Standing in the Long Now

Greenbelt – Greenbelt 09: Standing in the Long Now

Confused by the title for this blog post? It’s the theme for Greenbelt 2009. The quote’s taken from Brian Eno “… all round interesting thinker”. It’s about taking a longer view in contrast to the “do it now” culture in which many of us live. There’s even a foundation dedicated to it.

So now is the time to book for Greenbelt – described as as the most family friendly festival of rthe summer – a place for everyone to explore life more deeply.  Despite the theme for the festival – there are discounts for doing it NOW!

Hannibal would have been proud

Snow Elephant

Snow Elephant

My son, Matthew, works for Frontier Developments in Cambridge. This lunchtime they created this snow elephant – just for the fun of it and to be different from the  more traditional snow man.

To my mind I think it’s rather spectacular, especially as it stands four to five feet high. He hopes it’s still there tomorrow so that they can finish it off.

Is this the best snow sculpture of the current cold weather?

Hannibal? – Let Wikipedia explain

Don’t forget the birds

Birds feeding during snow

Originally uploaded by Dawnriser

As the snow falls and you struggle to lead a normal life please remember the birds. They need to consume many times their body weight to stay allive in this weather. A little seed, fat and nuts can make the difference between life and death.

Tornado – First Trip



Tornado – First Trip

Originally uploaded by Dawnriser


I was on York Station this morning for the first Charter Train hauled by the brand new steam loco “Tornado”
It left a few minutes late on it’s way to Newcastle amid clouds of smoke and steam. I sure they opened every valve possible to create the big scene we all witnessed.
The platforms were filled with enthusiasts and well wishers who’s come to glimpse the unique event. It could be the last mainline steam loco ever built and certainly the only one in the 21st century so far.
Great site

Nosey intercessors?

I was amused earlier today when I looked at a website set up to encourage people to PRAY.

Half way down the page there’s an invitation to download a leaflet to guide people, unused to praying, through the process. A typo meant it read like this:-

What to do:
Find a time and a place that will suit you.
Use the tryseven links, or download the tryprying booklet and read it one day at a time.
Try to keep going for a week, but don’t feel guilty if you miss a day.
You might like to tell a friend you are doing this and talk about how it is going.

So if you want to be nosey AND tell your friends what you’re doing the results may be more surprising than if you simply spoke to God for a week.

In the event I suggest praying could be an interesting adventure. The site has been corrected now – after I alerted the organisers to their mistake – so everything you need to get started is here.