Simon Boswell's Blog

So long, farewell

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:39:00 +0000

This will be my last post on this blog.

I have decided to bring my adventure into the blogosphere to an end, because I am no longer sure that it is such a good idea as it seemed back in August.

I've learned a lot along the way. Here are some of my thoughts:

1) To really get the most out of blogging, one has to read a lot of other people's blogs. I simply lack the time or inclination to do that: my page of blog feeds tends to go unvisited from one week to the next. If you don't read other people's blogs, it is difficult to feel part of the community.

2) My ability to offend people by expressing myself carelessly remains undiminished, despite my avowed intentions.

3) I have been naively surprised by the range of people who have been reading my blog. I had assumed that the readership would divide neatly into two groups: very close friends and family, and people who only know me on the internet. In reality, a large number of my readership have been people with whom I have boundaried relationships: colleagues at work, friends from church, ex-wives. Blogging blurs those boundaries, and this is not necessarily a good thing. I know that Mel has been very sensitive to this, and we have discussed it a lot.

4) I have enjoyed keeping a diary because it lets me think and reflect. I will hopefully keep up a paper diary and scrapbook going forward. But its contents will now be a private matter, for Mel, me and the family!

Bye!

Hall, stairs & landing

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Our new stair carpet
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

We finished our hall, stairs & landing project today with the fitting of our new carpet, pictured. We think its a big improvement on what we started with, and we've been struck by how much lighter and bigger the whole place feels.

Apparently the first thing the fitter did was to come in and plug his phone charger into one of our sockets! Funny to say, I had heard a similar story last week. Is this a comment on our modern world? And what does it say?

Boswells May 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:45:00 +0000

Boswells May 2008
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

As Anna was over, mother managed to get the whole Boswell family to Oxford on Saturday, which was great fun. We went to Blenheim Palace in the afternoon, where they had displays of falconry and jousting - all introduced by a man who sounded particularly like Robert Llewellyn of 'Red Dwarf' and 'Scrapheap Challenge' fame. It was also interesting to see the palace because despite having walked round the gardens loads of times I can't remember ever having seen the house itself. It is certainly a very impressive building.

We had a good time playing in the garden too - especially later when Sam and Zoe really got their chance to play with their elder cousin. Sam in particular was very happy, and insisted that Anna should sit next to him later at supper. You'll see that they wanted to sit her between them in this photo. Although my eye is drawn to the young girl on the left who is the only one to have see the tardis landing - or at least it looks like that!

From an adult perpective, we had some very nice wines, including a Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling that really was very enjoyable! Its always nice sharing a good glass with people who also appreciate it!

Anna paa besoeg

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Lower Slaughter
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Anna's come over again for her second visit of the year. Its great that she is happy flying on her own - its much easier for us to host her, and we can do some fun things together.

She arrived on Friday and since the weather was quite nice we went for a walk: Bourton to the Slaughters. Here is a photo of us in Lower Slaughter - Anna in her black & gold Hummel tracksuit and legwarmers! We also enjoyed paddling in the ford at Upper Slaughter and then had fish and chips: a first for Anna!

Emma at six months

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Emma at six months
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Emma was six months old yesterday - how time has flown by! I am continuously amazed by her, particularly her general good humour. She is gradually changing from baby to toddler, as perhaps this photo shows. She's always been interested in the world around her - at the moment she takes a particularly keen interest in her mummy & daddy's food and drink. She's got one little tooth with more just coming through - this is causing her some distress but its a good excuse to put anything in her mouth.

We've also noticed that she has a keen enthusiasm for music - hardly surprising, given that she's been surrounded by it since the womb! Today at church I am sure that she was drumming along with one of the songs - and singing in another. I was particularly taken with her intonation and sense of rhythm. We could use some of it in the Music Group itself. [Joke]

Nan's 60th birthday party

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:59:00 +0000

Stemp family at Jen's 60th birthday
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

We have been away for the weekend with all the Stemp family, celebrating Mel's mum's 60th birthday. Her dad Jon had booked a large house near Tenbury Wells which had space for all eleven of us, so we headed up there on Friday and came back this morning after breakfast.

We had an enjoyable weekend despite the weather, which remained stubbornly overcast and grizzly throughout. It is clearly a very beautiful part of the world when the sun is shining, and at this time of year we would normally have hoped for sunshine and showers, but it was not to be. Luckily, the house had a great big Aga in the kitchen, which kept the house nice and cozy, and which was also great for cooking on.

We had hoped to do some walking but the weather sort of put paid to that. Instead we spent Saturday afternoon in Ludlow, where we bought some very nice local beef from a small butchers where the customers were queueing out the door. That made for a lovely meal in the evening; I enjoyed slaving over the hot stove!

The three kids were all a bit too young to play with each other. Emma's cousin Charlie would have loved to have had a friend to play with but Emma is not quite mobile enough, and young Finn is still a babe in arms. This meant that we never quite managed to find time where the different families could do things together - maybe next year? The general consensus was that this was a good weekend and worth repeating.

Chicken update

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:09:00 +0000

Day 5 in the chicken house. Our two chickens have settled in to their new home very well, despite the cold weather, and are eating, drinking, crapping and tearing up the garden in patches. More importantly, they are happily laying eggs at a rate of one each per day. One of them lays nice white eggs, whilst the others' are light brown. On Monday we had an omelette; we're already wondering how we are going to use the four more we've collected since. I suspect that our diet is going to have to change!

Its been great fun so far - my favourite bit at the moment is letting them out in the morning. When I come down at 6.30 and open their door they come rushing out into their run, obviously keen to get on with the day. It doesn't seem to matter that their world consists of a 2 square metre run - they are obviously happy with it. Its also been fun to watch them return to the roost at night. At 8.08 precisely tonight they marched into their coop and went to bed. Such sticklers for routine!

The chickens have arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:16:00 +0000

DSC02705.JPG
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

After a number of weeks of planning, and the acquisition of an eglu about a month ago, Simon's chicken dreams have finally been realised. We are now the proud owners of two Sussex chickens - pictured here outside their new home.

We got them from the Domestic Fowl Trust near Evesham. We had a choice of different types butI really liked these ones. Their black and white necks look like thet are wearing ermine, to me!

We haven't named them yet. We have considered 'Brighton' and 'Hove' (Sussex, geddit?) but are open to any other suggestions!

A Day Trip to Brussels

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:36:00 +0000

Yesterday I had to go to Brussels to deliver a presentation to Unilever, analysing the effectiveness of their advertising activity for the Rexona deodorant brand in Holland. Since the presentation had been booked at short notice, the cost of flights or Eurostar tickets was prohibitive, so Dominic (my analyst) and I decided that we had to drive instead. According to ViaMichelin.co.uk, we could make the trip in 6 hours via the channel tunnel, so we set off early and planned for a long day behind the wheel.

Since I strongly dislike arriving late for client meetings, we allowed for an extra hour in case of delays and misdirections. Unfortunately, this turned out to be less than enough. Outside Dunkirk the motorway was shut because of an accident, and in the space of 90 minutes we covered less than 2 miles. Very frustrating. Eventually we got off the motorway and mde our way via a number of country roads to the next junction, and rejoined then. We did what we could to catch up the time but due to a further delay finding the office when we got to Brussels, eventually arrived exactly an hour late for our presentation.

In such circumstances you hope that meetings can be extended somewhat at the other end; but in this case we were told that our audience absolutely had to leave on time. It transpired that they were keen not to miss the train back to Rotterdam. So having arrived late, I had to condense a 2 hour presentation into 45 minutes; promptly at a quarter to four the audience all left. They seemed happy enough, at least.

Dominic and I got back into the car and drove back to Oxford. I got home at 10.20pm having driven over 14 hours for a 45 minute presentation. I glad at least that Dominic is a pleasant travelling companion - although conversation was quiet for the last stretch at least!

Suit You, Sir?

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:59:00 +0000

One of the joys of staying in our hotel in Norwich has been the appearance of one of the tailors from the 'Fast Show'. I don't know if it is Ken or Kenneth who is on the left in this photo, but since leaving Savile Row he certainly appears to have found employment in Norwich. When he put up Emma's cot and then asked, "Is there anything else you need, sir?" it was all I could do to stop myself replying, "Do you, sir? Well, do you?"

Emma in Norwich

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Emma in Norwich
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Mel's choir are on their annual choir trip this weekend - in Norwich. Fortunately Emma and her dad have been allowed to tag along.

We are staying in the Maid's Head Hotel in the town centre, right opposite the Cathedral, in a street called 'Tombland'. We have a nice big room that looks our onto the very small courtyard; the building is very old with lots of staircases which makes carrying the buggy fun.

Mel has been singing all day today so Emma and her daddy have had lots of time together. We had a look round the Cathedral in the morning (see photo), went for a walk down to the river in the afternoon and have generally pottered around the picturesque parts of town. I have to say that I'm exhausted!

Norwich is a nice little city with a staggering number of old churches and almost as many pubs! Therefore just the sort of place to spend a lazy weekend, in my view. If it wasn't so far away it might be worth considering coming again. Gotta go - Emma's screaming. I'll see if she's ready to finish off that banana she had earlier!

A short hop

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Beer drinkers of the world beware - there's a global hop shortage looming!

I had heard about this from my local homebrew shop a couple of weeks ago but wasn't sure about its provenance. But if the shortage is as bad as it seems, this is bad news for those of us who like a good pint now and then. I guess I'll have to drink cider instead...

Yardwork

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:57:00 +0000

I have long considered a liking for gardening as being one of the signs of old age; as a young man I have not appreciates the joys that can come from tending a garden and harvesting flowers for the table or vegetables for the stove.

It is with the increasing realisation of impending middle age, therefore, that I admit to having just spent a really enjoyable afternoon in the garden, chopping back our overgrown trees and bushes. If the weather holds, its possible that I might venture our again...

Sympathy for Judas? And the gospel of hope

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Isn't it funny that sometimes a lot of unrelated events happen to coincide that make you think of the same thing? I think Nicky Gumbel refers to them as 'God-incidences'. Recently I have been going through one of these phases, and the recurrent theme has been that of hope.

About a month ago I was saying how my job situation had been causing me stress, and that I had been passed over for a promotion. What I had come to realise was that I had become a victim of my own ambition, and that in chasing the promotion I was harming my relationships with my colleagues at work, and putting pressure on Mel and Emma at home When I realised this it was obvious that I was going down the wrong track - so I stopped. The problem was that I wasn't sure what the right track was.

I started to find the answer on Palm Sunday. Tim Hastie-Smith preached on the passage in Matthew 26/27 where the stories of Peter and Judas are so clearly contrasted. That afternoon I watched 'Jesus Christ Superstar' on TV for the first time - in that show, Judas is a frustrated idealist who just doesn't understand Jesus' "strategy". Later that evening the BBC series, "The Passion" also had a sympathetic portrayal of Judas, focusing more on how he was coerced into betrayal by the Judaean high priests.

I have sympathy for Judas too. Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, just as he knew that Peter would deny him. I have wrestled with a sense of unfairness that somehow Judas has been hardly treated by tradition, as if his suicide was necessary; for centuries the church has pronounced that his unforgiveable crime has condemned him to a life in the fiery furnaces of hell.

For me I found the portrayal of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar most illuminating; this was a Judas with ambition, who had plans for Jesus. Ultimately it was his frustrated ambition that lead him to make the terrible error he made in the garden of Gethsemane. This side of Judas' character lives in me too - the ambition and idealism that is inherently part of my character is also that part of me which leads me to make bad decisions that can harm other people.

Yet what is most saddening about Judas is that he kills himself before the resurrection: in his remorse he loses hope, and without hope sees no reason to live. The great tragedy is that within two days, Christ is resurrected; Judas kills himself without knowing what an important role he has played in the greatest triumph of all time.

This is where the contrast with Peter is so striking. We know that Peter 'went outside and wept bitterly'. How must he have felt on Easter Saturday? Could he have felt any less remorse than Judas? He certainly did not know that his sins were forgiven at this time; yet because he survived, Peter went on to become the leading figure in the early church.

What I had not quite formulated at this time was any understanding of why this matters. It was only during my reading and listening during Easter (for example, to the fantastic Rob Bell at Mars Hill Bible Church) that the whole thing came together. I have to admit that I have quite an unbalanced understanding of the Easter message. I can understand the importance of the crucifixion and the forgiveness of sins; but the significance of the resurrection has not yet been fully revealed to me. This year I have just been struck again and again by the word, "hope". It seems to pop up everywhere. And where Judas had lost hope, Peter retained it, even in his darkest hour.

For example, I love the story in Luke where Peter rushes to the tomb after the women have come back with stories of finding the angels there. The other disciples had not believed the women, "because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb." Imagine how he must have been feeling! It is Peter who acts in hope, when the common response is to disbelieve the women; it is surely one of those classic moments of biblical understatement when Luke tells us that Peter "went away, wondering to himself what had happened." I wonder whether he had the most amazing smile on his face!

Why does this matter to me? The story of Judas and Peter has opened my eyes to a choice that I too can make: I can be like Judas or I can be like Peter. Hope is the alternative to ambition, perhaps even the antidote. Ambition leads to destructive behaviours; hope is constructive. Ambition sacrifices the individual for the sake of the cause; hope sacrifices the cause for the sake of the individual. Ambition chases the future, whilst hope lives in the present and trusts in the future. This Easter I have learned an important lesson; now I hope that I can learn to live it.

Boswells Easter 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Boswells Easter 2008
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Happy Easter! Here is a quick snapshot of the brief moment during the last two days where Emma and her cousin Zoe were sat still and not in tears!

We have had a lovely 24 hours with the whole family together in Oxford. Sam and Zoe are delightful but it really is a two-parent job to look after a young family! Jonny and Ros do a great job keeping tabs on them, playing and keeping them happy!

Tasting notes - Yorkshire Bitter

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:36:00 +0000

My first brew of the year came on tap today. Here is a photo and my tasting notes.
Recipe: Yorkshire Bitter
2.5kg Pale Malt Extract
500g Granulated sugar
150g Cara Red Malt
75g Fuggles in the boil
25g Goldings added 15 minutes from the end
Safale S-04 yeast sachet
Original Gravity 1040
Final Gravity 1010

Its a lovely nutty brown colour - just like a pint of Boddingtons with a creamy head. Its light and not too chewy but I think I can pick up a slight sweetness from the granulated sugar. I can certainly pick up the hops in the nose, but their presence is not too sharp in the taste.
I think I overdid the priming sugar because the barrel is certainly holding a very high pressure!

Propensity

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Propensity
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

To us market researchers, propensity is used to describe a shopper group's 'likelihood to purchase'. Hence I think that it is fitting that today we bought a sculpture called 'Propensity' with my annual bonus. Its taking pride of place above the stairs in our new hallway.

Mel thinks that it looks slightly 'spacey' and combined with our new lamp means that she has now labelled this new area the 'intergalactic hallway'!

Emma's first feed

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Emma's first feed 2
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Another milestone today for Emma - her first feed. She's been watching her mum eat and drink with interest for the last couple of weeks, so we thought it might be time to let her join in!

Here she is with the little yellow spoon that has now joined our washing-up, along with her little blue bowl. She is sitting in her 'bumbo' chair that we were given by Rob & Claire. Its a very good stool and lets her join in with us when we're at the table...

A new light

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Mel's mum and dad have been up for the last 24 hours, and so I have been hard at work all day with my father in law decorating the hall, stairs and landing.

This is a photo of our new light at the top of the stairs: it was bought at BHS for £87.50 (half price - a bargain!) We think its great - and its really transformed the space.

Losing Unilever

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:15:00 +0000

Had some fairly surprising news at work as I left last night. For the last year the core Nielsen business in the UK has been working towards a pitch for the Unilever contract at work, and yesterday was the decision day. To my surprise, we lost - the entire Unilever contract (we previously only had half) has been given to the competition, IR & TNS.

This is a real shock because this has been our strongest account for a number of years, and one of our largest. Its also my main source of revenue, so my sales target now looks a lot harder. I have worked with Unilever almost all the 12 years of my career so far, so I can't quite believe that we've lost them to the competition. I'll have to wait until monday to find out what has gone wrong...

Emma and Finn on the baby gymn

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:25:00 +0000

Emma and Finn on the baby gymn
Originally uploaded by Simon Boswell

Hayley and Tom came by on Friday on their way down to Portsmouth. This gave Emma a chance to catch up with her cousin Finn - seen here together on the baby gym. They were both clearly aware of each other, although they tended to steal glances at each other rather than look in the eyes. It all got a bit much for their parents when Finn started chatting Emma up - his technique of babbling in her ear wasn't sophisticated, but it seemed eerily familiar! It seemed to work because at a later time Emma reached for his hand. Perhaps the beginning of a long friendship?

Mothering Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:38:00 +0000

Here's the card that Emma got for her mum this morning - signed by the little girl herself. This is a significant moment as it is her first piece of handwriting, although to be honest I'm not sure how aware of this fact she was...

NCT get-together

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:52:00 +0000

Last night we met up with all the other mums and dads from our NCT class for supper at the King's Head in Norton. This had been our first meeting en masse since Christmas, and it was the first time that Ruth, our NCT teacher, had had a chance to cuddle all the babies.

This is my blog, so I am going to brag proudly about Emma! Whilst her peers were generally quite quiet and passive, Emma was very keen to witness everything going on and simply refused to go to sleep at any stage. The table next to us was a table of grannies who were very taken by her: in particular they liked her ability to smile when they smiled at her! This is a very endearing habit of hers, and leads me to think that we have quiet an extrovert on our hands.

We also had a chance to catch up with Ruth who was interested in our experiences of the birth itself. We haven't really talked about it for a couple of months now, but it was interesting how our experiences and the things we learned seem quite common. Mel was able to ask about whether the doctor's advice (to have an elective caesarean next time) was sound; Ruth suggested that we look at our medical records and our birth plan from October and see whether we think the risks are as high as they might have thought. That was a relief for Mel, as it opens up the possibility that we might be able to have a home birth after all next time.

Job news

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:18:00 +0000

There is a big restructuring of our department going on at work. I won't bore you with the details, but it has meant that for the last few months I have been hoping to be promoted into a new job, with European responsibilities.

Being the type of person that I am, this has become almost an obsession with me, and has been causing me sleepless nights and a considerable degree of anxiety. I have found myself becoming increasingly distracted by the politics, to the detriment of my day to day job. Mel has been very patient with me but I am sure that my constant obsessing about the possibilities has been driving her quietly nuts.

The big news today is that someone else has been offered the job. This is naturally a disappointment to some extent - like reaching the end of a book where the ending is not what you had hoped for. I am disappointed to be overlooked, and there is part of me that wonders why.

On the positive side I am already feeling relieved. Organisational politics is bad for my mental health: the last time I had felt like this was when I had worked at Kraft, and looking back I know how bad that was. I hate the politics, as much as I am drawn to it; so perhaps this has been a lucky escape. There is no guarantee that the job I had hoped for would have turned out the way I imagined, after all.

I am also glad about the timing. In the last 7 days I have had a number of client visits that have gone really well, and which have reminded me why I love my current job. Psychologically I crave acclaim - and I can get that from my clients in a way that I can't in management. Best of all, my boss Raj has made it clear that he wants me in his team, and despite his faults I like working for him. As Mel has pointed out, I do have a tendency to criticise my bosses when I feel undervalued - so having Raj's commitment means a lot to me.

Now I hope that I can get a relatively clean break from my current commitments that will allow me to focus on the job that I should be doing, rather than the projects I was getting involved in. I'm sure that Mel and Emma will appreciate the difference!

Wild Goose Song

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Boswell) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:49:00 +0000

After my rant a few weeks ago about the song, "Indescribable", I was rightly challenged to talk more about songs that I do like. So I am glad to say that today we played a new song that definitely fits that description. Even better, it was a world premiere, so nobody else will know it yet!

The song is by Barbara McNish, who is a member of the congregation at St Matt's. I have taken the liberty of posting the music - respecting her copyright - below. I like the words in particular - they are a lovely exploration of the Christian life written by someone who knows what to is like to serve God in mission. The reference to 'wild goose' is apparently a common Celtic metaphor for the holy spirit, and is used here to evoke the calling of a life less ordinary in God's service.

Familiar things of hearth and home
I've left behind for your kingdom come
I'm a stranger here and lonely am,
So I cling to your grace to bring me home

Wealth and fame no longer call,
I'm heading for the cross before.
The road is hard yet joy filled songs
Make me glad for the hands that help me on

Thank you Lord for the ones you've called
Who've gone before on this stony road
You give us strength when our hearts sink down
Making joy and grace our glorious crown

These giants arms we stand upon
Encourage us to journey on
And the angel armies circling round
Unseen victorious resound

The wild goose flight calls out to me
"Come on and join our company
As we fly with Christ His life to show
Love, joy and peace and freedom grow"

Thank you Lord for the ones you've called
Who've gone before on this stony road
You give us strength when our hearts sink down
Making joy and grace our glorious crown

I want to live for my own country
That lies beyond what eyes can see
To walk by faith in this wilderness
And celebrate your faithfulness

Thank you Lord for the ones you've called
Who've gone before on this stony road
You give us strength when our hearts sink down
Making joy and grace our glorious crown