Autumn

The mist hovers thick and hazy,
Lazy to unveil the day.
It delays the rays of the golden sun,
While dreams and nightmares drift away.

And Summer wanders into Autumn,
Like a cool and colour filled tide;
And the sunshine glows on the bridge
And comes out the other side.

When I was a boy, we had nature tables,
Conkers, acorns and things we brought.
The teacher's handwriting was nice and neat,
Labelling the lessons the trees taught.

And the trees have the amber sun elaborating
The rough textures of their contoured bark.
And lovers walk through the crisp colours
To cuddle on the bench in the park.

This is Autumn in all its glory,
Colours of scarves and leaves,
A new season and a different story
Of the wind and all it weaves.

Nebulae - Latin for Clouds

I took this photo on Sunday, while out for a walk, just before a sunburst.

The Launch of HMS Duncan 11th October 2010

The bridge of HMS Duncan (D37)

Last week I had the privilege and excitement of seeing the launch of a warship on the Clyde in Scotland.  HMS Duncan was the sixth and final Type 45 Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer to be launched.  It also may possibly be the last ship to be launched in this way.
The weather was beautiful, with the warm sun shining in the blue sky.  It was mild and there wasn't much breeze.  The anticipation built up as the band played and then various displays went on.  Even the cranes couldn't keep still and were seen moving along their rails and turning around.  In one of the enormous sheds, the hull one of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers was taking shape, but work on it was stopped today for Duncan.
Then at last the time came for the service to start.  Prayers were said by the Chaplain of the Fleet and then we all sang the Naval Hymn, accompanied by the band of the Royal Marines.  After another prayer and the National Anthem, the ship was named by Mrs Marie Ibbotson, wife of Vice Admiral Richard Ibbotson CB DSC Deputy Commander in Chief Fleet.  A few seconds of delay later and the ship gently and quietly slid backwards along the slipway to huge cheers, balloons being launched and a firework display.
Later we watched the tugs racing around her, pushing and pulling and revving their engines loudly whenever they needed to.  Then she was pushed into the dock as the shadows lengthened and the sun began to set.  The crowds began leaving, like a tide going out.  It was the end of an amazing day and the beginning of the life of one of the most modern, state of the art warships ever to be built.

Ready for launch at high tide at 15:47

Balloons ready for launch when the ship starts moving

The hull of one of the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carriers

Some of the many cranes at Govan Shipyard

Tugs pushing and pulling to bring Duncan into dock after the launch

Duncan safely in dock after her launch

You've read the blog, now watch the movie!

The Rescue of the 33 Chilean Miners

I've just read on the news that a thanksgiving service has taken place for the rescue of the 33 Chilean Miners.  Last week, all around the world, live pictures were streamed of the rescue of these 33 miners.  I think it was a fantastic story and it's quite right that we celebrate their rescue.  They were thought to be dead, but found to be alive; they were lost, but then they were found.
As I watched the story unfold and the live pictures from various angles, including underground, I couldn't help but draw parallels with another amazing rescue.  When Jesus Christ came to earth He left everything behind in heaven and took on this mission to rescue us, the human race.  God got involved in our rescue, by sending His one and only Son.  This mission was the most important thing to Him.
At the mine, the Chilean President took the time to be involved and even said that the raw materials are not the most important thing his country has, but the miners – the people.  He also said in an interview that the cost "doesn't matter".
As I watched the Fenix 2 escape pod going down to the depths to rescue another minor, it would be no underestimate to say, this was the only way for them to be saved.  Likewise, with Jesus Christ, He is also the only way to salvation.  Why?  Why not?  What can a person do to get themselves up to the same standard as a Holy God?  The miners couldn't rescue themselves and neither can we.  We all need to take Jesus Christ on as our Lord and Saviour.
One reporter said that the miners were brought up to the "light of life".  When each one emerged there was great rejoicing.  This reminded me of the verse "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10 (New International Version).

Twitter

Recently, I decided to start tweeting again.  I was tweeting The Bible and stopped because I was going too deep and not getting the time to actually make any forward progress through it.  Anyway, hopefully, I'll go through The Bible at a reasonable pace and tweet any points of interest.  Hopefully, I'll be encouraged and so will you.  I'm starting at 1 Samuel, because that's where I'm up to at the moment.

Eat Pray Love – Movie Review

Many films and stories end with a "happy ever after."  But what if the happy ever after never happens and years later romance dies and a marriage comes to an end.  The film starts with the story of Stephen and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is the author of the book with the same title as the film.  It is her autobiographical account of when their marriage ended and all that happened afterwards.

I felt sorry for her husband Stephen, who clearly says in the film that marriage for him really did mean "'till death do us part."  However, Liz wants to get out of the marriage and she does.  There is some bittersweet humour when Stephen starts making drum machine noises to introduce a song he's going to sing at the divorce proceedings and then shouts "Quitter!  Quitter! Quitter!"  In the book, her mother tells Liz how she made her marriage work with her father.

The story continues as Liz travels to Italy, India and Indonesia.  I'm pleased that there are many wonderful quotes straight from the book.  She meets some nice people along the way and makes friends incredibly easily and wisely.  But where most films may romanticise peoples lives, this shows the nitty gritty pain about trying to sort out hurts from past relationships.  Liz is on a journey to find God and in some places, I believe she does just that.

The film has some great scenes and cinematography, from the New York skyscrapers to Rome in the golden sunlight, to the bustle of India and tranquillity of Bali.  The acting is second to none – it would have to be with Julia Roberts and there is some lovely romantic music.  One of the songs, 'S Wonderful, I thought sounded like it was being sung by the medicine man, who had a very similar soft and gentle voice.  It's a slow film, but it's meant to be – slow like a riverboat.  There is a mellow sense of peacefulness about it.  If I thought it went on too long, maybe it was like an extended vacation.  I felt relaxed and chilled as the story of this woman's journey went through three countries.

The other thing, I have to mention is the food.  Yes, there is lots of eating in this film.  Be warned, it will probably leave you feeling very hungry, even if you do have a large chicken sandwich before watching it.  In some scenes there is more food than in a cookery programme. There is pasta, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, breadsticks and red wine, all accompanied by a feel good factor and laughter from this small group of friends.

I can't say I agree with the conclusions Liz makes after her trip to India about God, but this is her story and she's entitled to her opinion.  It's a film that will leave you feeling refreshed, but thoughtful and reflective.  I'm keen to see if there will be a movie sequel.  The book, Eat Pray Love advertises the book sequel – the title is Committed.

Things I Never Knew About Italian

For one week now, I've been learning Italian.  Recently, I've been reading a book that shed some light on the Italian language.  It said that there were various provinces in Italy, each speaking a different dialect of Latin.  Throughout Europe, each capital city forged their own Latin dialect into the language for the rest of that nation.  But Italy was different.  A gathering of intellectuals collected the most romantic and beautiful phrases from the regions and combined these into the language now known as Italian.  To do this, they had to look back two hundred years earlier, when the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri wrote his Divine Comedy.  Dante had written this in his local Florentine language and not Latin.  When it was published in 1321 it came as a bit of a shock to the establishment, but his language is what basically became Italian.  As the author says, this is like taking Shakespeare and officially making his work the official English language.

Not only did I make this discovery, but also that the Italian states were unified in 1861.  What's so interesting about that?  Well, I already knew that the Germanic states were unified by Bismark around 1863.  It's fascinating that these two events happened within a couple of years of each other.

So to use a metaphore, I thought, now I've read about the band, I want to buy the CD.  So I did.  I bought a copy of Italian in 30 days.  At first I felt like a child learning to speak.  Then after much playing and rewinding of the CD, I can now master complicated phrases like la ragazza con la valigia (the girl with the suitcase).  Whether I will go on and learn the language, I don't know, but at least I can now have an appreciation of why this language is so beautiful and why so many people love it.

The book I refer to is called Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  You may find it in either the Health section or the Travel section of any good bookshop.  It was recommended by Ellie on her blog.  It is a bit of a girlie book, but so what!  Sometimes it's good to see how the other half live.