Quiz Night

Last night was our Quiz Night at TABLEtalk. Students were subjected to quiz rounds on general knowledge, landmarks of the world, a 'colour-coded' round and a matching exercise based on collective nouns.
Oh woe is me  ...  it's a sad day when a question about a film made in 1997 is almost considered as ancient history :-(

'The Giant Giraffes'
(Cibele, Chaio & Leesa)

The Sneaky Snakes
(Aiste, Joy & Heba)

The Manic Monkeys
(Emmanuel, Lorena & Mohamed)

The Dangerous Dogs
(Rafaela, John & Ilya)

The Timid Tigers
(Atourya & Mohab)

The Clever Cats
(Nik, Saira & Vinila) 

And the winning team was ...

this scary bunch

On a personal note ...

Sometimes students and other church friends ask me what other things I get up to during the week. Well, I thought I'd tell you a little about yesterday when we had one of our regular church days of prayer.
I'm often very involved in the planning and preparations for these days; and our theme yesterday was taken from a passage in the book of Ephesians (New Testament) and is known to Christians as 'the armour of God'. We had a great day praying for our church and our local community.

If ever you feel in need of prayer please feel free to email or come visit with me.

 

 

Diversity Fayre

On the same day that we celebrated Norooz, the student union organised a Diversity Fayre.  I got the chance to pop down there briefly to taste some noodles, attempt a world quiz (must to better next time!!) and take a few pics.

Students had the opportunity to try their hand at Chinese calligraphy, learn some pidgeon English, practise origami, get a henna tattoo, learn about other cultures, be entertained, and much, much more ...

Celebrating Norooz

This week at the World Cafe we recognised NOROOZ, Persian New Year. I owe A BIG THANK YOU to my friends, Morteza and Maryam, who brought along all the items needed for the Haft Sîn.

"Thankyou , Morteza and Maryam, for taking the time to do this for us. I value your friendship and I'm praying for Maryam's upcoming exams."

Haft Sîn (Persian: هفت سین‎) or the seven 'S's is a traditional table setting of Norooz, the Iranian spring celebration. 

The haft sin table includes seven items starting with the letter 'S' or Sīn (س) in the Persian alphabet.  

Our seven items were ...

sabzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish
– symbolising rebirth

samanu – a sweet pudding made from germinated wheat
– symbolising affluence

senjed – the dried fruit of the oleaster tree – symbolizing love

sīr – garlic – symbolising medicine

sīb – apples – symbolising beauty and health

somaq – sumac berries – symbolising (the colour of) sunrise

serkeh – vinegar – symbolising age and patience.

This slightly dubious looking character is Hajji Firuz, the traditional herald of Norooz. He oversees celebrations for the New Year perhaps as a remnant of the ancient Zoroastrian fire-keeper.  I did ask our Health & Safety Officer if we could do some traditional Persian fire-jumping but for some strange reason he said "NO".

Hafez, was a mystical poet born in Shiraz, Iran in the 1300s

"Dorsa & Dorna, it was so lovely to see you. We must have a coffee together sometime soon."

Cambridge trip

It's always a pleasure to be part of the student trips organised by the University of Greenwich and yesterday was no exception.  In total we took 150+ students to Cambridge for the day ... one coach from the Greenwich/Avery Hill campuses and two from Medway.

This is the blue coach group ... or was it green? 

and this is the pink coach group ... well at least most of them.

The weather was fantastic and many students commented on how much they enjoyed the architecture and history of the city, plus spending a day out with their friends and, for some, making new friends.

A good number of students went 'punting'; it really was a perfect day for it.

A good number of us also climbed the 123 steep and rather scary steps up the tower of Great St Mary's Church - the views from the top were well worth the increased heart rate.

 

 

We received some great feedback from student who said ... "The city was amazing and everything was well organised" ... "It was a sunny and fantastic day. I really enjoyed my experience" ... "It was amazing to have visited the world famous Cambridge" ... "The city is beautiful and history is all over the place"
Below are some of the photos that students have sent on to me ...