César Álvarez SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture RTVE Symphony

Shostakovich in a good mood.
A conductor who keeps his coat on.
A contrabassoon and a nice big shiny tuba.
What could be better to end a Saturday and herald a Sunday ?

Do us a favour...

Lay off that "Might as well rain until September" song, and any others that talk about rain.

The weather here is taking it a bit literally. We are inundulated.

French ? Wassat ?

The theme of the pastorale

was "the muslim, our neighbour", and it was led by a small team from the South of France somewhere. They did a very good job.

Sudden bus and tram strike

When trams break down then buses are taken off their normal routes to shuttle people between the tram stops. The problem is that there aren't always roads running alongside the tramlines so it's often rather stressful, the drivers have no warning of their duty as shuttles and no chance to learn the routes and sometimes they get lost.

On Tuesday, after getting lost several times and being guided by someone at the end of his radio link, one of the bus drivers suffered a heart attack and died.

Today there's a lightning strike to protest at this and to urge the company to find a better way of operating.

Full yes. Exciting ? Kind of ...

Yesterday was one fo those helter-skelter 'If it's 5pm then I must be at the church...' days. The morning started fairly peacefully with a house full of women reading and praying together. I love my office and I had a lot of emails to catch up on after my sojourn in the wilds of the Cévennes..

The afternoon was taken up by a church council meeting to which I am invited though I am not a church council member - co-opted we'd probably say in anglo-saxonland. There's a lot to discuss, including the future for our buildings and so on...

That meeting finished at about 19h and when we went to the tram stop we noticed that the ticket machine wasn't working and neither were the info-boards. So we were glad when after about 3 minutes waiting a tram bowled up and took us to Hôtel de Ville. I was just in time for the evening Bible study, but more serendipitous, just in time to eat some really nice chicken stew prepered by Liz's fair paws.

The study seemed to go OK, then the bus de soir took me home at its usual breakneck speed.

Same old same old ? Perhaps... But we're convinced that God is at work in the routine, too.

Crossing the Viaduc de Millau

on the way to the pastorale

Phew ! Tired this evening !

Preaching in French at Anglade. I took my trusty Potters Catarrgh Pastilles - and left them on the dashboard of the car ! What a mutt ! Realised the gravity of my error halfway through the message - but got to the end OK !

This evening Ben preached with his usual enthusiasm and a little less speed than usual (someone said something apparently) on 1 John 1. Kind of fitting in with me on John.

We're all cock-a-hoop because Liz and Adrien have gotten engaged. There'll be a little fête tomorrow evening but sadly I can't be there because I am off on my travels again.

Yes - I feel very spoilt even though zooming off again is a bit of a fag, even just Monday to Wednesday. This time it's the pastorale in the Cévennes. If you can imagine the Bala Conference with added chestnut conserve for breakfast and wild boar for lunch then you are getting close. The Cévennes are lovely, especially in autumn, and I have to admit that the food is better than Bala, though I'd quickly and readily swap the food and the scenery to hear a Bala speaker, of course...

As always the best thing is the conversations, seeing the guys. Each time you get to know people better.

At the end of November I'll be off to Rodez for the regional synod.

It's a tough life but someone has to do it.

This is good news !

One of the best tips I was ever given about preaching was to read the text early in the week so your brian can just stew on it. Aha !

This weekend - singin' and preachin'

We have a chorale répétition this afternoon - we've got a choir together for the Carol Service. Tomorrow I am preaching in French at Anglade but the family will be at Cenon. Then the English Service in the evening, where Ben is preaching..

It was a cracking week.

The weather was ridiculously good (up to 29°) and we just got away together.

It's very picturesque

In fact all in all I was quite taken with the area surrounding Carcassonne. It's three hours' drive south of us in Bordeaux and that's enough to make quite a difference to the landscape. It's dry and scrubby, much more mediterranean, with olive trees and the vines look less robust. Of course, the mountainous landscape helps, too.

Friday at Lastours

On the Friday we went to visit a Cathare fortress called Lastours. It consists of four ruined towers perched up high on four crags. There are steps to get up to them but you do have to watch out as it's quite precipitous and there are cables laid to trip the unwary !

Blue Skies

The weather has been exceptionally good this week while the kids have been on vacances de Toussaint.
So this is to celebrate.
And because the singer reminds me of my Auntie Maisie.

Dehumanisation

Last night Pat and I watched "The Pianist" and I was reminded again of the power of dehumanising peoples, groups, parties, by giving nicknames, etc...
So profoundly destructive.

More Thursday in Carcassonne

Thursday in Carcassonne

On the Thursday Pat and I explored the cité again

Lightning cold

Another one !

Where do they come from ?
Why do they hit me ?
How come they only last one day ?

I had another of my 'One Day Wonder Lightning Colds' yesterday.
A BlitzCold.

I'll try drinking orange juice to see if that stops them.

Tomorrow is

Ubuntu 9.10 launch day.

Yippeeeee !

And it's a free upgrade for anyone and everyone.

On the importance of pronunciation

Tuesday evening

is Bible Study evening in Carcassonne.

We had borrowed someone's house who lives just a short walk from the cité and a slightly longer walk from the Bastide Saint Louis where the church meets.

These photos will be noisy, but they'll give you an impression of the beauty of Carcassonne.

The Clark family

live in a lovely house on the hill side above Magrie, where the garden is surrounded by golden broom and wild fennel and the praying mantises prowl.

On the Tuesday we called to visit a family

who have recently moved to Limoux to start a church.

Limoux is the home of the Blanquette de Limoux - a sparkling white wine invented by a monk and the precursor to all champagnes and sparkling wines in the world.

Evolution and the fall

Friend Barnesie reviews a recent book, "Darwin, Creation and the Fall" here.

It seems to me that the issue of physical death is vital to our understanding of Christianity.

If creation is true then death is the catastrophic consequence of our rebellion against God and is, in a very real way, an intruder.

If evolution is true then death is God's wonderful way of bringing about the rich diversity that we see in the world around us and is, in a very real sense, the essential motor of all the beauty we see.

And grief and mourning should give way to rejoicing: Another weakling bites the dust ! Onward and upward, eh !

Roofs of Carcassonne

I didn't take my camera to church, clot that I am. I almost never do, but I have vowed to change my ways.

More Than Swing Big Band - Mr Zoot Suit

Fear not, the young lady removes her coat in a rather flamboyant manner, but I imagine it is rather hot under those stage lights. Some people remove the handle from the sink plunger before using it as a mute - other like to preserve the two uses, or simply find the handle useful...

Carcassonne is too picturesque for words

On Monday we visited the cité

We went to Carcassonne for a week's holiday

Beyond the Sea

For a couple of days - no, longer - I've been linking videos in Youtube to the blog, but they haven't appeared.

It's done this before sometimes - waited a long time to set up the link, then sent loads at once.

Anyway on this nice first day of the Vacances de Toussaint, here's a link to a big band playing "Beyond the Sea" (La mer).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kHCCOwoJf4&feature=youtube_gdata

Preaching around...

I love preaching in other folks' churches, but I'm always aware that people don't know you, so all the little habits you have that people in your own church are used to are totally strange to the folks you're visiting.

Still...

Desert island discs à la française

On Tuesdays I drive into the student centre between 6:30 and 7:30, and Radio France Classique has on a fairly extended kind of desert island discs. It's a joy to listen to this kind of thing in the car, and recently they played the finale of the Bartok Concerto for orchestra.

I remember that there's a record in the loft somewhere that has the Bartok Concerto on its B side, and I never got the hang of it. After listening to the finale on the radio I think I could give it another go...

PJB

I can't make the music school orchestra practice at the moment. Albert is OK about it, and yesterday I got the parts so I can take a look at them. For one piece he's given me the baritone sax part, so I have to transpose it. Hmmm.

However, Renaud prof de trombone has been talking for a while about playing in the PJB, the Pessac Jazz Band, the school's big band. Last night was the first evening I could go, so I went. Well it's great fun. You have to keep your wits about you. Last night we worked on an arrangement of Chick Corea's "Spain", "JB" by Jeff Jarvis, and an arrangement of "Fly me to the moon". We were four saxos, two trumpets, bass guitar, guitar, drums and two trombones - three if you include Renaud, who directs the big band. The rehearsal was from 20h30 to about 23h.

There are recordings of lots of these on Youtube, but at present I don't seem to be able to post videos on the blog. They'll probably come all at once one day !

Record shops

Thing of the past, eh ?

Yesterday afternoon Pat was meeting someone in Mérignac so I thought I'd sneak off for a couple of hours and browse in the big shopping centre. I needed to look at bikes, and someone had told me that GoSport gives the best value for money ( le meilleur rapport qualité prix ).

Then I nipped into the Virgin Megastore next door to GoSport. There's a Classical Music "Section".

Tell me, is Tower Records still there ? I remember back in the heady days of the 80s, when I was sent on training courses to Hammersmith or to Highgate I'd scuttle into Tower Records and hunt down obscure flute albums. My best ever prize was an LP of Japanese singers and (I think) Peter Lukas-Graf performing Bach flute obbligatos - probably the most odd record I ever bought. The flute playing was sublime but the singers were all unknowns, and not altogether unjustly.

Well that was the 80s. This is the noughties and record shops like that have probably been killed by downloads from the iStore, Virgin online etc...

I must get used to hunting online for recordings. And downloading them.

Today's about sermon prep for Sunday and about the Gars de Pessac

Us Pessac guys get together on Friday lunchtimes now to read, discuss and to pray together. It's a good time.

On Sunday morning I am preaching in Carcassonne, so I am rather excited about that.

Don't worry. It's pea and ham soup, really!

The exciting world of high-finance

To get in and out of town I travel by tram and bus. There's various ways of paying for this:
You can pay 1.40 per journey.
You can pay 5.20 for 5 journeys.
You can pay 10.30 for 10 journeys.
Or you can have a cool card with your photo on that beeps when you put it near the machine and costs 31.50 a month.

Every now and again I have to tot up how many journeys I do a month and work out the best way to pay. Up to now it's been the 5 journey card, at 5.20 a shot and Pat and I can share the cards.
However the number of journeys I make by bus and tram has suddenly shot up to the point where I'm paying nearly 40 euros a month just for me for lots of 5 journey cards...
That means it is now more efficient for me to get a cool photocard that beeps ! Hurrah ! Where's that form?

Tonight's Bible Study

At the moment we are doing a series of evenings on interpreting the Bible. Last week we took some ordinary texts in French and talked about how they work to convey their meaning etc... This evening it's depending on the Spirit to understand the passage, then talking about the range of literary genres God used in the Bible...

So far so good. The scary bit is in some weeks' time when we get to look at some things about how Hebrew poetry works in the Psalms, like structure, repetition, parallelism, etc... and how to explain that in French.

It'll be fine. It'll be fine...

Student sondages

It's great doing sondages with the students. Very few students are unwilling to talk.

However the vast majority have no idea of the Christian message and no concern to see if it's true.

We ate our lunch together and got talking to a student doing Spanish and English. She's fluent in both languages, so she's finding the first term of work rather trivial. We tried to reassure her that it's always like that, and Liz, who's studying French and Spanish, enjoyed talking with her about Spanish authors.

I did meet up with a lot of students doing English, so the English classes at the student centre may help them with conversation and so on.

Sometimes it just does your head in

How am I going to explain "antithetic parallelism" and "synthetic parallelism" in French ? and do I really have to do that diagramme of Psalm 46 ? and why did I start using this stupid book ?

Oh yes - because it's a good book...

Come on brian, get working...

.

Confession time - what a sell-out !

OK. I admit it. All this stuff about Apple this and Apple that, exploding ipods and melting Macbooks, MacMinis that cost four times as much as other PCs and iPhones that take your i out when they spit iSplinters of iGlass at you...

I LOVE 'em. They're so white and shiny and .... ooooh.

Anyway I have long wanted an iPod. Not a Samsung mp3 player or a phone that plays MP3 files, but an iPod. A real one. The lad had one for Christmas last year but that was the closest I got.

Till a combination of factors (UK, special offers, money-off vouchers, falling prices, you know the kind of things) meant I got an iPod Touch from Argos. And it's great. I hardly ever use it for mp3 files, but it's got Bible translations on it, my diary, gmail, podcasts, all sorts !

Phew - confession over...

Friend Harperson says that any day I'll crack and get an iPhone.

He's right in a way - as soon as I could, I would ! Sad, innit.

Is it that time already ?

Normally the weather here turns cold on the 1st of November, but we had a cold snap last weekend and it gave us all a wake-up call !

So the other night we lit the stove for the first time this year. I'd forgotten how cheerful those flames are !

And this morning the winter clothes migration took place - the tee-shirts, shorts and lightweight stuff went south to the lower shelves in the wardrobe and my fleeces, sweatshirts and jumpers headed north, to the top shelves. Scarves and wooly hats went into the section above the shirt hangers. All ready for those early-morning brrrr-times.

It's Windows 7 day tomorrow !

and Apple have released uprated computers to compete.

Windows 7 is said to be much, much better than Vista. If you are currently on Vista, then upgrading to Windows 7 seems a very sensible thing to do.

However, I am on XP - and to go from XP to Windows 7 will involve backing up all your data, loading the new OS then reinstalling all your programs and your data. Assuming your PC is powerful enough to run Win 7 in the first place. I'm not doing that !

Meanwhile I have dual boot into Ubuntu, and Ubuntu 9.10 is due for release in about a week's time. If the migration from 8.10 to 9.4 is anything to go by it will happen in a very quiet, automated way.

France, the land of the enlightenment, of philosophy, of secularism and

of mediums.

This is the foyer of our supermarket with five or six little tents set up for various mediums, fortune-tellers, sooth-sayers and I don't know what else what. Maria, Marie, Myriam, Magdalene etc. didn't seem to have many clients on Monday morning and the ladies I overheard talking about it were happily sceptical.

Quickie report on the weekend

Well that all went pretty well. Rhys stayed over on Friday night after the murder at FAC. Then I escorted him through the chilly but sun-drenched streets of Pessac Alouette to the railway station where we arrived just minutes after the departure of the train. I then accompanied him to the bus stop where he got on the bus, then tram to Bordeaux central station, arriving just minutes after the departure of the train. Hmmm.

Meanwhile I had been struck down with another dose of man-flu, so I took to my bed, aimed my nose skyward and waited for better times.

These cold cures you used to be able to buy contained an antihistamine, aspirin and caffeine, so my recipe when I have a cold is to take some of my stockpiled antihistamines and to drink lots of strong coffee. (Not too much !) Aspirin may be taken if desired.

On Sunday I was OK to mix, though not to shake hands, do the bise or share the common cup. Sadly we had neither paper hankies nor kitchen towel, so I had to go to church with a loo-roll in my pocket.  It is a loo-roll with aloe vera in it - great for the nose. But one guy asked me if I'd put on weight suddenly. Yes, just here, I said, patting the loo-roll in my jacket pocket.

Decent turnout morning and evening. As often happens when I am unwell, I preached better. Makes you think. Some new faces at the English service.

Just as well !

I'm preaching this evening for the English Service but I don't have any responsibilities this morning. Just as well as I have another stinking cold ! Due to too many late nights and early mornings ?

I'll try reversing my habits, early nights and late mornings, and see if that works ! Ha ha ha ha ha !

Did I mention that Bordeaux is

GORGEOUS !

It isn't ALL that easy to imagine -

a three-storey church building with parking underneath on this site

Une blague !

Je préfère le lait d'ici à l'eau de là.

(get it ? à l'au-delà ? it's so FUNNY !)