Totally Groovy Playlist

1. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
2. Beach Boys - I Get Around
3. Beatles - Eight Days a Week
4. Beatles - I Wanna Hold Your Hand
5. The Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
6. Beatles - Twist and Shout
7. The Animals - Just One Look
8. The Kinks - Girl, You Really Got Me Going
9. The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon
10. The Kinks - Tired of Waiting for You
    

The `Legal Pluralism` of Shari'ah Judicial Courts for Cultural Islam 'n' that

* Linky Link
* More on Shari`ah Law
* Bias unfairly represented Radio 4 programme that caused the debate
On the value of faces, the concept of peoples in one Western nation being governed by one of two judicial systems seems farsicle. It also seems infuriating that the cultural law of a religious minority would excempt them from the governing legalities and judiciaries of their country of residence.

It's tempting to say `if they don't like it here they should go back to their own countries` but although there's probably more sense in that statement than tact I doubt it's the most constructive solution .

The main issue with Shar'ah law being introduced as a parallel to the British courts is that it undermines the main court system of the land. If you break a law of this country, you will receive a fair and similar sentence to another perpetrator before with similar convictions. To undermine the integrity of that principle is to undermine the very fabric on which our society is based.

Reading the Quran, it seems to be based on the assumption that Islam is the law of the land (and if not the religion should be `spread by the sword` Quran 9:5, 9:25) so by mere virtue of the culture of their texts Islam must be opposed to multiculturalism, cultural integration, religious tolerance and all the rest of the BBC's trendy neologisms. I'm not intolerant of other religions at all (and I'm even a Christian so I should obect to everything!) but I do think there should be a finite level of unWestern anti-democracy the Home Office should be affording in the name of Political Correctness. Otherwise Britain will become less of an iconic haven of freedom and human rights and more of a door mat to pseudo-extremism without the bottle to live up to its reputation of freedom.

But that's beside the point. I understand the bottom-of-the-barrell case studies the BBC found for supporting legal pluralism and of course I beleive we, as a nation, should allow these make-believe courts the liberty to function within their own little cliques. But to have these recognised by the state or the course of justice is a perversion and an another unfair bias against the white English moderates who, not having the advantage of foreign religious minority status loose out on another of the fruits of multi-culturalism.

I'm not denying absolution for the Islamic minorities at all, but I am saying that as a *free* nation, it's our obligation to defend equality by having an inclusive but singular legal system that isn't undermined by a religious consumerism that picks and chooses the course of justice that happens to suit the defendant.

Damien Rice - 9

I think every now and again there are some trully beautiful musical artists like Jeff Buckley, Ella Fitzgerald, Lou Fellingham, Cathy Davey, Matt Bellamy to name a few but since first listening to 0 a few years ago, I've been hooked on Damien Rice's music above all.

The new album, 9, has been a long time in the making so it's a relief that it lives up to all expectations and can still hold it's own in the shaddow of his earlier album. In his new album Damien has taken a slightly more intense route with the music at times and it can be difficult to listen to at parts but he's wonderfully retained the delicate romantic expression of O, balancing the minimal with the emotional.

One of good things about 9 is that it can stand to be played with the volume up at songs like Rootless Tree or Me My Yoke and I (click to listen) to reveal the unpolished and perhaps more raw talent that's only vaguely hinted at in O. If O would be more what you'd play as ambience at a dinner party or with a cozy evening in with a significant other, I think 9 is more an album to throw on an iPod or while home alone. The music on 9 would lose its charm if it was listened to socially as it's not meant to be pleasant easy listening like O. Like I heard the other day, `9 is an album best listened properly first`.

When pushing shoves I think O is my prefered album but maybe for me it's inexplicably linked to memories of learning about La in her room a few years ago or our trip to Scotland, so to La and me O embodies musical sacrosanctity. However, right now it's been a long time since an album has come out that's so expressive and musicly untamed yet still making a spectacle of the beauty and simplicity of the artist. And in a time of artificial and commercial music this is a refreshing insight of genius that would be welcomed whether or not Damien Rice was as loved as he is.

Caption for Garcia

Emergants take it too far

Top Five Good Mornings

Taken From Mark Tiddy's Blog

5

Lily Cole (suuuuper model)

4

Rose Byrne (actress from Wicker Park and The Last Kiss)

3

Alison Hannigan (another actress)

2

Don't Ask

1

And of course, #1 on the to do list is my lovely La. (Laura Brown from The Hours was the closest pic I could find I'm afraid)

Caption?

Captions

Taken from the week in pictures. Linky Link

Seven hours it took me to get this far and the road just stops!


A lame duck? How thoughtful.


Com' on then! Think ya 'ard enough!


Actually, Bill. Forgot to carry the one, mate. Turns out quantum mechanics has all been a waste of time.... Yer mate, I'll start work on the Vishnu/Brahma hypothesis now.


Hu Jintao's Big Asian give-away starts at Tibet.


``us' arms are bin laden`` (say it aloud in Northern accent!!)


In break time at the EU summit, Germany proposes negotiating more persuasivly with Poland.


Couldn't think of a caption for this last one. Suggestions welcome.

Hurr

Linky Link

That site is so entertaining

Thought this was funny too...

*reverent silence but atmospheric ambient music*
``I think Allah's put a word in my heart hear tonight, brothers. He's saying there's an infidel here tonight without a borken arm. If this is you come to the front now and the leaders and I can put you right. Any one else here who wants Allah's wrath? Ooooooooooh, there's a mighty move of Allah in this room tonight, people.``

Couldn't see this pic without blogging a caption...

PC Smith has been cautioned after ignoring signs prohibiting the access of Police

Animals in the Whomb

Nearly a TV show somwehere...


Feautus of a chicken


Feautus of a turtle


Featus of a mutley

Holy Spirit 'n' That

Linky Link

Worth a read me thinks.

Hopefully someone will comment who disagrees - would make an interesting debate me thinks.

I always feel a thread like that is quite unfair because everyone is asserting one another's PoV and there's no debate or devil's advocate.

Being all growed up 'n' that

Life at the moment is rather exciting.

I've lost three permanent jobs this year and am yet to find my fourth which leaves me in risky state of limbo between jobs. La's pay doesn't cover the bills alone so there's all sorts of grown up type pressure to find work.

What I'm learning is I can't be too proud to do work. This weekend I worked 24 hours (to 1am) at a building site to earn money which was a really good experience. I think I've learned that you can't be too proud to do work, and if you're not, God will provide.

I remember last week looking over my references and thinking `I'm never going to be employed ever and we're going to get thrown out of our home and La's dad won't let me marry his daughter and I'm going to die a pennyless untalented French writer`, and about mid day sitting earnestly on the bed praying for work to come in. I'd heard rumous that there was work at the Cromer crab factory available for minimum wage and for the first time thinking it would be excellent to do that kind of work. So my prayer wasn't for well paid work or work that might give me the skills to further my career but for an honest day's work that payed a fair wage.

That afternoon I rang two agencies back who offered me good work and a combined 51 hour week which is awesome. the first was the building site who asked me back next week (that was really good stuff - I was working with a Polish migrant and I might blog on that at some point). The second work is data entry from 5pm-9pm Mon-Fri so I'm looking foreward to that later.

I think I'm learning that if I work hard and trust God, his provision is bigger than my needs&overdraught. I'm glad I'm learning this now because I think La's getting slightly overwhelemed with her mother and her work sucking and wedding and having less than no money with me not having a f/t job. I may be wrong but I think I'm being quite strong in this situation which is good for us.

Gutted I couldn't get to church this Sunday though, seems like ages since I've been.

Other news I'm praying/applying for joining the Police Force as a PCSO. I want to use that as a stepping stone to become a proper constable one day. I'd like to help people and actually be proud of my work (and La and possibly children to be proud of my work). I think I'd make a good police man but I'm not quite growed up enough yet.

... But then again, I wouldn't have considered working in a building site or trusting God twelve months ago, so maybe growing up is a work in progress.

Captions

All images from the Telegraph's `week in pictures`... Linky Link


KKK chief: "So, Angel of Death, you really think we can get these costumes half price because they got the colours the wrong way round?"


Duke of Edinburgh: `*Expletive removed*`


No, you were supposed to bring the bottle!


Dyslexic chavs vandelise the signs for new `Green Cameras`


...Sociology, why what lecture do you have next?


Greenpeace support John Howard's Crops Of Austrailian Lager Industry


Burburry admits it's new advertising campaign for fur may have stood to have used less blood.


Pimp My Ride reaches Pune

How come...

... you never hear of psychics winning the lottory??

Farm

But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD!

And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Halleu'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'u'JAAH!!

This has so obviouisly been photoshopped. I don't think this is real.

More Matt

From The Daily Telegraph

Praise God...

For the privelege of watching the leaves fall from the trees in The Avenues this morning :)

The Best Bits About Being Anglican

1)
Bits of liturgy that ARE written down on paper. The words are so inspirational and worshipful... if you let them be, if you just mumble them then you loose a lot of the beauty that they poses. Also saying the words that people like Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts and co would have said is also quite powerful, as to take Einstein's phrase to a different context, the modern church is `standing on the shoulders of giants`. (Sorry to modern Christians who think the limit of holy people is limited to Sky channel 671).

2)
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain!
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be That
Thou, my God, should die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

The Two Things I Dislike About Being Anglican...

1)
Those little bits of bitesize liturgy that aren't written down on the paper. Like:

Vicar: ``May the peace of God [et al]...... be upon you`` (or words to that effect)
Proles: ``And also with you``.

How do Anglicans learn these bits - there's waaaay too much to remember, like the creed and bits people say at communion and set Anglicanny phrases to say while drinking tea...

2)

Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story simply, as to a little child,
For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in,
That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.
Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;
The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and grave;
Remember I’m the sinner whom Jesus came to save.
Tell me the story always, if you would really be,
In any time of trouble, a comforter to me.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the same old story when you have cause to fear
That this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear.
Yes, and when that world’s glory is dawning on my soul,
Tell me the old, old story: “Christ Jesus makes thee whole.”

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

The Two Things I Dislike About Being Anglican...

1)
Those little bits of bitesize liturgy that aren't written down on the paper. Like:

Vicar: ``May the peace of God [et al]...... be upon you`` (or words to that effect)
Proles: ``And also with you.

How do Anglicans learn these bits - there's waaaay too much to remember, like the creed and bits people say at litrugy and set phrases to say while drinking tea...

2)

Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story simply, as to a little child,
For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in,
That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.
Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;
The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and grave;
Remember I’m the sinner whom Jesus came to save.
Tell me the story always, if you would really be,
In any time of trouble, a comforter to me.

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the same old story when you have cause to fear
That this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear.
Yes, and when that world’s glory is dawning on my soul,
Tell me the old, old story: “Christ Jesus makes thee whole.”

Refrain

Tell me the old, old story,
tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
of Jesus and His love.

Pet Hates

Anglian Water
The Sherriff of Nottingham
Money
Shonagh Daly
Jihadists
David Cameron
Chelsea tractors
Drivers who try and justify breaking the speed limit
Weeds in the garden
nPower
People who think `bubbly` is an endearing adjective of self appraisal
Statitistics
The advert that goes `I can't be the only one who wants to start earning interest the day I pay in a cheque` - La
Tom Cruise
Christians who think the most naive a church can be is not raising their hands
Men who get to 35 and dye their hair gray (but leave their eye brows black)

Brokeback Mountain
Students not studying proper subjects
Sweetcorn
Hotmail
Red China
Dave Bilburgh songs
..... and lest we forget....

PEOPLE WHO HATE THE FRENCH!

Satire 'n' that

Me 'n' the missus was discussin' right... if we were married by Tom Rawles, would we have a marriage without the boring bits?

Liberty 'n' that

Unlike Donald Rumsfeld, Nick Griffin was found not guilty of stirring up racial hatred this week. It's amazing how many things freedom looks like to different people: A tyranical dictatorship (for the Sunni Iraqies or the Aryan Nazis); Jihad (to those who believe paradise proceeds martyrdom); political correctness (to the BBC); uni-culturalism or indigenous people's national perogative (to the BNP); or the liberty of Christ (to Christians).

As for me, I can't stand the BNP, but when it comes down to a threat to democracy and people governing the mis-alignment of our cultural orthodoxies, I think there's nothing more dangerous than politically correct taboos and trying to justify what is in a very real sense freedom of speech.

I think a fair moral yardstick of the modern (and postmodern!) age is the UN Universal Decleration of Human Rights, which says in Article 19:

``Everyone has the right to opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.``

The BNP tend to advertise views that question the rights of others based on indigenousness, however, the views offered by the nature of Political Correctness question the rights of the people to express their views. And in the case of the lesser of two evils, I can't argue that denying a person's or organisation's right to free speech in the name of freedom is anything but a juxtoposition of the moral highground. In the words of Nick Griffin:

"I was hauled over the coals for describing Asian criminals as Asian and their white victims as white. That's not a crime, that's the truth of the matter,"

The BBC seems to be claiming this is tantamount to verbal Kristallnacht. As much as I don't pretend to know what the actual words used at the BNP rally were (I can't find a media source to comment on what the actual slogans were) I still don't see how this case ever got to court.

As for the `BBC abusing their position` as quoted by Griffin, I think I agree. The BBC, being a squeeky clean corperation like things to be clear cut, so let's make clear what the charges were. Griffin was quoted as calling ``Islam a wicked and vicious faith`` to which the courts played host a case of racism. Maybe I've lost touch with reality for a second, but racism is based on the discrimination of race/ethnicity, skin colour, and perhaps nationality at a push - not religion! And the issue of this confused attitude isn't confined to the BBC:

Chancellor Gordon Brown has told the BBC race laws may have to be revised in light of the acquittal. - BBC news

My take on all this is the BNP are bunch of tits for even thinking let alone plaquarding these thoughts, but to make laws against this is political paranoia. I wish the liberalists would eat their dictums and understand that these peoples words will be their own obituaries. I have faith in our current political system that the Algo-reich is an impossibility, and that any further attempt to quash the voices who don't agree with one aspect of regressive liberalism is undeniably unconstitutional and taking away someone's right to say something horrific is far more disgusting than anything a person or people could say.

Witch Doctor

Linky Link

HAHA!

A doctor has failed to give her patient treatment because she claimed the patients mother was a witch who was planning to kill her husband, and the patient had evil forces working inside of her.

The doctor sent the patient away with crucifixes and black stones for healing telling her to contact a priest for an exorcism.

The doctor failed to provide contact details to her employer and claimed to a nurse that ``she was a visionary whose special powers had been recognised from an early age``.

She also has failed to turn up to her trial claiming the barristers are fraudsters.

Matt's Better

Spiggin' Not Funny!

Why can't Hagar the Horrible be as funny as Matt cartoons?



Image taken illigaly from the Sun website

Mortgages 'n' that.

According to the Abbey mortgage calculator, La and me can borrow 48k with a 5% deposit. I calculated the deposit to be £2400 which leaves an amount of £45,600 (less interest).

That means we pay 47k over 25 years
That means we pay 1900k a year
That means we pay £160 a month...

but we pay £525 a month in rent!

If we were to pay the bank £525 a month however for the next 25 years, that would mean we could borrow £157k!!

ARGH!

Woe for bloody banks!

Mortgages 'n' that.

According to the Abbey mortgage calculator, La and me can borrow 48k with a 5% deposit. I calculated the deposit to be £2400 which leaves an amount of £45,600 (less interest).

That means we pay 47k over 25 years
That means we pay 1900k a year
That means we pay £160 a month...

but we pay £525 a month in rent!

I we were to pay the bank £525 a month however for the next 25 years, that would mean we could borrow £157k!!

ARGH!

Woe for bloody banks!

Am I Normal?

On the B&Q recruitment website, one of the multiple choice psychological assesment questions is ``grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 on:

``Normal

``Brave

``Curious``

And loads more adjectives...

Matt

Quote from Ed Byrne

``... And all the rediculous stuff they don't let you take on aeroplanes anymore... like tweesers. If anyone can hijack a plane with tweezers, they deserve it``

'Sadam Pickle in Iraq...

... But will a short rope help restore peace to an otherwise desperate country?

The issue of the nature of Sadam's death is, although condign, an irrelevance in my opinion. Last night on Dispatches on Channel 4 the consensus of much of the country is that ``no decent Iraqi would have not wanted Sadam to change, but no Iraqi would want the current American occupation``, a view shared by even the Shia community.

The tabloids are obviously vocal with the extent to which execution will exacebate the Sunni militia, and even the BBC headlined that US *peace keeping* troops had leave cancelled to police the kurfews imposed on areas of the country. But is this an obvious illustration that maybe executing Sadam might not be the best idea after all?

I've been a vehmehenehnt supporter of the Iraqi war from the start, and even now I still believe that despite the current unrest it's better for a country to outlaw active terrorists than to proscribe and torture those who think they deserve human rights.

Figure heading the EU's save-the-dictator campaign Blair and Italian Prime Minister Prodi are making an honourable stand against the Iraqi judicial barbarity and it's comforting to hear our national leader assert the UK's stance on death being no sane form of retribution - especially after 2003's shop-a-dictator campaign!

But like I've said before, let us remember that Sadam's been brought to his nation's justice and God is not blind to imparting the justice in the fair and divine manor to which our world can not compare. So let the Iraqies decide the nature of the absolute punishment he will receive. After all, if it's the Shia communities that have suffered at his electrodes, and tongue removal impliments, then so long as justice is served, let it be based on their own beliefs.

However, considering us Westerners have been trying to oust Hussain for a decade or so, let us not get carried away and endulge in this final victory in one battle on the `war on terror`. Bush and the coalition have the responsibility to see what will come to Iraq post-noose.

It seems Bush's boys were so concerned with ripping down monuments and shooting iconic media video-bites of tanks rolling over posters of its enemy, the pragmatism of the change of regime itself was lost in a haze of hardcore UK tabloid combetatns calling Blair Bush's lapdog and US Democrats calling the Republicans fascist prigs.

My uninformed prayer is that after Sadam is hanged, those who value spin before freedom might work together with the elected leaders of the USA, UK, Italy, France et al to unite Iraq once again. My prayer is that the occupying forces in Iraq will earn the respect of the populous and images like Abu Ghraib will be a distant icon of the bad times of Iraq and the people will work with the West as they provide water, reliable power, employment and freedom to the nation.

My prayer is also that the hanging of Sadam will usher in a new order of peace and liberty and will be a memorable icon of the victory of peace of tyranny, just like the justice given to Hermann Goering in Nüremburg.

`History doesn't repeat itself, it just rhymes from time to time` - Mark Twain

One advantage of the West having a moral monopoly is the finger we can point at other nations we decide to be more barbarous than the actions of our own living history. But when barbarity plays host to leaders from Sudan, Zimbabwe and others, a moral high ground no longer becomes the international super-currency over which the UN fantasises.

The Chinese/African situation at the moment is almost swings and round about - or at least it would be in an ideal world. For the £2.8 billion of Chinese aid offered to these mid contenent dictatorships, the African people loose even more of their rights and priveldges than they barely had in the first place. China has economicly outgrown the Secondary Industry that brought it to its place as an economic super-power, so it outsources sweatshops to Africa for a wysiwyg trade - If it looks right it to buy then the rights of people become abjectness.

But is this international moral hole really any different to the spice trade of 19th century colonial India? Or any worse than the 18th century slave trade? As the global moral absolute, it's easy to look down on the lessons we learned in our shared Western history - like a father questioning his son about the sandwich bag of pot hidden under the mattress all the while knowing that he himself smoked worse in college.

The thing is, much as the colonial British Empire brought trade and economic reform to countries such as India and South Africa, they also ushered in a NWO of corruption and exploitation. The only difference between the BE and China's industrialisation of LEDCs is that China is (almost commendabily) bribing it's very own commonwealth for doing so.

While these laconic minor states count their chickens, the unspoken message of the Chinese UN ambassadors is the prosiac justification of their humanitarian violations. And while the Chinese count the yen to be made from international loans and cheap foreign labour, the West loose sleep at the moral implications of trading with it's indispensible Asian small goods outlet country.

Like it says in the title: `history rhymes`, so in this two-tear Brandt little world, maybe we can afford to perhaps let our third world allies develop themselves on an economy of more substance than that to be developed from the scraps off the EU's table.

The paradigm of the industrial revolution as experienced in Britain, Germany, North America, Italy and others is a country develops economicly (courtesy of the industrial revolution) so the state gets richer. As the state gets richer, the education sector develops in accord with the increasing demand for more intellegent variables. As the country becomes more educated the people become aware of their own exploitation and the demand for human rights are born. (Except in China, where conciencious objects are *hushed*). My point is, no country except Utopia has evolved naturally out of humanitarian disgrace - like Orwell says `hope, if there is any, lies in the proles`.

My take on this affair of the complicity between Africa and China is: I encourage it. As much as the West is stropping that the limelight of globalisation has been transposed from the North to the South of the global divide, the cursory aid it offers isn't sufficient to build a future or a stable political/economic integrity. Britain used to suffer from outbreakes of the Black Death, Cholera, Small pox, and the reason we aren't afflicted by these any more isn't the aid we would have received - but the country has developed to a culture of sanitation and responsibility that has come with industrialisation.

Poverty in Africa will never be defeated by aid alone. But aid alone can be a domestic national commodity if the state has the resources and the wherewithal to provide it. So while EU trade emargos proscribe the bulk of African industries, and UK trade laws shake hands with sound economies - there's no blaming Africa for corroborating with China, nor is there blame for China to profit from Africa's human rights grey areas. After all, we can afford our morals.

One last caption

Nick Griffin begins community service following judge's sentence

:D

Yay, it's that time of the week again!

When I can make lame captions to the Telegraph's week in pictures that only I find funny


- Hey, Bill.
- Yeah...
- Recon we should have opted for `Treat` instead, mate?


What, you never seen a white man before?


Mugabe fields question about foreign policy through mime


A man from Kosovo Albania demonstrates why keeping secrets is difficult in his job. (think about it)


Venezualen president, Stephen Segal tells his people: ``beer's in the back, lads!``

Void of Viewpoints

Everyone's favourite Heather wrote this last night about how different views can be taken on a number of issues in one area. Heather and Paul live in the outside of the city (afaik) in the kind of quasi-rural village that I'm used to living in. It's a shock moving to the NR3 borough, and I make no secret about how much I miss my peace.

Imagine rows and rows of mid/late nineteenth century Sheffield/Mancunian terraced houses that that's the kind of neighbourhood we live in. (If you've been to Fridays, we live virtually opposite). Beaconsfield Road is the 6th most transient street in Norwich (probably because people realise how kack it is here then move!) and it's interesting to see the apathy of the residents. I can imagine in Paul & Heather's village there would be people settled there, people who care about their village. Beaconsfield Road seems like the complete opposite, there are very few if not: no residents groups, no conversation at Tesco or the Post Office, and the people living on the street don't tend to talk to one another at all.

Reality planted a kind of gravel garden thing near the top of Silver Road (the road that Beaconsfield Road joins onto) but I don't think it's changed the mood of our area, and it took us a long time to notice.

I think maybe this apathy is caused by a combination of people working more hours in the day (and more people in the household working these hours) and the actual transient nature of the street itself. As for me I know that sometime in the next five years I want to be living outside of the city, so the street we live on at the moment is only a kind of stepping stone for us.

But back in the day, this would be the sort of street people would have jubilee street parties on and really sociable housewives. Looking at the 1916 census, there were a family of twelve living in our house - so there must have always been a hubbub round the area with so many people.

It's a shame the road has become so throw-away and I hope one day we can move somewhere with an emphasis on community and viewpoints can be encouraged to conserve an area - whether they be anti-gypsey or not!!


--------

In other news, More Matt:



-Britain, the most spied on nation in the world-

So I'm ringing nPower to say we wanna change energy suppliers and they're like well what you wanna do that for and I'm like cuz I don't like you so they're all like yer, well you were a rubbish customer anyway, so I'm all like your electricity was rubbish and half the time your gas wouldn't even gatch fire so he's all like do you want a smack so I go you need therapy mate you know that so he goes you're a deck arn't ya so I go if anyone's a deck around here it's you mate you're a right deckhead so he goes who do you think you're talking to?- I work for nPower mate, what have you done? So I go I've done more than you can imagine you're such a deck and he goes wha'ever do you want me to change your energy suppliers or what? So I go what I want is for you to shut your face and get off my phone and he's like yer well you shouldn't of phoned nPower should you mate so I go I'll phone who I want mate and then he's all like well you bet'er not ring nPower again mate so I'm all like ooooohhh what you gonna do and he's like I got your address here mate I'll come and get you so I'm like yer well only if I DPA confirm it first!

Ha!

Something like Liturgy

Taken from An Invitation To Prayer

A Responsive Lord's Prayer

Our Father in Heaven,
Remind us constantly that you are parent to all your children,
Whoever, or wherever they are or come from.

Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Establishing peace and justice, hope and life for all peoples.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Disturb us into awareness of the needs of others.

Forgive us our sins,
Our pride and our prejudices.

As we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
Especially keep our hearts and minds open
To see the good in others.

Deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
Just and true,

The power,
Gentle and fair,

And the glory,
Shot through with the colours of love,

Are yours for ever and ever.
Amen.

Pinch-Punch First of the Month (NO RETURN!)

Found a link to CofE website from Ambient Wonder website and look at this lass:



How the dickens is she old enough to wear ear rings? Honestly!

Good website though, worth a read - especially if you're well into some bitchin' liturgy.