Teaching an old dog new tricks

I have been singing all my life. In church in choirs or in the bath I have not been afraid to lift up my voice and sing. In small congregations I have given a lead by belting out the tune at full volume to help others sing along. In the choir I sang the bass line and was able to keep the line not least because I was always beside someone else singing the same notes.
But over the last few months things have changed. I joined the amateur dramatics and I have had to start again. For a start in the chorus you don't stand with the other basses - you are all mixed up on the stage so you have to try and keep your notes and listen out for others singing the same as you are whilst hearing mostly those singing  something totally different.
There is the times when members of the chorus come forward with a one liner solo. I was expecting to stand at the back of stage and grunt but no! I have two one liner solos to sing! There will be 400 people who have paid money for this! My previous experience hasn't really prepared me for this.
So yesterday I went for my first ever singing lesson. I learnt about warming up, how to stand, how to breathe and how to recognise my natural range and some tricks for trying to extend it. If only I had done this years ago I might have been on stage at La Scala by now - no perhaps not. But after that half hour I felt more confident and better equipped to do what I thought would just be a fuinl leisure time activity. So it is never too late to learn.... I hope.

Guilt

Now as a green activist, in my own small way, I have been trying to cut my carbon footprint. This week though I went to a meeting near London and to get there and back I flew. I didn't want to fly, and I didn't enjoy the flight but I had to do it because it was cheaper by a long way and it took much less time, allowing me to meet other commitments in my diary.

But I am left feeling guilty.
The system is stacked against making use of the railways. Getting a proper, European standard, high speed rail link from London to Scotland is decades away, since there are nimbys all along the route who will fight its development along every mile of the proposed track! And this is what we need for it would beat the pants off flying every time!
So this is a modern moral dilemma. Should I feel guilty? Should I plan better so that I allow for the extra time taken when not flying?
Does it matter? The flight is going to go anyway with or without me on board. Can I offset my carbon by doing something else? Perhaps I should put a new shrub or tree in the garden for each flight I take. Though that would  make me feel good would it actually do anything. Do any of these offsetting schemes actually work or are they elaborate scams to make you feel better.
No answers as usual but lots of questions to ponder. Perhaps as Christians we do the guilt thing more than most!

ND filters

Here is my new toy in action. I bought myself a ND (neutral density) filter for my camera with some money I was given at Christmas. So today, being the first day since Christmas when it has been mild, dry and snow and rain free I went along to the nearby Logie Burn with my tripod and tried out this gadget.
First problem - it makes the viewfinder very dark so it is hard to see what is there!
Second problem the exposure meter was giving readings I didn't believe so I set the camera to manual and experimented.
Well here is an example of what I did. It is too dark. It lacks sparkle. There are reflections that stop you seeing the colours in the rock.
But there is an exciting magic effect starting to emerge.
So that is my challenge for the next fine day.And perhaps I can put on a polarising filter too and get rid of the reflections!

I can see ethereal atmospheric promise here...

Next time perfection - I am aiming for no less than picture that makes people say wow when they see it.

Happy Epiphany

Just as everyone has put the nativity sets and Christmas decorations away the church calender marks the arrival of the wise men on the scene. So as the world is tired of Christmas, which for the secular world started in October, we in the church are still supposed to be enthusiastic about this part of the story.

I am just musing today on the meaning of the word epiphany. It means a sudden revelation or insight and is used for today because Jesus was revealed to the wise men. Other significant moments in history which have been celebrated as epiphanies are Archimedes shout of "Eureka" (I have found it) when the answer came to him. Other scientific discoveries have been called an epiphany moment.
Whilst for western Christians, the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi; Eastern churches celebrate the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In both traditions, the essence is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world. In Roman catholic countries in Europe chalk is used to write the initials of the three magi over the doors of churches and homes. The letters stand for the initials of the Magi (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar).   C + M + B + 2011
In 2010 I was in Spain in January. There epiphany day is called El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings), i.e., the day when a group of Kings or Magi, arrived to worship and bring three gifts to the baby Jesus after following a star in the heavens. We saw many houses decorated with models and cardboard cutouts of the kings climbing up walls and on balconies. Traditional belief is that Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar, representing Europe, Arabia, and Africa, arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Children leave their shoes ready for the Kings' presents before they go to bed on the eve of January 6. Sweet wine, nibbles, fruit and milk are left for the Kings and their camels. In Spain, children typically receive their presents on this day, rather than at Christmas.
At this time of year a sweet bread called Roscon is baked and served at special open air festivities. I was in the town square in Lorca in the Murcia region where they had baked the largest Roscon in the world!
But here the 6th January is just another working day while Scots wait for the next opportunity for a party which will be "Burns night" at the end of the month.   So back to work! And perhaps I will get an epiphany moment soon!
(P.S. Epiphany is a great excuse, as if anyone needs one, to read the famous poem about the Magi by TS Eliot - a poem which charts his personal journey to faith)

Chasing Francis

Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron is a novel that has a message. But unlike most books that try to combine the two this one really works. The characters are portrayed as real people not cardboard caricatures who only appear to mouth the message! (I am currently reading a "Christian novel" that is worthy but very hard going!)
The plot concerns the pastor of a conservative church in the USA who finds he has lost his conservative certainties and needs to take time out to rediscover what the church should be about. He goes to Italy and follows the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi in the company of some convivial Franciscans.
The plot allows a discussion of the insights of St Francis and an analysis of how his followers have implemented these ideas over the centuries.
The hero's insight is that Francis identified five priorities that he used to reform the church of his time and suggests that these same priorities are applicable today. These five key factors are transcendence, community, beauty, dignity and meaning. Having spent all his life in a conservative protestant environment the hero finds it liberating to be able to include his other senses in his worship and not simply rely on cerebral arguments for faith. As I look back on my recent ministry these factors have all been important but I have rarely found them as clearly articulated previously.
I could say much more about this book but I won't because I believe that you should read it for yourself! It even has the following glowing endorsement from Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury on the front cover - "I've now read it twice and found it equally compelling both times. It is a remarkable book." What more could I say!

I hate HTML

I am a very tolerant person and there is not much that I hate - but "hyper text markup language" or HTML is on the list. I have spent hours today trying to make some simple amendments to my website and the whole lot has got messed up! It is so time consuming and painful. I rememebr when I originally set it up it was easy. I had a drag and drop program then but it was lost in my last hardware upgrade.
I must find another drag and drop web layout program soon before I do my head in totally!!
Please excuse me if I go away and scream!