jonnybaker

unashamed - harry baker back at edinburgh fringe

harry baker has a show at the edinburgh festival doing a two week run that starts tomorrow (16 august) for two weeks. it's in the fringe which means it is unticketed so turn up in good time to get in. jenny and i are headed up from mon-weds next week and can't wait to cheer him on. if you are in edinburgh and fancy a coffee, beer or whisky give me a shout. he has a new book and autumn tour lined up too - see here for the live show info. the poems he wrote in lockdown are incredible - unashamed and impossible are two that spring to mind. unashamed is on the tour page if you scroll down

islay musings - middle class

i always like to read a few books on holiday. this year i clearly didn't feel up to much initially as i began with two picture books/graphic novels.

the first in by will mcphail is delightful - it's reviewed here better than i can do it justice. it's the story of an illustrator, a man who struggles to connect with his feelings and be present and he is waking up to the world through friendship, grief, creating...

the second is putin's russia by darryl cunnigham. i am the sort of person who is interested in someone like putin's story but never motivated enough to read a big fat biography. so darryl cunningham is perfect for me. i am a big fan of his having read supercrash and billionaires. don't be deceived - just because they are graphic novel style does not mean they are pithy in any way. they are brilliantly researched. it was a scary but important read. 

then i finally got onto a novel - middle class by kester brewin. kester is a teacher and this novel really gets inside the classroom. it's set in london and the middle class is neither the top or bottom class but the middle one. i don't know a lot about education at the moment so i can't comment on that. my hunch is it really captures the experience of teaching well but i think teachers had better be the judge of that. but it is a very moving story. both jenny and i were in tears at the end as it really builds pace and develops the lead teacher character so well. it made me feel real empathy for teachers who are at the frontline of so many things as so many other community provisions have fallen away in our culture. i have to say it also put me off teaching - that probably wasn't the point! but i am full of admiration for teachers who are there for young people, can be treated terribly at times, but really give so much. thank you teachers! but back to the point - it's a great read. i went to the book launch which was fun to catch up with kester who has self published this book, wanting to get it out quickly as it deals with the environment around covid and so forth. go get yourself a copy.

and the next book i will write about in another blog...

i realise this musing has very little to do with islay other than that i read the books there!

pioneering has surely hit the mainstream now!

i have blogged on the cms pioneer blog about pioneering featuring on the archers in july - yes you read that right!

islay musings - what have you got in your hands?

this is actually a jura musing. islay is home to several famous whisky distilleries and it was really good fun to visit and sample their delights. we found that it was the hospitality and welcome that made as much of an impression on us as the whisky we tasted. but surprisingly the distillery that made the biggest impression on me was none of those. it was lussa gin distillery on jura. it's a small home grown enterprise set up by three women on jura. the population of jura is less than 200 people (and 6000 deer) although the island is by no means small. so if you live there i imagine it's a beautiful and challenging environment. and when it comes to enterprise what do you do? there's obviously jura whisky distillery, tourism, and local trade but not an easy question to answer. one of the phrases we have come back to with pioneers at cms is asking the question 'what have you got in your hands?' - in other words what is there right where you are in your context. maybe that's a good place to start imagining what is possible.

well the answer that the three founders of lussa worked out was that they had local plants or botanicals, and amazing water. so they came up with the idea of distilling gin. they experimented and had a community gathering where locals sampled three versions. the one that was voted favourite is what is now lussa gin. it's made with 15 botanicals - you can see about them in the field notes on the web site. they are a small producer - bottling and labelling everything there. but what a wonderful story of local enterprise. i got the impression (and wished i'd asked more about it) that there is a really connection to the local community in and through the distillery. 

i am not really a big gin person but i liked it and it seems to be well regarded and reviewed. it is beautifully presented and they have won an award for the design work. 

what have you got in your hands? 

islay musings - pay attention to what's there

my favourite photos from islay i think were sone shots of jellyfish taken from a paddleboard on lochindaal. the wildlife is incredible there. but my experience of it is that it is also quite elusive to the degree that if you go looking for it you don't seem to find it but when you have forgotten about it you stumble across something as a wonderful surprise. 

the previous day to these photos i was paddleboarding along the edge of the coast and it felt like it was the sort of place you might see otters. i have seen them once before on eilean mor. and sure enough i spotted one and kept my distance while he dived for his tea. a friend iain happened to be visiting islay the same week so we met up that day and he was on a paddleboard so i went back to get him and we found the otter again and were treated to an absolute delight watching him catch fish and then eat it on a rock - it was one of the most amazing wildlife experiences i have ever had. such a treat! 

the next day i thought i'd head back along the same bit of coastline with binoculars and a camera in case there was a repeat performance - i didn't have the camera with me on the previous paddle. well of course there wasn't a repeat - why should there be! the day before was pure gift and it feels kind of greedy going back now i retell it. but it's a very normal instinct too. we did the same with eagles. when jen and i were cycling along an eagle flew across the road directly overhead - it was incredible! it looked like a spot where eagles would hang out with lots of conifers and dead trees. so the same thing - i kept driving by, slowing down and looking for them again. we did see one in the distance in a tree one time but for the most part it was futile. the same thing - appreciate the gift and the surprise when it is given but don't think you can then bottle or repeat the experience! 

back to the paddle board - whilst i didn't see otters that day i did notice quite a few jellyfish in the water and they looked magical. i wasn't sure how they would come out but tried manoeuvering the board with camera in hand without dropping it into the water and managed to take a few photos. they are gorgeous - what beautiful and mysterious creatures. and i guess that's a second reflection i have had. sometimes we're so focused on something that is not there in that moment that it's easy to miss what is right there in front of us and the wonderful gift it is. so pay attention to what is there rather than what isn't.

i'm not sure which photo i prefer - the sharper one or the more painterly one a bit more in the depths. it's all gift.

35 years

i honestly don't know where the time has gone but jen and i have been married for 35 years. to celebrate on a warm summer evening in london we went for a paddle on the thames and sat on a bench drinking prosecco - fun times! 

islay musings - the ferry across

i love the journey out to scottish islands. i think i have visited a dozen now over my life (arran, orkney, mull, iona, north uist, berneray, harris, scalpay, skye, jura, islay, eilean mor on the maccormaig isles). this year for holiday jen and i spent two weeks on islay from where we made a couple of day trips to jura which is very close by. islay is one of the western isles or inner hebrides. it's famous for having 9 distilleries including the big hitters when it comes to peatiness. but is also so much more - a beautiful landscape with bountiful wildlife and beaches.

i love the journey for many reasons i think. it's the anticipation - you're nearly there but it's also unknown. the island begins in the distance and gradually gets closer. in the case of our journey it was a very grey sky, the island was shrouded in mist and cloud and sure enough it began raining. but somehow this is all atmospheric creating a mysterious and enticing appeal of the island.

then there's the wildlife - there are always gannets diving which i have loved ever since i was a kid, guillemots gallore and if you're lucky a porpoise. i love porpoises and dolphins. seeing one is always a thrill. i don't know the difference by the way! i was so delighted that one popped up half way across alongside the ferry. most people were inside avoiding the rain but i find i always want to be outside soaking the journey in not wanting to miss the moment. i was so happy to see the fin roll over in the water. and sure enough on the journey back i spotted two which again no one else seemed to notice. i wasn't quick enough to take a photo.

on the journey to islay you see jura first. port askaig where you land is in a strait between jura and islay. jura was completely hidden by cloud from a distance. i liked the sight of that land mass but none of it really visible. 

the colours of the sea and sky made for some interesting photos. i particularly like these more abstract ones taken by slowing the speed down and moving the camera. the white is the wake from the ferry. the colours remind me of the scottish flag. 

pioneer practice now available as a download

we created pioneer practice to be a designed printed book, a coffee table book, full colour, lovely to hold and read and dip into kind of book, the kind of book you feel would not be out of place in the tate modern bookshop. so we resisted selling it as a digital book. but over a year on and we think it's time to make it available as a download. because the layout is so much the book it is available as a pdf (not as ebook or kindle). it looks fabulous on screen on an ipad or laptop with the luminosity of the screen. it is available from getsidetracked.co for £10. of course this is good news internationally - far easier than the cost and impact of posting round the world. enjoy!

100!

100th parkrun completed yesterday in southall accompanied by clem pacing me who at age 9 left me behind on the final lap!

[thanks for the photo to the photographer at souhall parkrun]

luton hat factory arts centre - july's pioneer practice venue

looking forward to the next stop on the tour which is the last before a break over august. i'll be in luton at the hat factory arts centre on july 16. i like that the header of the arts centre web site says 'dream it you must' - indeed i couldn't agree more. there is a workshop in the afternoon and an evening social with food. come to one or other or ideally both. hope to see you there if you are anywhere nearby.

 

unfinished agenda

the newbigin pioneering hub in birmingham celebrated it's launch on saturday. it was great to be there. cathy ross gave the annual newbigin lecture which she titled 'unfinished agenda' riffing on lesslie newbigin's autobigraphy of that title. the unfinished agenda is of mission. cathy suggested there were several areas you could pick to explore that are unfinished but chose to explore the issue of race and mission which she has been reading, reflecting and talking with others about. i am guessing it will be published or appear online somewhere. there were responses from sally mann, mike royal, jenny smith and paul weston. it was really challenging and i was left with lots to chew over!

the hub is a partnership between the urc, seedbeds and cms. it was great to meet several people from the urc and find out some more about their tradition of dissent which rather appeals to me. i found out about dissenting academies and promiscuous eucharists (perhaps more on them another time)! i jotted down a couple of quotes from adrian and jenny who work for the urc and spoke about the partnership. it's great the urc is so enthused about the hub. I really hope it will help nurture a hopeful network and ecosystem of new creative practice and open up some pathfinding dissent. i found it warming hearing someone in the structures saying pioneering is where it is at.

here's a photo of those of us who were involved in the day

update: the lecture can be watched here - unfinished agenda and read here

wolf fields labyrinth

over the years i have been involved along with others in grace in making a whole range of labyrinths. in 2000 we installed one in st pauls cathedral which went on to be toured round the country and translated into an online interactive version and then turned into a kit format in the USA. we have run various ones at grace. and this has included mowing a range of patterns - my blog post here from 2006 on how to mow a grass labyrinth has proved popular. anyway all that is to say it was a delight last weekend to be at the opening/launch of the wolf fields labyrinth in southall. we were invited to partner with arocha uk and the table community at st johns to create an outdoor labyrinth. steve collins came up with the design and it was made by clearing the area, putting down a membrane and then painting the pattern on that. the paths were then created by using small wooden stakes and the paths filled with wood chippings. there are a few flower beds en route. it has all come out rather well. i took the photo above but steve coillins has documented it in this photo album here which gives you the idea of how it was made from start to finish. thanks to idina dunmore for inviting us.

of course that has to go as a worship trick...

pioneer practice in craft beer

on the pioneer practice tour we were hosted by the wonderful mark bamping at candid beer. i couldn't help noticing that the beer labels seemed to lend themselves to pioneer practice themes. so in no particular order...

Pioneer practice in craft beer

Beer labels made me think of pioneering

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we are in brighton next saturday and sheffield the week after

a wild time

i have been so busy i have just realised i have not posted yet about gather wild-erness on anglesey. it was an event not to miss. liz dunbar has posted a review here and there are some lovely photos in it from mark kensett. i have a very simple theory that movements need spaces to collide - that's how connections get made, ideas shared, emergence happens, and you get encouraged. all of that and more happened. the content was amazing too. people keep asking me what's next - i have no idea at this point! but i am sure we will gather again. a few of my photos are here but i didnt take that many so go look at mark's.

deja vu

just when you have cleared your house of books a second print run arrives and refills the lounge! seriously i am so chuffed to have had to do a second print run of pioneer practice - thank you so much everyone who has cheered me on and/or bought a copy. 

stafford, leicester, brighton, sheffield - june tour dates

the pioneer practice tour has passed the half way point. it's been brilliant connecting with the wider network, meeting pioneers, hearing stories. this is me in a cafe at poole harbour sat catching some sun on what was a glorious summer day before diving into the fray there.

one of the lovely stories there was how a simple idea of a few raised beds and a bench has created community in a street. this is the bench.

the next gigs are all on the tour page with links to register and get tickets under each location - stafford, leicester, brighton, sheffield are in june. we'd love to see you there. they are all double acts with me and gav this month. they all have evenings too with a chance to get some food and conversation as well as the tour stuff. i confess i am doubly excited that we are visiting candid beer in stafford which was an idea brought to our make good week by mark bamping, and we get to visit new lubbesthorpe where sue steer has been building community in a new housing area since before the very first house was built and she has done an amazing job. looking forward to all the venues i should add!

i have now cracked into the very last box of books from the first print run which feels amazing - thank you so much everyone who has bought it. so we have now ordered a second print run which feels very exciting for our very first project from getsidetracked. they will arrive in time for the june leg of the tour - june here we come (via anglesey of course).

theories of culture

on june 9 i have been invited to host a conversation about culture in willesden (my locale) - theories of culture

but i didn't realise the event is online and apparently anyone can join. this is the blurb i sent:

The gospel always comes wearing cultural robes – so says the great missiologist David Bosch. Yet for most of us that is not easily visible because culture is ‘the way we do things round here’ – it’s our normal. So it can be a surprise when we cross a border or encounter others who don’t share the same values or way of doing things. That gets further complicated when our normal gets tied up with what we think of as the right way to do things or the right way to believe. We kind of know that other countries have different cultures and we think about cross-cultural communication or contextualisation then. But a big adventure the church has been on in the last 50 years is realising that questions of culture are right at the fore in our own neighbourhoods and parishes and not just in relation to other ethnicities and national identities. Youth ministry, pioneering, fresh expressions are all attempts to respond to the challenge of cultures in creative ways. Come and join in a conversation about culture in an undefended relaxed environment. It’s a very rich subject and one that holds a lot of clues for ministry and mission for us all regardless of context or parish.

register here

review of jvt quotes in ecclesial futures

thanks steve taylor for a review of jvt quotes (click where it says pdf) - the fact anyone thought to review such a thing is saying something! sadly the cards are sold out. it was a very limited run for a lockdown project. but i did put the images with quotes in a photo album here if you are interested. you are welcome to use them. he picks up on the gendered language - i was in two minds about that but chose to stick with john taylor's quotations rather than change them - he was writing in the 1960s.

ecclesial futures is now online and available free which is great to see

new pioneer hub in birmingham

i am really delighted we (cms) have a new pioneer hub in birmingham - the newbigin pioneering hub that will be starting the cms certificate in mission this september. it will be hosted by ash and anj barker and is a partnership with the united reformed church, cms and seedbeds. there is a taster day this saturday (short notice) do have a look at the prospectusget in touch if you are interested and do pass on to anyone in the area who may be interested. it's open to anyone to join.

newcastle, bristol, yeovil, poole

new york london, paris, munich everybody talk about mmm... ok showing my age and if you get the reference you are too - pop musik by m in case you were wondering.

not quite those locations but this week pioneer practice heads to newcastle and bristol. it's not too late to sign up. love to see you there. the week after i am heading south west - i'll be in yeovil and poole. all the dates are on the tour page here.