Gravity Hills

Thursday was a most interesting day with some really bad stuff and some really good stuff.

The best bit of Thursday was rolling up a hill. Gravity hills are wonderful natural optical illusions where one appears to roll up toward a crest of a hill. Richard and I set off at 11:00 to find one of these hills in Aston Clinton at Dancer’s End Lane, presumably where a dancer met their end whilst trying to go up (or down) the hill. Richard was all for not going until Monday, on our day off, but why wait? Richard thinks “good things come to those who wait” but what better thing can we do today than roll backwards up a hill?

A view of Dancer's end looking down the hill (actually up it)

We drove down the road, skeptical about the whole thing, surely our eyes could not be fooled into being deceived about a hill? After a twist and a turn we went down a hill and arrived at a spot where we thought the place might be. We put the car into neutral and found out that we weren’t going down a hill, but actually going up it, we were rolling backwards. Weird. Things then got chaotic, our perception of up and down became distorted, we went to film things and were saying “then the car will roll upwards” realising that we meant downwards and had to resort to pointing where we meant. “ the car was pointing up the hill” well what does that actually mean “up” the real up or the pretend up… I even got into a state where the car was rolling up the hill and I thought, “no! the trick hasn’t worked, no one will be amazed by a car rolling up a hill, it must be rolling down instead” Something went badly wrong to my mind that day, but it was great fun.

A picture of Dancer's End looking up the hill (actually down it)

The really bad stuff is the way that some Christian’s in the local area are fighting and bickering over an issue, I think it basically comes down to two issues, control and mistrust. One thinks that the other is being irresponsible and trying to steal the rug from under the other, unable to realise the benefits that it will gain. One thinks that they are being pummelled into submission and question the other’s motives when quite clearly structures are already in place.

Also both think that they can do a better job than the other. I support both and feel torn between them, although the issue is centred around one decision I hope the right one is sensibly, humbly and compassionately made and everything falls into place for the sake of ruining more than one person’s time and jeopardising the good work that is going on for many.