FAR6.1: Celebrations

This weekend was excellent. The Salvation Army band at the corps in Tórshavn was 75 years old and a whole heap of things were planned to mark the occasion!

The excitement started on Thursday 23rd October, the actual day of the anniversary, where after a short march from the hall, we played outside the town hall and had breakfast with the Mayor of Tórshavn. (The Salvation Army, and particularly the band, has a very high profile in the Faroe Islands, playing an important part in the national day celebrations every July).

Getting ready for the march (at 8.50am – how hardcore!):

At breakfast with the Mayor: Following the breakfast, six of us went to the radio station Rás2, where the bandmaster and the bass player were interviewed, and we played four tunes live on air. Those who were interviewed did a fantastic job and made the most of a real opportunity for witness. The DJs had really done their homework too! This is just before we played on air (I always get a little overexcited... Although radio is actually a bit of a step down for me ;) ):On the Friday we had our first rehearsal with our guest from Norway, Major Jan Harald Hagen, head of music for the Norwegian Territory (The global Salvation Army is divided into territories for administrative purposes. The Faroe Islands are part of the Norwegian territory, together with Iceland... And Norway, but you probably got that). He was a great bloke and we had a good time together – although the language situation got somewhat confusing!*Saturday was marked by more rehearsals with Jan Harald, followed by a very nice meal at a hotel in Tórshavn for members of the band and their families.

Sunday night was the music festival, which we had all advertised by putting up posters around town, and we really hoped the turn-out would be good. It was fantastic – there were over 150 people there. The evening was excellent – a lot of humour, the band played really well, there were testimonies, vocal items, etc. – and although the band was the main feature for most of the night, no-one in that hall could have gone home without knowing they had been in Church and that the sole purpose of everything we do is to further the Christian message. Apparently an awful lot of the congregation had never been to an Army meeting before. Good stuff!

On two occasions during the meeting, we looked at a few photos from the band’s history, right up to the present day (I was even on some of them!) – it’s fairly unusual to be looking at photos of the old days and be sitting in a band that is bigger now than back then... (I’ll write more about the Salvation Army here in a future post).

It was a fantastic weekend, and a real privilege to be a part of it. I timed my stay pretty well, didn’t I?

As I said, the radio DJs had really done their research, and they spoke all about the Salvation Army and its history, and even played a recording of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, speaking in 1910. It was fascinating to hear. I’ve listened to it a lot now, and I’m fairly sure I have the subtitles right – enjoy:*Seriously, it did my head in: Jan Harald is Norwegian, and spoke, as you would expect, Norwegian. The Faroese can all speak Danish and understand Norwegian – many of them speak Norwegian too, so they used Danish, Norwegian or a mixture of the two when speaking to, or in front of Jan Harald, but Faroese to each other and to me. Now I understand Norwegian, and speak Swedish – Swedish and Norwegian are close enough that one person can speak Swedish and the other Norwegian, and have a decent conversation. So I spoke Swedish when speaking to or in front of Jan Harald, who would reply in Norwegian, but I spoke Faroese to everyone else. Towards the end, I got completely confused, and apologised to one girl for speaking to her in Swedish, when I was in fact speaking Faroese.

FAR4.1/5.1: Fótbóltur...

Unfortunately I wasn't too well when I recorded the second part of the video, so that explains why I look/sound so rough - you might need to fiddle with the volume controls halfway through. But I sorted out my accent!

FAR3.3: Mum and Dad in the Faroes (Part Two)

On Saturday evening we had a fantastic meal with some people from the corps (Salvation Army church) who really worked hard to give us an excellent evening. Thank you!

On the Sunday we decided to hire a very little car (anything bigger would have been a nightmare on some of those mountain roads!) to see some of the sights that the buses couldn’t show us. Again we saw lots of beautiful views that are hard to capture on camera – you’ll just have to come and see for yourself!

After a great evening meeting at the Salvation Army, it was back to the hotel to catch my television debut ;) (see here). Early the next day, they were off (with a slightly more tense [my computer thinks it should be ‘tenser’, but that can’t be right, can it?] trip to the airport than one would hope...):It was great having them here and they seemed pretty taken with the place!

One final thing: the hotel we stayed in had little comments written next to the doors, à la:But my particular favourites were:

FAR3.2: Mum and Dad in the Faroes (Part One)

So this week Mum and Dad came to see me in the Faroes (I think they came to see me, otherwise it was just a pretty big coincidence that they came to the place I’m currently living). I had a great time with them. The weather – not traditionally one of the Faroe Islands’ key selling points – was fantastic (if cold) and we saw loads. I thought the next two blog posts could take the form of photo posts, just to show you some of the things we got up to. Ok, so the weather wasn’t fantastic when they arrived. In fact, it was a storm, but it got better!

We spent the first full day travelling up to the Northern Islands – and even had snow (the first snow this winter). This is from Klaksvík, the Faroes’ second town. I had to take them to my favourite village, Viðareiði, and they fell in love with it too (well they said they did).It’s a stunning place. You stand in the middle of the village and can see a panoramic view of seven islands, mountains, etc. Stunning, but not easy to capture on camera.

Bus drivers in the Faroes are something else. Last time I went to Viðareiði (see here) the bus driver saw I was taking photos through the window and stopped the bus so that I could get off and get some better shots. Well, this time we got out and didn’t have long until we needed to catch the bus back (we had a choice of staying in Viðareiði for fifteen minutes or two hours – beautiful as it is, it’d be hard to fill two hours). We decided to make the most of our fifteen minutes and see as much as possible. Realising this, the bus driver told us not to worry about coming back to the bus stop – he’d come and pick us up before going back, giving us nearly double the time we thought we’d have. Nice! That evening we went to one of Tórshavn’s restaurants – for a town the size of Tórshavn, the range of restaurants is fantastic. The next day was our day for sightseeing in Tórshavn:I’m adding this picture because I just like it. There aren’t many European capitals where you can get a shot like this in the town centre...

FAR3.1: So, What's New?

(I know - I'm increasingly sounding like an Australian who's spent a year or two in England... I have no idea where that's come from).

FAR2.1: First Reflections

(I was absolutely shattered in this photo. I think it shows).

So, for all those who were worried that my new-found interest in video-blogging would mean an end to the traditional mitchenstein format – have no fear. I’ll still be blogging in the original way from time to time. I don’t want people to say they can no longer enjoy mitchenstein at work.

Well. I’ve now been in the Faroe Islands for nearly two weeks – I can’t believe that’s all it’s been. I can just about remember what my house looks like. To be honest, I found the first week or so quite difficult, which came as a surprise to me. Being in a new country is always a strange experience, but I’ve done it twice before (as part of my degree, I had to spend a year in Germany and Sweden) and I considered myself a bit of an old-hand, but nothing prepares you for feeling like a complete alien on new ground.

I decided straightaway that I would do everything in Faroese, which definitely makes things harder, but I know that come the time I have to go home, I’ll feel much better for having done that. And it is getting easier. The language situation here is actually quite confusing – while the people only speak Faroese between themselves, they all speak fluent Danish, and most TV, subtitles on films, books, etc. are in Danish. It can be pretty confusing to be watching the TV in Danish and then be asked a question in Faroese. I’m like ‘Er... hang on’. But it makes life exciting (that’s actually only the half of it, but I’ll come to that in a later post).

And the Faroese themselves? Have been nothing but welcoming. So many people have invited me into their homes and along to things that they’ve been doing, and I’m hugely grateful for that. So ‘thank you’ to any who may be reading this. The people are so friendly and genuine (and trendy, so I fit right in) – when they tell you that you should feel free to pop in any time, you know they actually mean it (although I’m much too English to ever actually do that).

I just majorly split that infinitive and it felt good.

One thing I’m learning about though is what they call ‘Faroese time’, which basically means that nothing happens at the time it’s due to. Add a good fifteen-thirty minutes to any stated time, and you’ll be on the right track. Get this Katie, here I actually have a reputation for being early.

I’ve decided to start a new blog in Faroese (mitchenstein í føroyalandi ‘mitchenstein in faroeland’). It’s purely for my own purposes – just to make sure I’m writing a little bit of Faroese on a regular basis. I’m not expecting anyone to read it. There won’t be anything interesting on it that won’t be on here, so don’t worry, you don’t have to learn Faroese (‘Phew,’ I hear you say).

I think that’s about it for now.

PS. I may be approaching 25, but we never stop learning as we go through life:

Things You Shouldn’t Say to a Girl who Shows You Her Outfit for Netball (Part 1)

‘It’s not very flattering, is it?’

I apologise again Stacey, it is SO not what I meant. What I actually meant to say was ‘It’s weird how it goes out at the sides’. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

PPS. My postcard wall’s looking bare... ;)

FAR1.2: What Now?

Hopefully my accent's ok here ;)

FAR1.1: And so it Starts...

(This was my first attempt, so I don't think I quite got the volume levels right... You might need to turn it up a bit!)

Where I'm At

Things have been a little quiet on the mitchenstein front over the last few weeks. The Olympics finished, and we finished in fourth place (not bad,eh?). Summer seems to have been and gone. Things are starting up again and the world rolls on.

For me, things are all a little up in the air at the moment, and in a couple of weeks, I start a bit of a new adventure. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, but I’m also excited – let’s see where this baby takes us!

Check back in a fortnight or so, when I’ll kind of re-launch mitchenstein. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out my Project 365 for regular picture updates.

By the way, I had an excellent weekend this weekend. It managed to be relaxing, tiring, exciting and inspiring all in one. It was great catching up with fantastic friends, and a big thanks to all those who were there! I’m a lucky guy.

Take care and God bless,

John

Who'da Thunk?

I never thought I'd see Great Britain in third place halfway through the Olympics, ahead of Germany, Australia and Russia.So we can't play football, rugby or cricket, but cycling, rowing and sailing are ours!

Whatever happens now, in the words of Mariah Carey, 'they can't take that away from us'!*

Speaking of Australia, as we were a few lines ago, I had a little more to say about my recent trip down under, but the Salvation Army music camp got in the way. I hope you'll be able to excuse the lack of chronology in mitchenstein's most recent posts.

My sister Caroline and her husband Brettmond (whose name is actually Brett, but it sounds like it should be short for something, doesn't it?) very kindly took us camping one night, in the wilds of Victoria. Now, I've not done a lot of camping in my time, well not since I was in the cubs, and even then, we didn't have to put the tents up ourselves (outrageous, isn't it?). So I was a little inexperienced and didn't really know what to do.

But while the others worked I took a photo of myself holding a hammer, so that it would look like I'd helped to put up the tent.

After a while, I was allowed to help by holding various things. They figured that I couldn't cause much damage there:

They were, of course, wrong.

So I went back to taking photos.

When we told others we were going camping, they said 'Ooh, it's gonna get cold!' I was like 'Come on, it's Australia. How cold can it get?'

What do I know?

It was, without doubt, the coldest night of my life. I can't really put it into words, and the photos can't really convey it, but... (if I carried on that sentence, I'd be trying to put it into words).

We had a great time though out in the 'bush' - and I saw an echidna. I took a photo of it (and I used to be able to see it in this picture, but I have no idea now):

We had a great trip all in all, seeing family and meeting new cousins - and we saw some great Australian tourist attractions (Australian tourist attractions are a little different from in other countries):

*Ok, Mariah Carey's actual words were 'they can't take that away from me', but I don't feel I can take all of the credit for Great Britain's performance at the Olympics. Think of the trainers.

A Normal Life

Man. Today the phone’s been ringing non-stop. I’ve had emails, texts, constant ‘bings’ from MSN...

And why?

Well, word seems to have got out that I’m now quite a celebrity in Germany. Yes, ‘John Mitchinson’ is on its way to becoming a bit of household name amongst our Teutonic cousins. Consequently, friends have been ringing non-stop, desperate to ask ‘Will you still remember us when you’re rich and famous?’ Chances are, I will.

So what’s the background to all this?

When I was in Germany for a Salvation Army music camp, a very large and influential German newspaper (the Kieler Nachrichten) decided to run a story about me, along with a photo. I didn’t ask for all the attention that came with it – it just happened. I can’t say I’m not enjoying the stares of recognition as I walk down the street, but ultimately, all I want is a normal life.

Here’s the article:

And here’s the zoomed-in picture:

But through it all, I’m still just Johnny from the block.

While this may have been a lot for you to take in, I do have one other bit of news to share with you.

People, our time has come.

With the eyes of the world currently on Beijing (she wasn’t singing!), it’s only natural that our thoughts should drift towards the next Olympic games, London 2012.

We’ve seen the fantastic buildings in Beijing – and we’re compelled to think of the fine London landmarks that will house our own Olympic events: Horse Guards Parade, the Millennium Dome, Wimbledon and... a Salvation Army farm in Hadleigh, Essex.

That’s right, the mountain bike event is going to be held here in our little corner of south-east Essex and on Salvation Army land – how cool is that? (Click here for proof).

You read it here first (possibly).

(Read on for more about the music camp in Germany and my first-ever video!)

John Goes to Germany and then Makes a Video and Writes a Blogpost

Apologies for the slight break, but I’m back! I’ve just been at the Salvation Army’s music camp in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany – and we had an amazing time. Check out this video I made (it was my first ever video [hence the overuse of special effects – the mark of an amateur], but I’m pretty chuffed with myself):

This was my third time at the music camp in Germany – and it was the best. I’ve been to a few different music schools, but there’s just something about the German one for me. This year topped the two other years for two main reasons:

1) I was in charge of the Bible Study group for the fifteen to eighteen-year-olds, which was daunting, hard work, but just about one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and

2) This year I made a real effort to speak to as many different people as I could. In previous years I’ve been a little too dependent on a smaller group, but this year I had so much fun spending time with so many different people. It was sweet!

And I didn’t make this video here, but have a look – and check out that euphonium player... (credit to Jens for uploading):


And finally,

The John Mitchinson diet:

1. Go to northern Germany.,
2. Eat Haribo every morning,
3. Go to the ice-cream parlour every day (including twice on one occasion),

See the weight drop off!
I can’t understand it. I followed the above pattern rigorously and managed to lose 9lbs (4 kilo) in just under two weeks...*
*Stomach may have been pushed out/pulled in for dramatic effect.

The Best Night

Last August I published a post entitled The Best Day about the day I did the Neighbours tour and met two of the guys from the show, Fraser and Ringo. It was the best day.

Well, here‘s ‘The Best Night’!

As you know, I am a little bit of a Neighbours fan. Just a tad. Being back in Melbourne this summer, I wanted to do the Neighbours tour again, but no-one wanted to come with me – and going on my own would be crossing a line I didn’t want to cross (unlike doing the Neighbours tour twice). So what to do?

Well, it just so happens that there’s a Neighbours evening held at an English pub in the city – so we went there instead! And check out these photos...

This may be the coolest photo I’ve had on my blog yet:

The Doc – the reason I’m doing my PhD. (Not really). Mum kissed him twice (but my Dad’s cool with it).

And we also met Steve and Stu Parker and Marco: It was a great evening – rounded off by Doctor Karl’s band, The Waiting Room (geddit?), who were actually really good (and much heavier than you’d think).And there was a pub quiz that night too. Our team was the Salvos, and we came in third (which was pretty good, I thought. Roughly two places behind the winning team). The quiz had absolutely nothing to do with Neighbours (which is why we only came in third), but was much more general knowledgey – do you know the four countries in Europe that drive on the left?

As the guy read out the results, he asked if we really were Salvos, to which we said ‘yes’ (because we were) and he asked for another round of applause for all the work the Salvos do, to which there was applause (as requested) and cheering. I had mixed feelings about this: on the one hand it’s great that we got to raise the profile of The Salvation Army amongst the group and to show them that there’s young people in the Army – it’s not all Harold Bishops. They all seemed to know who we were, which is also good (not really an issue in Australia, where the Salvation Army has a very high profile, but most of the people in the pub that night were from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand), but it did leave me feeling a little guilty about sharing some of the credit (which of course, we’re not in it for) for the fantastic things the Army does, when I don’t quite do as much as I should. And who’d have thought I’d come away from a Neighbours night at a British pub feeling challenged about what I do as a Salvationist?

I didn’t actually get to see much Neighbours while I was there, but be prepared for the tackiest funeral you ever did see (tacky even for Neighbours).

Ode to Aldgate

Ode to Aldgate Underground Station

I can understand your sadness,
I know how hard it must be,
When someone steps on to your platform
And shouts ‘This isn’t Liverpool Street!’

Your workers must feel so unwanted.
‘Which platform for Barking, please?’
Broken-hearted, they say, with a sigh,
‘I think you want Aldgate East.’

You're the station that nobody aims for:
As soon as they’re in, they want out,
Over the footbridge or back out the door,
They never stop to see what you’re about.

Always the source of disappointment,
It’s only natural you’d want to stand out.
But now, just between friends, dear Aldgate,
What is this really all about?

I can understand your sadness,
And sometimes you must feel like a grumble,
But when, and why, dear Aldgate,
Did you start to resemble a jungle?

The Truth

I edited this picture myself. Could you tell?

And so I’m back! Before I start, let me just tell you that I’ve updated the mitchenstein365 blog with photos from the Australia trip. Some of them are pretty cool!

But this blogpost has, in fact, nothing to do with Australia (that’ll come). Before I went away I posted twenty ‘facts’ about me, but three were, in fact, false. So which ones?

1. I keep a Christmas Card list throughout the year, adding/removing people as I get on well with them/they annoy me.
This is, I’m glad to say, FALSE. I can be quite sad at times, but this would be a step too far, even for me. What is a little worrying is that those people who commented on the post took this one for being true...

2. I keep a list of every Salvation Army corps (church) I’ve ever seen.
This is TRUE. 142 down, roughly 15,000 to go.

3. People blowing raspberries makes me feel sick.
This is TRUE and I’m now wondering why I put this on here. That was pretty dumb.

4. Part of me still thinks I’m going to be a pop-star.
TRUE, obviously.

5. I don’t like touching food that others are going to eat.
Yep, this is TRUE. Weirdly, I don’t mind others touching my food (within reason, obviously).

6. The same goes for cutlery and glasses that other people are going to use.
TRUE. Unloading the dishwasher is a nightmare (fortunately I don’t do it often :D )

7. Un-sporty as I may seem, I ran for my school when I was younger.
Oh, this is so TRUE. Not only did I run for my school, but I got into the final (my day of glory, aged 10)

8. As a kid, I was desperate to become an estate agent.
Sad, but TRUE. I had my company logo designed and everything.

9. When I was a kid I once lied that my mum worked at McDonalds because I thought it sounded cool.
This is TRUE too.

10. Whenever I’m writing a list of things to do, I always put some things I’ve done already so I can tick them off.
TRUE. Definitely.

11. Whenever I go on holiday I send out loads of emails so I’ll have lots of emails in my inbox when I get home.
Again, sad but TRUE. And it works without fail.

12. Whenever I need to ask anyone in London for directions, I speak with an Australian accent.
This is also TRUE. Once when shopping in Quiksilver I took the ultimate risk and pretended to be an Australian when talking to an Australian. I got away with it, but then again, my Australian accent is pretty darn convincing. (OK, this bit did have something to do with Australia.)

13. I was once stopped on Tottenham Court Road and photographed for a modelling agency.
This is also TRUE. And I was phoned twice by the agency afterwards and, stupidly, never phoned them back. How different my life could have been...

14. When I was thirteen, my best friend and I invented our own language which we spoke for nearly one whole day.
Yep, this is also TRUE. The only sentence I can remember now is Kaya mika Mike, but I can’t translate that in case Mike reads this.

15. I once had a birthday card signed by the whole Tottenham Hotspurs team.
Also TRUE. Pretty cool, eh?

16. I don’t lend out books to my friends, because I can’t stand it when they get creases down their spines (The spines of the books, I mean. I don’t care if my friends have creases on their spines).
This is so TRUE, so don’t even ask. It’ll save us both embarrassment.

17. I’m a member of the Esperanto Association of Great Britain.
This is one of those FALSE ‘facts’. I know hardly any Esperanto at all – I find it hard to take any language seriously when the word for ‘bird’ is ‘birdo’.

18. When I was younger it was my dream to work in Argos.
Absolutely TRUE. Don’t you remember that amazing feeling when you’d ordered a toy and there it appeared on the conveyer-belt behind the desk? Fantastic. And I wanted to share that feeling with others.

19. At school I once got three detentions in one day, including one for fighting.
This is also TRUE. And boy was I glad when I got home and Mum had a real headache and wasn’t really able to take in what I was telling her.

20. My bookshelves are organised in alphabetical order of each book’s country of origin.

FALSE. Come on, as if I would be that sad? I only did this with my CDs.