Yesterday in my post of what I’m looking forward to at Greenbelt, I hinted that there was someone else that was coming along who I would reveal today. Well, allow me to make introductions for you.
This is Bruegga. He lives with us and he belongs to me and my flatmate.
And he’s coming to Greenbelt.
You see, Bruegga had been moaning that he was often left out of the action because he was so often left out of all the fun and frollicks that we get up to, simply because he was a bear and fluffy. “This is unfair”, he grumbled.
So we relented, and said he was allowed to come to Greenbelt. Well, Bruegga is very excited about this and has decided he would not only like to come but to write a photo journal of his time at Greenbelt and maybe see if he can get some cheeky teddy photos with some of the people involved in running it.
This journal will be available after the festival (Bruegga, unfortunately, is not rich enough to be able to afford the kind of data plan that would allow on the fly updating of photos during the course of the festival), along with some of his comments, thoughts and bear-centred musings about everything. He will also be tweeting his way around the site as he sees things that catch his eye.
If you’re going to Greenbelt and you see us around, why not stop and have your photo taken with Bruegga – he would love to have more friends in his memories of the weekend and you might become famous for having your photo taken in the up-and-coming field of Teddy Travel Writing.
So subscribe to the RSS feed and twitter feed (being a bear who is still a minor, he’s not allowed his own twitter feed, so he is on mine @davidbunce to stop any malicious teddies from following him!) and catch up with Bruegga’s fun and frollicks around Greenbelt 2010!
Now my only worry is that he will put my thoughts and reflections in the shade!
We had a new fridge today. This was very exciting, as we’ve been coping for a month without any form of fridge at all, so it’ll be nice to have fresh milk again. But that’s an aside. When not playing with fridges and moving stuff around the house, I’ve been preparing for Greenbelt – you know, things like rolling up sleeping bags etc.
So I thought I’d take a moment to list who I’m excited about seeing at Greenbelt this year:
Music
- Fionn Regan
- Foy Vance
- Martyn Joseph (playing Greenbelt? What a shock!)
- London Community Gospel Choir
Talks
I admit it. I’m a nerd at heart. For me, the highlight of Greenbelt is the talks rather than the music. I love the academic vibe, the freedom for people to explore new ideas and the new perspectives I gain from hearing people outside of my usual stream of church. For me, these are the top people to hear this year:
- Fr Richard Rohr -Â Franciscan Priest, does a lot of work on sacramental theology and community.
- Stanley Hauerwas – United Methodist theologian, known for his work in the field of ethics and especially his commitment to pacifism
- David Morrisey – well, actor, of course! From what I can make out from the website, he’ll be talking about his work in Beirut setting up acting classes, which’ll be interesting.
- Panels – the normal interesting range of panels. Some that stuck out at me include ‘Is meat murdering the planet?’ and ‘the capital problem’
- John Bell – well, of course – the Bell is always worth a listen!
- Maggi Dawn – first class theologian and one of my favourite bloggers. Also, I’m over the moon that the Sunday morning worship will include both Dawn and Stuart Townend – might be slightly less cringe-worthy than the norm!
- Peter Oborne – Daily Mail journalist (yes, I want to go and hear a Daily Mail journalist. Deal with it!) but more importantly, author of the book ‘ The Rise of Political Lying’. Could be an interesting perspective to go and hear.
Worship
- Andy Flannagan
- Transcendence – multi-sensory multi-media Eucharistic journey
- Contemplative Fire – an Oxford-based emerging worship group
- Aoradh – art and worship group based in Argyll
Tomorrow: a few words on the extra surprise guest who is joining our Greenbelt party this year! In the meantime, I just thought I’d mention I’ll be tweeting my way through the festival this year @davidbunce – providing I can find enough battery life to get it through!
As my Dad has jetted off to the Baptist World Alliance Congress in Hawaii for a week (my argument that they would need lots of Spanish speakers and so I should go with him was, sadly, rejected!), I thought I’d just take a moment to note a few interesting facts about Hawaii:
- There are only twelve letters in the Hawaiian alphabet
- More than a third of the world’s commercial pineapples come from Hawaii
- Hawaii has a zenith star (a star that rises directly above it) called Arcturus
- Hawaii has its own timezone
- Although there are more than 100 world renowned beaches in Hawaii, it is also home to the wettest spot on earth
- There are more observatories and telescopes in Hawaii than anywhere else on the earth due to the low levels of light pollution.
- The island fish is the humuhumunukunukuapu’a
- The Hawaiian shirt came into being after island missionaries encouraged the natives to cover their nakedness.
- Hawaii has 150 recognized ecosystems.
And of course, finally, Hawaii was the home of Pearl Harbour, the Japanese attack on which (finally!) brought the United States into the Second World War.
. . . is my last exam. Hence why I am up at half five in the morning, doing some last minute cramming of obscure Russian words and sipping Lemon and Ginger tea to wake myself up. By eleven o’clock this morning, I’ll be free of exams for the summer. And it’s an AMAZING day for it – I really hope the sun keeps shining all day.
Speak on the other side 
Apparently, St Andrews has more pubs and more churches per head than any other town in the UK.
You learn something new every day.
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