101 ways not to work on your PhD #1

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
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Which action hero would you be?

And here it is folks: I scored as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Roguish,quick-witted, and incredibly lucky, Jack Sparrow is a pirate who sometimes ends up being a hero, against his better judgement. Captain Jack looks out for #1, but he can be counted on (usually) to do the right thing. He has an incredibly persuasive tongue, a mind that borders on genius or insanity, and an incredible talent for getting into trouble and getting out of it. Maybe its brains, maybe its genius, or maybe its just plain luck. Or maybe a mixture of all three.

Captain Jack Sparrow 79%
Maximus 63%
Indiana Jones54%
Lara Croft 54%
Batman, the Dark Knight 50%
The Terminator 50%
The Amazing Spider-Man 46%
William Wallace 42%
El Zorro 38%
James Bond, Agent 007 33%
Neo, the "One" 29%

Well? How accurate do we think that is?

Oh, and the long term forecast is for rain - and cold... :-)

private, not public? public, not private.

As soon as a blog is public, it makes you feel very vulnerable. I know that probably doesn't sound very logical, after all, a blog is public, BUT... wrestling with all kinds of issues in a public-private space is different, I think,that wrestling with them in public-public.

Be that as it may, having got my head around that issue, I'm back.

I finished reading Christianity Rediscovered. One of the most powerful and challenging books I've read in a long time. It had me in tears most of the day, my heart responding. I've also been cracking on (in my own slow way) with PhD, and preparation for classes. This last little while has been intense. The book resonated with me because it is talking about dilemmas I am currently/still trying to work through. What is gospel? What is the heart of it? How do we deal with enculturation? What does God want of us/me? I feel on the cusp of significant changes.

Other things that have struck me:
the vulnerability of the elderly and the ill. I've been visiting (along with a lot of others) Betty, from our church. An 85 year old Mancunian-born and bred, former munitions worker/baker/inspector/hotel receptionist, musical afficionado, Big Brother-watching lady, who, because she is ill, is being treated like she:
a. knows nothing
b. needs to know nothing
c. has no history, arrived in the present by a fortunate accident, and now needs to be told what to do, and how to do it.
It has been more than a little infuriating.

The beauty of the outdoors
We have got an allotment. I know that for some people that needs translation, but it is a plot of (currently) overgrown land, that you can dig/plant/tend/nurture. It is smack-dab in the middle of Levenshulme, and it sounds as if it is in the middle of nowhere. Blackbirds, finches, robins, blue-tits, chaffinches, all sing away. It is beautiful, and, for the princely sum of £50.00 per year, it is ours for as long as we tend it. We have been digging rubbish, sorting glass, raking, burning and roasting marshmallows, and it has been a delight. Good for the soul. Anyway, apparently (so spake the BBC, a group who really ought to know) the average british household spends (of its food budget) £2000.00 per annum on Vegetables and fruit. For the same amount of fruit and veg - five portions a day, per person, per household - the gardener can spend (drum roll please) £150.00. And, on top of that, get your hands dirty, your fresh air and exercise... I'm ranting, I know. Still, it's great.

The Highlands
We are leaving this weekend for a holiday in a croft. No mains electricity, no fridge, freezer, potable water, or road. It is a wedding present, and we can hardly wait! The croft is a 30 minute walk down a road, and overlooks the sea... and nothing else. It is going to be great (yes, and cold, and wet, I know!). We are planning our reading lists, meal lists, and how to leave the house in the hands of various friends! It is near the Hebrides, and is an unused croft. Andrew, when he told a friend (Don Maciver, the librarian here, from the Isle of Lewis), said that his response was "a croft is hard work" - it is easy now to take what is our holiday as normal for the dwellers, but all of that and no escape would probably make it all seem quite different.

Right then, that's all for now folks