Golly Gosh

St Etheldreda of Ely pray for us as young britischer couples contemplate the beauties of the lush green countryside in this wonderful sunshine, and pity those poor dregs of impoverished and deeply entrenched humanity who must labour for their bread in the industrial brown cities of all the satanic mills that Blake can recall. A terrible fate to work in some smog-lined city, breathing in the fumes of motor cars, and the belching smoke of huge trucks that should not be there, and finding the smog and dust and dirt build up under one's own finger nails at end of day - yes the poor suffering souls of purgatory have an easier time of it than the poor souls that work in cities. But consider this - kind devotees of St Alphonsus, that never was it said that those who worked in cities offered a poorer lot to contemplate than those poor wretches that actually have to live in them to boot. Terrible business. Let us bow our heads and pray for God's blessing as we contemplate the words of some metaphysical poet -
How blessed is he who leads a country life; devoid of trouble, devoid of strife.

Yes it is all a long way from Malta that dreaded brown smog cloud that overhangs the cities of London and Brumland and Manchester and Bradford and Leeds - all a very long way indeed from the bliss of the green hills of Albion too. But there we are - someone invented cities but do we have to accept them?

Like two blushings

Is there anything so fine as the witness of Shakespeare on the subject of two blushing pilgrims, and anything so nice as popping in to see church of england clergy in their country retreats in little churches in the middle of nowhere such as Blockley by Moreton in the Marsh where the old A429 takes off into the countryside and the hills above the Avon. Lovely location and funnily enough this is where the new runaway hit TV series on the amateur detective Fr Brown is filmed.

All quiet

Oh all quiet in the Church of England this morning - everybody has been watching Fleming one supposes on the TV. Very quiet - calm before a storm maybe. Can't think what. Pip pip.

Adolescent Progressivism

We all love the cut and thrust of the Sixth Form common room and the way that young boys will splay themselves around and expostulate al fresco on the latest revolutionary theories emanating from Moscow and Paris, but there are some ecclesiastical seniors in the odd common room in the odd posh school who seem to have continued all such delayed childhood development into their careers, by insisting as they do, that conservative vicars are not really acceptable in the promotion positions of the future; as if religion in our society was not inherently conservative for prudence and wisdom sake; a healthy brake to revolutionary change for change sake? Some leading lights of the various benches seem to forget that we are here to curb the enthusiasms of young boys like William Roper in the Robert Bolt play A Man for all Seasons - such would chop down every tree in the island just to get at some devilish opposite number, and then what when the devil concerned turns on the young man; behind which tree will he hide when he feels the full power of the great forces of Hades?? Such are the adolescence fixated young bishops of the red canon pot of promotees and they are tedious to listen to.  Change maybe, but religion is a brake of prudence - it is good to be conservative.