Stonyhurst

I returned from the Faith Winter Conference late on Friday. I tried to be clever this year: I thought it would be great if I could get the talks videoed on my little phone camera and then I could edit them and produce some great soundbites for a You Tube video. Alas, the video seems to be best for close-up stuff, and I was sitting too far away from the speakers to get anything worthwhile...

Because I was concentrating on the videos, I didn't get to take quite so many photos (some of you might consider that to be a blessing!) and the phone battery gave out by the evening of the ceilidh, so I didn't manage any photos from the second evening.

However, I did manage a few snaps... First, and foremost, Sir Dan of the Nesbitry, looking positively Machiavellian...

Dan doesn't have a blog himself, but he has the amazing ability to pick up on all the rumblings in the blogosphere... I must pick his brains about the next Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster...

It's quite amusing to see people's reactions when I approach with my phone... I usually check before putting photos on the blog (it is a public forum, after all) unless people aren't really identifiable. So now, as I advance with camera phone in hand, I either get "Don't even think about it!" or "Is this for your blog? Ok, I suppose... if you must... hang on a minute while I check my hair..." ...and ocasionally I'll get a really posed photo... like the "Charlie's Angels shot" below...


The Winter Conference is very intense: there's a lot packed into the three days. Trying to catch up with friends you haven't seen since the Summer Session can be tiring... especially if that catching up occurs at 2am over a few beers... Breakfast on the last day is usually a subdued affair... and here you can see Grahame looking a litle the worse for wear (a look which will become more familiar, as he's going to become a dad some time in July...)

And finally, Fr. Stephen Boyle wanted to make sure that he ended up on my blog again. My comments about New Addington being an architectural wasteland meant that he was unable to enjoy telling his parishioners that he was becoming famous around the blogosphere... (oops, sorry, did it again...!)

There were some other bloggers present... I shall update the post as and when I find some more reports of all the shenanigans!