Post Easter post

A day of feeling a bit miserable with a cold. I made it through the winter without one, but at last the lurgy caught up with me...  So I'm taking the opportunity to catch up here.

Well, first - back to Holy Week and Easter.  My favourite service this year was the Easter Vigil at St Brigid's. It was a truly joyful celebration - why? I'm not too sure, other than the fact that we are remembering and underlining that Jesus lives! The singing, the candles... everything was just right and I came away fully immersed in the joy of the Resurrection. 

Then, there was Celebrate at Corpus Christi School last weekend. This too was great, and my lasting memory will be of the number of children and young people present, 98 out of 300 I'm told. And two of the three speakers were under 40 too, including Will Desmond aged 23 (right) and telling it like it is to the crowd. Great weekend if very tiring as I have to fit it round my parish duties. 

Next - the election.  I could have made a lot of money on this one as I predicted that the Conservatives would win with more seats than before. Why? Because I think there are a lot of what one article this week called "shy Conservatives". There are many areas of life where it's not done to not be leftish... including parts of the Church. I think that many people if asked by friend or pollster wouldn't "own up", but then vote according to what they really thought. By the way, I'm not necessarily including myself among them, I usually don't disclose my voting. It reminds me a little of the election of Pope Francis. How may cardinals would have owned up before the election to how they were thinking, even if Cardinal Bergoglio wasn't specifically in their sights?

Lastly, two reviews, the first for a long time. The Penylan Pantry in Kimberley Road just outside our 3 Churches area. Went for coffee there with some parishioners, and enjoyed it a lot. A small place, on a corner of Blenheim Road, very.um, Penylan with a deli as part of the set-up. I'm amuse that Penylan, an area I just think of as my childhood home, is now very much des-res territory. Very friendly and welcoming, though my fruit loaf/bara brith took quite a while to come...

And then there was Il Pastificio where I was invited to supper. Currently number 3 in TripAdvisor this is a wonderful Italian restaurant at the beginning of Wellfield Road where the Globe Cinema was several lifetimes ago. A little small, like the Pantry and unprepossessing from the outside. Also a little tight inside to get everyone in - but this place must go straight into my top ten, right from the welcome when you arrive, the guided tour of the specials from the head chef (below), but most of all the quality of the food - simply scrummy. But be careful, book, because it's become very popular very quickly - and quite rightly so!