barbecue lunch after the Sunday morning service at the Chaplaincy Centre. On one notable and now legendary occasion, I recall the Lancaster weather providing some challenging conditions. Mr H and I were chief barbecue operatives, and we ended up sheltering under umbrellas whilst the rainwater rose around our ankles. We ended up barbecueing in about 6 inches of standing water, such was the ferocity of the rain storm.

Thankfully, the last Chaplaincy barbecue for which we are likely to be responsible was accomanied by glorious weather. The sun shone all day, as it is set to do for much of this week.

Lancaster is noted for it's challenging weather patterns, but our final year here has been great (so far). A proper winter with snow that stuck (the first in 13 years living in Lancaster), and a dry and warm summer which will hopefully continue a little longer!

This weekend also saw our last term-time 'Reflect' service. The undergraduate students will all be departing next weekend, and by the time 7pm on Sunday comes around, they will all be gone. Reflect does continue through the vacation, but with more modest numbers. This means the music has to change slightly - we'll lose a couple of accomplished part-singers, so we'll go for more simple songs and chants. This changes the essential character of the services until the undergrads return in October. 

After the service last night, I had a look back through the register of services. It seems we started Reflect in October 2006 - wow! It's amazing how time flies, and how services like this evolve. We've settled into a pattern of fairly traditional liturgies. We still have a mix of music from the Iona Community, Taize and a few good-old hymns, but we seem to have drifted into an amount of liturgical consistency which I had never envisaged at the beginning. 
Anyway, we're now on the home straight with Reflect. Fortunately, volunteers have come forward to take on the admin side of the service, so it will keep going after we've gone to Cambridge. This makes me very happy!
86 days to go

Why are finance forms always the same?

My current job is in a context where finance forms abound. I'm well used to the various formats and the different ways of thinking about money, and I'm accustomed to the tendency to use shorthand phrases and acronyms which mean nothing to most of the population. It shouldn't surprise me, therefore, that I have a number of questions to ask the DDO about how one is meant to fill in the 'family budget for ordinands' form which is due this Friday. Having not been an ordinand before, this is all new to me! I'm also not familiar with the various benefits and tax credits for which we may be eligible. One of the problems is that if I apply for any benefits or credits now, the assessment would be based on my current salary, and not my impending student status. If I don't get actual figures based on an actual application, I can't really put anything on the form.

My job for this evening is to do a bit more internet research. After that, if I still have questions, I'll give the DDO a call. I'm sure this could be simpler!
91 days

The power of positive reinforcement

I've never been a follower of organised boycotts such as the Nestle one. I understand the key issues, but you need to take a lot of 'facts' on trust from a partisan when you support such a campaign. I have no idea whether Nestle are good are bad - how would I know that what I've been told about them is correct and free of bias?

I also have a more fundamental discomfort about organised boycotts like this. I'd much rather take action based on my own rationale rather than received wisdom.

Finally, there's a significant issue here about how we are seeking to modify the behaviour of these corporations (that is what we're trying to do isn't it?). We're told by child psychologists that we should ignore any undesired behavioural traits in our children, and reward them when we see preferred behaviour (note my hedging away from good and bad - once a philosopher...). Maybe this is an approach we should take with corporations, businesses and organisations. Perhaps, as Phil Cooke suggests, we should reward a retailer because they have exceeded our expectations.

I know from my experience in retail that you rarely get good customer feedback. When you do, it lights up your face, and you're motivated for another week in one of the most poorly paid jobs around. On the other hand, people are very happy to tell you when their expectations have not been met; sometimes in brutal terms. Why, as a society, is it easier to chide than to praise? Is there something about the human mind that makes us do this, or have we been 'trained' into this mode of behaviour? Either way, perhaps we should be the start of a revolution which, rather than boycotting on the basis of presumed wrongdoing, takes a positive experience as the motivation for affirmation - even on a corporate level. Carrots rather than sticks!

Pining for my piano

Since I left home at the age of 19, I have been without my piano. It was a gift to me from my Grandparents, and I learnt to play on it. Though I must admit, I didn't learn very well! I got to Grade 2 and decided that all those exams and hours of practice (not that I ever did an hour of practice) were too much effort.

Since going to university, my music-making has gone in a more choral route (despite the purchase of a lovely electro-acoustic guitar). The voice is the only truly portable instrument, and you don't struggle to fit it in a university bedroom! Through singing, and teaching songs to others, my music reading has got a lot better. I used to be ok on the pitch of notes, but I was easily confused by rhythms. This is still true to an extent, but I find that a bit of concentration soon sorts it out.

When we move to Cambridge in September, we will have enough space to accommodate the piano which now sits in my parents' dining room. I can't wait to have it! It's not that I will play it every day, but I do think that I will enjoy being able to try a bit of sightreading, and bashing out the accompaniments to Taize chants or Iona songs. The weakness of the voice is that harmony cannot easily be achieved when you're on your own (with a few exceptions). This is where the piano comes in! you can hear how the different parts relate to each other, and get prepared for any accidentals or clashes before they happen.
So there you go. I'm pining for my piano, but this will soon come to an end in September. I bet it needs tuning.

Keep your eyes on Kerrigan

Although he's already 21 (geriatric by England team standards), Lancashire's Simon Kerrigan is still a player to watch in my opinion (I've mentioned him before). Monty has fallen by the wayside and Swann, though brilliant, will not last forever. So who is in the wings to carry on the rejuvenated spin attack for England?
Kerrigan's recent performances for Lancashire make me think that he may end up wearing an England shirt (at least a Lions variant) before too long. From what I have read, it seems that he has the special skill of being able to turn a game with a short passage of inspired bowling. I suppose that if he wants to compete for an England cap, he will need to work hard on his batting and fielding. By ousting Monty as England's number 1 spin option, Swann has shown that spin alone is no longer sufficient! I'm sure Peter Moores will be working on this with Kerrigan already.

The day Stephen Hawking helped my prayer life

As I've blogged already this week, I'm participating in a week of accompanied prayer. As such, my attention has been slanted (to a greater extent than usual) towards my prayer life. 

Yesterday, I followed a link from a blog, and I eventually arrived at an article about an interview given to ABC in the USA about Professor Stephen Hawking's latest TV series over the pond. I have a lot of time for Hawking. His work in explaining the more complex ideas in theoretical physics to a lay audience has been inspirational.

The paragraph in the article that caught my attention was one that resonated with something that has come up in the sessions with my prayer guide. From one of Hawking's answers about religion:

"What could define God [is thinking of God] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," Hawking told Sawyer. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible."

I have a tendency to intellectualise God and faith (probably a personality-type issue). This can be very necessary, but it can sometimes reduce God to something like Hawking's caricature in the paragraph above; 'the embodiment of the laws of nature' and nothing more. I think when I intellectualise and theorise God, it becomes tempting to think of God only as a way of describing and understanding the physical reality of the world, and not as the personal God that Hawking criticises as a human-made artefact. This tendency reminds me of the 'category mistake' referred to by Rowan Williams in reference to creationism. We try to fit God into an inappropriate and inadequate system of understanding - scientific 'proof' - and we end up with an incomplete conception of the thing we were trying to understand.
I expect that one of the reasons I have this tendency is my degree in philosophy and my subsequent interest in the ongoing tussle between Dawkins and the religious world. I think I often confine my contemplation of God to philosophical thoughts about his existence, and the interaction of religious ideas with scientific ones, and I stop short of trying to know God better.
So Stephen Hawking has inadvertently encouraged me to address this matter in my private prayer time. I've resolved to try further to understand God in the personal sense that Hawking rejects. 
97 days (meant to do this each day - will try harder)

Why the C of E needs to pull its socks up

I'm sure there are many reasons why the C of E needs to pull its socks up, but today's gripe is about keeping up with contemporary culture. Fired from my previous post which mentions daily prayer, I thought I would do some investigation into daily prayer apps for the iPhone (follow the link to see the latest incarnation), and for that matter, the iPad. I double checked that the C of E (or anyone else) had published a Daily Prayer app, and I couldn't find one. I did, however, find that we're behind the times! There are loads of daily prayer apps, some more 'official' than others, but here are my top 3 finds following a 2 minute search:

Liturgy of the hours

Methodist Daily Prayer app 

The folks at the Vatican reportedly like iBreviary

There must be someone out there with the skills and inclination to develop a C of E Daily Prayer app. Surely! I would be prepared to pay the going rate for such an app, and I'm sure many others would too, so if you're out there, get cracking an I'll be your first customer.

Making time

I'm participating in a 'week of accompanied prayer' this week at the Chaplaincy Centre. So far so good, in that I have been allocated a very good guide for the week who has already been challenging and probing. The week aims to provide a retreat in daily life, so I'm still at work and still at home, but each day I meet with my guide for 1/2 an hour. Alongside this there are workshop sessions to which all the participants are invited. The crucial thing, though, is that you commit to at least half an hour of personal prayer time in the day.

The thing that I've been surprised about already is that I do have the time to fit prayer into my daily routine. My anxiety at the beginning of the programme was that I wouldn't be able to commit enough time to do it justice.
I've decided that now is the time to kick start my routine again (it has lapsed since the arrival of LittleLanky), and for the first time in ages I said morning prayer today. To save me juggling prayer books and bibles, I used my iPhone to bring up the appropriate order on the C of E website. How long until someone develops a Daily Prayer app??? It can't be that difficult!
Anyway, my main point is that I do seem to have enough time to slot in prayer to a very busy day. I just need to remind myself of this each day, and fight the urge to collapse in front of the TV.

Preach, preaches, preaching, praught?

On Sunday, I was aked to preach at the united service at the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre. The service took the form of a Roman Catholic Mass, but was attended by members from all denomintions represented in the Centre. We followed the RC lectionary, and as such, we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi. So an Anglican preached at an ecumenical Mass on the subject of the eucharist.

Hmmm. No difficulties there then!

I'll post the sermon when I've located a the final copy - I'm told it wasn't terrible - but the point I wanted to make in this post is one about comfort zones. Sunday's sermon was only my second ever attempt at preaching and, unsurprisingly, I still felt like I was well outside my confort zone.

The thing that highlighted this feeling for me was my inclusion of music in the sermon. I'm well accustomed to teaching and leading unaccompanied singing with congregations, and I noticed that the moment I started to teach the song was the moment I started to relax a little. Until this point, I felt locked to the script and quite nervous. As soon as the music started, I felt more able to go off-piste and make a few impromptu observations and witticisms.

It occurred to me that this is all about what I am used to, and what I am comfortable with. I lead people in song on a weekly basis, but I've only ever preached* twice. I'm hoping this is something that will change as I have more opportunities to preach, and according to what I know about Westcott House, I will have many such opportunities during my training.

* Does anyone else think that the past tense of 'preach' should be 'praught'? As in 'teach' and taught'. 

Surprising bird

Whilst walking away from the Chaplaincy Centre yesterday after the 'Reflect' service, I was surprised to see a lone oystercatcher wandering around the lawns. I know they aren't a particularly rare bird in the UK, but I don't think I've ever seen one on the university campus before. There definitely aren't many oysters to be caught here.

Back down to earth

It might sound strange, but I always anxious when I'm on holiday about what might happen in the world while I'm away. The whole point of a holiday is to get away from it all, and I subscribe to that view. No iPhones, no newspapers. You get the picture. This is fine in principle, but I find that I retain an amount of anxiety about what might be happening in the real world while I'm offline and out of the UK.

We returned from a wonderful week in Cyprus to the devastating news from West Cumbria, and it was obviously a massive shock. During our years in Lancaster, visits to Cumbria have been a common affair, and we feel that we identify strongly with the place and the people. Consequently, this all feels very close to home.

Logically, one can look at the statistics about gun ownership and the instances of multiple murder across the world, and this offers some comfort. However, the knowledge that such a tragedy has just happened on your patch has the ability to undermine the common sense approach of the well meaning statisticians and media commentators. I don't feel at any greater risk as a result of the shootings, but I do feel uneasy; and no amount of logic will remove this.

Part of my unease is because I know that the people of West Cumbria will continue to be the subject of media intrusion and unhelpful speculation. We will also see a batch of TV programmes on the subject, along with political debate and news coverage.

What the people of West Cumbria need most at this point is time to come to terms with what has happened, to grieve for the dead, and to begin to look forward again. For the rest of us, too, the world has changed and we'll need time to adjust.

Sporty post

First of all, I need to offer congratulations to the Seasiders. Blackpool have made it through the play-offs to gain a place in the Premiership next season. Of course, they follow fellow Lancastrian team Burnley, who have just dropped back out of the top flight. there was some discussion in the office today about the lasting benefits of promotion, especially if the team comes back down in the following season like Burnley. I think it's a good thing that a bit of the money from the top of the game finds its way down to the second level, even if it's by way of parachute payments for relegated sides. Burnley have improved their stadium and their training facilities, and this will hopefully make them a better Championship side next season.

Anyway, well done again to Blackpool. I look forward to seeing Premiership football on the Fylde coast.

Then there's the cricket. I neglected to post anything at all about England's T20 victory in the West Indies. This was because life was in one of its busy phases here in LankyLand. I felt, however, that I should belatedly offer my congratulations to a very classy England side who finally showed that we have the talent for the shorter forms of the game. The crucial thing, as always, is good selection. Many bold and brave decisions were made by the selectors, and these were backed up with a renewed approach to fitness and fielding drills, leading to some impressive catches and run-outs. Then there's the batting. It was great to see some power hitters who aren't called KP or Freddie. For too long now, England have relied on the same 2 batsmen to club the bowlers out of the ground. Now it seems we have a team full. 
114 days

The day the world changed

As regular readers will know, I have been on a 'journey' towards training for Priesthood in the Church of England for some time now. I was successful in being selected at my BAP over a year ago, and since then we've been working on trying to clear enough debt to make training financially possible. I decided that the best course of action would be to keep my plans private until I had to spread the news. Of course, lots of people had to know; friends, family, fellow churchgoers etc, but I decided to keep the news from my work colleagues.

I told my boss about my plans a couple of months ago when we were planning the budgets for next year, then on Wednesday this week it was time to tell my colleagues.

Now I work in a boisterous open-plan office where the language is ripe, and the content of conversations is often from the gutter. I'm not the shy and retiring type when it comes to office banter, and I'm not averse to responding in kind when the comments come in my direction. So you can probably imagine that some of my colleagues where a little surprised to hear of my plans!

Anyway, all in all, I've been pleasantly surprised by the all-round support I've been given (so far). And I'm looking forward to the 'tarts and vicars' party which seems will be the inevitable send-off.

I've been thinking for a long time about telling my colleagues about my plans, and it made me very nervous. I wasn't sure what I would say, or how they'd take the news. I'm glad we're now in a position where the truth is out in the open, and I feel like a significant weight has been lifted. It now feels yet more real, and the countdown to Cambridge can truly begin.
117 days

High turnout at Lancaster university

I just thought I ought to record the fact that the queue of students at the campus polling station (in the chaplaincy) was longer than I've ever seen it! Student apathy was taking a holiday today!


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