There is a couplet in Kipling's famous poem which goes like this: 'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two imposters just the same' . The poem begins with some familiar words 'If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you'; and ends 'Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it / And - which is more - you'll be a man my son'. The writer outlines to his son the challenges he will face as he grows up, and urges him to respond positively, in order to get the best out of life and to be the best that he can be.

One of those challenges is how we deal with success and failure, perhaps especially challenging for us, as our culture tends to over-hype success and often refuses to admit failure.

I guess I first heard the name Nelson Mandela when the song by The Specials hit the charts in the early 80's. The chorus was simple but effective: 'Free Nelson Mandela' (although I still want to add the words 'with every purchase' - it's an interesting thought). Then of course there were the concerts and a wave of protest around the world. He had become an icon, a symbol of the struggle against racism, and against oppression in general. All of this culminated in the amazing scenes which surrounded his release from prison in 1990. He remains an iconic figure, hugely respected and revered. But in all honesty, until very recently, I knew very little about him.

A few years back, someone gave me a copy of his book 'Long walk to freedom'. It's a hefty tome - over 700 pages. A fact which has always deterred me from reading it. But with a trip to South Africa lined up, I figured it was now or never. So I am wading my way through it - around p550 now. I reckon it's longer than it needs to be - there is a lot of detail (names, places etc). But it's still a gripping account of Mandela's life as what he calls a 'freedom fighter'.

Someone asked me recently if my trip to Cape Town was 'life changing'. Now, I could be pedantic (and a little philosophical) and say 'yes, of course, my life is different because I went to Cape Town rather than going somewhere else or staying at home' - in the same way that choosing to shop at Tesco's today will alter the course of my life slightly. More seriously, my trip could prove to be life-changing in the longer term - perhaps I will return there one day - who knows?

But of course the question was probing the impact my visit to Cape Town has had on me, as a person. Do I feel different? Will I look back in years to come and see this as a turning point, a time when I came to see things differently? Or perhaps my commitment to Christ has deepened?

I'm now back from my trip to Cape Town. Although I was only away a week, it seemed a lot longer, I guess because I was pretty busy while I was there. Didn't manage to sleep much on the plane (in either direction) so I'm very grateful to have two more weeks of sabbatical in which to catch up!

I spent much of my time in Elsies River (a coloured area of around 150,000 people, in the suburbs to the west of Cape Town). I was hosted by Jerome Hartley and the rest of the Pinnacle Youth Outreach team (pic 1), seeing what they do and meeting some of the people they work with. I saw the soup kitchen in action (pic 2) and even managed to get a game of football (pic 3). For the first half of my visit, I stayed with Andre Visagie, one of the PYO team. The remainder of my time was spent with Tommy Solomons and his family (pic 4). Tommy is the pastor of the Rhenish Church in Elsies River (founded in 1829 by German missionaries from the Rhineland - hence the name). We shared a lot in common as pastors, but it was also fascinating to see a different kind of church in action.

Balancing our traditions with following Jesus' commands. (Sermon given by Gaynor Williams)

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As part of my sabbatical, I've been reading a series of three books by Eugene Peterson (author of The Message). The books are aimed at those in pastoral ministry and are intended to help pastors reflect  on the nature of their calling. Essentially, they constitute a plea/warning against distraction, against being drawn away from our calling, either by external pressures or internal needs (for approval, success etc). The first book was written in 1980, and since then the amount of 'noise' that we have to live with has increased phenomenally - there are many things demanding our attention and expectations of what can be done have increased too, fuelled by the growth in communications technology.

As part of my rigorous programme of preparation for Cape Town, Joel and I went to see 'Invictus' at the cinema last night. In case you're not up to speed with the latest film releases, it's the story of the 1995 rugby world cup, held in South Africa. Or to be more precise, the film relates how Nelson Mandela saw this as a great opportunity to unite the country as well as send a message to the rest of the world. And for anyone who is not a rugby fan and/or is too young to remember, South Africa did indeed win the World Cup, narrowly beating New Zealand in the final. Pictures of Mandela celebrating the victory in a Springbok jersey (symbol of apartheid in many ways) have become iconic images.

I'm eagerly looking forward to my trip to Cape Town next week (although I also have a nagging feeling that I should be doing more to get ready!). I guess this has made me especially attentive to all things South African, which may explain why I was drawn to a piece in The Times last Saturday. Although it cropped up in the World News section, it was more of an article really, written in anticipation of this Thursday's 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison.

You can read the full article here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article7017136.ece 

But what struck me was the description of Desmond Tutu, acting and speaking decisively to calm a highly volatile situation - a confrontation which could have ended up in great bloodshed was instead resolved peacefully and calmly. This was a kingdom moment, not because it happened in a church but simply because it happened.

Frustrated at another football cancellation (the opposition couldn't raise a strong enough team to take on the might of Hay Hill), I set off for a bike ride yesterday morning. Nothing too adventurous - just round the block really. But I needed to do something.

Now I reckon that cycling highlights the contours of a territory, more than any other mode of transport. Any slight change of gradient becomes evident almost immediately, as pedalling becomes either easier or harder. Englishcombe Lane is a bit of a microcosm of Bath, in that you can't go very far without going either up- or downhill. Cycling towards Rush Hill involves quite a steep climb, from the end of Southdown Road, up past the Tesco store, to the junction at the top.

By the time I reached the main road, I was breathing quite heavily. Partly due to being out of shape - but also (I realised) because I had been cycling quite fast. And so I wondered (as I prepared myself to tackle Rush Hill) why this was.

Partly it was because I wanted to do something energetic, rather than going for a gentle outing. But a couple of other things struck me too.

Back online again, having returned from a weekend away, followed by a few days 'on retreat'. I didn't go with a lengthy agenda, other than wanting to reconnect with God. And I can honestly say that (on those terms) the retreat was a success - to the extent that I came home a little early, because I felt I'd done the work I needed to do.

The location was Harnhill Centre of Christian Healing, near Cirencester; the focus was a week of ministry, intended for church leaders - a combination of 'teaching', spiritual direction and prayer ministry, with plenty of space for personal reflection. Oh, and plenty of good food too! The company was good too, just a bunch of ordinary people from a variety of backgrounds (although in terms of church tradition, most were Anglicans), just wanting to connect with God. Most had stepped out of busy ministries and some were going to back directly to leading worship and preaching on Sunday. Whereas for me, it was more about finding a focus for my sabbatical, than a desperately needed break. Nonetheless, it was a very significant few days.