Hunting Easter Eggs

On a completely different note, Kathryn is now away for a week at Word Alive. While it takes my future wife away from me for a few days, it is an incredible opportunity to worship our Lord with thousands of like-minded people, and I'm sure she'll come back buzzing with excitement next Saturday.

Meanwhile I get to help lead Genesis tonight. They're a great bunch of young people ranging from 12-18 years old - It's a different sort of opportunity to Word Alive, but still incredible nonetheless. We're going on an Easter Egg hunt, each egg having a secret added ingredient... OK, it's a Bible verse for each one, the theory being that they're much more likely to remember the verse and its meaning if they associate it with something good. And we like chocolate too. :-)

Fairly traded things

It's just over a month since I last posted - It doesn't feel like that long... so much has happened though. Kathryn & I have seen our wedding photographer for the first time, I was told I was losing my current job only to find myself being offered another one five days later, and I went to a very un-boring AGM yesterday.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cafe Direct, here's a brief history. In a nutshell, fairly traded goods guarantee a fair price for growers crops. You may think that this is what a civilised society should be doing anyway, but needless to say it isn't - the world is an Unfair Place. A minimum price is guaranteed for crops when the market price is lower, and a premium of at least 10% on that market price even if it rises above the minimum.

This may sound like a suicidal business model... while most companies strive to cut costs, Cafe Direct does just the opposite - Why? Think of it as a long-term investment. The extra goes to support activities such as market information, management training, and generally making growers lives better. They're not exactly living in the lap of luxury to start with, and everyone needs an incentive to work hard and produce quality products. It's an arrangement that benefits everyone!

The formal business of the AGM was just as I hoped - extremely brief. The rest of it featured talks from the growers, how they worked and what their lives were like... you got the sense that fair trade conditions were making a real difference. Even the finance talk described how the coffee markets worked and why it made good business sense to trade in this way. If you take away the desire for short term profits at all costs, you realise that investment over several years in what is effectively your workforce keeps them loyal, happy, and productive. It's just a case of knowing your priorities and sticking to them.

Just in case you thought it was all work, work, work, we had a session on African drumming at the end of the day. We got a big drum each (several hundred of us), and with suitable guidance from the front of the hall we got to bang about a lot and demonstrate that while some of us have little musical ability, anyone can keep a beat. It kept me happy anyway! :-)

The snow it snows, tiddely pom

If the famous rhyme was continued I would be moaning about the coldness of my toes (tiddely pom), but they are currently very warm due to the slippers I am wearing (Tigger no less!). I'd always regarded slippers as a bit of an Old Man thing, second only to cardigans. Certain people would say this was a remarkably appropriate present for me (you know who you are!) but I am now a convert nonetheless. No more walking on cold kitchen floors - Now my feet will be warm and cosy and numbness will be a thing of the past.

So raise a glass to this much maligned item of footwear, secure in the knowledge that it fully deserves a U rating - suitable for all (ages).

Starting with the easy stuff

Having seen Kathryn's blog and being told I should have one of my own, I now unleash my thoughts and musings upon the world. Inspiration will strike soon I'm sure, but for the moment I must content myself with that great winter sport of Mogul.

If you've ever watched gymnastics and wondered how on earth they manage to tell where they are, where to land and what to do inbetween, content yourself with the knowledge that they have two feet and a crash mat to land on, their speed is limited by how fast they can run, and they reach the dizzy heights of about 3 metres. Contrast that with our Mogul-ers (?) who are guided speedily downwards by gravity, launch themselves off a ramp which is 6m off the ground and gain another 6 on the way back up, with no crash mat to land on, trying to control both themselves and the two large planks on their feet. Much respect for these snow-bound acrobats.

Time to post and see what it looks like!