January. Ew.

It's getting towards the end of January, and though I've been doing rather a lot of writing, it has unfortunately not been for my blog. Woops. So I'm back. Feeling a little guilty. Please forgive me. 

Christmas and holidays feel like an ancient memory, what with being in the depths of the new year, full of ice and snow and slush, however, they were quite exciting - one of my oldest friends got engaged (yes, I have apparently become that old!!) and I got to spend lots of time running around the countryside with the family. 

My return to London was somewhat hindered by being unbearably ill, and suffering from the flu, which was an unwelcome start to term, but did allow me to watch an unnecessary number of Harry Potter films. I also had a number of evil deadlines that crept out of the woodwork and were a bit of a shock to the system. 

Still, it's been a good couple of weeks, with a couple of nights of dancing, baking, and a visit from friends to see the new Les Mis film, which, might I add, is wonderful. Take tissues. 

Highlights include a night of cocktails and boogying at The Foundation Bar in Covent Garden (a friend has just started organising events, and this was the first, which was huge amounts of fun!) and then an electro-swing night at The Book Club in Shoreditch, which is the home of hipsters and all things fun. I had a cocktail that involved lots of elderflower syrup. Om nom nom. 

Anyhow, here are some photos from the start of the year, and I promise to endeavour to write more often. 

(Last night I went to a writing workshop, and despite my busy schedule, I would love writing to be a bigger part of 2013 than 2012, and blogging seems to be a good way to do that.)

New Years Eve

Bournemouth on New Years Day

Sunset

House friends

Kahaila, a favourite coffee shop on Brick Lane.
Time with two of my best friends.

Electro-swing night at The Book Club

Snowy Street

Brunch at The Breakfast Club

Writing Workshop and Walk Along the Southbank.

Keep warm amigos, love xx

Jesus like Cocktails?!

People get mad at me when I talk about London. Possibly because it happens a lot. But, I feel I'm justified in blabbering about the city so much because everything I say about it, is true! Don't get me wrong, it's not my universe, I mean, it doesn't have beaches to start with (and no the sand banks of the Thames don't count!) and it doesn't have all my friends, or my family, and you can never really see stars. 

Still, as places go, I'm quite a fan. And particularly of East London. Yes, the hipsters run riot, it's like their not-so-secret hideout, but you've got to grant it to them, they know how to make things cool. There's a place called The Breakfast Club. Looks like a bar or restaurant, and yet there's this uber cool little fridge inside. Yeah, you won't have guessed it...but it leads to a cocktail bar. 

To me, that's what East is all about. The surface is one thing, but it gets exciting when you dig a little deeper. 

This week, last night in fact, was the launch of something called Connect. As part of the student work that my church runs, we've just multiplied our mid-week student stuff (mainly because there's too many of us) and so I and my friend Joel are leading the group out East. It's one of those amazing things that's just kind of happened, and last night was full of surprises, and full of grace. 

If East is all about digging deeper, I reckon it shares a lot of parallels with Christianity. Most people assume on the surface that it's kinda boring, not really the place you want to live. And if you talk about it, they think you're a bit nuts. And then you dig deeper, and discover that it's not about the restaurant on the surface, it's all about the secret cocktail bar behind the fridge. Getting to know Jesus is a bit like cocktails. It's this blend of wonderfulness, this constant surprise, and you just keep wanting more. 

All we'll be doing out East is focussed on showing people that there's life in Jesus, and he promises that it's life to the full. And if he promises it, then we want to pursue it, digging through all the surface level stuff to find that epic Mojito hiding just out of sight.

So with all of that in mind, you should come along. We'll be meeting at The Williams pub in Liverpool Street most Wednesdays. It's going to be a good time, and if you're really lucky, I might just buy you a cocktail one of these days. 

Big love! xxx