Today

These last few days feel like they have been a bit eclectic, heres a run-down:

Catch up with some friends on Monday;
Housegroup on Tuesday evening;
Trying to finish off some work now before catching my flight back to Ireland;
Pick up my new camera tonight (!!!!);
Soliton Belfast Sessions tomorrow;
Rest day in Portstewart (my favourite place on the planet) on Friday (thats the plan!);
Soliton North Coast Sessions Fri – Sun.

How’s that for excitement! Of course, been fitting uni and some work in around that!

The Last King of Scotland

On Friday past I saw The Last King of Scotland at the cinema. An incredibly hard film to watch!

The Last King of Scotland

“Garrigan’s seduced, as are we, initially, by Amin’s charisma and charm, and only gradually does he become skeptical and eventually horrified as he realizes he’s the intimate of a ferocious dictator who, estimates say, killed off 300,000 of his citizens…”
[IMDB]

The thing I really liked about the film is that it doesn’t resolve. Amin is portrayed not simply as a crazed dictator, but as a human… a very brave and difficult thing to do. We like things to resolve, but the truth is, so often issues just aren’t so black and white… we can’t resolve them.

If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend it. It is an incredibly well-made film, and it is interesting to watch the progression of Uganda from chanting supporters to horrified victims of a dictator.

Idi Amin: A man who shows fear… he is weak, and he is a slave.
Nicholas Garrigan: If you’re afraid of death… it just shows you have a life worth keeping.

Watch the trailer here.

Newcastle / Durham / Friends

What a weekend!

I had a blast hanging out with some friends in Newcastle and Durham over the weekend. Got to spend time with one I know a bit, get to know someone I’ve only met a few times a bit more, and meet a new friend I’ve heard lots about, but never met. Much fun! We just dandered around Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, pretty place.

baltic mill

[Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art]

statue

[A random statue in Newcastle… there was a lot of stuff like this, appears to be a rather artsy place!]

I stayed in Durham on Saturday evening with the girl I’d just met that day. Durham really reminded me of Edinburgh to be honest! Lots of little winding streets and old architecture. We spent some time in prayer that night, which was intense, but can’t be shared here! If you really want to know, drop me an email and maybe I’ll share some more.

Sunday morning we went to my friends church in Newcastle, City Church. I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it… it has a really nice family feel to it, a range of age groups. After having some lunch and coffee, we got the train back up to Glasgow. Journey takes about 2 and a half hours. From Central station we headed straight out to a church on the southside of Glasgow to chat with their youth pastor.

starbucks quality

[We ended up in Starbucks for coffee, despite my not liking it… This sign amused me… “To protect the quality of our coffee, we ask you not to smoke.”]

When I finally made it back into my flat and dumped my stuff (rucksack, sleeping bag et al), I realised just how shattered I was!

Travelling

I’m getting to travel loads at the minute… loving it.

This weekend I’m off to Newcastle to visit some friends, just a wee two day trip but will be nice to see somewhere new and hang out with friends.

Next week I’m heading back to Ireland for the Celtic Soliton Sessions, taking place in Belfast and Portrush. Excited about spending some time on the North Coast again (Portstewart is a place of great significance for me) and meeting some new friends while engaging in meaningful conversations!

After that I’ve got a few weeks in Glasgow, before I can think of somewhere else to go see… Aberdeen is next on the list I think, visit a friend and take some pictures…

Misfit

I keep coming back to this phrase these days… misfits.

In so many ways God keeps leading me back to it. Through conversations with friends, via blog posts, and so on. During Scott’s and Dan’s recent trip to Thailand, they visited NewSong Bangkok. Scott writes:

I came to find out that their main focus is in connecting with what they refer to as “misfits” – or the “third culture” – which, according to their website, “describes a person who can move in and out of different cultures, and build relationships with people who are different from them.

I love this description. I really believe God has given me some form of gifting in terms of relationships and networking. Right now I’m not sure how to use that, but I love NewSongs description of the misfits… I want to be that kind of person.

On NewSongs website they describe their dream of “creating community for misfits“…

Our dream is to create sanctuaries for people who feel marginalized, left out, beaten down, and voiceless to find real relationships.

This resonates with me so much right now. Maybe it will become my dream.