Unrighteous Indignation

I went to a football match yesterday.

All right, it wasn’t just any football match – it was the FA Challenge Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool. It is, apparently, a showpiece for English football; the pinnacle of the domestic football season … which is why it kicks off at 3pm the Saturday after the domestic league season has finished. Except it didn’t. Both Liverpool and Chelsea still have 2 remaining league fixtures to play. There was another premiership game played on the same day as the FA Cup final – and an almost full programme of matches the day after. To make sure that the Football Association got as much money as they could from selling the television rights the match was scheduled to kick off at 17;15 – despite the knowledge that this would mean there would be no trains back to Liverpool for the thousands of fans who would want to go and cheer on their team in London.

This might lead some people to think that the FA Challenge Cup had been devalued. Quite the opposite it would seem …. 3 weeks ago I was at Wembley Stadium for the Semi-final. I paid £50 for my semi-final ticket. My ticket for the final cost £85 – and I was in almost exactly the same seat (except 6 rows further back!) The Wembley Stadium debt will be paid off in no time …

£50 ticket – expensive but, hey, it’s the semi-final.

This view, despite being less central and further back, cost 70% more than the semi final..

The build up to the match was the same as usual (except we now have an american-style announcer who extiolls us all to cheer on cue and ‘smile for the camera’.

We sing ‘Abide With Me’ – led by a pretty girl in a nice frock (I’m being deliberately patronising there – hoping for irony, but it’s not my strong point)

The teams get led out onto the pitch to shake hands with the guest of honour (presumably a member of the Royal Family but no, not this year. This year it’s Sir Jimmy Armfield. A proper footballer and, by all accounts, a nice bloke.)

Then we sing the National Anthem. or, rather, we don’t.

Despite having had music and banal comments blaring into my ears for the previous hour, I was completely unaware that another pretty girl, in another pretty dress, had actually started singing. Not that it bothered me, I’d never sing the national anthem at a football match. Why should I? What’s it got to do with football? I wouldn’t boo (as some did) … but I certainly wouldn’t join in singing.

Anyway, the match kicks off and, shortly under 2 hours later, Chelsea , by virtue of them having scored more goals than us, were awarded the FA Cup. Well done them, commiserations us.

We walk back to the car – as the tube was rammed – and turn on the radio ready for a ‘fan phone in’ of come sort, hoping that it would confirm our own thoughts that Carroll should have started the match but that, if we’d played the first 60 minutes like we’d played the last 30, it would have been a very different game. Oh, and there was the ‘did the ball cross the line’ debate for which we were hoping for a definitive answer.

We got none of that. What we found on the radio was the tail end of a phone in all about the fact that some Liverpool fans had booed during the National Anthem. But, not to worry, we were told as listeners, because the subjext/phone in was going to be continued in the next programme….

Such despair. such utter futility. Liverpool fans are often accused of being paranoid. well, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you …

The following programme (Stephen Nolan’s show on BBC Radio 5 Live) invited calls from both fans who booed and people who wanted to react to the situation. A number of fans rang in with reasons why they, personally, had booed:

(I’ll paraphrase)

1. “I am not a royalist and wanted to protest that this family bloodline still had power in today’s democracy”

2. “It was in protest aimed at the Football Association at the ridiculous kick off time which has resulted in me having to pay for an hotel as there are no trains home”

3. “Chelsea fans were disrespectful during the minute’s silence to commemorate the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster, this was a protest against that”

4. “In a time of real austerity for the country, it was a protest against the millions of pounds being wasted on celebrating some German woman’s jubilee”

5. “What’s the big deal? We’ve always done it”

What, I hope, is clear, is that people had their own reasons for doing what they did – it wasn’t orchestrated, or organised – it just happened. Given that I was paying 60% more than I had 3 weeks previously for a worse view I might well have joined in if it had been an organised protest against the Football Association. And there’s the point – it was a peaceful, non-violent protest. Nobody got hurt (apart from some sensibilities in the home counties, presumably) and it didn’t cause anybody any inconvenience.. Her Majesty The Queen clearly thought the event was of such significance in her jubilee year that she didn’t bother to attend – she didn’t even bother to send one of her distant family relations to represent her. There’s no reason why she should, it was a football match, and it is as irrelevant to her as she is to it. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against The Queen. I’m neither a royalist nor a republican. The royal family cares as much about me as I do about them. I can understand playing the national anthem at international games involving England… but at club matches? Whatever. A non-violent protest was made by small groups of individuals.

I was quite surprised, then, when ‘Richard from Basingstoke’ came on the radio. He initially preached world peace (he would, apparently, happily stand next to a Scouser, or a Geordie, or a Manc, even an Arsenal fan) but then quickly went on to suggest that he was “appalled and disgusted” at the lack of respect shown by Liverpool fans to the National Anthem. He decided to use the sad fact that 2 British servicemen had died the previous day in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to berate us further and heap indignity and shame upon our collective scouse heads. Did we not realise that “those 2 brave boys died yesterday because they’d sworn allegiance to the Queen and had sworn to protect the National Anthem?”

Well, Richard of Basingstoke (and all those who agree with him), I hate to burst your bubble of unrighteousness indignation but no, that’s not why they died. That’s not why they died at all.

In the purest sense, they died defending the democratic right of people like me to be able to protest, peacefully, about things which concern me. And it brings shame on YOU, Richard of Basingstoke, to try and use their tragic deaths to make your own petty point.

Richard of Basingstoke suggested that, if we felt the need to protest against the FA we should have booed during ‘Abide With Me’ instead but as one scouser remonstrated; “We couldn’t do that; that’s a hymn!!!” I hate to break this to you, Richard of Basingstoke, but as far as I am concerned God trumps the Queen any day of the week!

If booing the National Anthem is really so dreadful and disrespectful, maybe we’re all being disrespectful in not giving the anthem its due honour by only singing the first verse. I call upon Richard of Basingstoke to start an immediate campaign to show true respect to the monarch (and his/her national anthem) by singing ALL the verses. Just in case you weren’t aware there were other verses, I’ve reproduced the first and second verses for you below (and there are another three):

As you can tell, Her Majesty likes nothing better than sitting down with a can of Stella to watch the footy …

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

1. God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!

2. O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!

There is much to get upset and indignant about in this country of ours … the booing by some fans of the national anthem is not one of them.

When the Chelsea fans booed and interrupted the minute’s silence in memory of the 96 who died at Hillsborough… was there a national radio phone in? No.

When the malevolent idiots at Football Association who ramped up the ticket prices by fully 70% claiming the market laws of supply and demand (when they control the supply) chose to ignore the advice of train operators, travel operators and fans and schedule a match to kick off at a time when THEY KNOW some fans will be unable to get home … was there a national radio phone in? No.

When some Liverpool fans decide to exercise our democratic right to protest in a peaceful manner … was there a national radio phone in? Yes. it’s apparently national news and the primary subject of 2 national radio phone-in shows.

Britain … get a life.

The Board of the Football Association

cheats,

I love football … well, I love watching it; I’ve never really been much good at it (even when I was young and thin) but this past weekend seems to have brought to the fore a number of issues that, in truth, have been dogging the game for some time. I’ve had an opinion about what we should do about them (in some instances, for years) but never had the forum, other than post-match chats in pubs or walking to the car, to share them with much of an audience. Well, now there’s Twitter and Blogs – Hello, world! So, 4 problems and a solution to each of those problems….

1. Football seems to think that it doesn’t have to operate to the normal rules of society.

If you get convicted of burglary you might get a suspended or community sentence if it is a first offence. However, get caught and convicted a second time and you will usually face prison. That makes common sense – and escalation of punishments as you show that you are unrepentant.

Seamus Coleman fouls Steven Gerrard - second yellow card?

In the incident that led to the free kick (from which Andy Carroll scored the winning goal for Liverpool  at the FA Cup Semi Final against Everton) Seamus Coleman fouled Steven Gerrard. The summariser for ESPN, commentating on the match, said, “Had he not already been on a yellow card he would have been booked for that foul challenge”. Where else other than football do you get a more lenient sentence for a second offence? This isn’t the first time such a comment has been made – it probably won’t be the last but, however you look at it, it is clearly ridiculous.

Solution: Referees need to grow a pair and realise that the football pitch is no different from anywhere else – second offences get punished MORE harshly than first offences.

2. More and more players are ‘simulating’ in order to gain an advantage.

Ok, let’s be blunt – by simulating I mean cheating. It is, potentially, the biggest threat to football in England since the hooliganism of the 70s and early 80s. It ruins matches, causes bad feeling between players, between supporters, between managers. It costs people their jobs as managers and coaches are sacked because their team wasn’t able to beat a team with a cheat in it.

I’m not in any way blind about this issue – just a fortnight ago, a player for my own team (Liverpool FC) decided to try and gain an unfair advantage by pretending that he’d been fouled by the opposition goalkeeper. You can judge for yourself if the keeper got anywhere near him or whether he dived …

Simulation? No; it's called cheating ... click on the pic to watch the video

But Carroll is not the only one. For two games in a row Ashley Young has deliberately dived in order to gain an advantage for his team. In the first game he was awarded a penalty AND had an opposition player (a fellow professional) sent off. In the most recent instance, he was awarded a penalty. On both occasions his team went on to win the game. In truth, young has history of trying to gain an unfair advantage – he was known for it when he played for his previous club, and has exaggerated contact when playing for his country, too. And we can’t pretend that these are the only 2 examples in English football…

Arsene Wenger (Manager of Arsenal FC) believes that the best solutions is a 3 match ban for any player who dives. But surely he, as a manager, should have the authority to tell his players NOT to dive – and, if he wants, he can ban his own players for three matches (unless the sanction doesn’t apply to him). For me, that is not enough. I have a solution that will eradicate the problem overnight…

But here’s the problem: I expressed my opinion that yesterday’s incident in which Young exaggerated WAS a penalty, which was rightly awarded, but that Young should have been booked for simulation as well. I got into conversation with someone who claimed to have refereed at international level who said that, had he awarded a penalty in an instance where a player had stayed on his feet, he would have lost his referee’s licence. I find that difficult to believe but, if players think that referees won’t give decisions unless they’re writhing on the ground ….

My Twitter conversation with Eric Ackermann, allegedly a referee.

Solution. If a player is shown to have simulated, dived, exaggerated to gain an unfair advantage then the team for which he plays has a 3 point deduction in order to penalise them. For example. Liverpool win 1-0 as a result of a free-kick awarded following a dive by a player. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that the player simulated. Liverpool lose 3 points (opponents are awarded 1 point). On another occasion, Liverpool win 2-1. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that a Liverpool player simulated. Liverpool are deducted 3 points, the opposing team gain a three points. On yet another occasion Liverpool lose 1-0. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that the player simulated to try and gain an advantage (even though none was gained – Liverpool have been rubbish at penalties recently!). Liverpool are deducted 3 points, the opposition retain their three points.

It is my contention that, faced with a situation in which clubs know that they will lose points if a member of their team dives/exaggerates/simulates then managers and coaches (and owners and chairmen) will ensure that it does not happen and, if it does, then a player would be unlikely to play for that club again. No other team would be tempted to buy him – cheats will be out of football very quickly. Problem solved.

3. Referees are unable to use the technology which is available to assist in their decision making

Chelsea’s second goal in their FA Cup semi final against Tottenham Hotspur was , to say the least, contentious. Did the whole of the ball cross the line? Did it heck. Within seconds of the goal being awarded, TV replays had proved that the ball didn’t cross the line (one could argue that the ball didn’t GET to the line, let alone cross it) but referee Martin Atkinson was unable to call on that evidence to back up his decision (or, in this instance, overturn it). Why not? I don’t accept that we need specific goal line technology for this. the normal TV cameras picked it up and provided proof with in seconds – certainly before the game re-started. A gross error of judgement has, again, changed the course of a football match.

The whole of the ball crossed the line? It didn't even GET to the line!

The argument against the use of technology is that it slows the game down – I reckon that if you were a player who truly believed that your goal attempt had crossed the line then you would very quickly hoof the ball out of play to engineer an opportunity for the 4th official to have a look.

Solution. a 4th official in the stands with access to the television camera feed (and there are cameras at every game now, remember) who can relay a decision based on tv evidence to the referee in seconds. If a decision is that close that it needs specialised goal line technology to prove something one way or another then the referee’s first call stands.

4. The Football Association Board  consistently fail to modernise the rules and laws (and their application).

Solution: Sack ‘em

A Tough Week To Be Me…

There are times when it isn’t easy to be a Liverpool FC supporter. There are times when it isn’t easy to be a Christian. And if you’re both, well…

This week I have been tarred by two different brushes – one assumes that I’m a vile troll who wishes Alan Davies dead (and visited all kinds of nasty, indefensible abuse on the man through Twitter). The other assumes that, because I am a Christian, I am a homophobe who believes that being gay is an illness and can be cured. Both views of me are wrong – but you wouldn’t think so if all you knew about me was that I was a Christian Liverpool FC supporter and you read some peoples’ posts on Twitter!

Comedian and Actor - Alan Davies

Unlike, it would seem, many on Twitter, I quite enjoy ‘Jonathan Creek’ – a gentle, usually humorous, crime series in which Alan stars (starred?). He is also a regular on the massively popular quiz show ‘QI’ as well as being a stand-up comedian. As a ‘celebrity’ he is relatively high profile – and his love of Arsenal Football Club is well known. He’s a celebrity ‘gooner’ and regularly contributes to an Arsenal podcast. In the most recent episode, Alan made some crass, ill-advised, insensitive (in my mind) comments about Liverpool Football Club’s desire not to play a game of football on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster:

“Liverpool and the 15th, that gets on my tits that shit. What are you talking about, ‘We won’t play on the day’? Why can’t they? My mum died on 22nd August. I don’t stay in all day on 22 August.

“Do they play on the date of the Heysel Stadium disaster? How many dates do they not play on? Do Man United play on the date of Munich? Do Rangers play on the date when all their fans died in that disaster whatever year that was – 1971?”

“Every interview [Dalglish] has given this season he looks like he wants to headbutt the interviewer. This tight-mouthed, furious, frowning, leaning-forward, bitter Glaswegian ranting: ‘Liverpool FC do not play on April 15th.’”

“Hillsborough is the most awful thing that’s happened in my life, in terms of football. It’s one of the worst tragedies in English peacetime history. But it’s ridiculous that they refuse to play on that day any more.”

Maybe he didn’t know that the club always hold a memorial service on the anniversary – which ALL players and staff attend which would make actually fielding a team impossible. Maybe he was unaware that the fight for justice and honest answers has been on-going for 23 years, that the lies told about the fans were perpetrated by those who were supposed to be public servants or guardians of football, or maybe he just thought it was funny … whatever his reasoning he got it badly wrong. He apologised quite promptly. I tweeted him to say that I had accepted his apology and to apologise, on my own behalf, for those morons who were supposedly supporters of Liverpool FC who continued to rain horrible abuse down on him and his family.

(For anyone wondering why I think I have a right to accept his apology; read this blog post)

Alan chose not to retweet (RT) any of the messages from Liverpool fans offering apology or support although he flooded my timeline with RT after RT of disgusting comments directed at him. I suppose that is his right. But it distressed me to think that other people reading his RTs would assume that the morons threatening and abusing him were representative of the millions of Liverpool FC fans around the world (including me). They aren’t (and I suspect that many aren’t even LFC fans – just trolls). Still it’s not for Alan Davies to be concerned about me feeling upset – I can certainly understand how HE was feeling upset after reading some of the bile directed at him. Alan is entitled to his opinion. I’m entitled to disagree with it. Nobody is entitled to send disgusting abuse and death threats to someone else just because they disagree with what’s been said, or the way in which it’s been said. I didn’t do anything when he later posted a ‘joke’ picture via Twitter which could be taken to suggest that his apology wasn’t entirely sincere, but I got over it (remember that phrase!) I guess that’s life on Twitter. It’s clearly not always easy to be in the public eye. It’s also not easy to be a Liverpool FC supporter when you can’t get a ‘balanced reporting’ situation.

Some people are gay. Get over it.

And then yesterday I spent time watching all Christians being lumped together in one boat (I’ve digressed from the ‘tarring with the same brush’ theme) by those who assumed that the ‘Core Issues Trust’ and ‘Anglican mainstream’ represented the views of ALL Christians in the UK. These two groups had rented advertising space on some of London’s most travelled bus routes to respond to an advert that was placed there by Stonewall promoting equal marriage in the biggest advertising campaign of its type in the UK. Apparently believing that being gay is some sort of disease which can be cured by therapy, ‘Core Issues Trust’ and ‘Anglican mainstream’ (a misnomer if ever there was one if the Anglicans I know are anything to go by) the proposed bus adverts read “Not Gay! Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!” (did you remember that phrase I asked you to?)

the Core Issues Trust advert

The advert was, thankfully, pulled before it made it to the streets – although how that sits with my ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion however odious I might find it stance’ I’m not really sure. (actually, I am: they have a right to their opinion – I just don’t think they have a right to force their opinion on everyone else, Although I suppose the same should go for Stonewall … ) Maybe I’m just too liberal and wishy-washy for my own good. I should have learned after voting Lib-Dem in the last election…

In both these instances it’s the way that ‘twitterati’ assume the few speak for the many and can, therefore, ridicule everyone who shares any connection, however tangentially, with the extremist tweeters. And the retweeting of the extremist propaganda and/or bile merely exacerbates the situation and allows those who, I assume, are normally quite balanced in the usual day to day life to start swinging the lead with condemnatory/belittling/dismissive assumptions and pronouncements about ALL Christians and ALL LFC fans.

If anyone is wondering exactly where I stand on either of these two issues:

Firstly, I think Alan was wrong to say what he did in the way he did but think that not having the full facts (and thinking things through) was his only error. I would rather Liverpool FC forfeited the game than play on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Maybe Alan should have read this article or one of the many like it to get a bit more perspective.

Secondly, I believe that God loves us all, equally. Whether we are Gay or straight, Jew or gentile, slave or free, Mother Theresa or Osama Bin Laden. That’s difficult to understand sometimes, but I believe it. After all, if God hates gays so much, why does he keep making ‘em?

So tomorrow will be the end of a tough week being me. And it’ll be the start of a long day – setting off in the early hours for a long drive.

Tomorrow I will be at Wembley on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. An all-Merseyside FA Cup semi-final. Liverpool versus Everton. I will be one person in a crowd that includes reds, blues and neutrals; a crowd that includes people of many faiths and people of none. I pray that we all get there, and get home, safely.

You’ll Never Walk Alone. Justice For The 96.

Job Opportunity – Children and Young Families Worker (Altrincham United Reformed Church)

One of the most satisfying aspects of my role is helping churches work through the process of whether a paid employee would benefit their mission to children and young people.

Altrincham URC

Altrincham United Reformed Church are nearing the end of that process and below are the details of the post.

The Children and Young Families Worker post is, initially, a three year contract and salary is in the range £18-21K (depending on experience/qualifications)

To apply, or to find out more details, click the link for an Application Pack (right click, Save Link As – to download a copy of the document to your computer.)

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

It’s sad, so sad, it’s a sad sad situation …and it’s getting more and more absurd

Those of you unlucky enough to follow me on Twitter will know that I have been angered recently by the response to the Suarez/Evra affair. If, at this stage, you have no idea what  I’m talking about then you’d be well advised to not bother reading the rest of this!

Let me be quite clear at the very beginning: I believe that what Suarez did was wrong and it is right that he is punished for what he did. I’m no lawyer, or profess to have any sort of legal brain, but I have read through the full FA report. The early pages make unpleasant reading for Liverpool fans (or Suarez supporters – and the two are not mutually inclusive groups).

But on reading further my initial sense of having been let down by someone who’s skill, attitude and enthusiasm for the game I had admired changed to one of injustice and anger.

Far better blogs than this one have been written on the inconsistencies surrounding the judgement and a quick search of the internet will find you many blogs both for and against the judgement. It is not the intention of this post to try and change anyone’s mind, or convince them that they are wrong.

The purpose of this post is to give a word of warning.

I like to think of myself as a mild-mannered 50 year old. I rarely get upset or angry, I try to be laid-back and laissez-faire but I have spent my whole working life dealing with injustices and I try not to let them go unchallenged.

Whether it is the right that is so often denied to children and young people to have their say about the future, or nobody taking a stand against a bullying army in Israel protecting those who are building illegal settlements from those whose land they have stolen I want to make my voice heard.

And so in this sad and morally bereft affair when I see one man being correctly (though excessively) punished and another protagonist not even being investigated my heart screams out “where is the justice?”

I believe that Luis Suarez was wrong and should apologise for any offence caused. It matters not whether he intended to cause offence or whether the ‘cultural differences’ were exaggerated. If I cause offence to someone else (showing the soles of my feet in Korea, not putting my knife and fork together on the plate in Belgium) I should apologise. So should Luis.

However, so should Patrice Evra. The report is quite clear (to my reading) that Evra started the incident, that he insulted Suarez yet he has not been charged by the FA and that, to me , is an injustice and one which allows Liverpool FC’s feeling of injustice to fester.

Liverpool FC are, of course, now in a no win situation. If they decide not to appeal they will get pilloried in the press (particularly I suspect by those twin icons of journalistic integrity The Daily Mail and The Mirror for the support shown by the club, its staff and players to Luis Suarez the Convicted Racist (despite the fact that both the FA Commission and Evra has said that Suarez is not a racist – but the gutter press have never allowed facts to get in the way of  a good headline, has it?)

If they DO appeal they will get pilloried in the press (particularly I suspect by those twin icons of journalistic integrity The Daily Mail and The Mirror) for not taking a stand against racism (a stand which LFC have been in the forefront of taking for many years)

And back to the word of warning I mentioned earlier. My utterances on Twitter regarding this debacle have introduced me to some strangers – some of whom have become ‘friends’ like Stephen (@mirrors90) a young ManUre fan with whom I share pleasant and, I hope, inoffensive banter. But this relationship seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The two clubs, and their supporters, are so at each others throats and so hate (and I use that word advisedly) each other that it is my profound fear that when the two clubs next meet (at Old Trafford in March) such will be the poisonous atmosphere that there will be significant violence and someone, maybe more than one person, will be seriously hurt.

Can this be avoided? Yes, I think it can – and it requires Suarez and Evra, together on a public stage, making sincere and personal apologies to each other and asking the two sets of fans to start respecting each other. Let’s face it, we’ll never LIKE each other but respect would be a good place to be.

Because if someone is seriously hurt, or worse, who is going to be able to take the moral high ground then?

Shakespeare had King Lear say:

Close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents, and cry
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man
More sinn’d against than sinning.

I don’t believe that Suarez was MORE sinned against than sinning – but I believe he was equally sinnned against.

“Sorry”  may well be the hardest word but it’s not an impossible one. For all our sakes, Evra and Suarez need to say it.

2011 in review – why I must try harder with blogging!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 23 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

A Visit To The Holy Land

“I’ve always wanted to visit the places I hear of in the Gospels  ….”

“I’d like to experience what it means to live in Israel/Palestine today …”

“I want an opportunity to deepen my faith and understanding ….”

A visit to the Holy Land provides opportunities and experiences that, as well as lasting a lifetime, can develop your understanding of faith.

Revd. Brian Jolly (Altrincham United Reformed Church) and Leo Roberts (CYDO) are leading a small group (20 members) on a 12-day visit to the Holy Land from 23rd August 2012 to 3rd September 2012. Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a ‘first come; first served’ basis.

We will not only be visiting the Gospel sites (starting in Bethlehem, visiting Nazareth, then Galilee before spending time in jerusalem) but will also have the opportunity to meet with members of local faith communities – Christian, Muslim and Jewish. Hearing their stories and learning a little of their lives will inform us about the Holy Land and help us to begin to understand what it means to live in the Holy Land today.

The cost of the trip, including flights, accommodation (twin rooms, en-suite) on a half-board basis) and all internal transport is £1375.

For further information, or to get an application pack, please get in touch

Thursday, 23^rd August

Meet at Manchester Airport 0700, departing on flight LS907 at 10.00.

Arrive Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv

at 17.15. Transfer to Bethlehem.

Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem, at The Bethlehem Hotel

Friday 24^th August  Jerusalem/Bethlehem orientation

Today we travel around Bethlehem and Jerusalem to get our bearings. In the morning we travel east from Bethlehem into the desert to Herodion, the summer palace and burial place of King Herod. Later we travel a short distance to the north to circle the Old City of Jerusalem, stopping for lunch and spectacular views from Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives (to the east), and the Haas Promenade (to the south).

Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem, at The Bethlehem Hotel

Saturday 25^th August 

In and around Bethlehem

This morning we visit Dheisheh Refugee Camp, to hear from residents about the history of the camp and life today. Later we view the Separation Barrier and hear from other residents of Bethlehem about living under occupation. After lunch we visit the Shepherd’s Fields in the village of Beit Sahour, to the east of Jerusalem Bethlehem, before walking through Bethlehem Old City to the Church of the Nativity.

Today includes a meeting with  Jack Giacaman and his family, and a visit to their olive wood factory & shop.

Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem, at The Bethlehem Hotel

 Sunday 26^th August 

Bethlehem & Jericho

We join the Lutheran congregation at Bethlehem Christmas Church for morning worship, and afterwards visit the Lutheran International Centre of Bethlehem.

In the afternoon we transfer from Bethlehem to the desert oasis of Jericho, situated at the lowest point on the earth’s surface. We visit Tel Jericho and view the hills of Jordan to the east, before arriving at Jericho Resort Hotel.

Dinner and overnight at Jericho Resort Hotel

Monday 27^th August 

Beside the Dead Sea

An early morning start to drive south along the western shore of the Dead Sea to Masada, King Herod’s Winter Palace. After an audio-visual presentation explaining the history of Masada, we ascend the mountain by cable car to tour the archaeological excavations and enjoy spectacular views of the Dead Sea.

Late morning and early afternoon provide opportunity to experience the facilities of the Dead Sea Spa at Ein Gedi (including Dead Sea mud, the Dead Sea, mineral & fresh water pools). Later in the afternoon we return to Jericho, stopping en route to visit the archaeological excavations at Qumran, the 1^st century desert centre for the Essene Community, where the Dead Sea scrolls were written.

Dinner and overnight at Jericho Resort Hotel

Tuesday 28^th August 

The Jordan Valley and Nazareth

Today we travel north along the Jordan Valley to Nazareth to visit Mary’s Well, the Basilica of the Annunciation and Nazareth village before making our way to Kibbutz Ma Agan, situated on the south eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Dinner and overnight at

Kibbutz Ma Agan, Sea of Galilee

Wednesday 29^th August 

The Sea of Galilee

Today is spent beside the Sea of Galilee, and includes visits to Kursi, Bethsaida,  Capernaum, Mensa Christi, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes, and a boat ride.

Dinner and overnight at

Kibbutz Ma Agan, Sea of Galilee

Thursday 30^th August

The Mediterranean Coast

This morning we head west to the Mediterranean coast, for a morning visit to Caeserea Maritima. In the afternoon we make our way up to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Dinner and overnight at the

Notre Dame Centre, Jerusalem

Friday 31^st August

The Old City of Jerusalem

Today begins with visits to the Church of the Pater Noster and Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Later we cross the Kidron Valley to enter the Old City of Jerusalem and walk the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Other visits inside the Old City include The Church of St Anne, the pools of Bethesda, St James’ Armenian Cathedral and the Western Wall.

Dinner and overnight at

Notre Dame Centre, Jerusalem

 Saturday 1^st September  -  The Temple Mount, Bethany and West Jerusalem

This morning begins with a visit to Harem-esh-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) to view the Al Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock. Later we visit Bethany, the home village of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

Ain the afternoon we visit the memorial to the Holocaust (Yad Vashem) and an extensive model of 1^st century Jerusalem at the Israel Museum.

Dinner and overnight at Notre Dame Centre, Jerusalem

Sunday 2^nd September  - Jerusalem/Hebron

This morning we worship with the Palestinian congregation at St George’s Anglican Cathedral in East Jerusalem

In the afternoon, we will visit Hebron with a member of the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions to visit the Tombs of the Patriarchs and meet with the Christian Peacemaker Team.

Dinner and overnight at Notre Dame Centre, Jerusalem

Monday 3^rd September

Emmaus …. and home

This morning we will visit one of the 4 traditional sites of Emmaus where we will celebrate Communion to end our visit, before transferring to Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv.

Depart Tel Aviv on flight LS908, arriving in Manchester at 22.00

She’s here…

Well, I’ve been banging on about her since January and, on Wednesday, she finally arrived.

Sybil has been just over 6 months in the making in the workshop of Dave White and he has produced a beauty.

She is different from my other guitars in so many ways – the two most obvious are that she is a 12 fretter and those frets are multi scaled.

So, just so that you can see, what she looks like, here’s a pic

Oh, sorry … She’s in bed.

Guitars for Palestine

Regular readers of my blog www.leoroberts.wordpress.com (yes, both of you) will be aware of the initiative started by some friendly strangers on the AcousticLife forum on which I lurk to enable me to buy a couple.of guitars for the Jerusalem Arc children and youth camps.

With their donated money in my wallet, I walked up Jaffa St (guitar shop closed) and into Ben Yehuda St to its intersection with King George St to the second shop I had been told about.

Through the security barriers and down the stairs led me to my destination. With my 2 (non-guitarist) colleagues looking on, I then played every acoustic they had (apart from the Martins which were a teeny bit above my budget!)

Eventually, I settled on a Washburn D10S as the “main” guitar and a lovely, but cheap, Cort AD880. These will be added to at camp by a cheap, but not very nasty, nylon string guitar in blue (!)

Then the bargaining begins. The two guitars alone use up my budget but I want gig bags, spare strings, plectrums (plectri?), capos… well I ended up with all of those plus a joyo tuner and a string winder I even got a free set up on the Washburn to lower the action a bit.

To be fair, the guitars picked themselves but it took an hour or so because the shop was air-conditioned and, outside, it was 32 degrees!

I hope my friends in the forum are happy with my choices…

Oh, and then we went to Papa Andrea’s for lunch

Inspirations and Aspirations

Being a Scouse Catholic I have to assume that, somewhere in the dim and distant past, there’s a bit of Irish in me. One of my sisters is the ‘family researcher’ and I’m sure she mentioned it somewhere along the line.

I’d be happy with some roots to the Emerald Isle (as much as I’d be happy with a link to Scotland and Wales) because I love the music that comes from there so much.

There’s one particular musician whose music moves me. Considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer, Turlough O’Carolan was a blind (aren’t many of the best musicians blind? There’s hope for me yet!) harpist who lived from 1670 – 1738. Well, according to Wikipedia he did!

His melodies are sublime, his harmonies hit heights and move souls … he was not bad at what he did! And he had a few things in common with me:

1. He was short sighted (well, actually he was blind but let’s not quibble)

2. He wasn’t much to look at (if the contemporary pictures are to believed) 

3. He wasn’t much of a singer (based on the fact that he mostly wrote tunes, rather than songs)

Trouble is, a harp has many more strings than a guitar so, surely, the music won’t transpose.  Well, fortunately, good music is good music and, whilst it doesn’t transfer directly from harp to guitar, there are people who are able to interpret an O’Carolan tune well enough to keep respectful to the original whilst altering it to suit their own instrument and style.

One such person is Keith Chesterton. I’ve never met Keith – though I know a bit about him… he;’s a retired dentist, he plays guitar in his church worship group, he is generous with his time and money, and he is a great guitar player. His arrangement of the O’Carolan tune “Eleanor Plunkett” is both an inspiration to me to sit down and do some serious work in practicing, and an aspiration – to be able to play with such soul!

So, this weekend I’m at the URC Learning and Resource Centre in the Lake District for a course. I’m taking my guitar and, in the quiet moments (and there must be some!) I’m going to try and work this out.

Wish me luck!