Yesterday was rather wet and miserable here in Glasgow - but as nothing compared to the storms that battered the southern part of these islands.  It was also my 'day off' and I took myself into town to see the film 'Sunshine on Leith', a feel good story set in Edinburgh and a real Proclaimers fest - numerous songs that I haven't heard for many a long year, and others that reappear from time to time in new guises.

The film was a ray of sunshine, a simple story with no real plot and a broadly happy ending.  With huge numbers of extras, the musical scenes had echoes of 'Oliver!', 'Mary Poppins' or even the end of 'Slumdog Millionaire' complete with lots of dancing.  And I guess, too, some, albeit lesser, parallels with 'Mama Mia', 'We will rock you' and other musicals/films based on songs by specific artists.

Panaoramic views across Edinburgh punctuated the story and were stunningly beautiful, and good use was made of local venues to frame the story line.

The humour of any story is always interesting - and as an English person in a Glaswegian cinema audience it was 'interesting' to see what caused people to laugh aloud, something I am still mulling over (was this humour 'against ourselves' or 'against others'... and does it matter which it is, hmmm).

Not that many films send me out with songs resonating in my head, and not many manage to be feel good without tipping over into twee.

Lots of fun, then, but also a film with potential for those who like using film and/or music as a jumping off point for theological reflection... be it confession/absolution, forgiveness/reconciliation, ambition, love, separation, amibition, and so on (♫  'It's over and done with' ♫ 'I'm on my way from misery to happiness' ♫ 'Letter from America' ♫ 'I would walk 500 miles' ♫ etc).

Good fun, and glad I went to see it - it certainly was a ray of sunshine on a rainy day.

That's it, I just booked my flights and accommodation for my trip to New Zealand... a big hole in £2000, yikes!  Have arranged it so that the conference is slap bang in the middle of my visit giving some fun days either side.  Just need to write that there paper now!

Very exciting and slightly scary!  BC I would have been much more wary of something like this than I am AD... some changes are definitely to be embraced.

Because I woke up early today (my radio alarm clock changes automatically, my cat alarm clock does not!) I found myself listening to 'The hour' on Radio 2 ... not really my cup of tea, but at least now I know that.  One of the songs that was played would have annoyed me anyway, but with hurricane force winds forecast it was just plain wrong...

He is jealous for me,

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a suddent, I am aware

of these afflictions eclipsed by glory.

And I realize how beautiful you are

And how great your affections are for me...

John M McMillan (c) Kingsway

So it's alright people, don't fear the hurricance that threatens to blow off your rooves/roofs and wreak havoc in your lives, don't be worried if the rivers overflow, washing away and destroying everything in their path... because evidently that's what God's love is like.

It's a terible metaphor and, in my view, an ill-conisdered choice by the Radio 2 production team. 

Sorry, but in my mind it is, as I've already said, at least twice, just plain wrong.

What a wonderful theme!  How annoying, then, that I only discovered it on the last day of BBC Radio 2 World of Faith Week.  Lots of stories told on the Radio 2 website from different perspectives - never married, widowed, divorced, ordained, 'lay' etc. that are worth listening to or looking at.

The difference between aloneness and loneliness is noted, and the place of solitude and socialising recognised.  There a few nice twee stories with happy endings - but then I guess there is a need to give hope to those who long for such and ending themselves.  There is also quite a lot of painful honesty.

Living alone well - I wonder that really means?

I recall a singe male minister telling me how a search committee asked him if he could look after himself, and wondered who would cook and clean for him.  So is living alone well measured in terms of our diet and the frequency with which we dust?  I think there are challenges in the domestic sphere for people who live alone - cooking for one is somtimes a huge effort and the temptation to grab a quick snack can be very strong.  Batch cooking and ready meals each have their place, along with a fruit bowl and a good dose of self-discipline.

But that's surely not all we mean by living alone well?  Surely it is something about thriving rather than surviving, about being fulfilled rather than filling every waking moment with actiivty.

To be honest, I cannot imagine not living alone now - for roughly 30 years that has been my lifestyle, and it suits me well.  There are enormous freedoms that my friends-in-relationships don't have - eating odd things at strange times, slobbing around all day doing nothing (yes, it does happen sometimes!), accepting invitations withoout the need to consult anyone, and so on.  There are less fun aspects - the need to get up and make food if I feel ropey, the lack of potential for someone to bring home a pleasant surprise, the absence of a sparring partner or sounding board for important decisions.

But on the whole, living alone suits me.  Cat by name and cat by nature, perhaps.  Independent but not isolated.  Able to enjoy company but not dependent on it.

I'm not sure quite how living alone well is defined - but I like to think I don't do too badly.  Here are the tips that Radio 2 offer!

On a more sobering note, a substantial number of people who are part of faith communities reported that they felt lonely - that challenges me as a minister as I wonder who in my congregation feels that way.  And what, then, might we and they do to alleviate that?

In 2010, 2011 and 2012, I changed my blog colour scheme to pink for October, a nod to breast cancer awareness month.  This year I consciously did not.  Mostly because I was detecting loud and clear that some people were fed up of hearing about it, and some thought I really should be 'over it' by now, after all, three years on I am alive and well.

I think it was the right call not to 'do' the pink thing, and not to bore people rigid with cancer stuff, but it's not something I will ever entirely 'get over'.

This year, October has seen me contribute, by invitation, to three other websites in various ways...

To BMS Catalyst Live, on Mission of the Minds

To Breast Cancer Care, on body image after cancer

To SmallVOICE, as part of their 1000 words series

One specifically theological, one specifically cancer related, one in which the two intertwined... I think somehow in that unusual trio of online contributions is expressed something of where I am now, and how my life is panning out.  I don't need to 'do' pink to demonstrate that the experiences of 2010/11 (and the ongoing long-term side effects) are important in shaping my life and my thinking.  The spaces and places to share that are many and varied - from a slightly greater empathy with those I serve, to a specialist conference in New Zealand, to supporting and encouraging others who walk the path 'behind' me.

It does bother me when people opt out of cancer screening, of any sort.  It does annoy me when the print and broadcast media speak of 'all clears'  and 'cures' when the professionals will only ever speak of 'remission'.  And I do want to do what I can to hasten the day when, as a teeny tiny hint of eschatological hope, there will be no more cancer.

But I won't make you endure pink

And I'll try not to nag or bore

And I will live life to the full, in all the ways I can, for as long as I can

Deal?