Tomato Soup Update...

I have been very touched by the response to my request for prayers... both in the com-box and over at Fr. Z's blog. I think the lesson went reasonably well, but the interview less so.

The tomato soup and cardboard ensemble performed as expected. What the students made of it was harder to assess. At least it was the lesson after lunch, so no rumbling tums to disrupt proceedings.

Unfortunately, the media clips I had inserted oh-so-carefully into my powerpoint presentation didn't actually work, something to do with the software version. Fortunately, I had remembered to save the clips separately as well, so got to show them at the end...

I will know by the end of tomorrow...

Prayers Please...

Tomorrow I have a job interview. Part of the process will involve teaching Year 9 about plate tectonics. I find this one of the most boring topics on the specification: I much prefer torturing jelly babies...

In an attempt to liven things up, I have planned a demonstration. When I tell you that this involves pieces of cardboard and a pan of tomato soup, you will appreciate that tomorrow could be a trifle fraught. Prayers would be welcome.

I will be providing my own tomato soup, to ensure the correct viscosity... as well as practicing my pronunciation of Eyjafjallajokull... ah-ya-fyah... aye-ya-fee-ya... ay-yor-feh... that Icelandic volcano...

Where I Will Be In A Fortnight...

The annual Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes is coming up. I have to admit that my usual excitement at the prospect of spending a week in Lourdes is somewhat muted by the knowledge that the Icelandic volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier is still merrily belching out ash, which may or may not result in flight cancellations, and British Airways cabin crews may or may not be out on strike...

However, if we're lucky, in two weeks' time I shall be praying for you all at the Grotto at Massabielle. I love Lourdes.

Last year we managed to celebrate Mass in the crypt of the parish church in Lourdes. This year we are lucky enough to have arranged two Masses there. We shall also have two Masses in the Domaine - one Mass will be in the St. Gabriel Chapel (an old favourite, next to the Crypt Chapel) and the other will be in the Chapelle Croix Glorieuse. This is a new chapel - so new, in fact, that it doesn't feature anywhere on the Lourdes Sanctuaires website.

I have been told that the chapel is near the Way of the Cross, but that's all I know. I am just praying that it doesn't in any way resemble the St. Patrick Chapel. That chapel resembled a large cupboard... or possibly a small garage... and was the deciding factor in His Hermeneuticalness' decision to run the pilgrimage ourselves, rather than using tour operators who thought it acceptable to arrange to celebrate Masses in cupboards simply because the cupboard had been named after a saint...

This year I shall have my snazzy camera with me. I am toying with the idea of bringing my monopod, but it'll be a bit of a hassle to carry it everywhere. I shall be armed with an 8GB memory card as well, so I should manage to get a few little photos for the blog...

Aborted Baby Cried...

This has to be one of the most horrible stories I've read... I thought that, in China, if the baby managed to take a breath, then it was classed as a person and had the right to life - which was why, in cases of "illegal" second pregnancies, they had the practice of injecting formaldehyde into the baby's head just as it crowned, so that the child would be born dead.

Twitch of the mantilla to the European Life Network.

Church Sign Apologetics...

Larry D, over at Acts of the Apostasy, had me snorting into my cup of tea with this offering. Be sure to go over and read the entire exchange!

The Truth About Planned Parenthood...

I posted the Blood Money trailer back in September of last year, but it bears a repeat showing. Fr. John Boyle received an email about it today, and apparently the producers need people to visit the website so they can demonstrate interest.

The Holy Father In Portugal...

Fr Gonzales (of Overheard in the Sacristy fame) posted the following photo, which made me smile. I would just like to point out to His Hermeneuticalness that the phone in question is not a clunky Android phone, but a super-sleek iPhone...

...like the one I have.

Fr. Gonzales also posted the Holy Father's text number. I hope it's true... I shall try it out tomorrow (after all, it's 10:45pm over there now, so it's a little late to be getting text messages from strange women...)

And Another Link To Check Out...

I do occasionally stumble upon new blogs (ok, new-to-me) without having received a heads-up in the com-box or a plea to be included on the blogroll.

The Noise of the Crusade is a new blog - it appears to have been started in April - and there is no information on Last Knight, the author... not even location or sex. From the subject matter, I shall assume that the Knight is male, unless he informs me otherwise... and the current blogroll (on which I am honoured to be included amongst very august company) seems to indicate that he may hail from Albion's shores...

More Links To Explore...

Autumn asked me to publicise her two blogs and to add them to my blogroll. After checking her out (she's a wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, and still has time to update two blogs!!? I'm doing something wrong!) I am happy to recommend both of them.

I vaguely recall Autumn as "Autumn Rose" - her main blog URL seems familiar - but I suspect she got culled in a previous existence... I get rather ruthless about cutting out dead or inactive blogs from my blogroll, sometimes too much so!

Anyway, she's got lots of fascinating stuff, and her talents in the cakemaking realm leave me utterly speechless (and drooling... definitely drooling!)

So, go and visit Life on the Home Front if you want to know about cakes, homemaking, war-time recipes and other stuff, and Autumn's Leaves for musings on life, the universe and everything else... and be sure to tell her that I sent you!