“There probably is no God”

I`m sure you`ve seen the posters on the buses in London or at least have heard about the story and the furore that has gone with it. I suppose we should be thankful that the subject of God and the nature of faith still stirs people to be passionate in this increasingly secular society. But, the Humanist Society and that great self-publicist and lazy theologian Richard Dawkins have got exactly what they expected and wanted. So many Churches and Christians have been jumping up and down saying “how awful” this poster campaign is. They have looked staggeringly like Rabbits caught in the headlights and have managed to add to the preconceptions of people of faith being pharasaical killjoys with no sense of hmuour and a fear of people who disagree with them.

My advice to all those people out there who cherish their faith and are passionate about following a faith journey is stop giving the impression that we need to circle the wagons around us and repel borders. Dip into your pocket, give the “probably no God” campaign a fiver and challenge them to the debate that actually there probably is!

Jeff x

The Creative Process

I`ve just spent bits of the last three days in the recording studio. The band that I`m part of, The Smiling Strangers, is back in the studio and back at the coalface of creativity. It is alternatively, great fun and damned hard work. The old adage of inspiration and perspiration (you sort out the percentages) is very apt at the moment. I will keep all posted on the process as it continues as it will probably take a good few months for the finished article to be available to purchase.

It has certainly set me thinking about the growth and dependence that we have upon technology. I`m sure that back in the 60s The Beatles didn`t have the facility to erase their errors in seconds, also perhaps that is why they were so good! Yet, technology is such a boon to our lives. When was the last time you spent a day without going on line to visit a site of check your mail – I can`t remember either. We have become techno-junkies, dependent on the next fix, the next hit. It`s all a bit scary really.

Creation is a wonderful thing and how it was put together in its forms and complexities, I`ll leave for others to work out. I hope and pray that all the new knowledge we have doesn`t take away from the wonder and fragility of all that is around us. Ultimately I hope that our ability to create will not diminish our ability to be in awe and wonder.

Jeff x

Bless The Weather

We seem to be talking snow ad infinitum. Snow that has fallen and the problems that brings. Snow that is about to fall, allegedly. Schools close, people “work” from home (yeah right!) and the whole financial system of our country and world is knocked off the the No 1 spot in the news charts. So do we Bless The Weather or curse it?

It was last Thursday afternoon that I heard some tragic news. One of my musical heroes, John Martyn, passed away. John Martyn was a remarkable musician who plowed his own musical furrow and was virtually impossible to fit into the neat pigeon holes so beloved of music fans and critics. He played folk, freeform jazz, blues, rock – sometimes all within the same song. He was a volatile man who was know for his proclivity to drink copious amounts of alcohol and a definite dislike of critics and journalists . He was unpredictable, charming one minute and downright awkward the next. Yet, within all of that and sometimes despite his temperament, he was capable of writing and performing some of the most achingly beautiful songs in the canon of music. Go to iTunes and download something like “Small Hours” or watch him in the plethora of videos on YouTube to see if you agree. Obviously if you don`t then you need to check your pulse.

I was introduced to the great man back in the early/mid 1970s and have followed him ever since. Remarkably throughout the ups and downs of my own life his music has always been there. He has been the backdrop and landscape to the person I am. I`m not being maudlin about it but his death has really “put me about” and I can`t think of many others (family and close friends excepted) that could do this to me in such a way. Sadly, it makes me think of my own mortality and fragility even more and that is just a little bit scary, if I`m really honest.

“Bless the weather that brought you to me, curse the storm that takes you away”.

Jeff x