climbing hiking camping

Officially it’s called the Bryniau Glo Walk. I call it the Hidden Valley Walk. You climb up a long way on a well-defined trail, through a forest, over the hills and into a hidden valley. It’s protected on three sides by higher hills, with a view out to the rest of Snowdonia. I guess it’s because of that protection that it’s so silent. I stopped in the valley and listened. Nothing. No bird song. No wind. Just silence. The most perfect silence. For a moment in time, I was part of that silence. Transfixed by it. Such a perfect moment. Listening and hearing nothing. Looking out onto such stillness and beauty. Worshipping. Silence is not always welcomed. One of my favourite songs is The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (check out the version by Disturbed – amazing!) But the lyrics are slightly depressive: ‘Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping.’ Too often we shut out silence. We su...

In musical terms, I’m a child of the 70s. I grew up on the heavyish rock of Argent, Led Zeppelin, Free and Deep Purple. And when I’m feeling nostalgic, that’s still where I return. So you won’t be surprised to learn that I never really got into Rap, didn’t particularly get along with Punk and as for Garage, Grunge and Grime… it passed me by. That was, until four months back, when the artist Stormzy appeared as a guest on X Factor on TV, and sang Blinded by Your Grace. I’m told he’s a Grime and Hip Hop artist. What I heard was pure Gospel. In fact, for me, one of the best Gospel songs I’ve heard in many years. If you’ve not heard it yet, here’s a link: As I watched, I found myself worshipping: Lord, I've been broken Although I'm not worthy You fixed me, I'm blinded By your grace You came and saved me... You saved this kid and I'm not your first It's not by blood and it's not by birth But oh my God what a God I serve ….. Now I'm in a better place No longer afr...

There’s an interesting article in today’s Times (Can’t link to it as you have to pay to see it- that’s a whole other set of thoughts!) The article by Daniel Finkelstein notes the recent survey that indicated for the first time that over 50% of the nation ‘has no religion’. He points out (correctly in my view) that this may be a reflection of someone automatically saying in the past that they were ‘C of E’ (ie they went to the local church for funerals, weddings and Christmas) and now felt freer to say they had no firm belief. Finkelstein goes on to point out the high level of faith still attributed to political power- for example, of our last four Prime Ministers, two were kids of clergymen and one a Christian socialist who read his Bible every night. (Thus, Cameron was the exception, in case you were wondering...). And, again in the article, they key role church and Christian charities take in our nation’s welfare. I’m not as pessimistic about the Christian faith in the UK as the sta...

American Friend: ‘Hey Ralph, what’s happening with you guys? Crazy politics!’ Ralph: ‘Yep. Not our most glorious moment as a British people.’ AF: ‘So what exactly has happened? Explain it to me.’ R: ‘I’ll have a go. But just to get things into perspective, you guys have got Donald Trump!’ AF: ‘Fair enough!’ So here is my attempt at an answer to my American friend: BACKSTORY There’s quite a backstory to this. A lot of it involves the press and their ability to spin a story. Our press are not neutral. We boast a free press, but with it comes a lot of baggage. Especially press intrusion, wild headlines and frankly, lies. We have the BBC of course. Supposedly neutral. But probably not. It tends towards the left wing of British politics and is not averse to trying to get a scoop, seemingly at the cost of the truth. (Cliff Richard, our British pop icon, has been dragged through the mud on his private life- started by the BBC filming a raid on his home. Turns out none of it is true. Hope he s...

It’s been a strange campaign. The Remain guys seem to have focussed on fear and not so much on the obvious benefits of remaining. But that’s been surpassed by the poverty of the Leave campaign. I was on the Syrian border two weeks ago, helping the refugees. To then see them used on a Leave poster as propaganda was definitely the lowest point of the campaign. I’m not sure there should ever have been a vote on this, but as Cameron has decided otherwise, I’ll be voting tomorrow. I don’t believe in divorce. I’m voting for belonging, for inclusion, for welcoming others and working with them.

When I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept; When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked. Then when the years saw me a man, Time ran. But as I older grew, Time flew. Soon, as I journey on, I'll find time gone. May Christ have saved my soul, by then, Amen. 'Times Paces' by Henry Twells, adapted by Guy Pentreath

It’s not every day you get to take part in launching a new church. But that’s what we did on Sunday. After a year of preparation, team forming, moving house, LifeGroups and Café Church, the real thing arrived at City of Leicester College on Sunday. 317 people walked through the door. Admittedly, that included over 150 from our sister churches in Peterborough and Cambridge, but it’s a great start. KingsGate Church Leicester is for those that don’t like church or used to go to church. If that’s you and you are within reach of us, see you on Sunday at 4.30 in the afternoon. Leicester has a rich history of Christian enterprise and mission. It’s a privilege to be joining those that have gone before us and those already engaged in seeing the 10 th biggest city in England transformed by the power of God’s love. Bring on week two!

A few musings from my daily diary today..... 'It's a beautifully sunny Sunday morning and I'm sitting in the back garden, looking over the rolling fields. The sheep are on the far side today and I can see the cattle in the distance. The bird feeder is doing good business. A flock of sparrows come and go. They do great damage to the two containers with normal seed, spilling the contents onto the floor in a flurry of wings. Having seemingly spilled a lot and eaten little, they contentedly sit as a flock in the nearby rosebush, observing their destructive handiwork. There's two starlings in attendance too. They don't balance too well as they try and eat the fat cubes. One seems to be the baby of the other and even in this extended summer, it's still calling for attention. A robin stands contentedly on the floor below the feeders, picking up a King's breakfast from what the sparrows drop. A blue tit flits in and out from the peanuts, startled by the noise from t...

30 years ago, there was no Internet. 20 years ago there were only 130 websites. You couldn’t Google anything. 10 years ago, most clouds were wet. Today there are over 10 billion mobile devices. 40,000 Google searches every second. 3.5 billion a day. 1.2 trillion a year. We live in an instant society. Fast food. Fast answers. Instant texts. But some things stay the same. The Bible says of God: ‘I am the Lord, and I do not change.’ (Malachi 3:6)

We moved house on 10th June. It took Severn Trent Water a day to change our contract. Scottish Power - a day. Sky TV - two days. Driving licence change - a week. BT broadband? 91 days and 4 hours. Incredible incompetence, a lack of customer care and an Openreach operation out of control meant we went around in circles for a long time. All BT seemed able to do was the equivalent to switching an appliance off at the mains, and then back on again, hoping against hope that it works next time around. I'd like to record here my thanks to all my friends who helped me bombard BT with tweets. Over 200 tweets were sent and I'm sure that was one of the main reasons we got somewhere in the end. It doesn't seem right that Openreach can dictate what company we use either. We started with Sky, because of the good deal they had. But a month in and a few 'failed connections', Openreach said that they were 'unable to support' another provider. So I had to move to BT. Twice th...

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Henry Van Dyke  This is a portrait of a girl filmed by her father every week for 14 years

Most of our journey through life is made in small steps. What the writer Eugene Peterson calls ‘A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.’ A coffee here, a meal there. A conversation one day, a car journey the next. Small integral parts of life’s direction. Occasionally, a giant step comes along. For us two have come at once. The first is the start of KingsGate Community Church Leicester . Our first (amazing!) meeting was last night. As someone who had spoken often of the possibility of KingsGate planting a new church into Leicester, it is the realisation of a dream. And a giant step. The other giant step comes as we drop our youngest child, Lois, off at Heathrow later today, as she starts her long obedience in the same direction. She is travelling out to Bulembu in Swaziland to serve as a long term missionary. For us, it means an empty house for the first time, with the other three children having already moved away. Two giant steps. Two key moments in our lives. And fuel for the j...

Life is short. Live it to the full. Here's a small reminder of how quickly the years go by..... Danielle http://vimeo.com/74033442">Danielle > from Anthony"> http://vimeo.com/anthonycerniello">Anthony Cerniello on Vimeo . https://vimeo.com">Vimeo . > For everything there is a season, and l a time for every matter under heaven: 2  a time to be born, and a time to m die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4  a time to n weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to o dance; 5  a time to p cast away stones, and a time to q gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to r refrain from embracing; 6  a time to seek, and a time to s lose; a time to keep, and a time to t cast away; 7  a time to u tear, and a time to sew; a time to v keep silence, and a time to speak; 8  a time to love, and a time to w hate; a tim...

Sometimes things don't go as we expect. But it's how we deal with those moments that make us or break us. We can choose to complain forevermore about what 'should' have happened. Or we can embrace the change. This is a short piece of prose from Emily Kingsley, a writer who's expectations changed one day. I'll let her tell you in her own words..... WELCOME TO HOLLAND by Emily Perl Kingsley. c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley.   I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation...

Today sees the start of me being filmed on a regular basis- albeit, it's to do with pensions! I'm not sure I want to be called a 'Grumpy Old Pension Man' but it's a lot of fun. Check it out: Link:  Grumpy Old Pension Men

In another blog I have recently written about a handshake that changed our nation. There will be another handshake this week that reflects friendship and forgiveness. For the Queen to shake the hand of Martin McGuinness, formerly of the IRA and now a Sinn Fein politician, is brave for both parties. A line is being drawn and the past left behind. And hope is being celebrated. There will be cynics who see this as purely politics. There will be unforgiveness and anger from some. But there is hope too. I was impressed as I listened in to Radio 5Live this morning. Michael Gallagher lost his son and his brother in the troubles, both murdered by the IRA of one brand or another. He spoke of the positive reconciliation reflected in the handshake.The Queen too, lost her cousin, Lord Mountbatten, to an IRA bomb. Both are choosing forgiveness. Nothing can bring back those lost, nor should they ever be forgotten, but a handshake this week celebrates a hope and a future.

The village of Ruddington has been busy over the last few years. They undertook a project to convert land used in the Second World War as a bomb making factory, turning it into a country park. The project was called ‘Bombs to Butterflies’. The release of secret papers from the Foreign Office indicates that there was also a ‘Butterflies to Bombs’ project! There was a concern in 1938, before the outbreak of war that a number of German military personnel were posing in East Africa as butterfly enthusiasts, whilst their real intent was to spy prior to potential invasion. From butterflies to bombs and back again. The butterflies win!

New Zealand earthquakes. Japan Tsunami. Japanese nuclear power stations. The Arab spring. Tunisia. Egypt. Yemen. Libya. Gadhafi’s death. Syria. Egypt again. Bin Laden’s death. Royal Wedding. Norwegian shootings. Riots in London. Riots in Britain. Phone hacking. Somalia famine. Turkey earthquake. Pakistan floods. Philippines floods. Anti-capitalist camps. Greece crash. Italy Prime Minister. Euro troubles. Euro veto. And the year is not over. 2011 is one of those years when more has happened than we can begin to write down. A lot of it tragic. But one thing remains the same: ‘I the Lord do not change’ (Bible: Malachi 3:6).

Having completed my introductory weeks at Mattersey Hall for the Masters in Theology, I must admit to a case of ‘fried brains’! There’s a whole different world out there! The level and excellence of thinking from the lecturers is almost too much for someone that hasn’t studied in about 30 years. But along with the fried brains, there were many warm friendships. It is so good to met others that seem as crazy as me, paying someone to put you through mental torture! More warm friendships on the way… In a week I will be in India again, for three weeks this time. It will be good to renew old friendships and continue to help with the Esther girls and medical camps. The teams are ready…. different people over the three weeks. So lots of warm friendships and some warm weather too!