lisforlifestyle

The Elixir of Youth

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:42:52 +0000

We got the first Harry Potter film out on DVD for our kids to watch this week. Although they've seen bits of various films on the television, it's the first time they've properly sat down and encountered Harry Potter. As I'm sure most of you will know, this first film revolves around the Philosopher's Stone. Someone had been using it to keep themselves going and he was outrageously old! When the stone was eventually destroyed, the poor chap had to put his affairs in order and prepare for the end.

The desire to evade the encroaching signs of old age are all around us, with hair dyes to cover up the grey, make up and face creams to 'avoid the appearance of wrinkles', exercise regimes to keep us trim and, for the more desperate, face lifts and tummy tucks. We're immersed in a culture that tells us there is something wrong with getting old, and we fall for those messages hook, line and sinker.

This struck me last weekend when I was at a friend's fortieth. We were discussing age and I said to another friend next to me, 'you must be fifty soon, aren't you?' Those around me hooted with laughter and made out I'd made a terrible faux pas by asking such a question. Someone else nearby said that they were approaching fifty, 'but don't remind me'.

What I want to know is, what's the problem with getting old? Why do we think it's such a terrible thing, something to be fought against and not talked about in polite society? I'll be forty in a couple of years' time, and I can see the grey hairs and the wrinkles making their mark. So what should I do? Should I dye my hair too and start wearing make-up to fool myself and others as to how old I am? I don't think so! I want to fight against this society's obsession with defying age, and learn how to embrace it positively, as something that is beautiful and that is to be respected and admired.

Chilli Fiesta

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:30:48 +0000

This is me, helping my lovely friend Rosemary Moon with a food demo at the Chilli Fiesta at West Dean Gardens. She was there all weekend, working wonders with chilli and creating various culinary delights, but she asked me to join her for this particular one in which she was making salami. So we stuffed salami skins together ('ooh er' jokes aside please) and chatted pigs and pork and politics and generally had great fun together.

West Dean Gardens are really good at promoting seasonal, local ingredients with their various festivals (look out for their Totally Tomato show coming soon, and their Apple Day in the autumn): nearly 20,000 people went to the Chilli Fiesta and got a chance to look round the stalls, sample and buy, see the beautiful walled garden and view the award-winning collection of chilli plants (West Dean has the largest collection in the world). Rosemary also runs workshops for them and shares an allotment in the grounds with the Head Gardeners. We need people and organisations who dedicate themselves to promoting the good things that are around us, and it was a pleasure to be involved in something that was doing just that.

In praise of yurts

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:07:51 +0000

We've just come back from the Cotswolds, staying in a yurt. It was quite funny beforehand seeing people's reactions when I told them that was what we were doing for our summer holiday, and just reinforced to me all I've written about elsewhere in 'Oh to be a hippy': some just laughed; on FB I had comments about nude dancing and was I mad?! It honestly really took me by surprise! Actually, it was definitely more along the lines of 'glamping' (glamorous camping, for the uninitiated) than any sort of hippy activity: proper double bed for Greg and me, sheepskin rugs on the floor, comfortable seating, inside woodburning stove and all linen and kitchen things provided. There was even a compost toilet!

Our yurt was beautiful: set in a little woodland glen, surrounded by wildflower meadows, with loads of butterflies, and a robin and squirrel who would come onto our decking area and eat the scraps we left out for them. One afternoon as Greg was sitting out on the decking, the squirrel shinned up the pole next to him, along to the frying pan that Greg had used earlier to fry some eggs in, and began licking out all the butter at the bottom! There was a tree house and swings in the woods which the kids enjoyed, and we all tucked up in our beds together in the evenings with the log burner and candles burning and I'd read to them.

What was interesting was being away for five days with no electricity, which of course meant no computer and no television. It would be fair to say that there were a couple of points when the kids missed being able to flop in front of the TV and it was intrigued to watch them cope with it and have to find other quiet things to do. For me, it was bliss, and I found it really intrusive once we were home and the TV was on again. Thinking about it, the only thing I missed was running hot water for the washing up. It made me realise how little we really need to be complete.

Picnic on the Plot

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:19:21 +0000

With church bells ringing, the sun quietly sliding behind the trees, runner beans flowering and pea pods plumping, the hard work of having an allotment and/or growing your own vegetables was forgotten, as members of the Transition Chichester Grow Your Own group enjoyed a picnic on Ann's allotment plot.

Watched over by Ann's scarecrow Alice, the problems of getting lettuce to grow (put the seeds in the fridge overnight was Cathy's suggestion), the realisation that we were all suffering with black fly on our runner beans this year (not to mention the broad beans), and the challenges of keeping going when sometimes it just seems so much easier to buy from the supermarket, were all discussed.

We also heard about Anita's trip and attendance at two transition events and were fascinated about the ancestors' activity; some attendees sat in an 'inner circle' representing the people of today whilst others sat in an outer circle, representing people of 2050; it was interesting to think of the questions we would ask.

An after picnic tour of the plots brought us back to the now and we packed up, enthused and energised ,to water and weed our respective vegetable patches, before re the moon finally took over the lighting of sky.
(Thanks to Ann Emery for this account)

Ecological Hermeneutics

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:15:31 +0000

I sparked quite a funny debate on FaceBook last week. I came across some writing by Anthony Thiselton (lead thinker things to do with how we understand the Bible) and he talked about 'premature horizon assimilation'. I understood what he was talking about, but really, I thought, only an academic could write that kind of phrase in all seriousness. So I posted it up on FB and asked if premature horizon assimilation was something that only men suffered from? To see the responses you'll have to look on my page...!

But what was that all about really? I came across that amazing phrase because I was working last week on some teaching I'm doing on hermeneutics. I'm doing the teaching at the Pioneer Theology Summer School up in the Hayes next week. The three days away are on hermeneutics - ie how do we read the Bible and understand it for today? Various approaches are being taken, but I've been asked to look at the contemporary issue of the environment (how I hate that word for its anthropocentrism!) and use it as a lense to do some teaching on hermeneutics.

So I've been doing a load of thinking and reading about how 'green Christians' interpret the Bible and related issues around the authority and inspiration of the Bible (I'd recommend Tom Wright's Scripture and the Authority of God). Really interesting stuff, I've loved it!

There are basically three approaches to the Biblical material:
1. The first is an approach of 'recovery'. This seeks to say that historically Biblical interpretation/tradition has got it wrong and that if we really go back and understand the text correctly then we'll see that an ecological ethic lies at the heart of the Biblical story.
2. The second approach is what I call 'ecological resistance'. This says that the text reflects the biases and faults of their human authors and so where those texts are negative and anthropocentric they must be 'called out' and resisted.
3. The third approach is 'anti-ecological resistance'. This approach agrees with (2) but therefore concludes that it is unbiblical to care for God's world at all.

And what do we learn from all of this? We learn that the hermeneutical spiral is alive and well. Yes, I would want to affirm that it is important to try to get back to the original intention of the author/text as much as we can and we must work hard at that. But, at the same time, we must all recognise that we wear 'interpretive lenses' when we read the texts - there is no view from nowhere! Because of this we are constantly learning as our horizon interacts with the horizon of the Biblical text and both inform the other And then, of course, there are other people's horizons too, which is why we learn so much from other people. If that is the case then we should welcome disagreement and debate rather than trying to ignore or stifle it, because we'll learn from it and our own understanding will be improved. So, if we are to read the Bible for all its worth then we need the basic stuff of character: humility, wisdom, courage, kindness...

Above all, our understanding of the Bible and our being changed through it happen ultimately through the Holy Spirit working in us. Reading the Bible shows us God's plans for his creation - all his creation - and it is inspiring to know that we all have a part to play in those plans.

Local food fare

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:38:06 +0000

Last week was the local food fare in Chichester and my wonderful friend, Rosemary Moon, was doing all the cookery demonstrations, standing on an old hay cart from the Weald and Downland Open Air museum. She invited various people/local producers to come and do a dem with her and talk about their interests, so here is me doing my bit! I brought in some cannellini beans from the allotment and she cooked up a delicious salad with lettuce, celery, bacon and my beans, drizzled over with some chilli oil. All the elements of the salad were local. It was great fun standing on the hay cart and chatting about why I do what I do (including a bit about my Christian faith), and even better was being able to eat the salad afterwards!!

Bloomin' marvellous

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:04:43 +0000

Big Celebrations!! We've been awarded Outstanding in this year's Britain in Bloom competition, in the Neighbourhoods category. It's another really important milestone for us as the Whyke Estate Community Association as we continue our work to transform the Whyke Estate from being effectively a 'sink estate' that noone wanted to live on and that had a really bad reputation in the area into a wonderful place to live, a place that people can be proud of and a place that people now really want to move onto. It was also great to see Dave Tilley (next to me) receive a special certificate of achievement at the national awards ceremony, in recognition of all the hard work that he has put into this particularly. The children from the local school are there because they form the school's Eco-team and played their part too. Mali is second from the right!

Cooking up theology

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:48:20 +0000

I'm having a busy week this week. In amidst looking after the kids, reading through the proofs for some Bible notes that are being printed soon and catching up on emails from being away, I'm trying to lay up some of the wonderful produce that's around at the moment. As summer begins to give way to autumn we become surrounded by nature's bounty: apples, blackberries, elderberries, plums, tomatoes.... and so yesterday saw me making up jars of home-made roasted tomato passata, slow drying tomatoes in the oven and making appley lemon curd. Today I'll do more tomatoes and am going to bottle some plums (in brandy - yum!) and make blackberry and apple leather. Even Greg got in on the act and has made some nasturtium capers!

As I stirred the lemon curd yesterday I wondered why I was spending so much of my time on this when, really, I could easily pop to the shops and buy some, leaving me with time to get on with other things that I need to do. As I reflected on this I realised something important: my cooking is my theology.

The way we cook and the way we eat reflects what we believe. I believe that God made this world and all that is in it, and that he loves it and wants us to live in a way that demonstrates that love. To me, cooking with local seasonal produce and putting it aside so I can use it later rather than buying it air-freighted and out-of-season from the supermarket is one small way in which I can do that.

Blood sweat and takeaways

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:14:19 +0000

I wonder how many people are watching BBC1's, 'Blood Sweat and Takeaways'? If you don't know about it already it shows six young adults going to Asia to work in the farms and factories where the food they love comes from. It's an epic journey for these six people as they discover the reality of life for the people who grow, catch and process the food that they eat every day, and discover an awful lot about themselves in the process. I suspect that it's also quite an eye-opener for many of us watching the programme too.

Last night was all about prawns, and the young adults worked in the filthy waters of the prawn farms, stayed with the farmers, and then tried to work as prawn processors in the factory in the town. It showed the incredibly hard life that these Indonesian workers lead for such a tiny amount of money. What it didn't show though was the effect of prawn farming not just on the workers but on the land that they live on, something I won't go on about here because it's in 'K is for Kippers' in the book.

What it leaves me wondering though is how do we respond back here in the UK, where so many of the prawns are consumed? I now haven't eaten prawns for quite a while (unless I can guarantee they come from organic farms) because I simply don't want to be part of a system that is so exploitative, to both people and land. But then what is the answer? What about all the people who depend on the prawn farms for a livelihood (although you wonder if it can really be called that)?

It strikes me that one of the main problems is the pressure that we put on the industry from our end, to have our food at cheaper and cheaper prices. That puts untold pressure on the workers in the factories to process a thousand prawns each an hour, turning them into little more than robots who stand all day on the processing lines, and puts awful pressure on the farmers themselves who take so little money from what they produce. It seems to me that we are urgently in need of ethical and fairtrade standards to come into the prawn industry.

I say in the book that we should get back to seeing prawns as an expensive and rare luxury, rather than a regular food. If we ate less of them, but paid more, then less of Indonesia's land would need to be destroyed to make way for the farms and fairtrade standards would ensure that the workers would see more of the money.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has any other ideas??

Perfect Pigs

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:35:56 +0000

This year's pigs have now been happily installed for a good couple of months and are very content and growing nicely. This year we've mixed breeds, going for some Oxford Sandy and Blacks alongside our customary Saddlebacks. It's interesting to see that the OSBs are significantly smaller than the Saddlebacks, which is going to make for a bit of a challenge when it comes to the butchery and deciding who has what. We've got thirteen pigs this year, in two enclosures, and have definitely reached our limit - we can't do any more than that. With so many of us involved I'm now not going over as often as I used to, which is nice from a lazy perspective, but has meant that I haven't got to know them quite as much as would've happened before. The scheme is going well now and has actually inspired two off-shoots, with a couple of groups of friends now doing something similar elsewhere on land that they have found. It's great to see the idea taking off and giving people the opportunity to experience rearing their own meat.

mutton feast

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:25:19 +0000

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a pretty unique experience as about twenty of us got together to sample the delights of an all-but-forgotten food: mutton.

One of the members of the Transition Chichester food group is a local sheep farmer. He had a six-year old ewe who had done her turn on the lambing front and needed despatching, to put it politely. For most farmers in his position the ewe is of no commercial value and so he made us the offer that, if he had her slaughtered and hung properly (three weeks, very impressive), we could take the meat and see what we could do with it.

An offer that was not to be refused!

So, the lovely Rosemary Moon collected the meat last week and dropped off various cuts to us with requests as to what dishes we were to do and then we all gathered at her house for the most wonderful mutton feast with: roast leg of mutton, mutton curry (my dish!), Moroccan mutton tagine, mutton Irish stew and slow-braised mutton chops. All these wonderful dishes were accompanied with the most amazing assortment of breads, potatoes salads and green salads which, being as we're all part of TC's food group, were all home-made, home-produced, freshly prepared etc etc. Then others brought puddings and again we had a delicious array of strawberries, strawberry flan, cheesecake, gooseberry and elderflower fool, rhubarb fool... once more all coming from our various gardens.

Need I say more?! A true mutton feast was indeed had by all and I would recommend mutton to whoever can get it.

hopeful virtue

Fri, 08 May 2009 21:49:17 +0000

hopeful virtue

I've recently found myself involved in a bit of an interesting dialogue that has got me thinking about some stuff.

It was started by an article in the March 09 edition of the Ecologist magazine entitled, Abandon Hope. Written by an associate professor of environmental ethics at Michigan State University and an assistant professor of animal ecology at Michigan Technological University, the article set out to challenge the standard means by which the environmental movement seeks to motivate individuals to change. That means is the concept of hope: if you do this, then disaster will be averted and all will be okay.

The authors state that there is a fundamental problem with this motivational tactic: 'every other message I receive suggests that disaster is guaranteed, and the reasons to think that if I live sustainably enough others will do the same are unconvincing.'

In contrast to this utilitarian way of thinking, the authors want us to go back 2,300 years to Aristotle and his concept of the virtues (something, of course, that Aquinas was to develop later on). And so they say, 'we need to equate sustainable living, not so much with hope for a better future, but with basic virtues, such as sharing and caring, which we already recognise as good in and of themselves, and not because of their measured consequences. Living by such virtues is a fundamentally right way to live - even if nobody else does and even if it might not avert environmental disaster'.

In the midst of their article, however, they talk about the 'Christian view of hope that dominates the Western mindset' and make the astonishing statement that, 'Christian hope has nothing to do with the welfare of life on Earth; it refers to "hope in eternal life in heaven"'! Coming from a US perspective, I guess that statement isn't really so astonishing and, of course, it is the stereotype of what a Christian believes. I couldn't let such a statement pass by unchallenged, however, and so wrote into the Ecologist to say that actually this was a mistaken understanding of the Christian view of hope. On getting the most recent edition I was delighted to find that I wasn't alone in writing in and the Wakefield Diocesan Adviser in Environmental Issues also wrote to say that, 'if there is no hope, no future, no God, no continuing humanity, no Earth as we know it, it is hard to imagine many finding motivation in acting virtuously. Only in the context of hope does virtuous action make complete and logical sense'. An excellent letter, Bill Halling!

I find in the speaking and writing that I do on caring for this world, I often have to balance out the desire to express a Christ-centred hope for the future with a sober and chilling assessment of where this world appears to be heading. Although the authors of the Ecologist article aren't writing from a Christian perspective, I find what they say resonates with the approach I often take. The reality is that I want to do things like use my car less, produce my own food, not buy so many things and so on, not finally because I think it will make a difference (although I long for that to be the case), but because, as an apprentice of Jesus, it is the right thing to do.

Memories for a lifetime

Fri, 01 May 2009 12:39:04 +0000

Memories for a lifetime

Last weekend we had a working day over at the centre where we keep our pigs. There are now twelve individuals and families involved and we're looking forward to having thirteen pigs this year. We're getting them very soon so needed to do some last-minute repairs on the enclosures and it was a good opportunity to get everyone together.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the woods were full of bluebells and the orchard full of blossom, the birds were singing and the butterflies flitting around, and everywhere was bursting forth with gorgeousness as it does at this time of the year. As soon as we arrived the children ran off into the woods for their games. One of the children had brought some face-paints so they tumbled back out of the woods some while later with their faces covered in flowers and butterflies, matching the world around them. After a little while, some of the girls went down into the long grass of the orchard and sang together and practised their handstands.

We were also joined by some of the guys who live at the place (a residential centre for adults with severe learning disabilities). Over the last few years we have been gently getting to know them; giving them hugs, chatting with them and letting them accompany us when we walk over to feed the pigs. In return they have taken on some of the responsibility of feeding the pigs each morning and taking care of them. It was wonderful seeing them joining in with us while we banged in nails and fixed planks and it is a privilege to be part of something that has adults with such disabilities as an integral part of it.

For some random reason there was an old comfy sofa and chair in the field where we keep our pigs, situated under the bright green trees. I watched Mali and Jemba sitting there with their friends - chatting, playing and enjoying the sunshine - and reflected for a moment on how wonderful it is that they are able to do these things. I know that we are giving them memories that will last the whole of their lives, and that when they are grown up they will tell their friends and partners about these days. I hope these memories inspire them always to love God's world and the things that live in it

it's all over

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:53:47 +0000

It's all over

Well, it's all over. Not life, you'll be pleased to know, but another year at Spring Harvest. If you've no idea what I'm talking about, Spring Harvest is a big Christian festival/conference type thing that takes place simultaneously at Minehead and Skegness Butlins, drawing together some 35,000 people over the Easter holidays. It's a wonderful experience, great fun for the kids and a big faith-filled boost for the adults. I've been speaking there now for 14 years and love it; love seeing people inspired and God touching both the guests and the speaking team.

This year we were looking at the idea of Jesus being a rabbi and what that would've meant in his context. As rabbi, those who follow him are his apprentices and so we spent the week looking at what it means to be his apprentice today. I think the thing that came out most strongly, and that seemed to strike a chord for most people in my seminars, was how embedded we are in dualistic thinking and the damage that that has done. And so we spent a lot of time looking at how 'spiritual' doesn't equate with 'non-physical', but that it equates with 'God-breathed' or 'God-indwelt'. So, being generous or choosing to walk instead of drive are both as much spiritual disciplines as prayer or solitude.

My favourite moment this year was with my two daughters, Mali (8) and Jemba (5), watching the Saltmine Theatre Company's production of the events of the Easter weekend, who moved the egg?. 1500 people watched in silence as the Last Supper took place and the tension rose. Jesus told his betrayer to do what he had to do quickly. The poignant moment came: Judas stood up, walked over to Jesus and kissed him on the forehead. Before she could help herself, Jemba exploded, 'yeuch!!'. The whole place collapsed with laughter and gave me a moment I'll never forget.

earth hour

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:21:50 +0000

Earth hour

This Saturday (28^th) at 8.30pm over 2300 cities and towns across 80 regions/countries, 462 iconic landmarks (including the Eiffel Tower and the Syndney Opera House), individuals, schools, communities, universities, councils and businesses are all going to turn their lights off for one hour. Even Coca Cola is going to be turning off its legendary neon sign in Piccadilly Circus.

If you haven't yet heard, that hour is officially earth hour and the WWF are looking for one billion people to sign up and make the statement that climate change is important and must be tackled. That message will add weight to the UN climate change summit in Copenhagan in December.

There are all sorts of ways in which we can join in: have a family 'midnight feast' by candlelight, go on a moon-lit walk, have a candle-lit bath, sit in the dark and share stories, have friends round for a candle-lit dinner party... the list is endless. The point though is serious and WWF need you to sign up to make your voice be heard. Whatever you are doing on Saturday evening, turn the lights off.