Ed does the AA This the account of Ed Powell, a man in his 20s exploring SE Asia and Auckland. My moto - "Bringing the world together, 1 step at a time"

Previously on A&A (said in J-Bauer voice)

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Ed has survived his birthday karaoke, leaving do and ran the gauntlet that is the Almoundsbury Interchange on bank holiday weekend and survived.

beep-beep-beep-beep-beep (beeps with massive intense reverb)

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So I am finally back in the land of the free that is Somerset. Like Frodo returning to the shire I am gracing Bridgwater for another exciting adventure - and trust me, they always are.


Twinned with places that I have never heard off, Bridgwater offers a lot to the individual.

So let me set the scene and I won't sugar coat it. Bridgwater is a hole. It's got noting really going for it. Its in the top 15% of under-achievement wihin secondary schools, has drug and employment problems and was lablled the "moss-side of the west country" by the late great Joe Strummer (Lead singer of The Clash for you un-educated plebs). To top it all off, Bridgie is in a conservative regime and has been since I was born - proof that the conservatives may come with fancy ideas but in actual fact will only work in the middle classes and not where proper government is needed - here (I'll come back to this later).

Having said all this, Bridgwater is amazing - and I mean that. It is drenched in tradition and most people who slag it off probably have never been here as it has so much going on. As soon as I pull into zion, I have a text message saying that the lads are in the pub, come down when your ready. That night I met up with friends and talked about the dreamteam I had just narrowly lost (gutted) as well catching up with stuff. That night I headed into town where I met some more friends - one of which now has a baby girl, works full time and makes it work - give that girl a medal!

Whilst I’m at home I’ve been getting around using my mothers classic nissan micra. Now this is the older sort that has only done around 45,000 miles and believe me when I say it is like driving a go-kart!! Throwing this thing around country lanes is a lot of fun and I have driven to see many delights that is Westward Ho! (that’s right Ho!), Exeter and most importantly, Johnny Depps new house.

The next morning my parents asked me if I wanted to go to the local church with them (this was the place where I grew up). I thought why not, could be a laugh (normally is at Christmas and Easter). What I witnessed was investment at its highest. Here was a place where anyone would turn up - a few examples for you. Geoff the mobile disco man - why he is called this I do not know but he drives an imaginary bus around the place and will be often seen reversing around a corner; reformed alcoholics - so many that they use non-alcoholic communion wine now; and an incredible over-enthusiastic drummer who drums far to loud to an interesting tempo.


My point is that the Church get's a bad reputation for being boring and out-of-touch but here was a group of people actually welcoming in people that the average person would probably shrug off. Its a place where people can feel safe and secure and where actually people will show interest in them.


So as I head into town, I listen into people's conversations. There amazing. You here stories about how a guy - obviously from Liverpool cos of his accent - had beaten up another guy, and about how someone else has left someone else for another guy. However, as I walk around you get an enormous sense of togetherness. Everyone seems content with what they have, or haven't got. It's like actually, I may not have all things I want but I don't care becuase I'm happy with what I have - anything else is a bonus. It's rare that you find this. I found Cheltenham to be a real place where you have to be constantly trying to better yourself. We need to get bigger, or the numbers need to be larger than last time or we need to be moving forward. The problem with this outlook is you forget the things around you and you loose focus on what really matters.


So as I come into land, I feel that actually even though Bridgwater has a bad reputation, it actually is a great place to be. Its next to the beach, at the foot of the most beautfull hills you will see in this part of the UK and there is always something going on. In light of what I have seen in the last week, I 100% believe that the government need to invest in churches more rather than mickey mouse schemes - regardless of what you believe, churches are the people that are gonna make the difference in social action. Secondly, the atmosphere is very much that of everything is gonna be OK and that in actual fact, the glass is always half full, whether it gets filled up does not really matter, but if does it's a bonus.

Anyway, I'll post again shortly.


Untill next time, whats next.....

Ed