On The Subject Of Swine Flu...

Melancholicus has a helpful hint on what not to do... though the picture is just too good to leave it on his blog, so I'm snaffling it here...

My gecko-owning friend also told me that her father had phoned the NHS Swine Flu information line... but all he got was some crackling...

You Learn Something New Every Day...

I visited some friends yesterday evening, and was promptly grilled by the youngest family member as to the nature of my favourite pet, not including cats. This had me stumped for a minute. After admitting that rats (nice, clean, laboratory-reared rats) were my second favourite, the interrogation moved to the subject of geckos (my interrogator's favourite, I think...)

I had to admit that I had never actually "met" a gecko. I'd seen pictures, I'd seen them on TV, but I'd never seen one "in the flesh" so to speak.

This gap in my knowledge was hastily remedied... I was promptly introduced to "Poppy" (so called because the spots on her back looked like poppy seeds) and was allowed to take photos for the blog. I must say that geckos are rather beautiful to look at...

Taking (Civil) Liberties...

The British Government wants to bring in ID cards. Initially, it would have been compulsory to have a card (and to pay for the privilege) but the Home Office are now saying that it's going to be optional (for how long?) The scheme was also going to be running by 2008... but now people are talking about 2010 for pilot schemes and 2011/2012 for the real thing. And data will be held in three different databases, partly because the cost of a cental database would be too high, and partly because this Government have proved to be so totally inept at handling data securely.

I have to confess that I'm confused by the need for ID cards. We already have passports, drivers' licenses, national insurance numbers, (allocated at age 16, I think) national health numbers (allocated at birth - at least mine is related to the number on my birth certificate) council tax documentation, electoral roll data...

I do not understand how these cars will reduce fraud, illegal immigration or terrorism.

The original idea was to have iris scan data for the cards. Too expensive, so it's been ditched. All it will now have is fingerprint data on a database... but there are no plans to give scanners for the cards to shops, banks, pubs or other commercial concerns. Instead there will be a "hotline" for people worried about fake cards.

So much for the fight against fraud... credit cards already use more technology than this with their chip-and-pin stuff... and that isn't foolproof. And cards can be cloned.

There isn't even a timetable for giving scanners to the police or to immigration officers...

There goes the illegal immigrants argument.

Which leaves the fight against terrorism. As if people born in this country aren't capable of committing acts of terrorism. And someone who wants to blow up other people, and doesn't mind dying in the process, is hardly going to worry about having a valid ID card. I suppose it might help to identify the dead...

This Made Me Laugh...

... unfortunately there is more than a grain of truth in it!

Communicate With Your Cat - Hints & Tips 1...

I thought I'd start a new series, to aid my fellow cat lovers...

You must learn to recognise your cat's "feed-me-before-I-rip-off-your-face" look...

Plans...

I was checking out some of my previous posts, and I found this video, which I posted in 2007. I love the example of forward planning...

Our Lourdes Pilgrimage...

I'm busy organising the events for this year's Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes. As I've explained before, we organise all the stuff ourselves, as this really cuts down the costs. It also means that we don't get stuck in some of the less attractive chapels - the Chapel of St. Patrick, for example, looks like a store-cupboard... albeit a large one.

The "Service Planification" ask smaller groups to wait until April before making booking requests, so that they can organise the larger diocesan and other pilgrimages. This seems fair enough, but time flies, and I have suddenly realised that May has started, and I haven't heard anything...

Ooops.

I sent another email today, and I shall telephone in a day or two if there's no reply.

Exploring the official Lourdes website, I saw that they have "upgraded" their video links to the Grotto. Previously, the links were actually small snippets of video coverage which were repeated after two or three minutes. Now there is live coverage of the Grotto: I've got the 3:30pm recitation of the Rosary going on in the background. The link needs to be refreshed after about 10 minutes for some reason. During the Rosary, the camera changes round to show different shots, but it seems to be fixed the rest of the time.

This gave me an idea. When we are in Lourdes, I'll go to the grotto at a certain time and wave in the direction of the main camera. I don't know what time yet - it depends on what else we're doing - but I'll post the time on the blog. If you watch the live link at that time, you'll get to see me (and maybe a few others on the pilgrimage!)

Watch this space for details. In the meantime, if you want to have a look at the link to the grotto, click here.

Time To Call In Some Favours...

Ok, people, listen up!

Terra, stop sulking, and stop trying to rig the voting along nationalistic lines. Ches, the commenting works just fine, so stop messing about... be sensible, there's a good chap. Leutgeb, take off that sling and get thee to a keyboard... no, not that sort of keyboard... the one attached to your computer. Paulinus, remember that rabbits are God's creatures too. And Ttony, if you have quite finished mooching about pre-Reformation churches...

If I now have your undivided attention? Are you sitting comfortably? Good.

The 2009 Cannonball Awards have opened for voting. Mulier Fortis (me!) is up for two awards: Snarkiest Catholic Blog and Best Under-Appreciated Catholic Blog. You have to be careful in the latter category, as I'm in the second set of blogs.

Well, don't just sit there... go and vote for me! I shall be checking that you've done your homework too...

A Catholic Education?

Ches at the Sensible Bond has an excellent post musing on the possibilities afforded by the Church relinquishing voluntary aided status of Catholic schools. He suggests, in other words, that the Church should withdraw funding and leave the State to get on with it. After all, with the National Curriculum and all the "compulsory" bits the Government wants to impose, the Church has precious little to say on the matter anyway. So, fine... if the Government wants it, let the Government pay for it... and for the buildings and the land the buildings are on...

For a start, he suggests, parents will be given back the responsibility for the religious education of their children...

So, how likely is that to happen?

Oh look up there: there's a 'flu carrier with wings...

I Have Actually Been Nominated...

I have been nominated not once, but twice for the 2009 Cannonball Catholic Blog Awards.

I can truly say that this was totally unexpected, as no-one appeared to pick up on my hissy fit when I discovered that no-one appeared to have nominated me for anything...

However, I can now bask in the knowledge that Vincenzo thinks I have the Best UnderAppreciated Catholic Blog, and an anonymous contributor thinks I should be up for Snarkiest Catholic Blog... I can't imagine why!

Voting opens tomorrow... remember, vote early, vote often!

Ok, ok... I know you can actually only vote once in each category... but a girl can dream, can't she??

A Tie-Dye Stole Doth Not A Prelate Make...

Just under a year ago, I responded to a throwaway line of the Curt Jester's, bemoaning the fact that these wannabe "womynpriests" had such execrable taste in liturgical vestments.

My declaration that I wanted to be a traddy womynpriest was, of course, a joke.

Here's another joke: 

At least, it would be a joke if they were not so self-deluded. These women really seem to believe that, by dressing in white nightdresses and draping themselves in polyester tie-dye stoles, they can make themselves, and others, into Catholic priests. They are, of course, wrong... and, by deliberately disobeying the Church, they incur an automatic excommunication.

These women all appear to be of "a certain age" and they are each in possession of a more-than-generous physique. I rather resent the fact that I, as a woman rapidly approaching that same age and with much the same sort of physique, might possibly be mistaken for one of these heretical harridans.

Twitch of the mantilla to His Hermeneuticalness.

Update On St. Joseph's...

Fr. Tim has downloaded a few of the pictures I took on Friday evening: the ones he has on his blog look pretty stunning, if I do say so myself.

I took a lot more, and can only assume that Fr. Tim hasn't had the patience to upload any others to Blogger. With any luck I'll be able to get the rest on a memory stick tomorrow.

Feast Of St. Joseph... At St. Joseph's !

Today being the Feast of St. Joseph, it seemed particularly appropriate to be going to Mass at St. Joseph's Church, New Malden.

The last time I was here, for Martyrs' Day, I arrived only just in time for Mass, and didn't have time to ask permission to take photos. I don't like to whip out the camera unless I know the celebrant won't mind, so no photos were taken.

This time I arrived early. I settled down at the front, and, as no one was around, took a couple of photos of the High Altar. Fr. Richard Whinder then walked in, and gave permission for me to take photos during the Mass...

...unfortunately, Fr. Tim Finigan was hard on his heels, and "suggested" that I use his camera. It has 7 megapixels or something crazy like that, compared to my measly 3 megapixels...

After yesterday's "blonde moment" with Dr. Laurence Hemming's camera I was a little loathe to abandon my own one. After all, better the devil you know... however, the light levels were beginning to fall, and my phone camera does have problems in low light... and I really do like to get those "key" moments.

Fr. Tim demonstrated how to look at the photos on the camera itself, and I figured that, if the first few didn't come out, I could switch back to my own camera for the really important shots.

I needn't have worried: the camera worked perfectly. Not so much as a beep. I even discovered, half way through Mass, that there was actually a zoom lens, but preferred to get the "whole" picture for most of the shots.

It was a very nice camera. A very, very nice camera. Unfortunately, after Mass, Fr. Tim seemed to want it back...

So I don't have any photos of the Mass. Not one. Not until Fr. Tim gets round to downloading them from his camera, and I think he's got a busy few days ahead, so I'm not going to hold my breath. But I'll put them up soon...

An Amusing Photo NOT About Cats...

This photo (and caption) had me grinning for ages, so I just had to share...

Twitch of the mantilla to Paulinus

Mass For St. Catherine's Feastday...

The Society of St. Catherine of Siena celebrated her feastday yesterday with a meeting followed by Mass at St. James' Church, Spanish Place. I didn't go to the meeting, but went along for Mass in the evening.

It is a while since I last went to Spanish Place - I used to go to meetings of the London Faith Forum when they were held there, and would go to the 6pm Mass.

I knew that Mass would be in the usus antiquior, and so prowled around the church looking for the most likely spot. I had completely forgotten (or maybe had never seen) the Lady Chapel, tucked away to the side of the High Altar. After being assured that Mass would indeed be at the Lady Altar, I settled down to say some prayers... though I took a photo first!

Dr. Laurence Hemming spotted me, and came over with his camera. It was a small one, but claimed 5 megapixels, and so I switched to that. The camera made lots of beeping noises, which is something I hate during Mass, but as "official" photographer, I felt I had to stick with it. I should have known better... the beeping noises must have meant something, as I later found that only one photo had actually come out with any clarity...

Dr. Hemming later told me that the camera was old, temperamental, and probably on its way to ebay... I suspect he was just being kind, and that I was suffering from an attack of the blondes. I did manage to whip out my own phone camera briefly...

... though obviously I could only manage one camera for the key moments, which means this is all that's left! Afterwards I had the great pleasure to meet the celebrant, Fr. Andrew Wadsworth, who was kind enough to say that he enjoyed reading my blog... even the cat posts! Obviously a man of great taste... no doubt he will do wonders at ICEL...