I’ve changed the status of my underused old skool rigid Specialized Hardrock from ‘ornament’ to ‘bike’ in the last couple of days.  This is partly because I need the exercise, partly because it’s not raining, but mostly because I really like getting outside and into the countryside if I can.

I have no car this weekend so the only way to go anywhere was on my bike… so I dusted it off and rode the Clyde Walkway to Chatelherault Country Park then rode out to the farthest bridge and back home.  I loved it and really need to get out on my bike much more.

Obviously I won’t be able to walk tomorrow…

I spent a couple of days in one of my favourite places in the world, St Andrews, this week with a small group of youth workers discovering a bit about myself.  That’s not the kind of thing I’m usually that keen on but I’m really glad that rather than spending the two days of ‘Integrate’ listening people telling us about youth work Dorothy Neilson helped us to listen to ourselves and to God.

Dorothy led us through the Enneagram, a tool which helps you discover your ‘personality type’.  I’m a bit of a cynic when it comes to these kind of things but I have to say I liked the Enneagram.  It made sense to me.  It has given me lots to think about and lots to work on.

I’m sure a lot of that had to do with both Dorothy’s open and relaxed style and with the other people in the group being prepared to be open and give it a go.

So, what did I discover?  Well, I’m a FIVE.

If you want to know what that means then for starters you could have a look at this free e-book by Mark McGuinness which introduces the enneagram or get in touch with Dorothy and have her come talk to you or your team.

In the meantime… have a look the enneagram and see if you can discover some stuff about you.

Yesterday thePROJECT became a reality, a meeting In The Flesh.  It was a great day with some brilliant speakers, inspiring worship and superb music.

ThePROJECT has grown from conversations between those who travel south from Scotland to Greenbelt Festival each year.  I’ve been to Greenbelt fairly often over the years, although not for a while, but it has always struck me how many people I know when I get there.  The same thought struck others and they got together and decided that Scotland could have it’s own event, inspired by Greenbelt, but not copying it.

Yesterday was a step in that direction.  A city based event in a church, a pub and a theatre.

So… thePROJECT3… the next step… Why not come along for the ride?

Every once in a while the Something Beautiful Podcast takes a break from talk and gets all musical.

This time it was my turn to curate an hour of music (all of it found online and licensed under creative commons) for your enjoyment.  For those of you who didn’t know, I used to be a DJ.  I played in bars and clubs in the early 90s.  I hung up my headphones a while ago but I have to say this was an altogether more challenging task…

So, what can you expect?  A summery collection of electronica for the most part.  I think it’s a great addition to any MP3 player for those long sunny days of summer…

Enjoy.  And let us know what you think!

today the team are starting blogs. Oh dear!!!

thePROJECT:2, ‘In The Flesh’, Saturday 20th June, Edinburgh.

The first section of thePROJECT:2 runs 12.00 – 7.00pm @ The Lot, 4-6 Grassmarket, and St Columba By the Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace

12.00 – 4.30pm @ The Lot, 4-6 Grassmarket

12.00: Gathering, and creative activities for the young and young-at-heart, to dip in and out of (continuing from 12-4)

* The Big Knit: Bone combs, and personal possession of nits unnecessary… bring yer fingers to add yer own knit, purl and stitch action to the burgeoning tea cosy/ balaclava/ windcheater/ jersey/ sock (delete as appropriate)… a big woolie thing we’ll make together! (continuous activity)

* Gentle City Walking: Experience the urban curiosities of Embro; hear sounds you’ve never heard; see things you’d not have noticed; explore your sensations, feelings and thoughts on a magically mundane mystery tour… (continuous activity)

* Body Partying: a collaborative, additive artwork, where we’ll add pictures of bits of bodies together to create a huge picture (eventually) of thePROJECT Body! (continuous activity)

* Videovoxpopping: Smile, scowl, pull a face, crack a joke, what you feel on film. Let yer soul be captured and your opinions be articulated in cinematic style… (continuous activity)

* Kissing Booth: a chance to kiss SCOTT PAGET and selected members of thePROJECT steering group – ok, that’ll be optional – and to bend their ears with your ideas, hear what they’ve got to say. An opportunity to chat about what thePROJECT is, wasn’t and mibbe could be. (continuous activity)

* The Scratch Mary Poppins: Join PHIL WHITE in recreating what has become an incisive parable for our credit-crunch times… supercalifragalistication assured! (Rehearsals at St Columba, 1-3, performance 4.00).

12.45 – 1.45:

CoMusika with JANE BENTLEY: A corporately created, improvisational, invitational musical event where there is no audience, only players on a journey of increasing mutuality, communication, and communion, creating ‘music in the moment’. Jane will be harnessing your creative talents to make this happen.

2.00 – 2.30:

Non-Cabbage & Ambulances? with ROB MACKENZIE and ANDREW PHILIP: two of Scotland’s finest poets share their insightful, powerful and witty words. 2.45-3.45: Fischy Goings-On with, oh yes… FISCHY MUSIC: join SUZANNE ADAM, SANDY BUTLER and JED MILROY for a musical bonanza, chock-full of fun, emotions, sprituality and craziness!

4.00-4.15:

The Scratch Mary Poppins – The Performance: PHIL WHITE and thePROJECT SCRATCH COMPANY (that’s all of youz!) perform the perfect parable!

12.00 – 7.00pm @ St Columba-By-the-Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace

12.00: Gathering, free tea & coffee available in Columba Hall (all day). And hinging-oot on the Terrace.

12.15 – 12.45: Welcome & Introduction

1.00 – 2.15: ‘Alternative Futures – How Art Can Capture The Imagination‘: with BEKI BATESON. Columba Hall.

1.00 – 2.15: ‘A Seed… Or A Weed?‘: with STEWART CUTLER and JULIE WILSON. Columba Sanctuary.

2.30 – 3.45: ‘Copenhagen 2009 – crucifixion of Mother Earth or resurrection of the Cosmic Christ?’: with ROSS LOVERIDGE. Columba Hall.

2.30 – 3.45: ‘Mosh Pit’ – art, faith and culture in Scotland’: with DOUG GAY & others. Columba Sanctuary.

4.00 – 5.00: ‘1o Things They Never Told Me About Jesus’: with JOHN L. BELL. Columba Hall.

5.00 – 7.00: Eating Together: bring your own food, eat together with fellow PROJECTiles.

6.00 – 7.00: ‘Between Silence & Light’: an experiental time and space for worship & reflection, with STEVE BUTLER & friends.

7.00pm – 1.00am @ The Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 60 The Pleasance

7.30: ROB MACKENZIE & ANDREW PHILIP: more worsmithery from the masters. More info (Rob)… More info (Andrew)…

8.15: JAKE TATTON: beautiful punky banshee ballistics.

9.00: WE SEE LIGHTS: quirky indie pop perfection.

10.00: IAIN ARCHER: Norn Irelan’s finest, Ivor Novello winning songer-singwriter.

12.00: Solstice marking: a short celebration of midsummer with STEVE BUTLER.

The new episode of the Something Beautiful Podcast features an interview with Lawrence Moore, director of the URC’s Windermere Centre and author of Disclosing New Worlds, a fabulous lectionary blog.  It’s his story of his journey from Zimbabwe  where he served as a police officer in special branch through the civil war to a realisation of what he’d been involved in and a changed life and understanding of who God is.  Well worth a listen!

thePROJECT:2, ‘In The Flesh’, Saturday 20th June, Edinburgh.

12.00 – 4.30pm @ The Lot, 4-6 Grassmarket

• FISCHY MUSIC (music)/ ROB McKENZIE & ANDREW PHILIP (poetry)/ ‘Mosh Pit: Art, Culture & Faith’ (forum discussion with DOUG GAY & others)/ Videovoxpopping/ Kissing Booth/ Body Parts/ Gentle City Walks/ The Big Knit/ Scratch Mary Poppins (with PHIL WHITE).

1.00 – 7.00pm @ St Columba’s by the Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace

• ‘Art & Justice’ (workshop with BEKI BATESON & others)/ ‘Emerging Church (workshop with STEWART CUTLER & JULIE WILSON & others)/ ‘Copenhagen 2009 – crucifixion of Mother Earth or resurrection of the Cosmic Christ’ (workshop with ROSS LOVERIDGE)/ ‘Concentric circles & words of faith’ (worship with STEVE BUTLER & friends)/ Bring-yer-own-food and eat together/ free tea & coffee

7.00pm – 1.00am @ Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 60 The Pleasance

• ROB McKENZIE & ANDREW PHILIP (poetry)/ JAKE TATTON (punky banshee pop)/ WE SEE LIGHTS (indie quirky delights)/ IAIN ARCHER (Ivor Novello winning singer-songwriting)/ Solstice marking (liturgical action)

Tickets can be booked NOW!!!

TICKET PRICES

Salaried

• 12 – 7pm only (Lot & St Columba’s): £6.50*
• 7pm – 1am (Pleasance only): £16.50*
• ALL DAY (Lot, St Columba’s & Pleasance): £21.50*

Unsalaried

• 12 – 7pm only (Lot & St Columba’s): £5.00*
• 7pm – 1am (Pleasance only): £9.50*
• ALL DAY (Lot, St Columba’s & Pleasance): £13.50*

Family

• ALL DAY Family (2 adults, 2 under-18’s): £56.00*

Don’t hing aboot! Book your ticket online now, as venue capacities are limited!

*Ticket prices above are inclusive of booking fee & credit card charges. Children under 5 free.

thePROJECT:2 In The Flesh Ticket Sales (will open in new window)

thePROJECT is an interim process of small, viral, organic events during 2009 & 2010, building to the possibility of a larger festival of arts, culture & faith (inspired by, but not exactly imitating Greenbelt and other similar events)  in 2011.

Any such any future large festival event has no clear or predetermined shape or consensus about its form, length, breadth, geography or season.  Whatever we end up, will arise from this series of small gatherings (each very different in form and content) during 2009 & 2010, and was inspired initially by the spirit of Greenbelt, but also would learn from other Scottish & European models such as Street Level, Carberry Festival, Kirchentag, Edinburgh Festival, The Mod and Celtic Connections. We’re magpies at heart!

The ‘interfaces of engagement’ will be primarily those mapped out by the likes of the above events and others:
arts – faith – theology – ecology – politics –philosophy – spirituality – justice
…or basically celebration, inspiration, irreverence, profundity, laughter, tears, questions, argument, friendship, shivers up the spine – add your own noun to the list.

Who might like it?
thePROJECT is for those interested in a deliberate exploration of the arts, culture and faith.  We hope to make it a comfortable place for insiders, outsiders and maybe especially those at the margins of the church.

thePROJECT will be primarily be adult (young and not so young), but importantly,  there will be an inclusive provision for children and families, to the extent resources allow.

The other day I blogged about the lack of participation in the political process.  Last night those fears were confirmed as the Labour vote in the European elections collapsed to just 15%.  The map of British politics was changed last night with the Euro-sceptic UKIP coming second behind the Tories and the BNP winning two seats, the far right party’s first ever in a national election.

The BNP’s share of the vote didn’t go up, but the lack of support for Labour allowed them to win two seats in the north of England.

So it seems silence IS consent.  The problem is you don’t always know what you are consenting to.

As an aside, we were talking about the circumstances in which Scotland might vote for independence.  A Tory government and England winning the world cup were the perfect storm but I wonder how Wales voting Tory and England electing racists will play in the Scottish political arena?

I’m watching Question Time, the weekly political panel show, on the BBC.  I probably shouldn’t blog while watching.  I’ll probably write something I’ll regret.  But here goes anyway…

There seems to be a theme.  It’s all Gordon’s Fault.

The world economic situation was him.

The situation with MPs defrauding their expenses system is his fault.

The ‘young people’, you know, those aliens that roam our streets, stab each other and generally causing havoc, that’s his fault too.

We’re happy to blame others.  We’re happy to lay responsibility at the feet of the government.

But it’s just as much our fault as Gordon’s.

I think it’s fine to have a go at the government, but it’s not fine to abdicate all responsibility for every part of our lives to our elected representatives.

It’s interesting that the discussion has turned to a TV company’s duty of care to participants in reality shows.  There’s an outcry about how Susan Boyle was treated, mostly from the same people who bought the newspapers and watched the TV shows who dragged her through the mire.

Big Brother starts tonight.  Another chance for people to watch people be systematically abused for our amusement.

No-one forces us to watch, but we do.  No-one forced us to borrow more than we could afford, but we did.  No-one ever said that MPs shouldn’t be watched, but we were happy to put an X in a box as though that somehow ends our responsibility in a participative democracy.

There are reports that voter turnout could be as low as 28% or as ‘high’ as 50% in today’s elections for the European Parliament.  So, rather than taking action when we are dissatisfied once again we have chosen to disengage.

Why on earth do we think that things will change if we do and say nothing?

Silence is consent.  Shhhh.  It’s ok.  Someone else will sort it out.