It's a fair cop in Coventry

It's always good to have a new year adventure and this year we decided to take a trip to Coventry. Neither Isla nor the girls had been before so we it was about time they did. John and Rozi were also keen to go so we all popped on the train together...

I bought the tickets yesterday before the announcement on the news that the whole west coast rail line was in trouble because a light aircraft had hit power cable near Stafford. Having bought the tickets we had to go - although we had to risk a potential bus journey between Rugby and Coventry - after a change of trains in Northampton...

We didn't do too badly in the end. Izzy had bought her cards so we had a few games of Go Fish and Belgian. This made the time fly by - even when we found ourselves stuck in waiting rooms with a cup of tea. I think we only had a forty minute wait in Northapton on the way up and an hour long wait in Coventry on the way down... All in all it wasn't too bad - although it would have been nice if trains could have been announced on MK station - this would have saved a mad dash between platforms!

As for Coventry... was it a spiritual experience?

Well, we did see Lady Godiver's statue which commemorates an act which could either be seen as a bold act of self sacrificial non-violent action - or a moment of medieval naturism. We missed the clock and so didn't see Peeping Tom - although John gave us a good impression.

We walked through the old and new cathedrals which is always a powerful experience. I'm not sure what the girls made of it, but I'm sure I'll find out one day.

There's an exhibition about Anne Frank in the Cathedral at the moment which includes some videos and statements about racism. This exhibition includes a number of vidoes which are on continuous loop - providing a wonderfully evocative background murmour in the nave - like the ongoing mutter of monks in the scriptorium copying out books...

We had some mixed feelings about the Cathedral. It's certainly impressive and is probably one of the best examples of post-war archetecture you can name - making good use of concrete, steel and pebble dash. There are also many examples in the archetecture of outward looking thought - making connections with local industry, ecumenism and reconciliation...

On the negative side, we found little sign of current life. There were very few signs of diocesan life - and the references to local industry and reconcilliation were a few years old. We wonderred what was going on now. That's not to say that nothing is, but we couldn't find it in the Cathedral. More research may be needed here...

The highlight of the day came after the cathedral visit when we hit the pub for lunch. We found ourselves in a supporters pub on match day and enjoyted the chants of "Kiddiminster!" through our beer, burgers and onion rings. There were lots of police arround who seemed fairly friendly. It was interesting to watch them escourt the fans off to the ground - surounding them like a ring of lumiescent sheep dogs. Unfortunately there was a bit of a scuffle at this point and one fan was escourted off to the vans - presumably to spend the match in the local nick...

One last postscript: we managed to get home in time for Doctor Who Confidential and therefore heard the announcement that the next Doctor will be 26! - oh I'm feeling old...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to Everyone!
Hope 2008 will be good for you!

Slept until 9:00am this morning. Stayed in bed late - great!
Am now up and working - clearing the desks and the emails after the seasonal chaos...

Waiting for a good wind

Waiting for a good wind
We went for a walk on the Dunstable Downs this morning. There were a couple of men who were trying to through themselves off the hills - with paragliders.
I found myself thinking of all kinds of New Year analogies - launching yourself into the blue, with faith that you'll be held up, etc...
Unfortunatley, they seemed to be having some difficulty. We had a chat with one of them - a sureal experience when someone is tied to a twenty foot kite.
It turned out, they had been chasing winds all week. They'd been in Wales the previous day, The wind on the downs was really too weak, but they were desperate to get into the air.
We watched them try again and again while we walked along the downs and back again. Finnally just as we were getting in the car, the blue paraglider got into the air and stayed there - for at least a minute. It was good to know that they managed something, and great to see their persistance.
Which made me think of the way so much that we do is dependent on having the right cicumstances - the right time, the right conditions, the right wind in our sails... We can get frustrated because we think we should be able to do what we know we need to achieve, but the time just isn't right. We need to keep chacing the wind (of the Spirit) until he lifts us up - and then we fly!
I've seen it happen again and again, and yet I keep expecting instant results...
Moving into a New Year my resolution is to remember that I can't do things by myself and I can't tell the Spirit when and where to act... "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord..."
Let's be like the paragliders and keep chacing that perfect wind...

P.S. Had a good evening with Dave and James who turned up out of the blue. Dave's just back from Russia with stories to tell. We stayed up far too late! Super!