Oct
29
2008
0

Kerry Katona on This Morning

I didn’t get to watch this at the time, but if this is what taking prescribed medication does then Kerry Katona needs to get her backside back to her GP to discuss it.

She is acting very like one of my clients. The poor girl needs help, that much is clear, and I am pretty sure that being put on TV when you are slurring your words, mumbling and showing a lack of comprehension is not going to help with any recovery.

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Oct
28
2008
0

Fag ash lil

I spoke to Auntie Billie earlier today. She told me that she and one of her friends are having a little over-night trip to Spain tonight. They are purely going to buy cigarettes… she seems to think they can bring back about 1300 fags each. She was taking an overnight bag with a spare pair of knickers and a toothbrush in it. She will be returning with a bag stuffed full of cigarettes. She is basically a drug mule. Oh well, at least it will keep her in cigarettes for the next couple of weeks.

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Oct
27
2008
4

Running is stupid

Tell me something I don’t already know!

See here for more details.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Oct
26
2008
1

Wine and Wii

I have had a fun weekend. The Mister came down on Friday night and yesterday we went had a wander around Berkhamsted Castle. After that we went to my friends Adam and Roger’s house for dinner and to play on the Wii. Let’s just say gay men know how to do dinner parties well. We had a fantastic 3-course meal, the table was laid beautifully with flowers and candles and matching table linen and we drank copious amounts of alcohol. We also played on the Wii. It was such fun, although I think I might have sustained a Wii-related shoulder injury when I was playing tennis! It was a great weekend, even though I am feeling a little worse for wear today… so here is a montage of photos which kind of sum up the events…

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Oct
23
2008
2

Rebecca the Wrecker

BeccyYesterday my cousin Beccy was 40. I made this card for her with a picture of her which was taken at my parent’s wedding. Wasn’t she cute? Serious, but cute!

Beccy used to baby-sit me and my sister when we were little. She was a great baby-sitter and used to play all sorts of games with us. However, she was also quite strict (maybe that is why she is a teacher now) and she also knew all my tricks. When I was younger I used to read loads, as I do now, especially Enid Blyton books which I loved. After she had put me to bed I used to switch the light back on and carry on reading, but she always caught me out. She used to check the last page number I had been reading, find the book under the duvet, check whether the bedside lamp was warm, find the torch etc etc. She knew every single trick in the book… mainly because she had done exactly the same when she was little too! It’s never fair when you get beaten by someone who knows how the game is played!

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Oct
22
2008
5

Gay-bashing in Christian love

Beautiful bishops outfits!Tonight I went over for my surrogate Mum and Dad’s house for dinner with a few people they have ‘collected’ over the years, some of whom are in church some aren’t. Tonight we ended up with a very heated discussion about a variety of things, but as usual it ended up with a discussion/argument about homosexuality and Christianity.

There is one couple there that really, really irritate me, especially the woman, who I will call Julie. She and her husband don’t currently attend a local church because the one they really like is too far away. They have been to various local churches, but always have complaints about them because they just aren’t the same as St. Too-Far-Away – in fact they are utterly unwilling to give anything else a chance because they have expectations of their own. Of course, it is never their fault that the church isn’t right; it is too unwelcoming, too liberal, too unfriendly, too big, too small, too this, too that.

Anyway, tonight they started off a discussion about Jeffrey John and how if he is ever made a Bishop they will never be a part of a church that supports him. To be honest, I can cope with that as it is their choice. What really offends me thought is their insistence that they actually have no problem with gay people, just those who are practicing gays. For a start I find this quite an offensive term… most of my friends aren’t practicing, they are experts. Secondly, it is none of their business what another person does in their bedroom. I did ask Julie whether she thought it was acceptable for me to question her sexual behaviour. Of course she wasn’t happy about this comment, but by this time I was on a roll.
Julie also commented that she had no problem with someone who had committed other types of “sinful behaviour” (her words not mine) becoming a Bishop, just those who were gay. It seems to me that this is a very hypocritical attitude to take, regardless of what you think of the individual.

This whole subject makes me very pissed off. This couple are unwilling to be educated. They come from an ultra-conservative background and will only listen to preachers that they know are going to say things they approve of. I suggested a few different speakers they might like to listen to, such as James Alison, but I suspect they would not even entertain the idea, firstly because he is gay, but secondly because he is a Catholic .

Having discussions like this sadly reminds me that we have a huge mountain to climb in trying to address these issues amongst conservative Christians. It is so difficult to try and educate people who have no interest in trying to see things from another person’s perspective. And, yet it also makes me sad. I still think the church misses out by not being opening and accepting to those people who have different sexualities, genders and identities. They still see them as a threat, when really they should be seeing them as a gift. A great and glorious gift which brings true diversity to a church which needs colour, life and most of all, a church that is a reflection of God’s gloriously random Kingdom.

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Oct
22
2008
0

RC Part 72 – By Bread Alone by Sarah-Kate Lynch

By Bread Alone by Sarah-Kate Lynch is a lovely book about a woman called Esme and her family. Two years ago she suffered a huge personal tragedy and moved to the country to live in a eccentric house with her equally eccentric grandparents. Throughout the book she keeps making sourdough bread, the only real constant activity in her life and it reminds her of her first love in France, a baker called Louis. I love this book, it is clever but sweet and has a good coupe of twists at the end!

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Oct
22
2008
6

RC Part 71 – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

During all my driving last weekend I listened to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.

This book is about a little boy called Christopher who has Aspergers and his family,how they cope and don’t cope with his disability. It is a brilliant book, cleverly written with amazing insight into what is quite a hidden disability. I often sat in my car at the end of wherever I was driving to just so I could hear what happened next!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Oct
20
2008
2

RC Part 70 – The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket was my favouritist book over the weekend.
Jane Brocket writes a craft blog called Yarnstorm. It is a truly beautiful and inspirational blog, full of the things she creates; cakes, knitting, patchwork and embroidery, but also photographs of nature, flowers and day-to-day life. I find her use of colour and texture truly inspirational and this book was kind of her reflections about life and the importance of the “domestic” in her life. She comments on this by saying

”There is a world of difference between domesticity and domestication. This book is about domesticity and the pleasures and joys of the gentle domestic arts of knitting, crochet, baking, stitching, quilting, gardening and homemaking. It is emphatically not about the repetitive, endless rounds of cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping and house maintenance that come with domestication. Domesticity rises above the bossiness of cleaning products and media exhortations to keep our houses pristine and hygienic, and focuses instead on creativity within the domestic space.

Domesticity gives us the opportunity to express ourselves, and the gentle arts are the most satisfying and achievable means of doing so. Domesticity frees our minds and hands and eyes to enjoy often neglected and undervalued skills, textiles, colour, textures, patterns and comforts, all of which can bring pleasure to both the domestic artist and those around her.”

DSCN4301I love being creative and I find huge pleasure in both the process of making things, and seeing the end result. This books gave me the opportunity to consider lots of different crafts I wouldn’t normally consider. Also, it encouraged me to get on with doing the things I most want to do, to photograph the things I find beautiful and satisfying, and to carry on trying new things.

I have to say that there is actually quite a funny photo that could go with this blog entry, if The Mister gets around to sending it to me. The fact that I was reading this book seemed to amuse him, maybe it was the thought of me being domestic… for some reason he seems to equate that idea with me being in the kitchen baking all sorts of nice things for him to eat. Or maybe he just equates it with me being a subservient woman. Yeah, right!!!

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Oct
20
2008
0

RC Part 69 – Hip Handbags and Brilliant Bags

Over the weekend I borrowed some books on bag making as I have been trying to get inspired so that I can make some Christmas presents. So I read Hip Handbags: Creating and Embellishing 40 Great-Looking Bags by Valerie Arsdale Shrader. This is a nice, if rather basic book with some good ideas on how to embellish and amend very basic bag patterns to create different looks. I also read Brilliant Bags: 20 Beautiful Bags to Stitch and Love by Deena Beverley. This is a lovely book which is beautifully illustrated, easy to follow with some gorgeous photos of lovely bags. I think I need to give up work so that I can do more craft stuff and fulfil my creative passions.

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