Life without Limbs

I happened to catch part of comedian Russell Howard’s Good News on TV last night. Howard is a regular on Mock The Week and his show is a fairly standard format in which he comments on different topics often related to stories he’s come across on the news or in the media. The twist is that Howard always tries to finish the show with a video clip which is positive and life affirming. It’s strange because you watch the clip and wait for the cynical comment before the closing credits but it never comes.

On last night’s show Howard finished with a clip of a young man with no arms or legs giving a talk to a group of high school students in the U.S.A.. As I watched the clip I couldn’t help wondering whether the speaker was a Christian; there was a book on stage with him which looked like a Bible though he didn’t actually refer to it. After the clip was shown Howard simply said how inspiring he found the young man and said goodnight. I couldn’t find the clip used in the show but did find another one of the same young man. His name is Nick Vujicic and his organisation is called Life Without Limbs. Nick is a Christian and I thought it was so refreshing both to hear his story and to see his video being used by a mainstream comedian on television. Well done BBC and thanks Russell Howard.

Thirst Ever Beer Festival

I spent the first part of August on holiday in Brittany with the family. One of the joys of France is trying out the vast array of wines from different regions, however, there does come a point when I just want to sit down with a good honest pint of beer and that is something France cannot offer.

On returning to Blighty I was pleased to discover that one of our local hostelries, The Compasses, is hosting their Thirst Ever Beer Festival this coming weekend. Alongside a substantial list of local and regional real ales and ciders there are live bands, vintage tractor ploughing, children’s activities and arts and crafts. The pub will also be serving up their locally renowned Huffers. All in all it promises to be a substantial aperitif for the following weekend when I am looking forward to Greenbelt (about which no doubt there will be much blogging).