Hmmm.....Surely I should be somewhere else right now?....

I've been trying to find a way of making a visual pun based on this photo for a few weeks now and nearly two weeks later it has finally happened! This is face number 23 from the "Guitarist's guide to rock grimmacing". This is the rhythm guitar concentration face. I jest of course, as there is no book before you try to buy it on Amazon but the facial expressions are all too real.

I don't why we "axemen" pull such strange faces while we play. Some say it's because we feel the music we're playing, although others say that it is just a comical and daft habit. Many great players have pulled or continue to pull the strangest of facial expressions (Eric Clapton, Paul Kossoff, Robin Trower and Gary Moore, I'm looking in your general directions) and apparently I do too. Rather embarassingly I still poke my tongue out while I'm concentrating. I think it makes me look dumb, but everybody else thinks I look cute! That doesn't include men though before you start worrying and for my lovely lady's benefit, none of the women are after me when they say this!

Today's blog title is in reference to the fact that I am not working my evening job tonight and I keep waiting for the call to say, "where are you?". I usually work Tuesday evenings with the exception of today and I am not back in now until Friday evening. I am looking forward to the visit of my lovely lady this weekend and a Skype conversation once she gets home later.

Jonesy is staying, now for the rest to follow suit....

I always see the irony in life. It is typical that after Cardiff City lost to Blackpool on Saturday, I keep speaking to customers from that area at work! They have all been kind enough to not mention the game. They may have mentioned in once but I think they got away with it.

After the media negativity regarding the very existence of the club itself, some positive news was confirmed this afternoon. The news? Manager Dave Jones is staying and with the financial backing of our new Malaysian consortium will also begin the task of building a squad that can get us promoted to the Premier League. Although I will believe it when I see it, six squad players have been released on free transfers today namely Peter Enckleman, Tony Capaldi, Josh Magennis, Warren Feeney (at last! Candidate for one of the worst ever City strikers I've seen), the retiring Riccardo Scimeca and youngster Aaron Morris. Amazingly though Miguel Comminges has been given another opportunity to prove his fitness although he does an excellent impression of a rabbit caught in the headlights whenever he plays for us. The club also confirmed that they are in discussions with Joe Ledley and are hoping he will remain with the club.

Whenever you are trying to build something it is important to retain key people whether that is a business, a church or in this scenario a football club. In City's case it is important to keep the nucleus of the squad together and to add to it, rather than starting next season with a weaker squad and going backwards. Our new board are committed to driving the club forward and making it solvent over the next few years. I am hoping that next May my dream of watching Cardiff City play in the Premier League will be a reality at last.

Six of the best, but I am not a number I am a free man!

This is the final post of the night as I need to eat and have something to drink. In all fairness I have really enjoyed doing all this blogging as it is something that I really enjoy doing. Tonight I am paying a tribute to the late Patrick McGoohan in his guise as Number 6 in the original tv series "The Prisoner". I recently saw the new version and whilst it was ok it didn't grip me like the original one did. There will only ever be one number six for me and that is Patrick McGoohan.

The basis premise of the original series was that McGoohan was a secret agent who resigned his position for personal reasons and is kidnapped only to wake up in a strange Italianate place known as "The Village". It is a place where people only are only known by different numbers and not by names. Throughout the series he tries to escape, is tortured, coerced, attacked and challenged to reveal why he resigned. He never answers the question and is allowed to leave of his own free will by the final episode after beating all the odds. One of the key quotes from the series in the opening episode is "I am not a number, I am a person". I felt this way in a comical sense when my badge at worked changed from temp xxx to my own name, but I know that my employers will not allow me to be "pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered" as in the case of number six!

5 alive!...I'm on a roll!

And the inspiration keeps on coming! Now before you think this, I am not bored in any way. If anything I am very excited right now as I am listening back to this morning's concluding 5th part of Pastor Mike's excellent "Blindspots" series. It has been a fantastic, challenging and eye opening message series that has impacted people worldwide via the web as well as our own guys here in Bristol. After a great morning we enjoyed a church meal together too. Despite struggling with the heat which unfortunately resulted in me being slightly grumpy (which I regret for the record) it was a great morning. I am also enjoying a rare Sunday evening off from my evening job and feeling all the better for it instead. So I will be there tomorrow and Tuesday night instead thanks to swapping shifts with one of my best mates. My long term aim is to be in one well paid job, but for this season I will balance church, my relationship and my jobs until that breakthrough comes.

I love driving and yesterday Ethelred nailed both journies hands on. Over recent weeks I have been to Milton Keynes (twice), Wiltshire, Eynsham, Newton Abbot, Oxford and around Bristol. I enjoy driving and especially when my lovely lady is with me. I am looking forward to seeing her next weekend and I am pleased to report that our relationship has already strengthened since we've been apart. God is blessing our lives and our love for another. Both of us are in no doubt that God has a great future ahead for us and therefore we will come out the other side of this season stronger in our faith and in our love for one another.

Four, four, four, four.....

I tried to find a picture of the two British Airmen from the TV series "'Allo 'Allo" in order to make a visual pun for this blog post title. I'm afraid you will have to settle for John Cleese in his guise as one of the "Upper class twits of the year" from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" instead. Four posts today and I am amazed with myself. It also fully illustrates the point that when I have spare time I can really put my full energies into blog writing. Just as an aside I am awaiting the ok to begin writing for the Destiny blog again following a temporary hiatus caused by software issues. Hopefully these will be rectified shortly and my dual blogger status will be restored!

After reflecting on the City's narrow defeat to Blackpool, it made me think about character. This defeat can either break the team or it can spur them on to greater success next season. You can either quit because it is tough, or you can tough it out and reap the long term benefits. Some of our players could move on this summer, but I am hoping that this defeat will unite the playing squad and that they will achieve their goal of Premier League football in Cardiff by the end of next season. It would be great if the likes of Joe Ledley, Jay Bothroyd, Chris Burke and Michael Chopra remain at the club. Finance wise this may not be possible despite another rise in average attendances following the move to Cardiff City Stadium and the highest league finish for the club since 1971. Hopefully the nucleus of this squad will commit their futures to the club and the playing squad will be fitter and better next season. It would be great if in a years time I am toasting their success and when home games against Manchester United and Chelsea are a reality and not just a dream.

Wow! Can it really be a year for Cardiff Exile?...

It has just dawned on me that this blog was a year old on Friday! Apologies that there was a distinct lack of celebration or ceremony, but I honestly thought I had started it on May bank holiday 2009! Oops!.

It is amazing to look back on what has happened and it has definitely been a year of transition and change. There have been the challenges and joys of moving home, changing jobs, new opportunities at church, emotional healing and a fresh start with my beautiful lady. Whilst I am not where I want to be right now, I am closer to being there. I have taken responsiblity for my life and have tried to put things right where I've gone wrong previously. Sometimes we have to walk through difficult times to fully appreciate the good times when they come. The good times are beginning to roll for me and I look forward to celebrating some more breakthroughs over the next year. As my year in South Bristol draws to a close in August I will be moving again but I have a calm assurance that God is firmly in control of my life. He will not let me go and he will not let me fall. Whilst there are consequences to all of life's actions, I don't have to be determined by them and circumstances can change in the blink of an eye. I have hope that my life will get bigger and better and that this season will draw to a close. I know when it does I will be a stronger, more loving, compassionate and caring man than I was a few years ago. I feel like I am finally finding my feet and fixing the foundations for future growth.

Don't be sad, six out of seven ain't bad!....

Did you like my "clever" reworking of the old Meat Loaf (pictured) song there....thought you wouldn't! It suddenly dawned on me that I had made the bold statement that I would write 7 posts to catch up recently. I managed a creditable 6 out of 7 so I am feeling rather happier with my literary skills these days and I feel great to be writing again after a period of inactivity. Life can get in the way sometimes and time has been at a premium recently. Hopefully things are beginning to change now and I will have more time to rest instead of being constantly on the go. No one can be flat out all of the time as I can see the effect this has had on me. However, tough seasons don't last but tough people do and God is miraculously keeping me going even when I am exhausted.

Life is all about "bouncebackability" (to quote Soccer AM's Tim Lovejoy). I could easily quit or give up when life is hard, but that would be counterproductive and ridiculous. Sometimes you've got to dig in your heels and fight back against circumstances, challenges and situations. Thankfully that's where God comes in as His strength is all I need to get through the tough times and the things I would prefer not to face. However, God promises to never leave us or forsake us and so as a result when you accept that truth no challenge is too big to conquer.

A beautiful day and misery for the City.....

Oh, the weather outside is rather pleasant but the fire is most certainly off and not delightful! I am enjoying the sunny weather in Britain at the moment. No, really I am. Don't fall off your chairs in shock, I am genuinely telling you the truth! This weekend has been lovely weather wise and I enjoyed my countryside drive to Wiltshire yesterday for a family celebration. The AA route planner decided to send me via Bath for some reason but the drive on the A roads over Claverton Down and towards Warminster and Salisbury was both picturesque and stunning. I realised that we live in a beautiful country and it is all too easy to miss this due to our modern day urban cities. When I used to live in the countryside I used to take it for granted, but I love going to visit my family in Oxfordshire as I get to enjoy fantastic scenery through Gloucestershire too.

The Premier League dream is over...for another season at least. On my way home from the party I commiserated with some very gutted City fans. City slumped 3-2 to Blackpool in the play off final and it was another case of so near and yet so far. To realise how much it meant to our players I have included a picture of Mark Hudson and David Marshall at the final whistle. Hugely disappointing but I am more optimistic of the future now that Dato Tien Ghee and Vincent Tan are about to take over the club. Hopefully this is merely a painful, but temporary setback and that our time will come next May. We are Cardiff City and even though I won't be there every game next year, I'll be there! C'mon City!

24 hours to maximum elation or footballing desolation....

By 5pm today I could be the proud supporter of the first Welsh club to appear in the Premier League. The City are 90 minutes away from promotion to the top tier for the first time since their relegation in 1962. A win would cap the end of a rollercoaster decade that has seen the club move forward from being a shambolic lower division club to being on the verge of hobnobbing with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. I would be very disappointed if City fell at the final hurdle, but hopefully they won't!

C'mon City! Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley, we're the famous Cardiff City and we're off to Wem-ber-ley. Bluebirds!

A beautiful and bizarre musical interpretation of a late, great musicians work....

As my commitments and work mean that I am rarely at home these days, I stumbled across a brilliant concert on BBC IPlayer. It was recorded at the Barbican Theatre in London and featured modern renditions of songs by the late British singer songwriter Nick Drake. It is ironic that the concert happened at this venue as it was where Nick Drake played one of his few concerts when he supported British prog rockers Genesis in 1970.

Amongst the highlights were a jazz rock version of "Poor Boy", a moving rendition of "Way To Blue" as well as Robyn Hitchcock's versions of "Free Ride" and "Parasite". Amongst the bizarre offerings were a strange rendition of "Black Eyed Dog" and a bad rendition of "Three Hours". Nevertheless it was great to hear Nick's music live and living on in the way it should have done during his lifetime.

Music of the future, music of the past...

Many years ago when I was a 16 year old guitarist in Witney based Indie rock outfit Opening, our lead singer introduced me to a great band called Eden Burning. This is not connected to the current US based rock band of the same name. The album that blew me away was their excellent live album "Smilingly Home" which I enjoyed listening to last week on my journey home from Oxfordshire. I had forgotten what a great band they were and was amazed that I could still remember the lyrics nearly 18 years later.

For those of you not familiar with this band, they were formed in Cheltenham in the early 90's and continued until their amicable split in 1996. During this time they released the "Much More Than Near" E.P, some moderately successful singles, as well as the "Thin Walls", "Vinegar and Brown Paper", "Brink" and "Mirth and Matter" albums. The latter album also featured an excellent guest appearance by everyone's favourite eccentric British fruitbat, Brian Blessed. Sadly, he doesn't utter his immortal catchphrase "Gordon is alive!" from the film "Flash Gordon" during the track.

B&Q, McDonalds and my evening employers have recently surprised me in a pleasant way. In amidst Simple Minds, Elton John and other artists that appear on our background music was a very familiar track by a band whose music I have loved for years. Who am I referring to? Prepare to be amazed, but none other than Christian rock legends Iona. Although the track title escapes my memory it was one of the tracks from their seminal 1992 album "The Book of Kells". In the same way that listening back to Eden Burning brought back fond memories, listening to Iona had the same effect. The great thing is that music moves on and grows, but great music transcends the years and still sounds great now. In a similar way if I hear "Nevermind" by Nirvana, "The Stone Roses" album or "The hour of bewilderbeast" by Badly Drawn Boy, they still sound fresh and have not dated in any way. Great music always endures.

There are nine million bicycles in Bristol, that's a fact....er..maybe it's not....

Driving home from Connect Groups the other night I noticed a lot of students cycling around the city. I had to pinch myself and remind myself that I wasn't in Oxford city centre but Bristol instead. Why is this strange you ask? Well usually they seem to walk in groups but maybe its a new craze sweeping the student world and our current crop of academics are now cycling mad. It made me chuckle at the time but the smallest matters amuse me. Katie Melua's song wouldn't quite work the same in a Bristolian context.

Insects, they are really annoying! My front bumper is covered in them as they all flocked to their premature deaths on my car during my recent motorway journies. Inadvertently I seem to have committed a type of insect based genocide with a blunt instrument known as Ethelred. A pressure washer would help remove them but as I don't have one, I will pray for rain instead! I jest before you readers hunt after me with pitchforks!

Turn it up!

Rock music was never meant to be quiet, but very loud instead. Without wishing to sound like a 1960's tv advert, I'm partial to a Marshall. That's of course a Marshall guitar amplifier, as opposed to a US law enforcement official, or indeed Cardiff City's penalty shoot out goalkeeping hero, David Marshall.

For the type of sound I like (i.e loud and heavy) nothing sounds better than a Gibson Les Paul guitar through a Marshall amp. The two combined sound incredible and were almost modelled to work well together. I certainly enjoy getting classic Who/Metallica/Zeppelin tones out of my AVT 275X amp and although people keep persuading me to switch to Orange, Mesa Boogie, Fender or Line 6 amps a Marshall amp is a rock icon. So for all you guitarists out there turn it up full blast and go for it!

Where have you been to, my lovely?

It suddenly dawned on me that I have been strangely absent from blog land over the last week. It has been a busy time and tonight I will attempt to write 7 to 8 short articles in order to bring you up to speed.

Most significantly last week my lovely lady moved away to start her new job. We enjoyed a lovely day together before the heart wrenching moment of saying goodbye to each other. However thanks to Facebook, text messaging, Msn and Skype we have stayed in daily contact and are very much still in love even if we are also really missing each other. She will be visiting Bristol soon and to quote the hairy Bristolian, Justin Lee Collins (pictured) "happy days!". Today's blog title is how I imagine Peter Sarstedt's anthem "Where did you go to my lovely?" might sound if it was sung by a Bristolian!

Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley, we're the famous Cardiff City and we're off to Wem-ber-ley!

Even though I wasn't there it was an evening of high drama at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight in the second leg of the play off semi final against Leicester City. Carrying a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg the City lost 3-2 despite goals by Michael Chopra (pictured) and Peter Whittingham. However with the scores tied on aggregate at 3-3 after extra time the game ended with a penalty shoot out. Thanks to the accuracy of Joe Ledley, Michael Chopra, Ross McCormack and Mark Kennedy as well as some great saves by David Marshall in goal the City won 4-3 on penalties.

On May 22nd the City return to Wembley for the final against Blackpool and this will be their biggest game in years. A win will see the City facing the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premiership next season. This is a far cry from the dark old days in the mid 80's when City used to struggle in the lower divisions against the likes of Halifax and Rochdale. It makes me appreciate this all the more and hopefully my footballing dream of Cardiff City being in the Premiership will actually happen.

Changes afoot....

I am not an angry or bitter man (although I like to drink bitters
with Brains SA and Brains Dark being amongst my many favourites). However I am having to take necessary steps to protect the safety of this blog and anyone included within it. It may well result in me granting access only to people I know in order to prevent complete strangers from gaining access to my information. It is regrettable as the vision I had for Cardiff exile was that it could be read by all, but I appreciate that without the necessary precautions cyperspace can be a dangerous place and that there are some malicious people out there. I apologise to everyone that I have mentioned by name and my hope is that this hasn't compromised your safety or privacy in any way. However, I will continue to write and hopefully you will still gain enjoyment from reading my daily ramblings.

Things are turning around, you know......and it's not just about road signs!

I have had a remarkable day today and one that I am truly thankful to God for. After a busy but enjoyable day at work I found out that I had been successful with my job application for a permanent role there. I am now working the notice period required by my agency and I will officially join the company within 1 month. It is a significant step forward and both myself and my manager are delighted. Maria is also ecstatic about my news too and she has been a great supporter and encourager to me during this season of my life.

Sometimes you can end up going in the wrong direction like the above road sign (no offence if you are from Potton as I am sure it is a nice place really). Proverbs 3:6 says "Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." When you put God in first place in your life He can open up doorways of opportunity for you. I can recognise that God is blessing my life and that He is adding things back to my life after a difficult last few years and months.

The attack of the happy axeman....

I like playing guitars in case you hadn't already guessed. Today's picture was taken by Maria at her house recently as I played along to some songs by Welsh rock legends Budgie. "Ain't No Mountain" was the track I think before I tried playing their most well known song (thanks to Metallica) called "Breadfan".

I've just realised that I failed to mention something really important about yesterday's wedding. She will kill me (well, not literally) for saying this but Maria looked very beautiful yesterday in her traditional Malaysian clothing. It's not that she doesn't look beautiful all the time in case you were wondering. I was proud of her yesterday and was also thankful to God for blessing me with such a special and amazing woman. Whilst this may be the last week that Maria is in Bristol (well, for at least a while) I know that our relationship will develop, grow and strengthen as each week and month passes. Milton Keynes isn't difficult to get to and we will continue to build our relationship and friendship just as we have started to begin doing.

A great morning and first blood to the City....

We had a great morning at church today. There are so many good things going on in the life of the church at the moment that it is impossible to keep up with them all! I am especially enjoying being part of an expanded Creative Ministries team following the recent additions of Mark and Emma. A couple of comical things happened during the praise and worship involving their son, Freddie. Freddie likes to jump to the songs. A lot. Then he likes to jump some more. He topped this today by jumping and shouting "hello mummy" for most of the first song to the point that we could hear him above the band! But that's not all as he achieved comic genius status by running into the main hall during the final song with no trousers on which prompted much laughter from not only us as a band but the congregation too.

The Blindspots message series has been brilliant and has not only helped me personally but the lives of many others in the church and around the world too. Sometimes it can be one or two simple thoughts that could be holding you back from progressing in life and I've certainly been able to deal with some stuff because of this message series.

The City won 1-0 away to Leicester City at The Walkers Stadium this afternoon in the first leg of the play off semi final. Peter Whittingham (pictured) is seen being mobbed by his team mates after scoring another of his trademark free kicks. Hopefully we can finish off Leicester at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night and book another trip to Wembley. Could this be our year? I hope so as unlike the line in Baddiel and Skinner's "Three Lions" song, it's not been 30 years of hurt but 52 years of hurt since Cardiff City last played at the highest level. Here's hoping that the dream comes true!

A lovely day in drizzly Devon....

I was both humbled and privileged to be invited to Josh and Bev's wedding in Newton Abbot recently. Yesterday was a wonderful day of celebration and I really enjoyed meeting some more members of Maria's extended family too. Today's picture was taken at the wedding reception and shows Bev and Josh cutting the cake. Thankfully their table didn't nearly collapse like it did when I tried to cut the cake with my late wife Bonni.

It was a fun day that not even the damp and drizzly Devon weather could spoil. Two comical moments that occurred during the day were when we were just about to say grace before the wedding meal and a small boy blew a raspberry really loudly. That little boy has impeccable comic timing! Also Maria and I were repeatedly asked when we were going to get married, which I chose to take as a compliment as the general consensus amongst the guests was that we appeared to be very much in love with one another. It is genuine and not an act I can assure you and whilst we are still in the early stages of building our relationship if we marry one day then I won't be disappointed. At this stage we are enjoying being in love with each other and building on our existing strong friendship.

Love is in the air....

I know I keep harping on about it, but I am in love and I am blessed to have such an amazing girlfriend in Maria. We enjoyed a lovely evening together tonight as we made the most of the time that we have ahead of her move to Milton Keynes on May 15th. Despite the fact that we will be physically apart for a few weeks at a time, we both want to keep our relationship healthy and alive. It is easier to stay in contact thanks to modern technology whether it's Skype, e-mail, instant messenging (msn), Facebook or telephone. MK is also not too far from Bristol and I know that my car can handle the journies to and from there.

I am looking forward to Saturday as I will be driving to Newton Abbot for the wedding of Josh and Bev. Josh is one of Maria's older brothers and I really enjoyed meeting them both last Saturday along with Maria's mum and one of her other brothers, Peter. I am looking forward to celebrating the union of a great couple as well as wishing them a long, prosperous and happy life together.

Connecting as a team....

Following hot on the heels of Connect Groups, Connect Guys and Connect Girls it was the turn of Connect Teams on Wednesday night. These sessions are designed to develop leadership potential in people as well as building strength in each team. This is a key part of fulfilling the common goals and vision of the church. After some great teaching by Pastor Mike we broke off into our teams and we had a very positive and productive session as a set up crew. I am looking forward to seeing us grow as a team in strength, number and confidence as despite the physical demands it is a fun and rewarding team that I am privileged to be able to serve with. I am also looking forward to trying my amplifier at church instead of my faithful Line 6 POD.

Another thing that occurred to me last night was the love, passion, commitment and devotion that all our teams have for our church and towards one another. It is about more than just meeting each week, as it is about impacting and reaching our local community and also reaching out internationally through our live stream recordings and our podcasts/vodcasts. I am really looking forward to Sunday as I am sure that it be a great time at church.

Frozen food by day, cinema by night...

When I work both of my jobs I tend to feel very tired by the end of the day. After a fun and demanding day during my customer services job I enjoyed working this evening at the cinema. Last Friday evening I went there with the church guys to watch "Clash of the Titans" and I found it highly surreal to not be selling tickets in the box office, clearing rubbish from between the seats or checking tickets. At the end of the film I really had to stop myself from completing my normal duties!

Tonight I opted to clear the rubbish between showings. Due to scheduling I got to enjoy the last few minutes of "Wonderful Afterlife" (featuring Sanjeev Bhaskar amongst others). Seeing Sanjeev Bhaskar reminded me of the excellent BBC comedy "Goodness Gracious Me" and his character who was convinced that everyone was Indian. Here is the link to why his character thinks our Queen is Indian so be prepared to really laugh:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpqfwt_cLg

I also saw the end of "Iron Man 2" (featuring Robert Downey Jnr, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle amongst others). Whilst I will definitely use one of my free passes to go back and see this film I also enjoyed hearing some classic songs by AC/DC (pictured) on the soundtrack. Ironically Maria and I watched some old AC/DC videos on YouTube yesterday and when I was a spotty 14 year old metalhead Angus Young was my hero. AC/DC, Airbourne and Rose Tattoo are three great bands who specialise in blues based hard rock and I love all of their music with a passion. To quote AC/DC themselves, "for those about to rock, we salute you!"

Bank holiday and back to the future....

For the last few years I have disliked Bank Holiday's especially after Mrs FlyingVJenks death. However after a brilliant weekend I enjoyed a great bank holiday Monday with Maria. We enjoyed some quality time together which included getting my Skype to work (all I need is a webcam!), a short walk up on the Downs and watching "Back To The Future" featuring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd (pictured) in their guises of Doc and Marty McFly. One of my favourite scenes in the film is of Marty turning an amplifier up to its full setting, hitting a chord and getting blown across his garage by the sound! I wouldn't mind giving that a go!

Over the last few days Cardiff City have announced that the forthcoming Malaysian investment will happen at the end of this month as the deal has now been signed. It nearly fell through following the angry and heated protests against departing chairman Peter Ridsdale in the wake of the season ticket scandal. Fortunately thanks to shareholder Paul Guy and director Steve Borley the deal was rescued and the club's future is now secure. A lot of work will need to be done to get the club running properly again but hopefully it won't be run in such an irresponsible and cavalier way again. In celebration last week I also bought a Malaysian flag for my lovely Malaysian lady Maria, which she couldn't believe I had found. I did own up to the fact that they were selling them outside Cardiff City Stadium and that I couldn't resist it!

Blindspots....

On Sunday we heard the second part of Pastor Mike's excellent message series "Blindspots". The message series has already helped many people to identify attitudes or things that are preventing progress from happening in their lives. Maria and I have also benefitted greatly from what we have learnt as it has helped us both to develop as people.

Today's picture illustrates blindspots in the context of motoring. I learnt about these areas during my driving lessons between 2007 and 2008. It is both highly ironic and appropriate that I should refer to blindspots in this context. In the last week alone two motorists have nearly driven into me on the same roundabout at Filton Abbeywood in Bristol because they have not checked their blindspots. On Saturday Maria and I nearly went into the back of a people wagon after it stopped at a green light on a roundabout near Towcester. God protected me and us on these occasions as I know it was a miracle that we didn't crash on Saturday. It also illustrates how God protects us and I can certainly vouch for the fact that he saved us from danger. Psalm 91:11 says, "God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go." I have no doubt there was a rather large angel between Ethelred and that people wagon!

Driving Miss Maria....

After a pitiful 12 blog entries for the whole of April and none for May so far I have decided to try and make up for lost time. Due to the demands of balancing two jobs, church and all my other commitments I have been too tired to write lately. If I had written the blog during these times then it may well have resembled a collection of random gibberish. I thought better than to make you suffer that.

Today's picture was taken on the return journey that Maria and I made to Milton Keynes and back on Saturday. In order to save us some money I decided to drive and Ethelred performed admirably and seemed to enjoy her extended run out. We visited a flat that Maria will be living in whilst she is working in Milton Keynes and the flat, her landlord and future housemates are all lovely. I also met some of Maria's family at her brother Josh's home in Headington, Oxford and we all got on really well. I will be travelling to Newton Abbot on Saturday in order to attend Josh and Bev's wedding which will be a fantastic occasion I'm sure. We ended the day by swinging in via Eynsham to see my parents and it was great to see them too. We ended the day feeling very happy and contented at our families acceptance of our relationship and both of us also share a real sense of excitement about our future together.