Travelling on... and on

Just got back from a business trip to London. I usually stay with family and take the opportunity for a few days with them. However this time it was a quick trip, so instead of taking the car as I usually do I took the train.

Once more I was reminded of why I usually take the car. The journey down wasn't too bad apart from the alcoholic shoolkids on the train between Welshpool & Birmingham (2 bottles of Smirnoff Ice & half a bottle of cider consumed by three girls & two boys during the journey) and I was only 15 minutes late getting to my destination.

On the way back things went fine until we reached Birmingham, when I discovered that they had cancelled the train to Aberystwyth. Which meant catching yet another train to Wolverhampton.

Ah yes, Arriva, the reason I drive everywhere rather than using public transport!

Well at least it is now the weekend - oh joy, rapture, ecstasy - well until Sunday afternoon arrives and I realise it's Monday tomorrow.

Bad... minton

Oh Yes, I absolutely hammered them, though I was flagging by the last game (I gave away 7 points by messing up my own serves). However, I managed to win all my games for the first time in ages, beating both HL & SB easily. I think the main reason (apart from pent-up aggression) is that I have given up trying to do clever short serves and gone back to just blasting it to the back of the court every time; this is very effective.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Just been to see this film. It was pretty good, visually stunning, good plot, plenty of action, much less gratuitous sex then the previous one. Overall, very enjoyable, though I wouldn't use it as a history lesson (if you want a flavour of the historical inaccuracies try this).

One aspect of the film which disappointed (but didn't surprise me) was the way in which the Spanish & the English Catholics were portrayed. They were all one dimensional caricatures of villains, with no depth and no attempt to understand their motivation. Many have seen this film as deeply anti-Catholic. I wouldn't be too harsh towards it about this - though perhaps I am just so used to the anti-Catholic bias of the media in this country that it doesn't affect me so much.

What disturbed me more were the obvious parallels with the current climate of Islamaphobia in the West. The baddies were all swarthy, bearded, foreigners; religious fanatics chanting in strange languages. Whereas the heroes were all very white and good looking. The director even admitted that he was deliberately drawing such parallels - but why do it in such a cartoon-like way.

The issues facing society in the 1580s were incredibly complex, just as they are today, and such a simplistic portrayal helps no one and reinforces negative stereotypes.

I do find it rather ironic, that the Spanish, who had just spent several hundred years driving the Muslims out of the Iberian peninsula, were called upon to stand in for the "Islamic menace".

Then again perhaps the parallels are not so bad, for most of the last 400 years Catholics have been persecuted in Britain, most recently in Northern Ireland. Anti-catholic bigotry is still rife. A few years ago I was in hospital and a priest came to visit me. One of the other patients (an Ulsterman) became very abusive, actually claiming the priest was somehow breaking the law by bringing me communion - bizarre, but true.

Having faced such behaviour more than once (at school I was told I was an IRA supporter because I was Catholic - I'm not even Irish!), I have a great deal of sympathy with the Muslim community, who are now bearing the brunt of such frenzied hysteria.

Sadly the Muslim community is not alone, as this article from the BBC news/Wales website shows: Race claim in Polish man's murder. Xenophobia is a hideous disease disfiguring this country at present, we all have a responsibility to treat others with decency and respect - but, try telling that to the mindless, Godless, Sun-reading, beer-swilling ape in the street!

I feel I should apologise for my previous comment, so here goes - I am very, VERY sorry to all apes, you are, by and large, peaceful, noble creatures and are nothing like the people I was talking about. There is only one primate capable of such evil and that is homo sapiens. The original Planet of the Apes films make this point very cleverly and are well worth watching.

Hatred and bigotry sadden me whenever I see them, I earnestly pray that one day we may all learn to come to understand that "God has no favourites" and that we are all his children.

If you truly came to realise that your greatest enemy was in fact your beloved brother, there would be no more wars, no more hatred and no more killing - I would that it were so.

Avatar

I have just created an Avatar to use on various websites, I think it is a good likeness. Generally I'm not too sure about this sort of thing as people can be anyone they want.

The options had a somewhat American bias, but I don't think it came out too bad. A big no-no to the brown shoes though.



I was tempted by the Roman soldier look, but decided to go for something a bit more realistic - though much thinner than I am in reality!

These are jpeg images the actual Avatars move as well. The Roman soldier keeps waving his sword back and forth like he's sawing a log!

It's raining... water

Urgh, November weather, if it's not raining it's cold and if it's not raining or cold, then it's both!

I am a springtime sort of person, before it gets too hot in the summer (not that it did this summer).

I had to go into town this morning to get a haircut and some passport photos. I spent ages trying to get it looking right, but I'm not sure I did. I hate all these bureaucratic things, why can't we travel in Europe without them - the rest of Europe does. Anyway, I wanted to get a new passport before these ID cards come into force. Though it looks like they may have shot their bolt with this missing discs fiasco. Here's hoping.

Aberystwyth on a wet saturday morning is not much fun, the supermarkets are packed and they are once again changing everything around so you can't find anything - do they know how annoying this is? One more reason to shop elsewhere.

Anyway, it looks like a good day to stay at home and watch the Rugby.

Football

Sorry, just can't resist mentioning the football, best evening's entertainment for a long time.

A little short of perfection

I've just spent ages trying to pin down a quotation from St Paul. Which is easier said than done when you can't remember the exact wording. The quote is this:

"I cannot understand my own behaviour. I fail to carry out the things I want to do, and I find myself doing the very things I hate" Rm. 7:15

This seems to sum up my life so well. I want to work hard and do useful things, but I always seem to be lazy and selfish. If a tenth of the time I've wasted playing video games & watching TV had been spent on more productive activities my life would be so much better.

The problem is it is so much easier to sit at home watching the world go by (salving my conscience with a few donations to good causes), than to actually get out there and engage with real people. Thing is people are difficult, they are awkward, they don't behave the way you want them to & sometimes they are just plain nasty. What makes it worse is that I know I'm really just as bad as they are - and I don't like to be reminded of this.

A couple of verses later Paul goes on to say this:

"for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not," Rm. 7:18

Yes the flesh is definitely weak, especially when it comes to prayer. Prayer is something I find difficult and in common with most of the other things I have found difficult in my life: playing the recorder, reading Les Miserables, learning Welsh etc., I have pretty much given up. I periodically have another go (at praying, that is), but it doesn't last long. So usually, outside of Church, my prayer life consists mainly of asking God for help when things go wrong and occasionally remembering to say thank you when they go right. NOT GOOD!!

Fortunately I managed to resist the temptation to add a third exclamation mark there. Apparently three means that you are in imminent danger of 'going postal'. So, a lucky escape for my work colleagues.

Getting back to the point at hand. The trouble is, no matter how often I tell God I'm sorry, I always end up falling back into the same old patterns of behaviour. Paul talks about the 'thorn' in his flesh, I think I know how he felt; somehow I must find a way to do better - but then again that's what I always say. Can I really change who I am? This remains to be seen.

Creaking, groaning & yawning

Suffering from backache today, courtesy of my involuntary gymnastics yesterday. This makes it difficult to concentrate on work.
I am so glad I don't have children, tonight. Of course your personal information is safe in the government's hands! Somebody on Breakfast TV made the point that they want to hold more information about us all on ID cards - great idea. Anyway, it'll never happen, no government computer system ever gets implemented on-time and on-budget. Of course it will cost every single one of us a fortune in the meantime.

Anonymous Inland Revenue employees are complaining about staff cuts and lack of investment - hmm, sounds familiar. Where is all this tax we are paying going? Probably to pay people not to work, farmers not to grow food, and for fighting stupid wars we can't win.

Just watching the news, and seeing the head of the CPS saying there is no need to extend detention without trial beyond 28 days - you've gotta laugh. So much for Gordon Brown's broad agreement - give it up Gordo!

My kingdom for a back specialist!

I've just been out to play (in the loosest possible sense) Badminton. The usual crowd was cut to two tonight, and H.L. was really on form. I was lucky to get away with two games a piece. I lost the first two games badly; but the turning point was when I fell flat on my back during one rally in the third game (amazingly I won the point). After the adrenalin rush this gave me, and a change in tactics (keep hitting it as hard as I can, until the other guy makes a mistake!) things began to turn around for me.

I play badminton (badly) for fun and exercise, I have no pretensions to any expertise, fortunately my playing partners all feel the same way - though this doesn't stop us from wanting to win, whatever some people may say.

It is somewhat embarrassing when the people on the court next door are really good, you feel you really shouldn't be taking up the space. Still I have never really had much problem making an ass of myself in public - which is just as well, considering how often I do so.

Anyway, after struggling home, I ran a bath; put some music on and soaked for a while, which made me feel a little less stiff, and a lot more mellow.

Hopefully, I will still be mellow, as opposed to sore, in the morning.

Intelligence, artificial & otherwise

Much stress engendered at work today by ungrades to the computer system. The sooner true artificial intelligence is perfected the better, then the computers can sort themselves out.

Many people fear that if computers become intelligent they will try to take over the world. My fear is that they will realise how stupid people are and refuse to have anything more to do with them. Anyway, no truly intelligent being would want to take over the world - imagine to hassle.

Mind you it might be worth it, just to put a stop to some of the dross appearing on our TV screens nowadays. You know the sort of thing: I'm a dancing celebrity, get my big brother out of a song for Europe and so forth.

On the subject of TV, I caught an episode of Secret Army on TV the other day, I have to say it still looks pretty good, even after 30 years - though it was hard at first not to think of 'Allo 'Allo.

On a more serious note, I was reading in last week's Big Issue Cymru about a lady called Veneera Aliyev, a Christian from Azerbaijan, forced to flee her homeland due to persecution. The British Government is now trying to deport her back there. So while we are busy demonising innocent Muslims in our own country we are happy to cooperate with some pretty lousy regimes abroad as long as they have oil.

Interestingly I can find no mention of this on the BBC news website - funny that.

Anyway, enough ranting, I am off to play badminton, I may let you know how I got on later (if I survive the experience).

Wakey, Wakey

Why is it that whenever I am in a meeting or lecture I always have the greatest difficulty in staying awake?

A visitor was giving a talk at work this morning and I just couldn't stop yawning or keep my eyes open. It wasn't that the talk was particularly boring, in fact the subject matter was very interesting.

There just seems to be something about meetings and lectures etc. which sets me off. I was the same at college.

Of course when I do want to get to sleep, I often find myself wide awake. I seem to be at my most alert the moment my head touches the pillow.

Oh well, life is strange sometimes.

Quote of the week

“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both”

This is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, though as with many famous quotes it may not be his. I first heard it while playing Sid Meier’s Civilization 4, where it is spoken by Leonard Nimoy, and someone else was using it on TV last night. Whoever first said it, I think it is very true.

It is very disturbing to see the way in which xenophobia is being whipped up in our society at present. Not just from the usual suspects such as the far right and the tabloids; but also throughout the media and elsewhere.

Some of this is very obvious, but some of it is more subtle. Consider the number of films which deal with some sort of external threat from marauding invaders. For example, the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a film dealing with the Spanish Armada. Is this going to consist of very unsubtle imagery of plucky England beating of a bunch of religious fanatics or will the filmmakers try to be a bit more thoughtful in their portrayal of a complex historical event. I will be going to watch it next week so I’ll let you know what I think.

When I look at the media at present it does remind me of the ‘Red Menace’ of the 1950s, only with fewer of those excellent Sci-Fi B-movies they made back then

The world is rarely as simple as ‘us good, them bad’, whether ‘us and them’ is Catholics and Protestants or ‘the West’ and the Islamic world. To speak in such generalities is rarely helpful. Is there even such a thing as the Islamic world as a single monolithic entity, I doubt it. In fact is there such a thing as ‘the West’ as a single monolithic entity, again I think not.

People are people, we are all the same and yet all unique, and we are all equally flawed. When I hear some of my work colleagues speak of other religions and races or even of the recent influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, I do sometimes despair of humanity that we have come so far, and yet learned so little.

Then again if Nelson Mandela can congratulate the Springboks after they win the Rugby World Cup and if Ian Paisley & Gerry Adams can sit down together (however uneasily) in government – maybe there is hope for us yet.

This is the item I was looking for. I saw it last night on BBC News 24. It is an item about a Sardinian Priest who boxes. At first I thought "This is wrong, they shouldn't allow this" but as I watched the report I realised what a powerful ministry this man had. It reminded me of St Paul saying "I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost" 1 Co. 9:22.

Take a look at it and see what you think:
Priest packs a mighty punch

I was looking for something on the BBC news website and just came across this article: Baltic yields 'perfect' shipwreck - it is amazing, I wish I could get Swedish TV.

Baby it's cold inside

I have just returned from Church this morning, and am gradually thawing out after the experience.

I went to the 9am Mass at Penparcau this morning, the main reason for this was in order to avoid the Latin sung parts of the Mass which are promised for 11am Mass in town. If I wanted to speak Latin I'd have been an ancient Roman (and they seem to have spoken Greek half the time anyway).

Aberystwyth Parish has two churches: St Winefride's in the middle of town and Welsh Martyrs out at Penparcau (a suburb of Aberystwyth). Both are in an advanced state of decrepitude, and both (as I discovered this morning) are freezing cold in the winter.

After this morning's experience I realise that the hardy souls of Penparcau actually have an even colder Church than we do in town. Having said this it was quite a nice change to St Winefride's. Welsh Martyrs dates from the 60's or 70's (not sure which) and therefore has a modern layout, which I prefer - I think it brings people closer together and closer to the focus of the Mass. St Winefride's is Victorian, and I really dislike Victorian Churches.

Added to this I found that the a cappella singing in Welsh Martyrs was very good. At St Winefrede's I often find that we struggle with the organist. I have to say this isn't always her fault, she is often asked to play hymns which really shouldn't be played on an organ.

As I say both Churches are in a poor state; Welsh Martyrs is a fine example of how not to build a modern building, largely due to poor construction and overuse of concrete. St Winefride's is just too old and no longer fit for purpose - in the event of a fire at the back of the Church I fear a calamity.

Some time ago it was decided that, as we now only have one priest, we would have to go down to one Church and the St Winefride's site was chosen. We are supposed to be having a feasibility study to see what should be done with the St Winefride's site. I could save them the time and money by stating the obvious - we need a new Church!

First faltering steps

Okay, so here I am, I've spent the last three hours setting up my Blog, choosing the layout etc.; but now I've actually got to think of something to write. Well as this is my first post I think I'd better say something about myself; set the scene so to speak.

I have been living in the Aberystwyth area on & off for over ten years now. I first came here as a postgraduate student in ’95, left to work in London for a few years and came back in 2001.

I was going to reel off a load more facts, but I decided that this would be incredibly tedious a) to write & b) to read. As this Blog develops I hope many of these facts will become apparent anyway. If not they are probably unimportant.

Instead here are a few things about ME.

I am either:
a) an arrogant, selfish, thoughtless, know it all (how other people probably see me)
or
b) a caring, sensitive, thoughtful, introvert (how I like to see myself)

I suspect the truth lies somewhere in-between.

As an aside, one of my definitions of a friend is someone who is willing to tell you to your face when you are being an arrogant, selfish, thoughtless, know it all. A true friend is someone you are still willing to talk to afterwards.

So what’s it like living in deepest darkest West Wales?

Actually it is great; Aberystwyth is a wonderful place to live, especially after London. If only they would build a multiplex cinema & a Marks & Spencer and replace Morrison’s with a Tesco; it would be pretty much perfect for me.

Winter in Aberystwyth is a great time; here’s why:
1. Very few tourists.
2. A maritime climate means it is a lot warmer than the East coast.
3. The sunsets seen from the prom are amazing.
4. The snow on the hills is beautiful.

OK you say, but there must be drawbacks too:
1. Lots of students.
2. A maritime climate means it is a lot wetter than the East coast.
3. The wind blows in off the sea over the prom and straight through you.
4. Road & rail connections are lousy.

So what about the summer, the good points are:
1. Very few students.
2. A maritime climate means it is a bit cooler than the East coast.
3. The sunsets seen from the prom are amazing.
4. The sun on the hills is beautiful.

And the bad points:
1. Lots of tourists.
2. A maritime climate means it is a lot wetter than the East coast.
3. There is very little sand on Aberystwyth’s beaches
4. Road & rail connections are still lousy.

It still beats living in London, because:
1. I can afford a house.
2. My journey to work is 10-15 minutes each way by car, instead of 1-1.30 hours each way by bus & tube.
3. Since moving here nobody has offered to sell me sex or drugs and nobody has threatened to hurt/kill me.

There are really only three things I miss about London:
1. The wide selection of cinemas, including the BFI.
2. The museums & galleries.
3. The Proms (I used to work near the Albert Hall)

Well that’s enough rambling gibberish for now.