08:08 pm: I was working in London for just over three years to the end of June this year, but I am now working in Edinburgh. This means that I am safe and unaffected so far by the recent riots.
I will be visiting some friends in London briefly tomorrow evening, however. This trip should have been to watch England play Holland at Wembley. The game was called off this morning but I still propose to make the trip, as I have non-refundable fares and no other accommodation in Edinburgh for tomorrow night.

07:21 pm: Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS
Originally posted by frelling_tralk at Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

10:04 pm: Ian's party, just in case anyone is still reading...
ringbark is having a party and you're invited. Two parties, actually, one in London on 30 June and one in Wirral on 2 July.
For details, please visit http://halliday.co.nz/50.html which also has links to the FB pages concerned.
Purpose of party: to celebrate being

50

Tags: #ian50

07:03 am: post
Originally posted by clari_clyde at post

09:26 pm: Pray for Japan?
A friend of a friend on Twitter retweeted a comment that we should not pray for Japan:

RT @lowercaserho Don't #prayforjapan. Prayer is the ultimate in slacktivism. If you want to help and are able to, then giving your time or money is better.

I responded with

@lowercaserho I respectfully disagree. Prayer is the most important thing, but while you pray you should also be asking what else can I do?

( Theological content follows )

07:39 am: I'm on the train
Good morning from Chester station.
A fairly quiet weekend. On Saturday, I bought some new shoes. This was
long overdue as there was pretty much no grip left on the old ones.
Yesterday was quiet too. After the morning service, lunch at home, a
turkey roast, and to watch the game. It's hard when the referee seems
to be playing for the home team.
Also, apparently Dalglish spoke out against this in no uncertain
terms. I expect he'll be fined for it.
By far the most exciting game was Stevenage 3 Newcastle United 1. This
was a fascinating game and an amazing result, especially a goal at
each end in the dying minutes.
But now it's up early, back on the train and the regular cycle of bank
regulatory reporting again.
The other thing to note is that I really should finish reading To Kill
a Mockingbird this week.

07:12 am: Festival of the Epiphany
20 + C + M + B + 11
Christus Mansionem Benedicat

See http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/epiphany-chalk-house-blessing-2/4942 for more details of the blessing of your house at Epiphany.

Also: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100050328/why-gerry-raffertys-baker-street-is-the-perfect-pop-song/

Also: UK readers who used a debit/credit card on New Year's Eve should check statements carefully that they were not double charged. A processing error suggests that you may have been. If so, talk to your bank, not to me.

As for me, it's cold and dark and I don't feel very festive yet.

08:44 am: Decorations and the Christmas Season
It's a while since I posted a message by email so if something goes
wrong, I'll post it properly later.
More and more, people are announcing that they have taken down their
Christmas decorations. Why? Now, I am the first to admit that there is
no Biblical justification for having them in the first place, and the
early church didn't have them, possibly also in part for the same
reasons as Iraqi Christians today choose not to.
But the timing is wrong. Christmas isn't over till after the Festival
of the Epiphany, Twelfth Night, the visit of the Wise Guys, which we
celebrate on January 6th.
Christmas isn't over after 25th - that's when it begins. Up to that
point, it's Advent, a time of penitence and reflection as we look
forward to remembering Christ's first coming as a baby and also look
forward to his second coming in glory as King. The season changes at
Christmas, as does the mood, from one of expectation to one of
celebration.
That is why we should not stop our celebration before Epiphany. It
also suggests that maybe we shouldn't be too hasty to put the
decorations up early either. We don't put our decorations up more than
a couple of days before Christmas, but that is for practical reasons,
rather than theological ones.

08:21 pm: Monday musings
Today there has been almost nothing going on. We've seen episodes of Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother and Friends, and I've been catching up a little with The Archers and the goings-on in Ambridge. There has been a shock there, but I'm not game to spoil it here.
As I said, very quiet. Porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch, pizza in the evening. Good, healthy fare.
It's another bank holiday today, so my motivation to pay in a couple of cheques at a local ATM has been minimal. Probably will do it in London tomorrow.
It will be quite a shock to return to the tough and rumble of investment banking again tomorrow after a couple of weeks away. It will also be a shock to be up before half past five.

03:01 pm: Sunday
The first services of the year: I was leading the 9:30 service, which is the more traditional service. It was hard to get started, as there were so many notices related to the recent deaths in our congregation. I read out a letter from Lawrence, thanking us as a congregation for the support in recent weeks and on Friday at Kathryn's funeral. I also had to tell the congregation of Colin J's death.
The service continued with "Lord for the years your love has kept and guided", which is always a song for the New Year. Dave L spoke to us using words from the prophet Isaiah.
The eleven o'clock family service was a less formal service, and after that we gathered as a family and again went for lunch at the Chronicle, a local establishment that serves steaks and pizzas and stuff.
We're now home and it's only a short couple of hours till we're out again for the evening service. Three services in a day is unusual, but not unknown...