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This weekend was pretty busy, but it felt longer because we had Friday afternoon off. The reason? We were going to see Muse at the O2 :-) We left mid afternoon and got there in good time. We got free entry into the British Music Exhibition with our tickets, so we had a quick look round beforehand. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go round the whole thing but what we did see was interesting, and we’ll have to go back and check it out more next time! They have a roomful of guitars / drums / pianos you can play around on which was pretty cool.

Anyway. The support act were called The Big Pink, who we’d never heard of before. They were OK – quite dramatic music and I liked the arrangements, but unfortunately it seemed a bit too loud and the tunes weren’t very strong. Still, I did check them out on Spotify afterwards so they must have done something right!

After that, Muse came on. They were amazing. Really, really good live. We were saying afterwards, it’s the knid of music that lends itself very well to being played live: Keane pretty much played their songs as they were on the album, Coldplay were a bit different, but Muse really rocked out. Brilliant stuff. They started out with ‘Uprising’, then ‘Resistance’, and then played a selection of new songs mixed with a few from ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ and their previous albums. I was quite pleased with how many older songs they did play actually, it was so great to hear them live. There were a few surprises in there. I didn’t think they’d play ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, ‘Cave’ (from the first album) or ‘Hysteria’ but all three went down really well.

It was a shame they didn’t play ‘Space Dementia’ or ‘Butterflies and Hurricanes’ but you can’t have everything! They finished with ‘Knights of Cydonia’ which was amaaaaaazing live and had everyone going. All in all, it was worth every penny and I’d definitely love to see them again.

Anyway, so. That was a good evening :) On Saturday afternoon we headed down to stay with Philippa’s parents overnight. It was a horrible day (the Dartford Bridge was closed, they diverted the traffic through one of the tunnels instead) but we got there safely. Then on Sunday morning we drove down to Reading to see Phil’s sister Roz.

Roz is engaged to be married, and although we had met her fiance (obviously) we hadn’t met the rest of his family. So we went to Roz’s church in the morning, and then afterwards went round to their house for lunch.

It was a really nice lunch and a very enjoyable time. Matt’s family all seem nice, and they seem to get on well with each other which strikes me as being a good sign! So that was a lovely time.

Then we came back home and watched Top Gear and “The Waters of Mars”, the new Doctor Who special. It was indeed a good episode – probably one of the best that Russell T. Davies has written. I like it when they show a slightly darker side to the Doctor, show that he isn’t invulnerable. The ending of the episode was actually quite unsettling. I’m looking forward to the last two episodes of Tennant’s Doctor now, I think it’s going to be interesting what they do with the character! If anything, though, that episode proved (as if you need any more proof) that Doctor Who is not just a kids’ show.

…the cats will play. Or, did I get that the wrong way round? Anyway! Phil was away this weekend, so it was just me for the most part. On Friday evening we went to Rollerworld for the 21 social, which was good fun! I didn’t skate, but I did play Quasar.

On Saturday, my parents and sister came round with my niece and nephews, and we all had lunch together. Then in the afternoon they went home and I did a bit of shopping. In the evening I went round to Tom’s flat to have a curry and watch Zoolander with a few other people.

On Sunday I basically didn’t do much all day until I went to Sunday@6! Still, it was nice to have relaxing day, I think I needed it! So that’s pretty much it :-)

Quick weekend type summary. Apologies for not writing more on the blog recently, I have been busy – and suffering from a syndrome known as “lack of ideas” (my usual state of affairs, to be honest!) I do have an article due to be published on Crossring in the next month, so that’s, um, something to look forward to?!

Anyway. The weekend. On Friday we helped out at 21. Then on Saturday afternoon we went down to Hounslow for my brother-in-law’s tenth anniversary service – he’s been the pastor of his church now for ten years. Anyway, we went down on the train with my parents, and apart from a minor hitch with the underground, we had no problems getting there and back. It was really nice to see family again, as it’s been quite a while since last time! My niece is now in year 11 which is quite a scary thought. And it was just a really nice time in general.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning, did a bit of Moore Course in the afternoon, and then headed out for the youth service in the evening. After that, we watched “East of Ipswich“, a film by Michael Palin.

I really liked it. It was a painfully well observed light drama / comedy about a young man who goes on holiday with his parents to a village on the coast near Ipswich. What I really liked was how it seemed to draw on a memory that I didn’t quite have, i.e. it was similar but not too similar to those awful holidays we’ve all been on where there is very little to do! Anyway, it’s well worth watching if you have a spare hour (it’s really not that long – only about 1:15).

Just thought I’d better update before I forget everything that’s gone on at Christmas! On Christmas Eve we went to the carols by candlelight service at Fordham. It was absolutely packed! Around 300 people in the church – a church which has a seating capacity of about 150. We put out a whole load of additional chairs but there were still people standing at the back. It was lovely to see so many people there, though – and I think everyone enjoyed it. The music went well and Mike did a good talk.

Afterwards we went to Ipswich to stay with my parents for Christmas. We had a great time with my family, we played a few games and what have you – all the kinds of things you usually do at Christmas! And on Saturday we came back home after lunch, and as of yesterday we’ve been down at Phil’s parents.

So… in general, it’s been busy but great fun! My Mum got a webcam for Christmas which looks brilliant – we had a chat with my aunt in Australia using Skype. I might have to get one.

We’ve watched a fair bit of TV over Christmas too – haven’t seen the Doctor Who special yet (curse our Freeview recorder which didn’t record!) but we will catch up on the iPlayer soon. We also didn’t see Top Gear Vietnam special (we watched The 39 Steps instead), so another one to watch on the iPlayer. The new Wallace & Gromit was good but I didn’t think it was as good as the previous ones.

Aaaand, I think that’s pretty much up to date. That’s all from me for now!

Well, last weekend was pretty busy once again! (It must be that time of year again, you know, the time of year that we’re really busy. That’s about three quarters of the year!)

Anyway. On Friday evening we went to 21. I did the talk on “The Church” which seemed to go pretty well. On Saturday, my parents came round for a brief lunch and then I headed down to London with them to see my sister. She had had an operation the day before, for breast cancer, so we went to the hospital to visit her. She seemed to be in pretty good shape considering (and is apparently now vastly improved). We came back late afternoon, and Mum and Dad stayed round for dinner before heading back home.

On Sunday, we went to church in the morning, and then came back for lunch. In the afternoon we both headed off to Fordham. I spent the time preparing for the youth service, while Phil went off to hear a beautiful Bach Cantata (I was really annoyed I had to miss it, but there you go). But I think the youth service went really well though – the music was good (despite a few minor confused moments!).

Anyway, that’s about all for now. Someday I hope to write something on this blog which ISN’T about what I did for the weekend, that’d be a revelation, huh? ;-)

Well, sort of.

On Friday night we went round to our next-door-neighbour’s for dinner. We had a lovely evening – we sat outside chatting before dinner, drinking some French liquer (we didn’t realise it beforehand but apparently it was about 45% proof! – I felt a bit woozy after that…) And we had a nice chat over dinner.

Then, on Saturday morning we went shopping, and in the afternoon went round to our other next-door-neighbour’s house for tea. We stayed there until late afternoon, and then came back home to do some preparation for dinner on Sunday: we were cooking a roast for my parents!

On Sunday morning we went to church in the morning – to which my parents were able to come, the first time they’d been to a morning service at Fordham. It was a good service, they very much enjoyed it and so did we! Mike was preaching a good sermon, all about healing in James 5. Very interesting and worth a listen (needless to say it’s on the Fordham Website ;-)

After church we headed back home and made our roast. Well, to be completely honest, Phil did most of it! And I must say, did a fantastic job. For a first time doing a roast it went really rather well, I thought! After lunch we took advantage of the sun and went out for a walk around Bourne Mill.

Then my parents headed home and we cleared up and watched a couple of episodes of “Fawlty Towers”. All in all, quite a busy weekend (well, it felt quite busy) but an enjoyable one!

It was a rather nice weekend, actually! On Friday night, after work, I headed down to stay with Phil’s parents for the weekend (Phil had already gone down on Thursday, I didn’t leave her at home for the weekend!)

After dinner we went out to have a cup of tea with a few friends we hadn’t seen in a while (well, I hadn’t anyway. See what I said above about when Phil leaving the day before me).

On Saturday we went to buy a couple of plants, including a Cistus for the front garden and a Coffea plant for my desk at work. In the evening, as an early birthday present for me we went to see the show “Wicked”. We both very much enjoyed it. A few of our friends have been to see Wicked several times – I’m not sure I liked it that much, but it was a class above a lot of new musicals in that it had a really good story and – what is missing from a lot of things – a message! I liked the message about how things are not always black and white – the “wicked” witch isn’t really wicked. “No good deed goes unpunished”, one of the songs, was quite thought provoking for me!

Anyway. On Sunday we came back home for the 11:15 service at Fordham, and then in the afternoon went round to Wivenhoe for Sarah’s birthday party. Quite a few people were there including a number of Sarah’s old school mates. We had a BBQ – despite the rain – and a bouncy castle! I must confess to not going on the bouncy castle due to the rain. I did take a few pictures though, and most will appear on my Flickr account in due course.

So that was the weekend! I think that’s just about everything…

The second May bank holiday weekend was as busy as the first one! On Saturday we went to Ian and Lucy’s wedding. The service was held at St Botolph’s Church in Colchester – it made a really nice change to have a wedding within walking distance! Afterwards, the reception was held at Kersey Mill – where I used to work, strangely enough! Anyway, it all went really well and was much enjoyed by everybody there. The weather was absolutely beautiful! I did my 20 minute DJ set in the evening while the band were on a break, and that seemed to go down well. There will be some photos available on my Flickr account later.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and then afterwards headed over to my parents’. My sister, niece and nephews were staying so we went over to see them. We stayed for lunch and the afternoon. It was good to see them all again!

On bank holiday Monday, we went round to Anne-Marie’s for her birthday party. It started mid-afternoon and then went on into the evening (we left at about 9:30). It was a really fun afternoon / evening – it was a fancy dress party, there will be photos up on Flickr hopefully this evening… Phil came as the star from the film “Stardust”, and I came as a generic U.N.I.T. soldier.

Right, I think that’s pretty much everything for now. We have two more weddings to go to in the next week (one on Friday and one on Saturday), so next weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy as well! No weddings to go to in June, though, and only one in July, so hopefully things will calm down a bit after that…

It was my last day at work on Friday! Although I’m technically still working there until the end of this week, I had five days holiday left so I’ve got a few days off before starting my new job (next Monday). It was quite a good day – a few people came down to the pub at lunchtime, and then after work a few of my old colleagues came down to the pub – including a couple of people who I hadn’t seen in nearly a year! So that was good.

Anyway. On Saturday, my sister Julie and brother-in-law came round with their children and my parents for lunch. We had a really good time – we don’t see Julie and family very often especially up here (it was the first time they’d seen our house) so I think everyone enjoyed it.

Afterwards we met Alex, Elisa and Esther for a milkshake at “Shakey Jakeys” in town, before going into Wivenhoe for PhilB’s birthday party. It should be mentioned that PhilB’s birthday was ages ago. Don’t ask. Anyway, that was another good evening, with a few people being there who I haven’t seen in a while – including Foz, and Chris and Louise.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and then in the afternoon Anne-Marie came round with her bass guitar: she’s been learning to play it over the past few weeks during the lent period, and as I’ve just started to learn the guitar it seemed like a good opportunity to have a bit of a jamming session and see where we got! Phil got her clarinet out as well so there were three of us playing in some of the songs. Although I say it myself, we were sounding pretty good – although unfortunately we only had two books between us (and quite a few songs were only in one or the other) so it was a little difficult at times to see the music.

In the evening we gave Anne-Marie a lift back down to Wivenhoe, before coming heading out to the third part of the lent series at St Albright’s. This week’s talk was on “I Am the Good Shepherd”. I found it quite helpful — I think a lot of times people read the “I Am”s superficially, without really going into any depth.

Afterwards we came back home and watched ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ which was very good once again.

Think that’s enough to bore you with for the time being…