Greenbelt Green

Although this blog aims not to talk about religion or politics (although did I tell you I am going to New York as an election tourist?) I just want to mention a little more about Greenbelt. Greenbelt is an arts festival at Cheltenham Racecourse which has its roots in the Christian tradition. But lots of people with little or no faith go along, as there are talks about lots of things, and well-known musicians. This year we had Beth Rowley and Seth Lakeman, both of whom I really enjoyed. There is a really strong focus on social justice issues.

Festival highlights for me this year included:

• Iain Archer, an old favourite, who won an Ivor Novello award for songwriting for Snow Patrol, and just had his track advertise Friends Reunited on tv - this is the song. I've been following his music for more than half my life...
• Silent Light - a slow-moving but beautiful film about Mexican Mennonites which won the Jury Prize at Cannes 2007.
• Simon Parke - an ex-vicar who has a weekly column in the Daily Mail about the characters he met while working in a supermarket for three years.

There were quite a few talks with an environmental slant; if you're interested you can order or download them online. This is one of them:

An Inconvenient Truth 2 by Andy Mellen.

"Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the car, increases in the price of food and fuel are causing concern here, and hardship around the world. How can we understand the underlying realities and face an uncertain future with hope?"

A question for all of us.