Fading

Well we are fading into the mists of Avalon this weather. Slowly but surely, the mists are engulfing us and we shall soon be just a memory to chelsea chatter. As the poetess Edna Carberry used to put it of the wonder-filled faerie folk - There they go, there they go, off to the isles of Imaal. Yes 'tis time for Lauren of Penzance and I to remove ourselves from London gazes and find a quiet little cottage in the South West where she is based at university near Falmouth. Marina biology will be a welcome and pleasant diversion. Who knows we might find out way to Padstow. So we are off to the Pirates of Penzance. Steal away, steal away.

Ah

Ah the Church of England settling down to a nice quiet summer. Hopefully nothing too shocking or surprising will happen this summer and we can get wet on our quiet lawns on the south Downs with impunity, bar maybe some announcement by the Queen, say on her coronation anniversary on 2nd June 2013 that she will abdicate in favour young Charles. We shall see, but anyway, judging on my visit to St Alban's cathedral abbey, the atmosphere is sedate and serene, as ever.

Anyway

The Real Church of England was always historically dedicated to a little bit of tension vis-a-vis the civil state, since it had it not only from the various monarchs of its time but also from the saints and mystics of the island that the Gelasian principle of two powers spiritual vs temporal kept the country in a state of healthy tension and debate. If all the power went to the state it became civilism, if all the power went to the spiritual, it became theocracy, and both these heresies lead to tyranny over the hard pressed citizenry. The flock of Christ was never meant to be governed by egyptian taskmasters and now and then in the wonderful 2000 years of the faith in the twin islands, a young Moses would be asked to arise and think dark thoughts in order to restore the balance between the 2 powers. So we give too much power to the PCC and this will lead to civilism and tyranny, and the invasion of conscience and privacy, as per the Dawkins empire, but if we give too much authority to the sacerdotium and the spiritual, then the democratic checks and balances do not get an opportunity to work their magic.

Oh

Absolute power always corrupts absolutely - and helas for all ecclesiastical gentlemen with pointed hats on, this is a universal principle that is valid the whole way round this hopeless planet. The more power is invested in some fruitcake that thinks he is sitting on the centre of the universe, the more the disaster that inevitably follows. Always always. The only exception is the Bishop of Rome and that is because he is surrounded by idiot-proof cardinals and monsignors who put him right when he is being stupid. Alas not so, not so are the witless successors to Augustine who still dine out with the Tories while thinking with the Reds. The reds of the venerabile were a case in point. Like the infamous cataline conspiracy in the time of Cicero, it took us 40 years to get the reds out of that august and venerable institution that Newman so loved, and we are still cleaning up the grey ideological hogwash and dichotomous divide-em-and-rule-em drivel resulting. The later black conspiracy involving a dark Malvoglio like some ridiculous Mithras figure for gay seminarians was even worse. Malvoglio in his burgundy smoking jacket a la Fr Noel Coward, and his worse yellow stockings. So there is no fool like an old fool, and there is nothing as absurd as an old red grandaddy who still thinks he is impressive in the Grauniad with the left-wing sixth form boys. This sort of behaviour should be dealt with by the wifey of the said Fly by Night. St Justin the real martyr - pray for us all in the grand old Church of England. England expects.

Anyway

Pocohontas would say that the early jesuit fathers were very brave on the frontiers of 18th century Canada. Very brave. They had to face her squaws and avaricious women. And brave they were. Imagine if you were a young Israelite boy and you had to meet Eva Braun???

Let us pray

Let us all sincerely hope and opine in such grave times that our dear communist separated brethren will think hard and serious about any possible manoeuvres in the forthcoming days. With 2m men at arms on a green for go button it will be hard for them to pipe down their legions. And let us pray that our common love of Jesus the brother of the poor will yield peaceful results in those regions so close to the American Aleutian Islands. Jesus is always a brother to poor nations that cannot compete fairly with the richer ones. Paul VI wished it so - Populorum progressio. And Jesus would bless a nation so close to his heart as per - Acts 2:42. Still we must be vigilant -all threats to the peace of nations must be monitored. And besides we were solemnly warned by the military judges of Nuremberg 45 that disturbing the peace of nations is the gravest of all crimes against humanity. V agrees at Coombe Abbey. All quiet here at Jodrell Bank. The boys at Thornycroft nr Macclesfield are all well.

Lady T

Lady Thatcher was a serious woman - the Duke of Wellington of her time. The Churchill of her generation at conservative central office. Aside from such party considerations, she was every housewife's choice because she knew that come hell or high water, whatever the local TUC official said in the pubs around the factories each day at lunchtime, there had to be food on the table for the kids by 6 o'clock every evening. It took a woman to brush up the economy of sick industrial Britain in 1979.