The Atheist Blogger

So my last two rather sporadic posts talked very briefly about the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Student Societies (AHS) AGM, and how I got elected to the executive position of Secretary. What I thought I’d do is write a more detailed account of my weekend.

I caught the train up to Coventry at around 13:00 on Friday 19th, and the journey was pretty decent. There was only one change (at Reading) and I managed to not leave my suitcase on the train like I did the last time I was travelling across the country (luckily that time the train was in the station for 30 minutes so I was able to get back on board and retrieve it!). I was in a carriage that had laptop plug sockets, so I booted up and watched some comedy clips I had to pass the time. A couple of hours later, I was arriving into Coventry. I’d already phoned Stewart of Warwick Atheists so he could meet me at the station, but lines got crossed somewhere (my fault probably) and he had gone to Leamington station instead! Not panicking, I followed his directions to a bus stop and caught the bus to Warwick University Campus.

I finally met up with Stewart and Alex (of Oxford Atheists) at a university café, and they took me to a bar on campus. There I was greeted by several other Warwick atheists, and the British Humanist Association (BHA) representative, the lovely Andrew Copson. The afternoon went on, many drinks were had, and more and more atheist students from all over the country kept on entering the bar. We eventually moved away from the noise of the band to a spot next to the bar, where we could pull two tables together and order our meal. At some point during the evening, we tried to come up with a list of atheist songs, that is, songs that either mention atheism or could be interpreted as atheistic. We then proceeded to try and find these in the jukebox. I seem to remember putting in “Losing my religion” by R.E.M and “Thoughts of a dying atheist” by Muse; for some reason Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen was also selected.

Then we all decided to go to the shop, buy (more) alcohol and sit on the grass in a circle and chat. The AHS Press Officer, Chloë Clifford-Frith had also arrived, and I caught up with her on the various press issues I had blogged about. I dutifully surrendered a blanket I had brought along so that people could sit on the grass, a decision I would come to regret as it started raining, since I had to sleep under it that night.

The next morning (I slept over at Stewart’s house) was a rush to get ready in time to catch the bus. The morning was a lot of administration, listening to the reports from various people on the status of the organisation, and voting on very specific issues to do with the constitution. Being students though, we tried to keep it fun, and soon it was time for lunch. We went to a Asian restaurant on campus where I had a delicious plate of ribs (was very cheap too), before heading back to yet more voting.

Soon, it was time for the part everyone had been waiting for, the election of the new Executive. Jenna (the outgoing secretary) ran unopposed as the new President, but she still presented a very well thought out plan for the next year, and was quickly elected to the position. Both myself and a guy named Michael put ourselves forward for the Secretary position, and we were grilled by a series of questions from the committee. I aimed my “campaign” at working with national and international organisations (BHA, NSS, Secular Student Alliance, etc) and making administration more effective. Something I said must have been good, because I was voted in as the new Secretary. Stuart was then voted in as the new Treasurer, and after a few more discussions about our web presence, we all went out for a meal.

Secretary Adrian Hayter, President Jenna Catley, Treasurer Stuart Pilbrow

By Sunday, we were all tired, although not as tired as me since Elles decided that she was lonely without me to talk to on Skype, and decided to call my mobile at 7 am, waking up everyone in the living room (my ringtone is Dawkins saying “Science is interesting, and if you don’t agree you can fuck off”). Nevertheless, we got on with a morning of activities, including a discussion of possible merchandise, and a workshop on how to organize Fresher’s Fairs. The day ended with half the group (myself included) deciding to miss out on the BBQ as it was raining, and to head home instead.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and I hope to help organise more events like this one in the future as the new Secretary!

V for...erm...victory.

I got elected to the position of Secretary of the AHS (National Federation of Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Student Societies) which is great! I am now slightly drunk (in celebration) so I don’t trust myself to type more. Just thought I’d update everyone!

Others elected were Jenna Catley as President, Stuart Pilbrow as Treasurer, and Ellis Pugh as Director of Membership. We hope to work closely with both national and international atheist, humanist, and secular organisations in the future.

Thanks for the support! (if you gave it)

Adrian Hayter,

Secretary of the AHS.

AHS Logo

This weekend is the Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Student Groups (AHS), which gives us all a nice chance to meet up and get drunk (as we did last night). Today we actually get down to business, voting on some motions and electing a new executive (President, Secretary, and Treasurer). I’m standing for the position of Secretary, so wish me luck!

Anyway, let me have this chance to thank Warwick Atheists for their kind hospitality, knowledge of the best drinking areas, and to Stuart Pilbrow for allowing me to sleep on his floor (and save on expensive hotel fees). This should be a fun weekend for all!

What I would have given to have had Clifford Stoll as a science teacher back when I was at school! The man seems to bask in his hyperactive mind, constantly switching from subject to subject in this 18 minute presentation he gave at TED a few years ago. The whole thing is bizarrely easy to follow given the format (or should that be non-format), and is highly entertaining.

Dave Gorman is a British comedian who rose to fame after he travelled the world looking for people who shared his name (literally asking people “Are you Dave Gorman?”). This video is from a show he did covering another wacky idea of his, where he went in search for various Googlewacks (a two word search term that returns only one result). In it, he recants how he got a rather unusual tattoo after a night out drinking in Austin, Texas.

Finally, two videos from Eddie Izzard, a famous comedian and atheist. Parodying religion is a regular occurrence in his shows, and in my opinion he is second only to the great George Carlin at this. The first video covers religion in general, especially the formation of the Church of England.

The second video is a hilarious take on the Genesis story, starring James Mason as God, and Sean Connery as Noah.

Are you gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered? Have you rejected Gods of all kinds? Then Reed Braden (Homosecular Gaytheist) might have  proposal for you! Reed plans to create a collaborative blog of gay atheist activists, where issues that affect both minority groups will be discussed, a kind of Skepchick blog, only where the chicks like other chicks, and the guys like…well, you get the picture.

The idea has already got the attention of Greta Christina, as well as some other atheist bloggers (myself included). If you are interested or just want to find out more, go and join the facebook group!

If you have not already added me on facebook as a friend (and please do, it helps feed my ego) then you can easily access my profile by going to http://facebook.com/atheistblogger.