woke early again, 6am seems to be the body clocks' alarm all of a sudden,
Didn't have a clue where on earth i was.
for a short time i was in this exotic place in a half light, then realised i was on me own settee (which is quite exotic, i should add....)
working through photos and audio and some video form the big trip, important to get it out there while it is hot.
look out for some tasters here in the bjtv screen, and youtube, my facebook, and a new flick group thats being set up for this specific project.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Visit Israel..... Discover Palestine......
25 hours after we left Galilee yesterday, by coach, air and car, I am home.
I knew I was on home soil when i woke in the car in the early hours, in a lay-by, and it was pissing with rain.
No matter, a minor inconvenience that could not fail to stop the music and words and pictures that are flying around inside my head.
Lyrics, tunes, prayer, faces, walls, temples, mountains........
2 things are clear
We have a message from Palestine, 2 actually.
Number 1...... we are asked to tell the stories of the Palenstinian people, to give them a european and worldwide voice..... to set free individual stories from the land behind an 11 metre high concrete wall. Stories of and from people, who, oddly enough, are just as human as you and I.
This process we shall begin by us processing dozens of hours of captured audio and video, thousands of photos, and reams of pages of scribbled words.
We shall try to turn them into simple, understandable messages for you to soak in.
As we did
In Palestine
The land behing the wall
11 metres high
with electified razor wire as its' cake icing
and castle turrets and checkpoints at every corner, of which there are hundreds
with guns and video cameras and teenage and twenty-something soldiers
waiting for you to look at them in the wrong way.
Number 2 message is an invitation, from the heart of Bethlehem.
A way ahead, of which we can be a real part.
We have been invited to come make festival.
In Bethlehem, Palestine.
The land behind the wall
11 metres high
With graffiti art so beautiful in its temporary disguise of its oppressive background canvas
We have been invited home.
Greenbelt has been invited home to make festival.
The kingdom is coming
I have a deep feeling its gonna be one hell of a party.
I knew I was on home soil when i woke in the car in the early hours, in a lay-by, and it was pissing with rain.
No matter, a minor inconvenience that could not fail to stop the music and words and pictures that are flying around inside my head.
Lyrics, tunes, prayer, faces, walls, temples, mountains........
2 things are clear
We have a message from Palestine, 2 actually.
Number 1...... we are asked to tell the stories of the Palenstinian people, to give them a european and worldwide voice..... to set free individual stories from the land behind an 11 metre high concrete wall. Stories of and from people, who, oddly enough, are just as human as you and I.
This process we shall begin by us processing dozens of hours of captured audio and video, thousands of photos, and reams of pages of scribbled words.
We shall try to turn them into simple, understandable messages for you to soak in.
As we did
In Palestine
The land behing the wall
11 metres high
with electified razor wire as its' cake icing
and castle turrets and checkpoints at every corner, of which there are hundreds
with guns and video cameras and teenage and twenty-something soldiers
waiting for you to look at them in the wrong way.
Number 2 message is an invitation, from the heart of Bethlehem.
A way ahead, of which we can be a real part.
We have been invited to come make festival.
In Bethlehem, Palestine.
The land behind the wall
11 metres high
With graffiti art so beautiful in its temporary disguise of its oppressive background canvas
We have been invited home.
Greenbelt has been invited home to make festival.
The kingdom is coming
I have a deep feeling its gonna be one hell of a party.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
sunrise over Galilee
i cant belive i am watching the sun rise up over the sea of Galilee in front of me
there are a few, maybe 3 or 4, who have beaten me to claim the title of original witness to this glorious morning, but i bear them no grudge, and stare in pure wonder....
there are a few, maybe 3 or 4, who have beaten me to claim the title of original witness to this glorious morning, but i bear them no grudge, and stare in pure wonder....
Friday, October 24, 2008
fat lad running in the footsteps of where Jesus walked
we are in a bus moving the the jordan river valley, the vista is so stunning and massive
there is green pastures of date palm that are reputed to be the best in the world, green oasis' in regulation style blocks of land all around surrounded by high stone mountains.
this is gods country
only thing is the settlers have nicked the best bits and most fertile soil to tirn into these oasis'
they may produce the best dates on earth, but eating them will surely leave more than bitter aftertaste
wow it just started to rain - out of nowhere, the first sign of it on our trip, we are rising up towards nazareth, we did make a quick stopover in jericho for a comfort wipe :-0
and an attempt to purchase a coffee from an increasingly irate and rude fella serving a queue of orderly english folk totally out of turn, weird. it nearly kicked off when he shouted at me to wait... our great guide stepped in a told him to be polite and he quickly shut his gob.
last night in bethlehem was just wondrous
we took a trip to a local concert of palestinian group playing kind of arabic jazz rhythms, and garth was asked to get up and give a rousing rendition of some of his locally written songs, the warmth he received from the locals and us visitors alike was so striking. he is so loved here by the people he calls brothers and sisters, and who the people here call he and his lovely mrs gill, brother and sister.....
finished off by a fantastic sing song in the bar into the small hours, with harv on piano and martin googling the lyrics and shouting them out before each line of song. oh, and me on some arabic roland keyboard playing drums and 'grace notes', it was heaven........
and i got to sang ONE by u2, oh yes oh yes oh yes
we just passed the border of what is known as west bank, and the state of israel..... a security checkpoint that pulled us over and we were told by our guide to expect maybe to have to be searched and have all our luggage put through scanners before we would be allowed through...
a sniffer dog doing his circuit of the bus looked dis-interested, perhaps his 2 other dog friends were taking their lunch our guide joked, as he went on to explain that this was the quickest it has taken for him to be allowed through with a group of travelers...... maybe we have an angel on our shoulder.....
we are just about to pass through a very special place - the place of the first miracle jesus ever performed.....the place where he turned the water into the wine...,
after today being in nazareth and with arab muslim guy, and visiting the church of mary paintings, it is fitting we pass through here
it is clear that miracles are still needed...like the one that happened to the american lady who bought 15 bottles of local ine to take back to usa....
i seem to have been re christened john the big, i like that
if they ever erect a church to me in this land many moons in the future (which i very much doubt), i am gonna insist on cigar smoking instead of incense burning, and replace the church organ with a bontempi and karaoke
the communal wine shall be jack daniels of course...
there is green pastures of date palm that are reputed to be the best in the world, green oasis' in regulation style blocks of land all around surrounded by high stone mountains.
this is gods country
only thing is the settlers have nicked the best bits and most fertile soil to tirn into these oasis'
they may produce the best dates on earth, but eating them will surely leave more than bitter aftertaste
wow it just started to rain - out of nowhere, the first sign of it on our trip, we are rising up towards nazareth, we did make a quick stopover in jericho for a comfort wipe :-0
and an attempt to purchase a coffee from an increasingly irate and rude fella serving a queue of orderly english folk totally out of turn, weird. it nearly kicked off when he shouted at me to wait... our great guide stepped in a told him to be polite and he quickly shut his gob.
last night in bethlehem was just wondrous
we took a trip to a local concert of palestinian group playing kind of arabic jazz rhythms, and garth was asked to get up and give a rousing rendition of some of his locally written songs, the warmth he received from the locals and us visitors alike was so striking. he is so loved here by the people he calls brothers and sisters, and who the people here call he and his lovely mrs gill, brother and sister.....
finished off by a fantastic sing song in the bar into the small hours, with harv on piano and martin googling the lyrics and shouting them out before each line of song. oh, and me on some arabic roland keyboard playing drums and 'grace notes', it was heaven........
and i got to sang ONE by u2, oh yes oh yes oh yes
we just passed the border of what is known as west bank, and the state of israel..... a security checkpoint that pulled us over and we were told by our guide to expect maybe to have to be searched and have all our luggage put through scanners before we would be allowed through...
a sniffer dog doing his circuit of the bus looked dis-interested, perhaps his 2 other dog friends were taking their lunch our guide joked, as he went on to explain that this was the quickest it has taken for him to be allowed through with a group of travelers...... maybe we have an angel on our shoulder.....
we are just about to pass through a very special place - the place of the first miracle jesus ever performed.....the place where he turned the water into the wine...,
after today being in nazareth and with arab muslim guy, and visiting the church of mary paintings, it is fitting we pass through here
it is clear that miracles are still needed...like the one that happened to the american lady who bought 15 bottles of local ine to take back to usa....
i seem to have been re christened john the big, i like that
if they ever erect a church to me in this land many moons in the future (which i very much doubt), i am gonna insist on cigar smoking instead of incense burning, and replace the church organ with a bontempi and karaoke
the communal wine shall be jack daniels of course...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
i just met and talked with beautiful
you will need to go and look that up in your english/palestinian translation book, but yes, i just sat and talked with her.
a person named beautiful
and she is.
she radiated it
wow.
a person named beautiful
and she is.
she radiated it
wow.
fat lad in a holy work place - day 4
time is now 05.45 AM and a small group of us are just back in from a very early morning trip, on foot, to the local checkpoint here, at the main gate of the Wall, that is the only entrance and exit into this part of Beth lehem for local workers trying to get to the other side to their places of work.
For us it is a 10 minute walk, and on arrival we are greeted with hundreds of people......
Waiting.
Some of them have been there for 5 and a half hours.
Remember please that this is not a rock concert or football match they queue for.
This is a line, a crowd, of mainly men, a few women also, who do this every day of their lives.
They need to do this to go to work
They have no work to go to this side of the wall, the imprisoned side.
So they wait for hours and hours every morning just to travel a few metres through the checkpoint to then begin their long walk to wherever their work is on the other side.
Of course, at the whim of a 19 year old kid soldier holding a rifle in your face, you do risk the danger of being told, no, not today, you will not pass. You will not work today.
Suddenly, after a few minutes of me getting there to witness this, everyone starts to run up to the gate..... they have opened it, its a scramble, a dash, and there is much commotion.....
What awaits them at the gate itself, is nothing more than a cage, 4 or 5 men deep where they again, must stand for another yet unknown time, to actually be allowed through more gates and checks.
This is every day just to get to work, how can I get you to understand that this is yet another human crime of the wall.
Its purpose is to beat hope and will into submission.
It is a cancer-snake, and its prey are the Palestinian.
It is choking them to a slow and humiliating death.
It cannot be allowed to go unchallenged, and how we try to assist those who would challenge this human indecency I know will be revealed in good time.
But I do pray that it is in short time, quickly and the cry of many reaches the ears and hearts of those who walk with the oppressed in all countries.
We are all Palestinians.
For us it is a 10 minute walk, and on arrival we are greeted with hundreds of people......
Waiting.
Some of them have been there for 5 and a half hours.
Remember please that this is not a rock concert or football match they queue for.
This is a line, a crowd, of mainly men, a few women also, who do this every day of their lives.
They need to do this to go to work
They have no work to go to this side of the wall, the imprisoned side.
So they wait for hours and hours every morning just to travel a few metres through the checkpoint to then begin their long walk to wherever their work is on the other side.
Of course, at the whim of a 19 year old kid soldier holding a rifle in your face, you do risk the danger of being told, no, not today, you will not pass. You will not work today.
Suddenly, after a few minutes of me getting there to witness this, everyone starts to run up to the gate..... they have opened it, its a scramble, a dash, and there is much commotion.....
What awaits them at the gate itself, is nothing more than a cage, 4 or 5 men deep where they again, must stand for another yet unknown time, to actually be allowed through more gates and checks.
This is every day just to get to work, how can I get you to understand that this is yet another human crime of the wall.
Its purpose is to beat hope and will into submission.
It is a cancer-snake, and its prey are the Palestinian.
It is choking them to a slow and humiliating death.
It cannot be allowed to go unchallenged, and how we try to assist those who would challenge this human indecency I know will be revealed in good time.
But I do pray that it is in short time, quickly and the cry of many reaches the ears and hearts of those who walk with the oppressed in all countries.
We are all Palestinians.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
fat lad in a holy place day 2/3
wanted to blog earlier, exhaustion prevented, up early today but not as early as other days.
a good social night out smoking bubble pipes in a big lovely tent like structure could deffo catch on else where......
superstrectched emotions sure make you feel alive in this place that is the most alive
detail here now would not do justice to experience, and must be processed further before delivery
all i can say is when you ask God to take your heart and make it break, you sure better be ready for the wrecking ball that comes.
we are getting mashed up here, but the shepherd is our gate.
if we try to stray we know that He will come after us to lovingly break our wandering legs, and hang us around his neck until we are healed.
I still find myself still drifting towards the wolves of night though, now I must be more mindful and faithful, which is gonna be some challenge.
Bring it on baby
love you mrs jules and danny and grace. see you soon m'dears xxxxxxxxxxxx
a good social night out smoking bubble pipes in a big lovely tent like structure could deffo catch on else where......
superstrectched emotions sure make you feel alive in this place that is the most alive
detail here now would not do justice to experience, and must be processed further before delivery
all i can say is when you ask God to take your heart and make it break, you sure better be ready for the wrecking ball that comes.
we are getting mashed up here, but the shepherd is our gate.
if we try to stray we know that He will come after us to lovingly break our wandering legs, and hang us around his neck until we are healed.
I still find myself still drifting towards the wolves of night though, now I must be more mindful and faithful, which is gonna be some challenge.
Bring it on baby
love you mrs jules and danny and grace. see you soon m'dears xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sunday, October 19, 2008
i try to sleep here but it is not time to sleep.
became aware of just how very alone i am here.
i have a very asleep room-mate - stuart - whom i shall be renaming snory nora
room service seems to be asleep too, Iwould kill for a coffee and a bacon butty.....
maybe kill is the wrong phrase to use in this little town
cigars are running low and the first task, after i do manage to locate a breakfast will be to hunt out the smoking sticks.....
the early morning musilim call to prayer (very early!) is ended, man it is loud and they broadcast over some crappy pa system, it would be much more ear friendly with some better microphone placement too.
but does add to the sense of mystery and difference of this very different place
Different in obvious, but also yet undiscovered ways I am sure.
I am not alone, a bird hops around in the tree outside and a cat appears, very interested in the wee commotion. My still dark, way to early night-time companions, the cat and the bird.
thanks for showing up.
I am very troubled, and surprised by deep feelings rising to the chest from the gut, and appearing at my eyes...... and falling out of them.
I am trapped here for a time, thats for sure, there is no taxi service that will take me to any comfort zone.
We leave the bubble that is this fabulous hotel in around 4 hours to explore the little town and lots of walking is on the agenda today. Glad I brought my strong hiking books, they do need a brush up clean...... off to try and get that coffee.......
This is amazing.
became aware of just how very alone i am here.
i have a very asleep room-mate - stuart - whom i shall be renaming snory nora
room service seems to be asleep too, Iwould kill for a coffee and a bacon butty.....
maybe kill is the wrong phrase to use in this little town
cigars are running low and the first task, after i do manage to locate a breakfast will be to hunt out the smoking sticks.....
the early morning musilim call to prayer (very early!) is ended, man it is loud and they broadcast over some crappy pa system, it would be much more ear friendly with some better microphone placement too.
but does add to the sense of mystery and difference of this very different place
Different in obvious, but also yet undiscovered ways I am sure.
I am not alone, a bird hops around in the tree outside and a cat appears, very interested in the wee commotion. My still dark, way to early night-time companions, the cat and the bird.
thanks for showing up.
I am very troubled, and surprised by deep feelings rising to the chest from the gut, and appearing at my eyes...... and falling out of them.
I am trapped here for a time, thats for sure, there is no taxi service that will take me to any comfort zone.
We leave the bubble that is this fabulous hotel in around 4 hours to explore the little town and lots of walking is on the agenda today. Glad I brought my strong hiking books, they do need a brush up clean...... off to try and get that coffee.......
This is amazing.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Fat Lad in a holy place day 1
I got a txt message today within 5 minutes of switching on my mobile uopn landing at Tel Aviv airport. It reads "Marhaba. Smell the jasmine and taste the olives..."
It was from the local mobile phone network of course, but a nice welcome all the same...
Its warm here - sultry, balmy, hot.....
We travelled by bus through an amazing landscape that is stone and mountain and barbed wire and olive trees.
Men with rifles and machine guns at checkpoints
We drove on roads that are only open to a selected few and were just able to view beyond high concrete walls broken down half demolished towns and gleaming new multi story lego brick illegal new ones springing up to replace them
Men sitting outside boarded up buildings and sparsley filled shops.
It is beautiful here.
It is well broken here.
I am in shock and weary from travel and lack of sleep
We have a haven to call our base, with a smoking room and delightful food.
We know we are privaleged and torn with what we already have viewed, touched on, and this grandness we inhabit currently. We know we bring much needed currency into the econom also
We yearn for red wine and cigars and the chance of luxery for all, not just a selected few.
We visited the place where Jesus Christ was born.
A shrine, also beautiful and well broken and division even reigns within the walls of the church that has been built up upon this holy cave over 2 millennial
We have a great guide who is our storyteller and we listen and try to take in the essence of where we are.
Please pray for us if you are the praying kind that we can find the source and bring it forth baby....
It was from the local mobile phone network of course, but a nice welcome all the same...
Its warm here - sultry, balmy, hot.....
We travelled by bus through an amazing landscape that is stone and mountain and barbed wire and olive trees.
Men with rifles and machine guns at checkpoints
We drove on roads that are only open to a selected few and were just able to view beyond high concrete walls broken down half demolished towns and gleaming new multi story lego brick illegal new ones springing up to replace them
Men sitting outside boarded up buildings and sparsley filled shops.
It is beautiful here.
It is well broken here.
I am in shock and weary from travel and lack of sleep
We have a haven to call our base, with a smoking room and delightful food.
We know we are privaleged and torn with what we already have viewed, touched on, and this grandness we inhabit currently. We know we bring much needed currency into the econom also
We yearn for red wine and cigars and the chance of luxery for all, not just a selected few.
We visited the place where Jesus Christ was born.
A shrine, also beautiful and well broken and division even reigns within the walls of the church that has been built up upon this holy cave over 2 millennial
We have a great guide who is our storyteller and we listen and try to take in the essence of where we are.
Please pray for us if you are the praying kind that we can find the source and bring it forth baby....
Sunday, October 12, 2008
When man becomes Human
Pulling threads
They get woven, into
Ancient tapestry.
Moving pictures
Changing as each colour
Is added
Strand upon strand
Textures mingle
Earth brown and red
Deep blue and
Crashing sea foam white
Tendermost touch
Innnermost desires
Etched into issue
Hand-carved into form
Played into music
Stretched into movement
Hounded like bitches
Pierced with arrows, swords
Or nails
Drowned by desire
Doggedly chased
Running, always running
Toward convoluted, complicated
Escape
Man becomes human
After finally falling
Breathless and broken
And offers his face
Not to the earth
Or into deep space
But straight in the eye
As he comes face to Face
To the man become Human
Not the demon inside
To the Man become human
To the centre of Grace
They get woven, into
Ancient tapestry.
Moving pictures
Changing as each colour
Is added
Strand upon strand
Textures mingle
Earth brown and red
Deep blue and
Crashing sea foam white
Tendermost touch
Innnermost desires
Etched into issue
Hand-carved into form
Played into music
Stretched into movement
Hounded like bitches
Pierced with arrows, swords
Or nails
Drowned by desire
Doggedly chased
Running, always running
Toward convoluted, complicated
Escape
Man becomes human
After finally falling
Breathless and broken
And offers his face
Not to the earth
Or into deep space
But straight in the eye
As he comes face to Face
To the man become Human
Not the demon inside
To the Man become human
To the centre of Grace
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)