Home from New Wine

Sitting at home after what must be the best New Wine ever. I believe that after last year we were being blessed for our perseverance! God clearly gave me peace despite feeling very ill at times. I saw God working in people and situations. One situation will stay with me forever and blew me away. So, as I sit here with the sound of resurfacing vehicles what does this year hold? Well of course we will not be back at Shepton as next year we move to Peterborough. This seems to have excited many people. We are currently purchasing the house we live in but even that has not stressed me, yet. So, I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for us.

All equal in the sight of God.

Here we are on the first day of week 2. Week one flashed by, helped of course by the tremendous weather. This seems to have kept incidents to a minimum and a really good atmosphere around the site. The stewarding team has been rather smaller than some years, but the incredible  team spirit and the way the team has gelled was very inspiring. This two weeks is the time I give to God. He guides and helps me throughout the year and this is the time I give to him and recharge my spiritual batteries. I also look for a word he has for  me and this week it seems to be 'we are all equal in the sight of God' An example of this was today when some of the leaders joined us. It was thought provoking to see such a varied group of people all working together and more importantly looking out for each other in the extreme heat and dust. I look forward to what he has to say the rest of the week. It is also the last New Wine at Shepton Mallet as next year it is moving to Peterborough so we will all be newbies.

New Wine

Arrivals day for week 2 at New Wine. Last week was great with a fantastic team.However,the weather was very changeable and VERY cold at night. Been some changes to the way we work this year which has been great as it has made me look at the way I was working and not sleep walk through the week. No major incidents and a very good feel around the site, so God is definitely here this week. So, in to week 2 and hopefully even better than week 1.

Back home

Back home after two weeks at   New Wine. I think it has been the best in many years. Certainty the driest! I have felt a real sense of peace which I haven't felt in a long while. It was a good time with some very good friends, both old and new. I found I had time to spend  listening to what God has been saying to me and perhaps have not heard. That is not just to slow down, but to stop and listen to what God wants from any given situation, and also to pray before a task rather than asking for help when it's all gone wrong! So today very much a chill day and prepare for work tomorrow. I am feeling strangely excited.

Going in Gods direction?

Half way through the second week at New Wine and half a day spent being a delegate. Started the morning off in the Urban venue. This venue promotes church in the inner cities. The Worship was a little 'out there' and I have to say I nearly left, however, by being a little different it made me stop and think. Rather than just singing the songs, I was beginning to see the real meaning in the words. I have to say it made me a little bit emotional and listening to the speaker again had me really thinking about what was being said and the meaning it had in my life.
After a coffee it was off to a seminar. This one on God in the workplace. Again a thought provoking talk.  about being a Christian in the workplace. All in all the day seemed to be a day of being directed by God. Tomorrow is the day off so we will see how that pans out given the amount of rain that is falling at the moment.

Silver Wedding

On the 15th Fiona and I celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary. I surprised her with 12 red roses and sparkling wine, and by taking two days off work. We had a very nice meal in Bath and with the weather so nice had two lovely days.
As you may know we spend two weeks in the summer at New Wine. Again I managed to surprise Fiona by arranging to renew our wedding vows on site. I have to say it has been a little stressful trying to keep it a secret but today has proved it has been 100% worthwhile, The ceremony went very well and it was so great to celebrate with new friends and old, most of which were not at our wedding So a great big thank you to those that have made this day possible and thank you to my Wife Fiona for standing by me through good times and bad and here is to another 25.

Home and thank you

Home after an amazing, but tiring two weeks at New Wine. I think it has been one of the best I have ever been too. I have been honoured to serve as a team leader and to have the opportunity to meet some amazing people who have surprised and inspired me. I saw some future leaders among them.
So, thank you to all those that were members of the stewarding team. Things didn't always go to plan and you were sometimes left on a duty a little longer than you expected or left sitting around apparently doing nothing. I appreciate your could humour despite being tired and without you I hate to think what would have happened. I hope you have gained something from your time on the team and will grow in your faith. I am sorry I didn't have the opportunity for proper good byes but with Facebook and other mediums I hope to keep in touch with you. God bless and I hope to see many of you next year.

Satan, you will not win

So, New Wine is coming to an end. Once again I feel humbled and honoured  to be a team leader. I can not thank my team members enough for the help and service they have given over the last two weeks. The last two weeks have seen many amazing things happen. It has also shown that Satan is still very active in the world and hates things like New Wine. We have however, been blessed with the gift of laughter/humour these last weeks. We have found even when we have been wadding in 'dirty' water and filling sand bags at 2300 and putting out fires been able to laugh and joke yet still get the job done in a professional way.
So, we all have to be on the look out for Satan and his cunning. But with prayer and trust in God he will not win the battle.

Busy Day

Another busy day with a fair share of 'missing' children and other incidents.There is a set procedure to cater for missing people, which involves shutting all the gates to prevent any one leaving and a description being broadcast  to all radios and a search made of likely places they may be. Most of these people are found quickly and usually in their own, or a friends tent completely unaware they are 'missing'. However, some go the wrong way somewhere and are genuinely lost and are safely reunited with their family.
We also had a serious incident involving a fire in a caravan. This fortunately was brought under control due to the prompt attendance of the stewarding team. We did however call the local fire brigade who attended and after checking with a thermal camera confirmed the fire was out. The caravan was a right off. We also had reports of a fire in a tent which turned out to be a citronella bucket which someone had inside their tent. 

What a lovely morning

Sitting outside the Hungry  venue listening to the worship and just having some 'me' time. It also gives me some time to reflect on the past 2 weeks as we prepare to return to the real world. We have thankfully few incidents and even those have, in the great scheme of things have been fairly minor. We have had the usual spiritual attacks from Satan, who must be very frighted by a event like this. We have overcome these attacks with prayer and a wiliness that the power of God will win through. I also have found him trying to attack me with financial fear and times of anxiety. We did have one heart stopping moment last night when a 'priority' call was made from control about a possible gas explosion on site. Hearing the call and other traffic from other radio users I and others really did feal the worse and we did rather exceed the 5 mph speed limit. In the end it turns out that the 'explosion' was caused by a lorry air bag failing. having had one fail on a bus I know how loud these are. It did, once again show how well the team can go from relaxed mode to major incident mode in a professional way. Today my team are on Ice packs and gates till midnight so hopefully they are all chilling like me.

Last day LSE

Well last day of the first week of New Wine. Yesterday was a fairly busy day with gates and mobile to run. Had a couple of situations which showed the importance of all delegates wearing there badges. This has always been a little bit of an issue with some delegates saying that as this is a Christian site we should be trusting. However, the real world still exists and of course not all delegates are Christian and some have been brought here in the hope they will come to faith so we need the site to be safe and secure. Had one interesting situation at one of the gates. The light failed and the three lads were left in the dark only with torches. However, this gave them the opportunity to see the stars. We could see the milky way, stars to the horizon and even a couple of satellites. As they lived in the city this was the first time they had ever seen the sky like this. The comment though that stuck in my mind was 'how can you look at this and say there is no God?'

Day 4

Lates last night hence the missing day. Yesterday was the day off so apart from gates and the coach to Street and relatively quiet day. Today a very early start 0645 to ensure gates open at 0700. Bit of a rush as have to ensure team members get some breakfast. Solution was to send 5 people out until about 0815 and then do a change round and then back to about 3 hour duties. Did have a couple of 'emergencies.' One turned out to be a mistaken fire. The other was no,t but thanks to prompt action by a delegate and rapid attendance from the Stewarding team only minor damage was caused.

New Wine Day 2

A little wet and thundery day. For those that know the site can turn into a swamp very quickly, however today we were lucky and with a help of a few sandbags most delegates seem to remain dry. My teams main duty today was to man seminars. This requires us to ensure the delegates arrive and depart safely and get what they require from the seminar. The main speaker in the Arena tonight was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. His talk was interesting and well attended even requiring an overflow venue. To me he seems a well informed, 'worldly wise' man.

New Wine day 1

So day one over. Took a while to get up to speed with regard to my team and the site, which has changed slightly. Today we were on late shifts and covered gates, mobile and freezer packs. This is know as the 'Steward breaker' as it is a full on duty where we exchange delegates freezer pack for, hopefully, frozen ones. Apart from that and a little rain it was a fairly straight forward day.

New Wine

Well it does not seem like a year that I was at New Wine. Last year was not the best. in fact I can't really remember much. Looking back I now see what my doctor said when I was discharged 'you do not realise how ill you are yet to be' He was spot on. Anyway that was last year. At present I feel much more like 'me' than I have in about a year, so really looking forward to it. I have been asked to be a team leader which I have accepted. I have also come to realise over the last year the real power of prayer and in reading and studying the Bible. I have seen a real difference in the way things have been going so New Wine will be an opportunity to give something back. I will also this year try and keep the blog updated and try and add some photo's.

Back from New Wine

Just back a from New Wine. Bit of a strange week this year. I have not really been able to get in to it as much as I usually do. I think this is the fact I only did one week and have the week at the Olympics still to come. However, I still enjoyed it and met some great people with fantastic testimonies. We had the usual jobs to do, patrol, venues gates etc. The usual lost children and found parents to deal with. We also had some very heavy ran which left a lot of tents under water. We did our best to direct the water away from tents but given the volume and speed of the rain in many cases it was a lost cause and the only thing to do was remove the tents in the waters path. It is a times like these that the true Christian spirit really shows through with offers of tents and bedding from around the camp-site. We also had a visit from the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. This required most stewards being deployed around the show ring to enable it to land without any campers wandering into it's path. The crew then had what seem an exciting trip on a buggy to the patient. So now to look forward to this week and my Olympic duties down in Weymouth.

Day at New Wine

If you live in the UK you will be aware the effects the weather has had on many outdoor events. New Wine did not escape this. The ground became water logged (which it often has during previous events) however, the amount and duration of the rain gave the ground no chance to drain and dry out. So, it required a lot of hard work by the set-up crew, a break in the weather with two days of sun, a lot of prayer and the decision to delay the start by 24 hours to ensure New Wine 2012 is now under way. This meant I could spend the day on site, and see Fiona. I spent most of the day on Brown Gate ensuring delegates got on to the site with a minimum of delay. I think we managed it without to many problems and hope those on site get what they want from the teaching's, worship and fellowship.I am now back at work this week. I may pop down Thursday but will see how the week goes.

New Wine & Olympics

A week until New Wine starts and two weeks until the Olympics. I have to say I am getting a little bit excited about both. I will only be at New Wine for one week although Fiona is stewarding both weeks. I am a little disappointed not doing both weeks but as I am driving in Weymouth during the Olympics I am not able to take three weeks off in one go. This will be the longest time I have been away on my own, although I used to work away from home three days a week. This will be six days, or more if things overrun.However, technology has moved on and with mobile phones, Skype etc I will be able to keep in touch. I will try and keep the blog updated.

End of New Wine

Well here I am, at home after another very successful New Wine. There were the usual 'niggles' but lessons were learnt, some put into practice straight away, some will have to the wait till next year. However once again, it is thanks to the many people who volunteer, that makes this event run so smoothly. As a Steward team leader it was one again a privilege to watch a group of people, most Christian, but some not, come together and gel as a team. They at times had to put up some unpleasant conditions and some not so Christian comments. But they carried out their duties with a smile and got the job done.
So once again my heartfelt thanks goes out to all those people who acted as Stewards this year. I hope you take away something from your experiences and that I will have the honour to meet you again.

Parking

Day off today, but not for us. Job of the day was managing over 10000 people wanting to leave and return to site at the same time! Getting people off was not to much of a problem. Getting them back on was a different matter. There was a plan which worked but the fun started when the brown car park was full. This meant all the cars having to use the blue car park. This is at the far end of the show ground, this is fine if you are on gold or blue villages but is a far hike for those on pink and silver. We do run a 'buggy run' for those that have lots of shopping or have severe mobility problems, however, we now have a seemingly unending list of excuses to why they should be allowed to drive on site. The best one for me was the delegate who said they had broken their ankle some time ago. this of course is something I know a little about so I engaged in a discussion. When I said I had also broken mine they seemed to think they were on to a winner, until that is I showed them the scares. I directed them to a suitable parking space. Off now until 10am tomorrow so should have some time to get in to Venue 1.