For 12 years they've been the UK's leading CCM band, and I'm sure that will continue - but times are changing for the Littlehampton 5-piece. Drummer Stew Smith has decided to move on to form a design company, spend more time at home with his family, and go deeper with his church. Anyone who's seen him play live knows how talented and passionate the guy is, and he'll certainly be missed by the other band members as well as us d:fans. Stew played his last UK gig with the band a couple of days ago in Greenwich.
Meanwhile, life goes on and the band's new album, Kingdom of Comfort, is to be released in the UK in a couple of weeks' time. Delirious? have also announced that their new drummer will be one Paul Evans, who also comes from Arun Community Church and currently works for Soul Survivor. Paul has been a session musician for many years and has previously filled in for Stew Smith on tour, so is no stranger to Delirious?.
There's obviously a tinge of sadness around Stew's leaving, but this is of course a new opportunity for him, Paul and the rest of the band. We pray that God would bless the lot of them in this new chapter of their lives.
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So it begins...
The 2008 Formula One season is under way as of today, with Raikkonen and Hamilton going fastest in the Friday practice ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. Last season was excellent entertainment (although Alonso's antics were infuriating, they certainly added interest) and this season looks set to be another stunner. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Kovalainen gets on alongside Hamilton at McLaren - he's a very highly rated driver (an I certainly concur with that consensus) but he also comes across - like Hamilton and Raikkonen - as being laid back and friendly. So hopefully we're in for a good friendly rivalry this year.
Who will win? Right now I doubt any team will be able to match Ferrari and McLaren on a regular basis, although Renault should improve with Alonso back in the fold, and Honda's season surely can't be any worse than last year, especially with Ross Brawn on board. Williams are always a bit of an unknown quantity but I'm not expecting any surprises from them this year - I reckon they'll be firmly stuck in the midfield.
Speaking of Williams, Patrick Head has made some interesting comments recently, suggesting the idea of the starting grid for a race being set by championship standings (with the leaders at the back) in order to spice things up. Personally I think this is a great idea, but can't see the authorities agreeing to such a radical change, especially as the top teams (with all the political clout that goes with them) would almost certainly oppose it. But even without big changes like that, this year looks set to be a good 'un.
Who will win? Right now I doubt any team will be able to match Ferrari and McLaren on a regular basis, although Renault should improve with Alonso back in the fold, and Honda's season surely can't be any worse than last year, especially with Ross Brawn on board. Williams are always a bit of an unknown quantity but I'm not expecting any surprises from them this year - I reckon they'll be firmly stuck in the midfield.
Speaking of Williams, Patrick Head has made some interesting comments recently, suggesting the idea of the starting grid for a race being set by championship standings (with the leaders at the back) in order to spice things up. Personally I think this is a great idea, but can't see the authorities agreeing to such a radical change, especially as the top teams (with all the political clout that goes with them) would almost certainly oppose it. But even without big changes like that, this year looks set to be a good 'un.
Students and citizenship
Lord Goldsmith's much-reported recent idea that pupils should take an oath of allegiance to Queen and country seems all very well on the surface, but as will most of these news stories, there's a sinister undertone if you read between the lines. If this is all about encouraging teenagers to be good citizens then there's a serious failure in this quote from Lord Goldsmith:
We seem to have gone from one extreme, where every word that any politician said was spin-doctored to death, to another, where politicians don't think at all before they open their mouths.
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The citizenship ceremonies, which are just one of the many things I have suggested, are a way of marking that passage of being a student of citizenship to a citizen in practice.What this is saying is that students are not teenagers aren't citizens at all while they're in full-time education, and therefore don't count and aren't expected to display adult behaviour until after they leave school. Calling someone a second-class citizen, or, worse, no citizen at all, is a sure way of arousing rebelliousness and stirring up trouble. Such a careless choice of words can only serve to further alienate Britain's teenagers and consequently result in more anti-social behaviour, not less.
We seem to have gone from one extreme, where every word that any politician said was spin-doctored to death, to another, where politicians don't think at all before they open their mouths.
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