Biscuits Brown

Preparations

2004-06-03T13:39:00.000+01:00

Getting my Asian bike ride ready, something I can't stop doing. Isn't motivation a wonderful thing? All the practical, necessary things I need to do I have to force myself to get out of the house to do. But when it comes to trolling the net looking for sponsorship agents, guides and other people who have done similar, I don't have a problem. Not that there are many people who have done similar.

Memories of the Continent

2004-06-02T09:17:00.000+01:00

The plains of Spain, the vineyards of France, the mountains of the former Yugoslavia, the forests of the Baltics and the cities of Italy. All places that I'm returning to, in a way.

I'm still very busy writing up the European Cycling Adventure. It's wonderful dredging up the memories, it feels like I'm doing it all over again. So I'm sitting here in the UK, but in mind I'm climbing the Pyrennees, or coming down the dusty road into Albania or dodging traffic on the outskirts of St Petersburg or that final, rain-soaked, lonely climb up to the Norwegian border post and the finish. Happy days.

My car won't start

2004-06-01T23:02:00.000+01:00

I have read many intelligent, high minded Blogs in the short time I have been reading them. Erudite words of wisdom have been written about creationism, cessationism, evangelism and botulism (for all I know), but eventually all these cerebral flipperies are displaced by weightier topics.

My car won't start.

What is doubly painful about this is that I've never had a car before. And so therefore I've never had a car that started before. I wouldn't have got a car, I was quite happy cycling or getting another motorbike, but my mum and dad GAVE it to me, which was an offer I couldn't really refuse. Especially seeing the thing gave them good service for so many years (it never failed to start before, naturally). Incidentally, it's a 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier* 1.6L (price, £NOTHING), and it actually goes quite well. When it goes.

A car nut friend came over to jump-start it off his car ('88 Saab 900, £150. We're nothing but high-rollers here in Lowestoft). He speaks quite highly of the solidity of Freecar. But it still wouldn't start. To add further pain to my misery, I can't drive it anyway. That's right I don't actually have a car driving license and I'm depending on doing driving lessons in Freecar.

After resolving these little issues (non-starting car, no driving license), I'm planning a little trip. How about Moscow?

*Like a Chevy Cavalier or an Opel Vectra

Oh dear

2004-06-01T11:50:00.000+01:00

Gate's touts blogging as business tool

Iraq & Iraqis

2004-06-01T10:33:00.000+01:00

Of course the best way to find out about what is happening in Iraq is to ask the Iraqis, which is why Iraq & Iraqis is required reading.

More about Iraq prisoners

2004-05-31T22:03:00.000+01:00

After putting up the post below I discovered Messy Christian's May 5 post. Some good opinion's there.

American Christians (again) and soldiering in Iraq

2004-05-31T19:34:00.000+01:00

La Shawn has, quite rightly, taken me to task for lumping all Americans together:

Hi- I'd like to introduce myself: an American who doesn't associate nationalism with Christianity. If you're referring to nominal Christians or the liberal left, then you're probably correct about their hypocritical reactions to the "abuse." Believers of all races and nationalities know (or should know) that being a liberal or conservative or a fascist or a communist or vegetarian won't save you: It's faith alone in Christ alone through grace alone.

Some Americans believe the U.S. is a Christian nation. Far from it. I took John Kerry to task a few months ago on my blog for calling Bush a Christian hypocrite (in so many words) because he was not demonstrating "good works" as referenced in James 2. Kerry thinks that if Bush really were a Christian, he'd stop cutting taxes and give more of our tax dollars to "the poor", thereby showing his "good works."

I pointed out that "good works" are an outworking of salvation, personal salvation. "Good works" are done by saved individuals, not the government.

I'm sorry for any offence caused! I do notice you have put the word "abuse" in quotes and please allow me to take you to task for that. The abuses (and even that is a weak word) did happen. It's not an allegation, not something yet to be proven.

Let me shed some light on what it's like being a soldier in Iraq, because I think it has bearing on the way those troops behaved. I was an infantry reservist based at Basra Palace in southern Iraq. It's difficult to explain to a civilian just how hard it is being a soldier in a operational theatre. I'm not complaining here, and I'm not looking for sympathy, I signed up for it and I'm still glad I went.

First off, you are away from home for a long time. The British do six month tours and that's a long time to be away from friends and family. Your accommodation is a very cramped, we were 12 to a fairly small room. You become VERY close to your comrades. Depending on the job you do you can be without sleep for very long periods, and what sleep you do get is of the "grab it while you can" variety. You have to deal with Iraqis, (and if any are reading this; my humble apologies, you are part of a race with many fine attributes. But...) who can be rather chaotic. Which isn't good when you are trying to act as a temporary Policeman who doesn't speak the language. I remember completely losing it with one poor young lad driving a truck who repeatedly didn't do what he was told. I didn't hit him, but I was shouting in such a way that he started praying! My platoon commander later described it as "a forcefully applied one-way passage of information", which I thought was quite good. But the main stress is the potential danger. In the south it was quite quiet most of the time but all of the time we were there was the risk of roadside bombs. The mere fact that you always have your rifle on you or nearby most of the time is a factor. Every home owner in Iraq has a rifle in the house, so as a soldier you know that if people wanted to turn on you the could. So everytime you were on guard, everytime you went on foot patrol or vehicle patrol there was that risk you could come under fire. For six months. Think about it.

Now, the Americans. They are doing tours as long as FIFTEEN months, which is ridiculous. They are coming under fire every day. Many of them are National Guardsmen who never thought that they would have to go into such an operation. The general opinion of the American army, and the US marines, is that are a formidable fighting force but they don't have the same experience and skills of the British in low intensity situations. The British army learnt a lot about that kind of thing in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. American soldiers in Iraq are under incredible pressure and when those terrible things happened in Abu Graive I think those stresses, and lack of training, probably were factors, although not any excuse. I think peoples inner belief when comes to the fore in such situations. Hopefully if I was in ever in that situation I would behave as God would want.

Time to go again

2004-05-31T13:59:00.000+01:00

After Cycle Europe comes Cycle Asia. Travel is a terrible addiction and expeditions are even worse. It's good to have a goal in life though.

The World

2004-05-30T22:23:00.000+01:00

Here I am, surrounded by by all this beautiful countryside and sea-shore, and I just sit here looking at a 17" screen. What a waste.

Oh yeah, sure, we can connect with the World by the internet. Of that there is no doubt. But online we can't SEE the World, and that's important. Don't think for a moment that because you can speak to someone from New Zealand from Ireland, or with somebody from Thailand from Conneticut that you have shrunk the World. You haven't. We are just joining one small part to another small part. In between there are untold reaches of creation and humanity we haven't begun to see or understand. Small World is one of the greatest myths of this age.

Small World

2004-05-30T14:22:00.000+01:00

I discovered my old friend Adrian Warnock does all this blogging thing as well. Hi Adrian!

The George Cross

2004-05-28T12:29:00.000+01:00

I've just taken a short walk in Lowestoft and everywhere I look there it is; England's flag, the red cross on the white background, the cross of St George. I'm sure many people abroad, even some of the readers of this blog, think that the classic red, white and blue Union Flag is the English flag. Nah, that's the BRITISH flag. I'm sure you knew that.

The George Cross has been had something of a revival in recent years, a feat not unrelated to the English football (soccer) team. To explain that, we have three national football teams; England, Scotland and Wales. (There is a Welsh football team, apparently, but nobody can remember seeing them in action). So everytime there is an international soccer tournament (it's Euro 2004 this year, the European championship)it's a good excuse for English people to fly the flag. Anyway, I digress. Now, read the entry below. I don't go, on principal, for all this jingoistic nonsense. Except... seeing all the flags gives me a rush. They are everywhere, in people's windows, flying from masts in gardens, even flying from clips on the windows of the local taxis. The Lowestoft taxi drivers CAMPAIGNED to be able to fly the flags. And it gives me little thrill.

Now, of course, why would this be, if I'm against nationalism? I was pondering this on the way down the shops and I realised it was this; it's exciting becuase it's UNITY. We are social creations and social unity is a thrill for us.

But, of course, for most people its stops somewhere and then can turn to feelings AGAINST other unified groups, other peoples other teams, other nations, other races. That's what I hate. Hopefully it will never stop, that I would be thrilled to be united with other Londoners, thrilled to be united with people in Lowestoft, thrilled to be united with other Englanders, thrilled to be British, thrilled to a be European (ohh!). Why can't we be thrilled to be part of mankind, as well? Isn't that God's will?

2004-05-26T23:22:00.000+01:00

The Day to Day

2004-05-26T23:08:00.000+01:00

Que much shuffling of papers. 'And the news today'

I've been over to a friends to talk about 'The Book of the Ride' (a working title). Yes, I'm going to write up my epic euro cycle ride. And I have a lot to say. I learnt an awful lot about Europe, and met an awful lot of interesting people.

My friend is writing a novel, which is a very different creative exercise. I can just write what happened to me, I can't make up a whole different reality. Because thats what a good fiction writer has to do. Apparently J.R.R. Tolkein was virtually mad at the end of his days, after The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and countless other unpublished works he ended up living in that other world, at least in his head. You see the good fiction you read is just the tip of the iceberg, behing it are countless hours of research and backround construction. Tolkein had created geneologies, languages and histories whilst coming up with an imaginary world which can seem so real when we read about it, or watch it on film.

So much respect is due. No, that's too weak. I'm in awe of good fiction writers

American Christians

2004-05-25T23:32:00.000+01:00

Why is it that American Christians associate nationalism with Christianity? This why they some of them are having such problems coming to terms with the abuses meted out by their troops in Iraq. The thinking seems to go like this; "My country is Christian and therefore morally right. So therefore the representatives of my country abroad can be expected to act in a way that is morally right". Why? Everyone is subject to human nature and if someone is not saved they are captive to sin, and will behave in such a way when pressed.

Where did this idea of a 'Christian country' come from anyway? Christianity is about our PERSONAL salvation and our PERSONAL relationship with God. Then we are part of the Church, not a country. 'Strangers in a strange land' as it says. Our country can no more be Christian than our car or our refrigerator can.

Lowestoft

2004-05-25T22:34:00.000+01:00

Another day on the sunny east coast. Yes, if you are American you may be surprised to know that Britain's east coast has significantly less rainful then other parts of the UK. Less, even, than many parts Europe. Did you know it rains more in Paris? There you go, forget about Paris, London and Rome, come to Lowestoft.

D Day

2004-05-24T21:35:00.000+01:00

I'm just watching the Channel 4 documentary about D-Day. My word, those guys were BRAVE! Those young guys knew they it was even odds that they were going to die.

Post no. 2

2004-05-24T20:14:00.000+01:00

Sooo... This is how it works, is it? So what shall I write about then? I could tell me about my day. I'm still chilling out after returning from Iraq. I've got almost two months paid leave from the army. Which is useful, I've got to find a job and decide what I'm going to do with my life. I could well end up heading back to somewhere like Iraq, but this time with the Church. I think my six months in Iraq was time well spent. Believe it or not it think it had a net good effect on the World. But I want to do something which has DEFINITE good effect. Hey, so that's debatable isn't it?! So where are the debaters then?!

Biscuits Brown

2004-05-24T19:40:00.000+01:00

So what's all this then. Apparently I'm creating a 'blog'. Does anybody ever look at these sort of things? It seems to be a more organised way of doing the old concept of a 'personal homepage'. Hey ho, let's give it a go.