check out http://www.bookcrossing.com/friend/wellyanna - I discovered this on the bottom of Pam's emails, looks great, plan to explore it and get bookcrossing - and it gives me the perfect excuse to go and buy at least one book as there is no way I'd pass on those I've brought with me!
gotta dash... Meeting for Worship starts soon and I haven't bought the milk yet.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
feedback
no, not the sort you get when microphone is too close to a loudspeaker but that which I was asked to write for those who organised the event at Wanganui.
I've been home four days now and I still haven't quite got my head around it all. Obviously the big thing for me was seeing so many people I'd not expected to so soon, and also getting to know many others within the YM, and usefully for me - being the kind of event it was - there were a fair few 'weighty' Friends there (I don't mean overweight, it's a term used to describe those whose ponderings/spiritual insights etc tend to carry extra weight as they are seen to be somewhat more 'advanced' along the path of Quakerism than others - when you don't have an official heirarchy you still end up needing to be able to describe the nearest thing we have to one!).
We were asked at the begining to write down 6 things on little post-its about why we had come, what we hoped to get out of the event, our concerns, what we'd like to take away with us etc. If I could remember all the questions properly I might be able to answer better whether I got what I expected!
What I didn't expect when I arrived was to end up helping with two of the sessions but I guess that's what happens when you let Marion volunteer you to go to something (she didn't tell me she was on the steering committee until I was there!). I ended up giving a short spiel on how the internet is (positively) affecting the growth of Quakerism across Europe and introducing the online Meeting for Worship which we all joined in with for 15 mins using a data projector (see the link on the right of you are interested). Much to my relief this was a great success despite (perhaps because of?) so many people's initial sceptisism.
This session came about because the day before Marion had invited me to join her and 'others' to go for a walk and coffee in free time, what she neglected to say was that the 'others' were Sue and Quentin who were helping her plan the next days sessions! So as we sat by Virginia Lake hiding from the fierce rays of the sun under a big brolly we discussed 'new growth' within Quakerism. Sue, referring to someone who had been quoted earlier that day, said how this person (sorry can't remember her name - Winifred something...) had said how 'God doesn't travel by post' (I happen to disagree with the quote but that's by the by...) But what about the internet? Does god travel through cyberspace? Well me and my big mouth... not only did we end up with the online Meeting for Worship but also in another session with me talking about the WGYF email list which has enabled the various conversations about spirituality, theology and more temporal issues continue long after we've all left Lancaster and quite often between those who never even got to meet when we were there.
The latter bit was within a session where Fran, Jonathan and I were a panel of 'Young Friends' and were asked questions which had been semi discussed (and organised!) the night before (don't you just love advanced planning techniques?). Now being up there as a Young Friend is something of a thorny issue for me. I've been the Young Friend for about 20 years now and to be quite honest I think it's someone else's turn BUT.... on the other hand so many of my friends are still within the age range, I socialise with them, have been living with them, working for them, still apparently look as though I am one of them (mistaken for 25 again!) and I have much in common with them in terms of way of life etc. and I'm not quite ready to fall off the top of the spectrum completely - I guess I want my cake and eat it! Altho' one of my ways round the issue of late has to become the one in the background who bakes the cake...
I still don't feel as though I've quite come up with what Merilyn was wanting from me in terms of feedback, whether those who stayed to the end of the six days got a nice little form with tick boxes I don't know, I usually hate those things but right now I'm thinking they might be more preferable!
I've been home four days now and I still haven't quite got my head around it all. Obviously the big thing for me was seeing so many people I'd not expected to so soon, and also getting to know many others within the YM, and usefully for me - being the kind of event it was - there were a fair few 'weighty' Friends there (I don't mean overweight, it's a term used to describe those whose ponderings/spiritual insights etc tend to carry extra weight as they are seen to be somewhat more 'advanced' along the path of Quakerism than others - when you don't have an official heirarchy you still end up needing to be able to describe the nearest thing we have to one!).
We were asked at the begining to write down 6 things on little post-its about why we had come, what we hoped to get out of the event, our concerns, what we'd like to take away with us etc. If I could remember all the questions properly I might be able to answer better whether I got what I expected!
What I didn't expect when I arrived was to end up helping with two of the sessions but I guess that's what happens when you let Marion volunteer you to go to something (she didn't tell me she was on the steering committee until I was there!). I ended up giving a short spiel on how the internet is (positively) affecting the growth of Quakerism across Europe and introducing the online Meeting for Worship which we all joined in with for 15 mins using a data projector (see the link on the right of you are interested). Much to my relief this was a great success despite (perhaps because of?) so many people's initial sceptisism.
This session came about because the day before Marion had invited me to join her and 'others' to go for a walk and coffee in free time, what she neglected to say was that the 'others' were Sue and Quentin who were helping her plan the next days sessions! So as we sat by Virginia Lake hiding from the fierce rays of the sun under a big brolly we discussed 'new growth' within Quakerism. Sue, referring to someone who had been quoted earlier that day, said how this person (sorry can't remember her name - Winifred something...) had said how 'God doesn't travel by post' (I happen to disagree with the quote but that's by the by...) But what about the internet? Does god travel through cyberspace? Well me and my big mouth... not only did we end up with the online Meeting for Worship but also in another session with me talking about the WGYF email list which has enabled the various conversations about spirituality, theology and more temporal issues continue long after we've all left Lancaster and quite often between those who never even got to meet when we were there.
The latter bit was within a session where Fran, Jonathan and I were a panel of 'Young Friends' and were asked questions which had been semi discussed (and organised!) the night before (don't you just love advanced planning techniques?). Now being up there as a Young Friend is something of a thorny issue for me. I've been the Young Friend for about 20 years now and to be quite honest I think it's someone else's turn BUT.... on the other hand so many of my friends are still within the age range, I socialise with them, have been living with them, working for them, still apparently look as though I am one of them (mistaken for 25 again!) and I have much in common with them in terms of way of life etc. and I'm not quite ready to fall off the top of the spectrum completely - I guess I want my cake and eat it! Altho' one of my ways round the issue of late has to become the one in the background who bakes the cake...
I still don't feel as though I've quite come up with what Merilyn was wanting from me in terms of feedback, whether those who stayed to the end of the six days got a nice little form with tick boxes I don't know, I usually hate those things but right now I'm thinking they might be more preferable!
Windy Welly
Well Wellington is certainly living up to it's windy reputation today - spare a thought for Sascha, he's about a third of the way across the Cook Straits right now and doesn't like ferries - boy is he in for a bouncy crossing...
So I've survived my first B&B guest, altho' a German gap year traveller who heard of Quakers whilst WWOOFing and wanted to find out more presumably isn't likely to be my typical guest! Thankfully I had Marion and Peter round for tea to help bail me out on the explanations front the first night. I know I've done this kind of thing (the explanations that is) countless times before but somehow being here, and also being post WGYF where so many of my answers have been thrown up in the air and haven't quite landed yet, made it feel like I was starting from scratch again.
I went exploring the Southern Walkway through the Town Belt to M&Q's yesterday and was very proud of myself for not getting lost despite not having taken the map. OK, so it is pretty well signposted and all I had to do really was walk to the top of Elizabeth Street and turn left and/or up each time I got to a junction of paths but none the less it felt like an achievement.
It's amazing walking through the bush (woods - I was quite disappointed last year to discover that bush=woods, I'd kind of imagined something more dramatic - like the set of Crocodile Dundee, you know - deserty scrub kind of thing...) , you'd never know you were so close to the city. At the bottom of my street - Moncrieff Street - is Elizabeth Street, turn left and after several games of Pacman (see earlier post!) you are in the city centre in about 3-5 minutes. Alternatively turn right on Elizabeth Street and in 3-5 minutes (depending on how fit you are!) you are in the bush. Every so often you are treated to spectacular vistas either inland or across the bay and towards the Rimutaka mountains. I'm gradually remembering all the native trees I learned on previous trips but the flowers are mostly new to me as of course it is a different time of year. There are carpets of what looks suspiciously like Wandering Jew and it quite possibly is, after all I've got Spider plants growing in the garden! The Wild Garlic is familiar though, by sight and smell.
I'm obviously not as fit as I'd thought I was as the up and down path left me decidedly in need of a sit down and cuppa before I tackled the weeding at the other end, I must confess I came back via the road which is far easier but not half as nice. However that way I do get to cut through the Basin Reserve (cricket ground). It is such an oasis of calm, bizarrely located in the middle of what is in effect a busy roundabout (or should that be 'squareabout' considering the shape?) altho I suspect the Basin Reserve was built long before half the roads surrounding it. I must say though if I knew some of the big hitters were playing I'd be decidedly wary of driving or walking around there knowing they are more than capable of knocking 6's over the stands!
Today's random observation - none of the kitchen sinks here seem to have overflows, nor does the bath which means I am having to rapidly readjust my bathrunning techniques - at Glendevon Road it took so long to fill you started it off and then went and did three other things in the meantime, knowing that if you did get distracted for too long it wouldn't flood, now not only does it actually fill quickly I also have to catch it in time....
So I've survived my first B&B guest, altho' a German gap year traveller who heard of Quakers whilst WWOOFing and wanted to find out more presumably isn't likely to be my typical guest! Thankfully I had Marion and Peter round for tea to help bail me out on the explanations front the first night. I know I've done this kind of thing (the explanations that is) countless times before but somehow being here, and also being post WGYF where so many of my answers have been thrown up in the air and haven't quite landed yet, made it feel like I was starting from scratch again.
I went exploring the Southern Walkway through the Town Belt to M&Q's yesterday and was very proud of myself for not getting lost despite not having taken the map. OK, so it is pretty well signposted and all I had to do really was walk to the top of Elizabeth Street and turn left and/or up each time I got to a junction of paths but none the less it felt like an achievement.
It's amazing walking through the bush (woods - I was quite disappointed last year to discover that bush=woods, I'd kind of imagined something more dramatic - like the set of Crocodile Dundee, you know - deserty scrub kind of thing...) , you'd never know you were so close to the city. At the bottom of my street - Moncrieff Street - is Elizabeth Street, turn left and after several games of Pacman (see earlier post!) you are in the city centre in about 3-5 minutes. Alternatively turn right on Elizabeth Street and in 3-5 minutes (depending on how fit you are!) you are in the bush. Every so often you are treated to spectacular vistas either inland or across the bay and towards the Rimutaka mountains. I'm gradually remembering all the native trees I learned on previous trips but the flowers are mostly new to me as of course it is a different time of year. There are carpets of what looks suspiciously like Wandering Jew and it quite possibly is, after all I've got Spider plants growing in the garden! The Wild Garlic is familiar though, by sight and smell.
I'm obviously not as fit as I'd thought I was as the up and down path left me decidedly in need of a sit down and cuppa before I tackled the weeding at the other end, I must confess I came back via the road which is far easier but not half as nice. However that way I do get to cut through the Basin Reserve (cricket ground). It is such an oasis of calm, bizarrely located in the middle of what is in effect a busy roundabout (or should that be 'squareabout' considering the shape?) altho I suspect the Basin Reserve was built long before half the roads surrounding it. I must say though if I knew some of the big hitters were playing I'd be decidedly wary of driving or walking around there knowing they are more than capable of knocking 6's over the stands!
Today's random observation - none of the kitchen sinks here seem to have overflows, nor does the bath which means I am having to rapidly readjust my bathrunning techniques - at Glendevon Road it took so long to fill you started it off and then went and did three other things in the meantime, knowing that if you did get distracted for too long it wouldn't flood, now not only does it actually fill quickly I also have to catch it in time....
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Ministry of Magic in Wellington?
Ok, so they had a Minister for Middle Earth here whilst Lord of the Rings was being filmed but maybe they have a Minister of Magic too... so far I have found Tonks Avenue and Minerva Street here. Has Scrimegour been deposed or has he had an incredible shift in politics?
There seems to be some kind of cover up going on here - the Wellington inner city bypass construction newsletter (which was about as exciting as the contents of the other postbox got...) reckons Tonks Avenue is named after the Victorian entreprenuer Kate Tonks yet they have moved numbers 1, 3, 5, 12 & 13 Tonks Avenue to new locations... locomotor house? I guess I'll eventually get my head around the fact that here you can not only move house but move your house!
There seems to be some kind of cover up going on here - the Wellington inner city bypass construction newsletter (which was about as exciting as the contents of the other postbox got...) reckons Tonks Avenue is named after the Victorian entreprenuer Kate Tonks yet they have moved numbers 1, 3, 5, 12 & 13 Tonks Avenue to new locations... locomotor house? I guess I'll eventually get my head around the fact that here you can not only move house but move your house!
random ramblings
www.kubuntu.org
If you manage to check this out before they change the website you'll see Krissy in her new found role as Kubuntu girl! (who wants to be a vet anyway?) With Kubuntu programming courtesy of Jonny Riddell - well ok so most folk call him Jonathan these days but there are too many of those in my life not to differentiate... oh heck, must get to the shops still and get Jon(athan)'s pressie having wished him happy birthday by Skype (my) this morning/(his) last night, and text Jonathan to say happy birthday for today... confused? How do you think I feel?! Whilst on birthdays - happy birthday Aidan for tomorrow, well my tomorrow, your day after...
The post has just arrived - with a Christmas stamp on it. Now far from it for me to be a party pooper but isn't October just a teensy weensy bit early? Or does this mean that if I'm to send snail mail for Christmas I need to get my head around it now??? Ok, advanced warning - Christmas as far as I'm concerned will now be happening in January... well at least that is an improvement on this year - my midwinter festive season circular went out in February/March and I couldn't even blame it on being in the wrong season - altho' I did spend Christmas day on a plane apparently running along a few hours ahead of the tsunami. Scary thought to think that some of those who got off the plane in Bangkok having flown with me from London could have been wiped out less than 24hrs later.
It was fantastic to spend this last weekend with so many of those I was with at the turn of the year at Summer Gathering in Ngaruawahia, I really didn't expect to see some of them again so soon. There's heaps from Wanganui still floating around in my head needing to crystalise before writing about it so I'd best leave that for another time and see if there is anything in the other post box - what is it with outside postboxes anyway? I suppose you don't get drafty letterboxes in the door that way but you get wet going for the post if it's raining and the post gets damp if you aren't there to get it straight away...
If you manage to check this out before they change the website you'll see Krissy in her new found role as Kubuntu girl! (who wants to be a vet anyway?) With Kubuntu programming courtesy of Jonny Riddell - well ok so most folk call him Jonathan these days but there are too many of those in my life not to differentiate... oh heck, must get to the shops still and get Jon(athan)'s pressie having wished him happy birthday by Skype (my) this morning/(his) last night, and text Jonathan to say happy birthday for today... confused? How do you think I feel?! Whilst on birthdays - happy birthday Aidan for tomorrow, well my tomorrow, your day after...
The post has just arrived - with a Christmas stamp on it. Now far from it for me to be a party pooper but isn't October just a teensy weensy bit early? Or does this mean that if I'm to send snail mail for Christmas I need to get my head around it now??? Ok, advanced warning - Christmas as far as I'm concerned will now be happening in January... well at least that is an improvement on this year - my midwinter festive season circular went out in February/March and I couldn't even blame it on being in the wrong season - altho' I did spend Christmas day on a plane apparently running along a few hours ahead of the tsunami. Scary thought to think that some of those who got off the plane in Bangkok having flown with me from London could have been wiped out less than 24hrs later.
It was fantastic to spend this last weekend with so many of those I was with at the turn of the year at Summer Gathering in Ngaruawahia, I really didn't expect to see some of them again so soon. There's heaps from Wanganui still floating around in my head needing to crystalise before writing about it so I'd best leave that for another time and see if there is anything in the other post box - what is it with outside postboxes anyway? I suppose you don't get drafty letterboxes in the door that way but you get wet going for the post if it's raining and the post gets damp if you aren't there to get it straight away...
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