tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188950202024-03-13T17:46:39.399+00:00Wood Street WorldNick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-71379462761653795312007-03-18T18:53:00.000+00:002007-03-18T19:42:30.141+00:00Good times!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VOZcWPSb-j4/Rf2VMko0piI/AAAAAAAAAAM/7a46-gl88ww/s1600-h/Fletchers.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VOZcWPSb-j4/Rf2VMko0piI/AAAAAAAAAAM/7a46-gl88ww/s320/Fletchers.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043351200950691362" /></a><br />I just had the best weekend! <br /><br />Well, it didn't start off too great - Wood St. Man and I had an argument on Friday night (when we were just married we dubbed Friday night as Fight Night! - although we are not re-inaugurating it), also Wood St. Man made dinner (bless him) but used some cous cous that had been in the fridge for a fortnight - cue heaving at 2.30am Saturday morning. <br /><br />OK, so the start wasn't the best, but by Saturday morning I felt a lot better if not 100% and then went wedding dress shopping with my lovely pal. It was a very productive trip and we came away with a purchase. All I can say is that her <a href="http://www.learningtowalk.blogs.com/">husband to be </a>is a very, very lucky man! I even felt a bit teary later that evening when I thought about how beautiful she looked! My next task is to help organise her hen night - oh the possibilities!<br /><br />After that we went for lunch in John Lewis (fancy!), but it was remarkably cheap and I enjoy an exceedingly yummy, freshly made spinach and ricotta crepe.<br /><br />After that I checked into the <a href="http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/glwcr;jsessionid=JXO1CMHIKZPT0CTGWAISJ0QKM0YBEIY4?_requestid=855525">Crowne Plaza </a>- well what else would you do? The parents of another lovely friend treated us to a night at the Plaza and tickets to the <a href="http://www.ronaldmcdonaldhouse.net/">Ronald McDonald House Ball </a>with them, my pal, her boyfriend and 4 other friends. Oooh it was great! Possibly in my top 10 nights out ever! We got lovely Sanctuary gift bags, champers, as much booze as our table could hold and a beautiful 4 course meal. The only blip was that the celebrity compere/MC was rather drunk, offensive and arrogant. I started thinking about verses from Proverbs about God opposing the proud and then I remembered another verse about specs and logs.<br /><br />Anyway, there were 2 bands. Two! For a dance-aholic like me I almost reached transendance. Also Wood Street Man, being a massive blues fan, was not off the dance floor (a very rare occurrence) for the full set from midnight till 2am. We didn't reach our room till after 3am. I love late nights and mad parties!<br /><br />It was also amazing to see how the 'other half' live. But then most of the world would see me as being well and truly part of the other half so I guess my perceptions are relative. There was a raffle, where tickets were £10 and a silent auction where corporate hospitality for 10 at Hampden and Wimbledon were on offer and a football shirt signed by Raul, Zidane and Beckham went for over 3 grand. I guess that is how you raise big money for charity in a very short space of time.<br /><br />I was also brill to reconnect with one of my dearest friends. This year I made a loose resolution to see more of my non-church friends and so far I haven't been doing too well. I am now spurred on to being a lot more intentional about this. Aside from just loving spending time with people I love, we need these guys on <a href="http://alpha.org/default.asp">Alpha</a>!<br /><br />In the morning we had the breakfast of champions at the buffet and skidaddled over to see my mum. She even gave us one of her chocolates. Any my lovely husband brought me a soft boiled egg and soldiers as I typed this. Ahhh. <br /><br />Thank you God for your mercies, big and small. <br /><br /><em>Blessed be the name of the Lord when the sun's shining down on me when the world's all as it should be, blessed be your name.<br />And blessed be Your name when the road's marked with suffering, when there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your name.</em>Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-46593982067386976192007-02-26T21:20:00.000+00:002007-02-26T21:34:14.996+00:00Where is your happy place?<a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/329295074_425af0f62a_m.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/329295074_425af0f62a_m.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />When the world becomes too dark and wearisome for me, there is a place of peace and repose unlike no other, a place where goodness and beauty reign and to which I escape to find my suppressed inner domestic-goddess. That place is......<a href="http://www.cupcakeblog.com/">Cupcake Bakeshop</a>!!! <br /><br />If even that place seems a bit too complex (the Gogi berry and pink Himalayan Rock Salt cup cakes were a bit much even for me), then my default happy place is none other than <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com">Martha Stewart</a>.<br /><br />Oh yeah, I still know how to have fun!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-23036303093234869532007-02-10T18:31:00.000+00:002007-02-10T19:52:01.564+00:00Left or Right?<a href="http://www.popmatters.com/images/news_art/b/bobby-poster3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.popmatters.com/images/news_art/b/bobby-poster3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Wood Street Girl here. We saw the film 'Bobby' last night, a fictional account of the assasination of Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. It was great, fantastic ensemble cast and very informative of the hot topics in the US back then in the dark days of the Vietnam conflict. The stellar ensemble cast was a wee bit too much at times (almost every scene had a Hollywood veteran) but really it was great. Obviously it was an excellent bit of propaganda for the Democrat party, which will doubtless get all those right of centre wound up, but it really challenged me on my views of the political scene in the US and more generally.<br /><br />At present the Republicans market themselves as the no-brainer vote for Christians - anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia, anti civil unions, pro Christian stuff generally etc. And the Democrats are, largely, pro this stuff . Now the Democrats on the other hand are pro more 'social programmes' covering employment/unemployment, health and the environment which is total anathema to the Republicans who belive a vote for bigger government is akin to voting for the Devil. However I find the view that a vote for the Republicans is a vote for God is abhorrent. Having spoken to some hard core Republicans I find their 'take care of your own' attitude is compassionless and unreflective of the selflessness of Christ. Here we get into lots of issues about the interpretation of Christianity in a very individualistic society, which is better left to the theologians. But I hope you see what I'm getting at.<br /><br />Having studied economics I have to agree however, government intervention should be limited, broadly, to the areas where the market fails - property rights, environment issues and other negative externalities. Personally I am in favour of the state providing universal education for lots of obvious and not so obvious reasons. Universal health care?, Well I really think it could be provided more satisfactorily if those who work were to pay a stand alone health care premium of sorts and I would definitely overhaul the unemployment benefit system to make it more condusive to getting people back to work. The 'benefit mentality' of Scotland makes this a particular bug bear (also being battered with a hard core work ethic by my parents probably has contributed also). But more recently I was convicted while reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians - that we as Christians shouldn't be a burden and should work hard to support ourselves. What do others in the blogosphere think? Feel free to wade in and tell me I'm wrong, I'm just putting down my initial thoughts on the matter.<br /><br />Having said all that I am a gut Democrat (social justice, overseas development, generally more compasionate), although I simply could never vote for them as they are pro-abortion etc. Although I am not eligible to vote in an American election (which makes this a bit of a hypothetical argument) this really bothers me: as Christians are we stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to politics? Are we happy to compromise our spiritual values in some way when we vote? Should we forego our democratic right to vote? I always vote (except once! aargh I didn't register in enough time in Norwich!), and I see it very much as voting for the democratic process as nailing my political colours to the mast. Men and women also died so I could vote and my vote is very much in appreciation of their sacrifice.<br /><br />In short I am confused and interested in your views. Comment away!<br /><br />Interesting fact about me: the reccommended purchases that Amazon suggest based on my wish list (seriously, if you don't have one, you should) tells me that I should get Richard Dawkins 'God Delusion'. Is there a subversive element to Amazon who having seen that I have Andy Hunter and Dave Crowder CDs on my list, and think I need re-educated? This surveillance society we're in may be tipping over the edge!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-45792580113932716222007-01-03T19:53:00.000+00:002007-01-03T19:57:07.700+00:00Reflecting on ChristmasI know that we are now through the Christmas period, but if you like to reflect like I do, then this is definitely worth a read: <a href="http://butterhook.blogspot.com/">A Christmas Observation</a>Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-18034680405654934982007-01-01T19:39:00.000+00:002007-01-02T12:13:36.508+00:00New Year in the Peak District<div><embed src="http://widget-ac.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bl&il=1&channel=144115188077866412&site=widget-ac.slide.com" width="400" height="300" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?id=144115188077866412&cy=bl&tt=0&at=0&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ac.slide.com/p1/144115188077866412/bl_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?id=144115188077866412&cy=bl&tt=0&at=0&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ac.slide.com/p2/144115188077866412/bl_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div><br /><br />Woodstreetgirl and I just spent 2 days with great friends in <a href="http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=405000.866547735&Y=375000.765156&width=700&height=400&gride=405780.866547735&gridn=373567.765156&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&keepicon=true&zm=1&scale=500000">Buxton</a>. What a great time of eating, drinking and being merry! We even managed on New Years Eve to be energetic and go on a 6 mile walk - we needed to as Dennistoun's answer to Martha Stewart had been baking especially for the trip and, well, it was New Year after all!<br /><br />Check out the video of woodstreetgirl navigating dangerous waters while woodstreetman (obviously feeling very chivalrous) stands back to record in case there is any falling in ;-)Even the swan thought it was worth watching!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2YyhiH_N6jY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2YyhiH_N6jY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/">Peak District </a>is such a beautiful place, and may not be as dramatic as the highlands, but from what little I experienced, it seems just as interesting in its own way.<br /><br />A special hello to those of you that we spent this special time with, it was great to see you all and hope we can repeat again soon - where do we go next after Edinburgh, the Lake District and now Buxton?!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-4858711618377662302006-12-28T17:12:00.000+00:002006-12-28T17:44:16.078+00:00Christmas musings<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/images/173_full/mark01.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/images/173_full/mark01.jpg" border="0" /></a> Just wanted to note down a few of my (Wood St. Girl's) musings over the the Chrissie period: <div><br /><div></div><div>1) I really like <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/">Stricly come Dancing </a>- I only watched the final and the Christmas special, but it was really good. The only thing I didn't like was Bruce Forsyth's smutty introductions of the dancers - so cheap. What touched me in particular was when the intense sensuality of the dances contasted with the few seconds of film where Mark Ramprakash celebrated with his wife after winning. There was such open hearted love and intimacy in those few frames that the hip thrusting, bum wiggling dances didn't get close to.</div><br /><div></div><div>2) I got the Take That album for Christmas and Wood Street Man got a laser guided jigsaw - bring on the power tools and cheesy pop, we're set! I also got series 3 and 4 of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks/">Spooks</a>...form an orderly queue!</div><br /><div></div><div>3) I love being on holiday - today was my first proper sleep in and I feel great. My dear husband however, had 10 days off before i went off on holiday and therefore is past the chilling out phase of holiday and now wants to be productive - he has written a colour-coded priortised list which is now on our google homepage. When I consider the time we have available to do all the painting, shopping, curtain making and cleaning he has listed I think today will be my first and only sleep in. (Note to self: remember to check answer machine at work tomorrow...!)</div><br /><div></div><div>4) We're off to the Peak District to spend new year with my fabulous friends what I love. I met these guys in Norwich when I studied at my beloved <a href="http://www1.uea.ac.uk/cm/Home">UEA</a>, which in my humble opinion is the best place in the world. Ya boo sucks to anyone who doesn't agree. The hard part for me when meeting up with my uni pals is that they all are doing amazingly well in their careers and climbing the greasy pole with ferocious speed while enjoying themselves magnificently. Up until fairly recently this is what I thought would be doing right now, and although my life is wonderful, spending time with these guys does make me want to get out there and kick the tyres. Is there a life out there for me that's more MI5 than 9 till 5? I hope so.</div></div>Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1166729073225877152006-12-21T19:24:00.000+00:002006-12-21T19:30:13.886+00:00Recent trip to Oban<embed name="flashticker" align="middle" src="http://widget-30.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" width="400" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bl&il=1&channel=144115188077472304&site=widget-30.slide.com"></embed> <div style="WIDTH: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?id=144115188077472304&cy=bl&amp;tt=0&at=0&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-30.slide.com/p1/144115188077472304/bl_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?id=144115188077472304&cy=bl&amp;tt=0&at=0&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-30.slide.com/p2/144115188077472304/bl_t000_v000_a000_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" /></a></div><br /><p> </p><p>Thought you may want to see some photos of our recent (short) holiday in Oban. These are all from a day trip to the Islands of Seil and Luing, just a short drive south of where we were staying in a caravan kindly borrowed from our friends in housegroup.</p>Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1166464937007492902006-12-18T17:56:00.000+00:002006-12-18T18:07:16.946+00:00If you're going to do something...I was givin' <a href="http://www.stsilas.org.uk/">St Silas </a>big love last night! Their annual carol service was stunning. Dark sanctuary, professionally lit stage, smoke machine, 3 screen display - yes it looked like a proper theater/cinema. The singing was good, the procedings unpretentious, relevant, no in-jokes, good nod to tradition, all cheesey Christianness kicked out the door and a slick professional show presented. And the techie guys did magnificently (we're talking video/CD/Powerpoint all going simulataneously on 3 screens without flaw or failure for an hour and a half) - rah rah the Anglicans in the West! I was not embaressed once (which I was worried about as <a href="http://www.stsilas.org.uk/">my mate</a> managed to get 10 [well I counted 11] of his young professional unchurched friends along)!<br />Whether you were protestant, catholic, non-beliver, traditional or a raving charismatic the producers were right on the mark.<br />Above that the Christmas message was set out clearly and unashamedly - but relevantly, humbly, professionally and simply. There was extensive coverage of the prophetic passages that point to Jesus, which was good and man, I loved the way the powerpoint was done…it was just so cool and understated. <a href="http://www.gadgetvicar.typepad.com/">Gadget Vicar </a>also did a great job with a strong emphasis on being a seeker and going to Alpha.<br />For me, the best thing, and this might sound dreadful, is that I didn't feel embarassed by anything that went on. The person that organised it deserves a medal, or a payrise, or something.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1166464327512544742006-12-18T17:48:00.000+00:002006-12-18T17:52:07.536+00:00Off with the oldLast week was the monthly 'Daughters of Destiny' meeting at QP, and it was, as ever, awesome. I am pretty evangelical about this group and have got 3 of my pals from different churches coming along pretty regularly. DoD (as it is affectionately known) is for 18-35 year old women and is what I would term a charismatic-prophetic-Spirit-led discipleship group, although my experience of that kind of thing is pretty narrow. All the serious theologians will be loving that hypenated term! One of the main things that makes these meetings special is that there is particular emphasis on ministry - and no-one escapes - the leadership appear fully committed to making sure that everyone who attends is prayed with and ministered to - sitting passively is not an option. This also makes it a bit scary, as some of the women have amazing prophetic gifts and an uncanny ability to put their finger exactly on where you are in life at that particular moment. I'm talking hotline to God stuff. This is so encouraging and sometimes a bit uncomfortable if I am having an attitude problem.<br /><br />Before Thursday however, I'd never seen manky old bras and pants being put on a cross before, but I have now! The speaker for the evening was Sandra King who works with Clive Corfield at Sovereign Ministries. She was speaking on Esther and how she prepared for meeting the King with baths and beauty treatments for 6 months. The focus was particulaly (well what I took from it) on bathing, and when we get into a bath, we don't seem to mind taking off our clothes, but quite often we take off our undies as fast as possible without looking at them and jump into the water; sometimes we can even forget to take them off and put a foot in the water before removing them. The spiritual parallel is that we have grubby layers under us that we can forget to take off when we come into God's presence, layers that we put on each day without thinking about and which we can keep putting on for years because no-one sees them but us. Sandra encouraged us to take off these grotty layers, layers of self-pity, grief, hurt etc. and lay them down at the cross - symbolised by her hanging her own grotty bras and pants on the cross. It was piercingly effectively and what followed was an outpouring of confession, repentence, pain, loss and hurt (which my colleague and I refer to as a snotfest) with bodies strewn on the floor, some overwhelmed by their pain, others by God's Spirit. Anyway, business was done with God and wholesale healing received. I've not hard-core cried at a DoD meeting for a while now, which I think is a good thing, but sometimes God can catch you unawares. <br />I love meetings that leave you with a deposit of their message that lasts all month, and that was one of them. Bring it on God.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1166030179839924112006-12-13T17:03:00.000+00:002006-12-14T19:32:27.513+00:0010 things I'll never doOk, I'll head the Wood St. World charge, following in the steps of mightly bloggers such as <a href="http://www.helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com/">Lynn </a>and <a href="http://learningtowalk.blogs.com/">Nick</a>....<br /><br />1. Drink tea with milk<br />2. Bungee jump<br />3. Train to be an accountant<br />4. Buy Nestle<br />5. Be a teen pop sensation<br />6. See a baby minature donkey (ask Wood St. man!)<br />7. Watch a party political broadcast<br />8. Streak at an ICC football match (despite Sean and Dougie's allegations)<br />9. Not dance at a disco<br />10. Do one of these lists again!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1160826005772786092006-10-14T11:05:00.000+00:002006-10-22T14:38:41.676+00:00Fight or Flight?Hey all, Wood Street Girl here, I am frustrated.....recently I had to have my pals fill in a leadership potential form for me and one of the questions was 'does she accept the status quo?'. This question kind of bothered me as I read the form for myself, as a) I wasn't sure if I really understood what this meant, and b) I knew I was the kind of person who didn't like to rock the boat. I was brought up very much not to question authority over me and rather to leave the job/club/school musical production (serioulsy) than to try and change the system or bad leadership. It is very much ingrained in my perceptions that people who question why things are done a certain way are trouble makers, a bit above themselves and they should just keep their mouths shut and accept their situation, until they are the 'boss'. When I see people challenging the status quo appropriately and effectivley however, I find it quite inspirational and impacting.<br /><br />As a result of not developing the skill of questioning the 'boss' and trying to get a system that is bigger than me to change, I really don't know how how to to handle situations/people that I want/need to challenge. I just get angry, sit in my bedroom, stare at my mirror and yell my frustrations at the person I should be talking to face to face. Due to not knowing how to handle these situations, when forced to deal with them, I either operate at one side of the pendulum swing or the other i.e. I am either too wimpy or too aggressive.<br /><br />Honestly, I sometimes wish God would save me for myself. I <em>need</em> to change,<em> </em>I <em>want</em> change, but I don't know how, and now I fear I have neglected a situation too long, hoping someone else will say something and effect positive change. I fear treading on people's toes, of going over their heads, of undermining their authority, of their not wanting to be my friend anymore. Honestly, I need to grow up. <br /><br />Prayer is the answer, as it can change not only me, but everything in this situation. Lord you are in control....please help me to let You be the boss.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1156674583254306012006-08-27T10:16:00.000+00:002006-09-08T23:04:46.203+00:00Learning to LoseI hate losing. We lost our football match yesterday and I intensely disliked the experience. When I was a young child, when things did not go my way I would throw a massive tantrum. I remember playing my brother at tennis and having a mighty strop when he won - sometimes even when he won just a single point! John MacEnroe had nothing on me :-)<br /><br />I remember on holiday amidst one of these tennis strop incidents my Mum said that it was more important playing than winning - I'm not sure if I have ever accepted that reasoning, in fact for a while I really felt that this advice has caused me to lose my competitive instincts, although I see it a little differently now. When I went to America to sell books I learned the positive side of losing. 90% of people would not buy books from me, but the other 10% who did helped me to make quite a bit of money. I learned that every 'no' brought me closer to a 'yes'. I would review each presentation for ways to improve the next time (although sometime I over analyse way too much which is counter productive - but more of that another time).<br /><br />Set backs, I believe can contain many great lessons - they show up weaknesses to strengthen; things to do differently and provide motivation to do better next time. Defeat also helps with something I constantly need to work on - humility.<br /><br />My desire to win came from a belief that I have to be the best at everything I do. I do not think this is bad in itself, but only when it is combined with the realisation and acceptance that I still have a long way to go to be better does it become a positive motivator. I realise more and more (although slowly) as I get older how much I need to improve in all aspects of my life - particularly how I deal with set backs and disappointments when things do not go my way. After all, who wants a 32 year old throwing a strop on a football pitch anyway!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1156268107046294992006-08-22T17:28:00.000+00:002006-09-01T09:31:00.846+00:00Strangely satisfying................In 101 things to do before you die, this should definitely be at least in your top ten!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf">http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf</a><br /><br />Check out this link and tell us one word or phrase that describes your experience.......<br /><br />Mine is: "Strangely satisfying and remarkably relieves stress!"Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1156189743557294712006-08-21T18:20:00.000+00:002006-09-04T20:25:17.053+00:00Your starter for ten...<a href="http://www.hignfy.net/germainegreer.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.hignfy.net/germainegreer.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Gosh, Wood Street Girl here, and this is my first post and first foray into sharing my innermost thoughts with the masses. I notice that people who blog regularly rant, question, laugh at themselves, laugh at others, comment and observe in turn. Where should I start? One big question I have been mulling over for the past few months is whether feminism has become an opiate of western womanhood, which tends to wear off when women realise they cannot 'have it all' and in fact, must make a choice between the killer career and a family. I don't mean to imply that opting for one precludes the other, but instead that woman must accept that the lesser priority will suffer (sometimes significantly). More to come on this one, but if I ever meet Germaine Greer I have some issues to resolve.<br /><br />A more recent question is, do people regret having children? even a bit? A blog I follow wrote with a degree of shock, that today his eldest started high school and something to the effect of, as a parent, 'doesn't time fly when you were having fun'. Is having kids so great? As a childless woman, from the outside looking in it, life with children seems to go in cycles; ecstacy and joy seem to turn to frustration and personal limitation not just within single days but across seasons in a parent's life. Is what children bring worth what you have to give up? And what gives adults confidence they will be good parents? In response to the rather pathetic view that people who choose not to have kids are selfish, I heard a woman say 'I'd rather be called selfish than a bad mother'. Is that just a clever response to a narrow minded opinion or do young (and not so young) women today really doubt their ability to parent?<br /><br />I read a commentary on a book written about a woman who genuinely regrets having her kids. In fact the book was written by a single (or at least childless) woman, and was simply the product of her imagination, however she was flooded with letters from women who emphathized with the sentiments of the book. Wow. Do women really feel this way? If so, why? Thoughts please.<br /><br />For myself, God willing, a family is definitely on the agenda for me (and Wood Street Man), as some knawing voice says that children are not just a way to make me feel loved and needed, but will in time lead to them having happy, fulfilling and productive lives. But is this feeling a biological trick to keep us reproducing? Who knows, and in a sense who cares, because since God first said 'be fruitful and multiply' I don't remember Him changing his mind.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1156017814512318482006-08-19T19:38:00.000+00:002006-08-19T20:03:34.553+00:00Kicking off the new season<a href="http://www.everbe.com/Products/Sports/soccer%20ball.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.everbe.com/Products/Sports/soccer%20ball.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I played my first competitive football for a number of months today in a friendly for ICC against another first division side, Avendale. Throughout the summer I have struggled with a back problem, but today after 5-6 weeks of chiropractor help and a lot of stretching exercises for my hamstrings, I made it through 45 minutes without any problems whatsoever. In fact I would go as far as to say I am fitter than I have been for the last two years.<br /><br />I get a lot of stick from the boys for being 32 when most of them are early to mid twenties. I hope to prove to them that I can still cut it and am adamant that I can even be fitter than most of them.<br /><br />As a team we are going to be truly challenged this year after winning the league and cup double last season. A few of the teams are beginning to take training as seriously as we have for the past two years and have enlarged their squads too. We are now the team to beat and others will raise their game when they play us. Probably the biggest challenge we will face is that if we continue to be succesful we can easily get arrogant and then lose respect from other teams. I hope we can remain humble and respectful of other teams that we play. It may however be a bit early to think about that as we have not played all the other teams yet and do not know what they have been doing to strengthen and improve themselves over the summer. All we can do is keep working hard to improve and do our very best in every game, leaving the rest up to God.<br /><br />I'm so thankful for the football team, it is such a blessing - not least keeping me physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually fit. Thank you Lord that you have brought me to this place with this group of people at this time in my life.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1155916882521961512006-08-18T15:21:00.000+00:002006-08-24T22:10:41.096+00:00Humilty or Self-belittlement?<a href="http://www.wemadeoutinatreeandthisoldguysatandwatchedus.com/wp-content/a_w_sign.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.wemadeoutinatreeandthisoldguysatandwatchedus.com/wp-content/a_w_sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Did you ever have one of those moments that alters the direction of your life? I think I just had one yesterday. Having been recently challenged by Lynn <a href="http://www.helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com">http://www.helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com</a> about being stuck in May :-) I wanted to share it with you.<br /><br />Recently I have been reading 'Every Day with Jesus' a daily devotional written by Selwyn Hughes. The particular message that day was <strong><span style="color:#000000;">"The true way to be humble".</span></strong> Up until this point I unfortunately agreed too readily with the picture above. I fostered the belief that humilty was to put myself down so as not to promote myself or be too forthcoming for fear of becoming proud or overbearing. It has been a truly sad state to be in. I have had a reluctance to exercise my gifts and abilities and in many ways allowed myself to be a shadow of the person God has created me to be. I allowed myself to have an inferiority complex, always comparing myself to friends and colleagues that were realising various levels of success in whatever they were involved with.<br /><br />The true way to be humble according to Phillip Brooks: <span style="color:#000000;"><em>"is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is."</em><br /><em></em></span><br />When I read this I was really struck by two things: Firstly that God gives me permission to try my best at everything - it is a privilege and freedom that I can rejoice in knowing that even if I make mistakes he will still love me. Secondly that no matter how hard I try and how successful I get I will still be overshadowed by the greatness of Jesus and what he has achieved for us by choosing to endure death and separation from God the Father on the cross.<br /><br />Selwyn Hughes points out that humilty can never be self-belittlement, it can only flow out of a conciousness of God's greatness. I heard someone say once that: "humilty is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less". I now realise that when I am focussed on doing my best in everything I am always thinking less of myself and more of the projects and people I am trying to serve. Praise God!<br /><br />If I could change the message on the sign above it would read: "Think great things of yourself, you can be safe in the knowledge that there is one greater still who deserves all the praise!"Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148925875300085862006-05-29T16:45:00.000+00:002006-07-19T22:26:57.836+00:00Self Help to Pete Tong to Happily Ever After<a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8410000/8417949.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8410000/8417949.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />When I was 19, I went to America and worked for the summer. The company I worked with was amazing in that they invested so much time and energy in training, mentoring and encouraging students to be successful at the job. I was also exposed to self help books like The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and How to Win Friends and Influence People. Now I really enjoyed reading these and it was a whole new world to me - how to get the best out of myself personally and professionally. I went back for a number of summers, each time learning how to grow a business and each time challenging myself to do better than before. I became reasonably succesful, yet knew I could always do better.<br /><br />As I look back now, I do not regret a minute of the 11 years I worked at this career and I found that many books such as the ones I mentioned above were extremely helpful in shaping the way I think about myself and the world around me. However, I know now that there was an element of this that was not healthy for me.<br /><br />The reason I am blogging about this today, is because just this last week I have been realising that for all those years I had been trying to help myself to become someone I was not created to be. I believe each of us is born with gifts, personalities and abilities unique to us and only by living authentically in line with these will we be truly fulfilled and happy. I remember the first time I did one of those exercise that identifies your personality type. I wanted to be the one that I thought was the best - you know the stereotypical businessman. Yet I was someone slightly different. I spent years comparing myself to people that were more successful than me wanting to be just like them, but all the time denying the person God had created me to be and as a result hurting myself by expecting things of myself that I could never fulfill. For years I have carried a burden of dissatisfaction about myself and I always related it to not being successful enough at work, so I kept on trying harder or trying to improve my skills, but it never really brought the fulfillment i was seeking.<br /><br />I am now, with God's grace learning to be content with me, realising that I do not need to do anything to be loved and accepted by Him. This has been an amazing realisation and one that is encouraging me more day by day. I still have days where I find myself trying to be someone I am not, but each time it happens I am so much better at reminded myself to chill out.<br /><br />I do not have anything against self help books, I learned so much from them and still have a number that I refer to. Its when someone like me is not that comfortable or confident in their own skin that they can misuse them to try and define themselves as a particular type of person.<br />I remember the VP Marketing for my old company once said in a seminar that the Bible was the best self-help book ever written. Without being too cheesily Christian, I will say, Amen to that!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148803736183459702006-05-28T07:34:00.001+00:002006-07-19T10:02:16.250+00:00Champion-ees, Champion-ees!<a href="http://www.elvenkids.com/img/fifawcup-glow.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.elvenkids.com/img/fifawcup-glow.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Great news - We won the CUP - WAHEY!!!!!!<br /><br />The score was ICC 4 - 0 Hope Hall. I was really impressed with Hope Hall. For a team two divisions below us they gave us a really good game and had some good players too. I really appreciated friends and family coming to watch although I was quite disappointed that I didn't get a chance to play.<br /><br />Because it was a cup final in the Churches League we organised with the other team to pray at the centre circle before the match kicked off. You know, life is really funny sometimes because I remember when I used to tease and make fun of Christians for this kind of thing and there I was yesterday leading both teams in prayer! God's got a great sense of humour:-)<br /><br />After a season of many injuries, I am looking forward to preparing for next season. We are looking at entering into the Scottish Amateur Cup, which would be a massive challenge for us, but something we need to keep us motivated now we have proven ourselves to be the best team in the league this year. It has also been said on many occasions that it is one thing to win the league, but real champions retain it.<br /><br />I am hoping that we can be more involved with the college next year. As the body that supports us to be in the league in the first place it would be amazing if we could do a couple of joint events. Perhaps even go there for pie beans and chips after the match! I'm really looking forward to being the team rep to the league next year because I have noticed that this team means so much more to many of the lads than just a game of footie on a Saturday morning. They are a great bunch, yet quite a few of them are a bit lost and I hope I can just be a source of encouragement and support for them as they navigate life's little complexities.<br /><br />I never thought I would hear myself say this, but bring on pre-season training!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148667270137383812006-05-26T17:17:00.000+00:002006-05-26T23:54:57.646+00:00The Wisdom of Ronan Keating<a href="http://www.westernmassedc.com/images/content/rollercoaster.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.westernmassedc.com/images/content/rollercoaster.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Well the end of another week is upon us. Jill and I are always excited when we get to Friday evening. Generally the cry when we get home is: "Its the Weekend!" and we get excited about being able to spend time together doing fun stuff.<br /><br />This week was a bit of a roller coaster for me, here are some of the highlights and lowlights:<br /><br />Monday morning teaching Mission in the book of Acts to people on the Equip discipleship course at church and being really encouraged when they prayed for me at the end -<strong>Highlight</strong><br /><br />Tuesday morning waking up at 7:25am and remembering I had a student council meeting at 7:30am, after a deodorant shower trying to stay outside a 2 meter radius of people for the rest of the day - <strong>Lowlight</strong><br /><br />Wednesday getting really stressed out about essay due for Friday to the extent that I even missed Jill's home made pizza - <strong>Lowlight</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Thursday evening I went to Footie training - no injuries and in the squad for Cup final on Saturday morning - <strong>Double Highlight</strong><br /><br />Friday - Finishing my essay and handing it in at 3:59pm (2 minutes later would result in just a pass/fail verdict rather than a letter grade) - <strong>Highlight with feelings of great relief.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />We're off to have dinner with some friends from church tonight and have a cup final to play in tomorrow - <strong>I love finishing the week on a high! </strong><br /><strong></strong><br />The question is: My cheesy reference to a song by an ex-boyzone member for the title of this entry - highlight or lowlight?Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148462218053140762006-05-24T08:55:00.000+00:002006-05-27T22:51:31.630+00:00Summer Work anyone?<a href="http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1998/050598/richass.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1998/050598/richass.gif" border="0" /></a><br />I find it quite easy to blog in fits and starts. Last week I blogged every day and sometimes twice! But now I am blogging for the first time since Saturday.<br /><br />I just sent off my CV to a recruitment consultant to apply for summer work - WOW, this is a blast form the past. It is not something I have had to worry about since 1994 when I went out to America to sell books door to door and ended up working with the company for 11 years.<br /><br />The work I am interested in is as an interviewer who goes out to companies and does all their assessment interviews. It may only be part time, but it seems to pay quite well and may be something I can continue through the college year. I am somewhat keen to have a bit of flexibility over the summer for other pursuits that may catch my eye - I am thinking about doing a car mechanics course!<br /><br />I also spoke to a dear friend yesterday who was telling me about a company that works with Independent Trainers as associates and was going to recommend me to them. There is potential to make a lot more money, but it may depend on whether they have work to be done up in Scotland.<br /><br />I trust that God has something ideal in store for me, something that will be interesting and helps pay the bills. Ah, the joys of student life return - Anyone know of any good summer jobs?Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148139220721720582006-05-20T15:28:00.000+00:002006-05-20T15:47:37.226+00:00Counting my blessingsI just spent 24 hours with a friend that has not been able to return home for 5 years because of the political situation in his country. He has 4 brothers and 2 sisters between the ages of 18-31 and parents who dearly miss him.<br /><br />We went to visit my Dad and Grandmother, I go about once a month. Frequently I feel guilty for not visiting them more often, but today I am just thankful and very appreciative that I can go and visit them full stop.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1148138671933384892006-05-20T14:54:00.000+00:002006-05-22T06:56:15.793+00:00Mentor or Manager<a href="http://www.thewriteratwork.com/site/images/012.Mentor.Web.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.thewriteratwork.com/site/images/012.Mentor.Web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />On Friday in our class on communication skills we looked at different models of mentoring from industry and the church. The class began with being asked: <strong>"How would you <em>not</em> liked to be mentored?" </strong>At first it was difficult for me to think, which was surprising because I have been blessed with excellent mentors in the past. Then I just started to think about the great mentoring I had received and it was much easier.<br /><br /><br /><br />I don't want to be given the answers, I want help in finding them<br />I don't want to be told, I want to be shown<br />I don't want empty talk, I want integrity<br />I don't want tasks, I want responsibility<br />I don't want to be let slide, I want to be held accountable<br />I don't want someone to pussy foot around, I want someone to tell me like it is.<br />I don't want to be capped, I want to realise my potential<br />I don't want to be managed, I want to be lead<br />Most of all I want someone who challenges me to grow out of a loving concern and commitment to the development of my character and abilities.<br /><br />The first manager I ever had was an amazing leader. She took an real authentic interest in not only my professional development but my personal development and helped me build character by forming the discipline to do things that felt uncomfortable or a chore. An amazing lesson for a 19 year old. I think that to be an effective mentor you need to practice tough love, because that is the only way that we can be held accountable to grow. As I look through the gospels I see Jesus often being tough with his disciples because he knew they needed preparing for the great commission, but he did it with compassion and concern for their welfare. In Mark 6:7-13 he sent them out to preach, heal and drive out demons, then when they returned he made sure he took them aside to give them a chance to eat and have rest (Mk 6:30-31).<br /><br />As I look back now I thank God for the way he was working in my life even before I recognised Him as Lord.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1147975974040646212006-05-18T18:05:00.000+00:002006-05-18T22:38:05.910+00:00TrainingI'm off to footie training tonight. The team I play with won our league two weekends ago and we're in the cup final next Saturday. I have been quite injury prone this season, my stats so far are two hamstrings, one ankle, one groin strain; a strained back and one goal in the first game of the season! The boys tell me its because I am 31 years old, but I am in complete denial and am determined to prove next season that I can play a full 90 minutes more than 2 weeks on the trot:-)<br /><br />Anyway, tonight is an important session for me as I did not train last week or play on Saturday and the boys that did played brilliantly to win 6-0. So I am off to impress the coaches tonight to try and win a place in the squad for the big day. I hope I can play, my Dad's coming to watch and it would be great if he could actually see his son play for even just a part of the game. I may need a lot of prayer!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1147882619231684792006-05-17T16:09:00.000+00:002006-05-17T23:32:48.783+00:00Believe it or not<a href="http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:qRKoi8jQ7b4n9M:http://members.fortunecity.com/arthurreeve/rugby/PROP.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:qRKoi8jQ7b4n9M:http://members.fortunecity.com/arthurreeve/rugby/PROP.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Have you ever seen a 20 stone, 5'11" rugby prop, wearing a Superman T-shirt do a handstand in the middle of a library?<br /><br />I'll let your imagination do the rest!Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895020.post-1147851281513858712006-05-17T07:08:00.000+00:002006-05-17T14:37:47.276+00:00Finding my Feet<a href="http://www.ahajokes.com/cartoon/dubya.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.ahajokes.com/cartoon/dubya.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It takes a while to get used to a new role, that's what I have been finding recently. I am no stranger to leadership posts, speaking in front of large groups, chairing meetings, organising events and everything else that comes with being the student president at ICC<a href="http://www.icc.ac.uk"></a> but the last four weeks have been a real learning curve for me and reminded me that is is so easy when we have not been exercising our skills and talents to become underconfident. I am so grateful for one member of the student body who took the time after morning worship last monday to encourage me that he could see me getting more used to the role. It put things in perspective and really settled my nerves. I had the chance to thank him yesterday and he noted that the previous president had been the same - I had thought it just came effortlessly to my predecessor, but then I didn't see his first term 'in office'.<br /><br />The college community is such an encouraging place, despite being a bit shaky (particularly leading the college in prayer) everyone has been so patient and understanding. Thanks to everyone that has prayed with me and for me the last few weeks, I really appreciate you and what you have been doing to help. Mostly, I want to Praise and thank God for calling me to this post and allowing me to use my gifts to serve my fellow students in this way - you know me so well.Nick Fletcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17338413166130507136noreply@blogger.com1