Girl Guiding at ADSA

The Girl Guides are off to Switzerland on some expensive trip next summer. This means loads of fund raising to bring the price down and it also means parents getting involved. So when Isabelle and her squad of Guides headed off to ADSA for a bag pack they were looking for parents to help out. Reluctantly I got roped in. However it turned out to be a top afternoon of people watching. I spent the whole afternoon not only talking to people I knew, but seeing what goes into their shopping bags. Of course I realised that some items might be a bit embarrassing if I were to pack them. I'm sure the librarian wouldn't want me to ask her if i should put her Anusol in with her kippers, or ask the milkman if he wanted all 4 bottles of Gin putting in the same bag as his Smirnoff...I wouldn't need to as he could probably carry them in one hand like they do with the milk.(These are of course fictional scenarios in case anyone thought of offering the librarian a rubber ring next time they were in). Isabelle was trying to ignore me and sent me to another till, so I had thought of anding over a basket full of embarrassing items for her to pack, like lingerie, 10 packets of condoms and a box of feminine wipes. Anyway the day was a success with £1300 being raised and one or two eyebrows. I can't wait for the next one.

Now had we done it the following Saturday we would have been treated to a sighting of Gok Wan. Yes the celebrity flab fiddling dandy was in Dunbar's ADSA on his way back from Edinburgh. I hope so anyway, as it would just be awful if someone we knew appeared on that 'How to Look Fat Naked' programme....I think that's the name of it.
Picture: (Top) Isabelle packs another bag of shopping
(Bottom...as in the location of it not the content) Gok with the ADSA girls!

Pipe Band Day

Ever wondered what a swarm of giant wasps sounds like? Then head to Dunbar's Pipe Band day next year. Bus loads of pipers descend on Dunbar's Winterfield for a day of piping. The sound is really quite amazing. Amazingly bad but certainly one to remember. It's not that they can't play the pipes, but when you get 30 bands trying to play a different tune at the same time it sounds pretty bad. think a giant with a severe case of asthmah! Pipe Band Day is one of those things that has gone on for years and yet half the locals know nothing about it which is a shame. It is a good day out, with many people just enjoying the atmosphere, the beer tent, the bottles of Buckfast, the WKD, etc. There is also a spot of highland dancing for the kids and a new one on me...baton twirling! So if you fancy swinging your baton with a Gay Gordon then head this way!

Pictures:
Some Pipers had a crash landing on their magic carpet.
The pipers head into the arena for some ear drum piercing devil's music.
Some kid wearing some silly trousers.

Church of Scotland knees up!

A couple of weeks or so ago I got myself along to the Church of Scotland's National Gathering. Because everyone is so spread out thinly in Scotland someone had the idea of bringing them all together in a tented village. The highlight for me was seeing the Archbishop of York speak as he seems to be one of the few remaining Church of England clergy who has a believable faith and who seems to understand that there is a world beyond the 4 walls of his church/minster/palace! Through a distant relative (through marriage) I managed to get my account of the event on the Archbishop's website. Check it out for yourself

The report

It was a good event. It got a bit boring after a couple of hours, and the music was a bit tree hugging in style, and the venue was far to big. As someone said, 'it was like a size 8 foot in a size 10 shoe'. All that said, it was a unique opportunity to meet some of the Christians from around Scotland and actually support each other. When you go to these kind of gathering in England they are a bit competitive and you find that they are just full of people selling their wares...their latest book or resource that promises to change your church, another CD of 'Now That's What I Call Plinky Plonky Praise on those electric Piano's', 'Graham Kendrick: The Reggae years' and a new course that is slightly similar to the last one..in fact so close it's just an anagram of it 'Halpa'. Of course few of them deliver on their promises, and you come home fleeced of your pennies and annoyed at yourself for believing that some 'quick fix' answers to the problems of the church were out there. Without wanting to get into this idea of 'our church is better than your's' I shall look forward to the next Church of Scotland event and hope that it grows from strength to strength.

Permission to drown

The waters around Dunbar are safe again. After losing one lifeboat to the elements, the RNLI have forked out £1.1 million for a new boat. It arrived last week from Poole so it safe to get those air beds out and float out as far as you want into busy shipping lanes. More importantly the boat has arrived in time for Lifeboat Day later this summer. It's one of the town biggest events and well worth a visit to Dunbar.

Picture: Courtesy of
grianghraif (Flickr) Neville (the boat) arrives.

Ginger Nuts

Andrew has taken to tinting his hair with blonde highlights. However the operation went all so wrong the other day when first it went all blonde. In an attempt to reverse the damage, another dye was applied only to make things worse...it became ginger. Ginger hair is cruel anyway, but when it is not even natural then your in trouble. Fortunately he has had a 3rd colour added to heal the wounds....and a severe trim at the barbers for good measure. Now he is a different colour...not sure which but one that has got him noticed. All week parents and teachers have been coming up to me to pass comment his golden/ginger look. Today though some cheeky little tow rag came up and commented on my streaks...they are grey! Almost as cheeky as the little snotball who pointed out to his class mates my varicaeus veins

The Big One

I recently completed the Edinburgh to North Berwick road race. It's a 22 mile run, taking you along the coast through several of East Lothian's little towns. It's the longest run I have ever done in my life, and I was not sure if I would actually cover the distance. It all starts at the Meadowbank Stadium. Built in the 60's it is now due to be pulled down, but it resembles something from the Eastern Block with these grey concrete walls, rusty girders and rows of faded plastic seats. There was 137 starters and after a lap and 3/4 of the stadium we hit the streets via the marathon gates.
Each town has it's own features...Prestonpans the waft of chip shops and bakers and annoying youths shouting less than encouraging comments, Cockenzie...a power station and then you reach the posher parts like Gullane where Ronnie Corbett has a pad and where most of the land seems to be posh golf courses. A few supporters came out to cheer us on which actually helps. I was doing fine until 20 miles when I got to the top of a gradual but long hill, when cramp kicked in. Is this the 'wall' you hear marathon runners talk about? I don't know, but i had to work hard on not doing any permanent damage. Then the only woman I had seen in the race passed me, along with 3 Hunters Bog Trotters (It's the name of the club which is basically a load of posh blokes who fail miserably to be rebels in the white middle class world of running. They believe that drinking lots of beer, wearing brown vests and shouting HBT at every opportunity qualifies you for being the 'bad boys' of the running world. The arses of the running world perhaps!). Anyway 3 of them passed at 21 miles. Gutted! However, the end was in sight and somehow I made it with a an unbelievable 2 hours 31 minutes, 44 seconds. I had at best hoped for a 2:40 so I was very pleased. I also came 23rd! So I am hooked on the long distance stuff now....well whilst my body can cope that is.

Picture: Me at the finish. Emma reckons I lost 3 stone in that run alone!

Victory at last

I've been working with the PE teacher training up the school cross country team. Yesterday was the finals and we were the hosts so the heat was on. However our strict training regime seemed to pay off as we had runners win both the girls and boys race. In fact all our girls came in the top 20, and the lads top 21. This meant that we also scooped the team prize thanks to the efforts of the kids who really did try hard. I've now been roped in to coaching the athletics team. I don't actually know anything about coaching, so I will be blagging my way through it. I thought Fred Dibnah was the world number 1 steeplechaser! All that is needed is a bag full of motivational phrases....'beleive in yourself' 'that trophy has got your name written all over it'...you know the kind of stuff that you will find on some USA education website. Then sit them down and watch some motivational films like the Karate Kid, Fame (fame costs and here's where you start paying) and Cool Runnings. Well I suppose I had better go now and brush up on my javelin technique before someone loses an eye!

I Love Old York!

Aside to the luggage difficulties in York, the trip was a gooden! The main purpose for me going is to help the school out and to get to know the kids that I will be working with over the next few years. I did it 2 years ago and I enjoy the best response to my work with that group because they have got to see beyond the 'bloke from the church' veneer.

We stayed at the Race Course Centre, which is where the stable hands stay when it's the York races. We were sharing it with another primary school and a 6th form college from Colwyn Bay. How disappointed the 6th formers looked when they arrived for a wild living field trip, only to discover they were sharing a corridor with 30 primary school kids. No late night parties for them, or we'd set the kids on them.

I really like York. I've visited it for years for camp reunions and planning days, but normally I got no further than St Paul's Church or the Micklegate Bar. So it was good having the free benefits of open top tours, guided walks, a visit to every museum and even Castle Howard (quite boring really...wow it's a big house showing off the wealth of local posh people who exploited the poor...are we supposed to be impressed?). The downside was having to shepherd 30 kids around with me. Also the tedious routine of having to go around gift shops looking at crap replica Viking coins and genuine Roman snowstorms and pencil cases. I did get a nice surprise in Jorvik, the Viking Centre. My photo taken 2 years ago, is up on the wall as part of the display boards. Another part of the entertainment was a visit form one of those Viking reinactment people. 'Danelaw Dave' lives and breathes the Viking life and scared the pants off the kids. He was good but I wish he would use the toilet and not crap out of the window on to the streets below!

I know a lot of people in York and it was inevitable that I would see one of them. Rob & Sarah met up with us at the bowling, but apart from that I didn't see anyone until the last hour of the trip where I saw Beth Tew (Criccieth Camps) on the York Eye. Sadly we were just getting on and had to rush off afterwards to get the train so I didn't have chance to chat. Tom our bus driver was up for an award for best ambassador for the city. If you get a chance to visit then I'd recommend the open top tour bus as a way of understanding the history and geography and social background to York. we even got to see the York Ness Monster!

Carrying a lot of baggage

I'm just back from the Primary 5 week in York. 30 kids and a load of staff jumped on the 9.30am train to York and spent 4 days there sight seeing. More on that in later blogs perhaps. Anyway, there's one thing that seems to have defined this trip for me, and that is luggage.
Being the only bloke in the team, it was left to me to load the train with all 33 suitcases. Getting them on is ok, but getting them off when the train is itching to get on its way to London is slightly more stressful. The train pulls up and its a case of chucking the bags off as quick as possible. With seconds to spare it was all off, but it never crossed my mind that other people might have put their luggage in there with ours too. It was only when an irate American chap retrieved his bag from the platform that I realised trouble was ahead! The kids all lined up, picked up their bags, and yet somehow there was still a bag spare! Oh dear someone was going to be arriving in London with slightly less luggage than they set off with.

That was the first luggage incident. The second was outside the Minster in York. The climb up the 275 Minster steps was made
easier by leaving our rucksacks with 2 of the teachers. However this put temptation in the way of the local crooks, and one of them sneaked up on his bike and pinched a bag, emptied out the money and put it back and swapped it for another. It was like a scene form Oliver as 3 kids got their cash nicked, before some good samaritan intervened. The culprit is locally known as Nigel Flynn...so if you are ever in York and near the Minster and bump into a bloke called Nigel...check your wallet.

That night we were on a guided tour around York and some of the group needed a pee. I pointed them in the direction of some bushes, only to discover that there was a rucksack lying amongst them. I jumped in and grabbed it and hoped it might be the missing bag. After talking to colleagues, we opened it up only to discover it was full of sheets, a towel and some other bits that clearly belonged to one of York's vagrant community. Realising our mistake we went back to try and dispose o fit quietly. Unfortunately a large crowd of tourists had gathered, the alarm of the solicitors( whose gardens the bushes lay) had gone off and so we just had to dump it and run. How ironic it would have been if that was Nigel's bag!

The final incident was getting on the train back. On arrival at the platform, the guard tells me that the luggage needs to go in Coach 'F'. 'What end is that on then?' I ask. "Well it depends on what end First Class is...either the front or the back. 'F' is at the opposite end to 1st" replied JO.B.Sworth of National Express Trains. Sure enough as the laws of Murphy go, we were stood on the platform with all the cases, and First Class rolls up along side us. It was a mad dash to get them from one end to the other, but with the help of some locals (not Nigel) we got them in on time and delivered safely back to Dunbar where the guards were very helpful...and the fact the train was running late had nothing to do with their enthusiasm!

Young Guns

It was the Dunbar 10km race on Saturday and somehow Andrew managed to get the responsibility of firing the starting gun. It was just like being back in Manchester. Young kids waving guns in the air and police lining the streets. Anyway the race went well from my point of view. I got a personal best of 38:04 and a can of Belhaven Best for my efforts. The race is sponsored by the local brewery so all runners get a can of beer. You can't complain at that!

Geeks Galore!

Over the holidays we ventured out to the big smoke of Edinburgh for the annual Science Festival. It was Emma's idea and I have to say I was doubtful about it. Why would spending a day learning about science be interesting? Anyway to my surprise it was all very interesting. Loads of robots, experiments, bangs, etc....and nerds! You see the festival is a showcase for how good the universities are, and they roll out their students to run the festival. Most were pretty good at doing their bit, but be honest, most of us associate science with geeky blokes and women. There were plenty of them with no skills in dealing with kids at all. Not that Andrew played on that when he went in the dark room for the 4th time (your'e only supposed to go once). The geeks couldn't contain him. But it wasn't just the students who were like that. Loads of boffin brain kids and dads too. If I was a bully I reckon I could have made a fortune nicking 50p from them. Anyway, hats off to them, they kept our 3 entertained for 6 hours. Whether it will make them interested in science is yet to be discovered...let me think..."Andrew do you want to play footy with all your mates, or do you want to go and operate lego robots with Sebastian and Rupert?"

IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2008

Had a great day out on Sunday watching the worlds top flight athletes taking part in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. As a runner it is quite inspiring rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. Our first encounter was the Irish legend, Sonia O Sullivan. She's the coach of the Australian women's team and there she was in front of us on the phone. We took position next to the junction of the small and big loop on the course. This meant we saw them running down hill as well as on the flat. 20,000 others were there and the races began. First the Juniors (Under 20's) and then the Seniors. We saw them all and half the fun was guessing the nation from their running style or outfits. For example several Africans went bare footed, the Egyptian girl went fully covered, and the Congolese woman just took her time (despite being lapped) and plodded in at 40 minutes. Emma can run faster than her and if her parents were from the Congo then things could have been so different! Also some amusing names...topped only by Gaylord Scilly (the sole Sechelles athlete).I have put a few of my favourite shots on here, but I have opened a Flickr account for the rest if you want to have a look.

Here's all the other pictures or see them as a
slideshow on Youtube

You little minx!

WARNING!!! NATURE FREAK IS HERE AGAIN.

My kids have now started calling me a nature freak. I can't help but notice...and comment on wild things that I stumble across. Living in East Lothian just means it happens a lot. Well the parental influence is rubbing off on to them. We were down at Hailles Castle having a game of hide and seek. i was on so I took the opportunity whilst counting to keep my eye on a reed warbler that was hopping around the river. Then I heard the kids shouting me over...they had seen something by the river. Sure enough the junior nature freaks had a find! it was a mink by the riverside. I was hoping it might have been an otter as they are supposed to be on that stretch of river, but it was smaller and black. Definately a mink and we watched it for ages until we realised Stuart was still hiding. It might have looked like a cuddly little creature, but they are partial to a meal of water vole or other animals that are in decline. This one was after a wren that was nesting near the reeds. They need trapping really but I don't fancy giving it a go. I remember all too well the boy in the next bed to me in hospital whose pet ferret had bitten his nose off (apart from the little bit of bone they were graphing skin to).

So if you fancy a new fur coat or a pair of slippers, just head down to the banks of the Tyne near East Linton and there is a 'do it yourself' kit waiting to be caught. Photo: Look closely at the crack in the log and you should be able to see the little devil

Sir Ronald Pechell BT RIP

The damage to the lifeboat was worse than they thought. It looks like the boat is going to be scrapped. What's more undignified for it, is that it is being sent to Hartlepool to be stripped down. Imagine that, being hung up, stripped down with a hole in your bottom in the docks of Hartlepool!

Avoid drowning for a few weeks!

The was a violent storm on Friday night. I knew it was bad when we saw our bench flying across the garden. A northern wind brought with it stormy seas and unfortunately Dunbar's lifeboat came loose from it's moorings and ended up on the rocks, which in turn put a great big hole in the £1.5 million pound vessel. Ouch! So if you are up in Dunbar and decide to go for a swim or take your air bed out for a paddle then remember there is now no boat available to rescue you. Dunbar Lifeboat

I should also add to that list kite buggying. The other week i was doing some work on the roof of Scripture Unions camp down in North Berwick when I saw this bloke kite surfer in the sea. He looked like he was having trouble but then most kite surfers seem to spend more time trying to get it up than actually surfing. I spoke to a colleague and we decided that he was ok and probably would not appreciate us calling for help, so I went home. Later that day the BBC news caught my eye! Oops! it appears that his surf board was actually a buggy that had blown up in the air into the sea. A major search and rescue operation got under way including the helicopter. It was just like those adverts they use to have for the coastguard

Easter

A busy week in Dunbar has just passed. It was Holy Week and proceedings started last week with the churches Palm Sunday procession and Passion Play. We had a theatre group, the Covenant Players, in to perform in the local park. Despite it being very cold, we had a good crowd and the churches were sucessfull in reminding everyone what Easter is all about. There is a Dunbar tradition emerging of using the pipe band for every occasion. I am sure if Jesus was arriving in Dunbar for the passover on his donkey, then a pipe band would have been ahead of him. It worked well for us (photo).

All week I have been working with the schools. I was doing assemblies in Dunbar Grammar School on Easter. I talked about George Cadbury who demonstrated great kindness to his staff at Bournville because his Christian faith influenced his outlook on life..and then of course I talked about God's act of kindness shown through Christ. i have also been pulled out doing the Easter services for Dunbar Primary School where I was working with 2 year groups making films to be shown in the services. P5's picked up on this kindness theme and we filmed them telling everyone about how kind they are! The P7's were looking at the Easter story and I got them to think about characters who are either mentioned in the bible, or who we can speculate would have been there, or would be there in a modern setting. We then interviewed them with a news crew and created our very own passion plays (or films). We had interviews with the executioner, palm tree selling woman (Isabelle), Mary, security guards, forensic experts and even Jeremy Clarkson! I think those involved now understand the story and the people in it more. I was also pleased with the turn out of parents at the services. As one teacher said about a kid, 'his mum turned up for the church service, which is more than I can say for the parents evening.'

Yesterday we celebrated Easter on the beach at 8 a.m. The service is only 20 minutes long but for me is all about quality not quantity. As so much of Jesus' life revolved around being on the coast it just adds to the occasion being on a beach to reflect on his life. The fact it is almost freezing and the wind chill makes it even colder does not take away from the occasion. That said the the croissants and coffee served afterwards are quite welcome.

Finally we had all Emma's family around for the day, including Ethan, the latest arrival who was born on Friday to Mary and Jamie. The children were almost as interested in him as they were with Claire's new iphone.

Easter

On the road

The cross country season is behind us for another year and now our running races hit the roads again. The first one was the Lasswade 10 miler. This was a good run as it takes you down a valley and then back up again...so in other words it's hilly! Nevertheless I dug in and got a personal best of 65 minutes for that distance. The highlight however had to be the post race buffet. The fine ladies of Lasswade had been very busy with their home baking and trays upon trays of millionaire shortbread kept coming out. But even better than that was the fact that the race was sponsored by a lunch box favourite Tunnock's Caramel Wafers
, which explained why they were giving away giant sized ones by the box load. Keep the medals...just bring on the goodies! The only down side to the day was my kit bag got lost in transit for half an hour, so I was left stood around in the freezing conditions getting very cold in my vest and shorts. There was only one thing for it...have another Tunnock's!
The picture is of me at the finish with those not very thermal shorts and vest on.

Nice Guy Eddie!

I've been hanging out with the Royal's again. As if joining Prince Andrew for his garden party at Holyrood last summer wasn't enough, his brother Edward came to see where we stay. I had just nipped out for a pie at Smith's the Bakers when I noticed a crowd gathering in the John Muir Birthplace Museum next door. The police presence told me that they were not there for the scotch pies and cream doughnuts but instead for the Royal visitor. It seems Prince Edward was on his way to the borders (a region next to England & Scotland...not a book shop with a Starbucks in it) and felt fit to pop in and check out the museum. He just happened to be coming out as I was on the hunt for my dinner. I gave him a little wave to see him off, and who knows when I will bump into another. His mum is supposed to be around these parts in the summer, and the last time I saw her was when she opened G-Mex in Manchester in 1986.

Let the challenge...begin!

I think I vaguely remember Isabelle giving me some application forms to sign. She had decided to apply to go on the kids show Raven. Raven is a little man...perhaps not much bigger than a raven...who wields a huge staff that he sticks in the ground and all sorts of magical things happen. He has a team of warriors (children) who have numerous challenges to do including fighting off demons. So with a good Christian ethos to the show I was quite happy for Isabelle to apply!

The next thing we know is she's called up to Glasgow to the BBC for an audition with 80 other kids from Scotland. But there lies the challenge....getting to Glasgow for 6pm on a Friday afternoon when there is also an X Factor gig on. Unfortunately for her, Emma had to drive as I was working. 3 hours later she arrived. For most of the normally 1 hour journey she was in first gear. For the next warrior challenge she had to find something to eat. In the city that probably has the highest population anywhere in the world for fast food, chip eating fatties, and where the production of cholesterol is the main industry, you'd have thought there would be somewhere open. But for some reason the BBC's state of the art facility is in the middle of empty dockland...the sort of backdrop you would expect to see on Taggart. The only food place open was some hotel where a bowl of soup, some chips and a couple of cokes set them back £20!

Anyway the audition was ok it is hard to know what they are looking for. She seemed to enjoy the few activities they did, but most of the day seemed to have been spent waiting around with some whacky kids presenters! Whoop whoop...yeah...cool...fab...types. No John Noakes these days!