Deanery Mission Year...

The Deanery of Bexley is having a Mission Year, and to start us off, we had Mass in Blackfen on Friday evening. I arrived from work, feeling totally shattered, as I'm still getting to grips with my new timetable (it's a two-week timetable, and I'm teaching in nine different rooms with ten different classes, so "getting to grips" is a lengthy process!) and the start of the school term is always a hectic time.

Not being a breakfast person (yes, I know) and not having time to stop for lunch (I know, I know!!) I was delighted to see that some of the UCM were working incredibly hard to ensure that we had some light refreshments available after the Mass...

Walking through the church to get a hymn book, I suddenly saw the most massive spider suspended above a pew. Any big building will have spiders, but this one appeared just to be suspended in mid air... and then I saw it was actually sitting in the middle of an enormous web which stretched from the roof of the church down to the pew. I wish I'd had some hairspray handy, as it was the most beautiful construction, and I tried to take a photo, but there wasn't enough dust around for the web to show up...

I tried to get a close-up shot, but I was worried that the "Beast of Blackfen" might be a little camera-shy, and I didn't want it trying to crawl over me at some point during the Mass: Beastie has got rather long legs...

Knowing that the web (because of its position) had only been made in the space of a few hours, it almost broke my heart to have to destroy it. But only almost... this spider had ambition, and would probably have spun its web right across the aisle if I'd left it.

The refreshments seemed to be well-received. I'm afraid that I was incredibly greedy, and wolfed down about 10 of the most delicious cheese and onion sandwiches... Not a bad start for the Mission Year. Watch this space for details of further events...

Mini-Blognic In Blackfen...

Last Sunday, Mike Forbester (Rudgate Ramblings) happened to stop by in Blackfen for Mass. Afterwards, I persuaded him to pose for a little photo with the Blackfen Posse...

We have quite a few bloggers in Blackfen: from left to right Patricius, Zephyrinus (who only comments), His Hermeneuticalness, Mike and Leutgeb.

While I'm about it, Mike mentioned that regular Extraordinary Form Masses are to recommence in York, starting from Sunday 11th October, at the Church of the English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace in York. It will be at 6.30pm, and for the time being, it will be a Low Mass. The celebrant will be Fr Stephen Maughan. This is definitely good news.

Memory Lane...

Something or other reminded me of this song by Luther Vandross,

and that in turn triggered the memory of this other song by Mike and the Mechanics...

Of course, what I had forgotten was the reason that I stopped listening to these two excellent tracks: they each reduce me to a blubbering wreck within a few bars. They are, however, very good songs, if you can get past the emotional baggage... or is it because of the baggage?

Blogging is still sporadic because of work pressures, and I'm feeling a teensy weensy bit neglected and unloved... has anyone even noticed my absence from the blogosphere...?

*sniff*

Extending A Very Warm Welcome...

...RJW has posted the occasional comment on this blog. I am delighted to see that he has decided to start his own blog, and that he has excellent taste - I am on his blogroll.

Do pop over to The Accidental Blog and say hello!

Twitch of the mantilla to Adrienne.

The Holy Father To Visit Britain!

It seems that the Holy Father is planning to visit the UK in 2010. I have been busy teaching all day, and only heard a one-line snippet on BBC Radio 4 as I drove home.

Obviously a visit from the person we Catholics consider to be Christ's representative on Earth only merits a passing comment taking up around 30 seconds-worth of valuable air time... after all, the Lib-Dem Party Conference ended today, and that is of far more importance. Mind you, this could be a blessing in disguise, given the anti-Catholic bias of Auntie Beeb.

Damian Thompson has suggested the autumn as the most probable timing for the visit... Radio 4 said January in the aforementioned snippet. And the BBC news website just says 2010, but thinks that there may be a link to Cardinal Newman's beatification, and suggests that it will be a six-day visit.

Fr. John Boyle just pipped me to the post by getting his report done before me: obviously he heard the news while near his computer! He gives a list of all the papers which have reported the impending visit. And, as he so rightly says, we need to start our spiritual preparation now...

I Won An Award...!

Quite a sweet one to win, actually! Fr. Anthony Ho awarded the Loyal Friend and Visitor Award to me, and now I have to pass it on.

The rules are as follows:

1. Copy the loyal picture above and post it on your blog.

2. Pass it on to those whom you think is / are deserving.

3. Leave a message for them.

4. Pass it on to as many people as you want.

5. Leave a comment with the person who originally gave you the award.

Ok, now, I would like to pass on this award to:

1. Leutgeb (because she occasionally reads my blog, but is too good a friend to tell me that I blog too much about cats and blonde jokes!)

2. Karen (because she reads my blog far too often... usually from work, and the time difference means she is often the first one to comment...)

3. Patricius (because he reads my blog so carefully that he knows what I'm going to tell everyone in the Parish club before I open my mouth!)

4. Fr. Tim (because he reads my blog occasionally, but, when I'm telling everyone in the Parish club what I wrote, he pretends he hasn't read it already... then again, maybe he hasn't read it...)

5. Mike (because he visited the Parish and said nice things about it... the photo's going up soon, just been a bit busy...)