Trouble at Mill

In lieu of anyone in authority giving the lead, apart from asking for my money and yes you got lots and yes I filled out the Gift Aid Form too,

this is what I shall be doing:

Going to Mass.
Saying the rosary
Putting a picture of the Pope in my window
Playing lots of Newman hymns at Mass plus 'God bless our Pope'
Watching EWTN online
Going to anything I can make that's laid on in the Parish - including watching telly in the Club.
Going into London on Sat 18th Sept armed with a Papal Flag, sandwiches and my travel card and I shall just have to be in the crowd. If the HF goes to Hyde Park by helicopter, I shall just have to look into the sky. (It is the Feast of St Joseph of Cupertino - wasn't he the flying one?)

And I don't care two hoots if I'm the only person who does.
I spend most of my time doing my own thing on my own, so there!


Any other positive suggestions? Moaning not accepted.

Allotment News

Just in case you've been sitting on the edge of your seat for some while now wondering, you will be pleased to know that I'm not one of those one season wonders, nor someone who has been evicted, yet.

More of the plot is now in cultivation, thanks to various friends who have lent a hand and dug up some of the evil couch grass. One smaller friend has even put in a little path of stones. Other recent additions have included some pumpkins which are planted with a generous amount of space, so let's hope they do plenty of growing.

The start stop weather has not been great. One moment you are watering everything madly, the next your runner beans are taken by a late frost. Hopefully, aside from the present freezing rainy spell, we might get back into serious growing. Just in case I have some spare courgettes...

Meantime, in the back garden the tomatoes are coming on OK.

Walsingham

Just got back from a weekend there on the NACF Pilgrimage.

It was a great weekend, if a little iffy in the weather department. It was fun and and nice to hang out with lots of people. These included people I know by sight but have never spoken to from Church, who it turns out live round the corner.

Now thoughts turn to Brighton and the LU for Thursday....

I'm with Auntie Joanna

here.

Grandma did Galway Race Course and JPII with her brother and sister-in-law in 1979, no problem. (Bit muddy.)

I saw JPII in Canterbury in 1982, no problem.

I went to Rome in 2000 for WYD where there were 2.1 million people, the city was heaving, like we had to wait 40 minutes underground to get onto the Underground to get back into the city centre after the Papal Mass. No-one pushed, no-one got agitated, people just chatted to each other and then got on a train. There was plenty of water and food and it was all fine. ( A little hot to be fair, but the Fire Brigade sprayed the pilgrims with hoses at regular intervals to keep us cool. It was so hot you could go from soaked to dry in five minutes.)

I've seen people practically charge into Brompton Oratory at the end of the Rosary Rally and it was all fine.

I've been in plenty of packed churches full of candles and never felt worried at all.

So I will be going into London to see the Pope in September and if I don't get a ticket to that Prayer Vigil, I will just have to stand by the side of the road with my flag.

I'm forever getting mixed up into football crowds, Marathon crowds etc on public transport. London is always dealing with hoards of people. Let's not be boring about this.

The thing about Catholicism is you do have to be physically present.
You can't go to confession over the phone.
You can't fulfil your Sunday obligation by watching TV.

Things are looking up

After the doom and gloom of the other day, it seems that the initial report from the Scottish Catholic Observer may prevail.

See here.

The eyes of the nation will be on us.

Let's not give the sneering MSM et al any free amo.

We have all the best composers. Let's use their music.

Early Optimism Dispelled

by various reports on the music for the Mass at Coventry.

This the least offensive way of describing it.

'Make me a channel of your peace' is not the best choice for fronting up to the militant secularism of Dawkins and Hichens.

See how the insipid D major chord with the banal meandering inner part does battle.

I will say no more.