7/14 - Official researching

What I did:

I put on a shirt this morning and looked down to see it almost still folded over because of the large amount of wrinkles. So I did the logical thing and first said it doesn’t matter and just went on. But then I thought again and decided I could just put on a different, non-wrinkled shirt. So I did that, and then refolded a lot of my clothes so that they wouldn’t get as wrinkled. Ironing at this point just seems pointless (not that I would have done it at any point on this trip or anytime really).

Then I got ready to make a short train trip into a part of London called Sutton. I was going to meet a guy called Jason who works at a Vineyard church plant. I did not know much of anything about him or Vineyard churches in general besides what I read about online, although I know that there are Vineyard churches in the States too. I got there fine and early enough to grab some lunch and walk down the main street for a little while.

Then I went and met with Jason who is a great guy and apparently very well read (his office was literally stuffed with books). It was good to actually interview someone again officially and structured. It makes me feel like I know what I am doing here and that this project is somehow organized and put together. Kind of like dressing up a cat as a dog for Halloween. It at least seems like something good has happened, even though it is still really a cat.

It was actually a really good interview, and (take it as you will) I can see how Jason is really good in the ministerial position he has now. An hour and a half later I was headed back towards the rail station and got to see a couple of interesting sights of Sutton.


While walking back to the house, I noticed how nice of a day it was. It was right at that time that the clouds are as full as they can get and are dripping out a little bit making the air cool and wet (but not quite humid). The pine trees respond by being as strong and sweet smelling as they can be, and the light breaking just barely out of the clouds on its long journey to the edge of the world made it all pleasant in every sense possible. All in all, it was a nice walk back.

I got back and messed around on Spotify some more which continues to impress me and got a few things in order that were previously out. I just rested the rest of the night, wondering in the back of my mind if it would be worth it to go back into London tonight to see if I could find any Harry Potter craziness, but tired legs, the price of another train ticket, and the silliness of it all convinced me otherwise in the end. Watched some British soaps while finally eating a meal (besides a quick bowl of cereal) at Graham’s again and a little more tv the rest of the night.

What I learned:

Milkshakes are not necessarily the same. I went up to a stand selling burgers and stuff after lunch because it said they had milkshakes. There were some large silver, metal machines that looked like milkshake machines back home, so I ordered one and the lady reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle. She shook it up and gave it to me. I opened up the bottled milkshake, a little shaken as to what happened, but drank it anyway. Not near as good and really just kind of like very slightly chunky milk.

A lot more about Vineyard and Jason’s views on church.

Bowfinger (with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy) is a ridiculous movie.

7/13 - The Final Countdown

What I did:

I woke up early to get breakfast. The hotel I got continued to amaze me. The same guy was the only one I saw the whole time this morning, and he was just as friendly. I got a full English breakfast (not the wimpy continental stuff) for no extra cost and it was delicious. He talked with me some asking me about why I was there and where I was from which was nice, especially since my last hotel experience was the huge Holiday Inn in Telford where I knew I was just a number and I was issued an empty promise of someone coming to get me online for which I waited an hour. Not that I am bitter or anything, but lesson learned. Go to York and stay at the Park View Guest House, do not go to Telford and stay at the Holiday Inn (unless you are visiting Safe Space and it is your only option, that might be worth it).

I heard that the weather may turn bad on the tv this morning, so I tried to hurry up and get out to see some of the city while it was still a nice day. As it turned out it did not start raining until I was just getting into the train station at 5:30. So it was a beautiful day to explore York. I started by walking back down to the minster to just see how much it cost to go in, since I did not get many photos last night. It was a little steep, and since I had already looked all around, I just took what pictures I could looking out past the admissions booths and left.

After that, I headed out and found a section of the city wall. I don’t remember when it is from, but there are sections of it still up all around the city. It was interesting and gave me a good view of the rest of the city in some places. After that I walked some more, got a little lost, but got back into the center of town and reoriented myself. From there I walked out to a church that had an interesting art exhibit, the York castle grounds, and then back into the main center area.

I was craving some fish and chips and convinced myself to get some despite not really liking the last batch I got in London. But I found a nice place and this time it was much better. I actually liked it and it did not make me feel too sick. I took it back to the minster area where there is a nice lawn and ate right there. I got up refreshed and headed through some streets (including Blake Street) and then out to the art gallery. It was not that impressive, but it was free and I did find a couple of paintings that I really liked. After that I wandered through the York Museum Gardens were there were lots of ruined buildings, including the ruined St. Mary’s Abbey. I laid down under a tree for a while here and just enjoyed the beautiful day.

But, it was soon time for some ice cream. I had seen a place earlier and made a note to return. I did and was not disappointed. A generous helping of triple chocolate in a crisp waffle cone hit the spot. You can’t tell me that doesn’t look good. I enjoyed it while walking around some more and seeing some interesting (and slightly disturbing) street performers. I walked down to the Ouse River and watched the boats go by.

I walked over the bridge and around on some more of the old city wall and noticed I still had a bit of time. So, I headed over to the National Railway Museum. It claims to be the largest railway museum in the world, and was actually very interesting. They had lots of old trains and artifacts and even an active workshop where you could see trains they were restoring and working on. I figured this would be a nice warm up to the next several hours I would be spending in a train to get back to Fleet.

After the museum, I headed to the rail station and made my way back. No excitement on the return trip. I did get on the wrong tube train in London, but I jumped off quick enough before it flew off and got on the right one. I got back and didn’t do much the rest of the night, except one really exciting thing. I had been hearing about this program called Spotify that allows you to listen to any song for free. So, I downloaded it and have been playing around on it some. It is amazing! Sorry American readers, because it is only in the UK, I think (which makes me just hope that I can still access it when I get back).

What I learned:

There were royal coaches made specifically for the English royalty that travelled by train, but the cool thing (I thought) is that during the war when times were tough, their accommodations were very plain. It looked like a bad hotel room, which I am sure was not too bad for the time, but still it was very modest.

The Flying Scotsman is not a specific engine, but rather a rail line.

I had put this on my Twitter a few days ago, but in case you didn’t see that - What I am most excited about: having a legitimate reason to listen to the Final Countdown all week! I was not joking, and listened to it twice yesterday. But I was not going to listen to it today. Then the hand of God reached down in the form of iPod shuffle setting and on the train tonight the song came on. Haha.

In the past 5 days I have slept in 4 different beds.

York is my favorite city I have visited so far.

7/12 - New sights and sounds

What I did:

I slept in a little this morning, but got up in time to get caught up with recording observations and blogging and all that good stuff. Soon, though, it was time to head out once again. So, I grabbed a train into London and then out from there to York. The second train was actually really cool because it had free wifi. So I got to continue to update stuff and catch up with things online. Also, there was probably the most unhappy child I have ever heard in my life on the entire 2 hours of the train ride (thank goodness for headphones).

I got into York and it was very easy to find my way around. I went straight to my hotel, but passed some interesting stuff on the way that I made a note to check out later. I got to the hotel, which I quickly found out is the best hotel I have ever stayed at. It is kind of a town house style and tucked away in a row of houses. The staff (only one person I have met so far) was really friendly and my room is really cool. I don’t know why I was so excited about it all, but I was. Nice beds, plenty of room, good view, free wifi, and even complimentary biscuits with the tea (which unfortunately are already gone). And, it was only 35 pounds for the night. I would highly recommend it to anyone going to York, although I guess that is kind of what I just did.

Anyway, I was really tired, so I chilled in my room for a bit and turned on the tv. I watched a little bit of some weird Tim Allen movie having to do with kids with superpowers. It was pretty terrible, at least the part I saw, so I decided to just go walk around a little and find some dinner before going to Transcendence this evening.

By 7:30 I was walking back to York Minster to visit Transcendence. It was a really cool service, and what they call an ancient future mass. It was held throughout the minster, but mainly in a back room called the charter house. We all gathered there (a little over 100, making this by far the largest group I have visited). Apparently it is made up of people from an emerging group called Visions and the regular attendees of the minster along with many people from all over York. All of the structure of the service was very high church and traditional, complete with a censer and chanting, but the way things were done was in a much more modern way. For example, we sang what they said was possibly one of the first hymns ever written, but it was set to kind of a modern, dance beat. The rest of the service included a short sermon and some prayer stations set up throughout the minster where people could just kind of roam about. We finished with Communion and some more singing and call and response.

There was some cake afterwards and I stayed to help them tear everything down. During this time I got a cliffs notes version of some of the history of the minster, at least the parts we were walking through. I also got to go through the crypt and even sneak a peak at the treasury under the minster. It was a really cool place and by far the most impressive building I have ever seen. After putting everything away, I joined everyone at the pub and met several more people and had some more conversations about the service and its history.

All in all, a great day and I am excited to go check out York some more tomorrow.

What I learned:

Sometimes you just get really lucky with hotels.

Tim Allen is in some strange movies (and several with a sci-fi theme).

The charter house (where the service was in the minster) is actually not consecrated (or sanctified, or whatever the official terminology). I thought that was really interesting since it is part of the building. I don’t know what that means functionally, but they did say that you couldn’t have a marriage ceremony there.

York minster has been around since the 620s and has had some famous baptisms and such.
Most shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays, especially after 5. I don’t know why I hadn’t run into that problem before today.

7/11 - Plenty for you to read now

What I did:

I woke up and had a delicious breakfast with Steve and his wife Jo. It was actually probably the most formal and biggest breakfast I have had the whole trip. I then got cleaned up and came back downstairs to find the two of them playing some Mario Kart Wii. I couldn’t resist and jumped in on the next game only to get my rear handed to me. I quickly realized that not only am I out of practice, but I am far inferior a player to the two of them. Sorry America for representing you so poorly in international Mario Kart.

After several games we decided to get ready and go into town. There is a place called the Custard Factory (which is not a custard factory) that they wanted to visit along with a couple of other places along the way. I gladly joined them and we soon headed out to catch a bus. All the while we traveled into town Steve explained some of the history of the place, which is always very interesting.

Steve and I got out at a music store that he likes and said we would meet up with Jo later. It was a very nice music store that sells a lot of second hand albums. I looked around for a while, but held off from buying anything (knowing that I would have to transport it a long way). But it has inspired me to find a place like it in Dallas. Then we walked into the Bullring area of the city center and met back up with Jo. We went and grabbed some lunch at a place called Wagamamas that was very good. Then we finally headed off to the Custard Factory.

It was about a 10 minute walk into the south area of town. I found that it was kind of a flea market for vintage arts and clothing stores. It was really cool, and again, I kind of want to find a place like that in Dallas. We walked through an art exhibition that was somehow related to work with people with mental and psychological disabilities. We walked through a couple other stores, one at which we got to make these cool wooly pebbles. It was fun, and maybe something I can integrate into something back home. We walked through a couple more clothing stores that were very interesting.

Finally it got to be about time for them to head back home and for me to catch my train, so I said my goodbyes and thanks and headed back down to London. When I arrived in London, it was spitting rain (I think that is the correct rain terminology). Not pleasant to be out in, but it doesn’t completely soak you. So, I tried to figure out where I could go. The train got to London faster than I thought it would meaning that I got into town about 3 hours before Grace started. So, I walked past University of London, which was not that exciting. Then I headed to the British Museum. I knew it was the one I had already been to, but it was the closest thing that I knew would be open and that I could probably find something to do in.

I did notice that there was a new exhibit showing called medals of dishonour. I checked it out and it was really interesting. Basically it was artists satirical making of medals to remember terrible things that people have done. They had some really old ones and ones up to very recent.

After that, I walked back to the center area and on the way saw half of an exhibit that was closed last time I was there, but nothing really exciting. I sat down for a while, which turned out to be kind of cool because there were a lot of foreign people around me, so I got to listen to several different languages at once.

After I got bored of that, I went outside again. The rain was still sprinkling down, and I still had about an hour before I needed to go to the tube to travel out to Grace. I walked around a little more and went into some shops. Finally, it started to rain a little harder, so I took refuge in a starbucks and grabbed a hot chocolate. I was hoping to get free internet too, but no luck there, so I read a little.

Finally it was time to head out to Grace and see them at their big service. I knew they were having a barbeque today, but since it was raining I hoped that everything would still go as planned. I entered the tube station to find that it was incredibly busy and that there were delays on the line I needed. Nevertheless, I waited it out and finally made it to where I needed to go just a little after 8, and to the church only about 20 minutes late. So I had about 3 and a half hours from the time I arrived in London to get there, but didn’t make it. I was a little frustrated with that, but just walked on in.

They were still having a barbeque but they were bringing all the cooked food inside where everyone was eating. I was not too late to miss the food and had plenty of time to eat and talk with people. At about 9 we started the service. It was a very nice service and I really enjoyed it and felt moved by it. We did some creative reflection and communion, and before I knew it it was over. We had some pudding at the end, which gave me more chance to talk to people. It was good to see people I had met before along with many knew people.

Eventually, it was time for me to run to catch a train back out to Fleet. I was pushing it already in banking on the very last train to leave, so I did not want to miss it. Luckily, everything went smoothly and I made it back very late, but safely.

What I learned:

Birmingham is the home of Cadbury and the outlying towns used to be where the workers lived. For some reason that whole image just reminded me of Willy Wonka.

How to make a wooly pebble (I don’t think that is what they were really called though).

There are a lot of drunk people on London public transportation after 11pm.

St. Pancras rail station has comfy chairs and is not a bad place to spend the night if you miss your train. This did not happen to me, but to one of the guys I was talking to tonight. Still, it was good to know given I still have a week to miss that last train out.

It is better to do nothing after having already reached your destination, rather than doing nothing and then frantically trying to get there on time.

7/10 - Catching up with myself

What I did:

I woke up pretty early at Jim’s so that I would not hold him up in getting to work. We had a nice cup of tea then set off. He walked with me most of the way and we had some interesting conversations about gardening and growing vegetables and stuff like that. Eventually he split off on his bike and I walked back into town. I did not do much in Oxford this morning, because I needed to get back, pick up some stuff from Fleet and then head back out the Birmingham this evening. So, I went straight for the rail station.

Before I knew it I was back in Fleet walking back to the house. I got there and realized I had a little time to relax and dozed off a little while getting things together. Then, back to the train station. I knew the end of this week would be crazy, but all this train time is definitely a change of pace. Then on to Birmingham to visit a church this evening.

Well, sort of a church, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I got to Birmingham a little early, so I went to the shopping center to grab a bite to eat. I was working solely off of a card I was given about 6 weeks ago when I visited Sanctuary, and it said that there would be food and worship, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be much food, so I ate a little anyway. It soon became time to walk on over, so I did. I had been in the area before when I had some free time in the city, so I was not too lost. I found it fine and right at 7:30. I rang to get in, but no one answered. Finally, I called the number on the card I got and luckily someone answered. She told me that they were meeting, but not until 9 and at a different place – the Red Bar.

So, I killed and hour and a half by walking around to find the Red bar (which took about 10 minutes) and then chilling outside of Birmingham Cathedral to read. I read for over an hour while a bunch of teenagers talked and gathered and skateboarded around me. If I was the youth pastor of any church in the city, this would definitely be the place I would be. It made me want to just talk to the kids anyway, but for some reason I refrained.

Finally, it was 9, so I headed to the bar. Pretty much no one was there when I got there and the DJ, who was the one leading the service, was setting up her equipment. I picked up a flyer for the event and noticed that the first hour (9-10) was supposed to be worship and then from 10-4am was dancing and party and normal bar stuff. I stayed until 10:30ish, because I had to catch a train out to where I was staying tonight. But I don’t think I missed too much, because it was all pretty much the same from the first I sat down. I enjoyed myself, but I don’t really know if anyone was worshipping. It is definitely one of the harder things for me to call church (not that I think anyone is intending for it to be so). I did like a lot of the music she played. I knew that there were a couple other people that would be playing/controlling/dj-ing the music the rest of the night, but I just could not stay that long. Also, I did see Pall right as I was leaving.

I got a train out to Longbridge and met up with my friend Steve that I met last weekend. He showed me to my room and we both were ready to crash. He did leave me with a warning to close my door though, because they have a cat and it will come in and stand on my face. Haha. The best pet warning I have ever heard.

What I learned:

It is best to check online on a group’s website before going to visit them to make sure nothing has changed in 6 weeks time.

Lakes can explode through a giant burp-like process of CO2 building up under the pressure of the water and then suddenly being released (but only in more tropical climates where a natural diffusion of gas in the body of water does not occur with seasonal cooling). And it can (and has) killed people.

7/9 – The start of a crazy weekend - Oxford

What I did:

I woke up early to head out to Oxford. I wanted to get in some sightseeing before I had to meet up with the people of mayBe, and I got into Oxford at about 10:30. It took me a little while to get oriented, and I quickly found that Oxford wasn’t anything that I imagined. For some reason I basically had Hogwarts in mind in thinking about the whole city. A large university area with maybe a little town just outside its walls. This was not what I found.

I walked by Oxford Castle then somehow completely missed high street. I basically walked all around the city and made it all the way to the University parks. By this point I figured I would turn around and head back into town where all the people were, and on my way I saw some grass tennis courts. It kind of broke my heart a little that I could not play on them.

I made it back into town and finally found all the popular sights (and all the tour groups). The best way I can describe Oxford is like Texas A&M only with all the empty spaces filled in with shops and buildings and streets (and everything much older). It is not my favorite city, but I did enjoy my time there. I walked around and looked at the outside of several colleges and libraries. Then I walked down to Christ Church college and stopped for a little while to eat some. At this point, my friend from SMU named Josh called me and we decided to meet up. He came and found me. He is studying at Oxford for the summer and just got there about a week ago along with many other friends of mine. I happily greeted a friendly, familiar face and we set off.

He gave me a little tour and helped me put some names to buildings I had previously passed by. After a little bit of that, we walked back to the college he is staying at, University, and he showed me around it. I did not realize this until around this time, but not all of the colleges open to the public; those that do generally are open about 12-5; and of those that do open, not all are free (but some are). Anyway, he showed me around and told me some of the history and what he has been doing. We had a nice chance to relax for a little while in his room. Then, we decided to go out, and he was going to show me a few more places. On the way out in the street I saw Sydni! Haha. Somehow I knew I’d run into her, but it was good to see her and Kaitlin and Vicki. I didn’t get to talk long though since we all kind of had our own stuff to do.


Josh and I kept going and he took me over to the martyrs memorial and St. John’s college. At that point, he had to go run some errands and left me to continue my sightseeing. I got to go in St. John’s and a couple of other colleges that were open and free. I walked around for a while and saw some market area and other exciting stuff. I eventually found a homemade cookie place with an old guy in there, and I couldn’t help but stop and get one. I am also happy to say that this is the only thing I actually spent money on in Oxford. It was delicious too.

It got to be 5 and everything started closing down that was of interest to me. I tried to run by the modern art museum, but it was closed. So I rested a little, then headed out to the place mayBe would be meeting. It is actually in Cowley, which is east Oxford I think. It was about a 40 minute walk, but not a bad one. I got to the guy’s flat who was hosting it tonight and was one of the first people there. People gradually trickled in and there were several families and several funny children. We eventually ate some dinner then went through a service based around journeys and labyrinths. It was good, and went by fast. Before I knew it we weren’t quite done, but for me to get a bus and train back, I needed to go. Fortunately, Jim, whose place we were at, offered to let me stay the night. I gladly accepted and got to stay to the end and have several good conversations. This community is interesting because they are in a big transition just having lost their leader and founder. So, it was interesting to see how they are adapting.

Everyone left and Jim and I sat and chatted for a while over some tea and toast. The evening wound down and I soon found that I was very tired from an unusually busy day.

What I learned:

The layout of Oxford. I guess I was just disappointed that it was not Hogwarts, but it was definitely cool in its own unique way.

Apparently, if Hitler had taken over England he would not have bombed Oxford, because he wanted it as his base.

Homemade double chocolate chip cookies are always worth it.

A lot about many of the colleges and notable buildings around the city. Josh was a very good unofficial tour guide and helped me understand where I was located in the present (in relation to the rest of the city), what the past of that spot was, and where I should visit in the future.

The Oxford study abroad program is really cool, but I am still glad that I get to do what I am doing instead. If for no other reason than I don’t have to get all dressed up to go to ‘high table’ dinner. The dinners I have been a part of are probably much more meaningful and are typically eaten on the floor in jeans.

7/8 - Familiar Scenes

What I did:

I debated for a long time about how early I should try to get back into London. If I got back early enough, I could drop off my stuff and then head back into actual London (which I simplify – I am staying in Fleet, which British people would not consider London at all, but even most of them don’t know where it is, so being from Texas and being used to saying that I live in Dallas when I actually live an hour away in a town called Sherman has bled through to this. Fleet is about a 40 minute train ride out from London, so I will try to be more specific) to go to a meditation thing at Moot. I eventually decided a bath and seeing if Matt could drive me to the rail station after work was worth it more than rushing and getting a bus into town.

So I walked around. I guess I can spill this now. I have been trying to find some nice thank you gift for Matt and Rachel, but I continue to draw a blank. I went out in one last desperate effort and still came away empty handed. I guess I am overthinking it terribly. But I at least left George something and a bag with an explanation as to why it is relatively empty (which is upstairs, btw, if you haven’t found it yet, I left it as a somewhat pleasant surprise to come across).

After walking around for a while, I got some lunch and headed back to finish packing up and getting ready to go. I still had a while before Matt got off work, so I spent some time online, reading, and dozing off. Finally, Rachel got back and put on an episode of 24, but right as she was about to start, Matt came in. It worked out well, though, and after saying bye to them both I got on my train to take me out of Sheffield for what I hope is not forever.

The train ride was fine (I seem to be having more luck on them now-a-days) and I got into Fleet. Now, I was debating on how to get my stuff from the station to Graham’s house and my shoulders started to ache just thinking about the last time I had all this stuff with me in that location. I finally (and wisely) decided to get a taxi. As much as I hate that, I just couldn’t take hauling all that stuff all that way again. It is a decision I definitely do not regret. When I got to the house, some guys were meeting upstairs, so I stayed covert on the bottom floor for a while, just glad I am finally here again.

I just spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching some tv. I got in part of a movie called Drop Zone, but cut it short to catch Ghostbusters 2.

What I learned:

I can see how Twitter can easily become addicting.

Humans have as many hair follicles (as much density of hair) as chimpanzees. Chimp’s hair is just longer and thicker. We also don’t grow hair in the same places – lips, palms of hands, soles of feet.

I am a terrible gift giver, but a much better server. I would rather any day to show my appreciation by washing dishes than by giving a gift.

What to do if a psycho-kinetic ectoplasmic slime takes over the city – statue of liberty play.