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 Charlie Knox26, m, resident of spa, northern ireland, a thinker, who tries to be real, enjoys the company of nala(left), indebted to jesus for his grace and instruction in life and whose, amongst other things, studying sports science at UUJ. enjoy rugby a whole lot! |
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Thursday, May 01, 2008 A few gems in the madness! The last few weeks in April have been mad with work but there's been a few gems! On the 15th April my mum turned 50. To mark the occasion my dad took her to a friend's apartment on the Costa del Sol and had arranged for us all to fly out at different times to join the  celebration. The good bit was mum knew nothing about any of it until each of us arrived out there! First of all SJ flew in from England on the 14th and turned up in a Marbella restaurant where mum and dad were eating. On the 16th Johnny, Rebecca and Gregory arrived at the apartment and were greeted my copious amounts of screaming and finally on the 18th Mel and I appeared from behind the breakfast bar when mum returned from a wee dander. We were only able to stay for two short days but the experience was well worth it. Mum never fails to extend herself for all of us through encouraging words, caring actions and amazing example so it was great just to do something so special and so memorable for her. There were a few other perks of the trip including getting to a drive fun little lancia hire car, a fun road trip round some torturous mountain roads, some great grub and plenty of craic with the folks! Respect also has to go to Dad who engineered the whole thing to precision without mum having a clue about it all! On the 25th April my U14's boarded the bus at the rugby club in Ballynahinch and made their way to the 'big green acre' at Ravenhill were they playing their Ulster Cup final against Monaghan. Having been beaten twice already this season by Monaghan they knew they'd be up for a tough scrap but a super first class performance including some solid defence work and great continuity saw them take an 8 point lead. In the second half they played well but conceded one converted try leaving a fairly nervous 10 minutes to finish the game. Thankfully they held out and when the final whistle went i leapt a right few feet in the air before joining in on the celebrations! It was great day for the lads. Getting to Ravenhill is something every rugby player treasures never mind getting to lift the cup there! I was very proud of my boys....they've been the best bunch I've ever had for dedication to training and team spirit and have been a pleasure to coach. Their hard work paid off on saturday and they'll remember that day for a long time. Ironically I clearly remember a night at the start of this season when after a bad training session i told Melissa how I reckoned this year would be a real struggle! Thankfully the reality was different and there couldn't have been a better way to finish the season....as Ulster Champions!!Official Match Report and Photos here. posted by charlie | 2:31 PM | Nearly there.... Well the final year mist is beginning to lift as today I handed in my last assignment for my degree. It is a great feeling to have that weight off the shoulders. Now only two exams left in mid-may and soon after that I'll be able to add a few letters to the end of my name. I also had an interview yesterday for next year's PE PGCE at Jordanstown. It was a very informal effort and i think i got across everything I'd wanted to in terms of my desire to teach and my relevant experiences to date. Now just a wait until the start of June when we're expected to get a result...i'll know then whether i'm based here or in England next year. I defintely am ready to be done with all this purely academic malarkey, i'm ready to get out of the ivory tower and into the real world again. University has been an experience that has enhanced my knowledge, refined my skills and one I'm most grateful for but all this thinking about things can get tiresome. Thankfully next year's PGCE wherever i do it will have a much more balanced approach of practical experience and reflection! posted by charlie | 2:10 PM | Monday, April 21, 2008 L.O. Some highly intelligent humour from the two ronnies. posted by charlie | 4:23 PM | Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Go on the boys!! posted by charlie | 11:13 AM | Sunday, April 13, 2008 Belfast On Form I love seeing Belfast taking small steps to becoming a vibrant city again.  Having travelled to a right few cities across the globe it has always pained me to think about the city experience i was coming home to. But like Newcastle with its new promenade, hope is in Belfast’s air as signs of change emerge at a fair rate of knots! It's great to see some new architecture springing up, attractions like the big wheel lighting up the night sky and little eateries (like boojum) beginning to appear here and there.Anyhow. Last night I had a good feeling about Belfast as we headed into the Titanic Quarter, through the building works beginning to transform the landscape down there, to go to the drive in movie put on as part of the Belfast Film Festival. I've always wanted to go to a drive-in movie but never expected to have my first experience sitting right next to Harland and Wolff's iconic yellow cranes or with the silhouette of Cavehill on the horizon.  The event itself was run with precision. Upon arrival you were guided to your spot by an army of torch wielding stewards before being provided with an A4 sheet packed with practical information outlining how the whole thing worked. It included the FM frequency to pick up sound for the movie and other helpful tips like remembering to start your car every 20 minutes to avoid a flat battery at the end of the show! Last night's movie was the romantic comedy 'When Harry met Sally' which alongside being a fun show got me thinking about love and loss and sex and love and friendship and lots my own life experiences.So well done Belfast...it's good see you on such good form…the appreciative honk on my horn at the of end of last year’s show was accompanied by a prayer that you continue to be renewed and revived and led into a life much fuller! posted by charlie | 1:31 PM | A Spiced Up Weekend Indian food. First I disliked it, then i could tolerate it and now I love it. Melissa and I enjoyed a great wee feast at the award winning 'Passage to India' restaurant in Downpatrick on Friday night. I'd highly recommend it but would be worth booking if you keen because we've been turned away a few times!! Mexican food. First I disliked it, then i could tolerate it and now I love it. Melissa and I enjoyed a great wee feast at Boojum in Belfast on Saturday night. It was recommended to us by Gregory and I'd highly recommend it to you. And you won't need to book. The Burrito is particuarly good! posted by charlie | 1:16 PM | Thursday, April 03, 2008 Sorry, couldn't help it! Scientists find a 14,000 year old dump! posted by charlie | 9:35 PM | Thursday, March 27, 2008 ONCE is a great movie. posted by charlie | 11:35 PM | BCN A recent conclusion is that barcelona is a fun city to visit. There's a whole lot packed into a relatively small space and it offers plenty of experiences for the short stayer. Similiar to feelings that i had in edinburgh it struck me that BCN is a city that has given permission to it's artists. You see it in their architecture where they have fairly sucessfully fused old and new together, you see it in their tourist attractions (cable cars, magic fountains) and you even see it in their public transport system (of which bicing is the latest novel addition). The city appears to have developed alot in the last 20 years and the city council is evidently a place where decision makers make it easier rather than harder for new initiatives to have a go - not always a feeling you get from our 'jump through hoops' approach to things round here! Anyhow we had a great time. I'd recommend the city to anyone although i can't guarantee the company will be as good as I had. It was special to share the barcelona experience with my lovely lady Melissa!! For both memory and recommendation's sake here are some of the interesting things we experienced in BCN...... Montjuic Mountain - The funicular railway and cable cars that take you to the top of this hill on the side of the city are a lot of fun. The views over the city at the top are breathtaking, including some over the huge industrial port. Tibadabo and Amusement park - another mountain overlooking the city - again gettting there is fun using a tram and another funicular railway. Unusual features at the top include two churches, one built on top of the other, and a unique amusement park. We only did one ride called the grand lever. It was a big steel structure built in 1928 that took you to incredible heights in a big steel bucket. Given the construction date and the fact that you were already at a fair height this was quite a hairy experience!! Gaudi's masterpeice's - Gaudi is barcelona's favourite son and an iconic architect. We visited three of his works, House Batilon, San Grada Familia and Park Guell. His very distinctive style of work initally made me think he had just 'winged it' but with a little explanation it became obvious that he had actually thought about every little detail of his buildings and that he was the epitome of creative thinking in this field. San Grada familia, Gaudi's cathedral started in 1882 and continues to be built even though he died years ago. Suffice to say it's massive...other than that you'd need to see it! I think kids would love Gaudi's buildings! Magic Fountain of Montjuic - I never seen a fountain quite like this before and I'm not sure anything like it exists elsewhere. It's massive, dances to music and combined with lights at night is quite a show. We were part of a massive crowd watching the fountain and the feel good factor was all around as people awed at this thing. Las Ramblas - This is just a massive avenue up the middle of the city from the sea. It's packed with street performers (ranging in ability!) , street sellers (hens and flowers included!) and is fun to take in. Olympic legacy - The olympics were held in BCN in 1992. It was interesting to walk around some of the facilities that remain and also the olympic village. Unfortunately many of them felt a bit ghost townish at times. The long term benefits of hosting these events appear to be few. The siesta - we found this idea hard to get used to. Everything shuts down around 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The hardest bit was when you were starving around 6/7 o'clock and nowhere was open for grub. We ate most nights a good bit after 9 and went to bed feeling too full!! Bodies - when i was in New York a few years ago I was privelaged to come across the Bodies exhibition. I often wondered would i ever get to see it again and was very excited to hear it was in BCN when we were there. Basically it's a lot of dead people's bodies and bits on display which makes it sound much more gruesome than it actually is. It's an educational exhibition that does a great job of explaining how the systems of the body work and does a fantastic job of drawing attention to the wonderful creation that our bodies are. I was glad Melissa got to see it as she's heard me harping on about it over the last year or so! Shoe shops - For those inclined, BCN has lots of shops. Fortunately I wasn't subjected to too many of them but i did discover that Melissa has a weakness for shoe shops. I must have been in at least 40 over the 5 days! Nu camp - We did make it out to the stadium but didn't make the tour. We had to leave something for the next time!! posted by charlie | 2:59 PM | Monday, March 17, 2008 hi. it's been one of those hectic months. here's a few things i thought about bloggin along the way. + had an accident in carryduff one day a few weeks back. was definitely of the minor variety. while chatting to tim edgar who was on his bike at the other side of the road i reversed into a woman who had pulled in behind me. upon inspection of her car it turned out i had cracked her bumper. graciously, and beacuse of a few cracks already in the bumper, the lady driving was happy to let things go. i gave her my details but she hasn't got in touch. i'm not sure every one would take such a gracious view on things these days. i'm appreciative. + uni plods on. i've been working my backside off for the last wee while. results have been going well so that's encouraging but i wouldn't want to live this life all the time. it's just one thing after the other. having said that I'm heading off to barcelona tomorrow for a 5 day break (can't wait). beyond that it'll be head down until may and the chance to try on a mortar board! + had a few speaking engagements recently. one at emmanuel in lurgan and another at mannafest in belfast. was nice to be with two groups of people that i've built up a connection with over the years. always challenged as i prepare for these things but at the same time reminded of so many biblical truths that are dynamite (powerful!). + i discoverd that glenn jordan is a blogger. this man is a legend. he was the guy at bible college who instilled in me the importance of asking 'so what?' when doing theology or reading the bible. he is a scholar but also a poet, thoughtful but earthy and easy to listen to. i don't get to hear him speaking anywhere near as much as i'd like so finding his blog was exciting. + when listening to stephen nolan one morning i heard a women describe norn irish men as being' emotionally constipated' - they know what they feel but just can't get it out. the phrase made me laugh and is not so far from being the truth in a lot of cases. fortunately i think blogging is good means of expression and is helping a right few gentlemen around our island get unblocked a little... an emotional laxitive if you like!! + my clutch went on the polo. not too bad for 113, ooo miles although it went down at Jordanstown and left me a wee bit stranded. thankfully ricey pulled me out of a hole and towed me home. hairy enough stuff being towed on a short tow rope at 60mph behind a wee white van!!! + i've been blog tagged a few times and will maybe do a post when i'm home! posted by charlie | 11:37 PM | Thursday, February 21, 2008  Had this online movie recommended to me by a mate at uni. It's a story worth hearing although it might unsettle you a little. Watch it and see what you think.
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Standing at the gate, looking into the garden....  Last year, Micah Jones, about to graduate from his architecture degree and embark on the great quest of life, took his dissertation as an opportunity to lament what he saw as three disastrous developments in housing. It pained him that the value of a house had become more about market value than its homeliness, forcing people into major life sacrifices to meet mortgage demands; that much housing had become uniformed, predictable and lacking in personality; and that housing was too rigid for the dynamic life we live. The issue of housing/home making is very real for many 20 somethings and is something that frequently rears its head in my conversations with peers. In my assessment, Micah does a great job of articulating and illustrating some of the dilemmas that underlie many of these discussions. I'd recommend this piece of writing to anyone about to take leave of the nest or to those already launched. Whilst by his own admission, Micah's writing is informed by youthful 'standing at the gate' ideals more than life tested reflection, it is stirring and unsettling writing that should provoke some response in the right direction.
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Sunday, February 03, 2008 Sporting Weekend Was a sport packed weekend.... On Saturday morning my U14s playing on a snow covered pitch up at Ballymacarn beat Ards to take the Ulster U14 Premier League for the second year running. This year's team have been super. They turn up in their droves every week to training and have a really good attitude. Saturday was a nice reward for all their hardwork. On Saturday afternoon I took to a very mucky field with our club 5XV to play in the Forster Cup against Inishowen who are in the upper regions of the league above us. Unfortunately we were beat 6-3 putting a halt to our cup run but the performance was good and we can take a lot of confidence into the rest of the league campaign. On Saturday evening I fulfilled a long time wish when i got to go and see Down Gaelic football team playing at the Esler stadium in Newry. A friend from Uni invited me along and I jumped at the chance. They were playing Sligo in the NFL and carried out a superb comeback in the second half to take the victory. A few things impressed me about the whole thing....it was only £4 in for students, the crowd was family friendly and yet very passionate (those two things don't always co-exist) and the game was fascinating. The game is so fast moving meaning player workrate is phenomenal and decision making incredibly difficult given that the player has so many options at their disposal every time they get the ball ie. do they kick the ball along the ground or pick it up, do they run or pass, if running, do they bounce or solo, if passing, do they kick out of hand or fist pass, if shooting do they take a point or go for the goal and three points, when shooting do they shoot with foot or hand! The information processing skills of the good players amazes me! Anyway, hopefully I'll get up to a few more games before the season is out. After i came home from the gaelic i discoverd Amir Khan was in action defending his commonwealth belt against St. Clair. so it was another 40 minutes of sport!. Khan was impressive. In the past his boxing seemed a wee bit overenthusiastic and erratic but watching him on Saturday night he appears to have matured in his fighting style. He fought with composure, not rushing in for the kill too early but instead concentrated on defending well and taking his chances as they emerged. His lightning hand speed was too much for St Clair and the judges awarded him 120/120 - the perfect fight! On Sunday afternoon I watched Scotland play patches of exciting rugby only to be outplayed by a young, exciting and risk taking French side who performed superbaly well given that they had only trained together for five days. They could be a dangerous team in the future! To bring the sporting weekend to an end I sat up with Gregory to watch the first half of the Superbowl last night. All the rigmarole around the game is frustrating but the play is exciting and incredibly skillful. It was nice to wake up this morning to hear the Giants had won knowing that they were the underdogs! Why do we like the underdog winning so much? posted by charlie | 12:20 PM | Friday, February 01, 2008 Fancy a dander?? Great website here. I'm a big fan of walking. It's a fantastic time to get some fresh air, to take in Northern Ireland's bountiful beauty, to notice little things that you don't see when you're moving a bit quicker, to mull over life's complexities , to make decisions, to be alone with God or to converse with friends. It's also something that's very good for your health. I'm doing a module on physical activity and health this term at uni. The introductory lectures have been fascinating. I've always known that exercise is good for burning calories and tackling obesity. What i hadn't realised was the strength of connection that has been found between physical activity and a reduced risk of a range of cancers, coronary heart disease, conditions leading to strokes, diabetes and psychological health issues. The risks associated with inactivity were also fairly scary considering that 70% of our population here in NI is inactive (compared to 24% who smoke!). So more walkies can be no bad thing!! This website has lots of my favourite walks included on the Co. Down list and has also brought a few to my attention that I haven't enjoyed yet . It will also be a useful resource for exploring a little in other counties!! I hope you can enjoy a few yourself! posted by charlie | 12:54 PM | Wednesday, January 23, 2008 "Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children. -Kahlil Gibran " stolen from a friend's profile page posted by charlie | 11:40 PM | Monday, January 21, 2008 Coffee shop My mate Landon had a good run up to christmas with his song 'Coffee shop' featuring in a de beers 'diamonds are forever' advert and proving to be quite popular with all sorts of folks. The advert is below but you can get the full song at his myspace. I think you might like it. posted by charlie | 12:52 PM | Saturday, January 19, 2008 40 minutes from frozen Enjoyed a very efficient 40 minutes today. It all started when i lifted a Denny Chicken and Ham Pie out of the freezer. The cooking instructions told me that it would take 40 minutes to cook from frozen so I fired it in the oven. Now usually, on the rare occasions when I cook or heat things up, i get bored when I have to wait on them, so today i decided that I could squeeze in a run before the pie was ready also thinking that the pie would be good for meeting post-run nutritional requirements! So i quickly geared up (including some thermal long johns!), grabbed Nala's lead and hooked her up. I only did a short run, going to the mile marker from our house and back. However on my way back I spotted something peculiar in the lake....it was big and shiny and looked seriously like my canoe which I lost back in the summer. My canoe disappeared in mid-august and having looked all around the lake at the time for it without any luck I honestly thought someone had nicked it but as I got closer to the object it became clear that it was indeed it. I was excited to see the old girl , so i quickly ran up to the house, left nala off, grabbed an old pair of shoes and headed for the lake. My only way to get at it was to walk through the (very cold) water but as the bed became mucky and sinky i thought it would be safer to swim. When i got out to the canoe it was full of water and I couldn't empty it out so I had to drag it back through the water to the bank where I was able to get it emptied out and back on dry land for the first time in five months. I'm so pleased that I found it...there's nothing more relaxing that taking her out for a run on a smooth lake and I've missed the opportunity to do so over the last wee while. Nala loves a run it it too! So with canoe back on dry land I ran up to the house soaking wet and freezing and jumped into a warm shower. By the time I was out and dried, my pie was just ready to chomp on and boy was it was it lovely! Thankyou Mr Denny! posted by charlie | 5:58 PM | Bristol and Bath Spa Had an interview yesterday at Bath Spa uni for a PE PGCE place. Was a peculiar experience. Instead of being interviewed by a panel on my own, I had to take part in a group interview with 12 other applicants. The format involved us all sitting in a semi-circle in front of a three person panel. Before we arrived we had been asked to complete a task that involved writing 500 words on the benefits of a physical activity of our own choice. At the interview we were asked to present this task to the group and also outline why we wanted to teach and how Bath Spa would benefit by giving us a place. It was both a daunting and a fasinating experience. As it turned out I was 12/12 and had the benefit of watching everyone else before delivering my piece!! This allowed me to see what worked and what didn't....and i definitely saw both! Following that bit we were separated into groups of three and asked to prepare a lesson for a chosen age group in an activity of our choice. We had 15 minutes to prepare before presenting to the rest of the group. I was happy enough with how both activities went but you never know...time will tell. On reflection, although the experience was a little daunting i think its a good idea. In a way it tested some of the skills that teaching requires rather than just head knowledge or the ability to talk a good game. If I ever get a job and have to run interviews I think yesterday's experience will challenge me to do them a wee bit differently.  A big upside of the interview was getting to spend some time over in Bristol with emma and see a bit more of her world over there. Thanks em for the hospitality! Also got to take a short dander around Bath town which is pretty nice. Particuarly liked the Pulteney Bridge and getting to see Bath Rugby's Recreation Ground.
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Blog silence down to boring existence. Got that virus over christmas week and spent most of it sitting in an armchair beside the fire watching the box.....Did enjoy 'The Terminal' and some of the early Bond movies! Only slight highlight of that week was camping out in my bedroom one night in the pop-up tent that Gregory got me for christmas.  As soon as I was feeling slightly normal again i got into the books. Ihad exams on 7th and 9th of january so had to spend the whole preceding week revising. After that it was straight into dissertation stuff. I have a lit reviw due at end of month so just slaving over that most days. Definitely has been a fairly mundane period in life and unfortunately not very 'wild' (see below) but thats ok..it's only a short season. posted by charlie | 5:02 PM | Thursday, December 20, 2007 Good Cinema  In my opinion good cinema, like any good art, stirs your heart, it makes you think, it makes you feel, it brings your heart to the surface. Last night i had such an experience. I went with a few lads who i meet up with every couple of weeks to see Sean Penn's, Into the Wild.It's inspired by the true story of Christopher McCandless, a top graduate from a Georgian University who turned down further academic opportunities at Harvard, gave all his money to the poor, cut ties with everyone around him and pursued a life of adventure. His ad-hoc adventure took him all over the states before he headed into the wilds of Alaska to live in the raw outdoors. Won't give away any of the details but it was a story that got me thinking/feeling the whole way through. At times I admired his bravery and at others shook my head at his stupidity and wrecklessness. At times i laughed and others was close to tears. It got me thinking about about journey, adventure, risk, posessions, friendship, family, being alone, beauty, choices, life, death, God, reading, love and conversation. Not bad for one movie i think!! It also got the other lads thinking. We talked about the movie the whole way home and I felt conversation could have went on a fair bit had it not been so late. On top of the fascinating story line, the movie was really well shot with some fantastic scenery and also had a deeply engaging soundtrack. It was a timely movie coming at the end of one year and the dawning of another. Whilst i don't have any immediate plans to uproot and head west, it was a movie that reminds me not to let life pass by but rather to open my heart, to journey, to love, to admire beauty, to read, to converse, to risk stepping into new chapters of life and embrace the time and experiences that God allows us here. Who knows what exactly that will look like in a new year. I guess that's just part of life's wildness! posted by charlie | 12:46 PM | Tuesday, December 04, 2007 Kenya Feedback  This Friday we're having a short feedback evening about our summer trip to Kenya at Ballynahinch Rugby Club. 7.30pm start. We'll have some photos, some video and few of the lads sharing about their experience. Would love to see some of you there!! A few more photo's here. posted by charlie | 11:20 PM | Wednesday, November 14, 2007 Honesty or self righteousness? A message in two cartoons (powerful art form!).  from Naked Pastor.  from ASBO Jesus. posted by charlie | 10:37 PM | Thursday, November 08, 2007 Some loose chat on love/relationships/community Got a healthy reminder about love/relationships/community last night after reading an article by alan knox on next wave (exerpt below), followed by a chat with a few friends. 'There is a misconception that community is built around uniformity: people who believe alike, act alike, respond alike, desire alike, etc. However, uniformity will not create the type of community in which God calls us to live. This is evident in the constant exhortation for believers to bear with one another, forgive one another, have patience with one another, and consider others as more important than themselves. Thus, the authors of Scripture recognize that there would be relational frictions between believers.' more. It's been on my mind recently that loving relationships do not exist because of an absence of relational friction but rather in how we deal with relational friction. When we do life together in some form(whether it be publicly, socially, personally, intimately) its inevitable that occasionally (or often!) we will rub other people up the wrong way or that they will do the same to us. The challenge is in how we respond. I remember a phrase by Nouwen which said that 'Confession and forgiveness are the concrete ways that we love one another.' In other words, real love involving human beings broken and error-full like you and me will inevitably require us to say sorry when we balls up (ie. quite frequently!) or to forgive 'as we have been forgiven' when others are in the red. I've also been thinking about the the importance of communication. So often needless friction is built on perception rather than reality (ie. thinking someone is thinking/doing something that they're not!). I remember reading about the Cuban Missile Crisis during the cold war. The world was so nearly thrown into nuclear war based on nothing more than perception, with each side suspecting the other of getting ready for action and then gearing themselves up appropriately when in reality neither wanted any action. I suppose in line with communication is confronting inappropriate behaviour gracefully. Sometimes people don't realise they're rubbing you up the wrong way. Sometimes the ball needs to be put in their court. Finally i've been thinking about when it's wise to pull away in relationships. This is a hard one. sometimes i think it's probably better to stay clear of certain people or at least put more distance between ourselves and them and yet jesus teaching seems to put some limits on our 'walking away', not least when we were encouraged to love our enemies. So help us God. posted by charlie | 11:04 AM | Thursday, November 01, 2007 Newcastle turning a corner? Many of you will know that for some time now I've not been a huge fan of Newcastle. Surrounded by immense beauty on all sides with the Mournes, Murlough and Tollymore all in very close proximity it's often perplexed me how the the town itself can be such a delapidated and dirty hole. Usually my only reasons for choosing to go there were either to get to the Mournes or occasionally to visit Cafe Creme which does in my opinion one of the best breakfasts in the area! Sunday nights in particular were always a definite no no!! However, much to my surprise experiences in the town last night would lead me to believe that the town may be turning a corner. Just after tea time Melissa and I got wind of news that there was a fireworks display on in the seaside town and due to the lack of ducking for apples at home we thought we would take the trip up the road to get into the festive spirit. I have to admit my expectations weren't that high but boy was I wrong! The fireworks were amazing, as good as i've ever seen! They set them up on the beach with thousands of people lining the length of the new promenade and went on constantly for twenty minutes or so. At many points throughout the display i thought we were seeing the Grande Finale because the fireworks were so good but when the end did come they really did finish in style. Fireworks aside though, there was a fantastic atmosphere about the town. I was  particuarly impressed with the new promenade, it's fine finishing and tasteful lighting played host to the many dressed up revellers with pride and made me feel like i was on holiday! I think all the work that they have done and the quality of the event last night gave me some hope that Newcastle is emerging from it's cheap and dingy past towards the type of tourist friendly place it so has the potential to be. Here's hoping! Well done DDC!Friday, October 05, 2007  posted by charlie | 11:39 AM | Iron and Wine This boy is brilliant. He's in Belfast at the end of the month as part of the festival but is already sold out. That's a pity! His myspace has a load of tunes to listen to. I've been listening to them quite a bit over the past couple weeks as I've been ploughing through endless journal articles for my research project here in Uni! posted by charlie | 11:24 AM | Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Eighteenth September 2007 Today had to be marked on the blog because it’s exactly 5 years since I started this business of blogging. I had little idea when I started back in September 2002 that I would get this far with it. It’s been a useful tool along the way; it’s given me the chance to record memories and thoughts, it’s allowed me to keep friends and family up to date with goings on and it’s hopefully served as a pointer to some of the other good things the web has to offer. I had intended to make more of this anniversary post but my thoughts are elsewhere. Many of you will know that it’s been a real tough week around here with the sudden passing of Melissa’s dad. I’ve been shocked at how the events of a few short moments can change life so permanently. Thanks to all of you who’ve sent supportive texts through over the past few days. Please continue to pray for Melissa and the family as they enter this new and difficult season of their lives and for me as I attempt to be there for her. posted by charlie | 12:06 AM | Wednesday, September 05, 2007 Fake Republic I was sad when Shane Magee, a very gifted thinker and communicator drew his ministry in Northern Ireland to a close a number of years ago. I felt we had lost a leader. Shane nows lives in Canada with his wife Ali but thankfully modern communications are now allowing him to minister all across the globe from that base. Over the past few weeks I've been both encouraged and challenged by some of Shane's writing and video diaries. His words aren't always easy to read, he uses lots of big ones for a start, often mining the depths of his huge vocabulary to convey a concept or thought. He also allows his search for truth, something he does with whole lot of energy, integrity and honesty, to lead him outside the box or beyond established lines of thinking. I often feeled stretched by his work but in a way that i find is healthy for my head, heart and spirit. I'm adding his fake republic blog to my list of regular reads. posted by charlie | 3:31 PM | Thursday, August 30, 2007 Did it for the first time on Sunday. Definitely left it too long. Absolutely stunning spot. Antrim's answer to Tollymore and an outstanding one at that.........Glenarriff Forest Park. posted by charlie | 2:22 PM |  Live music is good for the heart. It makes you feel. I find when i listen to good live music hopes and fears stir in my heart and those happinesses and sadnesses of life come a little closer. This is particuarly true when Foy Vance is providing the tunes. Had a great night down at the Black box last night. What a performer he is. Different than anyone else. And he's from round here. 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