Another random bank holiday!!

Another Monday off today with no apparent reason for it! Unlike the last one however the weather today is grey and misty and windy and chilly. But it hasnt been like this all weekend-Saturday was a great day! Up early and off to the station where I met Tanya and Monica and travelled down to Brighton beach. A bit windy but very sunny and warm. I coached 4 sessions of beach volleyball at the Nivea Beach Centre. (Tanya and Monica participated in 1 of them). It was great to get back into coaching and was a challenge as had beginners and more experienced players plus had 16 in most sessions! They have a great cafe there so I got a brilliant lunch and then tested the water but it was freezing so didnt go in! We hung on the beach for a while and then walked up the waterfront getting an icecream and then checked out some weird festival stuff in the town centre. Lots of gypsie types peddling their wares or entertaining etc! Then with sore legs and slightly burnt shoulders and neck, back on the train for the journey home.

Sunday the weather wasnt so good but after watching New Zealand collapse miserably in the cricket I headed out with a friend to a festival in Victoria Park. There were many strange and weird things and people there which made for a very interesting but fun evening! There was a large section of old steam driven fair rides and attractions--all very nicely restored and working! There was a dance tent which had a variety of music in it and a dance floor, lots of food stalls from all over the world and a main stage with live music. Then we discovered a circus act called Sensiozone (i think!). The 8pm performance was free as it was getting cold so we went along and this circus is one where you can interact and participate. The performers were a very weird group and they seemed to have made an act up that wasnt really anything--something out of nothing! After that we took shelter in the dance tent and even saw a midget doing tap dance!Then we got more hot chocolates and saw a mechanical life size horse that breathes fire and makes horse sounds etc! Finished the night off at the main stage with a band named Ska Cubano. Ska music from Cuba and Jamaica--they were really good and we danced away the cold. A fun nite!!

mechanical horse

All Souls team!!

Bank Holiday??

So yep in this funny ole country they call the public holidays bank holidays and this one has no particular reason for existing!! Not that I'll complain esp with weather like Nelson weather and a London Churches soccer tournament to be won! So it meant getting up at 7:30am--the 2nd earliest start for me this year!! (the only earlier start was the day I went to Italy and had to get to the airport) It was already feeling like about 17 degrees and after breaky i set off to Regents Park. Met the All Souls team and set up camp on Pitch 5 where we were to play 5 pool games. Each game being 12 minutes there were a lot of 0-0 draws. (7 aside soccer on half size pitches and half size goals) Our first game was a draw but then we started scoring and we finished top of our pool fairly easily. We then went into knockout playoffs. Final 16 which we won on penalties (I made mine!) 1/4 finals meant a change of pitch and again went to penalties (again I made mine). In the semi we went up 1-0 but they came back and it was 1-1. Then I was fouled in the box so was given a penalty. I stepped up but put it just over the bar--not happy with myself as this would have won us the game. So penalties again--again I went first and the keeper saved it. Not happy with missing 2 now. Its best of 3, they scored 1 and we scored 1 , then misses and saves so it kept on going. Our keeper Garth was phenomenal and pulled out save after save! Finally Benjamin put one in the back of the net and we were through to the final!! The team in the finals was probably not as tough as the team we played in the semi but the pressure was on and legs were getting tired. We had few chances and as they attacked on the break I tracked back into our goal box. The keeper was beaten by the shot and it was coming at me as I ran towards the goal. I got my body in the way and it deflected off my chest but to my horror went into the goal. The game ended 1-0 so I had scored the winning goal but in the wrong end. Gutted. We still got presented medals and enjoyed a very well organized day. It was a long journey home as my legs were sore and my bag heavy. But it seems May has brought summer here to London!!

View out my window!

Snow in the Royal Box!

Ok not quite but I awake today to find it snowing--first time in London for me! Last night I went to the Royal Albert Hall, another first for me, and enjoyed Prom Praise. This is an annual event put on by the music department that does the music at All Souls Church. I was seated in a box in the Grand Tier just a few along from the royal box. However some friends were seated in the royal box so after the smoozing drinks reception with the high rollers and guest artists I watched the first song from the Royal Box! No royalty in attendance tho. Main guest artists were Keith and Kristin Getty who have written many modern hymns including In Christ Alone. I also experienced first hand an English phenomon known as promenading. The people in the Arena (cheap seats--actually no seats at all, sit on the floor or stand) were often referred to as Promenaders. I understand from the many concerts held there known as Proms. At one point some of them began a curious bobbing similar to the sudden jerk caused when someone unsuspectingly taps you forcefully in the back of the knee. Many of them were managing to "bob" in time and in quick succession-up an down, up and down. I guess for the English reserve in such a poncy place as the RAH this would be as much movement of ones body as one could show. One Englishman in asking me what I thought of the place and the concert, commented that this type of building reeks of the British Empire days. I guess it does in some ways but the fact that normal people were sitting in the Royal Box made it less royal somehow. It still is a pity tho that in a democratic society with an elected government there is still a "royal" family. They are no different to anyone else and should be treated no different to anyone else. It was interesting when Harry was pulled from Afghanistan he said he wanted to be treated like anyone else. He then became a terror target. The best thing England could have done is left him out there and said to the world "If Harry dies in combat then thats the same loss as the next man dying, we dont care any more or less" If England cared less about his safety, he wouldnt be a terror target cause he wouldnt mean anything special to this country.

Delirious?

Stu Smith testimonial concert Saturday nite at the Indigo2 was incredible. 90 mins of Delirious? at their best with a mix of classics and new tracks in the intimate 3000 seat state of the art theatre that is the Indigo2. But after 90 minutes instead of coming back out for an encore the stage hands moved the drum set (it was on a wheeled platform) right to the front of the stage where Stu came out and began to play again. The rest of the band joined him and they played some more. Then to finish they played History Maker (of course!!) then they got Stu to say some words and presented him with a gift--a blue scooter! They left the stage and we thought it was all over and started to leave when they came out again and played Investigate. A brilliant 2 hours of music, worship and inspiration. Thanks Stu and I hope the new drummer can keep the energy up!!

France

Chateau Chombard

this spiral staircase was amazing--2 separate staircases spiralling around the same column and never meeting!!

and the view over my kingdom

Easter in Toury

Wow! What a great weekend! After my king for a day blog I realized it was going to be more like a king for 3 days!! Monday was a similar procedure but after lunch Laure, Melanie and I went to a town named Chartres which has perhaps the most famous cathedral in all of France and it is listed as a World Heritage Site. As it was Easter weekend there happened to be a Easter Festival on in the town consisting of a market and various stages set up around the town with performers and bands etc playing. It was cold and a litte drizzly but I got a cup of mulled wine from the market and we entered the huge Cathedral which seems to dwarf the rest of the town. Once inside it was a pleasant surprise to find it buzzing with people--obviously the festival had brought people out. So often when a tourist goes into these huge churches they seem empty and dead and feel very unused and I think how much a part of the communities life the Christian faith must have been when they built these buildings. It was soo cool to see a group of young people on the stage- a couple of girls singing into mics, and a guy lightly strumming a guitar and another playing the bongo drums. The girls voices filled the whole cathedral thru the PA system and with the natural acoustics it sounded awesome!! mostly the words were French but I could see that this wasnt a normal part of the Catholic cathedrals services!! A special for the Easter Festival but so brilliant that it was opeend to them to do that. And then the last song they sang was Here I Am To Worship in French--awesome!! I had this crazy idea of how cool it would be to see all the old cathedrals of Europe and indeed all over the world, taken over by young people with guitars and drums and voices praising their God and drawing dead and dying congregations and communities back into life!! Back out in the market we saw a new dance craze called Tectonik which is for white boys that cant play football or dance normally. It seems girls dont do this dance and most of the time it involves some very weird coordinations of ones hands and arms waving around very quickly in the air. Feet and legs do some moves too!! Got a crepe and it was off for tea and cake in a little French village at Laure's grandmothers. Today we checked out one of the many giant wind harvesters that are all over the landscape near Toury. Then it was time for the train journey home. A great relaxing weekend--thanks Toury and thanks the Fauconnier family!!

King for a day!

So today I decided to be king for a day!! I was king David as a guest of a French family. My day went something like this: woke very late, had to wash myself as the servants were all busy. Went downstairs and ate French bread (brioche) with quince jelly and drank orange juice. Watched some French football highlights, drank some champagne and ate nibbles and then it was lunch time. Or I should say dinner! First we ate a salad with foie gras (duck pate) and walnuts, 2nd course was rosbeef and gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes). 3rd was cheese platter with bread, 4th was gateau à la bechamel (very yummy desert) and then I was presented with a box of locally made chocolate in the shape of very detailed rooster, hollow with chocolates inside it!! Of course there was fine French wines accompanying it all. After we had eaten although I was feeling sleepy I got into a French car (citroen) and we drove south about 80 mins to the Chateau of Chambord (my new continental residence). This is a huge and very impressive castle where many French kings have lived in past centuries. (construction began in 1519 by King Francis I) We walked right thru the castle visiting many of the rooms, I was most impressed with the double level spiral staircase (which I plan to replicate in my main castle one day). Then back to Toury (where I am a guest of the city) where dinner was awaiting! Soup and bread followed by Tourte (beef mince and vegetables in a pie crust) followed by cheeses and yoghurt and accompanied by red wine. Now I relax and digest-however being king for a day has reminded me of another King who died for His people (thats what Easter is really about) and today is the day we celebrate Him coming alive again-He is no longer dead! Only the Creator of the Universe could possibly have the power to do such a thing-I believe it all-do you? HE sure gives my life meaning when the holidays and chocolates and fun times are over.

Church setup for banquet

Thursday in 3D-craziest day ever? or just a normal day in my job!!

Ok so its 12:42 am Friday morning but I have to write about Thursday before I try to sleep some! I arrived at work normal time--9:32. Queens College are rehearsing as I expect but find the PA isnt working. Troubleshoot that over the phone with PA guy and sort the problem. Put up church closed signs as the school will soon be doing a service and ask a guy to leave who is sitting in the church. As he starts to swear at me, I realise he is drunk and not wanting to do what I ask. I pull my phone out and threaten to call the police-he gets up and moves out of the main church but I still have to coerce him to leave completely. Go to my desk to check emails and messages. A guy arrives to sort some keys for us and make the office door shut properly so talk to him about that and then call Canon to get an engineer out to fix the photocopier which is jamming 3 days after being serviced!! Go back to check on the school and oversee their guests arriving. Am told of a leak in the toilets so arrange the caretaker to sort that out. Plumber has to be called. partway thru school service colleague comes out from office to tell me the key guy needs to see me. Right then church clown guy (name suppressed here!!) walks in the main doors. Colleague sees him at same time as me and says she'll ask the key guy to wait with a knowing laugh that I need to intercept the clown guy and send him on his way. He is in full dressup so I intercept and ask him to leave-I am successful but it takes about 15 mins as I make a phonecall on his behalf and listen to him preach to me. Finally get back to my office to see the key guy. Work at desk for a bit. 11:30 and back into main church where the service is all over. Begin to stack chairs, and move some up from downstairs. We have to move all 430 chairs downstairs and then 190 different chairs back up plus some tables. But we cant move them down until after 2pm as there is an event on downstairs!! by 2pm all chairs are stacked and most of the church is vacuumed. Volunteers arrive but then the lift stops working!! Call the buildings manager who calls the engineer out. So we move all the chairs via the stairs-takes about 4o minutes. Spend all afternoon overseeing volunteers setting various things up and moving things about. The photocopier gets fixed, then the lift gets fixed too--have no idea if the plumber came and fixed the leak!! Finally the guests arrive--the church looks amazing by this stage- very cool lighting and candles everywhere! A live band and the long tables so well laid out. I try to enjoy the night but am very tired. The lift stops working again but manage to jiggle it and get it working. Clean up a large spill of berry coulis on the church carpet!! Sit and drink wine and just watch whats going on, then its all over and have to organise people and things again as we pack up. Have to be stroppy and tell Dimity and Grace they can't vacuum tonite and must go home. Most people leave and then I get a ride home with Rico who is taking Lucy and Kendra (event organisers) home. We are all so amped up we go clubbing on the way home (nah not really but we could have!!). Now its time for sleep as tomorrow we do it all again-well not quite but it will be another long fun day!!

IKEA virgin

My weekend hadn't been dull and yet Sunday morning came and with it a decision to really lift the weekend to new heights-a trip to IKEA! (Friday night was a great evening spent with 2nd cousins Rob and Lizzie Greenberg and Robs girlfriend Claire. We went to a Thai restuarant and then had great conversation till the early hours back at Rob and Claires flat. Saturday was touch rugby, watching Six Nations rugby and then to an African worship concert to raise money for 1 million Bibles for Ghanas youth. It was an interesting evening as there were only a handful of white people and so the singing and dancing was intense and invigorating!! Most importantly tho we learnt that less than half of the worlds languages have the written Bible. We must make Bible poverty history!!) So Dave Sinclair and I took the train to Stonebridge Park, then an IKEA shuttle bus to IKEA! I had heard much about IKEA and yes it was a large store! We followed the myriads of sheep thru the lines for the IKEA lunch (2.50 GBP) and then commandeered a trolley and proceeded around the well marked out line around the store. It is designed to make you go thru every part of the store in order to get out which sucked for us because we didnt realise there was a 2nd level which was mostly the stuff we wanted so we spent forever looking for stuff on the first level and were dissappointed not to find what we wanted and then found the 2nd level and by then had only 30 mins before we had to leave. We did leave on time to catch the shuttle just and all I had managed to buy was a 99p scented candle!! I'm sure I'll be back sometime but I still miss Wallmart and the Warehouse for those great bargains!

Wings Nite!!

Tonight was wings nite. That meant meeting at the Maple Leaf Pub in Camden Garden with some other wings lovers and eating wings and chatting. Its a Canadian place that specialises in wings, and does hot wings named suicidals. They weren't that hot really tho but still good. An interesting point in the evening came after we had been given food we hadn't ordered but ate anyway and the manager came over and asked us to pay for the food. We argued a little saying the waitress had said it was for our table but he kept insisting he was being nice and we needed to pay for it. Helen (whom had stayed quiet througout) then spoke up and told the man it was his problem as they had made a mistake and he couldn't ask us to pay for it. He said "so are you telling me you are not going to pay for the food you just ate?" Helen replied "Absolutely!!" and at that he said fine and left us alone!! I was quite shocked that this seemingly normal English lass got so feisty, but then she informed me shes not really a normal English lass!! Was quite cool to see some spunk in an English girl!! Well done Helen!!

Beach Volleyball in Brighton!

Today I journeyed to my father's birthplace to find my favourite sport Beach Volleyball. The Yellowave Centre had its 1st birthday and I plan to come back here often to coach and play. Was pretty windy and cold today tho--kinda like Wellington is on the NZ pro tour!

Spring??

Looks like Spring in Wandsworth common!!

Cinque Terre

My weekend in Italy

Friday

Up at 5:45am and off at 6:05am to catch the train! Still dark and rather cold! Around 8am arrive at Stansted Airport and check in. 10:35 and the RyanAir 737 takes off--destination Parma, Italy. 2 hours later we land in Parma and are rushed through customs which consists of one man glancing at our passports--no machine reading them! Juliette met me with one of her colleagues who had a car so could take me into town. Juliette had to go back to work so I explored Parma! I was amazed at the small cobbled streets with high and very old buildings so close together. And there were so many bicycles--these bicycles were like Mums bicycle when I was 8 years old. No gears and very old school style! Even the new bicycles were still this style. So I figured someone must hire them out so I got a map at the information centre and set off. Walked thru a big green area and found some giant teapots!! I approached to photograph them and had a guy come up and begin to speak a lot of Italian to me. He then found someone else to translate for me and I found out he was asking me if I wanted to buy weed!! The teapots must be the location for that!! A bit further on by the river I managed to find the bicycles and for 70 cents had one for an hour. I biked thru a large park and then negotiated some crazy busy streets to find the football stadium. I had asked the rental lady if there were any rules I should know and she said "No, the bikes can go anywhere!" And yes they did go everywhere--sometimes coming at you on the wrong side of the road but often on the footpaths dodging the pedestrians. After an hours exploring I walked back to Juliette's apartment and fell asleep on the couch. After Juliette came home we went out for some wine-here they bring you many snacks for free to eat with your wine! Then home to make lunch for the next day and get some sleep.

Saturday

Caught the train at 7:50am for the 2 hour trip to the coast. The trains are big and old--not like the English trains. We went thru farmland and then hills and along a nice river--through a gorge and then I fell asleep. We got off the train in Riomaggiore which is the first of 5 towns in the Cinque Terre. We then walked along the Via dell'Amore which is an amazing path high above the sea on the cliffs. This took us to Manarola which is a very cute little town with a lovely little harbour with lots of small boats. We walked on around the coast for another hour to the 3rd town Corniglia. Here we got on the train to carry on north. The trains run all the way up the coast mostly in tunnels but occasionally pop out right on the edge of the cliff. We took the train to the 5th town Monterosso. This one has a large beach which wasn't that clean but we found some large rocks to sit on and eat lunch right beside the sea. Then we walked back to the 4th town Veranozza. This 1 1/2 hour walk was up a lot of very steep steps and then along the cliff top and then a steep descent down into Veranozza. We walked thru a lot of terraces where grapes, olives, citrus trees and other things are grown. There were water pipes everywhere! Then we stumbled upon 2 fat cats sitting on the side of the track with a lot of cat food and a cat tent! there was a sign saying to please feed these homeless cats with the food provided. They didnt move--just sat there- I guess they were too fat to move. After that we began to notice fat cats in all the towns--lots of them! From Corniglia we took the train back to Manarola where we got Italian icecream and ate it by the harbour. This was probably the cutest of the little towns. It had very steep streets and pathways between teh buildings which we explored. We stayed here a long time taking photos and waiting for sunset. Just before sunset we walked back towards Riomaggiore where on the cliffpath there is a bar/cafe. Here we bought hot chocolates--they were so thick it was like drinking a pudding-sooo good!! watched the sunset and then walked back to Riomaggiore. Explored this town and decided on a restuarant (Pizzeria Da Ciro) for dinner. Juliette had pizza and I had Parma Calzone. Unfortunately it was a little burnt and the restuarant owner tried to tell me that was normal. After dinner we had to wait about 40 minutes for the train and the temp had dropped to 8 deg but it felt like about 2!! It had got up to 16 during the afternoon and in the sun we had got quite hot hiking. We jumped around trying to keep warm and then fell asleep on the 2 hour train journey back to Parma.

Sunday

Today we slept in and then walked around Parma. Went inside the cathedral which is huge and has very high ceilings with paintings all over them. Very impressive old building. It was very cold and the sun was trying to shine through! Had lunch in a nice cafe--I had crepes with Parma chese and Parma ham! mmmm! Then all too soon had to go to the airport and fly back to London. Was a great weekend, soo nice to breathe the fresh sea air and smell the salt and the sea. Gratia Juliette!!

English Football

Today I played my 2nd real game of English Football. Its not a very high division but its FA football all the same. Last week (we won 2-0) I played my preferred right wing position and in the 2nd half felt like I was starting to get into the game. My last competitive match was at the end of September 2006 on a near perfect pitch on a beautiful sunny day at Jubilee Park in Richmond, NZ. This week I played as a centre midfielder which is not a position I am that familiar with! I had a pretty high work rate for the whole game but again my 2nd half felt better and I got a lot more hungry in challenging for the ball. Everyone seemed real happy with my performance and all commented on my work rate and that I must be tired! We drew 2-2 but should have won but for some dubious refereeing. He struggled to control the game, made some bad decisions and then it spiralled downhill. Some of our players got frustrated and he just yellow carded anyone that talked back. He also pulled them up for swearing which they often get away with in this league. So i think 4 yellow cards were issued to our team and there was much heated shouting and arguing. It damaged the match really. This team doesn't train and I think next season I will want to find a team that does train and play in a higher league. I am soon to switch to beach volleyball on Saturdays I hope--can't wait!!

100% PURE NZ

My daily commute takes me through Victoria Station. Down at the platform on the Victoria underground line I now see 2 large advertising screens playing video footage of New Zealand. For me its a little slice of home in a big dirty grey city. Ahhhhh!!! Click on the title above to see why Kiwis are sooo proud of our country and why I love it soo much!