Germany

This weekend I managed to get off to Germany for a couple of days to catch up with a few friends. And it was great to relax a little. The destination was Essen (a name meaning ‘Food’), but I almost didn’t get there at all. Whose stupid idea was it to have two flights to Düsseldorf leaving from the same airport at the same time?!

(“What? I’m supposed to leave from Gate 54 five minutes ago? But this is Gate 12, and there’s no way of getting back on the stupid ‘transit’ [?!] to get to Gate 54!” – fortunately a man in a bus came to my rescue. Not for the first time.)

But get there I did. And it was a lot of fun. I won’t go into too much detail about what we did, because I don’t know how interesting that would be (also because we spent a lot of time in Starbucks and SubWay), but I’ll show you a few pictures:

Four of us went to play pool, changing teams each time we played. Now, I may have been on the losing team each time (I swear I’m not that bad!), but at least I looked the part...

Other than Essen, I also got to experience the delights of Gelsenkirchen, another city about fifteen minutes away. I went to the Salvation Army corps there and took what I thought was a lovely photo of me and my friend Lucia, before realising that she hadn’t done her best smile...

In Gelsenkirchen, Daniel thought I should take a photo of this... art work?! ... from below, thinking that it would look like a road into the sky... Well, I guess it kinda does.

Daniel setting off down his road to the sky (who knows?!).

I had been to Essen once before, back in 2005, when I came to see the German Staff Band play at the Old Synagogue (I know that’s a slightly unusual place for a Salvation Army band to play, but it’s now used as a cultural centre and concert hall – although it’s currently being refurbished). That was the first time I met a lot of the young people from the Salvation Army in Germany, and from there I ended up going to music school and got a lot of great friends. So it was kinda cool to come back and think about how much had changed since I first came (those of you who read this blog regularly will know I’m a little bit thinky like that).

In Starbucks I was told I wasn’t allowed to take a photo, but I did, just because I could.

The Post I Never Wrote (Part One)

I’ve been blogging now for two and a half years. And that’s quite a long time.

When you’re a keen blogger, like I am, it means you’re constantly thinking ‘would that make a good blog post?’ or ‘I’ll have to put that on my blog’ or something along those lines. But quite often, I’ll never actually get around to writing those posts I’ve been intending to write.

For example, I never wrote about how the party poppers at Katie and Stacey’s joint birthday party nearly killed me:
Or about how Stacey and Anna acted out a puppet drama using aforementioned party poppers:
Or about being in this phone box with my friend, Kersten, and a photo of two other friends:
Or about this lamp:
And that’s just some of the stuff I’ve never written about.

Why Not?

A lot of people I know have been writing these lists of 25 facts about themselves, and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. I don't usually like this kind of thing, but it's actually been pretty cool learning new things about people you've known for years. Regular readers of this blog will have seen a couple of these before...

1. I am mega-proud to be a Christian and a Salvationist.

2. I own ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ in 19 languages.

3. When I was 20, I had a bike accident in Sweden and woke up in hospital with no idea why and no recollection of the previous two weeks.

4. I, bizarrely, have frequent dreams where I’m friends with Amy Winehouse.

5. I once presented the ‘God-spot’ on Faroese national television. In Faroese.

6. My favourite number is 51.

7. I often pretend to be Australian when shopping (occasionally Scottish or Welsh), and even convinced an Australian shop worker.

8. I have taken a photo every day since 30th November 2007, and have posted them all at here. Some are boring, but then so are some days.

9. I don’t like even numbers.

10. I go crazy when British people use the word ‘gotten’. It’s ‘got’. It’s always ‘got’. It’s not like ‘who’ and ‘whom’, you know, sometimes ‘who’, sometimes ‘whom’. It’s always ‘got’. Every time you write the word ‘gotten’, stop, press delete three times, and carry on. Just a little tip to help make the world a better place.

11. I reckon I spend a good 50% of my time in my imagination. Seriously. I’m there now.

12. Because of my studies, I have lived for a time in Germany, Sweden and the Faroe Islands. The best and the toughest times of my life.

13. My brother and I have exactly the same sense of humour. It can get quite freaky when we say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Once we both, completely spontaneously, burst into ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ in exactly the same key, with no indication from either of us that we were going to start singing. Bizarre. We just stopped and stared at each other.

14. I recently started a gospel choir and am loving it. I am at my very happiest when singing fantastic songs with great friends. It doesn’t matter what kind of day I’ve had, or what worries are usually at the back of my mind – when I’m singing, I’m in a whole other world.

15. I love Elmo, Mars Bars and Christmas Cake.

16. I actually wrote a letter of complaint (well, more a ‘letter of concern’) when they took Yoghurty Special K off the shelves. But who’s had the last laugh now?

17. People blowing raspberries makes me feel sick – me telling you that involves a considerable amount of trust.

18. 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.

19. I was once stopped on Tottenham Court Road and photographed for a modelling agency. True!

20. At school I once got three detentions in one day, including one for fighting. I’m not proud of it. But I obviously am, or I wouldn’t have put it on here.

21. I’m a bit of a fan of lists (clearly) – I even have a list of every Salvation Army corps (church) I’ve ever seen (and have occasionally been on fairly lengthy walks to find them... Apologies to anyone I’ve ever dragged on one of those).

22. I seem to be quite changeable in appearance – what that means is that I always get a slight surprise whenever I look in the mirror, because I don’t look quite how I was expecting. It also means that people who knew me when I was younger never recognise me in the street. That has its plus sides.

23. I started to lose my hair about 2 years ago, I reckon. I got so worked up about it, but now I really couldn’t care less. I have a nice face ;)

24. I don’t lend out books to my friends, because I can’t stand it when they get creases down their spines. So don’t even ask, and we’ll save ourselves embarrassment.

25. John doesn’t share food.

Joy!

Those of you who haven’t been reading this blog for very long should probably read this post before continuing...

Bearing all that in mind, imagine my joy when I came home from band practice and saw THIS waiting for me: I actually gasped.

It was like old friends meeting up again: Stephen had actually sent me a message while I was in the Faroes to let me know, but I thought it was his idea of a joke (albeit tasteless*), or just something they had int’ North. I sent my parents out looking for it, but they didn’t find it.

Until yesterday.

Dreams really can come true. I hope this story of love and loss and love again will inspire you to follow your own dreams.

On another note, I thought I’d upload this video from the Faroes. We had a guest conductor over from Norway for the band’s anniversary (see here) and we told him it was traditional to play a verse of Joy in The Salvation Army in our band festivals. As he stood up to conduct us, we started to sing our parts instead of play. It took us a little while to get going (as you’ll hear), but I think it sounds pretty cool. It only really worked because it just so happens that nearly all the girly instruments (cornet, horn) are played by girls, while the men are playing the big, tough, manly instruments (euphonium, bass). In the band rehearsal when we first practiced, I was like ‘Have you seen the euphonium part?’ but I think I got it... I know I’m quite loud, but I was standing right next to the microphone!

Enjoy!

*unlike Yoghurty Special K.

Before and After

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Somewhat late, I know!)

BEFORE

Ok, so we’re here. Today’s a day I’ve been really excited about, but now I’m a little nervous. Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that it’s always been a dream of mine to get a gospel choir going at my church (Salvation Army) – not just because I love gospel music, but because I think it’s something that others will enjoy, invite their friends to and get excited about. And we all need a little excitement, don’t we?

Well, I started making plans a year ago, but for various reasons (me being out of the country was a big one), it got pushed back and back, and I didn’t know whether it would be possible at all.

But here we are!

The first rehearsal is tonight. Reaction to posters, leaflets and invitations has been really positive. I’ve been preparing, but I have NO idea how many people are going to be there tonight. Fifteen would be a good number, I reckon. Yep, I’d be very happy with fifteen.

So, here goes nothing!

AFTER

Ten minutes before the rehearsal was due to start, there were two of us.

But I was trying to keep positive.

Five minutes before the rehearsal was due to start, there were five of us.

But I was trying to keep positive.

And then, just as the rehearsal was due to start, fifteen others came, meaning we had twenty singers, and a very happy John!

The rehearsal went really well – it was great to see so many people there. The sound was great, and people really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I know I did. Obviously the true indicator is how many come back next time, but I’m hopeful. And thankful that so many people were prepared to give something new a go.

Let’s see where this takes us!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

I'd planned to do a little write-up of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but I decided against it - every family has their own traditions and way of doing things, and to be honest, it's not that interesting hearing about other people's, is it? But all the same, I thought I'd just choose 5 photos from Christmas Day that summed up what we did (so my Aussie sister can see it) and a couple from Boxing Day. I hope you all had a great Christmas and that you have an excellent New Year!

Christmas Day

1. It's great when the family can all get together. This is my aunt and Nanna.

2. The cooks at work (my cousin Molly and Uncle John).

3. Christmas wouldn't be complete without the family singalong!

4. Or presents!

5. Rounding the day off by playing Cranium (our team won!).

Boxing Day

1. I experienced the joys - for the first time - of Guitar Hero. And I rocked.

2. Anna decides to take on Paul in an Expert challenge (a brave choice).

And finally, when we played Cranium on Christmas Day, I had to draw sweat with my eyes closed - not an easy task! But I don't think I did a bad job - they got it! I thought I'd share my artwork with you as a Christmas gift:

Carolling

And it's lovely to be home!

Coming home just two weeks before Christmas meant I was straight into the carolling period (although I had already done some carolling in the Faroes). I really enjoy carolling – and there was quite a bit to do. In my first week back we sang at an old people’s home, played at an old people’s home, played at a local scout carol service and played and sang in the high street.

But for me, the highlight of the carolling season is on Christmas Eve, when the younger people from the Salvation Army go to various people’s houses from the corps who might be on their own/are unwell, etc. One of the families from the corps provides us with food at the end, before most of us go to the late night service at the hall. There were 16 of us this year, and it we had a great time. The last couple of years we’ve also taken a four-part band out with us, which really adds to it (and means that the people we sing to realise it’s The Salvation Army, and open the door!).

So here’s a few pictures from the evening (the quality’s not great, because I left my camera at home and had to use my phone, which doesn’t cope brilliantly with darkness):

Sitting in one living room:

Stacey playing the horn (very beautifully, I might add!):

And my favourite picture from the evening. This is me and my Nanna on the doorstep as we sang Silent Night, which she requested. This photo was made possible by the unbelievably boring baritone part in Silent Night, which is all on the same note until the final line.

FAR12.1: My Final Week

So this post marks my final week in the Faroes (for a little while – I will be back later in the new year). And a busy ol’ week it’s been!

In most parts of Europe (and the USA and Australia, I think), the Salvation Army uses big collection pots when collecting money for its work at Christmas. In the UK we use hand-held collecting tins (which I kinda like, because otherwise it’s hard to know what to do with your hands when standing there!), but you know the saying – when in the Faroes... so I gave it a go.

This week I did two collecting stints at the SMS Shopping Centre. Now I love doing this kind of thing. I love being out there, on the street, so that people can come and speak to me if they want, and so I can give a personal thank-you to the people who support the work of the Army so generously. So on the one hand I was looking forward to it. On the other hand, I was having to do the whole thing in Faroese and that’s a little more intimidating!

But I got through it – one seven-year girl came and asked me where the money was going, but she seemed satisfied with my answer as she skipped off.

On my way to the centre (a little nervous).

My pot.

Help Us to Help

What was funny is that people said exactly the same things here as they say at home: ‘I always support The Salvation Army – they do such good work’ or ‘Only pennies I’m afraid, but every little helps!’ and so on. I liked that.

Obviously I did a lot of finishing off for my work during the final week, but that doesn’t make a good blog post.

One thing I like about the Army in Tórshavn is that they have a games night every fortnight, where the younger ones (or anyone who wants to come actually) get together to play a load of games, and then finish the evening with a big game of football or volleyball. And it was a great way to spend my last night in the Faroes – although I was responsible for the religious ‘thought’ halfway through, but that seemed to go well (I also had to lead a meeting on my last Sunday – I think the officers there were doing their best to make my time in the Faroes an officership training programme). Just some of the gang.

I’m really going to miss the Faroes and the people here – I’ve had a great time and made some really good friends.

PS. I’ve begun to update mitchenstein 365, so make sure you have a look. And I think the photos are of a slightly higher standard this year, even if I do say so myself!

PPS. I’ve also added William Booth’s quote (in the right-hand column) in Faroese. This is the first one I’ve translated myself. And remember, if you know the quote, or can translate it, into a language I don’t have, let me know!

FAR11.2: Gjøgnum viðarlundina/Through the Park

The first thing you notice when you arrive in the Faroe Islands is that there are no trees. None. On all sides you’re surrounded by rocky mountains (well, not on all sides, because chances are that water will be on at least one of the sides, but on the other side of the water, chances are, you’ll see mountains, so actually, my original sentence can still stand). There have been attempts to add trees, but the Faroese wind doesn’t treat them too kindly – plant a tree, and chances are it won’t be there when you come back.

All this makes the beautiful park in the centre of Tórshavn quite a special place...

I went to the park for the first time on my third or fourth day in the Faroes, and immediately thought how great it would look once the snow came. The other week, the snow did come and I ran (yes) to the park with my camera to find that the rain had washed the snow away. I ended up with this picture of ducks walking on the frozen pond, which is quite cool in itself, actually:So today when I woke up and saw that a few inches of snow had come overnight, I rushed back to the park, which – as I had hoped – was looking very Narniary.*

So here’s a few pictures: *In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe obviously.

FAR11.1: Advent Starts, Faroese Style

Man, I am so fired up about Christmas this year. More than ever (well, that’s probably not completely true). But I’ve been good – I didn’t let myself listen to any Christmas music until 1st December, but then I made up for it! (Obviously, I heard Christmas music in shops, band practice, etc. but I had very little control over that).*

I was really excited about seeing how the Faroese would welcome in the Christmas season. As you’ve probably seen from the pictures, large parts of the Faroes look like a Christmas village anyway, so lights and snow just make it perfect.

This weekend I went to the lighting of the main tree in the centre of Tórshavn. There were so many people there, and the atmosphere was great.

Waiting for something to happen:

After a couple of readings (nicely aimed at kids and nicely religious – I haven’t spoken about religion in the Faroe Islands yet, have I?) and carols by the town band, Father Christmas (Jólamaðurin) arrived on a sleigh to light the tree. Impressed? I don’t think the crane was as invisible as the organisers may have hoped, but all the same. As he came out of the sleigh, there was a gasp around the crowd, and it was one of those moments: ‘Was that supposed to happen?’Fortunately it was, and he did his stuff and lit the tree. (This picture does look somewhat tragic, doesn't it?)

The crowd dispersed pretty quickly, but the surroundings they left behind were beautiful.Of course, Christmas is a busy time for the Salvationist, even when he’s living in the Faroe Islands. This weekend marked my first carolling of 2008, at the lighting of the Christmas tree in Hoyvík. I LOVE carolling :)

*Plus the Faroese carols don’t sound Christmassy anyway. Well, obviously to the Faroese they do. They would hear those songs and get a warm glow, whereas I’m like ‘What’s this?’ In the same way, they asked what I wanted to play, and I said ‘As with Gladness Men of Old’ (only because it has a nice euphonium part, and it was on the page I was looking at), and they didn’t think that was particularly Christmassy at all. I hear it, and immediately picture a little group of Salvation Army bandsmen, wrapped up warmly, playing on a street corner in deep snow, with a little lantern, and... But that’s just me.

FAR10.2: I DID IT!

Allow me to blow my own euphonium: I did it! I took a photo every day of the past year. They said I’d never manage it (well, they didn’t, but Lisa did think I’d given up after Day 4). But no, the photo you see here is photo 365 – there were, of course, 366 days in the past year, but on one fateful day in June, my phone deleted the photo I’d taken (see here) – but I did take a photo every day!

Some of the photos are quite cool, some are incredibly boring, but then again, some days are like that too. It hasn’t always been easy – some days I’d know exactly what I wanted to take a photo of, other times I’d panic at 11.50pm and take a photo of a cup. But although not all of the photos are exhilarating, I remember taking every single one, and I can associate a memory with each.

And it’s kinda cool (for me), looking back over the past year: the highs and lows, the funny times, the boring or stressful times, the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met and the thoughts I’ve thunked.

So what now?

Well, I’m going to carry on, for at least one more year. I have a feeling the next 365 days will be quite an adventure, and this is a decent way of documenting it.

If you haven’t had a look, check it out.

Thanks for reading :)

FAR10.1: Language...

FAR9.1: Making My Own Entertainment

So this week, a lot of the regular things at the Salvation Army were cancelled for various reasons, and people were very busy, etc. so it meant that I had to make my own entertainment... And make my own entertainment I did!

(Obviously I got a lot of work done too – an awful lot of work done actually – but you need to unwind a little, don’t you?)

1. I went cultural. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not a particular fan of exhibitions and museums, etc. I’d much rather just walk around a place to experience it. But according to my guidebook to the Faroe Islands, no trip to Tórshavn is complete without a trip to the Faroese National Museum... Well, I had nothing to do, so I checked it out!

While a lot of the exhibits didn’t interest me, I thought a couple of things were very cool. Check out one of the early Faroese flags (pictured next to the actual Faroese flag):

How great is that? I don’t know why they had to change it... (although it may not have done much for the Faroese standing in the wider world).

I also saw the national treasure of the Faroe Islands. Now I’d heard a lot about the Kirkjubøur pew ends (Kirkjubøarstólarnir), and had been wanting to see them. Carved in the Middle Ages, they were taken to the National Museum in Denmark, but returned to the Faroe Islands in 2002.I don't know how many of them there are, but they surround you on all sides as you walk into the room, and they all have different designs. They’re beautiful, and the Faroese are very rightly proud of them. (You can’t say you don’t learn stuff from mitchenstein...).What else did I do?

2. I went walking. I did a LOT of walking. Like Forest Gump, only walking. (It's a pretty nice place to stroll). 3. I wrote a short story about Elmo and the National Roller Skating Team of the Faroe Islands.

4. I did this:I’d have loved to have seen my mum’s face when she saw this!