see them fighting in the street because they can't make opinons meet

If you've come here today look for some sickly cupcake recipe, look away.

There are pictures of cute bunny rabbits here

Photos of travels to Paris here

A big fat chocolate cake here

But here today I'm going to talk about God.

Today is Good Friday. The 'day of death'. The penultimate day of lent. I try to do something for lent every year. Firstly because of the pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, but if all I wanted to do was eat pancakes I could reasonably do it every day of the year. By which time I should imagine I would be cured of my lust for lemon and sugar drizzled gallettes.

But every year I give up something different for the period between Shrove Tuesday and Easter Sunday. This year I didn't spend any money during business hours. Why? So that I had to make sure I took my lunch to work. I had to walk to the shops after dark when all I really wanted to do was climb into bed with a book. No great hardships, but little, daily things that remind me how easy my life is. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful that no one is trying to blow up my house. I'm grateful for the vast array and quantity of food that is immediately available to me when ever I want it. I'm thankful that I am unlikely to be washed away by some cruel trick of nature. All of that stuff that most of us in Australia and a fair slab of the western world have to be thankful for. And stuff that the majority of those on the world at the moment don't have.

So BHG - are you a believer?

Yes and no.

Do I believe in a biblical God/Allah/Siv etc? No. Do I believe that sex before marriage damns you for eternity? No. Do I believe that God et al give a toss about whether I fast during lent or not? No (my reasons for doing so are much more terrestrial).

Do I believe that there's something out there after death? Absolutely. I don't know exactly what, but I've had too many encounters with the dead to doubt it. Do I think the same goes for cats and dogs and insects? Don't know, but I can't see why not. Do I believe in science evolution? Totally (how I balance life after death with Charles Darwin are probably another post all together), but at the same time I believe in destiny and divine punishment - you do something bad and the universe will through something bad back at you. Kama baby!

I also think that we've let go of these connections with the universe. Whether it be fasting through lent, which also marks the passing from one season to the next, or how to connect to the spiritual/natural world around us, and it's one of the main reasons that the world is so totally, utterly fucked right now. I mean absolutely. I also know that people use God/Allah/Siv et al to do some bloody horrible things. These people better watch out for Kama baby because it's going to come and slap them roundly in the face one day. The Gods (all of them I'm sure) don't like their names being evoked for some blokes evil power rush.

So today is Good Friday. I like Easter more than Christmas as there seems to be more reflection involved. Christmas, at least in my family, is just a big piss up. So today there's no meat in my day (squid for lunch, beans on toast for tea), and I'll take some time to remember all of the good stuff. If you're sitting down to a roast tonight, take some time to think about how this holiday, whether it's your holy day or not, is a marker of our connection to the rest of the universe and muse upon that for a while.