July 4, 2008

It's Yellow Braces day

Time for our annual Diocesan Camp which I'm really looking forward to and all the important elements are in place. It's going to be hard work today collecting all the equipment together and setting up BUT as ever the 'Solar powered' swimming pool will be a great place to chill out!

Prayers for the camp appreciated :-)

Posted by ian at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

Hypermiling: Less fast, Less Gas

Having only just discovered that my minimalist approach to fuel use has a name, i.e Hypermiling, I was further amazed to find there's a mass of information, discussion and data online. In fact, it's mahoosive, less is the new more! Anyway (and as I was asked, ... genuinely) these are the strategies that I'd worked out and played with for visiting the pumps less often.

But in order not to bore you, only those who click on 'continue' will read an essay exploring useful but dull anorakdom.

Continue reading "Hypermiling: Less fast, Less Gas "

Posted by ian at 12:04 AM | Comments (3)

July 3, 2008

All Souls Clubhouse seek Female worker

I was asked to flag up this job from All Souls Clubhouse: Is this you?

Young Woman's Worker Post

The All Souls Clubhouse are looking to recruit a young woman's worker for 16 hours a week to be part of their youth work team. The post will be working with woman aged 11-19 years old in open youth clubs and small groups to carry out the aims of the All Souls Clubhouse; to make Christ known to the people of Fitzrovia. We're looking for someone who is passionate about Jesus and is passionate about making Him know to young women. We are largely looking to build the post around the strengths of the appointed worker.

For an application pack, or for an informal conversation about the job, contact Mark
Closing date for applications: 23rd July 2008

(There is a genuine occupational requirement for the postholder to be Female and a Christian sympathetic with the ethos of the Clubhouse)

Posted by ian at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

Hypermiling

Happy day, I have discovered there is a name for my driving style! Apparently driving in a way that maximises fuel efficiency is called Hypermiling, and I am therefore, a hypermiler.

"If you love driving, care about the environment and are slightly nuts, then hypermiling is your new hobby" The Times

When you take into account the environmental impact and the spiraling cost of fuel it's a no-brainer really that if you have to use a car, squeezing more miles per jar-full is a good idea ... and reducing the size of the 'bang' in the engines' suck, push, bang, blow* cycle makes a whole lot of sense.

In my son's motability car there is an average fuel consumption reading which makes Hypermiling much easier. Officially it'll deliver 53mpg on a run but I have driven the 85 miles into Wales averaging 61.3mpg (it was on 63mpg before I had to start going up those darn hills). I have to get the calculator out (yes, sad I know) on the LPG mobile but am turning in really good figures.

I remember reading a biography of a wartime pilot whose expertise in eeking the most flying time out of his fuel saved his life as he nursed his plane back across a chunk of the Pacific towards land. It's difficult to imagine a scenario as serious for me in the Youthblog wagon BUT it might get me home, against the odds, for tea when there are only fumes left in the tank!

* Paraphrase of the four strokes in the engine's cycle, induction, compression, explosion, exhaust.

Posted by ian at 9:47 AM | Comments (2)

July 2, 2008

Caption Competition

Here's a picture crying out for a pithy caption, er ........ over to you

Posted by ian at 8:43 AM | Comments (14)

International Youth Ministry

Although the blog is international (people from other countries wander in by mistake, oh and I once spoke on the Isle of Wight), there is definitely room for something more intentional about International Youthwork. So (with thanks for Andy for the link) is a site entitled International Youthwork which aims to: 'resource, shape thinking and create community amongst youthwork globally!' Nice!

'Youthwork' are one of the partners as you probably recognized from the font and singleword rendering of Youthwork. It looks like a really interesting site and I'm looking forward to having a better bite into it once The Diocesan Camp is over.

Posted by ian at 8:24 AM | Comments (1)

July 1, 2008

Hundreds march for stabbed youth

I was saddened by the tragedy of another young victim of knife crime, but encouraged by todays march by young people for young people! Enormous respect to Ben's friend, Brooke, and sisters for their courage.

Posted by ian at 8:58 PM | Comments (1)

June 30, 2008

Growing?

As part of the seminar for CYM I attempted to visualize some sort of representation of what growth might look like for us as Christian Youth Workers. With blog comment help, this is what it turned out like!

They are of course all interconnected and it has no strategic value, but I wanted something that could help frame, being intentional about Growing. The idea being that if we are moving forward as disciples it's going to need deepening in faith and spirituality, looking back and reflecting, upward learning in leadership and inward growing in self-awareness.

I guess it comes down to: Knowing more of God, gaining a fuller understanding of yourself and others. Not rocket science in anyway.

This post filed under, thinking outloud

Posted by ian at 9:24 AM | Comments (5)

Travels this summer

I shall be at Soul Survivor week C for a day on the 19th August if anyone fancies a meet up and coffee .... let me know. I will be at Greenbelt for the whole time, same offer applies!

Posted by ian at 9:21 AM | Comments (1)

Creosote Substitute

Someone asked me last week about wood treatments and specifically Creosote, Yay! This is the first time I have been consulted (without out it being a wind up) on wood treatments.
I now feel I can justify my role as a leader in the emerging shed movement .... and my all important 13th place on Google if you are wanting to know about Creosote Substitute!
(Sadly the Creosote Council ceased to be in 2003 and I shall never be able to join).

I had a fab day off on Saturday and used it to move the only shed that came with the house. It has been rotting at the base as the previous owners built in the Swamp sector of the garden. I had to disassemble it completely to replace the rotten sections and so couldn't resist building it just a little bit bigger. Goodbye 35 sg ft, hello 49 sq feet.
Creosote time me thinks :-)

This entry is filed under 'nothing to do with youth ministry'

Posted by ian at 8:57 AM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2008

Is it a tent, is it a caravan

Regular reader(s) will know that I flirted briefly with the idea of buying a caravan that was for sale for the princely sum of £75 (including awning). There were a number of issues though, primarily that Melanie thought that taking a £75 caravan on the road was reckless, while G of Quarry Bank despised the whole idea of us owning a "Grockle Box"
Thankfully the whole thing fell through (the deal that is, not the subframe) and Melanie and G are still talking to me.

The principle of holidaying in the increased comfort my 41 year old body now needs though still existed as an aspiration, especially having something more than 4mm of mat between me and the earth.

So *tada* .......... I've invested £50 in a trailer tent! It's fab, a kind of Swiss army mobile marquee. One moment it's a rather ordinary trailer and the next it's a Bedouin Palace.
Admitedly for £50 there are one or two minor (ish) repairs I need to make but hey, you've got to be impressed, right? (and it isn't a Caravan!)

Posted by ian at 10:07 AM | Comments (8)

R.I.P

I'm pretty sure that Matrix (the conference) is dead and we'll not see it's like again for the forseeable future.

In memorandum: You will be missed. You were a place where laughter and deep theological discussion were ever present, the place where a diverse range of fellow practitioners became friends and a place where I was challenged, stretched and taught.

Posted by ian at 9:54 AM | Comments (1)