When I have shifts at Cotswolds, I will almost always walk or cycle the 2.2 miles to work – unless the rain is really nasty or I’m doing the Tearfund Rice and Beans challenge! We also, as a couple, make an effort to walk wherever we can – the city centre is a 40 minute walk from our flat, and our nearest supermarket can be reached in less than 5 minutes walking! We don’t often walk to Church – but that is a 4 mile walk uphill at 8am!

I don’t understand people who drive a walkable distance – it costs more; is often far more stressful; doesn’t always save that much time and just isn’t as enjoyable!!! I urge you, encourage you, walk or cycle as much as possible! It’s great fun, helps keep you fit, and can help the environment! Don’t just do it for the weekend – do it for as long as possible!

Do you walk/ cycle?

Peace Out

Here’s what Tearfund have to say about it:

The Carbon Fast provides  daily actions and prayers for Lent to help you and your church protect poor people from the changing climate and care for God’s good creation.

This year we’re excited that the Carbon Fast has gone global, with churches in Australia, the Netherlands, Brazil, the United States and many more joining in!

Look out for the weekly actions and reflections, each based on a different theme, to get a flavour of how the Carbon Fast is happening around the world and to help you along too.

Our day-to-day lives may not be impacted severely by the changing climate – yet.

But what about people who struggle to feed their families or find a home that won’t get washed away, or who can’t work because the fields have been destroyed by droughts and storms?

And here in the UK, as many people struggle with heating bills we can see how even predictable weather can push us to the edge.

It’s our job to bring hope.

What cost do our energy-intensive lifestyles have…on us…on poor communities…on God’s creation?

Join us in the Carbon Fast this Lent to respond to this challenge, remembering how God has called us to respect and look after his good creation and to protect poor people who we know are suffering the most.

For more details about this campaign, and other Tearfund campaigns, follow this link: http://www.tearfund.org/en/get_involved/campaign/

Will you join me?

Peace Out!

This afternoon I ended up in Asda for a few thing for work. I was awed by the choice. Just for rice there is a whole aisle! I have never noticed that before. (see facebook photo) I began to notice more:
A child screaming wanting what it wasn’t allowed. A lady looking at several bags of potatoes before making a choice. Another lady picks up a pineapple and goes back for one more. Buy one get one free. Three for Two. A crowd round the reduced section. Even as I get served I asked the guy how his day had been “crazy” he said ” Why I got myself 3 jobs I will never know.” I looked at him and responded “You are lucky then. Some people have none” (Poor man)
What was supposed to be a quick trip to the shops messed with my head.

This 5 days was just meant to be something to do to support Tearfund. It is already, for me, becoming way more than that. By this point you are probably desperate to know more about Tearfund and how you can support them right? Well please go to their website at http://www.tearfund.org/ and ‘See for Yourself’ what they do.

Hungry? Oh yes. I am so thankful for Dave doing this too otherwise I may have not managed But we are two days down. My plan for this evening is to go to sleep as soon as possible to pass the time until breakfast! I will leave you with Dave’s comments….

Day 2 and the novelty’s wearing off quickly!

Spent last evening / night / this morning with a thumping headache. Whether it’s hunger or spreading from the toothache I’ve got I couldn’t be sure but it hurt all the same!

Being basically very lazy, I thought I’d just go to work this morning and sort something out (we have a big canteen).
Breakfast – 1 scoop of porridge into a take-away tub that would hold probably 4 scoops, yummy!
Lunch – had a good scout around but couldn’t find anything that I could call suitably bland and uninteresting, that’ll teach me to be lazy!
Dinner – 60g brown rice (too lazy to soak any beans last night)

Lesson learned today…. be better prepared tomorrow or at least get more porridge and save half for lunchtime! I’ve already got some portions of beans soaking ready for tomorrow, might cook them tonight and take to work in a very small Tupperware container.

Things I’ve noticed today -
Everyone around me seems to be constantly gorging themselves on fruit, crisps, chocolate and cake!
It doesn’t matter how hard I think, I can’t make hot water taste like coffee!
It’s very difficult to think about anything but food when your hungry.
I’m glad I’ve got an office job and I’m not expected to put in a day’s hard manual graft on those portions.
Disappointingly, I’ve not spent much time thinking about starving people around the globe, I’ve been too busy thinking about the starving office worker in Dyce!

Never mind, this time tomorrow we’ll be more than half-way through!

Leaving before the sun had risen fully, the road was dusty and full of early traveller's. It was during this drive that it occurred to me how beautiful, yet broken, the nation of Pakistan is.

Not that long ago, the flood waters that lie either side of this road covered the road.

When we arrived at the village where the Church of Scotland helps to sponsor a Basic Health Unit (BHU) we were greeted by the men of the village. These men were keen to impress upon us how little help and aid they had received. They were also keen to impress upon us how much the BHU had helped the community.

After meeting with the men of the village, we met with the women and children. They expressed the same concerns and gratitude as the men. They were a beautifully colourful group.

The children of the village we delightfully curious. Especially with regards to our cameras and flashes.

Despite the beauty of the people and their clothes, the sadness, the desperation, the brokenness was evident in their eyes.

After visiting the village of Bchaya Jogo, we returned to Thatta where we visited a Construction Training Program run by Church World Service (CWS) for young men from the area.

The training program runs for young men from the area who have no alternate employment and whose families have been affected by recent flooding in the area.

At the project, the men are taught plumbing, electrical, woodwork, building and metalwork.

The skills the men learn here will qualify them for paid employment, as well as given them the skills to repair and strengthen their homes in Sindh.

Peace Out

Anyway, let’s focus on Pakistan. If you read my blog regularly, or have dug through the archives, you will have noticed 2 major happenings in my life. The first occured in April, when my Wife and I opened a photography and art business together. The Second occured a month later, in May, when I was accepted onto the Church of Scotland World Mission Council.

So how do these 2 occurences add up to me being in Pakistan?

With Hoskins Gallery I am the photographer, we mostly aim to work in Portraiture and Weddings over the initial start up period of the business, but eventually we want the main focus of the photography side of things to be in Humanitarian Photography. Why? It all started 7 years ago at CLAN gathering. It was prophecied over me that I would servevGod with my hands. When this prophecy was spoken, I had barely picked a camera up before, so that being the service was the last thing on my mind. Rather, I thought, assumed it was all to do with sports – specifically American Football, in a Youth Ministry settibg, that would be the outcome of the prophecy. 7 years, a lot if hurt, pain, determination, soul searcjing and travelling later, I find myself inextricably drawn towards Humanitarian Photography. I love photography, love capturing moments in life that are emotive; love photographing a besutiful sunset or a stunning panorama. On top of this, because of my faith(and by this I mean that my sense is derived from my faith, not that without faith you cannot rail against injustice!), I have a strong sense that there is a lot of injustice and need in the world and I feel called, drawn, motivated – whichever word fits best, to use my passion for and skills in photography to document/ highlight/ advocate for the people in the world affected by these issues.

My being on the CofS World Mission Council allows me to become more educated in, and in turn educate others in, the nature of the need and injustices so many face. It also allows me a place to offer up my photography (and also my social media skills) in order to advance the work of both the World Mission Council and myself in this field.

Whilst we are in Pakistan, we will visit places and projects that will test me like I have never been tested before – photographically, spiritually and mentally. I will meet people (indeed I already have) who have been through unimaginable terror and horror.

One place in particular we will visit where I know I will be stretched is Badin. A town in the Sindh Province that has bedn devestated, again, by flooding this year. I know I will see and meet people in incredibly desperate situations, knowing that there us nothing I can do to help them, except for my job. To document, through photography and recording (writing) their testimony, the story of how they came to be where they are. Hos does that help someone whose home, whose life, has been devestated by flood, disease and starvation I hear yoy ask? Because stories capture peoples attention, their emotions, their compassion. By listeninv to storues told to me and photigraphing those affected, I can bring back raw materials that can be developed into resources to encourage prayer, action, advocacy and many other things.

That is why I’m in Pakistan, that is why I feel so drawn to Humanitarian photography. It is the small differenxe that I can make.

salam-o-alekum

Flights over were fine, the 8 hour wait at Dubai provided time for some uncomfortable sleeping and the security staff at Karachi Airport seemed to be very interested in the fact that I shave my head!

Once we got out if the airport, we were picked up by Johnson – a driver that the Church World Service (CWS) have provided for us here in Karachi. Who then took us to the CWS offices in Karachi, here we met Jennie, Audrey, Shama and many more, who’s names I have already forgotten :-/ At the offices we were given a brief rundown of what they do here, and worldwide. We were also treated to a gorgeous chicken curry and Dahl lunch, after enjoying some sweet chai tea. CWS gave us a brief security briefing for our trip – where to avoid/ what to avoid doing/ what to do in the unlikely event something does happen. In reality it put us, well, me at the least, at ease and confirmed suspicions that Pakistan isn’t as dangerous and unstable as Western media often makes it out to be (thats not to say that some areas aren’t dangerous and unstable or that there is not an inherent fragility about the country). This security briefing also allowed time for questions and some cultural do’s and don’ts!

The people here are all very friendly, which is good given that, being 3 very white westerners in a sea of Asian faces does mean we stick out a wee bit in a crowd! We went to a market this afternoon to get Fiona some culturally appropriate clothes for visiting various projects over the next few days. That was an experience! Jennie, a CWS staffer, came along to help (with what to buy as well as to make sure Fiona wasn’t fleeced!) was amazing! Guiding Fiona away from what were (apparently) Westernised version of the traditional dress, and making sure it was all done at a good price!

I haven’t taken many photos yet – it’s not a great idea for me to walk around the streets with it, advertising my expensive camera as a tempting target for any opportunists around! I have taken a few in the compound we are staying in, but I won’t really get going with it until we start visiting projects.

We were meant to meet the local Bishop tomorrow, unfortunately the volume of work he is dealing with has meant our meeting has been postponed until Friday, not sure what we’ll be doing yet, possibly some cultural learning!

There is so much here that reminds me of Nepal – the sounds, the smells, some of the sights. Its a very colourful place, the buses have to be seen to be believed! Just driving and walking around reminded me of why I love to travel – the new sights, smells, people to listen to and learn from, the new way of life to watch and learn from. Awesome.

I’m looking forward to what else we’ll see and experience on this trip. It’s guaranteed to be a mind altering trip!

Peace Out! (salam-o-alekum: which means “Peace be with You”)

For the last 6 years, since Linda and I got married, I’ve been employed in full-time Christian Youth Ministry. It’s been….an experience. Plenty of highs and lows, unfortunatley more lows than highs. But thats chat for another post, tonight I’m focusing on the new thing God is doing with Linda and I.

7 years ago, at CLAN Gathering I was prophesied over, the prophecy was that I was going to serve God with my hands. At the time, I was still planning on having a long career in youth ministry, with a focus on sports ministry – so I assumed the hands was to do with American Football! Then, 4.5 years ago, January 2007, Linda bought me my first digital camera, a Fujifilm S8000. She bought me it at a point in my life where I was starting to struggle with depression, a struggle that hasn’t long ended. It was during this time that I threw myself into photography, it was an escape, a way for me to block out everything. Within a couple of years, I progressed from my Bridge camera onto a DSLR. As each day has passed, and passes still, I fall more in love with photography. I grow in my understanding and technical ability, I grow in how much I understand how little I know and still need to learn! I’ve gotten to the point where all I can imagine doing is photography. I’m always dreaming up new projects to do, new places to go. Always reading about new techniques, new challenges, new ways to do things. I’m sure I drive my friends and family nuts at times talking about and constantly taking photos! One hing that has emerged from it all, that is very apparent to both myself and Linda, is that I have a passion for Humanitarian photography, for photography that tells the story of real people’s lives and moves others to react to it. Photography that is powerful, meaningful, striking, beautiful, challenging, heart-breaking and intimate. Photography that will make a difference.

That’s the abridged version of the last 6 years, which brings us to the point of this post.

Hoskins Gallery.

In April this year, Hoskins Gallery was created. Linda and I had both gotten to the point where the stress, depression and dissatisfaction I was facing in my various roles in Youth Ministry was just entirely too consuming. It was time for me to move on, I was burnt out, nothing left to give. We’d been contemplating opening a business together for a while, and we got a good kick in the right direction. Linda still had a few months to go at Uni and that was without doubt the most important thing to be focused on, but at the same time, we felt it was time to take a step of Faith and venture into the unknown.

Hoskins Gallery is a photography and fine art business. Obviously, I am the main photographer. Linda is the creative director. As well as producing prints (she has a degree in printmaking from Gray’s school of art) Linda plays a vital role in the photography side of things, helping to arrange poses/ props etc so that I can have my eye on the shutter the whole time to make sure I don’t miss the moments or the light.

As we start out, our main focus is on wedding and portrait photography, primarily based in Aberdeen and the surrounding area, although more than willing to travel! These two areas are where the biggest market is and where we think it is right for us to start to get our name known. Currently, we are a purely mobile service. Based online at www.hoskinsgallery.com we have a portable studio that fits in almost any house. The dream, however, is to, as a business, own a property where we would have a studio for portrait and lifestyle photograhy as well as a studio for Linda to create her artwork from. We would also like a gallery space within our premises, where we can have exhibitions of our work, the work of peers in the photography and art world as well as up and coming artists/ photographers. One area of photography we, I, are very keen to expand into is the Humanitarian field. I don’t think I could have picked a harder area of photography to aim for. An area where you need to take exceptional photographs (I have a way to go yet) but you also need nerves of steel, on top of a compassionate heart, to be able to focus on and process the realisities of human life you will invariably come across. I anticipate it to take around 5 years, if not longer, to break into this field. Partly because of the growth I need to do to be better enabled to work in this field, but mostly because of how long it will take to buld a good portfolio in this area. That being said, my first trip where my role is that of a Humanitarian photographer starts on Monday. On Monday, I leave for Pakistan for 11 days with a small group from the Church of Scotland World Mission Council. It’s my first trip in this role, butnby no means the first step on the journey.

All in all, despite the weekly uncertainties, this is an incredibly exciting time for Linda and I. We hope that we can rely on you for your prayers and support (perhaps your business too!?). And I look forward to sharing more of this journey with you on my personal blog here, and our busness blog on our business website.

Peace Out

The theme of the Assembly this year was “Love life”, with John Bell being the main speaker. From all accounts John spoke very well – passionate and challenging, over the weekend. When I was there on Monday he was speaking about the importance of recieving blessings from other people alongside the importancd of giving blessings to them. He illustrated this with stories about people he has met over his life that have enriched his life, even when he initially thought they had nothing to give. Now, usually I don’t find myself in agreement with some of John’s approach to Theology, but on Monday I found myself agreeing with him, more than that, I found myself really resonating with what he was saying. It started me thinking about my time at the Youth Assembly over the last 11 years and how it has blessed me through the people that I was often there to serve; about the times when I took part in summer mission and how they people I met more often than not blessed me more than I felt I blessed them; about the hospitality I was shown when I visited an unrecognised Arab village in Israel, visiting a community who had very little, were severely oppressed, yet still gave everything they had to the 11 white people who were visiting them.

There was only one debate on Monday at the assembly, a debate talking about marriage. It was really interesting to listen to the groups as I was walking around taking photos, hearing how each group had picked up on different aspects if the material. Some were delving deeply into Theology of marrisge and looking at what the New Testament had to say about it; some were exploring current cultural approaches to marriage, asking questions such as “Is more emphasis
put on the wedding than on the actual marriage?” and “Is marriage as important to society as it used to be?”; other groups were exploring issues around divorce and remarriage, during the ‘blether’ where they had recieved some background information about the subject they were also asked some specific questions about Marriage and how the Church relates to it, one of the questions being “should the Church develop a liturgy of divorce?” The reasoning behind this being that an earlier survey of young people had brought back the suggestion that a service marking a divorce may help children and young people (and the adults) to cope with thr break up a marrige better. It was a really interesting debate, I’m sure the final deliverance will appear on the COSY blog soon!

One of the things I loved about visiting this assembly was the number of people I recognised, it really wasn’t that big a percentage of the number of people there. I thought that was awesome! Yeah, it was great to see old friends, people I haven’t seen in ages when I went, but it was just as awesome to see more youth and young adults engaging with the wider Church, the more diverse the attendance at the NYA is, the better for the wider Church!

My role on Monday was to take some photos of the day, capturing some of the moments that could be used for publicity for the event. I was able to get a number of good photos, which will be appearing on here, the COSY blog, the COSY flickr page and a few other places soon, I was very aware that I was starting my visual story telling of the weekend at the end of the event. They may be good photos, the may provide a visual narrative to some of Mondays goings on, but they are missing the wider narrative and context of the entire weekend, so I can’t wait to see the photos appearing from others who were there for the whole weekend, or perhaps just for small parts of te weekend.

I’m going to leave my ramblings there for the time being, save to provide some links for you to better explore things around the Church of Scotland National Youth assembly:
For the COSY blog visit: www.cosyblog.wordpress.com
For the COSY Twitter account: www.twitter.com/#!/cosy_nya
For the COSY Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/cosyblog

Enjoy exploring these pages!

Peace Out

I’m really looking forward to the day, I haven’t been to the Youth Assembly since 2009, after which I became too old to go as a delegate. I do miss the asembly, it’s been a huge part of my life for the last 11 years. My first experience at the assembly was in April 2000, when I was 16. It was at this assembly that I decided that I wanted to follow Jesus and gave my life to him. Since then I have seen many changes in the structure, focus and feel of the assembly. I’ve met more people than I can remember, made some amazing friends, experienced things I could never had imagined, had so many incredible experiences it would take ages to list the all, let alone describe them!

I’m glad that I can use my skills and now my business to give back to the assembly. Although most, if not all, of the people who were involved when I first went are no longer involved, the event still means a lot to me. I know firsthand what involvement in the event and this community can be, can mean when you become a part of it.

One thing I love each time I go back to the assembly, whether for a weekend or a day, is the number of people I don’t know. Although the assembly has a group of dedicated attendees, it also has a healthy rate of turnover. It needs to, if it didn’t, the assemblym the community, would soon stagnate and wither.

Once I’m back in Aberdeen, I’ll post a few sample pictures up here from the day, along with a few links to other blogs etc that are talking about the assembly.

Peace Out

I’ve been very, very inactive on here over the last wee while, something I”m not happy at all about!

I’m not sure why I have been inactive, I’m certainly not short of things to write about – CLAN Gathering, Tearfund, World Mission Council, Canada, Cyprus, Hoskins Gallery, Starting a business, Pakistan…..if these things don’t make sense, that’s because I’ve not been keeping this up-to-date!

I’m hoping to remedy this over the next while, if I am fighting against writers block then the only way to deal with that is to write!!

Anytime I write on here, I’m a wee bit nervous about how it will be recieved, so it’s definitely not fear of how I write or what I say being the issue! Although, at some point, I do want to have the courage/ strength to blog about my experiences over the last few years!

I’ll leave it there just now, other than to say, one of the things that’s been keeping my so busy recently is that my wife, Linda, and I have started our own photography and art business, Hoskins Gallery, you can check it out at www.hoskinsgallery.com

Suffice to say, we’re very excited about it!!!

Peace Out