Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you reading this. I hope everyone has a truly wonderful day however you are spending it.

JR

The Church

Last week the Church of England officially sanctioned civil partnership ceremonies on it's premises to take place upon approval from the general synod. I can't say this development surprises me although I'm not entirely sure it's a good one. A scholar of theology I'm not but to my knowledge, the Christian church teaches that homosexuality is a sin. It therefore follows in my mind that, by forcing the Church to bless civil partnerships, they are being forced to go against their teachings and subverting what they believe. By undermining what they believe is right then surely the meaning and gravity of the ceremony its self is being undermined. Hardly a foundation for a successful and long-lasting relationship.

All this sounds very homophobic. It's not intended to be. What people do behind closed doors is their business as far as I'm concerned. I have been however been thinking about similar issues for quite some time.

For a bit of background, I do not regard myself as religious. My girlfriend on the other hand is profoundly Christian. She is very clear on the fact that, were we to ever get married, she would want to do so in a church. Hypothetically, this could leave me in a bit of an awkward situation. A church its self I don't have a problem with. The ceremony will have to take place in a building and churches are usually fairly picturesque. It's the religious element that concerns me. I don't think I would be comfortable taking religious vows. As I say, I'm not religious however I respect the strength of belief those that have religion feel. It would therefore feel totally disingenuous to throw myself into a ceremony I didn't believe in. At worst, I think it would undermine the institution of marriage which I take very seriously. I would feel that swearing to something I didn't believe in would be a lie and I don't think starting out married life on the basis of a lie is the best way to start a life together.

The compromise solution would seem to be having the ceremony in a church but in my case, taking secular vows. It does seem to have the potential to get rather complicated. Which should take precedence; the individual or the institution?

JR

A Random Post

For some reason I have my best ideas for posts at random times, usually when I am engaged in something else and can't get to a computer. Occasionally ideas will float into my head that are a mixture of thought-provoking, interesting, absurd or funny. Naturally when I eventually get time to put pen to paper (or the electronic equivalent) the thought is gone; usually only to re-surface at some suitably inconvenient time. Does anyone else have this? If so (and you're one of the bloggers I follow) it doesn't show.

Not too much has happened since my last couple of posts. The girlfriend has now been away for almost two weeks. The anger and bargaining has subsided to be replaced with a constant feeling of something being missing. Kind of like going out without a watch on only magnified many, many, many hundreds of times. It probably doesn't help that literally everything I see reminds me of her; from the coffee maker she gave me to celebrate a relationship landmark which I see soon after I wake up to the photo of her I see just before I go to sleep. Cue sloppy music and montage!

A challenge has been occupying my new-found plentiful free time - well apart from going to the pub. I have a stack of books I've been wanting to read and have been working my way through those. Once I get my brain in gear, I will hopefully posting more up here.

I like writing. I enjoy interacting with words and using them to convey what I'm trying to (well most of the time!). I like the idea of doing more of it in other ways although it is only vanity that makes me think that it's in any way worth reading.

The big question is what to write. My flatmates are trying to get me to make a compilation of their favourite dishes with added sections on flourishes and tricks to make the food a bit special. That appeals but I'm very aware of the sheer number of cook-books around and my relative lack of skill in the area.

I have one or two ideas relating to espionage but as a lifelong Flemming devotee I genuinely don't believe I or anyone else could create something comparable. He once stated his desire to write the best spy stories ever written and, for my money, that's what he did. I am also not a fan of the, "gritty" way most spy dramas are played out these days. In my mind, outrageous flamboyance is still the best.

There is always the law as a subject. As it is a fairly closed world, people are generally interested and it is ripe for turning into stories. However I have only been part of that world for around four years. I don't think I know it well enough to start creating anything concrete.

One idea that I really fancy is doing research on a subject and writing about it. I genuinely love the process of research; finding stuff in books, trawling the internet, making connections in my mind between the sources and generally achieving a deep understanding of the subject. Everything apart from trying to remember the source of the fact that just popped into my head. The trouble is what to research. Two obvious choices would be Bond or St. John Ambulance. I doubt I could write anything about Bond that hasn't been already written and any attempt seems futile. St. John could be a potential winner. The stumbling blocks there include the time to actually do the research, finding hard-copy sources and getting access to electronic ones. Many on-line databases charge quite a lot for access.

I will ponder the possibilities over the next wee while and see what, if any, ideas begin to develop.

In the mean time I am carrying a note book to record the good ideas I have for here for further development.

JR

The Station

The Station is the first novel by Stuart Gray, a London Ambulance Service paramedic and author of the blog Paramedic's diary (www.theparamedicsdiary.blogspot.com) as well as several books on the Ambulance service.

The book follows the events occurring over the course of a shift in central London. Challenges range from the mundane to the extreme and many are evidently drawn from the author's experience.

The plot, rather than following one or two central characters, offers snippets of commentary on the lives of many ambulance service personnel and patients. Although this can, at times, make it a bit difficult to keep track of who's who and their relation to others in the story; I think it accurately reflects the experience of those that work in front-line emergency services and the fleeting interactions they have with those they help. I also liked the fact that plots were rarely taken to their full conclusion again reflecting the experience of ambulance service personnel who rarely get to find out what happened to their patient.

Stuart writes well on his blog, in his non-fiction works and now in this novel. He is a naturally gifted story teller who can relate just the right level of detail to keep the reader's interest without them becoming bogged-down. The tone of the book is, in my opinion, perfect. Gray explains complex jargon and ambulance slang clearly and without being over simplistic, much in the way I would imagine one does to a new member of the service. The result is that he draws the reader into his world and makes them feel part of it. To complete the experience, Gray clearly and articulately describes the complex feelings generated by haaving to witness some of the best and some of the worst things humanity has to offer.

I have recommended this book to friends and family. I would not hesitate to do so for anyone reading this post whether you want an insight of life in the emergency services or simply a damn good read.

JR