Behind the scenes in vocations

During a spare gap today I caught up with a few other people's blogs, and found a couple of interesting videos on vocations.

First - what's it like inside a seminary? The BBC took photographs inside Allen Hall, the diocesan seminary of Westminster, situated off the Kings Road in Chelsea. Allen Hall has experienced a very encouraging increase of seminarians each year for the last five years. Rector Mgr Mark O'Toole and two seminarians talk over the slides. Come on Wales - catch up! 

You'll find the video here; (acknowledgements to Fr Stephen Wang, who teaches at Allen Hall). The picture below shows Adoration in the seminary chapel

My second video is, er, different. It is of the profession of two enclosed Dominican nuns in the convent of St Catherine of Siena in Cusco, Peru. If you can take the soundtrack (if not, turn it down) this is a fascinating little insight into an age old and solemn ceremony, with a profuse - very profuse - use of flowers. The convent was founded in 1610 on the site of a kind of Inca religious house for women. The chapel itself looks beautiful and Baroque. In this one, click on the image below. (Acknowledgements to the Dominican novices of the English province at Godzdogz)

A hymn for Fr Bob

A few weeks ago (7th October) I posted about the death of a priest friend whom I have admired tremendously since I worked with him in the 80s, Fr Bob Bedard of Ottawa in Canada. I was delighted to find that the religious congregation that he founded, the Companions of the Cross, have put a video of the whole of his Requiem on the internet. The principal celebrant was Archbishop Prendergast of Ottawa and there were hundreds of priests. Particularly indicative of Fr Bob's influence was the presence also of the Papal Nuncio to Canada. 

If I'm not mistaken, the leader of the music ministry playing and singing up in the gallery is Marcel, who was a young newly-married when I was there. I must confess to a lump in my throat when they went into the final hymn as Bob's coffin was led out of the Cathedral. "The Victory" by Bob Filorama was one of my favourite hymns that I heard over in Canada. It's a simple but moving melody with strong words, full of a Pauline hope. Dare I say it is also in some way a man's hymn - and not just because it speaks of a man's arrival at heaven. On the Requiem video it does not come out too clearly, but I found it also as the soundtrack to a lovely short video tribute to Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Catch the Requiem here and the John Paul video here

A Tintern autumn

Just got in from our fortnightly Fraternity of Priests meeting which was held at Chepstow this time with Fr Barry English (a very, very distant relation of mine) hosting. As we left, I asked Fr T if he fancied a diversion to see Tintern Abbey, so off we went up the Wye Valley.

It was about 3.30 when we got there on this, a coldish crisp October afternoon. There were very few visitors as I whisked us past the pay-desk with my lifetime Cadw card (ahem). The abbey was all the more beautiful for the autumnal colours and light, and the stillness. As we wandered over to the remains of the infirmary there was, in fact, nobody else in sight.

What a blessing to have such a place within easy reach of Cardiff. As I explained to Fr T that, no, the ruins were the result not of a fire but of the even more fiery Dissolution of the Monasteries, the pity of it all rose up once more in my mind. The loss of the religious houses was a great scar on our history, and although the wound is certainly softened by the beauty of sites like Tintern, somewhere. deep down, a Catholic heart must mourn.

Life in Halket Street

While I was waiting for an appointment to turn up this morning, I was doodling around an obscure corner of my family tree when I came across a new connection. My great-uncle Patrick O'Brian had a sister-in-law, Margaret, with an, er, interesting history. In 1888 she was had up for selling beer illegally, and two years later charged again with selling beer illegally - this time on a Sunday! Finally a few years later she was "done" for not sending her children to school...

Fascinated by these lively details i looked for where she was living, which turned out to be Halket Street in Canton. You won't find it on a modern map, as it was later renamed Avon Street, which has in turn been reincarnated as the car-park behind the north side of Cowbridge Road East between Wyndham Crescent and Severn Road. Poor old Halket Street has well and truly been wiped off the map.

Along with parts of adjoining Wyndham Crescent, where Margaret and her sister's family had a grocer's, it was completely settled by Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century, a kind of Canton Newtown.  But I still wondered why Halket Street had been so thoroughly suppressed - until I found a photo from the Cardiff Library archives on the internet.

This was taken in 1892, exactly when Margaret was selling her beer and maybe trying her best with her children. Take a look at the pitiful little boy and girl on the left. Now I think I can begin to understand what life was like for that distant part of my family, and thousands like them...
p.s. (The next day) I see that a small street in the new development on the site of Lansdowne Hospital is called "Clos Halket" - a delayed resurrection?  Meanwhile, things it seems got worse for Margaret, as by the 1911 census she is in Merthyr Tydfil Workhouse. However by the time she died in 1944 she was back living more comfortably in Cardiff

Rose-gardens and stethoscopes

I've written this piece for this week's parish newsletter (www.3churches.org)... When Fr Tomy and I were driving Archbishop George around our 3 Churches area on his recent visit, from Cefn Onn to Colchester Avenue, he was of course delighted to see Roath Park, which was looking at its best that afternoon. Unfortunately, as we were only driving past, he did not have a chance to see one of the park’s highlights – the Rose Garden. Of course the roses have their season, but I was able to tell him about this beautiful feature, even though it was hidden from view.

There is another Rose Garden that seems to be hidden from many of us. We have heard about it, we know it’s there, we hear good things about it. But perhaps we don’t visit it ourselves. The word “Rosary” means “rose-garden” or “rose-garland”. Perhaps for many of us it’s an unknown feature of the landscape of our faith. We know about it, perhaps remember it from our childhood, but... but...

October is the month to pay a visit to Our Lady’s rose-garden, especially if you haven’t been there for a while. Take your time and relax. Don’t expect sudden or exciting things to happen – the attraction of a rose-garden is cumulative. Don’t worry about all the prayers or about distractions. Just join Our Blessed Mother as she takes you around, showing you the joys and sorrows, the lights and glories of her Garden – let her be your guide. Ask her to help you with the prayer. Pray a decade for somebody, such as the Annunciation for a sick person who needs good news to be announced to them. Ask the Divine Gardener to draw you into his garden, as He shows you the beauty of salvation.

As the TV advert used to say “Roses grow on you” – and so does the Rosary. 

Meanwhile another video - you may have seen it already as Tomy had - very well made, and don't forget to watch until the end...

A moonlit night in October 1962

When Fr M was a little lad in St Peter's Junior School here in Cardiff, we used to pray every day for something called the Second Vatican Council. We didn't know what it was, but we used to ask God to renew the Church "as by a new Pentecost" - because Pope John XXIII had asked us to.
Yesterday was the 49th anniversary of the opening of the first session of the Council (big year in 2012!) and 10th October was nominated by John Paul II as the feast of the now Blessed John XXIII. I'm grateful for blogger Rocco Palmo's drawing my attention to a totally impromptu little address that Pope John gave from his balcony on that night to a huge crowd with thousands of young people carrying lighted torches - flaming torches that is. I don't remember ever reading or hearing it before, although apparently it has become famous, especially in Italy, as "Il Discorso della Luna" - "The Moonlight Speech."

So here it is with a translation of some parts. It's not of the best, but you'll get the idea. It's hard to imagine the impact of a pope speaking this way almost fifty years ago. What a pope, what a saint...

"Dear children, I hear your voices. My voice is just one voice, but it represents the entire world. Please look at the moon in the sky! It rose earlier tonight to be with us
so that it might watch from above this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, in its four centuries of history, has ever been seen before. This is a natural wonder...
With this speech you and I are going to conclude this day of peace - yes, a day of peace : "Glory to God and on earth peace to men of good will"...
I am not important. I am just your brother who has become a father, through the will of God...
And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes by, and set aside whatever difficulty might come along.
When you get home, find your children. Hug and kiss them, stroke their cheek and tell them:"This is the Pope's caress". Maybe at times you have to dry their tears. Please help and support them, tell them: "The Pope is with us, especially in times of sadness and bitterness."
And then, together, may we all become fully alive - to sing, to breathe, to cry - but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us. Let us then continue along our path."

Ah, Senanque...

It seems an age ago that we visited the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque on our September Pilgrimage, but it is only just over a month. For many of our pilgrims this was their favourite location for Mass this year. The Abbey Church is open to visitors during the day outside the times of services, so we were invited to celebrate Mass in the private oratory of the 10 monks who live there, which is actually the former refectory of this beautiful twelfth century monastery.

What is it that makes places like Senanque so powerful in their presence? The Romanesque architecture, the Provencal sun, the changing colours of the stone, the surrounding hills and lavender fields. Or is it something much more intangible, something that has soaked into those stones and inspired that architecture... And might we call that vital ingredient holiness?

We were only there a few hours, but those hours will stay with me. Luckily I have  a tangible reminder, as the gift I received from the pilgrims this year - a figure of the crucified Christ - was bought there. Here for your pleasure is one of many videos on Youtube showing Senanque - so turn on your speakers, relax, enjoy. Fr M approves mightily.

Fr Bob Bedard R.I.P.

I write today's posting with a tear in my eye. I just received an email telling me that one of the best priests I have had the privilege to know died last night - Fr Bob Bedard, former parish priest of St Mary's Ottawa in Canada, and founder of the Companions of the Cross.

Although I only knew him closely for the two years I was studying in Ottawa, when I helped at St Mary's every weekend, his influence on me was enormous. He was Ottawa born and ordained for the diocese there. He taught in a local Catholic high school, becoming its principal, but then spent five years or so as a full-time evangelist, giving talks and retreats across Canada and beyond. When I met him he was two years into an appointment as parish priest in what had been a rather run-down city parish, St Mary's on Bayswater Avenue (very smart website here, where you can also hear some of Fr Bob's homilies). The attendance had rocketed, especially among the 20s and 30s, and the main Mass now attracted about 700 people.

When I was in Ottawa there were the very beginnings of a new community gathering around him, and through the 1990s this evolved into what is now a priests' Society of Apostolic Life (a type of order) called the Companions of the Cross. You can visit their website here where you will also find information about Fr Bob. Take a look at the young age of most of the 39 priest members! If you are on Facebook visit a group that has been praying for him called "Praying for Fr Bob Bedard" where you get a sense of the affection there has been for him.

I have stayed in touch with parishioners in Ottawa, and more loosely with Bob himself. He was a truly holy and inspirational pastor and human being and I am proud to put myself among the thousands he must have inspired. I am particularly proud to be able to say that I played a small part in the beginnings of the Companions when I was priest-in-residence at their first house of formation. Those who hear me speak and sometimes say nice things about what they hear - well, often you are really hearing Fr Bob Bedard...
His Requiem Mass will be celebrated next Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame in Ottawa.

Eternal rest grant to him, Lord.

Be graciously patient, Lord

September 29th was the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, so in Mass I used the Preface of the Holy Angels. Reading through it, I struck a roadblock. The preface uses the word "redounds", and while it stirred something way back in my memory, possibly back to literary studies in university, I had to admit I didn't know what it meant. The internet Oxford dictionary says "(formal) contributes greatly to (a person's credit or honour)". Fine, I have no problem with the accuracy and appropriateness of the word in its reference to God, but I'm just wondering about its use in the liturgy.

I have mixed feelings about the new translation. I'm getting used to the longer sentences, especially in the Eucharistic Prayers, and the greater expression that is therefore needed in praying them out loud. There are many fine turns of phrase - I love "from the rising of the sun to its setting" and "the supper of the Lamb", for example. But praying that the deceased be experiencing "the light of your face" sounds clumsy to me, "coheirs" is not a natural phrase. I have yet myself to experience the supposed benefits of "And with your spirit" or "consubstantial". And yes I know it's not all about feelings, and I know the arguments for these changes, but language is a living dynamic reality which needs a little more than justifying arguments for it to "work".

And now that I'm getting more familiar with the translation, I agree with one commentator I read, who observed that the word "graciously" occurs a lot... So I'll just say that I'm asking the Lord to graciously hear our prayers and graciously bear with us while we try our best - graciously, of course.

A Pastor's Visit

And so the Archbishop came to visit us on Wednesday afternoon. The weather was perfect and, as he pulled up, St Brigid's was looking good in its white-washed splendour against the green lawns and trees, and blue, blue sky. After a great chat and cuppa with Fr T and myself, we took off for a tour around the territory of our parishes. 

Fr T drove and I tried to give a running commentary, while the Archbishop popped his questions as and when he liked. We visited all three of our churches and considered calling in at Christ the King School but it was 3.30 at that point - not a good time. After a tour of Llanshen, Thornhill and Lisvane by the time we got to Corpus Christi High School it was 3.45ish and the kids had gone. Nothing like a surprise visit! Headteacher David Stone gave an excellent intro as we strolled through the grounds, looking their best in the bright sun. Back at the ranch, His Grace had intended to leave at 4.30, but didn't get away until some time later as he and I got into good discussion about all kinds of things.

The Archbishop paid great attention in our visits and discussion, and was really interested in all kinds of aspects of our 3 Churches, and I was very happy to be able to share with my Bishop some of the wonderful things we all get up to here, and of course some of our problems. It's a wonderful thing that he has given such priority to getting to know his parishes and especially his priests. It all bodes well - very well - for the future.
Pic shows some of Corpus Christi's "pavilions" and part of the "lagoons". Picture of the Archbishop is in the right column...

3 Churches, 1 Archbishop

We held our 3 Churches Forum last night at Corpus Christi School, and I think it went well. About 70 people turned up, and there was lots of useful and lively discussion as we tried to lift the propositions of our vision statement off the page and translate them into reality and action. There was a great buzz at the wine-and-nibbles break, which is always a good sign, so we'll be watching where it all goes.

And so from yesterday to tomorrow, and the visit to us of Archbishop George Stack. He has been making his way through the diocese since July, visiting all his priests. He's almost finished now, so hopefully he's gained a good picture of his new diocese. One of the things he likes apparently is a drive round the area, so I'm working out an itinerary for him.  We'll cover all the areas - Heath, Llanishen, Lisvane, Thornhill, Cyncoed, Penylan, Roath Park, show him the schools - Christ the King Primary, Corpus Christi High and St David's College, point out the homes for the elderly and so on... It's quite a list when you put it all down. Maybe I'll interview him a little too!

Picture : Fr M gives Archbishop G something to think about...

Rhiwbina, Relativity, R.E.M.

Strange things you see considered as news in the papers. In the Times today it says that the speed camera on Rhiwbina Hill here in Cardiff only recorded one person speeding last year - it was the lowest in the South Wales Police area. This is a well-used cut-through to the M4.  But was it the northbound camera on Rhiwbina Hill or the southbound one (right)? Hmmm...

Another weird thing... scientists have discovered a particle that goes faster than the speed of light. Nothing is supposed to do that according to Einstein.

Anyway, this pales into insignificance in a week when American band R.E.M decided to call it a day. For those asleep (or not born) in the early 1990s, this band from Georgia USA provided the soundtrack for life during those years. In "Out of Time" (1991) and "Automatic for the People" (1992) they put together two absolutely classic CDs, including such tracks as "Losing my Religion", "Shiny, Happy People", "Man on the Moon" and the classic "Everybody Hurts".

The BBC write "REM have often used their music and power as a band to carry a message. 'Everybody Hurts' .... started out as a song to comfort 'younger people'. Its 'don't give up' message has most often been associated with suicide prevention but the song has also been used to mark the Dunblane massacre, Princess Diana's death and more recently the earthquake in Haiti."

Some music takes me back to a particular occasion, but R.E.M. take me back to a whole period from 1991 on. Even now, my well-worn CDs transport me to my time at St Francis Presbytery. And it's very R.E.M that it seems they have disbanded not amid acrimony and bad-feeling but calmly and together. Great style, great band, thanks R.E.M.

Missal launched

So we in the 3 Churches had to be different, and introduced the new translation of the Missal two weeks or more after everyone else. This weekend I was at St Paul's and St Brigid's, and so at homily time I took everybody through the "shiny card" as I called the material we bought for the pews. Actually, it all went fine - plenty of fumbling and "And with you"-ing, but all in good humour. 

A lady who had come for a Baptism after Mass said she had heard several priests explaining the changes, and that I was the best. Then, after the Baptism she asked could she wrap me up and take me home as my celebration of Baptism was also better than what she was used to! 

Anyway, enough modesty - you may have noticed the new format on the blog. I just thought that it could do with a makeover, and spent half an hour finding some alternatives. What do you think?

Fr Patrick left us on Friday afternoon, and within twelve hours Fr Tomy had returned, looking refreshed. He's been telling me that his family are fine, but were sad to see him leave again, especially his Mum. Priests' mums are indeed a special breed. Sometimes perhaps we forget that priests have families too - that's partly why I refer to mine from time to time in Church and here. And that's got implications for vocations promotion too. If we are going to get more priests then we have to have the families that are going to produce them. I read somewhere that one of the American dioceses that is doing well for vocations - they currently have 25 men in formation - is Madison, Wisconsin. You might want to see what can be done too  here on their website. There's a dropdown menu to look through.

These are the Madison seminarians with their Bishop. The picture above is Van Gogh's "Night Cafe" painted in Arles. Unfortunately, this cafe, which still exists, is where my camera disappeared...

Aix and no pains as summer ebbs away

We've had two lovely days weather-wise, but as my Dad used to say the evenings are drawing in. Summer is starting to drift away... Another sure sign is that our summer supply priest Fr Patrick is leaving tomorrow, and Fr Tomy is returning the next day.

Fr Patrick has brought a lively presence to the liturgy with his mixture of Nigerian and East London flavours. Fr Tomy has been back to his homeland of Kerala in India. Amazing that prior to coming here last September he had not lived or worked very far from his family home, other than for holidays. It'll be good to have him back, anyway, and our best wishes and prayers go with Patrick, who's taking a break at a retreat house and then hoping to pursue further studies in London.

Over the last years we have welcome priests from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa/Lesotho in Africa, Poland and Ireland. All bring something different and help us to stay open to new perspectives, as well as providing them with parish experience here in the UK.

Pic shows the square in Aix-en-Provence where I had lunch last week...mmm...

A week in Provence

Hello again! We're back from our September Pilgrimage to Provence, and I'm glad to say that it all went very well. What a beautiful part of the world... Unfortunately one of the few blackspots in the week was the fact that I lost my camera on our first day - so I haven't got any of my own pics here.

We stayed at Arles, with its Greek theatre, amphitheatre and memories of Van Gogh, and went on to visit other big towns like Avignon with its Palace of the Popes, Nimes with its amphitheatre, the Maison Carre, the best-preserved temple in the whole Roman Empire, and the famous nearby Pont du Gard aqueduct, and lovely Aix-en-Provence, home of Paul Cezanne, and one of my favourite places of all. 

We also went to smaller places like St-Remy, where I tried ginger-flavoured ice-cream, Fontaine de Vaucluse, (blood orange-flavoured ice-cream), and the hilltop villages of Gordes and Roussillon. A day was devoted to the Camargue, famous for its gypies and flamingoes. We visited its towns of Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where I saw bulls being run through the streets by the local horsemen, and Aigues-Mortes, a lonely walled city founded by St Louis as port of departure for the Crusades.

Each day, of course, we celebrated Mass somewhere appropriate. Four of these were cathedrals or former cathedrals - Arles itself, Avignon, Aix and Nimes. At Les-Saintes-Maries the church and town celebrate the tradition that Martha, Mary, Lazarus and the two Marys from the crucifixion sailed across the Med and landed there. If it's true, that would make it the oldest Christian site in Europe! For many of our group their favourite celebration was at the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque, in a fold of the Luberon hills - just stunning.

It rained on our first day, but after that it got hotter each day until it was pretty scorching in Nimes on Friday. The company was great, as always, enlivened by the nightly ritual of Chase the Ace. On one of the nights that I played, I actually won a round - not to be sniffed at  when 15-20 are putting in 1 euro each...

Anyway, more of the pilgrimage in future postings... as I get back to routine. 

Pics show Senanque Abbey across its lavender-fields, Camargue horsemen and the village of Gordes.

Of Archbishops and Arles

Everything's a bit frantic this week as we're getting ready for our annual September Pilgrimage which starts on Saturday. 

For the first time in the seven years that I've been in these parishes, neither I nor the assistant priest will be here for one week. The parishes will be in the capable hands of Fr Patrick, our summer supply. So guess which Sunday Archbishop George chooses to want to come and celebrate Mass? Yes, you've guessed it, this Sunday. I suppose that's a bishop's idea of a joke.. He phoned yesterday and invited himself over.

Anyway, actually, I'm delighted he's coming. We've got nothing to hide! And it's a good sign to everyone of his wish to get to know the diocese. But then a further thought struck me. We decided long ago in our 3 Churches to not introduce the new translation of the missal until 18th September, when everybody else is doing it this weekend. That weekend will be the first that both I and Fr Tomy are back. And to make it worse, the archbishop has written a small pastoral letter about it - which he'll be able to read himself here - in a church that isn't introducing it this weekend! Well, as the kids say, "Whatever...."

So I'll be off the map again next week. We're going to visit Provence, staying at Arles, visiting all the famous sights, and celebrating Mass in all sorts of beautiful cathedrals and abbeys. Normal service at the Canon's Stall will be resumed from the 10th.

Street news

Amazing how quickly the news moves on. At the moment papers, TV and radio are dominated by events in Tripoli. Yet it's only a very short time since they were all equally dominated by the disturbances on our streets. Already politicians are pulling back from knee-jerk reactions at the time. 

The news often compared or contrasted these events on the streets with those of the 1980s, but I haven't heard any recollection of the problems on the streets of several cities, including Cardiff, that occurred in the summer of 1991. At the time I was parish priest of the area where the troubles were. In fact, the centre of the action was right outside our presbytery. I remember the atmosphere of tension and unpredictability as a few hundred young people roamed the streets, many of them from outside the area, and even from outside Cardiff.

When it all calmed down, I took part in some meetings of "community leaders" which tried to ask the question why it had all happened. There was some very useful discussion, but sadly money took over. A lot of cash was clearly going to be thrown at the area, and everybody wanted to catch some. Housing, education, social services... these and others were, and are, all deserving sectors. But those underlying questions somehow sank back into the murky depths under the floorboards of our society.

So when these troubles happened this summer I was not at all surprised to see and hear various spokesmen and women blaming this and that aspect of life in Britain. With so many interested parties, politicians and others involved, you're not going to get a consensus.

And into all this spoke bereaved father Tariq Jahan. "My son is dead. Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home." Watch again his impassioned original plea here.

Oh happy day...

Sorry folks, a longer gap between postings than I intended... but the Big Wedding came in meanwhile!  Yes the long-awaited marriage of one of Fr M's nephews happened on Friday. And what a wonderful day it was. It took place in a large Catholic church in Cambridge, and Friday was chosen mainly to fit in with my timetable. Followers will know that my family is very important to me, and this was the first family wedding that I have celebrated.

The day was simply one of the happiest that I can remember. Everything went well - and after a few damp days even the weather perked up and we had nothing but sunshine. This was particularly important as the venue for the reception had outdoor terraces and grounds ideal for spilling out onto for the pre-reception drinks and evening party.

At the end of the service it was marvellous to hear the peal of real bells, rung by real ringers, instead of the more usual digital or pre-recorded bells that you usually get, if at all, in  Catholic churches. The bride didn't stop smiling from the moment she arrived at the church, and  my nephew had a proud beaming smile too. Even the priest - myself! - couldn't stop smiling. 

It was great to see two young people radiating such love for each other, it just made you feel so good. I know I may be biased, but as a connoisseur of marrying couples - having married a few hundred - it really was an absolute cracker of a wedding, with a beautiful couple at the heart of it. It's going to keep me going, anyway, for a good while to come!

Pictures are a webpic showing the church from across the grounds of my college, Downing, at Cambridge, and two of my own, of the venue for the Reception - note the blue sky and the croquet lawn!

Swings, moves and unknown wives

Amazing, isn't it, how quickly you get back into the swing of things? It's only Wednesday and it feels like I've never... well, you know the rest.

Fr Tomy has gone back home to Kerala for his holiday. He was really excited in a Fr Tomy kind of way, so nice to see. So now it's Fr Patrick and myself for a few weeks.

Parish-wise things are a little quieter in August. Time to ponder perhaps...

The arrival of Archbishop George is giving some clergy food for pondering. There is some talk of impending clergy moves following his episcopal progress through the diocese in July, a process he intends to conclude in September. Archbishop Peter only really seemed to move priests when necessary - retirement etc. It'll be interesting to see if +George takes a more, um, proactive approach.

Family tree-wise, I discovered that a cousin of my dad who we always thought was a bachelor, actually married while working in Athens. Not only that, but I've been in touch with his wife's half-brother, who is alive and very active as a ceramic artist in Cape Town. Her two siblings bring the number of people on my family tree to 2,700 precisely!

Back

OK I'm back in harness, arrived back in the parish on Thursday. Buildings still standing, people still here!
I had a great break, spending one lovely half with my family and the other half off on my jaunt to Munich and Bavaria. Loved the places, but unfortunately I got hit by some very wet weather, especially on the day I decided to go into the mountains to visit the famous castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the so-called "mad King Ludwig". We saw Linderhof in all its sunlit beauty, but during lunch the sky darkened, and the heavens opened for three hours non-stop torrential rain with added thunder and lightning for effect. And all my day-tour group were in t-shirts n stuff, including me.

I got absolutely soaked right through, in a way I can't remember since being at university 40 years ago... After the 40 minute walk down the steep hill back to the village everyone steamed in various cafes before the joys of an hour's coach ride back to the city. Never has a hot shower been so welcome...

Munich is a very fine city, sort of Germany with a southern European twist. Lots of Baroque and Rococo architecture, some of which I found really beautiful, some rather heavy and uninspiring. So my pics show the famous Neuschwanstein Castle at about 2pm, just as the heavens were about to burst open and dump their wet contents on me and hundreds of others. The second one is only a couple of hours before, showing the lower Alps with the Zugspitze in the distance. The last pic shows the Jesuit church of St Michael in Munich - one that I did like!
More pics later, plus some thoughts on what happened on our streets while I was away.