Off to France

No posts for the next while probably as we’re off to the Languedoc in France for a week of chilly sunshine!

Vatican forgives John Lennon (and other random Beatles stuff)

 - Surely a piece of news the whole world was waiting to hear!

I’m currently listening to Volume 3 of the Beatles’ Anthology series as I write this and can’t believe its taken me so long to hear these albums. Perfect early hours of the morning music, you get the sense this was the time of night [...]

The end of international football?

The huge number of withdrawals for all the home international friendlies this afternoon is surely a sign that national teams are slipping further down the pecking order of the global game.
Probably like many others it was the exoticism of a world cup tournament that got me hooked on the game in my younger days. Now [...]

What if Starbucks marketed like a church?

A large church quite close to where we live has recently opened a rather swish coffee shop as part of its renovation programme. I guess quite a lot of churches have developed an almost corporate identity to their work in order to reach out to more people. Bit uncomfortable with this, but what if the [...]

White poppies on Sunday

Spurred on by challenging posts from other bloggers, the Belfast homecoming parade of last week, and probably by the giddy hopefulness of events in the US, I decided to purchase a pack of ten white poppies. Thankfully by the end of the week all ten had been taken by people. Sunday night in church felt [...]

Obama’s alternative acceptance speech

Funny re-write of Obama’s acceptance speech, from Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame.

Obama – Change I wish we could believe in

Like many others I’m ecstatic(!) about Obama’s presidential victory and am hopeful that he has at least created a platform for change in US politics. TV pictures of voters queuing for hours at the polls was thrilling but also got me thinking how many (if any) of our politicians in Northern Ireland could stir such a reaction [...]

Vandals unsettle seats at the “Duckie”

One of Newtownards’ finest spots has fallen foul to vandals, according to the council website:
“Vandals have ripped up seats, bins and a potentially life-saving ‘throw line’ at the Duck Pond in Newtownards.
One seat, commissioned by the Newtownards Lions Club and put in place only in June, went missing last Wednesday evening (8th October) while the [...]

Spurs – the comeback is underway!

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Liverpool 1.
 
The slagging has been mighty so far this season – hopefully things are now on the up!!
I watched the match in Le Winters in Ards with surprising number of Spurs fans (all too tight to buy Setanta obviously!). It was a great way to relax after working all Saturday down in [...]