The weekend before last, I was at the IME Residential which was led by Jonny Baker. A really interesting time thinking about creativity in a post-modern context. One of those times whose value was not in the new information imparted - for me there wasn't much - but in knowing that Jonny had been approved by the diocese to come and talk about this stuff (alt worship, creativity, grasping the culture of the day without being controlled by it...) which was totally speaking my language. Fantastic. Jonny, incidentally, is a member of Grace, an alternative worship community based at St Mary's, Ealing.

After that, I had a night at home before heading up to Nottingham to spend a week at college doing the Introduction to Theological Method, kicking off my MA. It was a fab week - my mind was really stretched which anyone who knows me knows I value enormously. I also managed to catch up with a few people and to go play in the £10 Hold'em tournament at the Circus Casino in Nottingham. I was doing well - above average stack with over half the field eliminated when with me in the BB, the button raised. I could tell he was trying to steal the blinds and after the SB folded, I checked my cards, seeing AhQd. I had him covered and so I pushed, which of course would put him all-in. Incredibly, after correctly naming my hand ("a strong Ace" he said), he made the call and flipped over 9c8s! The flop didn't help him but a 9 came on the turn. I didn't improve on the river and I was left crippled. We were playing 6-handed at that point and so the blinds got back round towards me very quickly and I was card-dead. Had a great night though.

Speaking of poker, the London leg of the fifth European Poker Tour happened last week. I was keeping up with the action via the PokerStars blog and this entry made me laugh.