Just for fun ...

Family members will probably have seen this list (thanks to Fr Leo by the way) but I thought I'd choose a few of the lines I liked the best in case anyone is in need of a smile today:

I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder .

I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it!

Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

Ham and eggs ... A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

(I think this is my favourite)

Burns Night Ceilidh

"Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace worthy
As lang's my arm."

(From 'Ode to a Haggis' by Robert Burns.)

We had a great night out yesterday (yes, I know it was a few days late) at a Burns Night Ceilidh in London. No, we don't have any Scottish connections in our family -at least that I'm aware of, but it's a good excuse to have an evening out and trip the not-so-light fantastic for a 'wee while'!

I much prefer these sort of events to the more formal dinner and dance. It's fun when hardly anyone knows the dances properly and there are proper steps to follow - much more enjoyable than shuffling from one foot to another in approximate time to the music which is what usually happens at company 'do's'! We can all laugh at ourselves and with one another without anyone feeling embarrassed.

The evening was greatly enhanced by the luxury of a car to take us there and back so we didn't have to worry about having a 'wee dram'.

Another response to THAT bus ad ...

My brother has just pointed out to me that there's another Facebook group set up to counteract the Richard Dawkins atheist bus ad campaign.

Here is an extract from the page:

In response to the recent campaign - 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life', we've started another campaign.

'There probably is a God. Now stop worrying and start looking for him. He is everywhere.'

This group are selling flyers (as above). I think I would prefer it if it were more positive and said,

'There is a God. Now stop worrying ...'

Incidentally, I've yet to see one of these bus adverts 'in the flesh'. I'm beginning to wonder if they're just a figment of Richard Dawkins' imagination!

Wow, I'm a sidebar 'non-ebrity' !

I think it's a shame when a blog just disappears into the ether. I noticed the other day that Fr John Boyle has resurrected his blog, 'South Ashford Priest', or at least, was considering doing just that so I decided to post what I saw as an encouraging comment.

Lo and behold, the next time I looked to see if he'd taken the plunge or not, he'd very kindly added this little blog to his sidebar. Now I'm sure I don't deserve to be up there with the 'great and the good' and the likes of Fr Tim Finigan himself, but thank you, Fr John, for the thought.

I'm new to this blogging lark and whilst I enjoy it immensely, I'm never quite sure where blogs like mine 'fit in.' Yes, I'm a practising Catholic but I only refer to my faith from time to time on the blog and it originally started out as more of an online family newsletter.

I suppose that if you're trying to live your Catholic faith, it should and does permeate all aspects of your life so it's almost inevitable that references to your faith will 'creep' into your blog. I've certainly noticed it happening to me more and more, this blog seems to be developing a life of its own!

Hooray - Vatican YouTube now up and running!

I expect all keen Catholic bloggers and YouTube watchers have already noticed that the new Vatican YouTube channel is up and running.

It's a shame that at the moment (and hopefully, it's only temporary) the embedding feature is disabled so I'll just give you the URL to one of the 12 videos on offer so far.

Here's a sample video on the subject of Baptism.

Click here for the link to the Vatican YouTube channel where you can choose to view other videos.

44 US Presidents - Washington to Obama

Have you seen this video which is now being circulated on the Internet (again)?

I do think these 'morphing' videos are great fun.

Blue Monday ...

It's official - Monday 19th January 2009 is the date regarded as the most depressing day of the year. So I think we should all think of a few 'Reasons to be Cheerful' (with apologies to Ian Drury).

New born babies.

Sunshine - and rain.

Families.

Friends.

Having a roof over our head.

Having food on the table.

Good health.

Chocolate - and more chocolate !!!

Gin and tonic (funny how that one popped into my head after the chocolate!)

Books - and being able to read.

Music.

Freedom of speech.

Religious freedom.

& etc. ... The list is endless - Please feel free to add your own.

Papal approval for one of my greatest weaknesses!

Thanks to A Catholic Cappuccino, Please! for the information on the history of the cappuccino coffee.

On April 27, 2003, Pope John Paul beatified Padre Marco d'Aviano, a 17th-century friar credited with halting a Muslim invasion of Europe and in the process discovering the frothy coffee-drink cappuccino.
History books also show that with a vast Ottoman Turk army beating a path to Vienna in 1683, d'Aviano was sent by the then-pope to unite the outnumbered Christian troops, spurring them to victory. As the Turks fled, legend has it they left behind sacks of coffee, which the Christians found too bitter, so they sweetened it with honey and milk. The drink, now supped by millions around the world, was called cappuccino after the Capuchin order of monks to which d'Aviano belonged.

I shan't feel quite so self-indulgent as I sit and enjoy my cappuccino now I know a little of the history of the drink. It's a very Catholic drink, after all!

The End of the Christmas Season

We took our crib down today as it's the end of the Christmas Season.

Our crib was given to us by my mother and so it has an extra special significance for us, apart from the obvious one.

Each year it comes down from the loft and the figures are carefully unwrapped from their protective scraps of cloth. We've been doing this since the children were small - quite a few years now - and they are still wrapped in a motley assortment of scraps of material; fake fur (? no idea where that would have come from in my mother's house!), felt oddments and old table napkins. I haven't the heart to exchange these oddments for bubble wrap or other protection - they are part and parcel of our family crib now.

Each year at the end of Christmas the same process is undertaken in reverse. I'm always reminded of the carol we used to sing at school, (Lullaby Carol?)

'... See the fur to keep you warm, snugly round your tiny form

Gosh, I didn't realise I could be so sentimental!

It's a little bit cold over here!

For all of our family in warmer climes (Indian subcontinent and our Antipodaean relatives!) here's a glimpse of what the weather is like 'over here'.

The unusually cold weather has been with us all week. One of the compensations of the prolonged frosty weather is the beautiful scenery it produces.


Spare a thought for us shivering over here whilst you're enjoying your barbecues and beach parties.

3 Teams' Dinner

Another great evening out with friends. Every year we get together with the other two 'Teams of Our Lady' locally and have a meal out together. It started out as a Christmas get-together but has 'evolved' into a post-Christmas outing.

This year we went to South Hatch Restaurant near Epsom Downs and were treated to a wonderful meal with excellent service. I can't remember when we last had such excellent attention in a restaurant.

Despite the icy conditions we had almost a full compliment. The noise level was correspondingly high and, if the sound of chattering and laughter is anything to go by, I would say a 'good time was had by all'!

It's in the genes, I'm sure !

I have a thing about scarves/pashminas/wraps the way some women have a thing about shoes or handbags. No matter how many I accumulate, there's always room for another one and whenever I’m out shopping you can guarantee I’ll see another that I must have of a different colour, design or material.

I’m convinced that shopping is part of the female genetic make-up. Why is it, I wonder, that the ‘shopping gene’ is so dominant in the female of the species and so recessive in the male - almost to the point of being non-existent!

No matter how busy we are, if a friend suggests going for a coffee and a bit of window shopping, most of my female friends wouldn’t hesitate more than a few minutes before gladly changing their plans and going along. In the same way, I suspect most males would rather have teeth pulled without an anaesthetic.

Of course like all generalisations I acknowledge that there are exceptions and I do know women who loathe shopping in any form and vice versa.

Strange, how the idea of doing the weekly supermarket shop doesn’t have quite the same appeal!

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were:

In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:

Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Hat tip to Sr Anastasia (again!) I think she should start her own blog -she's always sending me excellent material for mine!

A Coal Hole and Carousel !

Very pleased that the frosty weather didn't stop us having a good night out with friends at the theatre last night.

The coach driver made very good time so we were able to spend a pleasant hour before the show in a nearby 'hostelry'. Very aptly named, The Coal Hole, was just the ticket.

The show Carousel was also very good; we recognised the songs but all of us agreed that we had no idea the song, 'You'll Never Walk Alone' originated from this Rogers and Hammerstein show. I'll never be able to watch a Liverpool football match again without thinking of Carousel!

Surprise!

Strange how we're always surprised to wake up to find snow on the ground, even in January.

I didn't have time to take any photos before I left this morning but managed to take a few shots of the church when I arrived. Not too many made it for Mass, understandably. The car park was quite treacherous but luckily there was some rock salt to use on the worst areas which quickly melted the snow.

The main roads are all clear this evening but it's beginning to freeze again so dangerous conditions for driving. Our road, like most cul-de-sacs, is like an ice rink as it doesn't get gritted by the council and doesn't have the volume of traffic to melt the snow.

We're off to the theatre tomorrow evening so hope the weather improves before then.

To dance, or not to dance, that is the question ...

We had a lovely evening on Saturday. The three of us were invited to a colleague's 60th birthday party. We weren't quite sure what to expect but knew food would be involved, and Indian food at that so no question that we weren't going to accept the invitation!

The party started slowly as we had to be there early to surprise the 'Birthday Boy'. By the time the guest of honour arrived we were already feeling more party-like after a glass of wine at the bar!

Super food in abundance and then a few speeches. It was a lovely atmosphere and we were made to feel very much at home by the family. We had Bollywood movies playing on large screens in the background and an Indian DJ who was playing some great music.

I'm not usually very keen on large parties, preferring to socialise with a few close friends over a meal but the music was so lively and everyone so welcoming that we all joined in dancing. Good job nobody had a video camera!

I would love to think I looked as elegant as the ladies in the picture, and indeed as elegant as the ladies at the party, but I think I would be deluding myself. Nevertheless it was great fun.

Well, it's nearly 'nearly-Epiphany' !

The three Kings/Magi/Wise Men have nearly reached their destination. Since the Bishops of England and Wales have decided that Feasts and Solemnities of Our Lord should be celebrated on the nearest Sunday rather than the actual date of the feast this means that this year we shall be celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord on Sunday 4th January.

It just doesn't feel right! Theological/Liturgical questions aside, there are much more important matters involved - do we take down the Christmas decorations on 4th January which would sure be only 10th Night or wait until 12th Night on 6th January?! We always leave our crib up for a while anyway after the rest of the decorations are packed up and put safely way until next year. It will seem very strange to have all signs of Christmas packed away two days before 6th January.

Taken to it's logical conclusion we could be celebrating Christmas Day on the nearest Sunday to the 25th which would mean that this year we would celebrate Christmas Day on Sunday 20th or 27th December - now, there's a thought!