North Kent Bikeathon

Today Sean (who is also doing the Bikeathon) and I checked out the route and especially the altitude graph. Now some of you may think that Southern England is flat well let me tell you that the North Downs definitely go UP and DOWN. Some of the 14-16 (yes this is the Jericho Road Project so numbers can go Up and Down right up to Sunday morning) cyclists will not know what has hit them when they face the serious hills of North Kent. If you have not yet signed up to the £1 challenge it is not too late - already 243 people have given their support!

Life in Catford 4

Last Friday I went to visit one of our houses in Murillo Road and it happened to be about 4 O'clock which I discovered is when the post school trouble is at its most visible. I passed Catford where there was a large police presence and a reasonable large crowd with mostly school children. I then travelled onto Lewisham where there was similar scene outside McDonalds only larger and had a more sinister feel to it, the police horse was in the middle of a large crowd. It felt like trouble at a Festival or after a football match when you can almost smell the tension in the air. Because of this the buses were all backed up and unable to move. Once again I was grateful for being on the bike and cycling free of the trouble.

The £1 challenge

On the 4th July I am taking a group of residents, ex residents and friends of the Project to take part in the North kent Bikeathon organised by the Catford Rotary Club. At the moment it could be anything between 10-13 although I am still recruiting! So if you want to get involved please let me know. The distance is 15 or 30 miles. We are raising funds for the leukaemia research and the Feast. But because I dislike sponsorship I am taking the pain out of sponsorship and limiting people to £1 only. The challenge is to see how many people will support us with their £1 rather than how much money can we raise. Please join the £1 challenge!

1000

Yes we have reached the milestone of 1000 different people who have been to the Feast. It was probably a man called Patrick. We estimate that over the last 8 years we have served 18500 meals. It is a great achievement. Here's to the next 1000 people!

Life in Catford 3

As a friend, who had lived in some of the major cities of the world, said Catford has the most police and ambulance sirens. Day and night the emergency services are working flat out. Yesterday this was what I saw on the way into work the morning traffic was stopped as a man was stretched away from what looked like being knocked down by a bus. Obviously the slighest hold up means that whole traffic system is messed up. Obviously accompanied by numerous sirens in the area.

I love my bike, it is the only way to really get about in South east London!

On the way home the centre of Catford is a scene of the police arresting a number of men outside the costcutter, which is a very common place for being arrested. So the lesson is if you are committing crime don't do it outside the costcutter! By the time I had travelled home (5-10 minutes) there was another police incident, where a car had been stopped.

Life in Catford ... it's noisy!

Go and learn

I am looking forward to preaching at Downham on Sunday morning - 10.30 start if you are interested in coming. I am speaking on Go and learn what is means to show Mercy - Matthew 9:9-13. It will be an opportunity to retell the story of the project, which always excites me but also an opportunity to consider the enormous Kingdom potential that we have in South East London. Caring for the neediest is a sure fire way to get to God's heart and keep the church on the front foot for reaching a broken and lost society.