Journey To The Land Of Lost Blogs.

I haven't blogged since April, even that was just part of a catch up series prior to which i'd not blogged since who knows when. Sufficient people (3) have expressed, with mixed degrees of sincerity, that it was missed. And so, keyboard in hand (and fedora on head) i hack my way through the dense undergrowth of logins and forgotten passcodes in search of a rumoured former commentary on 'civilisation'.

I now aim to revive that which once was common place here; namely bewilderment, self-aggrandisement and definitively correct opinion. What follows here are portions of the past 5 months in bulletpoint format - in no particular order.

> I did a 6 week church placement at Harehills Lane Baptist Church in Leeds. I was very warmly welcomed and it was good, and a privilidge, to briefly see and be invloved with a different picture of church life.

> Kelly had a spot on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square.

> Glastonbury 2009 - Blur, Kasabian,(absolute stand-out acts) Fleet Foxes, Dizzee Rascal, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Specials, Roots Manuva, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dan Le Sac V Scroobius Pip, Bloc Party, (Tom Jones, Jason Mraz, Ting Tings - these acts were embarrassing) Beardyman, Mark Thomas (comedian / political activist / author), Speech DeBelle, Emmy The Great, Khaled, N.E.R.D, Spinal Tap and Bruce Springsteen (of whom it was said by many - given his energy, stamina and charisma - how good he must be in bed. I agree with this to a point, but there was also enough in his performance to suggest he'd spend the whole time checking himself out in the mirror).

> Without wishing to capitalise on the lives of others too much, i'm beginning to grasp what heroine addiction, alcohol abuse, the benefit system, and emotional and mental difficulties really look like. It leaves me angry, spinning and weeping - all of which i seek to do before God, but, if anything, this only enhances these responses.

> I found out that lots of the stuff i really struggle with about the institutionalisation of the mission of Christ, as found in the church, puts me in a camp that has a name. It's called Christi-anarchy. I like it! It's untamed, unbound, chaotic, desperatley dynamic, doesn't care which banners it flys under or disowns, but is ultimately free to seek to be Godly and good.

> I've entered my fourth and final year at college. Over the course of this year the plan is that i will be 'settled' with the church community who will take me on in a proper sense, rather than in a student placement sense. (This is one of the reasons for kick-starting the blog again, because if they're worth their salt they'll google me, find this and this might be enough to give them an accurate picture of me and scare them off. Let's see if it works).

> Dan and Bex got married at the end of August! I grew up with Dan and had the enormous privilidge of presiding over the ceremony. This event also afforded me the opportunity to spend 2 weeks back in Pontyclun (the longest time spent there since leaving home) where i got to hang out with old cronies and speak to loads of people not seen in an age. The whole thing was absolute magic. Congrats Dan and Bec!

> One of the things blogging does is it offers me help in tracing single threads of thought from the mess of my mind. One of the things going round and round are questions about how genetically bound we are, how much choice we ever really have and what amount of potential for change there actually is in people. Some of this stuff is neatly raised in this video which is more squarely aimed at another issue regularly raised here.

> Kelly and i have started getting our weekly fresh fruit and veg from The Hungry Snail. If you're in or around the Wakefield area, i strongly recommend it and would encourage you to consider buying from them.

> My knee is better, i'm now back playing football (currently 3 times a week - no less). I cannot tell you how good it feels, despite how creaky some of my joints have become over this last year. Time to roll out the cod liver oil?

> Tottenham Hotspur are doing reasonably well, better than this time last year anyway. Really need Modric back and fit, but for now a top 3 place is making my smile real broad.

> I turned 30 years old. That's left it's mark i assure you.

> I tried swine flu, it ain't no thang, but the fever makes you sweat like a...

> TV wise, i watched Dexter season 2, Flight of the Conchords season 1 and Northern Exposure season 1. Getting into Flash Forward, but no matter what i try, i just can't fill The Wire shaped hole in me.

> We've gone from Credit Crunch(tm) to "banking crisis" to full blown recession. And still i seem to be left with the sense that political parties are looking to score points for the looming general election rather than plan a proper response.

> Michael Jackson's death remained 'breaking news' for longer than the collapse of the twin towers according to comedian, writer, broadcaster and Guardian colomnist Charlie Brooker.

> Natural disasters in South East Asia are being given lessened air time because party conferences happen to be going on at the same time.

For now though it's good to be back, i didn't have to use my whip once and my fear of snakes was allowed to lie dormant. Hopefully i'll be back soon. Don't be a stranger.