Guilt-free couch potato . . .

I'm not interested in tennis most of the year but like lots of people I do like to watch Wimbledon if I have a chance. I expect some serious tennis fans don't think much of people like me who suddenly get interested in the sport for two weeks in the year and just as quickly forget all about it but I don't mind.

It's not just the actual tennis, it's everything that goes with it; the reappearance of the stars of my 'yoof' reincarnated as commentators (the likes of John McEnroe and Boris Becker are still great entertainment); the endless discussions about the weather and examining the clouds - will it or won't it rain? This year we've have had the added question - will we get to see the roof in action?

Then there's the tennis fashions - who's wearing what this year? Another point for discussion seems to be who can 'grunt' the loudest? Sounds more like a scream to me sometimes! Either way, I'm not a fan.

And don't forget the strawberries and cream. You just have to indulge at this time of year. (At least that's what I tell myself!)

Best of all, it's one of the few times of the year when it's perfectly acceptable to say you spent hours slouched in front of the TV.

In fact it's one of the few times in the year when I actually want to sit in front of the TV - most of the year, I'm a radio fan.

Can't wait for the Ashes to start next!!

Talking of the Year of the Priest . . .

I've just been reading this very inspirational letter on Mulier Fortis' blog.

I'm sure we all appreciate our own parish priests and often thank them for various things that do for us like offering a Mass for our intentions, baptising a child, preparing our children for First Holy Communion and Confirmation etc. How often to we thank them for accepting the call to the priesthood and all that it entails every minute of their day (and often night too) ?

Do pop on over to Mac's blog and read it for yourself. It's well worth the effort.

That's my boy!

Oh I did have fun teasing number one son when his photo appeared on the front cover of our diocesan newspaper this month! I'm only just posting it now as I've been waiting for the online version to be posted on our diocesan website. I had scanned the photo in the newspaper but it really wasn't good enough to use.

I know it's really a picture of our bishop mixing the perfume and the oil to make the chrism at the Chrism Mass but there's no denying that is definitely our eldest standing there holding the book, as large as life.

It's a while ago now, of course, but it was a beautiful Mass and very moving to see so many of our clergy together in one place and reaffirming the promises they made at ordination. It's so encouraging for the rest of us 'ordinary folk in the pews.'

'A Woman . . . '

Thanks to Fr Leo for emailing me this . Well, obviously, I had to post it on the blog, didn't I?

This is written in the Hebrew Talmud, the book where all of the sayings and preaching of Rabbis are conserved over time. It says:

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry,

because God counts her tears.

The woman came out of a man's rib.

Not from his feet to be walked on.

Not from his head to be superior,

but from the side to be equal.

Under the arm to be protected,

and next to the heart to be loved."

Pass this on to all exceptional women that you know.. and to men so they know the value of a woman.

Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly . . .

Lavender's blue . . . Oh, I don't know, I'd say it was more purple.

I had a feeling this lavender bush in front of the house was going to put on a good show this year. I think I managed to cut it back at just the right time . . . for a change.

Here's another purple plant that's doing well in our garden this year. We had three clematises (what is the plural of clematis?) on this particular fence and we seem to have lost two over the winter . . . poor John Paul II (the clematis, not the Pope!) and a small-flowered late-flowering variety that I've forgotten the name of. Still at least this Jackmanii is making good use of the extra space without any competition this year. I shall have fun choosing a replacement or two.

Looking ahead . . .

As Sunday is 21st June and officially the first day of Summer, I thought I'd indulge in a spot of day-dreaming about holidays and the like . . .

This quiz is just a bit of fun but I can certainly identify with some of it. Now, tiramisu for example, I'm happy to have that any day, even in damp and miserable Britain.

We've actually not planned any holidays during the school holidays but are going to Prague for a few days in September so yes, the quiz was right again, it is Europe for us again this year.

You Should Spend Your Summer in Europe

You're in to almost all forms of culture - art, music, architecture, food... And spending a summer at the beach sounds pretty darn boring to you. So head off to Europe, where you can have your tiramisu (and even eat it on the beach!)

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

Year of the Priest . . .

I thought I'd try and get in early with a few words on the Year of the Priest.

Pope Benedict will open the special year with Vespers at the Vatican tomorrow, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the day for the sanctification of priests.

I found these excellent quotes on the Westminster Diocesan website on the vocations page.

“Heralds of the Gospel are needed, who are experts in humanity, who have penetrated the depths of the heart of the men and women of today, who share their joys and hopes, their anguishes and sorrows, but are the same time contemplatives, in love with God.”
Pope John Paul II

“A good priest is a truly human person who expresses his love for God in prayer and in love for people. These gifts are sanctified and focused through the grace of ordination when he becomes ‘a man for others’.” Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor

I wouldn't dream of trying to improve on something said by Pope John Paul II or even Cardinal Cormac. I just wanted to say 'thank you' to all our priests for answering God's call to the priesthood in the first place and for all that you do for us.

Here is a beautiful prayer for priests by St Thérèse of Lisieux- very fitting in this year when the relics of St Thérèse will be visiting various sites in England.

Prayer for Priests
by St. Thérèse of Lisieux

O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world's contagion.
Bless their labours with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister

be their joy and consolation here

and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown. Amen.

Lazy Summer Sunday . . .

Today was almost idyllic. I woke up to sunshine streaming through the bedroom window. A bit of sunshine makes all the difference, doesn't it?

We had a lovely Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi with the choir singing their hearts out and time to chat with friends over coffee in the hall afterwards.

Last night on our way out to a 'do' I spotted a sign near us advertising local gardens that would be open for charity all weekend so I spent a lovely, lazy afternoon wandering around looking at other people's gardens, chatting to people with a common interest.

People are very brave to open their gardens to complete strangers but gardeners are a decent bunch on the whole, I'd say! After much 'ooh-ing and aaah-ing' over the plants and with feelings of inadequacy increasing with each successive garden, I stopped to indulge myself with a delicious cream tea at my final stop with home-made scones, jam and clotted cream . . . just perfect.

Simple pleasures are often the best, I think.

Trooping the colour . . .

Happy (official) Birthday Ma'am!

Whether you are a monarchist or not, there's no denying that the Queen is doing very well. I must say I hope I look half as good as the Queen does here if I reach 83 years of age. (I do like the turquoise outfit - That's one of 'my colours' too!)

It's incredible to think that this is the 57th time that the Queen has been present for the annual celebration of her 'official' birthday. Well, I suppose it saves the Duke of Edinburgh asking the perennial question, 'And what would you like to do for your birthday this year, dear?'

The BBC have posted this archive recording on their website. I find these old black and white recordings fascinating. I hope you find it interesting too.

Just musing . . .

I often wonder when I have nothing in particular to blog about but haven't blogged for a day or two; is it better to say nothing or is it better to post something no matter how mundane, or inane even? Yes, I know that applies to most of my posts anyway.

Personally, I like to see new posts on the blogs I follow regularly, no matter how 'ordinary' the content. We don't all lead such exciting lives that every waking moment is earth-shatteringly newsworthy ( I don't think that I would want to either!) Also, I actually find the 'ordinary' quite interesting anyway.

So, as I can only act on how I feel about it, I decided to go ahead and blog today.

Yesterday, being Wednesday, was my day off and followed much the same pattern as most Wednesdays for me:

The day began with:


Mass at our local church - always a good way to begin the day. A bit like having a good breakfast - it really sets you up for the day ahead. I like to walk as the church is not far away and even in yesterday's showers was enjoyable. It also gives me time to prepare for Mass as I walk along - time and space to get into the right frame of mind.

This was followed by:


Coffee with friends -another important element in my day - excellent therapy and nourishment of a different sort.

Quite a bit of the afternoon was spent like this:

I don't think I looked quite as glamorous and I don't have one of these snazzy-looking steam-iron-thingummy-bobs but I spent a happy hour or two dashing away with my own rather worn smoothing iron.

Finally I settled myself in front of the TV for what promised to be a happy 90 minutes or so watching England v Andorra - and it was very enjoyable. It's always good to be on the winning side (who said, 'for a change'?)

How did that happen? . . .

I have somehow managed to get my blog listed on the Catholic Blog Directory. Not to be confused with British Catholic Blogs. Now, I don't know how this happened but I have to admit to being quite flattered that somebody would consider including this little blog.

I'm curious to know how this happens. Do they have someone who keeps on an eye on all new blogs looking out for Catholic ones? I can't imagine that, somehow. Or, is it just a case of someone spotting your blog on someone else's blogroll or a reference on another blog to yours.

As I've mentioned before, I didn't set out to make this a particularly 'Catholic ' blog but as I am a practising Catholic, from time to time I do comment on aspects of my faith and I hope also that sometimes my faith is apparent in some of the other things I comment on. We shouldn't after all 'compartmentalise' our faith so it should be apparent in everything we do, shouldn't it?

Thanks to whoever is responsible. Why not go and have a look at the list and investigate some of the blogs that might be new to you too.

Derby Day . . .

What is it about British sporting events and the weather? We've had days of glorious warm, sunny weather recently and when did the rain and cooler weather decide to put in an appearance? Just a day before the Derby race meeting of course. Rather than put money on a horse, I think a more certain way to get a return on your money would be to put a bet on rain in Epsom on Derby Day - what odds do you think you'd get from Paddy Power?

I work on Saturday mornings and today I had to drive past the racecourse on the way to work to drop number one son and a friend at Epsom station. Even at 8.30am the course was a hive of activity with stewards everywhere and car parks already beginning to fill.

A few spots of rain don't deter us, do they? Coming home over the Downs just after lunchtime, I passed a steady stream of people walking to the racetrack - mainly locals at this time of day and quite a gathering of people around Tattenham Corner railway station waiting for the Queen to arrive.

Although they have moved the area for the fun fair this year, you could still see activity in the middle of the Downs with many rides doing good business and plenty of people queuing up for drinks and snacks from the burger vans.

It's a quite unique race meeting, I think. You see plenty of top hats and tails and very smart ladies in the 'posh' end and equally large numbers of the rest of us ordinary mortals in other areas. All out to enjoy a day at the races, a day at the fair and a little flutter; whether picnicking, snacking on fast food or enjoying a full champagne lunch with all the trimmings, everyone is enjoying themselves.

June is bustin' out all over . . .

'Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June'

(Al Bernstein, American actor)

For a change we seem to be entering June with appropriate weather - long may it last. Although not officially Summer yet, once we get into June, it usually feels as if it's here already.

June to me is;

The Epsom Derby (just down the road for us),

roses, lovely roses,

Wimbledon - and naturally strawberries and cream,

a glass or two of Pimms at the least excuse,

cricket,

walks in the countryside finishing with a cream tea whenever possible,

queues in front of ice-cream vans,

bees buzzing around lavender,

Trooping the Colour,

long hours of daylight,

'These are a few of my favourite (June) things.'

How about you?