A plane, the president and the palace

Exam marking season now underway so what better time to blog about my trip to Brussels a couple of weeks ago?! As with Lyon and Strasbourg, these places are a bally nightmare to get to. I avoided the silly o'clock flight from Dublin and took the plane from Belfast and Eurostar from St. Pancras. Makes for a better travelling experience I thought. And I was right.

Our flight flew right over central London, and had it been a better day it would have been like an episode of The Apprentice. I first noticed when we flew right over a massive train station that looked awfully like St. Pancras, except using my London geography knowledge I knew that St. Pancras was nowhere near Heathrow. It's not, but we still flew over it and turned the wrong way to get to Heathrow. That's why I'm not a pilot. Next thing I know we're over Greenwich and Olympic Park and I was reaching for my camera!

Olympic Park. You can see the stadium, basketball arena, velodrome and village. Never mind those though, where's the handball arena?!

Home of 2012 Gymnastics.

Canary Wharf. I can nearly hear The Apprentice music now...bum dadum badum badum badum badum ba dum dummmm...

Right over Tower Bridge. You can't really tell except for its shadow in the Thames.

Central London. I've picked out a few highlights for you below.

I decided against annotating the plane wing and the Thames. I thought you could spot them yourself.

Whitehall, the London Eye and Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park.

Finally our jaunt over the hot spots of London was over, things became more residential and less obvious. Except for this place.

The blue seats of Queen's Club!

And off in the distance, Wembley.

I feel the towers would have been harder to pick out that the big arch.

It was exciting that morning to hear that Obama was going to be arriving in Buckingham Palace. I had a few hours before my train with nothing planned. So I headed to Buckingham Palace to see what I could see.

American flags on Pall Mall for one...

and crowds were milling about.

The press porta-cabins for William and Kate were downgraded to gazebos for the President.

The little walk way you can see was left open so I, along with about twenty other people piled across the back of all their shots. I was the only one with a suitcase, however.

The BBC's Emily Maitlis was getting ready to go live.

The Household Cavalry rode past.

There were loads of cameras there. I saw them set up the one on the roof of the Palace, there were big stands and then there was this guy.

The police on duty were deliberating sketchy about where the car was going to be coming from or going to. Understandable I suppose. I had picked out a place right beside the lamp post in this shot only to decide to move closer to the gates.

I picked the wrong gates though and definitely would have been better where I was.

I, and my fellow hangers on, waited. And then we waited some more. And then a little bit more. It wasn't actually that bad, it was all good natured. I got talking to a group of American students were in London on a layover to Kenya for 12 weeks. I took their picture for them after it was all over so they have a nice group shot in front of the Palace. I'm such a friendly sort.

The finally big moment came, the cheers started and the President drove past. I wouldn't actually say I saw him so much as I saw someone waving in the back of the car. I took a video but it's a bit Jimmy White and if I were to put it on you'd really wonder if I saw anything at all. Like I said, I would have been better where I was. Oh well.

It took a while for them to let us out of the area in front of the palace. I didn't understand why. And then it became clear: William and Kate arrived. Ironically they went through the gate I was at, except I had moved to try to leave so all I saw was the car they were in. Not so successful. That said, I doubt I'll ever be closer to Obama or the Cambridges. 

Or Emily Maitlis for that matter.

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 3)

Well, I haven't heard of any of my friendships being terminated. So that either means no one knows they are here or no one minds. Or of course, maybe they're just eagerly awaiting Part 3. Well wait no more, here is it!

Of course, I liked seeing people I know, but seeing family members was best of all! Dad and David, never having worked for the Church, didn't really feature much. Mum and me on the other hand...

Spotted: Mum (in white) at NE Synod c.1986. I knew the instant I turned the page that was my mum!

Rumour has it she taught Dennis Taylor everything he needed to know about snooker.

Then I found me!

Here's me at Soul Mates Challenge. Oh, I'm not the one with yo-yo; I'm the one sitting down.

Alright, alright, here's a proper one with me.

We had problems clapping in time it seems.

I saw a few others, but they are far too recent (2007 on) to be interesting and I don't appear to be doing anything funny, such as, oh I don't know...hula hooping.

But then I struck Methodist Newsletter gold, GOLD I tell you. Right there on a front cover from 1986 was this classic.

I got told that I look like Mowgli from Jungle Book but with a broken nose from playing rugby. Trouble is, I really can't argue with that description. (Glad the awkward growing-out-the-bowl-haircut stage was documented for all of Methodism to see.)

I remember this photo being taken. It was the only time I wore that dress (this photo makes it look good which is one small mercy). Our minister came and took the photo for us. And it took ages, like an actual age and this was the best photo he took?! Like, really there wasn't one where I looked, I don't know, normal?

It was Mark (McE) who told me I look like Mowgli. But I think that was only because I had shown him this one of his family.

This makes me feel better.

Best of all was that these two photos were side by side in the bound Newsletters. It was like an early Awkward Family Photos.com.

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 2)

Funny adverts only took my so far in my amusement writing my dissertation. The Newsletters from the Czechoslovakian farmer years onwards were full of photos. I found it practically impossible to turn a page without looking to see who was in them. More often than not I found someone I knew!

If you worked for the Church, have been on Team on Mission or received into full membership chances are there's a photo of you in there. I laughed at it and then took a picture of it (again, just my phone, no flash, please don't throw me out of the Historical Society).

In the interests of...well humour I thought I'd share some of my finds. However, this is a bit of a risky post to make. First of all if you're not that involved in the Methodist Church you might not have a clue and be bored by it all. Or if you are, you might enjoy it or more worryingly, never speak to me again.

Let's just remember that Methodists are the friends of all and I post these photos full of Christian love.

Quite the head of hair you... all have there! And nice waistcoat! And boys, what ties!

Again, all the hair!

On the plus side, they could have used this photo when your engagement was announced.

I am stunned that I had to find out from the Newsletter of your hula hooping skills. 

>insert jokes here<

I don't even know what to say.

A haircut we're more familiar with! Kind of.

Proving that he's always been a hit with the laydeez.

Who's hiding under her fringe?!

YET with two young ministers to be.

Here's one of them again!

I love the stripy trousers!

The blonde years?

These are definitely the curtain years.

Oh young love!

Just young.

You're right that is Jenny Bristow encased by Team Barclay.

I feel like I'm back at BHS where these two ruled the school. Or so they they liked to think.

Mamma S!

I don't know, I think this photo was staged.

I doubt those of at the YET & TOM celebration night will ever forget this moment. It's good the Newsletter had their photographer there.

The boys don't look that different, but I included it because it's got Sasha the Wonderdog in it!

Check out the side burns!

This is the face that goes along with his infamous prayer voice. It's very serious.

I think it's grossly unfair to have a membership photo where you actually look good!

Knock new membership gold!

Friends of all, remember?!

[Don't worry, you'll definitely enjoy Part 3. I guarantee it.]

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 1)

I don't know what you know about what I was writing my dissertation on so I'll tell you. I had two options. One involved looking at Irish migration to North Carolina. But that might have been hard to do and I might have had to travel to NC, which I would not have minded one bit of course, but it would have dented the old finances somewhat. My other option was to do something on the Methodist Church and the political situation in Northern Ireland. A trip to the Methodist Historical Society is way cheaper than flights to NC. Although this depends on where you're coming from, I suppose.

Despite an earnest start, it took a while for me to get into it if I'm honest. Like I most students I left it to the last few months to really kick into gear. I had two big turning points and one was talking to someone very smart about Methodist history and the other was going to the Methodist Historical Society.

I ended up going there a lot. Well, when you're in the business of researching Methodist History then they're the ticket. In fact, I ended up joining. In fact, and I say this proudly, I have it on good authority I am their youngest member! Stephen McC (Dublin) has threatened to join and he would beat me by a few years, but until I see him with a membership card then I shan't believe him.

Technically speaking you don't get a membership card. You get a receipt. I might get mine laminated instead.

And you also get lots of reading material too!

I know the Methodist Historical Society gets a few rolls of the eyes and some people don't think it's...well they don't seem to like it. I think it's the lock of Wesley's hair that does it. It's hard to get excited about about a lock of hair but easy to mock those that do. But I will come out and say I am a fan of the Methodist Historical Society.

[I may not have been allowed to take these photos, so incase I get ejected from it, let's not tell them ok? In my defence, it was just my phone, no flash.]

Well, I could probably do without the busts of Wesley if I'm honest.

And these things.

And I'm not so much about the mug collection.

But the stories? Tell me the stories about the Church, tell me about the people, tell me about how we got to here and then I'm in! Furthermore, I think the way we have treated our history, heritage and artefacts is nothing short of shameful.

So if it's the stories you want to read, then there's still no place better than the Methodist Historical Society. They have the full set of Methodist periodicals - the Christian Advocate, the Irish Christian Advocate, the Methodist Newsletter. They have the Minutes of Conference, they have the Blue Book, they have it all!

I spent full days reading the newspapers and Newsletters. More from the 1960s onwards, but some of the earlier stuff too. Fascinating stuff! Like did you know they used to have Scouts on duty during Conference? Nope, me neither. The number of times I got totally sidetracked reading an article which was completely unrelated to my research...well that's why it took me so long to get started.

I found myself reading all sorts of stuff and I became familiar with the names of people. So much so that when I was a few years on and got to someone's obituary that I had once been President or something, I was genuinely shocked and sad. It was typical for my brain to say 'Aww, no! Did he die?!' Yeah, Tina, of course he did, he was born in 1885.

Of course, I did get a good laugh at some of the headlines too, like 'New kitchen in Trillick' (I promise, a genuine headline). I learned very quickly that if you're going to have a Methodist based cliche in your article, it needs to involve one of three things. I'll count them down, top ten stylee:

In at number three, hearts being strangely warmed. We like to refer to warm hearts. Allows us prove that we've Methodist blood pumping round our system.

A climber at two, 'And are we yet alive?' This is a big hit with Conference members, which is odd, because for me it could be renamed 'And have we yet found a tune?' but whatevs. No conference report is complete without emphatically answering this question. (The answer is yes, by the way. Unless it's a deep, soul-searching article in which case you ask some hard questions and restate the question at the end to really make the reader think.)

But at the top, it's a non-mover, 'Friends of all'. There is no limit to the situations we can use this phrase. Mission at home, mission overseas, ecumenical relations...if it involves people and the slightest modicum of tension us friendly Methodists are there! Heck, even I used it in the title of my dissertation. You've got to, it's the law.

The best things though about reading all these were the adverts and the photos. In the Christian Advocate and the Irish Christian Advocate it was the adverts. I took a sneaky selection for you, all from 1893.

I vote for more adverts of umbrella emporiums in the Methodist Newsletter. In fact I vote for more umbrella emporiums all round.

Yes, that is 'marvel' and 'tea pot' in the same sentence. Ah 1893 technology!

'Stories from the Indian Wigwams and Northern Camp Fires'. Book reviews sure were different.

You know, up to this point I had never given my liver's performance any consideration whatsoever. How would one know if it is 'sluggish'?

'Indigestion upsets the entire system, makes you cross, miserable, and you are sometimes unable to speak a kind word to anyone.' Isn't that just being cranky? And why would some Brandreth's sugar coated pills help this situation?

Conference was a big deal back in 1893. Although much like today, you had to prepare for it.

By donning your top hat and special cloths clerical wear, 'warranted not to glaze with wear'! Ah, if only they could see us now!

The Irish Christian Advocate offices were destroyed by a bomb in 1972 and it never recovered. Which is sad, because the detail its weekly publication covered is immense. But fear not! The Newsletter was born!

4p? Bar-gain! Success was on its way - 'occasional' soon became monthly.

Well fancy that! Around and About used to be at the back of the Newsletter.

There weren't any photos in this style of Methodist Newsletter and the only colour was at the name. Things changed with the Czechoslovakian Farmers' Gazette format (you know, big sheets, crap print, black and white dotty photos) which ran from, like, 1982 to 1996. And I began to get more distracted by the things I was seeing.

Like this. There was actually a 'Caravan Accommodation Co-Ordinator' at Castlewellan? Seriously? Like, I know it was way smaller, but that job has got nightmare written all over it.

And this I reckon is the first ever Bobby Morrison advert in 1988. He love us long time! No sister staple ad for the Florida apartment in this edition though. Johnny-Come-Lately.

But like I said, there were photos too. And they're what really distracted me...

Alternative acknowledgements

This week I found I passed my dissertation! Hurrah and huzzah for me! I have some stuff for on here relating to it and now that I know it's in the bag and because this weekend is Methodist Conference it seems like a good time to refer to it. 


So to kick off with I'd like to offer my alternative acknowledgements to those that helped me but didn't get a mention in the formal acknowledgements at the start of my dissertation. So...


Thanks to my supervisor from constantly telling me to 'bring the argument forward'. I found that really helpful and directive. Also for teaching me the meaning of the word 'infelicities' by picking out examples from my drafts. Every day really was a school day with you!

To the wee small hours of 12.00am to 4.00am. Quite simply, if you did not exist this dissertation would not exist.

Equally to Cadbury's Creme Eggs and Coca-Cola. You sponsored this work. If only you had paid for my tuition as well.

And finally, to ________________ at ___________________.  Thanks for lying to my face and indirectly prompting me to do this course. I think you're a bozo.

This is dedicated to all the people who told me they 'couldn't go back to university again'. You only think you can't.