'L' is for Lifestyle

Do your New Year resolutions include reducing your impact on the environment? You might like to check out www.lisforlifestyle.com - a website full of resources to help you discover the small changes that each of us can be making to the way we live that will have a real impact on the world. It ties in with the recently re-released 'L' is for Lifestyle by Ruth Valerio.

Happy Christmas

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! The herald angels sing: “Glory to the newborn King!

Glorifying God in our Christmas shopping

Lat minute Christmas shoping today? This article, Glorifying God in our Christmas shopping, discusses how investing a little thought into our shopping will help us give gifts that will encourage faith and hope in God.

Jesus is better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole. JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited JESUS stands at your door and knocks. And then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?" JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry" JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison. We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about. We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

Jesus is still the reason for the season.
May the Lord bless and watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008. And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

[courtesy of Andrew]

Baubles are the big Christmas peril

The greatest menace to yuletide wellbeing is not a half-raw, half-scorched turkey, nor family arguments uncorked by too much wine at lunch. According to the Children's Secretary, Ed Balls, the prime suspect could be the humble bauble that has festoones unsuspecting Christmas trees. Baubles have joined candles, hot pans and perfume in a government leaflet that discusses the dangers of the Christmas period.

Last-minute Christmas cake

If you haven't got round to making a Christmas cake yet, it is not too late! Cafédirect have a simple recipe using Teadirect Gold which makes a moist, delicious cake with a wonderful mixture of rich and fragrant tea-soaked fruits.

Christmas recipes

Travel and illness have resulted in a bit of a hiatus in blogging. This also means that the only online Advent resource I've followed has been the Christian Aid emails suggesting frugal gift ideas and promoting Present Aid. The tip on 7th December was this:

Don’t buy gifts, bake them! Check out these Christmas recipes for Gingerbread, biscuits, fudge, truffles, and jams. Spending time baking for a loved one is a great way to show you care and a great way to save the £s too. Why not check out your local charity shop for a container to present your gift in and then wrap it in Christmas ribbon for some festive fun. Click here for more ideas about making your own gifts.

Infusion blogs ESTP

A new website, Typealyzer, will analyse a blog and identify the Myers-Briggs type based on the blog content. I submitted this blog and the result was ESTP - The Doers:

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

If we had a wider range of bloggers, would the blog personality change?

Twelve steps to an ethical christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a fairly traded box of chocolates
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two recycled cards
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three ethical hoodies
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four recycled gifts
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five fair trade rings
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six tree decorations
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven gifts that give twice
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight days of service
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine Christmas outfits
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten gifts that cost less
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love did for me eleven acts of kindness
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve bags of rubbish

[From the Tearfund website]

How to have an ethical Christmas

From the Tearfund youth website: We believe that there’s a better sort of celebration to have – better than the Consumer’s Christmas, the Shop-a-holic’s Santa-Fest or the Me Me Me Mistletoe Marathon. We reckon that there’s every chance we can all enjoy something different this year: an Ethical Christmas.

They offer ten suggestions:

1. Buy gifts from http://www.livinggifts.co.uk/, Tearfund’s alternative gifts scheme.
2. Make a cheque-book of favours… like cleaning the car, cooking a meal or giving a foot-rub.
3. Buy a Fairtrade Cookery Book.
4. Shop at http://www.tearcraft.org/ for amazing items produced by Tearfund partners, all paid a fair wage for their skill.
5. Check out http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/ - it does what it says on the tab.
6. Get some divine Divine chocolate from your local stockist or online (http://www.divinechocolate.com/ or http://www.tearcraft.org/)
7. Offer a day out on you. There’s a stack load of things to do and exciting places to go all for FREE: museums, art galleries or that pretty impressive thing we call God’s Creation.
8. Buy nothing Christmas. Why not duck out of the system and instead of buying any presents this year give the money you would have spent to Tearfund instead.
9. Check out charity shops for some Christmas gems.
10. Get hold of some eco-pampering gifts for that special someone who loves beautiful things (try The Centre for Alternative Technology).

The Brick Testament

Couldn't resist folowing up The Bible, but not as you know it with a link to The Brick Testament. If you want a fresh takw on the Nativity story, check out the Jesus Is Born section.

Online Advent resources

In addition to the WhyWeAreWaiting website, here are some other online resources for Advent:

• Sign up to Christian Aid's Advent-inspired email and receive daily tips to help beat the credit crunch this Christmas. The handy hints, which will be emailed daily from the 1st December until Christmas Eve, are designed to help you save cash, cut carbon emissions and have some Yuletide fun.
• The Evangelical Alliance offer their Advent Prayer Guide for 2008.‏
• The IVP Advent Calendar offers excerpts from the Bible and from a range of IVP books each day - gems that point us to the coming of that pearl of great price, the greatest gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Paperless Christmas offers a time-locked Advent countdown of 24 videos produced by Jerusalem Productions Limited, in association with Bible Reading Fellowship.

The Bible, but not as you know it

BBC website reports on "a wave of radical presentations of the Bible, including a manga version and a Lego gospel". The report concludes by saying "Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this new wave of Bibles is how sympathetic the church is to people messing about with its sacred scriptures, whether in wording or binding, no doubt reasoning that there can be some good in anything that gets people hearing its stories".

But then, didn't Paul say: "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season"? (2 Tim 4:2)

Why artists can't resist the lure of Christianity

In today's Guardian, Mark Lawson discusses why artists can't resist the lure of Christianity. He notes that "Christian iconography still has a powerful presence in contemporary culture: at a time when churches have almost no political power".

Related to this, it is worth noting that although the Royal Mail presents Pantomime as the theme for this year's Christmas stamps, they are also offering the Madonna & Child stamps first produced last year. The website states that "these beautiful stamps feature classic paintings from the 14th and 19th centuries and reflect a more traditional view of Christmas". Do ask for them specifically when you buy your stamps, as it will encourage the Royal Mail to continue to offer an option for those who hold a "traditional view of Christmas".

Can you charge an iPod using an onion?‏

Scientists investigate the claim (on YouTube) that you can soak an onion in an energy drink and use it to charge your iPod. It sounds very environmentally friendly, but a spokesman from the Royal Society of Chemistry sates: "the science behind the idea isn't bad - you can generate an electric current from vegetables - but the video is a hoax".

Going green as you wrap

With only a month to go until Christmas, here's some advice on "green" gift bags and wrapping paper. See also these other posts on gift wrapping:

• Wrapsacks
• Science of wrapping presents
• Wrap art

WhyWeAreWaiting

An Abbott, a Bishop and a Canon Theologian are today launching an Advent website aiming to put the ABC of waiting back into wanting as the countdown to Christmas begins. The WhyWeAreWaiting website includes an introductory film featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury and an Advent Calendar with a difference made up of reflections, podcasts, and waiting tips. The website has been produced by the Church of England.

Stir-up Sunday

Stir-up Sunday is an informal term in the Anglican Church for the last Sunday before the season of Advent. The term comes from the opening words of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Through an association of ideas, the day has subsequently become connected with the preparation of Christmas puddings, and many people still prepare and "stir up" their Christmas puds on this day.

Buy Nothing Day 2008

Buy Nothing Day is a global holiday from consumerism - Spend a Day Without Spending! This year it takes place on Satuurday 29 November. Checkout the Toolkit for ideas on how to spend a day without spending.

Real Christmas in under 30 seconds

A competition has been launched challenging the public to tell the story of Jesus’ birth in just thirty seconds. It’s the latest campaign from the Churches Advertising Network (whose previous Christmas campaigns included describing the Virgin Mary as having a “bad hair day”).

This year's Christmas campaign includes 30 second ads to run on commercial radio in December, plus a competition for individuals and groups to tell the Christmas story in under 30 seconds. There's a prize of £500 for the best competition entry, plus exposure on YouTube. The impetus for the campaign came from a recent poll which found that only 12 per cent of adults in Britain know the facts of the biblical Christmas story.

Do Nothing... Christmas is Coming

In 2007, Do Nothing to Change Your Life encouraged us to nurture our inner slob. Now, Do Nothing... Christmas is Coming turns to what, for many, is the busiest time of the year. For every day of Advent, Stephen Cottrell provides short, practical steps to help us slow down, take time out - amd resist the pressure of the Christmas whirl. Described as "an Advent calendar with a difference", this gift book is perfect if you need to slow down during Advent - or if you know someone else who needs an injection of calm!

Songbirds 'sing from hymn sheet'

The BBC reports that songbirds "learn to sing from a hymn sheet in their head", according to a new study. Swiss researchers have studied Zebra Finches and believe the birds use different regions of the brain for this: one for an internal recording of how the birds ought to be singing and another area which seems to enable the birds to identify mistakes in their songs. The research could also shed light on how humans learn to speak.

Don't forget the Hogalogue!

If you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone interested in hedgehogs, then check out the catalogue from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society - called The Hogalogue - with goods such as hedgehog food, hedgehog houses, cards, and books.

Alternatively, you could give them A Prickly Affair: My Life with Hedgehogs‏ by Hugh Warwick, which you may have heard plugged on Radio 4 and which is described as "a highly original and entertaining book".

EU backs down over fruit & veg

Eating what's in season is good for your wallet as well as your health. Now, the European Commission has scrapped controversial rules that prevent oddly-shaped fruit and vegetables being sold in the EU. This means less food waste and "good news for hard-pressed consumers who will see cheaper - if slightly misshapen - vegetables appearing in the shops". The new rules are expected to come into force on 1 July 2009.

Christmas albums

Christmas music remains a huge staple in the Christian music industry, and Christianity Today reviews 20 new album releases from a diverse array of popular artists.

Shop till you drop?

Despite the credit crunch, new shopping centres keep being opened, including Highcross in Leicester (right). Here's some retail-related stories:

• Although shoppers are keeping a tighter grip on their purse strings, with the economy plunging into recession but shopping centres have always been one step ahead in getting the consumer to splash cash
• Charity shops are seeing a rise in sales
• Something for (nearly) nothing: accessories on the cheap
• The art of Swishing involves getting your friends together to swap clothes and party at the same time. Each participant must bring at least one good quality, clean item of clothing, or an accessory, that she'd feel proud to hand on.
  
• For ethical clothing browse the Lift the Label ethical directory

Wrapsacks

I keep an eye on the Onya website (the people that make the OnyaWeigh) and was pleased to see that they are now distributors for wrapsacks - just in time for wrapping Christmas gifts. Wrapsack gift bags are reusable gift bags that let you "pre-cycle" to save trees and reduce more than $5 billion in giftwrap landfill each year. You dress up a gift in a gift bag, tie it, and give it! You can give your wrapsack a name and enter its number at Wrapsacks.com, and track its travels.

Bonfire Night

It is Bonfire Night today - though the traditional Infusion Bonfire party is not until Saturday. The links on last year's blog post about bonfire night are all still current if you want to find out more about Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot Society, the science of fireworks, government safety advice, and Bonfire Night recipes.

Brief video on understanding US elections

In the course of my day job (nice work if you can get it!) I came across this video guide to Electing a US President in Plain English. It explains in just under 4 minutes what I seem to remember took much longer (probably several lectures and a tutorial) when I was a political science undergraduate!

Bored with the US election?

While bearing in mind that we don't "do politics" on this blog, the intense media coverage of the US election means makes it impossible to ignore. Here's a website about the statistics behind the election and a prayer for the election. After all, whatever the result, this is what we are called to do:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

What matters to Infusion

The Infusion wordle gives an impression of what we focus on and back in May, when the Infusion blog was a year old, we looked at the most frequent topics on this blog. Here's an update 18 months after Infusion entered the blogosphere:

• Faith (68)
• Environment (41)
• Food (37)
• Internet (36)
• Walks (30)
• Tea (29)
• Christmas Countdown (24)
• Books (24)
• Church (22)
• Fairtrade (21)
• Stewardship (18)

By May we had clocked up 21 posts on tea and 14 on coffee; there are now 29 posts on tea but only 16 on coffee.

Hope for Planet Earth 2009

Remember the Hope for Planet Earth Tour earlier this year? The 2009 tour will be visiting the Midlands from 2-6 March 2009.

Autumn leaves

Should you need words, check out Keat' Ode to Autumn.

A meta-blog post*

Just discovered that our blog post on money-related resources from Christian organisations gets an honourable mention in the Church Times blog. The Church Times blog is written and drawn by Dave Walker and features cartoons, commentary and links. We've included some of Dave's cartoons in this blog, always following his copyright guidelines.

*This is a blog post about a blog post about a blog post from this blog....

My Treasure Thou art

Christian Praise 2008 seemed a little bit more subdued than last year, despite a great band, choir, and speaker (Rodney Green on Psalm 103: God's Word, God's will and God's works). De Montfort Hall was not completely packed out on the Tuesday night, and the chair attributed this in part to the credit crunch. We concluded by singing Be Thou my Vision, and Andy Upton noted that the fourth verse is an antidote to the credit crunch:

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Jesus said: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)

Track down that elusive novel, story, or poem

Locating a novel, short story, or poem without knowing its title or author can be very difficult. If Googling doesn't work, check out a guide from The Library of Congress to help readers identify a literary work when they know only its plot or subject, or other textual information such as a character's name, a line of poetry, or a unique word or phrase

Tea-related gadgets

Wondering what to get your tea-loving friends and family for Christmas? If you don't go down the alternative gifts route, you could consider these tea-related gadgets:

• Tea Tool: Designed by a doctor who couldn’t bear the drips created when transferring a soggy tea bag from mug to bin, Tea Tool is a simple solution. Pop a tea bag in the cage, place it in your cup and pour the hot water in; give it a stir and press the plunger to squeeze the bag, releasing all the flavour and excess water. Then, pull the plunger to drop the bag in the bin. No drips on worktops, no burnt fingers, and no mess!
• Teabag Bin: The Teabag Bin is as simple as its name suggests: a bin for used tea bags! This stylish little container made from high grade steel or plastic sits happily next to the kettle and swallows up used teabags keeping your kitchen mess free.

Or you could just buy them a new mug and a box of their favourite tea!

Credit crunch: web round-up

Lots of credit crunch stories in the media - here's a selection to make you think:

• Christianity and the credit crunch
• We could save a fortune by living in hotels
• Oxford lecture on credit crunch tops iTunes chart
• How do you live without a bank account?

Perhaps you want to emulate the Prime Minister with his reputation for prudence and frugality - is it his Scottish genes? Why not learn from the new World Porridge Making Champion or tartan yourself up?

A Green Bible?

I recently came across an ad for The Green Bible - produced to "equip and encourage people to see God's vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it". The editors point out that there are over 1,000 references to the earth in the Bible, compared to 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love.

The Green Bible includes the following distinctive features:

• Green-Letter Edition: Verses and passages that speak to God's care for creation highlighted in green
• Contributions by Desmond Tutu, the Bishops of Liverpool and Durham, and others
• A green Bible index and personal study guide
• Recycled paper, using soy-based ink with a cotton/linen cover

Infusion walks the Great Ridge

On 31 May 2008 Infusion walked The Great Ridge (Mam Tor to Lose Hill), starting from Castleton.

Alternative gifts: the 2008 round-up

This is an update of last year's post on alternative gift ideas (sometimes called ethical gifts). They won't clutter up anyone's home, but will make a significant contribution to the individual or community who are given the gift.

• Bible Society's Bible a Month
• Good Gifts
• Oxfam Unwrapped
• Samaritan's Purse Gifts to change a World
• Tear Fund's Living Gifts
• UNICEF Inspired Gifts
• World Vision's Alternative Gifts

And don't forget the Gift offset calculator which lets you to purchase carbon offsetting for driving, holidays, homes or even individuals!

Internet searching may boost brain

A new study suggests that searching the Internet could be a boost to the brain. In recent years, several studies have showed a link between pursuing activities that keep the mind engaged, such as crossword puzzles and memory games. Keeping your brain active could drive some of these brain chemistry signals in the opposite direction compared to where they go as dementia sets in, and now it looks like surfing the Web could be another way to do that.

So the next time you someone tells you to stop surfing the Web or checking Facebook, you know what to say!

Happy Birthday, SuperBadger!

Tearfund's SuperBadger application in Facebook is a year old today, and he is celebrating with a party and a cake in a pub called the Fat Badger.

Can't remember what SuperBadger does? It is an application created by Tearfund which runs in Facebook and helps you to use your voice to fight global poverty. With SuperBadger you can send prewritten emails straight from your Facebook profile to the people making the decisions. Whether it is badgering politicians about climate change or badgering supermarkets to stock more Fairtrade products, now is the time to start badgering!

Film showing: Black Gold

Remember the blog posts about the Black Gold film last year? Black Gold is a film about fighting the injustice that coffee growers in Ethiopia face day-to-day, which traces one man's fight for a fair price.

The film will be shown at Loughborough University on Wednesday 22nd Oct in the EHB atrium. Fairtrade stalls and refreshments from 6.30pm. Film Screening @ 7.30pm. The film is supported by imago, ethics and enviro society, people and planet society and CAFF (Charnwood Action For Fairtrade)

Chocolate Week 2008

Today sees the start of Chocolate Week 2008 - a week of "pure chocolate indulgence", according to the organisers. How about sharing some chocolate happiness as well as indulging yourself by making and sharing some Divine chocolate recipes? If you buy Fairtrade then you ensure the producers get a fair deal, too - as the video reminds us.

Renewed strength for the weary

Following an earlier post that sparked interest in it, some of Infusion watched Chariots of Fire last night. In the film, Eric Liddell reads from Isaiah 40:

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

[stained glass window in St Bernard's Church, Wengen, Switzerland]

Credit crunch: looking to online prayer and advice

The C of E reports that thousands turn to online prayer and advice as financial situation worsens, as Web users looking for support during the current financial situation have boosted traffic to a Church of England website section focusing on debt advice by over 70%, and increased visitor numbers to the Church’s online prayer page by more than a quarter.

We blogged about these resources at resources for the credit crunch and prayer for the current financial situation.

Fifty ways to save money online

Check out this recent Guardian article with tips for 50 money-saving websites "to help us all stay afloat in the coming months". I'd also suggest Martin Lewis' Money Site - the weekly newsletter is well worth signing up for.
[Image from FreeFoto.com]

Race with a Difference

A 2-day race to promote good driving habits started this morning, reports the BBC. The winner of the 'MPG Marathon' will be the entrant which gets the most miles per gallon, rather than necessarily arriving first. For a first-hand account of the 2006 race, check out this link. (The Aygo won, with 84pmg. Not bad.)

There are some basic fuel-saving driving tips on the MPG Marathon website. Or, you can read up on some more advanced/radical tips here (spotted on Sigrun's Facebook page a couple of months back - thanks!)

Tea and cake

Talking about the revival of interest in afternoon tea, a spokesman from the UK Tea Council recently spoke of the "charm and elegance of the traditional English custom". But after a hard day walking in the hills, you want a tea shop that specialises in pint mugs of tea and large chunks of cake!

Seasonal food chart

Wild food is obviously very frugal food, but one of the best ways to keep the food budget down is to buy what is in season (and perhaps even preserve some it). Today's Guardian includes a seasonal food chart which you can print out and keep.

Domestic gadgets go hi-tech

At the beginning of the year I blogged about 2008's most wanted culinary gizmos. Now comes a list of home-helping gadgets that put "the fun in functional". These include a washing machine that will do the ironing, a droid that cleans your floors, and a toaster that always produces a perfect slice of toast.

Operation Christmas Child

Last year this blog ran a Countdown to Christmas series and the first post looked at Operation Christmas Child.

With less than 80 days until Christmas Day, maybe its time to preparing to send a message of hope to children in need around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes. You can drop off your filled shoeboxes between 1st - 18th November at a local Drop Off Point. If you would like to add a personal touch to your box, you could knit a scarf, hat or teddy. Its probably better not to knit a dalek!

Want to learn more about the impact of Operation Christmas Child? Then watch the video or read some stories.

Resources for the credit crunch

Let's look at some practical (and free) resources to help put credit crunch theology into practice:

• Care for the Family provides a range of resources on money issues including the Money Secret website (which offers a free online course) and support if you decide try the ‘Cash for a Month’ technique.
• Stewardship also offer resources in the form of challenges, which can be used by individuals wanting to get a grip on their personal finance or used as exercises in home groups to practically apply what is being taught and discussed.
• In Balance your budget we discussed the Church of England's resource: the Matter of Life and Debt website. They include a selection of prayers for those worried about money .

Wordling politicians

You can use Wordle to analyse any sort of text - not just Scripture. The BBC have just used it to analyse the speeches made by the two US vice-presidential candidates.

While we don't really "do politics" on this blog, if you feel you are losing the plot about what's happening in the US, check out the 20-page briefing on the US election 2008 from the Economist.

I Love A Nice Cup Of Tea!

There's a new Facebook application: I Love A Nice Cup Of Tea!

You can send and receive virtual "brews" and collect points. More points means a better league ranking (Tea's Most Wanted) amongst friends and the world!

Ten cyberspace commandments

Podcasts from the recent EA meeting for Christian bloggers are now available for download, together with ten cyberspace commandments "to give bloggers a moral edge in a virtual age".

High tea enjoys a revival

The Guardian reports that the old-fashioned high tea (scones, cakes, sandwiches and a refreshing cuppa) is enjoying a credit-crunch revival and attracting a new, young clientele. Apparently customers are starting to shun the expensive chains of coffee shops in favour of more homely tea-parlours and cafes. A spokesman for the UK Tea Council commented that "it seems a younger generation is re-understanding the charm and elegance of the traditional English custom".

Don’t Stop at the Lights

A new guide from the Church of England offers church leaders a template for a year-long programme of practical action to reduce their congregations’ carbon footprints, as energy prices head upwards. The book, Don’t Stop at the Lights, has already won praise from the Archbishop of Canterbury amongst others.

Don’t Stop at the Lights includes sermon ideas and extensive bible study notes drawing on ancient theological themes which aim to reconnect the church to the natural world and the roots of its faith. It inspires leaders to make churches beacons in their community, offering case studies linked to the Church’s year. More info here.

Godblogs

The Evangelical Alliance hosted a gathering for Christian bloggers on 23 September at its Headquarters in London. The event was “designed to give Christian bloggers an opportunity to network face-to-face and to think through a godly approach to blogging”. One of the intentions of the event was to begin to develop “a code of conduct for godly blogging”, to help Christians communicate in cyberspace in a Christ-like way.

Read a write-up about the event from one of the speakers, Mark Meynell, who provided a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Christian Blogosphere. The EA website says that a podcast will be forthcoming.

Prayer for the current financial situation

The C of E has published a new Prayer for the current financial situation:

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Perfect preserves

If Jacky's post on hunting down seasonal food to make jam has inspired you to do the same, then here are some recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on making the most of seasonal fruit. You could also check out River Cottage Handbook No 2: Preserves by Pam Corbin from your local library for more.

• Black beauties: blackberry recipes
• River Cottage Bramley lemon curd
• Soft options: strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants
• Links to seasonal recipes

You don't have to use wild food as a base, but this Hot hedgerow chutney is worth trying.

Café No-bucks

As I write, I am drinking a cup of home made coffee. And it hasn't cost me anything, except for the electricity to heat the water. A combination of the credit crunch, being a skinflint and a desire to escape the clutches of the over-powerful Tescos has led me to start to explore the world of foraging. More on that is very likely in future blogs, but for now, back to the coffee.

During WWII the nation's coffee supplies were cut off, and you can only imagine what that would have done to the nation's morale! A coffee substitute was made from acorns instead by chopping them up and roasting them (I don't know who discovered that worked, but I'm guessing it was very old knowledge that had fallen into general disuse).

So I got curious and had a go. You need to remove the outer acorn shells with a sharp, serrated knife, then chop the nut into small pieces. You're meant to roast the pieces twice, chopping smaller after the first roast. I roasted mine once, as I left them in the top of the oven for a bit longer than intended - around 15 mins, probably. The result was a charred-looking mess which both smelled and tasted a lot like coffee. The bits ground down well enough in the pestle and mortar & looked something like instant.

So far so good. What about when you make it into a mug of 'coffee'? It tastes very good actually. I may even prefer it to the real version, as there is not the same sharpness to the taste. I have no idea about the caffeine content though or other side effects but I'd rate the experiment as a success. The only downside appears to be - apologies squirrels - it takes about 5 acorns to make a spoonful of the coffee powder, so I will have to work quite hard to make a useful supply.

Post scripts: I have found articles afterwards saying that you are supposed to leach the tannin out of the acorns by soaking or boiling them, because they contain too much - my recipe didn't say anything about that! I also found some recipes for coffee alternatives from the American Civil War, which may be of interest to some readers.

Stress relief

STRESS RELIEF....

Just click on the BUBBLEWRAP

(Then try it in manic mode)

A passion for tea

Is it really worth buying fancy varieties? is written by a tea lover who has "always viewed indulging in different tea types as a lot of unnecessary faffing about". After a tea-tasting session at Taylors of Harrogate she is converted!

How far would you go for a great brew? In My search for the ultimate cuppa tea obsessive Henrietta Lovell discusses the quest for the finest white tea that took her high into the mountains of China.

Wild Food

Wild food - the kind you have to forage for yourself in the countryside - has seen a resurgence of interest of late, I'm told. Perhaps the likes of Fergus Drennan (that man who cooks roadkill), the popularity of SAS Survival manuals, and Ray Mears, have something to do with it.

I've been doing some foraging of my own . No roadkill, just in case you were worried for a moment. I blame my Granny - she took us mushroom picking as children, and grew most of her own fruit and veg, which we picked and helped her make into jam in the long summer holidays. And then there has been my growing dissatisfaction with the supermarkets that are geared so much towards getting maximum profit for minimum quality produce, and their preference for selling prepackaged foods over whole veg... and the limited availability of cheaper products. And then the sudden food inflation on top of all that.

I've quickly realised there are certain benefits to wild food that didn't cross my mind as a child, when squeezing behind raspberry bushes to get at the best fruit. So here they are - in no particular order:

- Fresh air and a bit of exercise (it makes a nice early evening walk going berry hunting or mushrooming)

- You can't really watch Telly when you're busy in the kitchen

- You start to appreciate food more and don't waste so much when you've put effort into collecting it yourself

- You learn about plants & their uses

- Less food miles - the food itself hasn't gone very far, and you probably haven't needed as many trips to the shops

- Tastier food - I've discovered some new flavours and realised that my home-made jam is much nicer than what you can get in a supermarket

- A more varied diet - ever seen elderberries or stinging nettles in Tescos, anyone?

- A sense of history - not that long ago, this activity was 'normal' (at least some readers of this article will think I've gone off my rocker) and people were much more directly reliant on the land and what was seasonal.

The main downside is the amount of time it can take - that, and the fact that you start somewhat obsessively looking about you for the food in the nearest hedge.

Recycling Energy at the Gym

A gym in America is claiming to be the US's first to use the energy of the people working out in the gym to help power it. In fact, the Beeb news site was looking at this issue a couple of years back, wondering if you could end up getting paid to go to the gym.

It sounds pretty inefficient, though - it would be far more efficient and green to close the gym and for the members to do alternative exercise such as cycling to work. (I say that as someone who doesn't even go to the gym!)

Far more interesting is the idea of energy harvesting, also reported by the BBC around the same time. This is all about capturing the everyday energy lost when, for example, commuters walk through a station. This could be used to light public spaces, power laptops, and reduce the size of battery packs needed in military applications.

Britain's 100 best day walks

The August 2008 Country Walking magazine featured Britain’s 100 Best Day Walks! Writers have selected the very best routes from each county, offering "spellbinding views, unique landscapes and an unforgettable day’s walking". Most walks link either to a routecard in the magazine or to a FREE downloadable routecard on the LFTO site (scroll down here).

How many of these have Infusion walked? As we haven't tackled Scotland, Southern England, or Northern Ireland, I reckon we have notched up 12 out of 58 (see below). Adding in walks undertaken by individual members of Infusion would certainly push the tally up.

• Northern England: Helvellyn, Malham Cove, Ingleborough
• Central England: Mam Tor, Kinder Scout, Goyt Valley, Malvern Hills, Dovedale, the Roaches, Rutland Water, Bosworth Field
• Wales: Snowdon

Why (and how) to pray for the economy

Following an earlier post on Credit crunch theology, here's a thought-provoking blog post on Why I Pray for the Economy. Although written in the US, the sentiments can apply to the UK as well, especially the reminder to make

supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings ... for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Food and waste and sharing

Article on the BBC website on a food distribution charity, which you can also access directly; they also have stuff going on in Leicester. With so much food ending up as waste, this is some encouragement.

Love and desire

Through a friend's blog, I came across the this article in the Independent on love and desire and the difference between the two. It's not a faith-based article, but one could read a lot between the lines. Enjoy!

Anti-theft lunch bag

I'm not a very keen Sandwich eater for lunch, but I'm sure there are some of you who have suffered from your lunch being nicked. I came across this Anti-theft lunch bag and that would certainly put me off from taking anyone's lunch - have a look. And I guess that was my first attempt at a blog post...

Virtual chocolate

Divine is the Fairtrade Chocolate Company co-owned by the cocoa farmers cooperative Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana, who not only receive a fair price for their cocoa but also share in the company's profit. Watch the 30 second You Tube Movie about Divine Chocolate.

Noddy management

Following the news that Enid Blyton has been voted the UK's favourite writer, comes a confession from a senior academic that her own management style was forged by Blyton. In addition to detailing some of the lessons she has learned from Blyton, she analyses some key characters:

"The Famous Five is the ideal Harvard Business team. There's Anne the administrator; Julian the born leader with his determined chin and propensity to issue orders; Dick the playful networker; George the maverick you would place somewhere in Development. But don't delegate to Timmy the dog: he can't be trusted. "

How to be a thrifty gardener

The Guardian has published a useful two part series on credit crunch gardening:

• How to be a thrifty gardener
• The propagation game

These are extracts from The Thrifty Gardener: how to create a stylish garden for next to nothing by Alys Fowler. It says "Gardening has never been more fashionable - or more expensive. And yet you don't have to spend a fortune. Nothing could be easier or more satisfying than making your own planters, compost or even weedkiller".

How noses are calibrated

The company I work for actually helps people calibrate their sense of smell! In case you're wondering if this is a wind-up, let me explain : in the gas industry, the gas doesn't smell until an odorant is added. The best piece of equipment for testing if the right amount of odorant has been added is still the human nose - until a 'better' alternative is developed. And like all equipment, even the human nose needs calibrating for this work. The BBC recently featured the labs where this happens.

Two endings and a new beginning

Some people fear that the world may end tomorrow (10 September) when the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland gets turned on. [ BBC Radio 4 is offering special programmes about it all week, and has a Big Bang Day on the actual day of activation].

OR

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper (T.S. Eliot The Hollow Men, 1925).

OR

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! (Revelation 21)

Wordling Infusion

This is the result of pasting the first-ever post on this blog into Wordle. Click on the image above to enlarge it.

Back to Church Sunday 2008

Sunday 28th September 2008 is Back to Church Sunday 2008. The churches in Loughborough have their own Back to Church Sunday website. The national website has various resources including prayers.

Have you Wordled yet?

Google is a web application that is now regularly used as a verb. Another web tool that looks set to follow this trend is Wordle. It generates “word clouds” from text that you provide, giving greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. Then the clouds can be tweaked with with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The resulting images can be printed or shared via the Wordle gallery.

A number of Christian bloggers have created Wordles from Bible books and passages, for example:
* The Beatitudes (which Emmanuel Church studied over the summer)

* Philippians (forthcoming sermon series at Holy Trinity, Leicester)

Pizza topping in peril

Pizza toppings will be a little less tasty in future now that the anchovy has been highlighted as a "fish to avoid" by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). More info here:

• Over pizzas, over salads but now overfished: demise of the anchovy
  
• In praise of ... little fishes
  
• Read the MSC's updated Advice On Fish Sustainability


• The FISHONLINE website

If you have any tins of anchovies left in the storecupboard you might want to try Janssen's Temptation (scroll down for recipe) - a classic that everyone should try at least once!

And now for the good news...

Information specialist Phil was recently asked "Are there any sites that provide good news? I'm fed up of reading about miserable information!". So he's pulled together a number of good news resources. He concludes his listing by saying: "Take a moment out to read one or two of them. Smile at someone you don't know. And, just for a moment, count how many blessings you have".

A new way to bin the bags

Following on from the journalist's month without plastic, I have given more thought to this myself. Although I take re-usable bags to the supermarket, there’s still the problem of fresh produce and the need to get it weighed and priced (the alternative would be to stick a price label on every single potato or cherry tomato!).

I was therefore thrilled to find, in one of my favourite catalogues, that someone has come up with Weigh & Store Bags. These are reusable bags which mean that "instead of using the polythene ones provided at the fruit and veg counter, [you can] place fresh produce inside Weigh & Store Bags and proceed through the checkout. Back home, you can place these breathable mesh bags and their contents straight in the fridge or cupboard”. An alternative from the funky Onya Bags company is Onya Weigh. This pouch contains 4 strong bags made from tulle (each of which will carry up to 2 kilos of produce).

In both cases the bags are lightweight (so they don’t add to the weight on the scales) and see-through (so the sales assistants can easily see the contents).

Charles Wesley's secret code diary cracked

A priest / academic has unlocked the 270-year-old secrets of Charles Wesley's coded diary, throwing light on the turbulent relationship that he had with his brother John in the early years of the Methodist movement they founded. The cipher for Wesley's journals, partly written in a personal shorthand (when he wrote about sensitive subjects, such as his disputes with John Wesley over the future direction of Methodism), were cracked by the Rev Professor Kenneth Newport. Newport, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Liverpool Hope University, spent nine years transcribing the thousand page hand-written manuscript held in Manchester.

19 September is Tea Time

Whether it’s lapsang souchong or a mug of builders’, it’s hard to beat a nice cup of tea. Unless it’s a nice cup of tea that could help make a fairer world...

On 19 September, Christian Aid is asking people across the world to get together, put the kettle on and help give poor communities the chance of a better future.

• Order your free event pack

• Download free resources – including delicious cake recipes

• Send out your invitations

August means animal stories in the news

Bird-feeding may be banned in Berwick-upon-Tweed but there have been more positive wildlife- and animal-related stories in the media recently:

• A night out with tag-team hedgehog
• Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'
• Wild dolphins tail-walk on water
• Three-legged dog loves train ride
• Animal magnetism

As time goes by...

Infusion was originally known as Emmanuel & St. Mary's 20s & 30's Group when it started in 1996. We changed our name in 2000 for a number of reasons, including the fact that a number of members had become "30ish+" with the passage of time.

So it was interesting to see (via a friend's link on Facebook) that Twenty Thirty, a Christian organisation in the United Kingdom that organises social events for people in their twenties and thirties (whether single, couples or married), has recently expanded to include a wider age range and renamed itself Twenties Thirties Forties.

This blog has previously noted the Looking at life.. ministry from Care for the Family, aimed at supporting "20 and 30-somethings". At least their name will be able to stay the same even the age range moves on...

Magnetic Cattle

Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way? Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction, reports the BBC. The scientists researching this phenomenon have concluded it is that the cattle and other stock are aligning themselves with the earth's magnetic field.

I had to check the date on this story, as it was funny enough to be an April fool's wind-up. What the article doesn't say is whether kangaroos, with their lower greenhouse gas emissions exhibit the same behaviour.

The joy of simply faffing around

How do you spend a Bank Holiday Monday? Visiting relatives or tacking the garden or DIY? As this is the last Bank Holiday until Christmas, maybe you should just take it easy? Read the Guardian on The joy of simply faffing around or perhaps catch up on some sleep....

What should Christians make of the Olympics?

As the 2008 Olympics draw to an end on a Sunday, you may be interested to read a thoughtful blog post on What should Christians, especially those who are non-sports fans, make of the Olympics?

Animal Olympics

I had been hoping that the 2008 Olympics might be an excuse for the BBC to show again two "documentaries" from earlier Games. In the run-up to the 2004 Olympic Games, BBC One's Animal Games proved to be a big hit with viewers. "Athletes" from the mammal, fish, bird, herptile (reptiles and amphibians) and insect worlds competed in human events. All competitors were scaled to human size to allow them to compete against each other. This was followed by the Animal Winter Olympics (which doesn't appear to be available as a DVD) in 2006.

The programmes were light-hearted but informative. An online photo gallery from Animal Games is available.

How splendidly ripping!

Enid Blyton is the UK's best-loved writer, according to a survey conducted for the Costa Book Awards. The popularity of children's writers continues throughout the top 50, with Roald Dahl, JK Rowling, Beatrix Potter, CS Lewis, AA Milne and Dr Seuss included. There's been a lot of media coverage (I caught the BBC, Guardian and Radio 4). Commentators tended to agree that it was "simpler" to write about childhood when Blyton was publishing than now.

Revisit your childhood reading at the Enid Blyton Society and EnidBlyton.net, and see also Nostalgia Publishing.

Virtual Water: How Much Do You Think You Use?

The scale of British water consumption and its impact around the world is revealed in a new report today, which warns of the hidden levels needed to produce food and clothing, reports the Guardian.

The UK has become the sixth largest net importer of water in the world, the environment group WWF will tell a meeting of international experts in Stockholm, with every consumer indirectly responsible for the use of thousands of litres a day. Only 38% of the UK's total water use comes from its own resources; the rest depends on the water systems of other countries, some of which are already facing serious shortages.