Spring Onions!

No - panic ye not - I've not entered the seedy (get it? - seedy - oh the wit of the man!) world of Alan Titchmarsh.

No - Spring Onions is my over familiar nickname for the greatest Christian Conference on the planet:

SPRING HARVEST!!

If you're a Christian and you've never been to Spring Onions you really don't know what you're missing. Come to that if you're NOT a Christian and you've never been to Spring Onions then - quite frankly - you've never lived! Yours truly was at the very first one in 1979 in Prestatyn (N. Wales) with my good friend Richard and around 2000 other people attending. Spring Onions now provides places for over 70000 people on 2 sites across a number of weeks. We literally take over 2 of the largest Butlins holiday camps in the UK.

Now I know what you're thinking... Butlins..Easter...Hi-de-Hi.... well, let me re-assure you that Butlins is a lot different these days - warm comfortable chalets, really good food, and hardly a Red Coat in sight - would I lie to you??

Since 1986 I have been heading north each Easter to Skeggie (that's Skegness UK to the un-initiated) as part of an army of volunteers who look after the Under 5's.

Mad you say! Wrong I say! It's absolutely brilliant. For the past 14 years or so I've been priveliged to lead some wonderful teams of volunteers in providing Under 5's with the time of their lives - puppets, singing stories, games are just a few of hte things we get up to. It's hard work but incredibly rewarding - and unbelievably great fun! It's just like becoming a big kid - it's mega Champerton!

I've put a link to the site and would really really encourage you to consider either attending a guest...OR (even better).... volunteer to be on one of the teams - either at Skeggie or Minehead (where my mate Brian goes!). There is always a last minute panic for volunteers - so please do give it some serious thought and prayer!

Either way I guarantee you won't regret it!

Christians in Sport

So..... Christians in Sport - what's it all about? Well.... the clue is sort of in the name really - it's all about Christians who play sport!

Well actually it's an awful lot more than that! Based in Bicester this truly Champerton organisation look to support Christian sportsmen and women across the UK whilst trying to promote a sense of fair play and Christian values within schools and youth groups. It seems that in order to be a part of CIS you have to agree to a shortening of your surname or that a 'y' or an 'o' is suffixed. So, for example, Colin Wells (who jointly runs the academy with 'Lancs') is known to everyone as 'Wellsy' - I think you get the idea! (He came to stay with us and several times didn't answer when I called him Colin!!)

As I mentioned in my previous post my son Sam is joining the CIS Academy in January for six months. During that time he will be working with teachers and youth leaders to try to promote a different and better attitude to playing sport. Whether they admit it or not a lot of people - especially kids - look to sports personalities as role models in life. The crazy thing is a lot of these role models display a very poor image where integrity and fair play are concerned. You see it every week on Match of the Day - a player gets beaten fairly so he 'has no other option' (really?) but to chop someones legs from under them, or dive in the box in the hope of fooling the ref into giving him a penalty. These so called professionals have a huge responsibility for the attitudes of those view them as heroes - yet all to frequently we see open dissent on pitches throughout the land, with every referee's decision questioned and appalling language to boot - you don't need to be a lip reader to work it out what they are saying either!

I've never been able to understand what satisfaction there is in winning by cheating - whether that's through taking performance enhancing drugs or unfair play (or what is bizarrely referred to as exercising gamesmanship!!).

For me, one of my favourite oxymorons is 'professional foul'! Surely that's just a term used to avoid the embarrassment of having to refer to someone honestly for what they really are - a cheat!

Anyway my prayers will be with Sam and everyone else involved in this Champerton organisation - and I hope your's will be too! - especially that he won't come back as Samo, Panns or Pannelly!!