...This video, courtesy of Fr. Zuhlsdorf. I suppose it has got one thing going for it: at least all the dancers are modestly dressed... (I mean, some of the skimpy little outfits you see "liturgical dancers" wear are more suitable for the beach!)
And just for comparison, the original liturgical dance...
Thank God for Summorum Pontificum!
Saturday, 12 January 2008
One Down...
Fr. Tim rashly put up a post detailing 10 things which would NOT happen in 2008. Well, less than two weeks in and item 9 has been seen: admittedly over on Paulinus's blog...
Fr. Tim in a Hawaiian shirt. Oh dear... But he seems to be making a bit of a habit of it...
Fr. Tim in a Hawaiian shirt. Oh dear... But he seems to be making a bit of a habit of it...
Friday, 11 January 2008
What A Week...
...I find it hard to believe that we're only at the end of our first week of the new term. And chaos reigns supreme...January is the month of exams. In my now far-distant youth, the month of November was for "re-sits"... a shameful and rare occurrence, and not spoken about in polite society. Now, there are modules to be taken. The Year 13 students are busy doing their A level module exams, and are trying to re-sit the AS modules which they didn't do so well in from last June (or even the previous January, depending on how badly they flunked!) Year 12 are getting stressed out because the AS level exams are much harder than the GCSE ones they did back in June, and it's a heck of a shock to the system. Year 11 are trying to take GCSE modules for the stuff they've been studying this academic year and the re-sits from the June exams (and possibly last January as well, depending on how badly they did...) And Year 10 are facing their first set of GCSE exams... and are stunned to discover that they are real exams, not just tests the teachers have cooked up to avoid teaching any lessons in January while they recover from their Christmas and New Year hangovers...
Trying to keep track of which child is doing which module on which date at which time is a little tricky... especially as the teenager invariably expects you to know exactly who they are when they accost you in the corridor, and is surprised when you demand to know what Year they are in.
I also have reports to write and Parents' Evenings to attend...
...Blogging may be light for the next week or two...
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Bird Flu ?
I wish I could... guarantee that this case proved terminal... I loathe the overgrown budgie. Mantilla duly twitched in Paulinus' direction!
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
And Welcome Back...
La Mamma is back in action again. The Antagonistic Pots and Pans are clattering in the kitchen... excellent stuff. I especially enjoyed reading about the narcoleptic effects of Baptism...
To Veil Or Not To Veil...
Sister Roseann, of the marvellous Sisters of the Gospel of Life, has put up a wee post explaining why they don't wear veils... at least, not yet!I hadn't realised that she and Sister Andrea hadn't yet taken final vows... now THAT will be quite some event!
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The Nanny Mentality...
The Government have banned smoking in all enclosed public places. Now, I don't smoke, and I never have. But I resent the fact that I am considered to be too mentally feeble to choose to frequent a non-smoking establishment (or a non-smoking section of an establishment) should I wish to do so. Now I am faced with the choice of accompanying friends outside into the cold night air if I wish to continue my conversation, instead of having a comfortable chat over coffee while they get their nicotine fix......of course, it is always possible that one or two of my friends might take up smoking in order to avoid the aforementioned conversation...
;-)
It strikes me as rather apposite that the first nation to ban smoking in public places was Germany, under the Nazis.
Isn't it interesting to reflect that the morning-after pill can be given to girls under sixteen (under the legal age for sexual intercourse) by school nurses, without any fear of reprisal, because the "mistake" has to be dealt with, and chastity education is unacceptable because it isn't realistic to expect young people not to break the law...
This dictatorial attitude has strayed into culinary matters. At Stonyhurst, pepper pots were very much in evidence. But no sign of salt. When the kitchen staff were asked for salt, they replied that they weren't allowed to provide salt: the school's healthy eating policy.Personally I'd have thought that the morning-after pill was far worse for a person than a pinch of salt over one's chips...
Anyway, next year I intend to bring my own salt. I expect to become remarkably popular at mealtimes!
Monday, 7 January 2008
Having A Little Fun...
Secret Santa Enterprises, Inc.
North Pole Science Park
Dear Madam,
Thank you very much for your order, received 25 December 2007.
Our Dispatches Department has had a few problems in fulfilling your requirements, and it is with regret that I have to inform you that the items you requested cannot be sent at this time.
Item: Partridge/Pear Tree Combo (1) The partridge is a ground-nesting bird, and has refused to consider arboreal transportation of any kind. It is also not the correct time of year to uproot pear trees, which are very susceptible to frost.
Item: Turtle Doves (1 pair) We did have one pair of turtle doves. Unfortunately there was a slight misunderstanding in the Cookery Department (Cook was very tipsy after a few pre-prandial sherries, and she's reading Alice in Wonderland at the moment!), and the turtle doves were mistakenly converted into a mock-turtle-dove soup. You will, I am sure, be comforted to know that the soup was excellent.
Item: Hens, French (3) The delivery of this item has been delayed by a dispute by lorry drivers at Calais. I can assure you that you would not have enjoyed this item, as the eggs generally smell of garlic and onions, with a certain je ne sais quoi sometimes identified as Galoises and felt berets.
Item: Birds, Calling (4) There was a slight misunderstanding here when the Chief Packer misread the delivery schedule, and attempted to send four call girls... fortunately the error was detected in time. As soon as the birds have been trained to use the latest in Nokia handsets, we will be sending them along to you.
Item: Rings, 24 Carat (5) Unfortunately, our stock of rings has been sorely depleted due to the depredations of a certain individual, last seen riding a white horse in the vicinity of Banbury Cross. She was described as a "fine lady," but, actually, must be a bit of a Chav to wear rings on all of her fingers...
Item: Geese, a-laying (6) Not much chance with this item either. Geese have proved very popular this Christmas (must be a new recipe out by Delia) and you won't be able to get your paws on one, a-laying or otherwise, for love nor money.
Item: Swans, swimming (7) Madam, I do believe that you are, as they say, "extracting the urine." Swans are the property of the Crown, and while I might have been able to find one on the QT, seven is pushing your luck. Added to which is the problem of transportation. I mean, have you considered the size of one of those blighters? Some of them have a wingspan of six feet, and how, exactly, you were expecting us to be able to find a water tank large enough to accommodate all of them without drawing down the wrath of the animal rights lobby for cruel and inhumane transportation of live swans totally escapes me.
Item: Maids, milking (8) Due to the latest edict of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) movement of livestock and all unnecessary movement of farm workers has been banned. Milkmaids are farm workers according to EU directive 21478/07. Blame blue tongue and foot-in-mouth disease... well, wouldn't you have a blue tongue if you put your foot in your mouth? I suppose it might be red tongue if you changed the colour of your socks...
Item: Dancing Ladies (9) I'm afraid that we're right out of dancing ladies as well. King Herod put in a bulk order back in June (he got the taste for that sort of thing after his niece did a demo) and stocks have not been replenished.
Item: Lords, Leaping (10) Don't hold your breath. From what I've seen on the Parliamentary Channel, you'd be lucky to get a couple of the old codgers to attend anything, and they'd be pretty moribund. Not inclined to leap. Sleep, yes. Leaping is definitely a no-go area. The insurance wouldn't cover it. Health and Safety. Someone might have a heart attack.
Item: Pipers (11) Have you taken complete leave of your senses, woman?? Have you ever actually heard anyone play the bagpipes?? It's the most ghastly din imaginable... and then to request eleven of the wretched things. No, please believe me, I have your best interests at heart when I say that this item has been discontinued.
Item: Drummers (12) Well, we could possibly dig up Phil Collins, and that chap from Queen... but twelve might be a bit difficult. Maybe you'd prefer a nice tambourine...
Once again, sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. We look forward to receiving your order next year.
Yours faithfully,
S. Claus.
Packaging & Delivery Section.
North Pole Science Park
Dear Madam,
Thank you very much for your order, received 25 December 2007.
Our Dispatches Department has had a few problems in fulfilling your requirements, and it is with regret that I have to inform you that the items you requested cannot be sent at this time.
Item: Partridge/Pear Tree Combo (1) The partridge is a ground-nesting bird, and has refused to consider arboreal transportation of any kind. It is also not the correct time of year to uproot pear trees, which are very susceptible to frost.
Item: Turtle Doves (1 pair) We did have one pair of turtle doves. Unfortunately there was a slight misunderstanding in the Cookery Department (Cook was very tipsy after a few pre-prandial sherries, and she's reading Alice in Wonderland at the moment!), and the turtle doves were mistakenly converted into a mock-turtle-dove soup. You will, I am sure, be comforted to know that the soup was excellent.
Item: Hens, French (3) The delivery of this item has been delayed by a dispute by lorry drivers at Calais. I can assure you that you would not have enjoyed this item, as the eggs generally smell of garlic and onions, with a certain je ne sais quoi sometimes identified as Galoises and felt berets.
Item: Birds, Calling (4) There was a slight misunderstanding here when the Chief Packer misread the delivery schedule, and attempted to send four call girls... fortunately the error was detected in time. As soon as the birds have been trained to use the latest in Nokia handsets, we will be sending them along to you.
Item: Rings, 24 Carat (5) Unfortunately, our stock of rings has been sorely depleted due to the depredations of a certain individual, last seen riding a white horse in the vicinity of Banbury Cross. She was described as a "fine lady," but, actually, must be a bit of a Chav to wear rings on all of her fingers...
Item: Geese, a-laying (6) Not much chance with this item either. Geese have proved very popular this Christmas (must be a new recipe out by Delia) and you won't be able to get your paws on one, a-laying or otherwise, for love nor money.
Item: Swans, swimming (7) Madam, I do believe that you are, as they say, "extracting the urine." Swans are the property of the Crown, and while I might have been able to find one on the QT, seven is pushing your luck. Added to which is the problem of transportation. I mean, have you considered the size of one of those blighters? Some of them have a wingspan of six feet, and how, exactly, you were expecting us to be able to find a water tank large enough to accommodate all of them without drawing down the wrath of the animal rights lobby for cruel and inhumane transportation of live swans totally escapes me.
Item: Maids, milking (8) Due to the latest edict of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) movement of livestock and all unnecessary movement of farm workers has been banned. Milkmaids are farm workers according to EU directive 21478/07. Blame blue tongue and foot-in-mouth disease... well, wouldn't you have a blue tongue if you put your foot in your mouth? I suppose it might be red tongue if you changed the colour of your socks...
Item: Dancing Ladies (9) I'm afraid that we're right out of dancing ladies as well. King Herod put in a bulk order back in June (he got the taste for that sort of thing after his niece did a demo) and stocks have not been replenished.
Item: Lords, Leaping (10) Don't hold your breath. From what I've seen on the Parliamentary Channel, you'd be lucky to get a couple of the old codgers to attend anything, and they'd be pretty moribund. Not inclined to leap. Sleep, yes. Leaping is definitely a no-go area. The insurance wouldn't cover it. Health and Safety. Someone might have a heart attack.
Item: Pipers (11) Have you taken complete leave of your senses, woman?? Have you ever actually heard anyone play the bagpipes?? It's the most ghastly din imaginable... and then to request eleven of the wretched things. No, please believe me, I have your best interests at heart when I say that this item has been discontinued.
Item: Drummers (12) Well, we could possibly dig up Phil Collins, and that chap from Queen... but twelve might be a bit difficult. Maybe you'd prefer a nice tambourine...
Once again, sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. We look forward to receiving your order next year.
Yours faithfully,
S. Claus.
Packaging & Delivery Section.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
And Look Who I've Just Found...
By virtue of the fact that I witter on about all sorts, Jay3gsm seems to have stumbled upon my blog. Checking him out reveals that his home parish is Our Lady of Lourdes in Harpenden, which is where a friend of mine lives...
I shall also be keeping an eye on his other blogs (he has four in total!) especially the one which goes through all sorts of useful stuff to do with mobile phones and PDAs and stuff...
I shall also be keeping an eye on his other blogs (he has four in total!) especially the one which goes through all sorts of useful stuff to do with mobile phones and PDAs and stuff...
Bloggers Crawling Out Of The Woodwork...
Aha ! Ella (in the middle) has yet to blog on the Faith Winter Conference, but Mixieblob (on the right) couldn't resist...Richard (of Bashing Secularism) has also posted about the Conference, but not in as much detail as usual: since he's busy taking down notes for work at every other event he goes to, he felt that he deserved a shorthand-free holiday...
Fr. Tim has blogged about his excellent talk (not that he claimed it was excellent, you understand... but it was) and the other excellent talks which followed. I'll link to the Faith Movement Website when the talks become available for download.
Some of the East Anglia Seminarians were also present... If they put a post up, I'll link to it.
The Winter Conference was really very good. I can't wait for the Summer Session at Woldingham!
UPDATE: OK, Ella has put up her piece HERE.
Hardware
My current computer is a year old (give or take a few weeks) and I love the fact that it can cope with broadband, thus allowing me to blog away to my heart's content...
My previous computer was a Dell. It was state-of-the-art when I bought it, though it was superseded within about two months. I used to joke that it could do everything but make the tea, and that was only because I didn't have the right attachment... The Dell lasted for ten years. No problems with either the keyboard or the mouse...
The keyboard on my new computer lasted about six months. To be fair, this was due to the cat being sick on it. The fact that this contributed to the worst birthday I've had in a long time just added insult to injury. Luckily I hadn't disposed of the Dell keyboard...
Over the past month or so, I've been having problems with my mouse. It has been sticking and unresponsive, and I've opened it up and removed bits of fluff, and polished the ball... yesterday it really seized up. I found it difficult to edit my photos, and I calculated that blogging took about half an hour longer than usual because I couldn't get the mouse to work properly. So today I went round to PC World to buy a new mouse. I decided a new keyboard was in order as well...
It does make me wonder if manufacturers are skimping somewhere in production, given that mouse number 1 lasted 10 years and mouse number 2 lasted 10 months...
My previous computer was a Dell. It was state-of-the-art when I bought it, though it was superseded within about two months. I used to joke that it could do everything but make the tea, and that was only because I didn't have the right attachment... The Dell lasted for ten years. No problems with either the keyboard or the mouse...
The keyboard on my new computer lasted about six months. To be fair, this was due to the cat being sick on it. The fact that this contributed to the worst birthday I've had in a long time just added insult to injury. Luckily I hadn't disposed of the Dell keyboard...
Over the past month or so, I've been having problems with my mouse. It has been sticking and unresponsive, and I've opened it up and removed bits of fluff, and polished the ball... yesterday it really seized up. I found it difficult to edit my photos, and I calculated that blogging took about half an hour longer than usual because I couldn't get the mouse to work properly. So today I went round to PC World to buy a new mouse. I decided a new keyboard was in order as well...It does make me wonder if manufacturers are skimping somewhere in production, given that mouse number 1 lasted 10 years and mouse number 2 lasted 10 months...
Happy Epiphany !
I was a little late putting up pictures of the Crib, but I have taken another one from this morning, after the arrival of the Magi...
I really love the fact that it's still Christmas for another whole week in the Church's calendar... especially since I noticed that my local Sainsbury's has been busy producing Hot Cross Buns and Cadbury's Creme Eggs are out in force...
I really love the fact that it's still Christmas for another whole week in the Church's calendar... especially since I noticed that my local Sainsbury's has been busy producing Hot Cross Buns and Cadbury's Creme Eggs are out in force...