Elisha's Bones

I was so fed up with this yesterday!

After a couple of days of non-stop rain I had checked the local weather forecast and it said the rain had finished, so I hung the washing out, only for the heavens to open and leave the washing saturated.

I was not amused!

There was no way I was going out in that to get the washing in again, and so most of it ended up on the airer being dried by last night's fire, so I guess I shouldn't grumble.

Then this morning, the storm has cleared and we are blessed with wonderful clear blue skies, and we now have two loads of washing out on the line drying, which means we're fully caught up with the washing load (let's not mention the ironing pile).

Just Another Day

Been there, done that... the young & stupid bit, and am still waiting for the payback of being old & wise.

It's been an interesting 24 hours, from taking the car to be checked for a grumbling wheel bearing, a dog jumping in my grave and an appointment with a Chiropractor (proof that I'm getting older) to start some treatment for my herniated disc (slipped disc is so far from the right description!). I came out of the appointment feeling beaten up and the acupuncture needles he stuck in my bum really hurt when they hit the nerve he was looking for. This herniated disc is the most pain I have ever experienced in life, and I've had some nasty injuries in my time.

Please keep praying for total healing, I'm so fed up with it now, and to add to my misery, the Chiropractor told me to stop boxing until it's healed, so that's my fun just gone out the window.

Sweet Sixteen

It's Facing The Mountain's 16th birthday or Blogoversary today.

Who would have thought that when we started this back in 2004 that we'd still be in South Africa, never mind still running this blog!

Much has changed over the years, especially with this blog. We used to post via dial-up internet so had to keep posts short and generally without photos. Today we have a decent fibre optic connection and have no concerns about the size of what we post. Probably the biggest change to the blog though was the name change in 2010 (I've previously posted about that here).

Lockdown? What Lockdown?

I don't know how lockdown is going where you live, but here in South Africa things have gotten a little strange and seemingly out of control.

What started well with apparently strong leadership has disintegrated in to a situation where lockdown is all but over - unofficially - whilst certain lockdown rules and regulations remain in place.

We moved to Level 3 on June 1 much to the relief of many, as now most non-essential businesses could reopen and the economy could start up again. This was desperately needed! Then on June 18 President Ramaphosa made one of his now rare appearances and told us we were entering Level 3 Advanced, in which a whole load more businesses could reopen.

Happy Birthday

I want to wish my lovely wife the happiest of happy lockdown birthdays.

It was a bit strange going out for a post-workout breakfast without Eli who was at school but the rest of us had a fun time at Dinner for 20  where we were spoilt rotten by the lovely hosts.

Tonight a bottle of bubbly will lose its cork as we continue to celebrate under these bizarrest of circumstances.

I Do Not Box...

Being able to box regularly again is worth celebrating, especially when I get to do it with Joel, so here's a post about our love of boxing...

There's a whole raft of reasons why I took up boxing.

Mostly it was about my health and fitness, I knew I couldn't (and didn't want to) do regular gym life, and having given up cycling I needed to do something to shake off the excess baggage that was gathering around my waist.

It's Good To Be Back!

Joel and I were back boxing 🥊 with our coach this morning and it felt really good! We have missed being with him so much, and whilst we've had some good sessions in the garage with our home equipment, you simply cannot beat face to face coaching. Not only for technique and style but also for pushing yourself in a way that is almost impossible at home.

Coronavirus Mutation (Not)

If the coronavirus was a plant...

Punching An Old Bag

Joel and I are super thrilled to finally have a 45kg punchbag installed in the garage. We've been after one since just before the lockdown began and on the last day of freedom before it started the local sports shop was stripped bare of all but the most basic of equipment, so we had to make do with our old 12kg bag which just didn't cut it.

Home Taping Is Killing Music

I know that taping music back in the day, and downloading it from the web today are both illegal, but... I do think there is a discussion to be had here.

Let me explain... Today, I own six of Joe Bonamassa's LPs, but until a few years ago I had never heard of him. Then one day I was at home alone for a weekend as I was tasked with swapping Joel's bedroom with our office which involved a lot of decorating, installing shelves &  moving furniture etc.

Whilst busy with that, I was streaming a UK rock station, and in the middle of one of their 30 minute non-stop segments I had to stop and just listen to one particular track that blew me away.

Missionary Blogs

It's been a while but it's nice to see that Facing the Mountain has once again been featured on Missionary Blogs's Blog Watch as part of a feature entitled "Small Blessings?". Our featured post was Rough Night which we posted about some of our homeless Soup Kitchen regulars.

It's always a good feeling when one of your posts gets picked up in this way.

Huawei Schmawei

I'm not one for conspiracy theories and would side with David Baddiel who says conspiracy theories are "how idiots get to feel like intellectuals", and I certainly do not lean towards trump and his ridiculousness. However... I am beginning to wonder if there might be something in this Huawei stuff.

Now bear with me here as I explain...

We stream all of our TV and we do it on my PC in our office and cast it with Chromecast on to our living room TV.

Disaster In The Making

Paula received this from one of our church members this morning, she is a teacher in a local primary school in a poorer community.  It is one of many similar WhatsApp messages from her over the last three weeks about the appalling circumstances at her school.

The government are supposed to have given each school the necessary resources and training to enable them to open safely in the midst of this pandemic, as well as putting clear protocols in place in the event of any Covid-19 infections

Sadly the truth is something else as teachers like this are actually providing their own PPE, cleaning their own classes in their own time, as well as helping the children cope with the frightening reality of it all.

Lockdown Reading Part 2

It's been a little while since my previous post Lockdown Reading Part 1, but in that time I've red some great books.

I picked up Austerlitz in the second hand bookshop in Kalk Bay (sadly it closed down) and I wasn't disappointed. The subject matter is something I've read lots of; a man impacted by the Holocaust seeks to find the truth. The storytelling however, that's a whole different thing. No paraphrasing, no chapters, long sentences; one running to seven pages and all narrated by the author. A bit weird but an eminently good read!

I had never heard of Sebald before but I'll definitely read some more of his stuff based on this, though it's sad to learn that he died in a car crash in 2001.

Here's an older post from 2018 about books: Ten books

Another Book

You've got to love a freebie!

Courtesy of Discovery and my rewards points for exercising, I scored a freebie today from Exclusive Books. It should have cost just over a tenner so I think I'll help myself to another one next week.

Sweet!

The premise of this one caught my attention, it's about an unrepentant aristocrat in the time of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, he is placed under house arrest but has to live in the attic rather than the whole house.

I\m looking forward to reading this.

Going Solo

Wham once famously sang "Wake me up before you go-go, Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo".

At The Gathering we've tried working in partnership with the government, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC), and each time we've been excited by the prospect only to get dragged down by slow moving cumbersome organisations with onerous expectations and criteria for any partnership.

It's no wonder churches choose to go solo. It's sad, but it's also very understandable.

Concrete Ceiling

If you only listen to or watch one thing on Black Lives Matter, listen to our good friend Dave speaking about his own experiences in the UK.

As white people we will never need our lives to be verified in the way that Dave and so many other black people have experienced at some point. That is why we are privileged and black lives matter.

#BlackLivesMatter

Sound Engineering

On Saturday I had the privilege of taking Joel through to Stellenbosch to my boxing buddy Conrad's studio where they were hosting a live concert to stream on Facebook.

Conrad is a well known and very gifted sound engineer as well as a performer and all round great bloke and he's helping Joel get a taste for sound engineering which is Joel's preference for next year.

The (Very) Later Years

Let me tell you a story...

Pink Floyd announced the release of their Later Years ensemble late last year saying it would be released on November 29.  Exciting times!

My lovely sister-in-law and family agreed to get it for me for Christmas and so began an almost 9 month saga that finally ended today when a courier handed me the parcel containing the LP.

Fathers Day

For all the dads out there...

No matter what your earthly father was like, your Heavenly Father is awesome.

Project Restart

Project Restart couldn't have gone any better for Palace as they comfortably saw off Bournemouth at the Vitality courtesy of a sublime free kick and a beautiful team goal.

My Palace made me proud as they supported Black Lives Matters on their shirt sleeves and their backs in place of their name,s and I love that they all took the knee in solidarity.