Starting Early...

I may have imagined it in my fevered and flu-ridden state, but I was sure that someone posted a picture of shelves teeming with creme eggs. Yes, I know that they are no longer only sold for a few brief weeks at Easter, but still, Boxing Day did seem a little early to start.

However, today I noticed that not only are some shops already selling hot cross buns, but that they are actually trying to sell them off at a reduced price...

Will It Be A Whitewash?

I have been indulging in the luxury of listening to the Ashes Test Series while on holiday - the time difference precluding anything other than the briefest of snippets during term time. As I said in a previous cricket post, I don't understand the tactics involved in determining batting order or the intricacies of choosing when to use certain bowlers...

Mind you, given the current state of play, it would seem that the England team is in much the same state of ignorance.

In an attempt to learn more, I started following various cricket-related people on Twitter. So, on Monday morning, I saw the following tweet in my timeline:

Flower: "I'm looking forward to sitting down with Paul Downton (new M/D) and mapping a way forward…"
— Jonathan Agnew (@Aggerscricket) December 30, 2013

This just seemed to be too good an opportunity to miss, even though I haven't watched a single episode, and so have no idea whether it's any good. So I tweeted back:

Are you sure it wasnt actually @Aggerscricket: Flower: "I'm looking forward to sitting down with Downton (new DVD) and watching it" ? ;-)
— Mulier Fortis (@MulierFortis) December 30, 2013

I was amazed to see that I got a retweet from Aggers himself! When I mentioned this in the Sacristy a few days later, the Senior MC did a double-take - I really wish I had been recording. But since neither Jonathan nor Zephyrinus look at Twitter (and to preserve this earth-shattering moment so I can gloat for a bit) I thought I'd put up the proof that Jonathan Agnew actually retweeted me...

The final match in the Series is about to start. England won the toss for the first time, and they've changed the team quite a bit, so maybe it won't be a complete whitewash...

On a side-note, I think perhaps that cricket seems to appeal to so many of the traddy crowd because it is ever so gentlemanly. For example, just now Geoffrey Boycott deplored the use of bad language, explaining that he'd heard (and used) plenty of bad language himself in the changing rooms etc. but that it really wasn't appropriate with women and children present. I like that.

My First Award For 2014...

Yes, I know it will probably be my only award in 2014. However, I live in hope...

The exceptionally erudite, wonderfully witty and seriously saved Bruvver Eccles has nominated me for a Sunshine Award. This is awarded to "bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere." I was pretty chuffed to find myself on Eccles' list, until I realised that I'm probably only there because of the cats.

Apparently I'm supposed to write 10 pieces of information about myself. I'm not very interesting, and anyway, people only read the blog to check up on the cats. I know this is true because of the number of times I am greeted by the phrase "Oh, so you're  Mulier Fortis! How are the cats?" So I'm concentrating on them...

1. I have two cats, Cardinal Furretti and Monsignor Miaowrini.
2. Furretti is named for Pope Pius IX whose family name was Mastai-Ferretti.
3. Miaowrini is named after the Papal MC, Monsignor Guido Marini.
4. Furretti is furry.
5. Miaowrini miaows at me when she wants to be dried off after getting caught in the rain.
6. Furretti's brother was called Cardinal Catzinger but he died a few days after I adopted him.
7. Furretti demonstrated her traddy credentials early on by shredding The Catholic Times and leaving The Remnant unshredded.
8. Miaowrini is the better hunter - she came in riding a pigeon one morning.
9. Both cats are champions of Cat-holic orthodoxy - they trashed The Bitter Pill and left the Catholic Herald unscathed.
10. The cats have special "kitty steps" to help them get to and from the cat flap, made by Blackfen's Senior MC.

And now I'm supposed to nominate 10 more bloggers who are positive and creative and inspiring. That's made more difficult because Eccles has chosen some of my favourites already...

So, in no particular order, I shall nominate -

Ladies first - Leutgeb (Bara Brith), Annie Elizabeth (Defénde Nos in Proélio), Annie (Arundel & Brighton Latin Mass Society) and Mary O'Regan (The Path Less Taken.)

The gentlemen - Zephyrinus, Matthaeus (Sub Umbra Alarum Suarum) and Laurence England (That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill.)

And the clerics - Fr. Michael Brown (Gateshead Revisited), Pastor in Valle (Valle Adurni) and Fr. Simon Henry (Offerimus Tibi Domine)

And In With The New...

So, having attempted to benefit from the Church's end-of-year plenary indulgence giveaway last night, it was a case of showing up this morning for the first of the January bargains!

There is a plenary indulgence attached to the singing of the Veni, Creator Spiritus on the first day of the year. So, naturally, before Mass we kicked off with prayers for the Holy Father, and then sang the hymn. Then it was off with the cope, on with the chasuble and maniple (we don't want any dead kittens) and then Mass.

We've had the gradines up for the whole of the Christmas Octave, so Mass was ad orientem, and I'm rather sad at the thought that they'll have to come back down again at the weekend...

There are a few more treats in store, blessing-wise, at Blackfen. We will have the blessing of Epiphany water at the 10:30am Mass this Sunday (it's not the Epiphany in the EF) - and the blessing comes complete with the exorcism against Satan and the apostatic angels, followed by the Te Deum (real "kick-ass" holy water, so I must bring an empty bottle to Mass) and then the blessing of chalk at the 8pm Missa Cantata on the Monday. I don't know if there's anything else in January, but then in February we'll be getting candles blessed (and possibly having a procession) at Candlemas, and then, possibly, the blessing of throats for the feast of St. Blaise...

Seeing Out The Old...

I love the fact that, at Blackfen, we are blessed with a Parish Priest who likes to help his parishioners clock up as many plenary indulgences as possible! To help us in this endeavour, we get to see out each old year with a final Holy Hour where we pray the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament and sing the Te Deum in thanksgiving for all the blessings we received during the previous year, and finishing with Benediction at midnight.

If Fr. Finigan gets the timing just right, the fireworks are exploding outside just as we receive the Benediction. This year we were slightly off, as the absence of organ accompaniment for the hymn Of the Father's Love Begotten meant that we sang it at a brisker pace than usual - very necessary if you don't want the hymn to become a dirge. In addition, the rain was really tipping it down, which resulted in a rather muted firework effect just as we began the Divine Praises...

I have loaded a few photos up on Flickr - do go and have a look!