I have a small confession. Despite its ephemeral frivolity, few things in life (aside from family) make me as uncomplicatedly happy as…

…cricket.

I know, I know, it is just sport- a way of passing time whilst real life happens all around. In these times it may even be the equivalent of fiddling whilst Rome burns. But if you have ever played the game you will know what I mean.

Yesterday, I dragged myself (despite being near death from man flu) to Bute to play in the first league game of the season against Ardencaple (Helensburgh 2nd IX.) We won. Will scored a fine and sometimes brutal 82, I contributed a much less fine 37 and then took 3 for 17. We managed a total of 217 for 9 from 40 overs, Ardencaple were all out for 144. It feels good to win, but winning is not necessary for joy at our level of cricket. In fact some might say it is a little vulgar, a bit too keen.

My mate Graham played for his team yesterday (Hutton Rudby) and posted this magnificent result on FB- they were all out for 4 off 15 overs. Such a result is to be celebrated. It suggests to me not incompetence, but passion. It is no shame to be outclassed and outplayed on the cricket field- the point of playing cricket really is the simple joy of the game. In fact, the team who overwhelmed Hutton Rudby should feel shame that they did not extend the match beyond 15 overs- there is an art to this- bringing on the weaker bowlers at the right time- giving a little for the sake of the day.

So how am I able to justify this puerile love for a simple game of bat and ball? Of course I could talk about the great events in international cricket- titanic clashes of style and willpower in front of ecstatic crowds. But instead, I offer this;

REASONS TO LOVE LOWER LEAGUE CRICKET

1. It is a great leveller. Players of all abilities make up one team. Some players are brilliant, others totally inept. All are welcome.
2. Youth is nurtured by age in the same playing arena. Where else does that still happen?
3. I get to play with my son Will. He has decided that the cut and thrust of division one is too serious, too much pressure. He wants to have fun. Yesterday I batted with him for 10 overs. It does not get much better than that.
4. The banter. There is a kind of banter on a cricket field that is like no other. It is allowed to be crude, but not rude. Any abuse should be reserved for team mates.
5. Passion. It is allowed, but when it erupts into anger (a dropped catch, a ball allowed through the legs for four etc.) then everyone is a bit embarrassed.
6. Great things can be achieved by mediocrity. The stunning catch taken with a smack between the man boobs. The miraculously improbable six. The terrible bowler who cleans up the oppositions gun batsman, who can’t believe what just happened to him.
7. Team/Individual. Cricket is an individual game in a team context. This means that we play for ourselves, whilst looking out for each other.
8. A series of events. We play 40 over matches (the island location of the team has meant the the league has shortened our matches by ten overs to allow for ferry traffic!) This means 240 balls. 240 events. Each one its own mini-drama.
9. The games within the game. Even in a miss-match, there will be moment where individual bowler-batman confrontations are electrifying.
10. It allows a kind of very UN-digital friendship and community that has become rare. Where these gatherings develop they should be honoured and nurtured.
11. The game will go on. There is an almost tangible yearning to ‘hand it on’ to the next generation. It may not be like it was in our day, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

So, to all of you who turn up into the mizzle of a damp day, hope in hand for one more innings – play on.

It will liberate no captives, nor fight any major injustices, but nevertheless, for the simple joy of it – play on.

Practice the wound of love

Let it devastate

It will scrape your soul

For blessed are the gentled

Blessed are the meek

Blessed are those whose fullness

Now lies empty

Practice the wound of love

For in that broken place

Grief is no longer silent

Ragged roots tap deep

Into this trampled earth

Blessed are you, as you reach for love

For it reaches for you

Practice the wound of love

Let it devastate

For nothing ever came from nothing

Apart from love

At the end of everything

We are cups

Who are cupped

We are held

For many years, over the May bank holiday weekend, I have been taking a trip with some old friends out to one of the many deserted islands of the inner Hebrides in order to make a kind of retreat. It is something that we have shared with many ‘guests’- some who have been once, others who have become regulars and firm friends.

We are likely to have some spaces on the boat this year and so if you fancy coming along then get in touch.

We will probably be going here. We will leave early on the morning of Saturday the 29th April from Easdale, and be picked up by the boat on Monday afternoon (1st May.) We will confirm these details.

There are some posts describing past trips on this blog – here are a few;

Lunga 2016.

Eilean Mor 2015

A few reflections on wilderness.

Eileach an Naoimh 2011.

The basics of the trips as as follows;

• We go as a group of supportive friends- this is not a commercial trip. We have no insurance etc.
• We can supply suggest kit list etc.
• Costs are just for boat and your own travel etc. Boat will be around £60 each (we split total cost between amount of us that go
• We camp wild. Not as challenging as you would think
• We may get wet and cold
• We split time between ‘social’ and ‘silent’
• We share experience and conversation in the evening
• We take resources but you can do whatever you like
• We start from a Christian tradition, but seek no converts and welcome anyone who is comfortable to talk about their own spiritual journey.

If you are interested, get in touch!

The world is full of grace and beauty

It needs no landscape gardener

Old Capability Brown was never capable

Of this

The world is full of grace and beauty

This twisted curl of unfolding girl

Needs no photoshop, for inside

Is woman

The world is full of grace and beauty

The singing bird soars on

the unsythesesised arc

Of its song

The world is full of grace and beauty

The trace of trees on amber sky

Is only imitated in paint

Not captured

The world is full of grace and beauty

The celebrities can burn all neon bright

But I was thirsty and she

Brought tea

I took some photos yesterday of what our new workshops look like. Michaela’s is much prettier than mine and is likely to stay that way! I love the functionality of mine though…

Firstly though, here is the first thing made in the new space- a clock destined for the Tree Shop.

Remember that we have lots of workshops in the pipeline, should you fancy trying your hand at pottery- check out out this page for details.

Perhaps you watched ‘The Great Pottery Throw Down’ and thought to yourself “I’d like a go at that…” If so, this could be your lucky day.

My lovely wife has has a new pottery space in our Garden- and is running a whole host of courses. You can find out more about them on our website, here.

She is away today on Bute working with a group of people, glazing mugs they made a couple of weeks ago- part of what she does is to design packages around groups or families. Again, you can get some idea of what she does by checking out the options and prices at the bottom of this page.

We also have some particular dates in the diary, so if you are local, or up here on holiday then you would be welcome. I will probably be the tea boy.

First Friday Fun – relax at the end of a busy week with clay and tea and a fun project to work on. £20. 7.30 – 9.00pm

April 7th – make a beautiful vase – book in here

May 5th – make your very own mug – book in here

June 2nd – a set of words to see you through the week – book in here

Second Saturday –  your chance to make something bigger £60 for the day 10.00 – 12.00 and 1.00 – 3.00

May 13^th – make a toast rack and four egg cups

June 10^th – make a free standing clock

August 12^th – beach combing, poetry and pots…

Monday Making – join me on Monday evenings to work on your own projects but with ideas and advice on hand. £15 for 2 hours. Clay (£6 for half a bag) and glazes purchased separately.  Contact us to book in or make an enquiry.

Kids and Clay – after school club for six years and up.

Six places available on Fridays 4.00 – 5.30pm – we will work together on fun projects which the youngsters will get to keep once their pieces are fired – £50 for five sessions (£40 for second siblings, message me for a discount code) – first block starting 21st April, second block starting 2nd June. Book in here.

Teen Times – a weekly session for teens – they will get to work on their own projects – a book with ceramic covers, pots for jewellery, chess pieces… whatever they want to have a go at – inspiration and advice will be on hand.

Thursday evenings 6.30 – 8.00pm – £50 for five sessions (£40 for second siblings, message me for a discount code). Book in here.

All men (and some women) need a shed.

Ours is rather more important however- it will form the basis of a substantial part of our income. It will consist of three rooms, one for pottery, one for stock storage, one for woodwork. It has already been months of work to get this far; demolishing the rotten former sheds, then rebuilding the foundations, installing a new wooden framework on which the sheds will sit and then finally, awaiting the fine men from Beaver Timber to come and erect the new building.

Here it is, in all its spray-tan wonder!

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Truth War

My truth has magic

Said the Shamen

It twinkles in the starlight

My truth is truer than yours

Said the Priest, clutching close his leather-bound book

My truth is more scientific than yours

Said the Scientist, slightly singed by her own Bunsen burner

I’ll be the Judge of that

Said the Judge, looking down from the high ledge of the law

Truth is more nuanced than that

Said the Philosopher, plucking at a loose thread in his cardigan

My truth sells better than yours

Said the Editor, with a smear of ink on his face like war paint

Our truth is more accessible than yours

Said the Web, counting each trivial click as quiescence

My truth is more selective than yours

Said the Politician, spewing out statistics to make her point

And my truth is loudest

Said Trump

But my truth has magic

Said the Shamen

It twinkles in the starlight

My mate Si Smith has a new comic out for Lent. You can buy it here. A better way to journey through lent surely has not yet been invented…

There are lots of sample pages and ‘out-takes’ here which give a glimpse into exactly what it takes to put together something as ambitious and brilliant as this.

Those of you who don’t know Si’s work (what have you been wasting your time on???) he is an artist/illustrator based in Leeds, who has been coming up with stunning, creative, quirky and highly original work for years. His first major Lent theme venture was 40, which incidentally we used last Sunday;