Ian Thomson, Luthier

You know, if you'd asked me in November what I wanted my blog title to say in the new year, it might have read something like this: Ian Thomson, Luthier...well, whaddyaknow?

But before I get too big-headed about it, I'd better remind myself that I spend most Monday mornings begging for work from the excuse for a recruitment agency the call Kensington Mayfair, and most of my Tuesday afternoons washing pots in some canteen or hotel around Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire, and most of my Thursday evenings wishing I had more guitar students...we're in an economic crisis, people! Jobs are hard to get! The world is crumbling!

But funnily, this crisis seems a lot less worrying than the everyday state of some of my friends in Malawi, who pray that the rains will come on time and give them a harvest, and then try and hang onto their faith while yet another flood hits, who have to pick which of their children they can afford to send to school, whose no1 aspiration in life is 'Leave Malawi'... No this isn't a crisis. This is people who have forgotten what a crisis is getting a bit nostalgic. Harsh? Maybe there are some real crises in the UK. But I don't think the economic downturn has made that much of a difference.

But I shouldn't really criticise, because by God's grace, I am in exactly the perfect place right now. I have enough friends in whose words and actions to see God, I have enough food, clothes, warmth to live well, and I have enough vision to want to get up each morning. So, if you've been seriously affected by the economic downturn, if you've lost your job security, if your insurance company went bust, if you're angry/scared/confused by it all, my perspective is only my perspective.

Here is the finished Shona: