It’s been a while since I last updated the blog here (sorry!) but life hasn’t really been too exciting really so there’s not been too much to say. Although that’s also a pretty poor excuse as I could have posted micro-updates. My bad!
So what’s been happening with all things Hartley? Read on for news, updates, videos and even a bit of desktop wallpaper that I designed the other day 
The job hunt continues on and on with not much happening on that front really but we are trusting in God and firmly believing in all the He has for us and all His promises. We’re still sure that God wants us to move elsewhere, and have even started to do some of that clearing out that always happens with a house move – going through books, toys, games and more to decide if we can car boot them, bin them, or give them to charity shops.
There are jobs out there, and I’m applying for plenty, but it’s obviously not the right job or the right time yet as I’m not getting much response. Your prayers are always appreciated though, especially with Christmas and birthdays coming up (our two boys have birthdays in December and January). Gods provision is keeping us afloat nicely, in fact the boat doesn’t even have any leaks – God never fails us and will always meet our needs.
The operation is drawing ever closer, 12 days and counting now, with the pre-op appointment next Thursday. Addenbrookes have asked me to take part in a research programme as well to test out a moving MRI system. Where you are normally pinned down during an MRI scan and cannot move a muscle, they are now looking at ways of taking MRI scans when you are moving to see the effects that movement has on your condition. In my case it will hopefully show some detail on how nerves are being pinched and how my disc and vertebrae problems impact me when moving. The MRI itself is a bit nervy as it’s like being stuck in a tight tube and gives me a real case of claustrophobia but if it gives more clues then that can only be a good thing.
The looming operation is beginning to play on my mind a bit, more and more each day if the truth be told, but that’s only to be expected really as with any operation. At least the operation won’t impact on any job opportunities or any capability to perform as the recovery process is basically sitting in a chair all day – what else does an IT guy do eh?
Mrs H and I managed to spoil ourselves the other weekend courtesy of Tesco Clubcard vouchers, going out for a nice Italian meal and then going to the cinema together for the first time in two years or so. We watched the supremely excellent RED, starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox and Morgan Freeman. The film was laugh-out-loud funny and the sight of Helen Mirren running around with semi-automatics and assault rifles needs to be seen to be believed. I can strongly recommend this film to anyone who fancies an fun, humorous, action film that is so cool it is frozen.
As an additional bonus we managed to get last minute tickets to go and see Jeff Lucas and Adrian Plass on Monday for the second date in their Seriously Funny tour. There were tears of joy and laughter, and tears of sadness – the evening truly was Serious and Funny and will be remembered for a long time.
October the 29th was a sad day for the UK Christian music scene as it was the start of the 2 farewell gigs by yFriday. We took our daughter to the event, being the first to arrive and in the queue so ensuring we got a great place to watch. yFriday have been around for over 15 years and have written many songs that have sneaked into the psyche of the Church. Ken Riley, the lead singer, has also collaborated with so many worship leaders and songwriters in the UK and the States with the best known result being the song “Everlasting God” as recorded by Chris Tomlin, amongst many others.
The supporting act for the gig were a “new” band called the Steels, who have worked with the guys from yFriday for a while now. I say “new” as they’ve actually been around for 8 years but have just signed with Kingsway records and their latest album, Supreme, is the first one to get really major backing and exposure outside of the north of England. All I can say is that they were totally brilliant and great fun on stage, whilst wearing their heart for God right on their sleeves.
I took a load of photos and video clips from the whole evening – and have so far uploaded two video to YouTube which are at the bottom of this post for your enjoyment
Finally, I got a bit creative the other day after watching the rather weird, but also enjoyable, film “The Spirit” on TV. In typical Frank Miller style was a mixture of live action overlaid with comic-book elements and lots of Red, White and Black. I decided to copy the style in my own limited manner and came up with a desktop wallpaper which I am pretty pleased with, although I know it’s not the best piece of art out there 
If you click on the thumbnail image below you can view the image and if you right-click on it you can then “save as” to download if you like it – hopefully you will.
And finally, as promised, here are the videos of The Steels and yFriday – ENJOY! 