Loaves & Fishes....with a bit of dessert thrown in!

Little is much when God is in it

So in the past 24 hours we have been given 5 mackerel, 16kg of bread flour (and a lovely evening chat with a friend) and a bag of rhubarb...what lovely friends and work collegues we have...we are very blessed.

And it reminded me of the last littlies kids church that we had at our house before the school holidays when we were talking about sharing, and how the little boy shared his lunch (loaves and fishes) and ended up being part of a miracle that fed thousands.  (Today's equivalent would be...no food for anyone at the opening ceremony tomorrow night...don't worry, I've got my cheese sarnies and a pick of ready salted, quick prayer and pass it round, and round, and round....).

The rhubarb was just a nice addition, to remind me that God can't be put in a box, and loves to bless his children.  A great God and great friends...we were made to be together!

Putting my money where my mouth is!

So at last I'm starting to move our money!

How many years have I been thinking about doing it?  How many times have I started to investigate options?  Well, I think this time it's really going to happen.

In other areas of our life I'm really passionate about what happens to our waste, where our food is sourced from, what I spend my time doing, what I let the children be exposed to, so how come it's taken so long to get round to acting on what impact my money is having on others whilst we're not using it!  It's mind boggling really, and I'm sure that most of it is down to a lack of knowledge on what actually happens with our money that's sitting in accounts.  And part of me feels that it's just something in the ether, so it can't really be having an impact on world food prices, the arms trade, gambling businesses taking out loans, the list goes on.

So a few weeks ago I started asking others what they knew about good places to keep our money, and with a little delay due to the madness and sadness of life currently, I've started the journey of switching. 

• We're setting up small saving accounts for the kids, mostly for money that is given to us for them, and at this stage of life they really don't have many needs.  They're going to have Triodos Children's Saving accounts...they may not make the highest rate of interest (although they ain't bad), but at least we are clear who they are lending to, and we agree with the basic principles.
• For the occasions when we have some savings, I'm looking at Triodos ISAs and their saving accounts.
• And for the day-to-day current account, we're moving to the Co-Ops online bank...smile

We've decided on these due their ethical basis, and I've been astounded by the principles that triodos state on their website, here's what they say:

We're 100% ethical.

We only lend our savers' money to people and organisations who are working to make a positive impact - culturally, socially and environmentally. 

We only lend real money.

We only lend money entrusted to us by our savers, and not a penny more. In a climate that's seen so many banks around us thrown into turmoil, our approach has enabled us to remain solid and stable.

We're totally transparent.

We're completely open about how we use our customers' money. And you can see for yourself exactly who we lend to on our website.

And the 'who we lend to' tool...is amazing!  I could look at where we live and see who they've lent to locally, and there are some fascinating businesses that I've discovered.  Check it out!  (I'm not on commission, honest...it's just so refreshing to see something simple, that makes sense, and that fits with some better values.)

So now I've just got to get through the process of moving.  I'll let you know how the journey of switching is...they have teams to help do all the direct debit moves etc apparently...so fingers crosses.

Bubbling ideas on community

So sadly this time last week my Grandpa died.  And the journey through grief is a strange one.  As well as times of deep sadness; the challenges of explaining death to a 3 year old; normal life continuing and a few days away to look after some pigs, sheep and chickens; the past week has also had my mind buzzing with ideas.  I'm not sure I'd necessarily put it down to a 'seize life while you have it' thought, but it does feel like a shift is happening.  Lots of small ideas I've had bubbling for ages, seem to be coming to the front of my mind a lot more, and I'm struggling to hold back and not just get on with things.

So what am I going on about...

I believe that we were made to be in community and living our lives with others is a really rich life experience.  When we lived in North End, and before kids, we used to have foreign students living with us, as well as a lodger, and there were so many things that I loved about living with a wider group of individuals.

I also know that we have ended up in the house in Southsea for a reason.  And I've had a few different experiences throughout my life of living in developping or deprived areas, and in all these places community seemed much more visable/graspable.  Needs were far more obvious and it was simply far easier to get connected with our neighbours.  Where we live now is not a deprived ward (although there are some obvious pockets of 'need' close by); has quite a mix of people; and everyone seems very nice (which of course there is nothing wrong with).  But I feel we could be far more creative, far more linked locally, source more things locally, have more power collectively to influence things, share far more things, care far more for each other...and find far more richness in connecting with our neighbours.

I'm aware of loads of examples of community and neighbourhood development/building in areas of the city/country and world where there are far more evident basic needs...but not aware of it so much in the more affluent areas.  But we're missing out on so much!  So although we know lots of lovely people around us, and share a lot of our lives with many of them, I am really hungering for more.

I've had a variety of ideas germinating over the past months, and I'm feeling the need to stop thinking and start doing, to see if there is life in the ideas.  (And I should note that these aren't all my ideas, but many have come through conversations with others...don't want to take the credit, but happy to take responsibility for the mistakes).

So to give you a flavour:

• how do we connect with those that live in the care home on our street
• how do we connect with the students that arrive in the neighbourhood each year
• how do we connect with people behind our closed front doors...does anyone else want to connect more? (especially in this madly busy world)
• could we do a 'Big Lunch' in the park next year?
• how can we use some of the websites available to connect people and their skills and possessions in the neighbouring streets?
• how do we get a better picture of the 'Wimbledon Park Patch'?
• is there any mileage in buying in a co-operative format for organic staple goods?
• how do we help build up our local shops (do we really want them to die off and just have mass chains...aren't we proud of our local independents)....worth looking at 'Independents' Day in Portsmouth next year?
• are there better places to bank with?  Local credit unions/building societies?
• as Government decreases, how can we empower ourselves to solve some local problems and not always expect someone else to sort it out?
• would some kind of flexible cafe work in the park to attract more people to hang-out and connect (cross-generationally)
• what can we do locally to recycle and compost more?

 Wow...that's quite terrifying when I read that back!

(Tonight I've set up a Facebook group 'Wimbledon Park Patch' and am going to try and connect as many people in the area into that as possible to start with and test some ideas...let me know if you want to join). 

I've been really encouraged by the July readings in 'Common Prayer - a liturgy for ordinary radicals'....here's just a bit from the month's introduction:

So much of our culture is built around moving away from people rather than closer to them.  In many of the wealthiest coutnries in the world, we have lost the sense of a village.  And we have some of the highest rates of home ownership and some of the highest rates of depression.  We are some of the wealthiest and loneliest societies the world has ever seen.  We live in a mobile culture in which people are used to moving every few years, and in which many folks will uproot without question to move for a higher-paying job.

Commitment to a people and a place is one of the countercultural values at the heart of the gospel.  It means recapturing the notion of the parish, a word which shares a root with parochial, meaning 'localised and particular'.  Many folks today are learning from village cultures, where people often have fewer resources but more life and joy.

Movements of new urbanism are helping to cultivate spaces for shared lives.  People in one cul-de-sac began to rethink suburban sprawl and started sharing stuff.  They decided each home didn't need a washer and dryer and a lawn mower.  So one family agreed to have the laundry machines, and another had all the lawn equipment, and so on.  Before long, they were homeschooling their kids together and providing hospitality to the homeless with all the energy and resources that were freed up by sharing. When people make choices like these, life starts to look like a village, and a village is a beautiful thing.

So I not sure if I'll end up just being known as some mad local woman, but I think the ideas have been bubbling for too long now, and not having the time is just not good enough anymore!


So watch this space...and if you've read this, feel free to comment if you do have any thoughts/wisdom/ideas or home truths to tell me ;-)

A light topic today - death!

OK...so this might be my weirdest post yet...and as over the months it's become evident that others are reading this, and it's not just my journal of my year, some of you may start looking at me oddly after reading this...but here goes.

So it's not the normal way that I start a month; pondering death.  But I've been thinking about it quite a bit recently and this weekend as my Grandpa had an operation to literally save his life, and as I read an article in the Guardian's weekend Family section I thought I'd share my ponderings.

Ian Whitwham was writing about the recent death of his father-in-law and how we just don't seem to know how to mourn effectively in our culture today...an interesting read, and a great tribute to his father-in-law.  Click here to read it.  And I tend to agree with him.

One of the stages of death that I find the hardest, is the time between death and a funeral.  There is something about the body of a loved one, being stored somewhere clinical, cold and lifeless, that I really struggle with.  I'm sure in the past (and probably currently in other areas of the world), the body would be kept somewhere in the family home, and I kind of like that idea.

I realise that it's just their body and I do believe that their soul has journeyed on, and I feel comfortable in my faith that I'll catch up with them again someday.  But they've spent their life taking care of themselves, and as part of my family or community I've also been involved in taking care of them.  So to leave them in some storage place, just seems wrong.

I also think that the majority of people look peaceful in death (obviously this is slightly dependent on the manner of death), but I'd kind of like to be able to sit near them and talk out some of my thoughts/feelings about them leaving the rest of us.  So I'm not suggesting open caskets, but I don't think I'd be too freaked out by it.  And maybe, looking after each other in that final farewell stage, would help us all talk about them and our loss more?

Now admittedly I haven't obviously tried any of this out, as it's just not the done thing.  But I have to confess that I've started to wonder if it's the kind of option one can request?  Is there a law that dead people have to be stored elsewhere until their burial or cremation?

Wow...so that's quite random to read through and hit 'publish'....but in my year of finding richness in less, I wonder if we might find more richness in facing death a bit more, sharing in it, and having less involvement from people that temporarily hide it away for us.  (And sorry...no images with this post...my mind was blank on that one!)

Should I be finding richness in cress?

So how do places like West Dean have kitchen gardens that look so immaculate...with not a slug or snail eaten vegetable in sight?!?!

So far this year M & I have grown 5 edible radishes and a selection of herbs.  The apples are doing OK, but the tomatoes and beans are looking small and the rest of the garden has been eaten by our slimey enemies.  Grampy was visiting this week and put it down to the bad soil, so I'm going to try and feed them more, and see if that helps.  Next year he'll be here to help, and maybe we'll be feeding the street with our produce.

But the good news is that we are having success in the house, and from a suprising source.  McDonalds are currently giving out cress kits in their kids meals.  Within 2 days we have leaves emerging and I'm seriously wondering whether we should try just covering our garden in cress...maybe my seed choice was the issue?  Should I be finding richness in cress?

No time to blog!

So it's almost a month since my last blog post, and it's not that I've decided a don't want to write stuff about the year anymore, it's just the lack of time free to sit down and write! It's becoming a recurrent theme, how making things and trying to do things differently is taking more time, and I definitely feel the biggest learning from this whole experience is the truth in the statement that 'time is money', but there is definitely more richness in relying on it less!  So what's been going on in May?

Beach Hut Fun
After about 6 years on the waiting list, we got to the top and now rent a Beach Hut (or Sun hut to be more correct, as it's just back from the beach and we have the prom, road and a great patch of grass between us and the beach).  We've only had it for about a month now, but have already had so much fun down there with a whole host of people, we're definitely glad with took the plunge (as it's not a cheap experiment!).

In the hot days the kids have loved paddling, and as we don't have much of a garden at home, and certainly no grass, the novelty of a giant expanse of grass to run around and crawl on has been brilliant.  We've also had lots of fun doing art things, and generally hanging out with friends and eating together.  We've also met some lovely new neighbours and even a previous neighbour from our days in North End is now a neighbour again!  So if you're in the area...come and join us!

In the last month, I've also become more and more aware of the passing of time, and that pre-school days will be gone in just over a year's time, so I'm really wanting to have some great time having fun with the kids, as well as having good time with them, whilst dealing with the rest of life....they've good at helping out round the house, and it's not all about fun-fun-fun.  But the beach hut has been great for more focused time with them, as I can't disappear to just put on another wash load.  The challenge of this, is that I then need to fit even more into evenings as the jobs still need doing, so sleep has definitely been lacking this month.  Finding the right balance is the biggest challenge of all motherhood days I think.

Devon
We had 5 days in Devon, thanks to a friend of my Mum's who lets us her holiday home.  Sadly just before the weather became amazing, but had fun with Grandma at a farm, on the beach and at the house.

Gardening

Tomatoes alive inside!

We've continued to try and grow things in the garden, but with the exception of radishes and apples, the slugs seem to be feasting on all the rest, so it's not a great success currently.  I planted out tomatoes and broad beans yesterday, that have done really well inside, but we wait to see if they get eaten before they have a chance to get even bigger :-(  Orange peel, coffee grounds, egg shells and organic slug pellets seem to have little effect on Pompey gastropods.
Also the compost bin and Bokashis seem to have been the perfect breeding ground for fruit flies, which means I'm becoming a very good aim with rolled up newspaper, and my daughter enjoys the blood smears that appear all over the kitchen cupboard doors...dead and alive have become quite focused topics in our house.

Gifts

More cut out people cards

And I still continue to try and make gifts as much as possible, although people are getting more and more belated presents with each passing month.  Men & boys really seem to be the main challenge, although I'm hoping I have a current idea that can run to several boys over the coming months...am just awaiting feedback from the first little chap to get it.  Homemade experiment kits....check this out: http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/lavalamp.php  

So May hasn't been a quiet month, and when you add normal household chores, helping family house hunt, mad weeks at work, Governor duties and keeping kids occupied, it's little wonder that there is ever any time to sit down and blog!

Fall in Love with the Recorder!

I've been really amazed by the effect that giving up TV for lent has had on the following weeks.  There is really very little now that I'm prepared to watch, and I only turn it on if I actually want to watch something, rather than just when I'm in that room.

Programmes that I've previously watched, just aren't watchable anymore, whether it's that the content is too extreme (from comments on FB from others, I don't think I'm the only person not watching Silent Witness anymore), or it just seems pretty pointless.

And yet, I'm discovering some really amazing things on TV that previously I wouldn't have given any time to.  This week when I did the ironing on Friday night, I watched the BBC Young Musician of the Year, Woodwind Final.  Sadly I turned on too late for the first competitor - the recorder, but heard some amazing music on the saxaphone, clarinet, bassoon & flute.  I couldn't believe it at the end when the recorder won, and I hadn't watched it, so I then saw it on iPlayer.  She was amazing!  

Links below - honestly, I'd be amazed if you didn't like the last short piece at least!

The whole recorder section 

The last short piece, which is totally captivating

Why didn't we get to play stuff like that at school?

And recently I've also learnt lots about the 'Cold Chain' with Ewan McGregor, showing how even children in the most unconneted parts of the world are receiving vaccines.

I'm not sure why I'd never have watched these kinds of programmes before, but I get some entertainment and learn new things, which are actually real, rather than based on imagined fear and violence.

I was really challenged when I started watching TV again by Phillipians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

And I'm not sure where the thought started, but it seems to be the test by which I start and continue to watch the few things that I do nowadays.  Certainly not what I was expecting the result of a TV fast to be, when I started back on Ash Wednesday!