Shabbat Dinner

Our friends are still with us, and as he is Israeli, he has offered to make us a special Shabbat dinner tonight. I'm looking forward to it, but don't really know what to expect. Will post more later, maybe some pics.

Guests

We've got some friends staying with us for a few days. They were given 3 days eviction notice by their previous landlord, and couldn't find something before she made them leave. So we told them they could sleep at ours until they find a new flat. They may only be here for a few days, but we're hoping to make the most of it.

Open Door Policy

So, we try to keep an open door policy around here. Whenever someone wants to come over, they can. Our friends frequently drop by, or simply wave up at us from across the street. But this past weekend, I was pushed a little too far.
As I came in the house, I heard a small click in the lock. Didn't think anything of it until I went out again later that evening, and noticed that the door hadn't latched. In fact, the bolt was stuck inside the door and wasn't coming out again. We were about to have people over for a worship meal, so I couldn't do anything about it right then. By the time the evening wound down it was too late to fix the lock.
Now, some people would call me a bit paranoid, but I refuse to sleep with the door unlocked. I tend to jump awake at sounds as it is, and knowing that our door could swing wide open at any moment was just too much. So I did what any self-respecting man would do in that situation. I piled up chairs in front of the door. And I kept piling them, until they were wedged in between the door, the wall, and the step in such a way that nobody would be able to get the door open, no matter how hard they pushed.
Next morning I fixed the lock.

More than dust

On Tuesday I went to a More Than Dust show at Camden's Purple Turtle. The guitarist is part of our little band of Jesus followers, and he often leads singing at our Thursday evening worship meal. It's bemusing to see the Alex I know as acoustic worship leader on stage with his head bowed, long hair obscuring his face. They put on a great show, though. Thumping good metal.

Camden Cowboys

One of the market traders has written a song about the market and all its crazy inhabitants. You can listen to Camden Cowboys on his MySpace page. Check it out - we'd love to see as many people as possible listening to this and supporting Kareem and the other traders.

Market Prayer Vigil

On Wednesday the High Street reopened and people were allowed to walk past the site of last week's fire. We spent about an hour walking around the affected area and through the markets that weren't burned, talking with traders and praying. Kathy met one of the shop-owners who's clothing store was destroyed. She had been praying that God would bring hope, and they ended up talking for a while about his love of Camden and his desire to rebuild.
It's clear that the fire has deeply impacted the traders who lost their shops. We've decided to spend a few minutes each day praying at the site of the fire, and I've e-mailed a few friends to come and hold a short prayer vigil at the site this coming Saturday. If anyone in Camden is interested in joining us, leave a comment and I'll get in touch with the details.

Camden Fire

A large fire broke out earlier this evening, about two blocks from our house. From what we could tell, it looked like one of the six markets in Camden was burned, along with a number of high street shops and the Hawley Arms pub. They've got the whole area blocked off, so we should be able to tell more tomorrow. Here's a shot looking back up the canal towards the fire.

[update] Tim is correct, everything we've heard is that nobody was seriously injured. It's past midnight, and there's still a good bit of smoke, but no more flames visible, and several trucks have started to leave the scene. MSN has the story here, plus a nice little description of the Camden we know and love.