Thanks to Dave Dorey for this awesome photo… In case you can’t read it, it says:

www.sobellhospiceoxfordorg

The purchase of this vehicle was made possible by the Didcot Thong Rangers

????!!!!  The mind boggles!!

This next piece has always been one of my favourite songs…  I don’t have many memories of my Grandad as he died when I was five years old, but the most vivid memories I have of him are based in his music (and the tricks that he used to show us).  He used to play the piano and sing and I especially remember, somewhere in my sub-conscience, Lullaby of Birdland (George Shearing), Stormy Weather and this piece, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square.  I love all of these songs, but A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square has always made an impression on me as a really beautiful song.

After countless arguments, disputes, debates, books, articles and outrages, I am fascinated that Dawkins’ life work has culminated in the observation that, (in his opinion), “there is probably no God”.  Not only that, but he plans to plaster it all over London buses according to this article which Lucy kindly emailed me.  Well Dawkins, you big girl’s blouse.  You really have excelled yourself this time.  Either have the guts to say what you really think (i.e. if you think that there is no God) or shut up.  

The Methodist church have responded to this campaign by saying that they applaud Dawkins for encouraging debate about Christianity and in a small way, so do I, except that this response is a little thoughtless.  This does not encourage debate about Christianity, it simply tells people what they want to hear.  God, if He is real (and I believe that He is), is a bit of an inconvenient truth.  We are obsessed with democracy, but under God, we live in a theocracy.  If we were to look at reality, we do not live in a democratic society at all.  We think we do, because Web 2.0 has enabled two-way communication – millions of participators can now exercise “freedom of speech” on blogs, forums, social networking sites etc.  However, until bodies and organisations begin to collaborate and say “We think” and not “I think”, then we are but a sea of egocentric individuals shouting all at once in a cacophonous manner, in the vain and somewhat naive hope that one or more being might take notice.  

So Dawkins asserts that we should all enjoy ourselves because there is probably no God.  This campaign, by its very nature, makes a mockery of life itself.  If he believes that there is no God, then, not only should he enjoy himself, but he should go out and kill people, he should steal from people and he could even rape a few women if he likes.  Go and enjoy life Dawkins!  If, as he suggests, we are just ‘accidents’, then we should have no moral conscience because there is no basis for morality and, indeed there is no good and bad or right and wrong.  Why does Dawkins care if people enjoy life or not?  It makes no difference to him if life means nothing anyway.  Science, whilst real, is not emotional, because there is no functionality or purpose in emotion.  A plant does not have  sense of right or wrong because it does not have an intelligence.  Why not?  It doesn’t need one in order to function.  

If you argue with me and say that we do need a moral conscience in order to function then what is the basis of that morality?  What are we comparing good and bad, or right and wrong to?  Good monkey bad monkey?  What is it that makes bad bad?  A sense of right and wrong appears to be inbuilt, but there is no purpose for this, UNLESS there is an ultimate ‘right’ and an ultimate ‘wrong’, (which, in Christian belief is God and the devil) which would suggest that there are consequences to the choices that we make.

I don’t believe that many people have a problem with the existence of God actually, I think that most people have an issue with religion, which I can understand.  I think that people also miss the point about heaven and hell and still assume that you have to be a really good person to get to heaven rather than believing that Jesus told the truth.  Well I don’t know any perfect people, the ones I love the most are flawed all over.  I hope this does get a discussion going and I hope and pray that Dawkins finds his peace one day

Following on from Owen’s post about an unfortunate post on Freecycle, I was amused to find this on there today:

Upon further inspection, it turns out that the book is titled “Destroyed” and is actually all in one piece.

I am not sure which was the first piece of music to make an impression upon me and these posts will not necessarily go in order, but one early song that must have made an impact was “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins!!  Somewhere in this universe is a recording of me when I was 5 years old, singing this song, but I have no idea where it is.

We had just moved back to Cheltenham and I had started at Holy Apostles Primary School.  Starting school in Westcott hadn’t gone all that well for me – some of the bigger kids were bullies and I wasn’t too thrilled to move schools and find that the situation was exactly the same.  So this song reminds me of many things, but mainly being a five year-old child standing in the dining room with a double-ended microphone and a tape recorder!!

Last night we went to George’s fab beach party!  It was a really awesome evening – as ever, Al and George had paid a huge amout attention to detail including a beach bar, chips in newspaper cones, beach decorations and great music.  A great time was had by all (I was especially chuffed to last the night without panicking) and although I am a little sleepy today, it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday night.  Thanks guys!  The night in pics…

Getting ready….

Al the barman

Birthday girl at the bar

Yes, my husband was wearing a skirt…  Should I be worried??

The party gets started

Mark C

Pete parties away

JT with a head decoration

Later on.. For whatever reason…

Mark R and I hold up the straw hat trend!

JT was not very amused when I dragged him half way across Leckhampton to photograph this chicken coop which I had discovered one day on a walk without my camera.  Unfortunately we had to walk through a boggy field full of bulls and quite a long way away from where we had parked the car only to find that the path that the chicken coop was on, was just down the road from our house!!!  We had to walk a long way to get back to the car… Oooops!  I think the chicken coop is really special.  JT thinks I’m ridiculous. 

I was reading Design Week just now and I was delighted to stumble upon a picture of an old BRIO toy that I owned…

I loved this toy, it took me back to when I was about 2 or 3 years old and living in Westcott, Surrey.  We moved there in 1987 and stayed for two years.  A lot happened in those two years, which I will talk about later.  In the meantime, in the run up to this period, I had started to absorb a lot of music.  I had also managed to smash my head on a fireplace (if you look at my forehead you will notice that there is a dent in it!!)

I don’t remember much about living in Cheltenham for the first two years of my life, I remember little bits about the house we lived in, sitting on Granny’s knee chewing a present and then later arguing with Nana (my great granny) about what colour a bead was, just before she died.  The ‘important things of life’ are so futile when you are small.

However, apparently music was starting to make its impression on me.  I began to imitate my Mum singing and managed to come out with Schubert’s Shepherd on a Rock (which I love) and ‘Oh for the Wings of a Dove’.  I don’t know how old I was exactly but I think possibly about 1 or 2. Here is Shepherd o a Rock – the start of my musical life.  I’m afraid this was the best recording I could find… 

There are times in life when one, without wishing to cast aspersions upon the characters of others, has to note the distinct difference in atmosphere between the Lower High Street and any other area of town.  I am not, by nature, a snob, but having spent 5-10 minutes in Wilkinson accompanied by the epic wails of “CAANNNDDDIIICEEEEE!!!!  PUTTHATDAYYYN!”  ”TYLURRRRR! GET OVA ‘EEYA YOU ARE NOT AVIN’ ANY MORE SWEETS!”, having to battle my way through hoards of rubber spiders, pitch forks and psychotic pumpkins (ah yes it must be halloween again) and finally having to negotiate the impassable ‘WILKO employee star of the month’ (or so she thought) who stands more or less in your way wherever you walk, in that classic baggy red sweater/navy polyester slightly too short trousers combo, I was just about at the end of my tether.  I walked outside and saw this…

 I thought, ‘classic’.  This just about sums up  today’s experience of the Lower High Street.  I was lightly amused.

Music has always been a part of my life due to my very musical parents of whom I am very proud.  I was discussing with a friend the other day how music can really take you back to a time or a place that meant something to you and I began thinking that it would be really interesting to read an autobiography that was made up of music.  I am not sure I would like to share all of the bits of music that have been significant in my life as the times that music represents are not always happy or good.  It is a funny thing though, sometimes it has been a source of great strength to me and so the associations are very varied. 

There are a million things that I could write on this, but I will start with the very first piece of music that I heard (not that I remember it).  My Mum was having a caesarean in St Paul’s Hospital Cheltenham (28th feb 1985) and my dad was able to choose some music to put on, from a limited selection.  Being a classical musician, he selected The Dance of the Blessed Spirits by Gluck.  Here my journey begins…