Recently in Other Stuff Category

New blog entry?  Well, Jon posted a rambling today and I've been thinking about it for a while so here it is.  Not sure if anyone out there reads these (a perpetual question) but I do hope that it's more than just a mumble!

I'll start with some news.

The Old's have moved church!  We are now ensconsed in Rugby Christian Fellowship (Elim) and it's fantastic.  Full of challenges, new relationships and new experiences.  All very exciting.

Next a quick grumble.

I would dearly love to meet up with the person in the council who is responsible for pedestrian crossings.  On my journey to work (approx 1 mile), I pass through 1 lollipop crossing and 4 pelican / puffin crossings!  It is utterly insane and has added at least 10 minutes to the journey, which over 1 mile is nuts.  If I wasn't doing school and evening activity runs either end of the day, I would SO walk!

Finally a thought.

How come germs are so tiny but cause so much havoc?  Sarah had a slight cold this time last week.  This cold developed Friday / Saturday into a hideous chest infection which has her signed off work for the whole week.  She's been really poorly and all because of a tiny little germ.

Another thought...

With all the money being thrown at formula 1, how come it falls down to the driver to put out his own car fire (Kovaleinen, Singapore)???

Be good.

D

Follow me on Twitter - @derek_old

Our church is having a weekend of prayer and fasting.  There are lots of issues that need prayer at the moment; various situations that need more attention than we can give.

To start the weekend off, we had a service at St Oswalds.  I had a very obscure text message early on the Thursday morning from our vicar, Martin.  He had been informed by another (you know who you are) that I had previous at playing the trombone so might be able to play the Shofar at the service on Friday night.  My first issue was not knowing if I could help due to Caitlin's ballet commitments.  My second.....what's a Shofar??  Google to the rescue..."The Shofar, a well known symbol of Rosh Hashanah, is one of the earliest instruments used in Jewish music. Usually made from a rams horn....."

Anyway, I was free to play so I agreed.  By eck it's a wierd old thing.  It is indeed a ram's horn and is a good 2 foot long.  It is also surprisingly hard to play.  When playing a brass instrument, one has quite a sizeable mothpiece to work with; when playing a shofar, reduce that by half.  Add to this the fact that I lost my embrachure a good 15 years ago!  (If you don't know what one is.....Google it!)  It is surprisingly hard to master a consistent technique.  The net result was, at the service, really good.  It seemed to hit the note (pardon the pun) and was also quite moving to play - quite biblical to be honest.

Martin has since asked me to play again at both services tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it.  The hairs on my neck will be at attention again!

10:30 (Sunday morning communion) and 19:00 (Prayer event) are the times for tomorrow if you fancy coming to join us!

TTFN

Hipp

Interesting blog entry title...?

Quick blog entry this one as I'm soon to get into the M6 car park!

Small pleasures - filling the car up and ending up with the digits in the litres dispensed display showing a larger number than the cost of the fuel dispensed!!!

Big pleasures - going to a wedding tomorrow of a really good friend with the prospect of catching up with lots of old friends. Oh, and the small issue of Caitlin being a bridesmaid!!!

TTFN

Hipp

Well.  Not a hole in the ground for drawing water, but the interjection.  Here it is.  Today's the day.  I will hopefully write no more about my current OU module as in 3 hours I shall be sat in the exam room about to start.

Why do we get exam nerves?  I know that I can't do anymore now.  In fact, I read only last night that last minute cramming only serves to fill-up one's short-term memory, making the longer term memory harder to get to (how do they know this???)  Anyway, my best will be done and I'll have to wait until December to see how I've done.

Don't worry reader (s?) you will know soon enough!

Happy daze

TTFN

Hipp

I love a good pint.  I love a good pub.

On my way down to Basingstoke yesterday, I saw what looks like a great pub (well from the outside at least)

"What made it look so great?" I hear you cry.....

The tag line for the pub, that's what.  The pub was called th Star Inn - not sure exactly where it was, but it was on the A339 in Hampshire.  Anyway, it's tag line was "Inn Keeping with Tradition".

I think that's cool.  Anyone else agree / disagree / have a better one?  Let me know.

TTFN

Hipp

Another evening has passed.  Another evening sat in front of the books, revising.  Odd thing revision; you spend hour upon hour reading stuff, doing past paper questions.  You look at it again the next day and it's all gone!  Mind's a blank!  Or is this just me?

Anyone who knows me will testify that I have a pretty short attention span.  As I sat revising tonight, I kept looking at a picture we have on our dining room wall.  Quite a special picture, even though it was bought from a supermarket!  The supermarket was "Pick and Pay" in Middelburg, South Africa.  It was from a smaller retail area within the supermarket and had all manner of leather goods.  The picture shows a pair of elephants on the run and is burnt into leather.  In itself, the picture is probably not that amazing.  However, the memories it evokes are absolutely amazing and too numerous to mention.  I've added a photo of the picture at the bottom of this entry if you're interested.  Middelburg Jun - Nov 1995.

As for the drawstrings....I (when not engrossed in OU stuff) am quite the "new-age" gent!  I try my best to do my bit around the house.  This includes the ironing.  Yep....you heard me right...the ironing.  I'm not saying this to make all my female readers think "wow" or my male readers think "what?...why?" but because I cannot understand why, in this modern era we still have ironing board covers held on with drawstrings.  The wretched things just do not work.  I always end up ironing creases in the cover and not the clothes.  Maybe it's a divine message saying that my calling really isn't in a domestic capacity???  Answers not on a postcard, but in a blog comment if you like!  Also, if anyone has an ironing board cover that they would recommend then.......please tell.....just don't let on that you're telling me!  OK - our secret....shhhhhh!

TTFN

Hipp

Jon had created a new blog....www.realyouth.net/dull

I have tried SO hard to find things to add to this blog, but I guess I'm just not dull enough ...... or am I???

And finally...

Jamie had "show and tell" at school today.  This is where the kids get to take in random things and tell their class about whatever it is.  Jamie got his 10m swimming badge last week, but decided instead to take in a teddy bear that I had when I was his age, that I found in the loft last weekend.  Can I ever show my face at the school again?  Should I post a photo of said bear on my blog?  What is the bear's name?  Did he ever have one?  (I need to ask my Mum and Dad about the last 2 questions!)

That's definately it for tonight now.

Sleep well

Hipp

20 questions that is.  Caitlin was a bit naughty the other night; "doodling" and playing with her 20Q game when she should have been going to sleep.  I confiscated said machine and have found it quite distracting.  I've also beaten IT more times than it's beaten ME.  I wonder if I can do them for trade descriptions on that one?

Been an odd week this week.  Mrs O has had another very tiring but satisfying week at school which is great; I like it when she's happy.  My week has been MAD!!!  Everything seems to have been done in top gear this week with everyone wanting a piece of me and always at the same time!  Despite all this, it's been good being busy.  I have found studying difficult though.  There are parts of my course which I find pretty easy and others really hard.  I seem to find myself revising stuff I already know just to make myself feel better, rather than concentrating on the more difficult stuff!  Anyway, I have decided that tomorrow night is to be SEP (Specimen Exam Paper) night.  3 hours - exam conditions.  I'll update you on how it goes!

Also this week, I took time out to go to the flicks with Jon.  We went to see a real blokes film - Tropic Thunder.  It's very funny but I kept thinking how much Sarah would have hated it....the awkward cringe moments that she hates so much.  Good fun film tho.

I've also made a discovery this week.  Owen from church has leant me a CD of Wes Montgomery - a jazz guitarist from the late 50's early 60's.  It's some really good stuff and quite enlightening. 

Anyway, I'm just waffling now so I'm off.

TTFN

Hipp

Promised you somethign different...

How about this?  I opened up my latest computing journal to find a flyer for Google.  This flyer is demonstrating the effectiveness of advertising.  It does this by giving a link to this....

Wiggly Wiggers Reds

My order is pending!

Hipp

Depeche Mode once did.  So much so that they wrote a song about it.

Whilst I do like solitude, I think that Blog silence is wrong.  That, by definition makes me wrong!

How could I have left it so long (I hear myself ask as I'm sure I'm purely writing for myself anyway)?  I don't really know the answer to that.  I could blame the pace of life, holidays, work, study, family life; but they're just lame excuses for being lazy.  Sorry

That'll do for now.  The door is once again ajar (surely that makes it jammed!!!!)

Hipp