Saturday 16 December 2006

The strangest thing


This has to be rated as one of the most amusing stories the BBC has ever reported.


The worlds tallest man saves two dolphins...... and his height isnt even the funny part - its how he saved them... check it out




Wednesday 13 December 2006

Flickr

Flickr is amazing. Its a great way to share photos. Im fiddling around with some features that mean I can post slideshows of my photos on my blog, rather than just individual photos. Watch this space...

Sunday 10 December 2006

Farewell my freind


Farewell my freind
Originally uploaded by thenamesrichard.
This is Madan Kumar, a child I was sponsoring in India through Micah's Call International. Recently he caught the Chikun Gunya virus which is endemic in South Asia. He died of the virus this December very sadly. I had met him on my visits to the home. He was a natural leader and had a freindly, good nature to him. He was once only a sponsored child thousands of miles away, but sometimes the value of something only presents itself once it is gone. The news is sad, if not tragic.

I realise even more now ,why we do this - why we sponsor, why we give to those in need - because they are people too, and are valued just as much as you or I!

Saturday 9 December 2006

Interesting India

India is a place that facinated me the first time I went there. I have been involved in setting up and running Micah's Call International who currently sponsor children in an orphanage in South India. This video was filmed when we visited in October 2006. Check out www.micahscall.org.uk for more info on what we are doing.

Friday 8 December 2006

Nightshifts

I work as a nurse. Being a student wasnt great, but when I first qualified, I began to realise that I was onto a good thing.

For one thing, the pay was ok, not the pits as is commonly moaned about. Secondly, it was actually not that scary to start as a newly qualified nurse.

The longer term benifits of nursing are good too. There is the shift work and holidays that, even 9 months into working, still makes me amused that this is the job I do.

It works like this......

Our shifts are done on a request basis, we are allocated unless we request "Day off". We are only allocated weekends and nights (if we havn't requested them off) and then are free to pencil in our weekday requests. They may not be granted, but generally they are.

Because we have to work Bank holidays, adding the 8 each year to our regular holiday allowance means I can take up to 7 straight weeks of holiday a year....

So much holiday? There is of course an argument that the stress we have warrents good holidays, but I tend to think of it simply as coincidental. I dont get the bank holidays (although I do get paid more for working on them), and instead get time off "in loo" (I know thats spelt wrong).

Interested in taking up nursing (and 90% of my course were 30+ years)???

Now that you see the carrot dangling in front of you, let me tell you how to get it.... A three year relativly easy nursing course (no A levels required) will get you through, and, if you find a job at the end, then good for you! You will join the strange ranks of people who routinly stop people dieing, while also caring for peoples most intimate hygiene needs.... and thats not something I will say anything more about here!

But wait a second - im a male - and im meant to be a caring nurse?!?!?

more thoughts on that coming soon.............

Thursday 7 December 2006

Milk!


PICT0027
Originally uploaded by thenamesrichard.
Strange things happen.....

I took this picture in Hyderabad India in October 06 and when I put it up on Flickr, another user (other users can comment on your pictures) made the comment "Mmm Milk, id love some"

I thought that was quite a strange thing to say.

Saturday 2 December 2006

Welcome to my blog


Welcome to my blog. I cant always promise to update it, but when im travelling I will do my best. In the last year I have been to:

Switzerland
Austria
Macedonia
The Netherlands
India

and im off to Malaysia in Jan. So if your interested to know what I get up, and maybe indulge in a little lite reading, and see pictures, keep updated on this site!

Look to the right side of the screen for posts catagorised by date -->

For the uninitiated........
Whats a blog? Its an online web-log - simply a place to write thoughts and random writings and whatever comes into my brain.

A blog is useful because:
1) I can update it while im abroad, instead of sending lots of update emails!
2) I can write things (I quite like to write).
3) You can write comments back to me.

If you get bored, check out my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/richardg and also where my passion lies in life -closely related, indeed made partly from - travelling - www.micahscall.org.uk

oop North....

Heya,

I just been up North of the country for a few days, to Manchester, and Huddersfield to visit family. Why would I want to know that you say?!?!?

Well I have come to the conclusion that I think deserves public admission....... From what iv seen, northerners are actually nicer than southerners.

As a southerner, I have to give it to them...

Thursday 23 November 2006

Buy photos!






Many of you may know of my flickr website where you can view my photos, snaps from holdays and events etc.



Now, I have put the best up on sale at http://www.photoboxgallery.com/photosbyrichard


The intention os to make a profit which will go to suport the work of Micahs Call International and the children in the orphanage in India it supports.

See if you like it, even buy one or two for Christmas!

Monday 20 November 2006

The world is not enough...

I caught a glimpse of a James Bond film the other day, The World is not Enough. It reminded me that I hadnt seen it for ages!

More to the point, the title just stuck in my head - this world is just not enough! I was reminded of my own previous struggle with faith, God and "meaning of life" crisis I once (or twice) went through.

Echos are not the real thing, they are just pale and fading away, and yet so very similar to the original sound. Likewise, us humans can tell instinctivly that our world is not as it should be. Take pain for example. Would we ask questions like "why do we have pain" if we had no idea, sense or deeper understanding that pain is a bad thing, and that there doesnt have to be pain? I dont think we would. We would probably accept it like we accept that some people are born with different coloured eyes.

In the Christian Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end".

If Men were created in God's image, becuase we are a reflection of Him, we also see and understand things like Him, even eternity to an extent.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Generally, I dont accpet or realise that I can't see the bigger picture, but I have come to realise that to ignore that little voice of freedom, that voice saying "this isnt all it / this isnt right / this could be better" is to ignore God Himself directing me in my life on my journey to knowing Him more.

Sunday 19 November 2006

To Borneo and beyond...


Im off again - this time to Malaysia with my Grandparents in Jan 07. We will be going to Kuala Lumpar for 2 days, then on to Borneo to Sandakan for two weeks ( see pics of Sandakan).
I want to see a monkey like this one!

While im there I hope to visit the Phillipines for a few days. It would be an awesome experience because a good number of my collegues are Phillipino.

For this trip, my aim is to use up holiday before I lose it, see some more of the world, get some nice photos for my up coming photo selling venture (watch this space) and generally relax and take some time out!

Im gonna write some posts about my other trips soon.