I am easily distracted…  I only went into Fresh Crust to buy an ice-cream after cycling all the way to uni in the heat only to find that my tutorials were cancelld!!

I noticed this man first because he was wearing a bum bag.  I thought, “how wrong” and stared at it uncomfortably, like a small child looking at a bearded lady!  And then I noticed the caterpillar on his back…  It was cute and green and did that funny ’slinky’ movement down his T-shirt.  I stifled a giggle and watched it intently.  I almost didn’t notice when the lady asked me what ice-cream I wanted!!

I was browsing the web site of Friends of the Earth for my Uni project on sustainability… It is a little niggle of mine that many companies brand themselves without thinking through the full variety of media that they are going to place their name on.  Does it make a memorable web site URL for example?  One bad example is D&AD, the Design and Advertising awards (who really should know better!)  www.dandad.com  Who is Dan’s dad???

Anyway, poor old friends of the earth…  Either someone had www.friendsoftheearth.com or they decided that it was just too much of a mouthful and settled with their acronym (which should also have been considered when dealing with a long name!!)  Their acronym is, of course, “foe” - the complete antithesis of “friend”!!

I think that when I opened my computer just now, the battery life estimation was possibly just a little optimistic?? That’ll be the day… 73 hours and 3 minutes.

Where we cannot, God can.  I was reminded of this earlier today.  There is a young lad at church who fell off a building in town a number of months ago.  He is now 16 and, whilst God has done many miracles in his life so far (including saving his life) he has ever such a long way to go.  He was brought to church this morning on his stretcher, from the rehabilitation ward for brain damage that he is at (a long journey) and we all prayed for him.  I was definitely moved to tears when I saw him lying there, knowing that somewhere in there was a boy, who could probably understand everything that was being said, but who couldn’t communicate.  I prayed and prayed that he would speak or communicate or just…. something but not a lot happened.  Or so I thought.  God reminded me later that where we can’t, He can.  I have no idea what God’s works and ways consist of because they are His and not mine.  Who knows what work of healing was going on inside that young boy?  We have yet to see.  I really believe that God can restore him, so if you stumble across this blog, please pray that He does.

I love Freecycle most of the time.  Sometimes you get ridiculous requests (e.g. “wanted MAC computer”  - in your dreams darlin’!)  and sometimes you get people who snap up everything on a list as eclectic as “Offered: Cine camera, dyson spares and ladies clothing, size 14″  Who sits and thinks “Oh yes!  I need ALL of those,  just what I was looking for!!”  Clearly a lot of this stuff is taken and flogged on eBay.

However, something about these two posts didn’t quite stack up… Made me chuckle though:

The weather is beautiful.  Sadly I have little (no) time to go and play in it.  I was fortunate the other day to have some photos to take for my project, so I was able to spend almost the whole day outside!  What a treat.  long may it last!  I have two weeks to get in two big projects and write a dissertation proposal (the subject for which I have not yet decided!!)  Help!

The epic Toyota Carina has died, 11:32pm, Sunday 4th May 2008.  I had a few problems on it on the first day of the Noise (Sat) and people stood and laughed at me as I stalled it and then it jumped and jerked its way to St Paul’s.

On Sunday it was stinking to high heaven and I told JT that I was worried about it…  By Sunday night it was stalling again and then finally when I dropped my friend home, it started to sound like a diesel with a sore throat.  I bumped and tottered my way round the inner ring trying to get the thing home and then, without warning, the power steering went, right in the middle of the boy racers!  I managed to swing into Berkeley Place diagonally before it cut out.

JT has rescued it today but I fear that the radiator has gone, rendering it obsolete.  When you pay £150 for a car there is really no point in spending big money on it (Toyota parts are not cheap!)

This said, the Lord’s timing is always good.  JT is working on a job at the moment, the money from which we had earmarked to buy a slightly more efficient car.  So we are car-less until JT finishes the job, but at least it won’t be for long!

The beast stats:

Cost: £150

Repairs: New battery, £50, new wing mirror due to idiot smashing it off: £6 from the scrappers

Lasted: nearly 2 years

MOT: Sailed through, no problems

Outstanding achievement: Drove hundreds of miles across France on a knackered battery

Shameful details: The most disgusting interior mess in car history

The afterlife:  This car is now (probably) going to my mate Simon to be pimped for a laugh.

The gig went well last night following a successful day of the Noise…  I am now shattered after doing a bit too much at the gym Friday night, followed by crawling round on the floor for a day taking family portraits in St Paul’s then rushing to a concert (followed by a curry!)  The gig was, well, noisy but successful I think!

through the decorations!

crazy people

playing the theremin!

Tonight was the start of a weekend of music and, of course, THE NOISE! Tonight’s gig at XPOSED Club (Pittville Studios Cheltenham) featured Han Bennink (crazy Dutch drummer), A Noose for Luke (bluesey guitar duo) and Longstone (awesome electronica band playing live using, amongst other things, a speak ‘n’ spell!!!). A good night was had by all and the venue was packed out.

Han Bennink playing the piano with his feet!