Vaulting ambition

Vaulting ambition
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Went to Southwark Cathedral today. Been past hundreds of times on the way to work so it only seemed right. It's nice and peacefully inside and the vaultingand columns is incredible. I think it's been heavy restored but it's of a piece. Here's 4 things I found out.

Local boy Tommy Steele is on the audio guide.
They have the tomb of "Englands first poet" ( John Gower died 1408)
And the chapel dedicated to the healthcare workers was paid for by a seller of quack medicine. (Lionel Lockyer) who's pills included "sunbeams"!!
Wencelas Hollar drew this map from the tower

It's a good little Cathedral perhaps not as grand as St Paul's or ridiculously historical like Westminster Abbey but it had a suitbly spiritual calm atmosphere and the people were very friendly.

Advent 6: The day Mary left Jesus on the bus....

Advent 6: The day Mary left Jesus on the bus....
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Gold , frankincense and Tat

Organised religion responsible for the original and best tat for 2009 years!

Wash day Blues

Maundy Thursday: It's all about washing feet, being beholden to one another, daring to give away power or prestige to remember that the answer to am I my Brother's keeper is yes.

It's why the queen gives away little bags of money today, which seems like a big deal but imagine if she washed a few of her subjects feet every year! Maybe we should take the example of that dirty trot Jesus and throw over a few money lenders tables that and be more thoughtful to a few more people.

Why not do something for Oxfam or pester your MP to press for change in whatever concerns you.

Anyway consider these tunes virtual foot spas for your soul (soles). Is the Air france tune the most niche holiday song ever?

I should check out the whole Lp it's sort of summery with a feel like cumbrian Hip hoppers Aim it's rather good.




Maundy thursday : Air France

Reg Varney for Pope

God is dead but only on the 168 to Penge

I worry I’m turning into a rationalist Cyril Fletcher as I’m indebted to Ms L from North London who forwarded this press release from Brand Republic .

The god botherers it seems are spending their tithe money on some bus advertising. I always thought the initial atheist ads weren’t blunt enough they should have said “God doesn’t exist” we seem to have got a bit mealy mouthed since Michel Mourre ran into Notre Dame shouting “God is dead “.


As BLBW pointed out you can’t claim God exist to be a fact because you can’t prove it and also if you prove he exists you undermine the basic tenet of Christianity that you simply have to have faith in his existence alone.

Here’s my re working of the ads.
Russian Orthodox Church: “God Exists so kiss my Icon, serf”
The other one should read "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God (taken from Psalm 53.1) but we seem to think he speaks with a lisp”
Psalm 53.1 only goes to New Cross by the way catch psalm 73 for Stokey.....

The other Evangelical’s ad should read “There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life as long as you are not gay or an abortionist, or a bit different in anyway”

My ad would read
“God is dead.
So that's one less thing to worry about, but did you leave the gas on and double lock the door? Well did you? You'd better turn round and check, otherwise you'll think about it all day, go on check it, check the gas is off, check it, check it, check it..”

Here endth (this lisping is catching) todays sermon.

There will be milky weak coffee with a skin on it served in the school room and can I remind people that next weeks carol concert has been cancelled because it's February....

Hate thay Neighbour

Or why are so called "good" people so horrid?

My friend L pointed this out to me David Attenborough gets hate male from creationists. As usual these evangelical types want to give God all the kudos for the good stuff and the devil or Charles Darwin etc gets the damnation for any all the bad stuff. It's a cake an eat it thing really letting them off the hook for all the grim acts religion has inspired through time.

It never ceases to amaze me how horrible some religious people can be. The stridency of the belief they have, must be reassuring. The sad thing is though I bet they still um and ah about what they are going to have for their tea. It's strange when they have such icy certainty about what other people should or shouldn’t do in bed or how the world began but the tricky decision of "frozen peas or mixed frozen veg with that chop" will have them dithering in cold harsh light of the fridge freezer.
Judge not lest ye be judged thyself now who said that......

33ADFX

I was stuck on the bus halfway up Ludgate Hill (the one up to Centre Paul's from Fleet st) and saw a notice board on a Church advertising their Easter Service.

Now it did say "service with Carols" which could be strange if we have forgotten that carols are just songs; they don't have to be sung only at Christmas.

No the bit that got me was the next line "service with sound effects".
What the dickens could was that all about?
This led me to thinking and having a play with my sound editing software and I think it may just sound like this!

BLTP presents: Holy week in sound effects

(there's also a pithy precis of Christian teaching at the end bible fans)
Happy Easter to one and all or spring or whatever you want to celebrate.

The Light (switch) of the Lord

I can't start to count the ways this is just wrong.

Thanks to S for pointing me to this Jesus light switch.

Wouldn't it be good to sneek one into Grand designs and let kevin and the Snooty posh women have to deal with it. (I'm fairly surely it's not a spoof)

He's not the messiah....

Not so Manic Street Preacher slight return:
I saw him again the man wth the smallest placard! This time on the SW side of Oxford circus. I was walking up to him casually trying to take a picture. Unfortunately my camera phone was on video setting and as I fumbled with the controls I looked down. When I looked back up again he was gone! Not just walked off, gone , vanished ! I looked a round all over but couldn't see a Hi-vis jacket anyway * cue X files music*.
Please report any sightings of this meek Evangelist just to stop me feeling I've fallen into an episode of Dr Who or worse Tales of the Unexpected.
Ps. I have some blurry "grassy Knoll video" which I will post if they don't get to me firs.....

small cross to bear

Things we've learnt already today:
Not so manic street preachers:
Saw the only evangelist I could ever get along with this morning. I went past to quickly to get a good picture. But sitting on a BT junction box opposite Charing cross was a middle aged man. Slightly grumpy looking wearing a chunky hi-vis jacket, black bobble hat and a sullen unshaven look on his face. He was holding a thin foot long cane on the end of which was tiny placard. The only words on his sign were (in 50 point at max) "Jesus". Genius! He had a lot more impact than any of the Johnnies with the loud hailers, or the woman on the bus who once told me I was sinner at 8 o'clock in morning (she was put out when I pointed out the last thing Jesus would do was harangue people on their way to work and that she was in danger of committing the sin of pride). Sorry back to our gnome prophet, maybe all religions could do the same just have little signs with their Prophets name on, the temples and Ashrams would full in weeks (or perhaps not)!

The only thing on tv worth watching:
On More 4 (10.30 pmish) they are repeating as part of the channels 25 year celebration the poet Tony Harrison's excellent film poem "V". IF you haven't seen it make time to catch it. It's famous sadly not for being a moving insightful angry poem but because, there was an outcry at the time about his liberal use of swearing. Obviously those complaining missed the point in that Harrison used these oaths to highlight the desecration of his own parents graves by vandals, something the protesters seemed less concerned about.
Having said this try to watch the film for it's wonderful use of words and images, as one our best living poets uses his art to illuminate life in the way only poetry can.