A Tale of Two Cities

The Hebrew word for Jerusalem is a fascinating one. It is "Yerushalayim." - City of Peace.

So what?

Well the ending is curious. it's a dual. So literally translated it means "Two Cities of Peace." A strange name for one city to have isn't it?

Unless of course you're like Abraham and remember that the earthly Jerusalem was always to be a symbol of the heavenly one.

Holiday Reading

Am packing for Kenya and Uganda and the usual problem of which books to take perplexes me. Along with my pocket-sized dagger, aka Bible, I always take far more than I end up reading, which on a normal holiday isn't a problem, but on this holiday, everything I want to take, I have to hike up the mountains on my back so... hmmm...

Here's the shortlist:

The Hour

Africa (the paperback version)

The Story of God

The R Factor

Perfecting ourselves to Death

How the News Makes Us Dumb

Boy Meets Girl (for pastoral reasons, of course ;-)

The Jewish Trinity (To my personal annoyance, I still haven't read this yet)

TdF 2009

It all starts tomorrow in Monaco. I wonder who'll win.



ll be somewhere up a mountain, so won't have a clue until long after.

Western Kenya and Uganda Expedition 2009

On the 7th July, I, along with 18 boys from my school and three other supervising adults, will go off to Western Kenya and Uganda for a month. The itinerary, roughly-speaking, is this:

1. Fly into Nairobi.

2. Travel up to Lake Naivasha, Mount Longonot, Hell's Gate and Lake Nakuru National Parks for some (small) acclimatisation treks.

3. Work for a week on a building project for a charity/school/hospital in the Nairobi area (TBC as is often the way in these parts of the world ;-)

4. Embark on final acclimatisation trek in the Kakamega Forest - Kenya's last remaining bit of rainforest.

5. Cross into Uganda and up to Mbale to get provisions for main seven day trek up and down Mt Elgon.

6. Conquer Mount Eglon and come down to the Sipi Falls.

7. Victoriously head to Jinga for some White Water Rafting.

8. Head back to Kampala and out to Entebbe Airport to catch the plane home. (6 Aug)

99 Balloons

Hope in the midst of sorrow. This is inspirational:

True Greatness

You know how great a potter is by looking at the pots he makes.

You know how great a builder is by looking at the buildings he builds.

You know how great an artist is by looking at the paintings he paints.

You know how great a musician is by listening to the music he writes.

You know how great a commander is by hearing of the battles he has won.

You know how great a father is by looking at the children he has raised.

...etc... etc... blah... blah...

Best of all, when all of the above, and more, fail:

You know how great a saviour is by looking at those whom he saves.

Lords' Watch - June 09

In a recent post, I encouraged people to write to their MPs re amendments to the laws on free speech and assisted suicide.

The same legislation is now up in the House of Lords for voting at the beginning of July. If, like me, you live in Berkshire, you can get in touch with Lord Palmer, (pictured right).

As in that former post, I will be asking him to vote in a way that protects free speech and conscience and the sanctity of life.

You can snail mail Lord Palmer at:

The House of Lords,
London,
SW1A 0PW

or email him.

If you are interested, you can see his voting record here.

Happy writing.