Greenbelt

1900 to Norwich

London: Just bumped into Jude, freshly jet-lagged from the States. Apparently I'm on the cover of the new M*A*S*H DVD... Passing Romford these days I always tilt my head to see the YMCA where Pip works... I daydream 'till I see Chelmsford's cathedral peeking between the office blocks. A few weeks after GB two of my best friends will be combined in a Lifelong Kiss there; wish Jon and Hannah well... By the time we reach Colchester, the aircon's failed on the train and they're passing out bottled water so we don't. Remember the communion service?

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Anything to do with Life?

Seasoned Greenbelters will know we like our outdoor venues to be named after the fesival theme. These early suggestions only seemed to concentrate on only one word of this year's theme...

Quick peck, Pucker up, Cheaper, Smacker, Snog, Frenchie, Bike Sheds, Judas, Lip service (worship venue), Liposuction, Lipstick, Lip gloss, Lip salve, Halitosis, Fumbling, No heavy petting, Resuscitation, Artificial Resuscitation, Revive, Mpwyah

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Practical Preparations

In one month's time, the festival will be over. Gulp: under a month to get things all sorted.

With that in mind, I declare today to be tent day. I don't have a garden at home, so had to take my tent elsewhere to check it. And now I remember: I don't have a garden at home, and the tent's been waiting in my kitchen to be cleaned and aired all year. Two hours of washing later, I have a mildew-free tent.

Note to self: in a month's time, remember to clean the tent properly.

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Excitement Mounts

The latest "Wing and a Prayer" -- GB's newsletter for Angels and volunteers -- dropped through my letterbox this morning. (Angels are GB's regular financial supporters, and we like to give them the odd peck on the cheek every now and then.)

Great to catch up on little bits of news I'd somehow missed, and already start looking forward to next year's W&P weekend over 14-16 Feb (shame that "Kiss of Life" is this year's theme!). Still, it sounds like it'll be a fantastic event. But before then there's the small matter of a festival in a month's time...

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Hop On

I gave a lift to a grasshopper today. He hopped onto my wing mirror as I left work and stuck with me a mile or so before making a hasty exit. I kept it slow, but he looked quite happy there: feelers slicked back in the wind, angular legs stabilising the body like some absurdly proportioned drag racer... I wonder: were grasshoppers made for this? Perhaps it's the Suffolk equivalent of pigeons commuting on the tube.

This has nothing to do with Greenbelt, but I wanted to tell someone and the laptop was closer than the phone...

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Management Monday

Heading back home after our monthly Greenbelt Management Group meeting. It'll take me an hour or so -- a good opportunity to type up the minutes of the meeting.

As ever at this time of the year, there were plenty of exciting things at the meeting... a first glimpse of the '02 T-shirt designs and other merchandise (mugs!).

The site plan's nearly done too; not too many radical changes, but a good number of suggestions from last year have been fed back in.

Everyone's buzzing about the festival; more than the usual crowd made it over to the pub to catch up on what's been going on in each other's lives since last month.

2356 Update: Just finished editing the minutes... they'll be early for once! :-)

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Dreaming of Simon Thomas

This weekend was Breakout -- a Methodist youth event in Birmingham. Please excuse me, but I have to say: I've never seen such er, imaginative uses of yellow and green on clothing.

I helped man the Greenbelt stand. We met a good few Greenbelters, and promoted the festival to many more. Rather a lot of the girls seemed keen to know whether Simon Thomas would be attending...

(This entry was originally posted on the Greenbelt Blog.)

Greenbelt

Hello World

First things first; who am I? Here's the biog I wrote for the GB website: Paul keeps his life in the boot of his car: a work laptop, a pair of hiking boots, a sleeping bag, a clutch of CDs and a bundle of Greenbelt Angels leaflets.

What I didn't write: I have a manually-tuned black and white TV, a fondness for Diet Coke with lemon, and am frequently reminded I bear an uncanny resemblance to Radar from M*A*S*H.

I'm a Greenbelt Trustee, with particular emphasis on Greenbelt Angels and - for one year only - am part of the team setting up the new "Media Venue" (of which the blogging is a slight offshoot).

(This was originally posted as my first entry on the Greenbelt Blog.)