A Very Unhappy Bunny...

I'm not amused... not one little bit...

Firefox (my browser) appears to have had some sort of conniption, updating itself. This isn't normally a problem... however, this time my home page was changed and all of my carefully collected and labelled (and sorted) bookmarks have been dumped. Educational sites, travel sites, reference sites, blogs... all gone!

Grrrrr...

Another Christmas Present...

I was bought this as a stocking filler. It has some rather nasty jibes at religion, but ignoring that chapter, there are a few mildly entertaining quotes...

"I wish I'd known you when you were alive..."

"I have a previous engagement which I will make as soon as possible."

"If you had a brain, you'd be dangerous."

"You have an hourglass figure... pity the sand has all settled in the wrong place."

My favourites involve Sir Winston Churchill...

Nancy Astor: "Winston, if I were married to you, I'd put poison in your coffee."
Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."

Bessie Braddock, MP: "Winston, you are drunk!"
Churchill: "Indeed, Madam, and you are ugly; but tomorrow I'll be sober."

Time For Another Joke...

A man was in his front yard mowing grass when his attractive blonde neighbour came out of the house and went straight down to the mailbox.

She opened it then slammed it shut and marched back into the house.

A little later she came out of her house again went to the mail box and opened it, looked inside, then slammed it shut again. Angrily, she stormed back into the house.

As the man was getting ready to edge the lawn, the blonde came out again, marched to the mail box, opened it and then slammed it closed harder than ever.

Puzzled by her actions the man asked her, "Is something wrong?"

"There certainly is!" she replied, "My stupid computer keeps saying I've got mail!"

Watch This Space...

Catholic World News had this little snippet to report...

Apparently, Iranian film makers are making a movie about the life of Christ, but based on the teachings of the Qur'an... in other words, "Jesus, God's Spirit" will honour Jesus as a prophet but not recognize him as the Son of God.

The film's director, Nader Talebzadeh has been quoted as saying that the completed film will be "better than Mel Gibson's Passion."

Umm... No. "Holy prophet crucified by Romans" versus "Son of God, crucified for our sins, defeats Satan and rises from dead." No contest.

UPDATE: I've just been corrected on a tenet of Muslim belief... "Holy prophet spared by God, allows another to be crucified by Romans instead" versus "Son of God, crucified for our sins, defeats Satan and rises from dead." Even less contest.

SPUC Has A New Blog

John Smeaton, Director of SPUC, has started a blog, which you can find HERE.

One of the important topics he tackles is that of organ donation, and the recent suggestion to change the law in the UK to allow presumed consent to organ donation, unless a patient has opted out.

I used to be all in favour of organ donation: I registered as a donor some time ago, when I got my driving licence (before that, I carried a donor card.) I remember the anger I felt when my father's wishes in the matter were ignored by the hospital when he died - the staff didn't believe my mother when she explained he'd have wanted to donate his organs... it was only when it was too late that they discovered his donor card in his hospital locker.

In retrospect, I think there might have been some complication because of the inquest which would have been necessary (my father died after coronary artery bypass surgery) but I'm not sure of the ins and outs of the legal system: I was only 15 at the time.

However, I've had a lot more experience of hospitals since then, both as a patient and as a professional. And now there is the problem of what constitutes "treatment", and when exactly a patient is considered to be dead.

I have little doubt that more PVS patients are going to be killed by starvation and dehydration. The same applies to elderly patients who are no longer able to speak for themselves: the desire not to receive "burdensome treatment" will now be presumed. And it's a short step from starving someone to death to pointing out that, in order to harvest their organs before they are unable to function, it would be kinder to allow the patient a "swift, merciful release" by lethal injection...

The Church Is Not A Democracy, But...

...I have to admit that I like the idea put forward by Damian Thompson. Mr Thompson has set up a separate email address for nominations, which he will, presumably, pass on to the Nuncio. The Hierarchy do not appear to be quite so enamoured...

Heheheheh...

There are some rules, however. Nominees must be Roman Catholic priests or bishops. And you can only nominate one person, so choose wisely. No details of nominators will be passed on. The address for nominations is nextcardinal@yahoo.com

One Of My Bugbears...

I get irritated by the misuse of apostrophies. I used to feel like a dreadful old pedant for making such a big thing of it... and then the book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" hit the bestseller list.

However, I was delighted to find a young man having a rant on You Tube about much the same thing...

Twitch of the mantilla to Mark.

Something Not Quite Right...

I suffer from the cold. I have done ever since I had a major altercation with a motor car in my very distant teens: the car bonnet was, I am told, seriously dented. Flying teenager landing on top of bonnet is not in the manufacturer's rcommendations. Anyway, since that time, I get cold really easily. I wear polo neck jumpers during the summer (under a blouse) My core temperature is totally normal, I just feel cold.

So, I am inordinately fond of hot water bottles. One year I was given a duck shaped one: "Egg" proved to be very popular on the Winter Conference that year. We were in Upholland instead of Stonyhurst, and they hadn't turned on the heating before we arrived. There was a heater in the chapel which looked like the engines on a jumbo jet. You had to sit right in front of it (and risk being crisped) or you would freeze. Quite a few people wanted to hold Egg for me...

This year, as well as getting a new hot water bottle from my mother, I also acquired "Sleepy Bear" - she had two, and I cast covetous eyes upon one of them...

Now Sleepy Bear is designed to go into the microwave. He comes out all warm, and smelling sort of oatmealy. And he's more "clutchable" than a hot water bottle... and he retains the heat really well...

But... In order to get him to fit into the microwave, you have to make him sit up... and I have to confess to feeling a bit mean when turning it on...

Not For Anyone With Heart Problems...

...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!

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...

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...

Calling All Fans Of Pope Benedict...

A Papal Picture Post for you to enjoy... Mantilla twitch to Fr. Tim

Bird Flu ?

I wish I could... guarantee that this case proved terminal... I loathe the overgrown budgie. Mantilla duly twitched in Paulinus' direction!

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!

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!

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.

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...

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...

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...

How Very Remiss Of Me...

It would appear that I have forgotten to post any photos of this year's Crib at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen. I have trawled through all my photo collections, and will remedy this strange omission forthwith!

I'm not much of a photographer, and get confused by the lighting options on my phone... also, bright lights confuse the phone itself. I've tried to adjust the lighting levels by using my computer's version of photoshop. First we have a shot of the whole Lady Altar (the Crib was underneath)

And here's a close-up of the Crib scene itself...

I shall put up another photo tomorrow as the Wise Men have appeared for the Epiphany...

Quest Conference

Catholic Action UK have put up a post alerting people to a forthcoming conference of Quest. Quest is described as a dissident organisation dedicated to undermining the teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.

I had a look at the group's website: although they claim to be Catholic, the constitution does appear to be ambiguous, as one of the stated aims of Quest is:

"...associating lay men and women who are seeking ways of reconciling the full practice of their Catholic faith with the full expression of their homosexual natures in loving Christian relationships..."

The ambiguity is, of course, the understanding of what is meant by "full expression of their homosexual nature."

Certainly they are in favour of homosexual civil partnerships, and that is definitely contrary to Church teaching. They attacked Archbishop Vincent Nichols' stance on the Sexual Orientation Regulations, and rejected the Vatican's 2005 statement on admitting homosexual men to seminaries. The organisation has been excluded from the Catholic Directory since 1998 because of the ambiguity in its constitution. So it does seem strange that their conference is to be hosted by Digby Stuart College (once a Catholic teaching college), and they will be having Mass celebrated by Fr Alan McLean, who is acting as chaplain to the conference. Fr Michael Seed is one of the speakers.

Catholic Action UK are asking people to write to Archbishop Kevin McDonald protesting that the use of Digby Stuart College as the Quest Conference venue is unacceptable while the organisation does not support the teachings of the Church on homosexuality. More information (including the address of the Archbishop, and the email address of the Archbishop's Private Secretary) can be found HERE.

Stonyhurst

I returned from the Faith Winter Conference late on Friday. I tried to be clever this year: I thought it would be great if I could get the talks videoed on my little phone camera and then I could edit them and produce some great soundbites for a You Tube video. Alas, the video seems to be best for close-up stuff, and I was sitting too far away from the speakers to get anything worthwhile...

Because I was concentrating on the videos, I didn't get to take quite so many photos (some of you might consider that to be a blessing!) and the phone battery gave out by the evening of the ceilidh, so I didn't manage any photos from the second evening.

However, I did manage a few snaps... First, and foremost, Sir Dan of the Nesbitry, looking positively Machiavellian...

Dan doesn't have a blog himself, but he has the amazing ability to pick up on all the rumblings in the blogosphere... I must pick his brains about the next Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster...

It's quite amusing to see people's reactions when I approach with my phone... I usually check before putting photos on the blog (it is a public forum, after all) unless people aren't really identifiable. So now, as I advance with camera phone in hand, I either get "Don't even think about it!" or "Is this for your blog? Ok, I suppose... if you must... hang on a minute while I check my hair..." ...and ocasionally I'll get a really posed photo... like the "Charlie's Angels shot" below...


The Winter Conference is very intense: there's a lot packed into the three days. Trying to catch up with friends you haven't seen since the Summer Session can be tiring... especially if that catching up occurs at 2am over a few beers... Breakfast on the last day is usually a subdued affair... and here you can see Grahame looking a litle the worse for wear (a look which will become more familiar, as he's going to become a dad some time in July...)

And finally, Fr. Stephen Boyle wanted to make sure that he ended up on my blog again. My comments about New Addington being an architectural wasteland meant that he was unable to enjoy telling his parishioners that he was becoming famous around the blogosphere... (oops, sorry, did it again...!)

There were some other bloggers present... I shall update the post as and when I find some more reports of all the shenanigans!

Missa Cantata At Blackfen

We had a real treat this morning: some chaps who sing regularly at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane have been invited to sing at Blackfen once a month. The Saturday morning Mass is usually a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form; now we shall have a Missa Cantata once a month.

Today was our first such Mass. It was fabulous... the chants just lift the mind and heart to God and flow seamlessly around the actions of priest and acolytes (and there is something dance-like in their carefully scripted movements... ) The silence at the Canon makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end...

I find myself marvelling at how our senses are engaged in the Liturgy: it reveals (for me) the necessity of the Incarnation as Christ communicates to us body and soul, physically as well as spiritually. And I am awe-struck at how much Jesus humbles himself: he surrenders himself totally to the power of men - a mere man can "order" Christ to appear; Jesus is at our beck and call... under the appearance of bread and wine, to be sure, but he comes every time, whenever and wherever the Mass is offered.

Wow.

I occasionally get these deep thoughts, though I'm not so good at putting them down in words. So time for some more down-to-earth stuff, I think...

Here we have Fr. Tim, singers and servers partaking of a little spiritual refreshment after the Mass. Andrew Bosi (on the right in the blue jumper) led the singers, while Jonathan (second from the right) was our extremely accomplished MC. From left to right we have Fr. Tim Finigan, John Tennant, John Simmonds, Chris (he was a server), William Longley, Jonathan (our MC) and Andrew Bosi. Luckily none of the gentlemen present felt it necessary to try and take my photo!

Return Of The Mac...

As you may have noticed, I've been unable to blog. The school had switched off all its internet connections for "study period" and forgot to switch them back on again...

Normal Blogging Service will be resumed tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I'd mention the latest document from Ecclesia Dei, unearthed from some strange source of the Curt Jester's...


And a sample of the contents...

And Away I Go Again...

I'm off tomorrow to the Faith Winter Conference at Stonyhurst, Lancashire. I need to get up early, so I shall be going to bed in a minute (though I doubt I'll sleep much, for fear of oversleeping!)

I remember discovering that there were computers available for the use of guests on the very last day - a fact which Fr. Tim had been very quiet about (he finally told me the location of the computers and the password at the ceilidh... by which time the network appeared to have "shut down" access for the night!) So, this time I'm ready... though I have forgotten the password...!

As a result, I may not manage to post much before my return. But for those of you who are missing me already, here are the posts I did last year...

Slightly Miffed (my initial discovery that I wasn't going to have a blogging scoop!) Bloggers' Convention (it never happened... I had to wait for the Summer Session!) Fond Farewells (posted just before the final lunch) Photo Fest (where I tried to get my first few photos up before going to bed... taken with my old phone camera, so they're pretty dire) A Few More Photos (I wonder what that could be about...?) I Took More Photos Than I Realised (you don't say! Wait until you see what I can do with an extra memory chip!) and And Finally...

See you all on Saturday (ok, maybe Friday night!)

New Year's Resolutions

Ok, after a wee bit of self-examination, I have decided that 2008 is the year I knuckle down and tackle some bug-bears!

1. To go to bed on time (and not to get distracted by the temptation to "check just one last blog"!)

2. To get up in time to pray properly. I hate to admit it, but my SD is absolutely right. I need to tackle this fault of mine... I think of myself as a Night Owl, and use that as an excuse for not going to bed early, and for getting up at the last possible minute. I have the timing calculated to the nearest nanosecond! However, if I don't pray first thing, I'm playing catch-up all day. Not good.

3. To spend more time reading stuff to improve my spiritual life (writings of the Saints, the Holy Father, etc. etc.) and less time re-reading rubbishy novels. I mean, how many times can a person read The Hunt for Red Oktober?

4. To work on the "self-denial" bit of my vows. I generally try to forget I made that one...

I think that will be enough to be getting on with. It's not really a meme, but if you're in the mood to 'fess up to your New Year's Resolutions, leave me a note in the combox!

If God Has Email...

This made me choke on my cup of tea... you need to click on the picture to read the individual entries. Believe me, it's worth it!


Twitch of the mantilla to Angela Messenger, courtesy of Karen!

Happy New Year !

2007 has been a strange year for me... a lot has happened, but it has definitely finished on a high note. Here's hoping that 2008 will be just as happy... but perhaps a little less eventful!

Oh Happy Day...!

I remember watching this episode of Newsnight on the evening of the election of Pope Benedict XVI...


Christina Odone got told!

Twitch of the mantilla to Ches of The Sensible Bond for reminding me of her name so I could find the clip on You Tube!

I Wonder When They Stopped Making These?

This is the death-mask (one of two) of St Charles Borromeo. The thing that struck me, having seen a few dead bodies in my time, was how serene he looks...

...I also wondered whether this counts as a first, second or third class relic?

...and when the practice of making death masks stopped...?


Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Z.

And Another Blog To View...

Ok, I'm not sure how Tomas scooted under my new blog radar (actually, according to his first post, it's Tomáš (pronounced Tomaash))... he seems to have been blogging since the end of July... but now I've found him. He's a Czech, but studying in Birmingham, so he's currently in my UK Blogroll... he might not feel too pleased about that! Some very interesting stuff on his blog, and I love his sidebar.

Pop on over to An Empty Cave and say hi!

Spreading The Christmas Spirit...

I'm feeling Christmassy... all the beautiful Nativity scenes available on the internet have inspired me... and I thought it was about time that I tried to make another video. So, sit back and enjoy part of J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage!
Rühmet, was heute der Höchste getan!
Lasset das Zagen, verbannet die Klage,
stimmet voll Jauchzen und Frölichkeit an!
Dienet dem Höchsten mit herrlichen Chören!
Laßt uns den Namen des Herrschers verehren!

Rejoice and be joyful, come, praise these days!
Extol what today the Most High has done!
Leave fear aside, banish sorrow,
sing forth in joy and rejoicing!
Serve the Most High with cheerful choruses!
Let us honour the name of the Lord!

Home Sweet Home !

I'm back home, and desperately checking all my favourite blogs to see what I've missed since Christmas Day... I was only away for three nights, but it felt like an eternity because my stepfather's internet connection was appallingly slow (although he supposedly has broadband!) and the computer wouldn't load any of the blogs for me to read, let alone post stuff!

Christmas Day itself was fabulous... having been to Midnight Mass, I checked out a few blogs and left some Christmas messages. I finally got to sleep at about 3am. I knew this was likely and so asked a friend of mine, Anna-Marie, to phone me early as we were both singing at the 9am Mass, and I needed to go and collect her at 8:15am. She promised to ring me at 7am. However, no phonecall came...

...as she got into the car, I joked about the lack of phone call. Anna-Marie was adamant: yes, she had phoned me, and she'd had a conversation with me. Now, I know that I have overslept in spectacular fashion before, and I've dreamt that I've got up when I haven't, but the phone was in the sitting room, and I'd have had to clamber over bags of presents in order to get to it. Then a thought struck me: what number had she phoned? She told me. It wasn't my number...

So, some poor soul was woken up at 7am on Christmas Day when they didn't need to get up. I'll bet they were happy...

Three of us were leading the singing at the 9am Mass, and we did a couple of pieces before Mass and at Communion. We'd been asked to help out, as there isn't a choir at that Mass, or an organist. It was great to be able to belt out the descants to Hark, the herald angels sing and O little town of Bethlehem, even though I nearly didn't hit the top note due to a chesty cough. I think it sounded ok... Anna-Marie and Julia covered up my mistakes in one of the songs, and spared my blushes!

I then stayed for the next Mass, as a special treat...

The rest of Christmas Day was spent dog-sitting for my parents down in Eastbourne. The dogs aren't real dogs, they're yappy yorkies. I'm not really into dogs, and I definitely prefer real dogs to little yappy excuses for canines. However, we have come to an understanding over the years: I feed them and give them the occasional pat, and take them for a walk or two when I'm looking after them. I do not make a fuss of them. After an initial greeting, they calm down, and leave me alone, probably sensing that any attempt to get my attention is a bit of a waste of time and energy...


Boxing Day saw me venturing into Brighton. The Mass in Eastbourne was at lunchtime, and my parents were due back then, so it seemed to be more sensible to pop on over to St. Mary Magdalen's for a 10am Mass. Fr. Ray's church is beautiful, especially all decked out for the festivities, and after Mass we gathered round the Crib to sing a carol. I then went in for a coffee and a chat, and Fr Ray rather unkindly took advantage... I tried to avoid being snapped, but he just stood there with the camera poised, and I realised I was going to be "got" so compromised by demanding a side-shot!

My sister and her husband came down the next day, and I was able to give my nephew his Christmas present: it met with his approval, although he hasn't quite got the idea that the balls should be hit with the mallet. He pushed the balls into the holes by hand, and used the mallet to hit the floor instead...

I was also surprised to learn that my nephew likes sprouts...

All in all, a very enjoyable Christmas.

Vatican Nativity Scene

I'm just back from an awesome Midnight Mass. Unfortunately I left my phone at home (and I really could have kicked myself!) Googling the Vatican Crib scene hasn't brought up any good photos yet, but this clip of the unveiling is up and about, so until the photos arrive, enjoy!

Raw Video: The Vatican unveils nativity scene

The Nativity Of Our Lord Jesus Christ

A Very Happy Christmas

to you all

With Love and Prayers

The Secular Side Of Christmas...

I wasn't quite as organised as I'd have liked this year. Mind you, it's been an improvement on last year - I was feeling so out of sorts that I didn't send any Christmas cards, and only gave out a (small) handful.

I managed to sort out my computerised addressbook - this is despite Microsoft's best attempts to scupper the process - by using an older version of Word to do my address labels, and temporarily making Outlook my default mail client... or something like that. Whatever. It worked... and having the labels pre-printed means that I can write nice messages inside the cards instead of getting writer's cramp copying out the addresses...

I made a couple of half-hearted attempts to do my Christmas shopping early, but didn't succeed. This is partly because I needed information from my mother and my sister about what to buy their menfolk. Unfortunately they were out of ideas, or were keeping them for themselves.

The December pay date is always early, which allows us teachers to buy lots of nice presents... and then practice our numeracy skills during January as we contemplate the amount of month left when the money has pretty much expired...

This year payday was Friday. I couldn't have gone to Bluewater on Friday even if I'd wanted to: evening Mass and a music practice for Christmas Day had already been arranged. Saturday was an option... but the Saturday before Christmas is probably not the best day to go anywhere near a shop. Bexleyheath apparently came to a grinding halt because of the fog and the increase in shoppers. I was in church pretty much all day Sunday. So I took a chance on Christmas Eve being my best bet for shopping. Of course, I was aware that it could all go horribly wrong...

I went to a very early Mass (which always makes one feel virtuous) and then had a cup of tea and a chat with our Sacristan who was getting various things ready for Midnight Mass. I got to Bluewater at about 9:30am, and as the place doesn't open properly until 10am there were plenty of parking spaces. I shot into a couple of shops to buy prezzies for my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and then made an emergency phone call to check whether my nephew already had a particular toy (he did) and the desirability of a suitable replacement (It involved a mallet and some round balls and holes to bash them through... my sister approved!) I was out by 11:30am - just as the place was beginning to get crowded...

I'm now home in plenty of time to do some housework and wrap the presents. Smug just doesn't cover it!

Children's Crib Service

Next to Midnight Mass, Dawn Mass and Day Mass (this year I get to go to all three... YIPPEE!), I think the parish Crib Service is my favourite Christmas activity. No rehearsals, everyone just shows up. There are two principle players (Mary & Joseph) who must have been picked at some point, if only to ensure that the costumes fit and that the girl holding the baby Jesus isn't likely to drop him...

...the baby Jesus is another part which has been worked out beforehand...

The rest of the children are either angels, shepherds or kings, according to personal inclination / parents' wardrobe skills. We were seriously short of shepherds this year...










Some of the older children get to read the story in little bits, and then the various children get moved into place during the carols. It ends with all the children being invited up, in costume or not, and a countdown while photos are taken by doting parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and what-have-you. And then we have tea and biscuits in the small hall.

Absolutely brilliant!