Human Embryo Experimentation

This is the last chance to make known your views on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill, which is currently scheduled for debate in the House of Lords on Monday 4 February.

John Smeaton, Director of SPUC, stated on his blog that:

The Bill seeks, among other things, to:

* extend the creation of embryonic children in the laboratory ('test-tube babies')
* allow embryonic children to be abused and killed for a wider range of research purposes
* permit the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.

Over recent weeks, the Government and supporters of embryo research have blocked all substantial efforts to lessen the evils of the Bill during its passage through the Lords. Although it is unlikely that pro-life Lords will defeat the Bill, a strong vote against it now will help and encourage MPs to oppose the Bill when it goes to the House of Commons - probably in mid-February. Many people wrote to the Lords in November asking them to oppose the bill at second reading - this had great impact and helped encourage pro-life peers in their opposition to the bill.

It really is vital that as many people as possible write - you can write to any of the Lords on this matter. Even though the Bill is unlikely to be defeated, the important thing is that no-one can claim that they didn't receive any letters in opposition, or that no-one appears to have any real objections because they'd write if they did!

Remember, one day you are going to have to stand before Jesus Christ, and when he asks what you did for even one of his "little ones" (remember that cup of water he mentioned?) you might want to have an alternative to "Umm, nothing much, actually! Sorry about that..."

Writing a letter isn't difficult. SPUC provide helpful hints. They also provide email addresses for most of the Peers, although they also state that written letters are more likely to have an effect. SPUC is the pro-life group with most experience of parliamentary matters, so I would recommend taking their advice.

And don't forget to let Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's Political Secretary know about any answers you get...

Frustrated Blogging...

I try to keep my blogroll pretty current: in my humble opinion, life is too short to waste clicking on dead links...

It means that if I notice someone hasn't posted for a very long while, I delete them from my blogroll. The exception is if someone has posted a warning that there might be an enforced period of inactivity... because they're moving house or something.

But even though I delete the link from my blogroll, I haven't got the time to go through each and every past post of mine which refers to that blog, and delete the links there too. I wouldn't want to: some of the posts referred to are well-worth revisiting...

Now blogging is time-consuming (though much less so than many other activities, such as, say... watching TV) and not everyone wants to keep doing it. Also, no matter how much a person enjoys blogging, sometimes circumstances are such that it's just not practical to continue. And occasionally people blog for a while and then get bored and want to stop.

That's fine. It's sad to see good blogs stop, but hey, it happens.

But please... please! If you are going to stop blogging, please do not delete all your blog posts. If people have linked back to you, the link is then "dead" and if they just linked (providing you with internet traffic) and didn't actually copy your post in full, then they have a whole load of blog posts which are meaningless. I mean, if established bloggers waited 12 months before linking to a new blog, just in case the author didn't stay the course, it would take ages for anyone to get going. Blogging relies on readers and links alert readers to the new blogs.

Also, please do not delete the entire blog. The blog name and the links still exist, but what can happen is that the site then becomes available for takeover by advertisers... and some of the stuff advertised this way can be very unappealing indeed. Another blogger, a while back, didn't listen to my advice, deleted her blog and then got very upset as all her friends found that their links were going to a site advertising Viagra and other such stuff. It took quite a bit of time and trouble to get through to Blogger to put the thing right.

...And you never know... in a few months you might even find you miss blogging, and want to come back!

It's Been Quite A Week...

...and I'm totally pooped. Back to "normal" on Saturday!

Priceless...

This had me spluttering coffee over my new keyboard, courtesy of my good friend Newhousenewjob. No damage done, but it was a close call!

Three More For Rollcall...

...And now I've found another three blogs. Not sure how they avoided my attention for so long. They've probably not been very neighbourly, and haven't made any comments. I'm nosy: I nearly always check out the people who comment on my blog posts...

First we have DigiHairshirt over at The Digital Hairshirt... to be fair, I've seen Digi's incisive and witty comments over at Karen's place before, but never quite managed to get as far as her blog... mea culpa, mea culpa...!

And next up is Adele from Journey to Therese. Adele is a Canadian living in the US... I haven't managed to figure out if this is a permanent state of affairs, and if so, why she's in exile...

Finally, we have Credo, Catholic Journal, from Ireland... at least, I think it's posted from Ireland. There's lots of Irish stuff mentioned, so it's probably a safe-enough assumption...

Pay them a visit and say hallo! And watch this space for more great blog discoveries!

Telling It Like It Is...

It's that time of year again: our parish Confirmation classes have started up.

We have found that boys and girls approach Confirmation in different ways. After accidentally ending up with boys and girls attending on different nights last year (something to do with football practice) and finding it to be a great success, we decided to make it a deliberate choice this year.

Fr. Tim had mentioned suitable attire at the (mixed) introductory session for candidates and parents, and he told the youngsters that they needed to be careful with new shoes, as kneeling down would be difficult.

I realised from their expressions that the boys were unconcerned: they'd decided that this was a girl thing. And I could also see from their expressions that the girls were sceptical: they wear heels and kneel down for Communion on Sundays. It's easy. It's a girl thing. What does a priest know?

So, at the first Confirmation class for the girls, I told it like it is: Fr. Tim, being a mere man, had got it wrong. Kneeling down in high heels is not difficult. However, what is difficult is getting back up again without a Communion rail for support... leaning on the Bishop's knees as one tries to stand is not really an option...!

Fr. Z's Caption Contest...

The eminent Fr. Zuhlsdorf occasionally displays a light-hearted streak amongst all that Latin prose... My favourite caption to date (after 15 comments) has got to be this one from Fr Ó Buaidhe:

One Ring to bind them all,

One Ring to find them,

One Ring to rule them all,

And to the rubrics bind them.

Brand New Television Channel...

...catering especially for all those aficionados of liturgical dance: PWTN (Progressive Word Television Network)! Check out the new schedule over at the Curt Jester's place!

Oh, All Right... If I Must...!

Having ignored an indirect meme from the Pacific Gem on the grounds that it was too long (and she'd added a get-out clause), I suppose I'd better do this one. It's short. And I may never get tagged again if I don't come up with the goods... and then I'll feel lonely and unloved!

Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

I had a little difficulty with the "nearest" book requirement.

I've been having a major sort-out, and technically, the nearest book to me at this moment is my dictionary: I find myself wanting to check things while writing my blog posts... I'm pedantic like that. Anyway, I tried using the dictionary, but got into trouble because it didn't have complete sentences...

The next book on my computer desk was the Bible. Douay-Rheims version. Problem number 1 was identifying page 123 (should I take the Old or the New Testament page 123?) I plumped for Old Testament, on the basis that it was the "proper" page 123. Problem number 2 was identifying the sentences... the Douay-Rheims version goes in for a lot of colons and semicolons, making the sentences long and convoluted, and sentence five was practically on the next page. Problem number 3 was that it was the Book of Leviticus on leprosy, and I sort of lost the will to live...

The next nearest book (How Cats Conquered the World by Heather Hacking) only had 96 pages.

In desperation, I grabbed a book from the top of the pile on the armchair behind me (these books are awaiting the construction of a bookshelf... and have been for some time.) It turned out to be The Incorruptibles by Joan Carroll Cruz. Page 123 only had three sentences on it...

Finally, The Wonder of Guadalupe by Francis Johnston put me out of my misery...

"The bronze, hazel-coloured eye of the Blessed Virgin lights up, and on the surface there shines quite distinctly the silhouette of a human bust. The head is turned threequarters towards the Virgin's right and slightly bent forward; the chest is framed and lengthened by a movement of the arms going forward as though to show something. It all happened as though, at the moment of the Image being impressed, a man who was facing the Blessed Virgin, and reflected in the cornea of her eye, had himself been photographed in this indirect way."

I'm loathe to put anyone else through this sort of torture. But if I really must, then I'll tag Leutgeb, Mark, Paulinus, Tony and Fr. Justin.

What The Pope Saw On Sunday...

...hopefully he would have found it encouraging!

Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Blake.

Support For The Holy Father

It looks as if Cardinal Ruini's suggestion that as many of the faithful as possible attend the Pope's Sunday Angelus address has been taken up with great enthusiasm. 200,000 people gathered at St. Peter's Square and the surrounding areas to hear the Holy Father's address.

Let's get a bit of perspective on this...

200,000 people turned up today. The usual attendance (on an ordinary, bog-standard Sunday) is about 20,000 (which in itself is far from shabby!) And the number of students at La Sapienza University staging a sit-in to protest about the Pope's visit was... umm... about 100.

The total student number is 138,000 - La Sapienza is the largest university in Europe. 100 protesters out of 138,000... hmmn...

The pope's speech and prayer were followed by three minutes of applause.

UPDATE: The BBC did a report about the cancellation of the Pope's visit to La Sapienza, and the protest of 67 academics and 100 or so of the students... Strangely, they appear to have missed the gathering of 200,000 people in the centre of Rome. Odd. They must have blinked and missed it... I mean, the impartiality and fairness of the BBC with regard to all things Catholic is well known...

My Singing Isn't That Bad...!

What herb are you?

YOU ARE MANDRAKE
Take this quiz!

Twitch of the mantilla to Thorn in the Pew.

Who's Been Typing On My Computer...?

I had to go to the opticians today: I'm trying out some new lenses as my astigmatism has worsened slightly. I was due for a discount, and the chap setting up the direct debit needed to get a password from Head Office in order to get the computer system to recognise this.

Head Office is far, far away...

My chap had the relevant screen up, with a little dialogue box saying "Password?" and he rang Head Office on his mobile. I expected them to give him the password.

No. Passwords are meant to be secret. They are not for distributing to the riff-raff on the shop floor...

Instead, the young man quoted his IP address. And then the cursor began to move and a little line of asterisks appeared in the box...

Spooky stuff...!

Buggy Appeal

The Sisters of the Gospel of Life made a plea for help: they desperately need baby buggies for some new mums who have applied to them for help. I saw the appeal, noted that they were asking for help from anyone based in Glasgow, realised that London is nowhere near Glasgow, said a prayer for the Sisters, their appeal and the mothers and babies, and then moved to another blog...

NOT the intelligent response!

The really intelligent response would have been to do what Fr. Tim did: realise that sites like Amazon are happy to deliver, provided you give them a delivery address. And then advertise the fact on your blog (but praying for the Sisters, their work and the mums and babies as well is a good idea too!) Anyway, the Sisters are at:

Sisters of the Gospel of Life
106 Dixon Ave
Glasgow
G42 8EL

...and, if you go through the Amazon link on Fr. Tim's blog, then his parish gets a few pennies back from Amazon as well!

Heheheheh...

Damian Thompson has alerted us to the fact that Archbishop Piero Marini's book tour has been cancelled... sorry, "indefinitely postponed." Shame it wasn't cancelled (sorry, postponed) before he came to England.

Then again, his book launch at Westminster Cathedral might be considered as having flushed all the liberals out of the woodwork so that they could be readily identified...

Not Good For The Old Ego...

Comment today from a Year 10 student (15 year-old) who had a GCSE Science module exam on Tuesday...

"Miss, everything you taught us was in that test we had!"

I was pleased that he felt I'd covered the course material... I was less pleased at the tones of surprise and incredulity which accompanied the comment!

Good News For A Change...

A British Airways Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow this afternoon. After a sudden, catastrophic total shut-down, the pilot managed to "glide" the airliner over houses, airport buildings and a busy road before "belly flopping" it onto grass just 50 yards inside the perimeter fence.

The flight from Beijing nearly had one wing ripped away as it landed 400 yards short of the runway and its rear undercarriage sheared off as it skidded a quarter of a mile to a halt.

136 passengers were virtually unscathed - a few whiplash injuries.

The captain was described by one passenger as looking "very pale" as the plane was evacuated. Understatement of the century, I should imagine...

Deo gratias.

Political Correctness Taken To Extremes...?

Looking at revision posters produced by one of my Year 7 classes, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a diagram of an unborn baby "in situ" so-to-speak. It was very well drawn. What got me was the label: an arrow pointing to the swollen abdomen and "pregnant person" written beside it!

Don't look at me. I'm very definite I told the class that women were the ones to get pregnant!

Along a similar vein, the Curt Jester has an excellent proposal for all of us who are tired of being labelled "homophobes" - we need to embrace the victim culture and declare how hurt we are at such hateful and judgmental language. Time to challenge the homophobiaphobes!!

Justification For A Large Family?

Parents of more than 2.4 children are often challenged by complete strangers with thoughtless comments... this has to be the best reply yet! Mantilla-twitch to the Ironic Catholic.

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!