mucking around on an iPhone app

so i quickly put this together just as an experiment.

Star Wars

It was one of those times... Where were you when...

Well we had that day yesterday when we dug out Star Wars after Reuben went to bed. Got the snacks. The drinks. Pumped the volume up and waited for the drum role and the words star wars burst on the screen with the epic John Williams score kicking in.

It was a magical moment again as it has been everytime I see this film. But very special passing the jedi baton to my boys as I watch them emulate, as I did many years ago, the lightsabres and destroying the death star.

May the force be with them.

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Location:Caley Rd,Royal Tunbridge Wells,United Kingdom

Palais des Nations

It's my third time here, at the UN in Geneva, first time however as a delegate... what a building!




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when the Starrs came

we had a visit from andy, sarah and lilly starr the other month and together with alice came down and hung out with us.

andy shared with the developments happening in Kaz and the work they are diligently involved in ... simply in awe.

a diplomat for the poor

I never personally met him. Yet I speak passionately about him. An encourager. An inspiration. His memory and actions are re-lived and accounted for in story and warming anecdote. Someone who dared to challenge their status quo. To question others to see something greater. A servant. I wish I had walked with him.

Their motto: be the change. Words that resonate and uttered by another great.

His name was Ells Culver. He co-founded the group Mercy Corps. I'm an invitee of theirs in the Scottish House building just up from Downing Street. The minister opens his welcome with these words:

"There are International development agencies and then there's Mercy Corp..."

Forgotten crises

Just been to an event hearing about a BBC journalists on crises that float under the radar.

A Bosnian chap said to my colleague a few years after the war "sometimes I wish there would be war again here"... "because when it was here the world cared".


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Metanarrative

At a meeting yesterday I was talking about the narratives we employ to describe our relationships. My friend was saying how challenged he has been by the frequent meta narrative or language of economics to describe such relationships. We "invest" in them looking for "return". We "reap" the "reward", or "profit" from them. Relationships add "value" to our lives.

These terms frequently leave our lips as common describers for our reality.

He was saying the economic meta-narrative was a common baseline for understanding.

The conversation quickly ended as we both sought to dash for our next meeting seeking to "implement" "effective" "time management".

The brief "hug" we gave as we said good bye reminded me of another meta narrative that spoke volumes without words.

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Location:Roper Ln,Camberwell,United Kingdom

The animals came in

A few pics from "just daddy and me" on sat:

Royal Overseas League speaker?

Briefly famous :)


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Papa

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blessed are the rescuers

wow. watching the rescue of the trapped chilean miners.

seeing the rescue plan in action and fruition is humbling and very touching.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11529537

The magic number

Joshua turned 3 this weekend.


3 years ago I waited by the phone as Angie started contractions. 3 years ago I heard our good friend and now Joshie's godmother respond to angie's plea for an epidural "no time now Angie this baby is coming!" 3 years ago I met my son... Who was going to be named Reuben but the moment we saw him knew he was a Joshua.

Happy birthday joshie!

Location:Tunbridge Wells,United Kingdom

a few photos from haiti

haiti trip reflections

more reflections at: http://haitireflections.blogspot.com/

like learning to ride a bike

the stabilisers were off. the challenge was set... two takes and we had a flyer

more matt :)

hurricane season

planning a trip to haiti during hurricane season does not make a good combination.

but then again neither does zero budget, planning on getting across the border on the back of a motorbike to save on costs, the crazy heat and the rain.

world cup woes

i'm working my way through the stages of grief just like all the others in the country right now. i think i'm nearing acceptance.

i've been looking forward to this tournament over the past 2 years and got my hopes up.

they got knocked out, or more like "slam dunked" out, on sunday by germany 4-1.

the problem is the team (not the players) is not good enough... no matter how much i justify and listen to all the reactions they didn't win because they were not the better team.

it's gutting as there's a huge discrepancy between "my hope" for this team and the "reality" of them. i sense that a pattern is emerging as i've said something like this before and the solution is either i lower, or boycott, my hope or we improve the reality.

tools for self reliance

what i love about my job is i get to meet a range of pretty committed groups and people in trying to change a small part of the world.

this morning i sat with a small outfit that started out about 30 years ago through giving out some tools to help a few people set up their businesses. however after awhile they observed that tools that they were giving were being pinched by other people because they were so valuable in certain parts of africa.

they got angry initially. but then after pondering it realised that the tools were valuable and sought to understand why people were stealing them. then asking those that would be stealing whether they would like to have some of their own to build an enterprise. they therfore got smart.

after 30 years they said to me it is less about the tools themselves and now more about the people. the tools are just the means to build a livlihood.

like i said i get to meet some interesting people and groups working for some pretty interesting ways to change a small part of the world. i love my job.

firsts

reuben is one

world cup fever

love it. hate it. indifferent.

so often the hype is somethink like this:



but... when the game starts it's more like this:

found this

when your papa throws you in the air

one of the favourite parts of my day is coming home.

usually the following happens: i walk in. i see that initial smile from my children. wait. it hits them and then they charge into me shouting "papa!". very fast too. sometimes knocking me over. either they're getting big or me older.

depending on the time of evening i'm then thrown into a bout of requests, feeding, nappy changes, milk preparation, tidying, teeth cleaning and bedtime stories.

the transition from working to being a dad is instant.

yesterday i was throwing reuben in the air as i did with caleb and joshie. he smiled. laughed as his his flopped around. i felt like a king and he my prince. as i did so i had this strange sensation sweep over me of fathers lifting their childen across the ages and the world today... and then the feeling morphed into a strange sense of fellowship with them. i thought of my father. my grand father. those around me who have children and even those who do not who have been lifted by their parents.

it's simple. to be thrown around or be the one lifting.

meet nit...

some of our colleagues in cambodia shot a film about one of the groups they are partnering with...

let no one ever...

"... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."

Mother Teresa

"at the end of the day we have an expensive car and they haven't"

having three young kids comes with certain logistical considerations. take getting in and out of cars for example. easy- unplug your seatbelt. be pounced upon by one of your children who was that much faster than you. the others realise the one that got away and start to request, if they are polite, but more realistically scream, for equality of freedom. hands, yours, by now, are pinned down by a heavy child. 3 voices increasing in decibels.

that's before you open the door.

in this particular sunday afternoon we had parked the car. angie went to get joshua out and as she had eventually climbed out she went round to get him. he was kicking against her playfully and with a step back she accidentally knocked the car next to her. the lady screamed "CAREFUL!" we apologised quickly as we were at fault.

angie went in to the supermarket with two excited boys.

the owner of the victim's car came back and after hearing of the knock examined his car. i apologised again. he accepted it and said "after my day, this is the least of my worries"

then as he left he shouted at the kid on the other side of his car for having their door open. whilst pulling away he said to his girlfriend about the knock: "at the end of the day we have an expensive car and they haven't".

he's right however, he must have spent a fortune on his car and it is, "at the end of the day", an expensive one. Certainly more than ours. In fact most cars are more expensive than ours as I have never bought a car.

So we now have a new PM

as I write the bbc are showing the clips of Gordon Brown's resignation and David Cameron's declaration of his new role and service to the country.

i'm reading a lot of notes of disgust and many of relief, some even ecstatic about a change. many opinions. many voices.

public service as got to be one of the hardest roles.

i always loved how socrates described this harshness when describing his "philosopher gaurdians":

...Those who belong to this small class have tasted how sweet and blessed a possession philosophy is, and have also seen enough of the madness of the multitude; and they know that no politician is honest, nor is there any champion of justice at whose side they may fight and be saved. Such an one may be compared to a man who has fallen among wild beasts --he will not join in the wickedness of his fellows, but neither is he able singly to resist all their fierce natures, and therefore seeing that he would be of no use to the State or to his friends, and reflecting that he would have to throw away his life without doing any good either to himself or others, he holds his peace, and goes his own way. He is like one who, in the storm of dust and sleet which the driving wind hurries along, retires under the shelter of a wall; and seeing the rest of mankind full of wickedness, he is content, if only he can live his own life and be pure from evil or unrighteousness, and depart in peace and good-will, with bright hopes.

election fever

voting. hung Parliament. proportional representation. coalitions... it's all happening here.

it's been an exciting race. the anticipation and desire for change has been exhilarating. i was up late last night watching gleefully at the commentary, speeches and it was great tv.

however, i'm still slightly worried that i'm voting for somebody and someone who i don't really want to be there. all the candidates had their merits. but i really find myself not trusting politicians with my precious "trust" to run this country. it's more like i'm voting on who i don't want to be there. i value my vote and value this amazing right that i have been given to do it, but i just don't like the who i'm voting for.

i kinda like caleb's suggestion the last time i was in this place.

a few snaps

skywalker

"I was in a plane and we were high up. I stepped out of the door and was walking in the clouds with God. I asked him: "how big are you?" He said He was 30. I then got back in the plane."

... caleb recounting his dream to me. wow.

sleep

i fell asleep putting joshua to bed at 7.15pm... and then transferred myself to my bed and got up proper at 6.30am. interestingly, i woke up with joshua in my bed, but i'm pretty sure i didn't transfer him.

more sleep in a single hit than i've had in a long, long time... felt like a teenager again.

birthday parties

just back from a 4th birthday party for caleb.

7 words: insane, frenetic, exhausting, fun, 55kids, survival and insane.

a walk in the park

Davos#9: rest

from this...
to this...

(David Livingstone enjoying the snow- he came from temperatures of 35 degrees to -10 degrees... nearly a 50 degree change!)

(the team)

Davos#8: Jeffrey Sachs, Websites and Social Media

effectively there have been 3 things that we have been involved in here at Davos:

firtsly, the refugee run. nuff said.

secondly, the launch of the new business.un.org website. this had its annoucement made in style here at WEF. UN Global Compact, a UN body aiming to get businesses to align themeselves to international principles, several senior business folk and jeffrey sachs.

at the end of the session, they were refugees, stripped of identity. a nobody in the basement of a old hospital in one of the world's most prestigious places.

the effect was powerful. some amazing conversations started to flow and creative ideas to see solutions was banded around.

the next day, there was social media focus event with the likes of the Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, Sheryl Sandyberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and several people from Microsoft. Again at the end of the experience the question: what could we bring to assist with a problem such a refugees. fascinating discussions followed.


the last thing: to quietly flick the switch to a new GH website ushering through more ways to allow the power and resources of businesses be used to meet needs.

Interlude#2: Blue Sweater Story

interlude: moral heroes

the current football england captain, john terry, is under fire. he had an affair with a former team mate's girlfriend.

i'm not a chelsea fan nor do i particularly think that john terry is the best choice for england captain. neither do i feel sorry for him, he's an adult and responsible for his actions.

but what i am astounded by is the need we have for purity. the desire to have a hero that is capable of footballing & moral perfection. i find myself feeling that whoever is in that hot seat is destined for failure. why. because they're not perfect. they maybe good, even brilliant. perhaps even worthy of stories... but none are perfect.

i write this as the whole MP expenses scandal takes over our country. those in public service are accused of stealing from those they serve.

we expect perfection of those in public life. but is anyone able to deliver? there's really 2 courses of action: one do we change the goal posts and embrace imperfection as virtue or two, hold out for the one who is perfect.

there may, however, be a third option. a sort of inbetween: imperfection is the norm and its those that face adversity and overcome, be they themselves imperfect. this way it's not so much about the imperfection, but rather the spirit and determination to live with such imperfections and strive for virtue or moral purity. certainly for me, my heroes are those who have learnt to live with their "thorns in the flesh" or disabilities.

i hope john terry will come through this and obtain redemption and maybe even earn the captainacy for england again.

Davos#7: Business.un.org

5 years in the making. But the UN-Business website launched in style. Jeffrey Sachs (author of the “End Of Poverty”, CEOs, UN representatives and the GH president announce the arrival of this website designed to create partnering between businesses and the UN.

Behind it a greater purpose to push partnering proposals to the greater charitable community. It seeks to create a “global common” between interfacing intermediaries, such as this UN system and others like it, for business and charities serving to hook up resources available in one system to the plethora of needs across the world.

Each representative mentioned a tribute to the determination, despite elongated processes and bureaucracies for those behind the scenes.

I recall sitting in the Foreign & Commonwealth office, just after the tsunami, with many businesses in a meeting that was hosted by the UK’s Business in the Community screaming out for a need of a system that can facilitate offers and requests from humanitarian and business communities. Their template brief document looked strangely familiar.

I recall Bill Clinton hailing out for the need of a “humanitarian” eBay around the tsunami time too. He's here, at Davos, appealing for 100 trucks for Haiti.

It was an awesome moment to hear the words of the Global Compact (the UN body for business) to proudly announce this tool.

After the panellists took part in the Refugee Run with some humbling outcomes, insights and suggestions.

My friend the Popped Kernel puts it way better than me in his blog: http://thepoppedkernel.blogspot.com/2010/01/davos-business-meets-goodwill.html

Davos#6: refugee run quotes

"Reading 1000 books would not teach me what I learned in the past hour"

Lord Malloch Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary General and senior execuitves took part in the refugee run yesterday. A "very humbling" experience and "a compelling way to remind one what it's like" for refugees around the world.

Director Francesca Martonffy, Global Change Makers said, of the session, "It was a really powerful experience and one we won't forget!".

“Very humbling”

Davos#5: refugee run photos

Davos#4: The hills are alive

Today was a day of rest and we took a walks in the hills. A truly glorious place.

Davos#3: Low Flying

Continuing with David L. I heard when a few people visited him several year ago he drives fast. So fast that it’s referred to as “low flying”. He laughs when I tell him this and I laugh with him. He replies: “Yes it’s true. But the reason is I don't want the rebels to take us...” and finishes “...not like they took me.”