My life in 10 photos

I thought I’d try to represent my life in 10 photos. This isn’t really possible, as I only have photos from the past 6 years or so. But here’s an attempt.

Photo 1 was taken a couple of years ago in the Lake District. It is of me, my sister and my brother. They are both being very humorous. I don’t think I realised the photo was being taken. Photo 1 represents my family, immediate and extended, and how well we get on together.

Photo 2 was taken at a wedding last year. It is of (from bottom, clockwise) Joe, Jenny, Geri, Tom (the groom), me and Sam. We have all been good friends for well over a decade, through the youth group we used to attend. Photo 2 represents the Christian friends I had during my teens, both from home and from across the country.

Photo 3 was taken in 2006. It is of some of my Frisbee club from uni. I led the club for two years and invested a lot in it. Photo 3 represents GCUFC over the last 6 years, and the friends I had and have there.

Photo 4 was taken in 2005. It is of my housemates from 2nd year at uni: from left – Dave, Chris, Mike, Tom, Jik, Adam, Ian, me. Photo 4 represents some of my university friends, and the memories of the stupid stuff we did over the three years.

Photo 5 was taken in 2006 after one of the leavers formals. From left are Helen, Christina, Beth, Chris, Tom, Elliott, Cassie, Helen, me, Izzy. Photo 5 represents all the friends from my college Christian Union. We formed a really tight group for three great years.

Photo 6 is from 2006 and is of the 8 interns from my gap year working for my church. From left are Sarah, Kat, Catherine, Phil, Cassie (front), me (back), Gaz, Will. Although it’s not a great photo, it reminds me of the fun we had together. Photo 6 represents my internship year, and also the amazing group of friends I have in my church in Durham.

Photo 7 is from 2008’s ‘Red or Dead’ party – Phil, Chris, Ruth and Clare are all good friends from my church, who have all supported me and invested in me. Photo 7 represents King’s Church Durham as a whole.











Photo 8 doesn’t exist. It would have been taken between 1999 and 2001, and would have been of a group of friends from Hebron, the summer camp I attended. Photo 8 would have represented Hebron, and the impact the event and people have had on my life. Unfortunately, this photo was never taken, or if it was I don’t have it. But it’s there in my head.

Photo 9 was taken in 2005 at Hebron. It is my all-time favourite photo, because it is of some teenagers who I love, worshipping God. Photo 9 represents what I love about Christian youth work, and Hebron in particular. It also represents how cool I think it is that I can have real friendships with people half my age.

Photo 10 was taken in 2008 at the end of a week away with some year 8s from my school. Photo 10 represents my job and about 35 of the reasons why, most of the time, I enjoy it.


So there you have it – my life in 10 photos. I think I’ve represented all the really important things in my life. If anyone reading this owns photo 8, please can I have it?

In the Silence of Beginning

A friend of mine, Chris Juby, has written an important song. It’s called In the Silence of Beginning (The Lamb, Eternal, Slain)

It’s about Jesus as the sacrifice right through history, not just on Calvary hill. I think British Christians can get too caught up in ‘The Cross’ and miss the rest of salvation history. This song is important because it emphasises Jesus as the sacrifice right from creation.

In a little coincidence, this week I have been trying to think of a short phrase that sums up my Christian worldview. The best I’ve got so far is ‘Jesus is eternal’, which links nicely with this song. Here are the lyrics:

In the silence of beginning
Spoke the love prepared to pay
So the wellspring of creation
Was the Lamb, eternal, slain.
In the glory of the Godhead
As the universe was made
Was the promise of redemption
In the Lamb, eternal, slain.

From the blood of righteous Abel
As the world gave way to hate
Every sin cried out for vengeance
For the Lamb, eternal, slain.
By the code of temple worship
Sacrifice of blood was made
In that sacrifice, the shadow
Of the Lamb, eternal, slain.

On the cross, in desolation
As he bore our sins away
Hear his prayer “Father, forgive them”
See the Lamb, eternal, slain.
Through his blood we have forgiveness
For he died to take our place
Death itself has been defeated
By the Lamb, eternal, slain.

Now alive in risen glory
Though the wounds of love remain
Holding out the Father’s mercy
Know the Lamb, eternal, slain.
When that final kingdom trumpet
Heralds his triumphant reign
We will worship him forever
Hail the Lamb, eternal, slain.

Hogwarts Houses – are you prejudiced?

I’m a big Harry Potter fan (see previous blogs here for other HP thoughts). You won’t understand this blog unless you’ve read the books.

Four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. Each house has different characteristics and favours different types of pupils. But I think that most Harry Potter fans are prejudiced against at least two of these houses: Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Before tackling each in turn, here’s a summary of the features of each house, taken mainly from Sorting Hat songs.

Gryffindor: brave at heart, daring, nerve, chivalry, boldness

Hufflepuff: just, loyal, true, hardworking, accepting

Ravenclaw: ready/sharp mind, wit, learners, clever

Slytherin: cunning, ruthless, ambitious, resourceful, determined

Looking at those lists, if you knew nothing about the Harry Potter stories, which house would you pick? Which qualities would you want to be known for? I doubt the vast majority would pick Gryffindor, as usually happens on online ‘which house would you want to be in’ quizzes.

People seem to prefer Gryffindor, obviously because most of the protagonists are or were in that house.

People’s last choice is usually Slytherin. This is partially understandable, because Voldemort was one. But I think Harry Potter fans make the same mistake as Hagrd, who says “There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin”, forgetting, of course, about Peter Pettigrew. Admittedly Hagrid didn’t know at the time of this quote that Pettigrew was a Death Eater, but he did think Sirius Black was one, and still claimed that all Death Eaters were Slytherins.
Most fans actually seem to go one step further than Hagrid and assume that all Slytherins are ‘bad’. This is of course nonsense – well under half of the Death Eaters mentioned in the books are known to be Slytherins. None of Harry Slytherin contemporaries are Death Eaters (Malfoy backs out of course). Snape and Slughorn are not Death Eaters.
But many fans seem to have got it into their heads that Slytherin=bad. All because Voldemort was one. Yes, quite a few death eaters are too, but remember that Voldemort was pro-pureblood, as is Slytherin house, so it’s statistically to be expected than many of his followers would be from that house.

Now to Hufflepuff. After Gryffindor, most fans would choose Ravenclaw way above Hufflepuff. I was talking to two fans recently who said they’d hate to be in Hufflepuff. I just don’t get this. Look at that list again – just, loyal, true, hardworking, accepting – why would anyone be ashamed of these attributes? I think we might be able to blame Hagrid again: “Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o’ duffers but–“. This throwaway comment seems to have persuaded many fans that Hufflepuff are just a bit week and useless, which, as far as I can tell, is completely unfounded.

This annoys me a bit. Prejudice is probably the third main theme of Rowling’s books (after love and death). She writes very clearly against prejudice of all kinds. And her fans, unthinkingly, are prejudiced for or against the four houses. How ironic.

Catan part 2

In an earlier blog I mentioned that, while I used to think that Catan had a near-perfect luck/skill balance, more recently is has appeared too luck-based.

I think I know the reason why.

When I first started playing Catan, I, and the other players I played with, were obviously beginners. Now we are much better, more experienced players. We make fewer mistakes and the skill element is a lot higher. Therefore any small changes in luck have a much greater effect on the game. This is why the game now appears more luck-dependent - because the luck has a greater effect now we are more skillful players.