Fishing on Worthing Pier

Fishing off Worthing Pier seems a nice way to pass a sunny afternoon.
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Merry Christmas!

A very happy and blessed Christmas from us both, to our friends around the world ... including the one or two who still read this blog!

Snowy Garden in King Edward Avenue

Here is another iPhone video clip of the snow in our back garden. It snowed yesterday, but it has been around zero temperature or below most of the time, so little of it has gone away.

Foxprints in the Snow

This video recorded on my new 3Gs iPhone, which I got yesterday as my contract was up for renewal. It was very easy to get video onto Facebook. I have not looked at directly uploading here to the blog yet, but perhaps the direct email address might just work.

Last Sunday at GCC

A short video from our church service last Sunday, with the Hendersons. Irwin came to 'preach with a view' and the church membership votes on a call to him, tomorrow.

Worthing School of Dance

Well, we are giving this our best shot, each Monday evening. Week three tonight, and we think it might even be achievable. Abigail is a great teacher, and so far so good! 

Banana-split contest at Feba

 We had a frivolous diversion during one lunchtime last week.

A banana-split contest. It was a hoot. We ate too much sweet stuff.

Here's the YouTube memory of the event.

A happy Christmas to all who read our blog

Mark & Rose wish all our friends, family, and others who read our blog - a very happy and peaceful Christmas. Enjoy your families and relationships. As we have placed the nativity scene centrally in our little lounge again this year, we are reminded of the the most amazing thing in all our lives - that God so loved the world that He gave His son ...

Emily comes to visit

Emily Bartz arrived tonight and we decided to have supper out at ASK in Worthing. Emily is the daughter of Feba colleagues Bob and Barb Bartz. She has spend a term at King's College in London, before returning to North Dakota to continue ice-fishing and search in vain for Stephen Fry.

Waiting for dessert at Luna restaurant, Worthing

I think that the LUNA restaurant in Worthing is becoming a favourite eatery of ours. Check out their menu here.

We tried the set menu tonight - she having a scrumptious bolognaise, and he having a prosciutto and mushroom pizza. The coffee was great too. More restaurant info here

Luckier than most

These two fellas, proudly displaying tickets 3 and 4, were my line-neighbours for several hours yesterday morning, in that queue of early-adopters drooling in anticipation of getting their hands on their very own iPhone 3G. I think #3 was Ashley, not sure, and you know I never asked the other fella his name. Been in England too long - people's names, where they live, work, etc is their own business! And that of every facial recognition camera in the country, I guess. Who will pass it along to the intelligence authorities, who might just have someone working there who could sell data to someone else, that ends up on Google, delivering targeted ads to your iPhone that now also knows where you are.

Numero Uno for that iPhone

Fiona - Lucky Lady Number 1

A lady called Fiona (did not ask her surname) beat me by 5 minutes into first place in the line outside the O2 store in Worthing yesterday. The ocassion was the launch of the new iPhone 3G, and I have to admit to have been anticipating its arrival for some time now. I got up at 4am, to walk into town, and getting there just before 5am. Fiona looked relieved that she was not the only silly person in West Sussex! It took about 15 minutes for number 3 to arrive, and after 6am there was a steady flow of people adding to the length of the line. It was a pretty sociable queue, especially seeing that Brits hate standing in lines at the best of times. In the first 50 or so, there were only three ladies!

I still think I could separate the hardened 'I use Apple stuff for everything' crowd from the plodders like me who are still chained by circumstance to PC and Windows Apple geeks just always seem to have that look of feeling just a little bit luckier than others.

The doors opened at 8.02 - great marketing for a company called O2, and us first two were processed in less than 10 minutes - new account, credit check, pay for the phone, and out the door. Then the O2 servers crashed mightily under the weight of every store in the country trying to register new accounts. More than 24 hours later, I still have not had my actual phone service turned on, waiting (mostly) patiently for O2 to rach me in their huge pile of pending activation requests. The new phone is awesome. I suspect it will change radically the way I can work on the road, or away from the office. The interaction opportunities for citizen journalism and field reporting are whizzing round in my head - can't wait to test some of them out.

The birdman commeth

This annual event is being held in Worthing this weekend. Could be lots of fun.

clipped from www.birdman.org.uk WHAT IS BIRDMAN? The Birdman is a flight competition for human powered flying machines held each summer in the picturesque seaside resort of Bognor Regis on England's South Coast. Many flyers take part to raise money for charities, other design complex machines to aim for the distance prizes. A substantial prize of £30,000 is offered for the furthest flight over 100 metres. To find out more click here

Fossilised Pew-warmers

So I am preaching in the church we attend here in Worthing this Sunday, and after a short email discussion about sermon length, the lady in the church office sent me this.

Actually, here is the entire exchange:

Lyn: Hi Mark - Do you have a title and text for Sunday's service? If you can let me have it by Thursday I can put it in Grapevine. Ta

Mark: I will be preaching from Mark 11 How about AN ENTRANCE, A TEMPLE, AND A WITHERED TREE for a title. I shall attempt to deal with all three in 25 mins, so that the AGM can start on time...

Lyn: Shall I quote you on the 25 mins! 8>) Thanks for info.

Mark: Not a chance - those are preaching minutes - you know, like dog years.

Lyn: Oh no - we will end up looking like this... [cartoon]

Granny Rocks BHS in Worthing

My poor old mom! She had a mishap in BHS store in Worthing today. She was travelling heavenwards on an escalator when her little shopping buggy on wheels decided to get caught up as the steps started to flatten out. She turned around and tried to tug it free, lost her balance, and ended up head first facing downwards on her tummy as the escalator continued its relentless march as she feared being sucked inside. Must have been a scary thing for her. Store staff came to her attention - emergency stop on the escalator, first aid at the scene whilst the paramedics were called - and a trip in an ambulance to Worthing Hospital to get some attention to some quite nasty cuts and scrapes on her arm and leg - no stitches fortunately. The emergency stop button was a blessing because if she had reached the top, it would probably have ripped her clothes off, and Worthing is just not ready for that yet. Rose met her at the hospital, where she got some great treatment and TLC from the staff, and we commiserated with some take-away curry for supper. She is a bit uncomfortable, but she is a tough old cookie.

Ice Prince woodlot

The Ice Prince vessel sank off the Dorset coast a few days ago, losing its cargo of several thousand tons of timber. This weekend, much of the wood washed up on our own Worthing beaches. We took a walk there this afternoon and took a few pictures.

A different kind of icing

Now we all know that Rose has iced a thousand cakes, and is ocassionally capable of giving an icy stare at her hubby, but here she is doing what she must do if she wants to drive to work instead of walk! No snow yet this winter in Worthing, but plenty of frosty mornings.

November sunset from our back yard

Night at the Circus

One Century Between Us - Mark & Rose enjoying Smart's Circus

Our house is perhaps 300 meters as the crow flies (actually it is as the seagull flies here in Worthing) from Holmfield Park, the venue of the visiting circus. All week we have been able to hear the circus band playing during the shows. Part of celebrating Rose's 50th birthday, was going to the circus - and so we walked there, got the candy floss and the popcorn, and had a really fun evening. Our ringside seats were the best, and we were as close as you could get to the action without being in the ring.

Photos taken with circus permission (we paid £1.00 for a camera ticket)

King of the Heap

Erin the dog - bitch really - but for some reason I always think I am rude to use that word - watching Rose and her owner, Julie, exiting the circular walk around Cissbury Ring, near Worthing. This site is Iron Age, a fort set on the chalk hills and dating to around 300 B.C. We did this brisk walk yesterday afternoon, and spied out many lovely places for future picnics and walks.