Climate Migration: A film idea

As I was out cycling recently, I began to wonder about the kinds of Climate Change films being made, and it occurred to me that one area there has been almost work on so far is climate change migration, the idea of people moving away from the equators in search of a liveable environment could make a pretty epic film. The main twist I’d like to see in it: I think it should be about a family from Britain struggling to migrate into overpopulated Norway.

Finding Momentum, Finding Vision

So Momentum is in full swing here in Somerset. My major feeling is that this is the first year when Momentum has really escaped from its image as “Soul Survivor grown up”, and begun to find a vision of its own. And its seen some truly groundbreaking talk addressing the concern that so many 20-somethings are quitting the church in such numbers, with our age group half as likely to attend as the general population and that 50% of those of us who do attend are within London; the regions being a place of total absence for an entire age-band.

Challenging Africa’s ‘enclosure’

One would hardly think it worth while to invest in African farmland, given the images of starvation which are still attached, and sometimes quite accurately, to the continent. But yet the BBC recently reported on a land grab that could threaten the food sovereignty, as well as the livelihoods, of many  vulnerable Africans.

The French try to rewrite Islam, again

One wouldn’t expect the mayor of a small town in France to be the best at telling people what the Quran has to say on any issue, but apparently that’s exactly what happened in a bizarre twist to yet another tale of French religious interference. We’ve had the headscarf in schools row, its now time for the Islamic swimming costume row.

Welcome to Staycation Nation

Apparently this summer is meant to be the summer of the “Staycation”, people deciding to holiday in Britain instead of going overseas in order to save money. This leaves me wondering when it became insufficient to simply Vacate one’s town or city, and why we need a whole new (or rather, American) term for a holiday we take inside our national boundaries.

Berlusconi: Slime Appeal

Yesterday I gave a rally speech completely off the cuff to a crowd of several hundred. It happens alarmingly often these days, but what was completely new was a reporter chasing me back through the crowd afterwards for an interview. Was it my desire to open a cultural battle front with the BNP? No, it was my linking of the BNP to Europe’s most extreme ruler, Media Mogul and Mussolini fanboy Silvio Berlusconi.

In Sheffield, and not in pain

Just to bring things up to date, I’ve made it to Sheffield. It was a little more traumatic than it should have been and took a few more miles of pedalling than it should have done, and at least one more encounter with a dual carriageway than it should have done. Apart from my saddle being a little wobbly just at the end, my bike is in one piece. 96km or 60miles in 6hrs51, average 14kph or 8.5mph. Tomorrow, all being well, will get me to Birmingham via Derby, Burton on Trent and either Tamworth or Lichfield. I’d quite like to see Lichfield, as I need to tick the cathedral off my list!

My big fundraising cycle adventure

I wouldn’t normally use my blog for something like this, but I thought some of you might be interested to know why my postings are about to become less frequent. As I’m going to be working as a volunteer Social Action rep for St Mike’s and volunteer Administrator for Transcendence, I have to raise my own living somehow, and for the first few months, that’s going to have to be fundraising. So, tomorrow I set off on 240 miles of cycling to reach Soul Survivor.

On the Rise and Rise of Poker

A few nights ago I found myself watching a poker tournament on TV. This didn’t make a huge lot of sense to me. but it was an interesting thing to be able to reflect upon. I don’t know about you but Poker is something that seems to be undergoing a big renaissance right now, and has been since before the recession.

Loving the NHS, loving our neighbours

There seems to be a massive spat going on, a sort of blog-war between Britain and certain parts of America. Almost out of nowhere, the #welovetheNHS tag has appeared and rocketed its way to the top ten things people are saying, with NHS not far behind. Seems it can all be tracked to one Republican using the NHS to slag off Obama’s healthcare package. It just shows the depths people will go to in order to prevent the poorest receiving the healthcare they need.