Eight reflections on my time in Newcastle

A few weekends ago I got to go and visit the wonderful city that is Newcastle upon Tyne.

Below are a few thoughts about my 8 years and three months in the North.

1. Faith

It would be wrong of me to not put this first on the list.

Although I went to Newcastle a Christian, I'm tremendously grateful for the growth in faith I experienced over my time there.

Through solid teaching and wonderful opportunities to serve I had some great times.

All of it was capped off by my time on the staff at JPC where I got to serve on a brilliant team and (hopefully) was able to help a few people.

And whilst I don’t agree with everything the church teaches and would change it in about a billion ways I am incredibly proud to be associated with it and the work it does.

2. Friendships

I left Newcastle with some incredible friendships which I treasure and hope will be long-lasting.

I had the privilege of meeting some truly beautiful women who have helped me and changed me a lot.

There’s no way I could call the guys ‘beautiful’, indeed ‘regularly showered’ wouldn’t be especially accurate.

But I'm incredibly grateful for their support and for those who were and are particularly close brothers whose prayers have upheld me.

3. International friendships

To my shame I didn’t have many friends from other countries until I studied for my Masters.

It really was a joy to spend part of that year learning about different cultures and ideas.

And it was incredibly good for me to be a white English male and to be in the minority – interacting with people from different backgrounds really is humbling and eye-opening.

In addition it’s great to know I have lots of accommodation options for holidays around the world!

4. Solitude

I really am a solitary figure and find a lot of rest and peace in my own company.

For a while this was quite a battle for me but I’m starting to find real it makes me happy.

It’s not that I don’t want to be around others (well actually it sort of is!), just simply that being on my own is how I recharge my batteries.

I’m determined to change and be a better people-person but also kinda like my life, so we’ll see what happens.

5. Relationships

Epic poems have been written about some people’s deep passions and erotic conquests.

In stark contrast, my love life barely has enough material for a mediocre haiku.

Being single at my age was nowhere near my plan but I’m aware that I couldn’t have upped sticks, moved to Norwich and become a videojournalist and newsreader if I was attached.

I’ve had a pretty good strike rate putting couples together but nothing ever worked out for me, with rapid rejection become the norm.

It’s just too hard, so (for the moment at least) I’m giving up.

6. Books

Those who know me know I love books.

Maybe it sounds crazy but my books are some of my best friends, teachers and companions.

They bring great people and amazing events into my living room and can be an incredible resource and an absolute joy.

One of the more revealing facts about the last few months - I’ve barely met anyone since moving to Norwich, but I have read six books!

7. The North

Before I moved to Newcastle I really didn’t get the North.

To me Geordies were a mysterious people who lived somewhere between Harrogate and Edinburgh.

In essence I thought they were Scottish Yorkshiremen - such is the ignorance of a southerner.

In fact they are an amazing people, helpful, kind and with an incredibly positive attitude.

Also if ever you need someone to punch a horse......

The North is also a beautiful part of the country, with a sunny day in Northumberland being a view to match anything else in the UK.

Add in the Lake District and the wonderful and magical place that is Lindisfarne and it’s a damn fine place to live.

8. Skills learnt

Over my time in Newcastle I learnt a few new things, some self-taught and some learned with others.

My Bible handling and knowledge increased greatly and hopefully allowed me to help others.

Also I got a great experience of pastoral work through being at JPC, working and chatting to people aged 0 to 90+.

The experiences all those people gave me were incredible.

Along with ministry stuff I left Newcastle a fully-trained journalist, able to hold a camera and point it in roughly the right direction AND having mastered the dark art of shorthand.

Add in rediscovering a love of rugby, qualifying as a skydiver and starting to learn to play the guitar and I took on quite a bit!

So there we are, eight things that spring to mind this evening.

I’m convinced that it’s good to review life and I think I’ve changed a lot.

In fact I can’t even imagine meeting the Mark Summers that came to Newcastle in September 2005.

Those changes are good though, part of the human journey of understanding that we’re all on.

Debate warmly encouraged.

My notepads

This is just a short entry but it’s one I wanted to write.

One of my major joys in life is writing and it’s something I do whenever I have free time and am alone.

Generally speaking I use what I would call reporter’s notepads, but I’ve written in everything from pretentious Moleskins to old school exercise books.

And I’ve been doing it for years. Years and years and years. In fact the earliest memory I have of doing it is writing about the Atlanta Olympics. So...yeah......a LONG time.

I just haven’t shared it with anyone until today.

I use my notepads to write down quotations I like, to plan out books I’ve never written and to write (awful) songs and poetry.

Almost all my blog posts were written up first as notepad entries.

See.

As were the sketch versions of talks I gave and Bible studies I’ve led.

But I’ve also used them as way of journaling life.

So :

- if I’ve met you, I’ve probably mentioned you in a notebook entry

- if I’ve led a Bible study with you in it, I’ve written about it in a notepad

- if I’ve led with you on a Christian camp, I’ve written about it in a notepad

- if we’ve studied together then, (guess what?!) I’ve written about it in a notepad

- if I’ve asked you out, then firstly my apologies but also I’ve written about it in a notepad

- if you’re a sports team I support then I’ve written about you in a notepad (normally with tears in my eyes due to you being PATHETIC)

- if I’ve worked alongside you, you’re mention in my notepads

- if you’re one of the few people who I’ve counselled about relationships then it will have been recorded in a notepad. Though I haven’t kept a tally of my success rate.

- if you’re a member of my family then I love you deeply....and you’ll have been mentioned a lot in my notepad entries

- if you’re the Bible or theology then you get a lot of mentions in my notepads

- if you’re a thought I’ve had while my brain has wandered to some random places then you were probably written down in a notepad

Finally, if you’re worried about what I’ve written being seen by others then please don’t be – the pads and other bits don’t stay around for long.

They all get lobbed away, so all my thoughts disappear.

It’s a tremendously cathartic process.

In fact the prompting for me writing this post comes from the fact that I’ve just thrown away my latest batch of pads.

Eight of them, covering September through to mid-March, are now being processed by the good folks at one of Norfolk County Council’s recycling plants.

In all this I’ve found my rambling musings to be incredibly enjoyable and the whole process one that gives me clarity on my thoughts and peace in my mind.

If you have a pen, quill, paper or papyrus to hand then please, give it a try.

Debate warmly encouraged

The New Job

I’m aware that my new job is still a mystery to some people as I didn’t get it until after I left Newcastle.

In fact when I left the Toon it looked like I was destined to live with my parents or move to New Zealand!

However I am incredibly fortunate to be working as a Video Journalist at Mustard TV,  part of the Archant organisation in Norwich.

To give you a bit of context, a while back the government approved a new channel for Freeview.

Known generically as channel 8, it will allow local broadcasters to put on programmes for people in a small area.

In Hull the channel 8 broadcaster is Estuary TV, in London it is London Live and so on and so on.

In Norwich it is Mustard, which will be putting out new bulletins at 5.30pm and then on the hour until 10pm, alongside showing documentaries and a daily magazine programme called The Mustard Show.

My role as a VJ will be going out to a story every day, filming it, editing and voicing it and then preparing it for broadcast, all pretty much entirely on my own.

Part of our broadcasting licence means that we send the BBC some of our footage every day, which means that my work might get onto any Beeb programme.

Which is kind of cool.

Hopefully I’ll also start presenting the bulletins but that will come with time.

I’m very fortunate that the editing software Mustard uses is the same one we used on my Masters and that I’m still able to use the shorthand and legal knowledge I got on my PA training course.

Basically it is the ideal job for me and exactly the kind of thing I wanted to get into when I started considering the future and looking at journalism two years ago.

In short, I’m very blessed.

If you want to find out more I’ve set up a Facebook page which I’m posting my reports on so you can ‘Like’ that to keep up to date or you can see all my reports here. 

I’m also on Twitter - @marksummers24

Meanwhile, if anyone wants to visit Norwich and say hi then I could do with the company.

Drop me a message if you’re interested!

So....yeah........about the blog...............

Good news for the 3 insomniacs who actually read this blog:

It’s back!

Seeing as I’ve now started working as a journalist, I’ve taken down everything theological as well as the posts that covered events in the UK.

I’m not quite sure what I can comment on but I thought I’d play it safe.

I suspect I’ll start a new blog soon that just focuses on events in the US at that is certainly where my interest lies.

I’ve not posted anything for a while because I’ve been incredibly busy moving to Norwich and getting settled.

Annoyingly, that means I’ve missed the chance to comment on several big stories.

Here’s a rundown:

- Chris Christie, personally my favourite US politician in terms of ideology, has ruined his chances to get the 2016 GOP nomination. Although he denies involvement, his staff plotted closing most of the lanes on a bridge to get their own back on a mayor who refused to support Christie’s recent re-election. Now he comes across as a bully and a liar (he MUST have known) and no one wants to be seen with him. With no support and a scandal brewing, he has a massive hill to climb. It does however go down as the scandal with the worst name ever – Bridgegate

- Hillary Clinton is the heir apparent to Obama in all but name. Several big names in the Democrat party have already all-but endorsed her and you suspect anyone running against her will really be trying to get their name on her ticket to be the next VP. She hasn’t announced her intention to run yet but she will run and will do incredibly well. As an aside she could face Jeb Bush, whose stock is definitely on the rise in the Republican Party. The Clinton v. Bush presidential election has happened before in 1992, though of course with different competitors (Bill v. George H.W.)

- Gay marriage continues to make its way across the US. It was legalised in Utah, one of the Republic’s most conservative states, back in December, though the District Court decision is stayed as an appeal court considers the case. SB 1062, a bill that would have legalised discrimination against gay people in Arizona, was not signed by the state’s governor due to significant pressure from businesses and the NFL (AZ will be home to Super Bowl XLIX). Hopefully the decision will mean similar laws in other states (SD, KA, MA, TN and CO) are killed off. District courts in OK and VA have ruled state-wide bans to be unconstitutional and the Supreme Court will also start considering case law soon. It will almost certainly defend gay marriage, though any federal law is still many years off due to the political make-up of Congress

- a former Governor of Virginia has been in court on bribery charges. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen both pleaded not guilty to charges that connect them to a health supplement maker. They seem to have been in ridiculous amounts of debts and are alleged to have been given money, watches, rings and loaned a private jet. At the same time the company CEO met with state officials. The case will rumble on but removes a (no hope) candidate from the GOP list for 2016.

- Obama continues to muddle through. He got Obamacare passed and that it is now safe but he really is heading towards becoming insignificant. The lame duck period will begin once the nomination season gets into full swing but the Ukraine crisis (about which he can/will do very little) is potentially going to make him look impotent well before that.

US politics is absolutely fascinating so all of these stories will continue to rumble on. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep on top of all of them on the new blog.

I’ll put a couple of other posts on this blog covering my new job, my notebooks and my thoughts on leaving Newcastle over the next couple of days.

Apart from that, it’s good bye to Politics, Theology and Stuff!

Debate warmly encouraged