When Through The Woods...

This is my quiet time space - talking to Jesus, when through the woods and forest glades I wander... (that's an old school hymn reference, kudos to anyone who gets it). Also, same applies for when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur:

So incredibly pretty, such a priveledge to go a-wandering accross the Downs.

I'm under doctors' orders today. I registered with the campus GP because they refused to acknowledge I was ill otherwise, and I def needed something to sort out this throat thing. (I thought it might be some kind of mould growing in my room, as it was dank and cold and smelt awful, but according to the porter, that's "new carpet smell", so it turns out I'm just ill. Awesome.) I have a very early form of Fresher's Flu, so I'm on strong Paracetamol and Codeine, along with Strespils, which should make life somewhat nicer. I've also been told to not "burn the candle at both ends", so, apart from Fresher's Ball tonight, I've been staying in, reading, chilling and such. Which makes it easier to wake up early and go on morning strolls, which is better than going out late anyway.

Ooh, also, meet Breakfast, the Prayer Dog:

Possibly, the coolest dog ever - up there with Alf & Mandy's Barney, who also is an ex-rescue home dog. Had a CU prayer meetingy thing this morning, and Amy's housemates were all gone, so Brek had to follow us around and pray and evangelise with us. She was very well behaved, apart from chasing some squirrels, but she repented of that. I think.

This week has been made up of usually spending a lot of the day with CU guys, doing some reading (even though I don't really have to; lectures don't start till Monday, but some preliminary understanding and preparation for actually, y'know, thinking about stuff seemed like a good idea), and then spending evenings with the guys in my flat, either at ours chilling out or out at places. For those keeping tabs/praying for me, I've spent Fresher's Week totally sober, which is some small miracle! Even on the pub crawl. Not by my might...

The thing I've found is, usually, tolerant, liberal populations seem to be intolerant to things they percieve as intolerant: Christianity, for example. But people here are actually quite logical with their tolerance, they follow it through to an impressive extent (unless you're in the BNP). So, although no-one else in my house believes in God, everyone's cool with the fact I do, everyone's supportive of me not drinking - they give me amnesty in the alcohol budget, they say they'll stick up for me if guests question me - which is really cool! Wasn't expecting that. Not a lot of opposition, and a few good conversations.

One thing we are all intolerant of, however, is digusting mess. This is the top of our cooker:

(and Joelle's reaction to the top of our cooker:)

Other stuff: cooking's going well! Had 2 house meals altogether this week: a curry and a pasta bolognase, it's going to be a Parky V16 tradition, about 2-3 times a week. Good times.