Abstinence and Devotion: Lent and Music

As a Christian, from year to year I endeavour to honour Lent. To reflect Jesus' wandering in the desert, this typically comes in the form of giving something up, though it can also be honoured through taking something up as well.

Following successful abstinence from alcohol last year, I was challenged, by certain friends, to give up listening to the music of J S Bach for the whole of Lent (anyone who knows me well will know the serious challenge this would pose). Never particularly enamoured with the idea, I at least agreed - with incredible reluctance - to give it a go. I lasted until 14.45 on Ash Wednesday. My heart was never in it and it was only ever going to take the slightest glimpse of weakness (or stubbornness) to break. That came in the form of particularly fraught moment at work - when I'm stressed, I usually stick on a bit of Bach. 'Nuff said. In addition, however, my issue ran a little deeper. For me Lent is not about accepting a challenge from friends and giving something up merely to prove to others that you can live without it. Lent is about sacrifice and devotion - giving up something that you enjoy , making yourself a better person and doing yourself some good in the meantime. Alcohol ticks both those boxes. The music of Bach mostly certainly does not - it is itself a source of good. Hence why I was not too fussed about sticking on the St Matthew Passion last Wednesday afternoon. 

At the suggestion of my Wife-to-be, however, I am endeavouring to listen to a new piece of music every day for the whole of Lent. And so far this is something I have stuck to. Today was Karl Jenkins' 'The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace'. Mahler 8 and A Child of our Time have already had an airing. Tomorrow it will be Handel's 'Israel in Egypt'. Unlike the prospect of giving up Bach, the idea of listening to a new piece of music every - something I've not listened to before - is exciting, interesting and offers a broadening both of the mind and one's tastes. It is certainly something I am enjoying - Mahler's 8th Symphony, in particular, was not a piece I was expecting to like. Now it is on my wish list. As a Lenten exercise, therefore, this revised musical challenge is proving to be particularly fun and satisfying. It brings devotion and discipline but also offers opportunity for improvement. 

And means that the music of Bach remains ever present in my ears, of course.

Formula One 2014 - the countdown to a new era.

Though I've only just posted and intend just to write every week or so, I thought I would kick off, however, with something a little more substantial than a mere explanation of what this blog will come to be.

One of my greatest enthusiasms is Formula One. An avid fan for as long as I can remember (Mansell driving the streets of Monaco, virtually nudging the gearbox of - and failing to beat the victorious - Senna, in 1992, being my earliest memory of the sport), I await with great anticipation the start of the 2014 season and have been keeping a keen eye on the winter testing.

The changes to be introduced for this new season are among some of the most dramatic to be imposed in quite a number of years. New turbocharged engines; ERS systems (to replace KERS) and radically different aerodynamic regulations that have already been interpreted in number of ways (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25946895). Consequently, the coming season is being hotly anticipated with some perhaps hoping that it will knock Vettel off his perch and inject a little more spice and variety into the sport.

Signs from winter testing are interesting in this regard ... AMG Mercedes, McLaren and Force India (both Mercedes powered) are coming to the end of what has been a largely successful testing programme. Long stints managed with few reliability problems and constantly quick times suggest these teams (and others) have adapted to the changes well. Red Bull, by contrast, have been receiving a lot of coverage in the media as having a great deal of problems and difficulties (just this morning Vettel's car, in testing, made it through just 4 corners on the first stint and the end of the pit lane on the second try; before it came to an abrupt stop). The opening weekend of the season (15 / 16 March) will be interesting.

As a firm fan of the Brits - Hamilton and Button, it's reassuring to see them doing well in testing and I hold out hope that this will translate to results come the season. And Vettel? Well, the German is often criticised with suggestions rife that he only wins because he has the best car. And that might be true; but it was equally true of Schumacher, Senna, Prost and pretty much every other World Champion. He's done well. Very well. Four World Championships and he's only 26 years of age. His hard work has been justified and his spoils deserved. And for his sake I hope the gremlins of testing are resolved.

Equally, though, I hope for an action packed season with some good racing and genuine competition. Only two weeks 'til lights out in Albert Park.

The birth of 'Short and sweet'

So I've started another blog.

My first was set up during the year in which I was living in North London (http://drjohnstanton.blogspot.co.uk/). To live in the 'Big Smoke' was something I had, for sometime, wanted to do; so when the opportunity arose I was keen to document the daily grind of life in our nation's capital. Something I did every few weeks or so, writing about a range of issues and topics. Since moving out, however, despite intentions to set up a new blog, I have not been posting ... until now.

'Short and sweet' will be a much more general blog; with no specific topic and no specific lifespan, I envisage that it will cover topics such as sport, music, personal accounts and perspectives of life in general. My reason for writing? Simple. I love writing. In my view, a blog is not written primarily to be read but primarily to be written. It is a way of venting one's thoughts, putting them down on paper, and taking the chance to reflect. I would never deign ever to impose my ramblings on people, insisting that they take the time to read; so this blog will be written, regardless of whether it is ever read. If you are reading, I thank you.

Enjoy. Or not. I know I will.