A tale of two cities

While Sydney scorches and Victoria (as well as other parts of Oz) tragically burns, the UK has been in the grip of the coldest weather for 18 years. It seems as if the entire mainland island has been blanketed by heavy, chaos-causing snow, closing schools, cancelling the London buses and delighting newly-resurrected snowmen everywhere.

Belfast got comparatively little (alas!) but we experienced enough of it on 2 days to play in it while the sun shone down. These photos are deceptive as it gives the impression that Belfast had 48 hours of blue sky. The truth be told, it was more like 48 seconds-the remainder of the time over the 'snowy' days it was grey, freezing, icy, sleety, mushy...

...but it's still such a novelty to us, that we LOVED it! Can you tell?

100th post

This is our 100th post which means we should have something profound to say.
True to form we don't, and will leave you with recently-taken photos instead.


Given an adjustment of ground colour from green to brown, and sky colour to a deeper ultra-violet, this photo could be the Aussie Bungle-Bungles but it is an area of north Belfast called "Cave Hill" (Cnoc na hUaighe) . We climbed it last week on a surprisingly clear day with no rain *gasp*



Cave Hill was the inspiration for Swift's Gulliver's Travels and overlooks the Belfast Lough ...



and while it was a steep climb down over not-oft trod paths (especially as we took the NOT recommended route) ...



we saw no signs of Lilliputians, Yahoos or Houyhnhnms. Although this is A's take on that theme with C and the spaniel standing near the ring fort on the summit...



The spaniel must be thinking that we have moved to Ulster just for him as we have spent a great deal of time exploring the coast near to where we are living. This is the beach at Holywood just 10 minutes drive from our house...



For an Aussie-born dog whose first public outing was to Narrabeen lakes and beach, he has been swimming on beaches more in our 3 months here than ever before. Not even the coldest and greyest of days puts him off. This day, there was was frost on the sand (never seen that before) and a temperature of 0 Centigrade. Zero.

Profundity (or our attempt at) to follow shortly ;-)

Belfast Christmas Past

From the BBC news website today comes this archive film of Christmas in Belfast in 1978.

Thankfully much has changed in the thirty years since this report, and the wish for peace did come—even if it did take more than 20 years from the time this question was asked of the poor frisked folk in the city streets.

Northern Ireland has been so much luckier than all the areas of the world that still waits for peace.


Grace and peace to you, our friends. Happy Christmas.

cheaper than postage!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Factoid 2

Some things are dangerous in Northern Ireland.
Take Picnicking for example:

Peace Walls and Song Words

I feel that I should be able to write something more interesting than "it's cold and wet in Belfast", but this thought seems to take up way too much of our brain space at the moment. Even the spaniel (who wears a thick double-coat of fur) is feeling the icy dampness which IS Northern Ireland, as evidenced by his very sorry look and eternal hope to clamber up next to us on the couch.

I am also aware that, even though there has only been a couple of posts from Belfast, I don't want to give a false impression of what it's like only writing lighthearted quips and by linking attractive photos of beaches and hills (although these scenes really do exist just 10 minutes drive away from the city centre).

And so I am posting an article archived from 2007 which described Belfast from a political perspective:

"Compared to the decades of sectarian violence known as "The Troubles," when Catholic and Protestant militias fought it out with bullets and bombs, knee-cappings and reprisal killings, there is now relative peace on the streets of Belfast and elsewhere in the British province.

[However] it is a deeply scarred place, where violence left 3,624 people dead and 40,000 injured — scars that may take generations to heal. Although it's been 13 years since the first ceasefire was agreed upon by the opposing militias, on the ground there remains a heavily-segregated society, where Catholics and Protestants generally don't mix or live together...
there are 20 walls in Belfast built by the British government to separate Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods ...and no one is knocking down with picks and hammers."

Here some of the 'Peace Murals' which are found in parts of the city and often on the Peace Walls:





When I was a teenager and listening to Simple Minds in Australia, I had no concept of the meaning of the words to 'Belfast Child'-the hit of 1987. I could never have guessed that I would be thinking about the society, history and culture which provoked the writing of this song, that we would be learning to love the people of the city, of this song— and that the lyrics would come to mean something more personal; some of those 'empty, cold streets' are just around the corner.
Belfast is now our home.

We can truly hope that Billy and Mary (of the song) have come home-or will soon—but realistically, such a complete reconciliation will only be possible when Jesus, the Prince of Peace, returns to make all things new. Until then, we will do our best to make him known and loved, so that Billy and Mary will be reconciled to Him who is more important than any other.




Peace mural photos from belfastcitytours

It's a long way...Factoid 1

C is settling into his job and at present has quite a different role to the last. He is, of course still feeling his way around in these early days. At this time, he has responsibility for discipleship and the home group ministry, and as there are approx 140 folk who are regular in the Sunday morning meeting, 90 in the evening and 110 folk in home groups, it means it a great privilege to be working and meeting alongside faithful Christians in what is becoming an increasingly secular society. He is also part of a great team ministry of four other All Saints staff and enjoys the interaction in 'the office' (...or is it a coffee shop?!)

A has responsibility for, well, not much at the moment aside from meeting ladies for coffee (not so difficult! ) although is looking forward to reading the bible "1-1" with folk as well as taking up membership at the Belfast Print Workshop–something she has sorely missed since leaving Sydney. It's got a great international reputation and currently hosting an exhibition of Australian artists, so is inspiring her to take up the ink and etching scribes again.

It may be a long way from Tipperary (well, 213.86 miles from Belfast) but Sydney is much further away—a staggering 17,500 miles as the crow flies! That's a greater distance than New York City, and unless we move to Reykjavik (unlikely), I don't think we can possibly move any further away than we already have.

The entire area of the province of Northern Ireland is not much greater than driving from Sydney to Wollongong.




However, we have both been surprised at some of the unexpected similarities between N.Ireland and Oz:



If we could ever see the sun, the proximity to white, sandy beaches and blue water is a clear similarity and attraction. The photo above is of North Belfast on a mythical dry, windless, sunny day.

You can count off at least 10 minutes for each shop transaction as the shop assistant chats to you—or any encounter in the street. There are many more dogs and dog walkers than we ever met in England, and the cafe culture is strong! It is a little bizarre being a foreign country that, at times, is so similar to our native homeland. However, just when we think we are getting comfortable, we only have to try and turn on our bath taps (that rotate in the wrong direction), or push our internal doors (which are hung back to front) or switch on our lights (upside down) to realise that this is Ireland, after all!

Belfast beginnings

We have been living in Belfast for a little over 4 weeks.
Surely that can't be right?
That's what the calendar says, but it very hard to believe. Life has been a whirlwind of screwing together flat-pack furniture, orientation in a new city, waterproofing our clothing, dodging rainshowers and meeting people.
Lots of people.
Specifically, lots of people that are named Heather or Colin.

We have been introduced to the notion that this is a country where the national pastime is eating not-so-small cakes, slices, scones, sandwiches etc.
These are called 'traybakes'.

We now understand why houses don't have hosepipes or much in the way of lawn, preferring tarmac or paving. There's no need for a hose when the moisture content of the ground and air is 100% any day.
Belfast is a very wet place.

We are no longer offended when someone offers us a 'poke'.
It's an ice-cream.

We are becoming used to driving the 12 (or so) minutes from our home on the edge of Belfast into the city where our church is. Of course, there's nothing unusual about that if you're a Sydneysider/Aussie, but it does make a change for us who have become used to the 30 second commute in village England.
We are also becoming more familiar with the visibly apparent and more overtly "religious" nature of Northern Irish Society-in this 12 minute commute, we pass more than 10 churches and many more signs with a Christian message.
However it's a society that is rapidly becoming secularised-possibly faster than any other English-speaking nation in the West.


Despite a reputation as unsafe, Northern Ireland has one of the lowest crime rates among industrialized countries. According to statistics from the U.N. International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS 2004), Northern Ireland has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe and lower than the rest of the United Kingdom. In fact, the results of the latest ICVS show that Japan is the only industrialized place safer than Northern Ireland.
It's not the battlefield that the media seems to suggest it is. Parts of Northern Ireland have a very sad history and certainly suffered violently in The Troubles, but it is not the same today as it was prior to the Belfast Agreement 10 years ago. It's still not perfect-but then what place on earth is?


Prior to moving here, everyone we have spoken to has had very strong opinions on what they think Belfast must be like?
Do you have a vision of it as being large? small? highly urbanised? industrial? modern? rich?poor? diverse? mono-cultural? full of soldiers and police? full of leprechauns?
What do you think it is like? Please comment!

Ends and starts

Leaving our friends and family at Sherbornes with Pamber has been one of the hardest things we have had to do. We felt sincere and deep grief-particularly after our final church gathering and in the days/weeks immediately afterwards. We are really thankful for our 3 very, very happy years there and for God's goodness to us in placing C in his first ministry responsibility in a church who has supported, encouraged and prayed for us all the way.

We love you and will miss you.

Please stay in touch. It is not right to say 'good-bye', because we will meet again.

(but we still don't have a clear answer as to why you English use a plastic bucket in your sinks...see "Quarterly Review" post)

See you later

As of the next post, we will have to change our biographical details on the blog page as we have now left the Sherbornes with Pamber. C is no longer the Parish Assistant, and we will no longer be living in England. Next stop? Belfast!

As we are still tearful from our farewell last Sunday, we will leave the photos and written thoughts until we are in a better place emotionally. Meanwhile, we are resting/holidaying/sleeping/eating/swimming in Porto Soller (Mallorca).


This is the view from our hotel room.



Jealous? Excellent. Our work here is done!

Some things stay the same...

such as the hypertension which is packing up a house.

This was September 2005:



And this is September 2008:



We have just a single week left living here in Sherbornes with Pamber. No, make that a single week living in England. We find it difficult to remember that we are relocating to another country.

So some things change. When we get to Belfast, and we unpack all these boxes, we will be living:

1. in a country where the only people we have met are the folks who interviewed C for his position at All Saints. Read that again-we know nobody.
2. in a house we have never seen apart from internet photos, and
3. in a culture we have yet to begin to understand.

In the mean time, we are trying to prioritise people over packing, and God's truthful message over stresses of relocation. This is a real challenge as we are also trying to sell our Sydney house with all of the logistical awkwardness and emotional weight that this entails...especially when it is in country A, we are living in country B and moving to country C.

Please keep in touch with us at this time, even though we may not get back to you right away. We are a wee bit busy...

In preparation for our move to Northern Ireland (now less than 1 month away) we have reset our television and internet news to BBC Belfast. We know that we have a very limited knowledge of the culture (which we are desperately trying to change), but there are things which have us just gawping in wonder. Take this from this morning's news...

'Loose lion' turns out to be dog

Callers reported seeing a lion in north Belfast
A police operation launched following reports that a lion was loose in north Belfast has been called off after the animal turned out to be a stray dog.
A police helicopter had been used to search the area on Sunday night after officers received a number of reports.
Witnesses had said they had seen a sandy-coloured lion or large non-domestic animal in the Upper Hightown end of Cavehill Park.
Belfast Zoo had earlier confirmed that all of its animals were accounted for.

(And to prove that we're not making this up, here's the link)

So here's the question; if you woke in the morning, and looked out your suburban window, what would make you think that it was a LION wondering across your lawn? Golden retriever, yes...but native African savannah-dwelling beastie?

I like eating and watersports...

Yep, that's our dog.

Churches we have loved being a part of

In Chapter 2 of A's current work entitled Things of Procrastination, here are some photos of churches* we have loved being a part of. The photos are a mixed bag of Australia (Christ Church St. Ives, St. Peter's East Lindfield) and England (Market Overton Free church, Sherbornes with Pamber).

* some are just of the buildings













And a final one of where we will be going from 1 October. We are so looking forward to getting to know you!

Houses we have lived in

A is feeling a little less than enthusiastic about packing up the house and moving again, making it the 6th move in 6 years (but not to 6 different houses but TWICE to England. Work that one out!)

It's all a bit boring to do it again...especially as we have accumulated so much stuff since arriving in England. Stuff that we have successfully got rid of when we departed Australia. How have we managed to get it back again??
So in a bid to procrastinate for a bit further, here's a selection of photos of some of the houses we have lived in during our married life together.






Be it known that we lived in a very, very small flat within this house. Let's say it was 'unique'; who'd ever thought that you could lay artificial turf under a gravel driveway, or have your water heater thermostat located in your nearly permanently overseas landlord's kitchen???!

God moves in mysterious ways

Sorry about the large gap between this and the last post. We have been in a waiting room of decision-making, learning to be patient and to trust in God's goodness and own good timing.

So, contrary to all of OUR plans*, we are now heading off to...Northern Ireland!
Recently, C was invited to join a church in Belfast as their Assistant Minister.
C accepted.
So, we are remaining in full-time ministry and not going to college after all!

Evidently God, working with humour and irony, doesn't want us in a rural English parish for the moment, as this new opportunity to serve is pretty remote from that concept! And yet our hearts remain steadfast for those in the countryside who haven't yet heard God's message of loving salvation to them. If it is the Lord's will, we may return one day.

*
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4: 13-15

So the countdown to change is on! Our final day here in Sherbornes with Pamber is Sunday 21 September, but there is much to do in the few weeks remaining. Would you pray for us that we manage this change with wisdom and grace? We are so sad to be leaving...but also excited about the future.

eeny, meeny, miney....moh?

Today C is driving across the country to Ely (Cambridgeshire) to attend his Bishop's Advisory Panel conference—the final, pointy end of interviews, discussion and written papers of the selection process for ordination training in the Church of England.

This marks the 'near' end of about 16 months of interviews, discussion and written papers (as well as prayer and reading) which has been the road so far. This may seem very convoluted and drawn out, but we are really thankful that the process to date has been without anxiety and problem—and in fact surprisingly enjoyable! For this, many thanks go to C's Diocesan Director of Ordinands who has guided him well.

The Conference is 3 days long and in about a fortnight we will hear as to whether C has been given permission to begin study this September. And then the real decision making will start!
"Permission granted" will mean that we will have to decide to 'go ahead' (or not), choose a college to study at for the next 2 years, sell our house in Sydney (or not), buy somewhere to live in whilst we are studying (or not), and work out how to financially provide for ourselves for the next couple of years...amongst a whole lot of smaller decisions.

Hmmm...

We are reminded and comforted by this, this, this and this!
We hope you are you too.

New experience 2

It's been cold (yes! even we admit it and there is evidence—C has been caught wearing LONG sleeves).
Despite this, we took a few days out to go camping. This is what we missed back 'home' in SSJ:




I almost sympathise with the spring flowers trying to establish themselves amongst all that snow. However, we were camping remember?



It looks quite civilised, doesn't it?

Well, it was. At least it was until the sun went and the temperature dropped to freezing. Never has there been two of God's creatures more pathetic as they shook and whimpered in the cold. (C was fine...we're talking about the spaniel and A).
This was despite C's mammoth fire-building exercise. Is it some latent Australian thing that he felt compelled to build a bbq to babel-esque proportions?





And what is with the English describing this as a beach? Pebbles everywhere! Where's the sand? In my opinion, it must be mighty uncomfortable to get pebbles in your swimmers after a long day in the surf.








That said, the spaniel did seem to enjoy it...



Now we back home with some big decisions to make, and be subject to...watch this space.