The Sheilas .. .. .. .. .. ..

.... in The Isle of Man with Joyce and Ted ......... about 33 years ago.

Been on the road taking Joyce back up North to hometown St Helens. Life not much more than taking her back, burning rubber on the M1/M6, and making sure she was settled.

Feel a different human now I am back home. Doing the caring is needed and has been central in our lives for two weeks. She is now back in her own homespace and being watched over by her nearby son.

Joyce and Ted were really good to us when the children were little. There was not much cash around and we were living in a tough part of east London. I was working with street gangs and the demands were great. But the wages - not so great. I wrote a book about it. 'Gutter Feelings' it was called. It will give you a clue as to the experience. It equiped me too.
They, Joyce and Ted, helped out big time by taking the Sheilas and Joan on holiday and buying them clothes etc.. Now she is in need. Failing health. Memory poor. Beautiful human with needs.

Now back home.
It feels like a new year has began. Greenbelt is now only three days away for me - then it is the new year in terms of work and mission. Greenbelt will change my life.
I will meet the unexpected.
It is expected.
The unexpected.

I will map out in the next couple of days what I will be doing at GB. I will also be blogging and sharing some photos during the six days.
I will be sharing the impact.
Soul.

you are beautiful ..............

.

Reality Therapy

It has been said that the Blob Tree, and other similar tools, fit well into Reality Therapy.
I am not trained in this form of counselling.
I am not even familiar with it but I am interested because much of my life and work is about entering into a helping relationship with other humans.
(and entering into helping relationships - certainly helps me!)

The core of Reality Therapy is the idea that regardless of what has 'happened' to us, what we may have done, or how our needs may have been unmet or violated in the past, to be happy and effective we must live and plan in the present.
It enables people to clarify how they can best fulfil their needs;
to evaluate their own behaviours and make more effective and need satisfying choices,
both now and in the future and, importantly, without infringing the needs of others.

========================================
This book is available from the Internet ONLY.
It is downloadable or you can order it online.
The Little Book of Blob Questions.
This is new.
Not only does it have The Blob Tree and 14 other Blob Tools, it has some ideas of how to use in a group context and several questions to trigger you own preparation for use.
AND this you can buy online ::
Printed version (Not available from me.)
or as a
Download. (Not available from me.)
http://www.lulu.com/content/326706

See also ::http://www.lulu.com/content/348459
http://www.lulu.com/content/341012
http://www.lulu.com/content/341007

===============================

.

@ Greenbelt .......


Help us remember that the idiot who cut us up in traffic
is a single Mother who has worked nine hours that day
and is rushing to Greenbelt to cook a meal and settle the kids down so they can have a good first day at the festival
and spend a few precious moments with her friends
who have saved hard to get to Greenbelt.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who can't handle his change correctly is a worried YMCA Hostel resident who is behind in his rent and cannot afford the cheapest hotdog on site.
At the same time balancing his apprehension over his fear
of not getting on well with the group he came with.

Remind us Lord, that the scary looking young woman
rolling her eyes and cannot stop moving her body,
is a recovering slave to addictions
that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Remind us that the scars of the self harming woman,
scarred for life,
is just like me with my scars
that and hinder and equip at the same time.
And remember that we, maybe,
can just hide ours better.

Help us to remember that the old couple
walking annoyingly slow through the festival site
and blocking our process
are savouring this moment,
knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year that they will be at Greenbelt together.

Creator God, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love.
That it is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear.
But those for who,
on first impressions,
make us shudder, or sigh or grunt with irritability.

Open our soul and press your finger tip right on that part,
the part to raise your love to the surface.
So it touches the practical.
The proactive.
The love department.


www.pipwilson.com

My Photo of the day ......... Maggie and Giftie ........ what a name ....... named because she was a gift from God.

Well - here I am and a bit tired tonight. Having a late night cigar and watching TV with unseeing eyes. Drinking the late night quiet ........ long day today and all-sorts of interactions, experiences and observations. Note book full of wee thoughts ............ too tired to spill.


.

.... beautiful to have drop-in-Charlie-and-Janet tonight ........... I feel blessed ...... we tried to solve the problems of the world but ............ beautiful imperfection ......

I know when I am tired - if I slow down and 'be' - I become refreshed. I know also when I must pick up a book to get some focus. Sometimes I read one page, from one of 5/6 I am reading at the moment, and I can be jerked into a new mind set. It seems to connect to all my interactions of the day. I understand a wee bit more. I become eager. Thirsty eyes. Thirsty soul.

I wish I could type and write propa.
Every book I have had published in the past - I have had a secretary as part of my job. I never typed. All hand written or placed onto audio tape. Bingo - a real writing book! Now I can only manage little bits like this. hmmmmmmm - if only.

I stop and ask myself 'how am I feeling?'
Often.
Late night always.
All offered up.
All with another question 'why do I feel like this?' ............. and life is reflected ......... who was it who said "a unreflected life is not worth living ....."?
I agree.

Hope you can reflect? Make the time? Own the reality? Be real? Aim for the next step = onwards ........... not just a human 'being' ............. but a 'human becoming' ...........

you are beautiful .......




.

We are going to Greenbelt ..................
This is Steve a Master Carpenter - he has made the Blob Human in time for Greenbelt and other events ........... (if you live on the East-side of London and you want an excellent job done - get the best man!)

D Blob has some Books on sale and he intends to watch over them ....... keep watching this space and for the pending pipdotcom eNewsletter which will be coming out of Wilson Mansions SOON .... ensure you are clicked in for the free subscription ........

.

If what most people take for granted were really true—

if all you needed to be happy was to grab everything

and see everything

and investigate every experience

and then talk about it,

I should have been a very happy person,

a spiritual millionaire,

from the cradle even until now…What a strange thing!

In filling myself, I had emptied myself.

In grasping things, I had lost everything.

In devouring pleasures and joys,

I had found distress and anguish and fear.



Thomas Merton


.

.. .. ..... ..missed out on a blogday due to not going to bed much .. .. ........ spent the time with beautiful humans ....

.... and here we see a sample of beautiful humans from the Greenbelt community who pull the festival together - only a few of us here in the pub.
The staff had just jumped in a van and followed the road to Cheltenham so they can set up their on-site office for next week. Others went home to catch up on sleep so that they are refreshed for the festival - next week.

An interesting encounter in the pub after the meeting. A homeless man called John. Clean and clean shaven. Clean clothes and interested in classical music. No bed for the night. A bit muddled. He must have felt, through the haze, an acceptance and value. He left with some money in his pocket.

Some would say 'he will only spend it on drugs and drink' ....
What do you expect him to spend it on - some new shelves, to put his books stereo and TV on, as he sleeps in the London town doorway or bench that will be his home. Or maybe he can buy a a BBQ and a set of chairs for the garden a car wash .... .... .... ... .... !

Today - big up to Big John who spent all day fixing me up with back-up for my mac. I now have one hard drive called 'big john' and one called 'little john'. hey hey ....

Greenbelt 2006 ::
Redemption Songs : 25 - 28 August
(11 days until the festival)

----------------------------------------------------
News, offers, dates, plugs, people, campaigns, ideas
at the speed of your modem .... from Greenbelt Festivals
----------------------------------------------------

Greenbelt news
Daily Diary in advance – download it now
Tickets
Lineup
Campsite and FAQs
Calling all young budding film-makers
Volunteer

Partner news
Christian Aid need you on the 14 September
Church Urban Fund at Greenbelt


=============
Greenbelt news
=============

=============================================
Daily Diary
=============================================

Logon to http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/?p=668 and follow the instructions
there to download your Daily Diary in advance of this year's Festival.
You'll need the username and password from the last issue of Wing & A Prayer
(this can be found on page 14, the Angel noticeboard page).

We trust the process is clear and that it proves a valuable service to you.
After the festival we'll fix up an online feedback form to gauge how you
find this experiment. But for now, get downloading! And please don't copy
the file to others and don't try and print it off, please! We can't afford
for this experiment to impact on our Festival Guide sales.

=============================================
Tickets
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/tickets
============================================

Tickets are selling fast , so make sure you book yours online tonight or
tomorrow to get them despatched in the post. After that, you'll be able to
buy them from the onsite Ticket Office each day.

Click on https://shop.greenbelt.org.uk/greenbelt/weekendtickets.jsp (and pay
no booking fee).

=============================================
Lineup
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/lineup
=============================================

We've now got most things viewable day by day in the lineup pages and we've
added a 'Panels' section too so you can see the great range of panels set up
for this year – http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/?s=115, including one on
Northern Ireland, featuring both a Sinn Fein and a DUP speaker (see
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=663).

=============================================
Campsite map and FAQs
=============================================

You can download a map of the way the camping areas are being laid out this
year here http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=647 and you can get most
of your pre-Festival questions answered here
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/faqs

=============================================
Calling all young budding film-makers
=============================================

It's not every day that, as a teenager, you get the chance to make a film
with DFID, have it shown on the Big Screen, and then judged by Nick Park. So
come on! See http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=642 for more details.
We've extended the number of places by just a few. So let us know this week
if you'd like to be in on this.

=============================================
Volunteer opportunities for Greenbelt 2006
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/volunteer
=============================================

We are still in need of more volunteers for our Talks and Box Office
teams. See http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=49 and
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=567 respectively. No experience
necessary.

And the three biggest volunteer teams we put together for the festival are
still recruit until the last minute (with the appropriate CRB caveats). They
are:

The Children's Team – see http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=41
The Stewards* – see http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/?s=69
Venue Managers – see http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/index.php?p=459

So it's still not too late to be a Greenbelt maker this year!

=============
Partner news
=============

=============================================
Christian Aid
Why they need us on 14 September
=============================================

More than 8,000 people took part in Christian Aid's local drumming events
last month to ask the UK Government to act on the promises it made to make
poverty history campaigners. Now, they're taking that beat to the Treasury.
Join hem on Thursday 14 September for an unforgettable day. Trade justice
supporters Pete Postlethwaite, Ronan Keating, Damian Lewis and Adjoa Andoh
will be there. It's not too late to order or download flyers, posters and an
action pack. If you are organising a coach or want to join one, add it to
our coach notice board.

Register here
http://www.pressureworks.org.uk/signup/310506_beat.html
Find out more here
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/campaign/beat/beat.htm
Watch clips here
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/video/608campaign/index.htm
To add or a find a coach go here
http://exchange.pressureworks.org/Event?mainsection=Events

=============================================
Church Urban Fund
First time at Greenbelt
=============================================

This year at Greenbelt, the Church Urban Fund will be addressing the plight
of millions of people in this country who live below the poverty line. Fran
Beckett, Chief Executive of the Church Urban Fund, will be speaking on
Contemporary Church, asking “Are we ready to meet the Social Justice
challenge in 21st Century?” A debate focusing on what works for churches and
what doesn’t when it comes to community action, chaired by Paul Hackwood and
including Stephen Timms MP and others involved in social action who will be
discussing ideas on how churches can make lasting changes to their
communities.

The Church Urban Fund invests resources in hundreds of grassroots community
projects in England’s poorest neighbourhoods. Look out for the Church Urban
Fund stand at the event or in the meantime find out more at
http://www.cuf.org.uk and see http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/partners for more
on all pour partners.

===================================================

Festival Dispatches is edited by Paul Northup.

All ideas considered. Email paul@greenbelt.org.uk with 'for
Dispatches' in the subject bar

There are now more than two thousand GB souls receiving this. Please
forward this issue to anyone who might be interested in receiving it.

If you've not already done so, then, to receive Festival Dispatches
in the future, drop a blank e-mail to
news-subscribe@lists.greenbelt.org.uk

===================================================

For tickets go to http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/tickets
For lineup go to http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/lineup
To become a Greenbelt Angel go to http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/angels
For Trust Greenbelt go to http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/trust


.

.... beautiful beautiful beautiful
beautiful humans ........ and I love them every single one .. .. ......

loveology ...............