We started the evening playing games on the Wii (as we’ve done before) and then tucked into refreshments. But the evening was not only billed as a Christmas Party – it also incorporated the long awaited Retro Amicus evening. During the early years of Amicus we videoed some of our favourite activities, and so we decided to dig up the old videos and watch them together. It’s a real joy that seven years after Amicus first started, many of our founding members are still with us as regulars. So we watched some of those early videos whilst cringing and laughing in equal measure. We’ll see if we can get the techie cogs working away and get some of the early video clips online for your viewing pleasure.

Simon has worked really hard since we finished filming our latest video project last week (1, 2, 3, 4) and so we were able to view the finished article.  We’d previously seen the out-takes which were great, but not a patch on the final thing.  Here it is in all its glory!

We closed the evening with a Christmas/Advent meditation: words by James Hawes; picture by Vladstudio; music by Ryuichi Sakamoto; and production by Ricky Rew.  Click through the meditation below:

We were also graced by a visit from Mark who came along to share the food and drink, and to present each member with a New Testament to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of The Boys’ Brigade.

Next Week: It’s Christmas!!

We return on 7th January 2009 with the Big Fat Amicus Quiz – this time organised by Nick Jones!

Merry Christmas!

After a couple of minor glitches we got under way with the planned T-Shirt Decorating.  We were joined by Simon Poizat who not only went to buy brushes (and a vat of Malteasers), but then came back to make the tea/coffee, went out to buy milk, came back and made the promised tea/coffee and served it to everyone, before heading back out to work.  With commitment like that he can come back every week!

The t-shirts varied in quality, but the amount of effort put in was immense (mostly).  Some put in a lot of effort and didn’t even get as far as starting on their t-shirt; some put in an inordinate amount of effort and produced a masterpiece; and some put in a great deal of effort and would probably describe the end product with the word ‘meh‘.  You know who you are and which category you fall into ;o)  I didn’t get pictures of the final products because I was too busy administering the malteasers to my friends, but you can see the t-shirts in progress (and some of last weeks pictures) in the gallery.

Sarah led devotions and encouraged us all to reflect on the season of Advent.  If you haven’t got your own Advent Calendar – you have now!  Also, take a look at this video to get in the mood for a proper Christmas.

The guys ended the evening with a game of football: Simon almost lost an eye to Graham’s elbow (no intention from either party) and David, erm, isn’t likely to be fathering children in the next 10 years (until the swelling goes down fully!).

Next Week: Film Making  – Final Session

Following Week: Christmas Party (inc. Retro Amicus)