Cathedral Protest Not Illegal

About 10 months ago, some friends of mine attended a meeting with our Diocese's boss man (not the Bishop, the other one), at the end of which, we called off our planned protest. The protest that was planned was to be extremely peaceful in nature (following the "don't be a dick" principal, essentially), on the grounds of our Diocese's cathedral. We called it off because the suited man "pointed out an obscure law from the 1500s which says that any protest on the grounds of a cathedral is illegal".

So, when Mr Clegg announced the Your Freedom website, where the general public could suggest which ridiculous laws should be repealed, my mind naturally fell upon said obscure Cathedral protest law. I sent an email to the suited man's secretary and she eventually got back to me with: Section 2 of the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860.


That's the law which states that to disturb an act of worship is illegal. But, so far as I can tell, a peaceful protest would not be forbidden by this law.


So, assuming that the ECJ Act was the law to which the suited man was referring, and assuming my interpretation of the law is accurate, he would best be described as a cheeky git.

Boldrewood Tunnel: further evidence

Well, today we have literally stumbled upon startling evidence (Fig. 1) of the much-discussed Boldrewood Tunnel. Pictured here, there is clear evidence, says our expert engineer, of subsidence which clearly indicates the presence of tunnel. We are not able to disclose the location of said evidence (Fig. 2)

Fig 1. Evidence of the Boldrewood
Tunnel? Our expert engineer says
"there's almost nothing else it could be!"

Fig. 2 Undisclosed location

We found this while covering the campus in brand new stylish chaplaincy posters. We showed quite some dedication to the cause (Fig. 3). And that's after having spent several hours last night postering halls...

Well, I say "we" showed particular dedication... I mostly showed inspiration...

Fig. 3 Reach for the stars...

General Synod Election 2010

The following is my Election Address as provided to the Electors in the Diocese of Winchester:

My name is Dan Barnes-Davies and I am a young man in an old Church. It would be all too easy for a young person to look upon an old Church as scary, outdated or irrelevant. However, I believe that I am a member of a Church which is diverse and exciting, and I am passionate about its future. That is why I am standing for election to the General Synod — because I am genuinely excited about where and how God will lead the Church of England in my lifetime.

I am fortunate in enjoying a sort of dual citizenship at two churches in Southampton. I am an active and keen member of the ecumenical community at the University Chaplaincy, whilst also attending my parish church (Highfield Church), where I worked for a year as an intern and got thoroughly involved in many of that church’s activities. I have learned a lot about the workings of a large and welcoming modern church with some more traditional outlooks and those of a close-knit, vibrant and inclusive chaplaincy. As a result, I believe I have gained a balanced understanding of the wider Church uncommon in a man of my age.

I have never been part of a Synod. I do, however, believe that I already have many of the required skills and abilities. I have gained such experience through having served on a handful of different committees and councils throughout my college and university careers — from joining the committee of the youth group I attended to my current roles at the Chaplaincy. In that time, I have developed superb organisational skills out of necessity, having served in several leadership roles at the same time.

While I came to faith through an ecumenical youth group, many of my formative faith experiences (both in early childhood and at university) have been with the Church of England. Over the last year, I have received insight into how the Church and Diocese are structured. I grew to appreciate the difficult decisions made day-to-day by staff and synods, and would truly value the opportunity to become part of those important processes.

My current roles & memberships include:

Chair, University of Southampton Chaplaincy Council — a body, formed of representatives from the community, which directs many of the chaplaincy's activities and events.

Chair, University of Southampton Chaplaincy Association — an organisation created to support the work of the ecumenical chaplaincy.

Vice-President (jointly), University of Southampton Student Christian Movement & a member of the national Movement.

I will be very happy to answer any questions you may have for me. Thank you for your time.

My email address is danbarnesdavies@gmail.com

I may well include further musings upon the subject of General Synod in the near future.

Moar blog!

So, it's been, as is often the case, a bloody long time since I last posted.

I'm now a trainee teacher — lectures start tomorrow.

I'm also standing for election to the Church of England's General Synod.

Yellow's gone but the Chaplaincy and its near future are not looking too shabby at all.

More blog soon.

In fact, I'll be posting my Address.

Quite busy (inc. the scale of groping)

I haven't blogged in more than a week. At first, it was because I had nothing new to say and little inclination to type up one of my ideas languishing in drafts... In the last few days, though, it has been because I've been... Quite Busy.

Two things have primarily made me Quite Busy: the first is my Quest for a New Phone, the second, Shiny New OS. I've had my Samsung D900 for 2 years now, which is twice as long as any previous phone. But a recent change in my pay as you go tariff, and, methinks, a coinciding increase in friends, drove my monthly top-up level to new heights. So i've looked into and chosen a contract and spanky new phone (Nokia 6800), for which I pay an initial sum. Being of little financial substance these days, I decided to use a free voucher from my current network to get a handset to sell. It's an LG KS360, and it's now on eBay, and already has a bid! Hoorah for capitalism!

I also joined the Windows 7 Beta programme and got me the Release Candidate (in both 32- and 64-bit versions). I've just installed the 64-bit version of the Windows 7 Ultimate RC — it took a bit more than 20 minutes start to end, and, what impressed me most was that, when it was "completing [the] installation", it detected my dual screens and adjusted itself them to the right resolutions! It's gorgeous, and it runs speedy. Actually, it runs speedier than its dualboot sister XP x64... Je recommend.

I've also watched through all of the American university drama "Greek", which I just love. I love the characters, the drama, and particularly the dialogue, which is at almost Joss-like standards. I recommend it, particularly for the Cappie-Casey relationship (and Cappie himself, really). Here's a quote from a last night episode designed solely for soppy awwww-inducement:

CASEY: Why can't you find someone else as perfect for you?!
CAPPIE: Because no other girl in the world compares to you

— "Social Studies" (Greek 2x19)

N'awww...

Time for a funny quote to round off the post. This is a later-night sleepy exchange between myself and a certain Mr A.T.:

DBD: well, that explains it
a teacher who's the child of a teacher is like a
*flounders for simile*
very rare thing indeed
dodo egg!
damn.
fail.
[...]
hens' teeth!
that was the one i was groping for
AT: careful :P
DBD: dw, I am alone in my room
any literal groping would, alas, be of myself
AT: not sure if that's better or worse
DBD: worse than consensual groping of a ladyfriend, better than any groping of a manfriend, much better than nonconsensual groping
AT: well there is the scale of groping

And that is the origin of the scale of groping.

Next time: who knows, or dares to dream?