MMMMMMMadrid

Over the weekend of 17-19 March we were in Madrid.

The contacts:

Roxy, a "friend" of John's, a student from Cambridge Uni doing a year out in Madrid. Simon, used to be part of Open Heaven Loughborough and is now planting church in Madrid.

The digs:

Roxy's house with Quini, Fonso and Ruben. Roxy is a most excellent host doing lots of cleaning, providing nice biscuits and a pigs leg sitting on the kitchen table.

The sights:

The monastry in El Escorial where John posed like this:



The Kings Palace in Madrid where we played cricket with a copy of The Economist and an Orange.

The Cathedral where we sheltered from the rain.

The Parrot Bar where I saw the parrot do a poo.

The Bull Bar where we saw footage of a Bull jumping into the stands.

The language:

Previously all i could say in spanish was "donde esta la supermerciado?"
Here are some phrases i picked up
"Hola"
"Si"
"Soy Ingles"
"Tengo biente dos anos"

You may or may not notice i cant really spell good in spanish!!!

The food:

Beautiful chorizo, pigs ears, croquettes, pimientos de padron (little spicy chillis), paella, natillas, pollo (chicken)

The drinks:

Sangria and Cerveza, nuff said!

The bear:



"El Oso y El Madroño"

We have two stories that you can choose to believe:

a) The bear is the source of all knowledge and Roxy has gone on a pilgrimage to touch the bears hind paws.

b) The bear is the source of a lot of controversy. There are a variety of suggestions as to what the bear is eating, probably strawberries. No one really knows why the bear is there. This begs the question:

Would you dare to stare at the bear with no hair?

Roxy says bears used to live in Madrid but now they have all moved to Malaga where there is more sun. QED!

Hasta Luego! Pronunciation: Asta Loowaygo!

One day in Luton

Very Street.












The view from the stands.











John and Gavin try and work out who is playing in white.









Fiona discovers 'Irish Dancing' in the listings section.










Lit up at night, Luton Town Hall. Beautiful.

Thank you for listening

It is something I probably realised back when we spent a weekend in the Irenie Centre near Northampton, maybe a month ago now. I say 'probably' because in thinking about something that thing is changed like cats in safes and the quantum, and in being aware of it too it comes into sharper relief, connects with other things, begins to explain as well as be an explanation. I am going to have so much difficulty in explaining and describing what this thing is beyond saying it quite simply, that:

The greatest influence on the development of who we are as individuals is that thing which we are going to do, namely planting a church in Luton.

Writing it down it seems at once so obvious and too so vague I have almost given up hope (yet again) of writing about it. But I will say, as much for myself as any other, it is the most profound thing I have realised about us and what we are going to do upto this point.

God created us a vast expanse of potential and possibility bested in our infinity only by God himself, such is the reflection of his image. Yet it is in this moment, this very present that there is a particular call, a road to a destination on which potential becomes reality and possibility is filled out with life.

It is as if God says stand and a skeletal frame forms out of ether and primordial jelly, then he says run and muscles which will punch through walls and swim oceans form around the waiting bones as they ease into motion.

This thing we are a part of is bigger than us, so much bigger, but at the same time it is us, and as we approach it we are shaped by it, God speaks us into life. Without us it could not be, without it nor could we be as we are.

We learn to fly that we may seed great clouds of thunder, we learn to sing that avalanches will begin in distant mountains. The Holy Spirit laughs as he whips us round in this wild dance of life.

God's will in Luton, or his plan, or his call, God's Luton is so strong that as we come nearer to it it changes who we are.

I hope you understand something of what I mean.

Thank you for listening.

Saturday afternoon on the stands...

On Saturday we went to Luton for a day away together, to talk about evangelism and pray. Once we'd arrived at Jude's house, we talked for a bit, and prayed, and ate a lovely lunch.
Then Gav got out the maps; and as any good Christian knows, this can mean only one thing: prayer walk time.

In general I am quite a one for walking and praying, but on this particular {very cold} day, with only 6 hours sleep and no scarf to keep my pasty neck warm, I couldn't feel less like a sodding prayer walk.
But I needn't have despaired.
Gav was infact suggesting that we walk to an exciting surprise location; none other than......... the football ground! Yes indeed, he had purchased all of us tickets to see Luton Town versus Leicester City!

We were all delighted, and we raced to the stadium in two cars, girls versus boys. I don't think the boys knew we were racing though, and the competition mostly consisted of me singing 'girls versus boys' the whole way there. And the boys got there first.

We lost the match (2-1), apparently played quite badly, and drank nice tea and bovril. I enjoyed standing next to Mark, who was passionate and knowing of the rules, and shouted authoritatively but not aggressively.

There was also something brilliant about hearing thousands of people shouting 'COME ON LUTON!'

It was a great day. Thanks guys.

Show me a little freaking respect

How to make loved-up pizzas

Picking up the baton from Jamie & Delia, Mark & Liz present a recipe!

Take the pizza base mix packet and roll it out into appropriately shaped pizzas, in the case hearts for St Valentines Day.

Cover the bases in tomato puree, or for an interesting twist use salsa.














Get John to slice the mozzarella thus.
















Apply the mozzarella to the cheesy bases.
















Apply the meat of choice, bacon.
















Get your mate Dave to be in attendance.

















In a pleasing addition, be crazy and crack an egg into a biscuit mould upon the pizza.









And there we go. Do try this at home kids!

Bromhead Boys

The Bromheads were down last weekend. Me Fiona and John got in on the guestlist, meaning our first trip to Anglia Ruskin University's classy student bar. Unfortunately the beer was costly though the Jacket were great. Our favourite song, at the risk of offending Laura, Ruth and for that matter, little fittie Lucie Moore, is reprinted below.


Wooley Bridge

Surrey girls like tight jeans
Right up tight against their skin
Take you home to the dark
And show you what's in

Aith glasses bigger than her face
She's off to get her whats-it waxed
Find out there's some bags she wanted
from Harvey Nicks

Cause she's only thinking about number one again
But she won't listen cause her Samsung is ringing, hold on!

Surrey girls like their boys
with lots of cash to buy them toys
A Porsche or a Merc will do
Turn heads with the noise

Sprayed on tan and new lip gloss
She is off to meet the boss
Three little kids he's got
But she just don't care

Cause she's only thinking about number one again
But she won't listen cause her Samsung is ringing, hold on!

Woolley Bridge, Woolley Bridge
Where it came clear to me
You need love, you need love
But you're wasting time
Over now Surrey girl
I can't really show you how
Give you love, give you love
And I'll waste your time

In her time she's learnt some tricks
Forty licks and bamboo sticks
She is queen here right now
Boy, you'll be numb

That figure ain't just by luck
Atkins Diet, nip and tuck
Hours on the treadmill
And yes she gives a good f...

Cause she's only thinking about number one again
But she won't listen cause her Samsung is ringing, hold on!

Woolley Bridge, Woolley Bridge
Where it came clear to me
You need love, you need love
But you're wasting time
Over now Surrey girl
I can't really show you how
Give you love, give you love
And I'll waste your time

And now it seems that I have fallen for a Surrey girl
And she has promised she won't leave me for another girl
And now at night we lie and hold each other really tight
And then we promised there that we would be the only ones
The only ones...

Woolley Bridge, Woolley Bridge
Where it came clear to me
You need love, you need love
But you're wasting time
Over now Surrey girl
I can't really show you how
Give you love, give you love
And I'll waste your time

http://www.bromheadsjacket.com/Tunes/WoolleyBridge.mp3