Twas on a Monday Morning

Tags

Family Life

and a Tuesday morning …

and a Wednesday morning …

and well I have no idea how many more mornings the gas men might come to call as what seemed originally to be a pretty straight forward job in changing the pipe from the gas meter box to the new gas main in the road has turned into a mega job.  A host of different gas men keep ringing the Rectory door and asking a raft of questions, most of which I can’t answer.  Earlier a cloud (for that is what I have decided is the collective noun for gas men), a cloud of seven gas men stood and pondered on the front lawn of the Rectory, in their combination of orange and yellow flourescent jackets, two waving beeping machines.  If the beeping is to be believed there is either buried treasure hidden or I there is enough pipes to get the gas direct from the North Sea.  After much waving of hands, one came to the door again and said they were going to switch of the gas as two of them picked up their shovels and set to digging up the lawn, while two looked on and the others continue to debate.  I have a feeling the digging is more out of hope than any real conviction they will find anything, but boy can they dig a hole fast.  While they are going with their feelings I have my own feeling that the monobloc is going to have to come up and I don’t want that, but then I am pretty sure that they don’t either.

to be continued ….

St Andrew

Tags

Advent, Photography

Today is St Andrew’s day the Patron saint of Scotland and of St Andrew’s Milngavie, which also by default means in these parts he is also the patron saint of fish suppers, as tonight after our Patronal Festival we will all tuck into fish and chips.

The picture above is a roof boss from Dryburgh Abbey showing St Andrew on his distinctive cross.  There are lots of stories about Andrew, from why he was crucified on a X-shaped cross, to how he came to Patron Saint of Scotland and as is often the case with the stories of the saints it can be hard to separate fact from later embellishments.  One of the things we hear is that Andrew was the first evangelist, going to tell his brother Peter that the Messiah had arrived, so I think it is highly appropriate that his feast day usually falls inside Advent.  St Andrew’s was prepared to follow, he was prepared to tell others, he was and is an Advent saint, the dawn of a new beginning and someone who we would do well to learn from.

OWF!

Tags

Cars

For the last 10 days I have been driving round in a Mini Copper SD while ‘Baby’ was in the garage getting fixed after someone who wasn’t looking decided to run into her while she was parked.

Never before have I had such a courtesy car as this one, in fact Hubby commented that even when he had the Jaguars he never got a courtesy car as good as the Mini, with only 24 miles on the clock when it was delivered and not the basic model either it seems somewhat extravagant, but hey I am not complaining I would never be able to afford one so it is nice to get the chance to drive it.  (although you can pick up a new Mini Copper SD for just under £20k this one with all its bells and whistles would cost you another £10k).  I am glad to get ‘Baby’ back and have missed her, in my book she is more fun to drive she is gentler and more refined, she is a lady while OWF the title of this post which is the last three letters of the Mini’s registration better describes it.

It’s been fun, but now with me and it parting company I thought I would share my thoughts if anyone out there is in market for a Mini Copper SD.

It is a punchy little car with a kick like the Jag when you put down your foot and even when not in sports mode the engine races making the car go quicker unless you put on the brakes, no coasting to slow down in this little number.  It is not for the faint hearted nor for the newbie driver and it gobbles diesel as if it is going out of fashion (I’ve got 39.7 which for a diesel isn’t very good at all).  It is being sold and has been built as a sports car but it doesn’t handle like one, due mainly to its height, it certainly doesn’t stick to the road but it’s 2 litre engine and twin exhaust reminds you each time it grunts that it is a very different beast from the mini of old that my grandma used to drive.

Inside is like sitting in the lap of luxury, and just like every other sports car that has rear seats, there is no room for your legs.  There is more buttons than a keyboard and some of them are out of reach when you are driving including the rear heated windscreen and the hazard lights, yes they put buttons on the steering wheel to change the cd, or radio, to turn the sound up or down, to speak on your phone, with none steering wheel buttons in easier reach than those two essential buttons!  And while we are on the subject of bad design the sun visors don’t go along the whole length of the window so you are still blinded by the sun, however they have put a very nifty extra visor over the side window which gets plus points.  However the major flaw in my book is the gear ratios and the fact that reverse is right next to first, alright when you are driving but when you are stationary and setting off it can be difficult to know which gear you are in till you try to move!  These gripes aside it is indeed very well designed inside and extremely comfortable with three heat setting for the very comfortable leather seats and the most wonderful courtesy lights which have for the first time ever made me all girlie about a car.

For those of you who haven’t already heard me wax lyrical about them here goes, for those of you who have sorry I am off again you might want to skip to the next paragraph.  The lights light up the inside door handle, the inside door pocket, the glove box, the gear knob, the seat belt retainer, and there are two which beam down on the bank of switches plus there are extra lights in the back – for the passengers without legs.  It isn’t the number that I will miss, but that you can change their colour, red, green, yellow, orange, white, blue, purple, or even indeed have them gently scrolling through all the colours, you can also change their intensity.  I am so glad I have had the Mini during a change in the liturgical year as it has meant I have been driving in a car whose lights are liturgically correct!

On a practical level the boot is hopeless almost none existent although the back seats fold down simply and quickly however getting them back up isn’t quite as straight forward, well it might be if you have arms a foot longer than mine.

Would I buy one?  Well there is a question, which having posed I will immediately not answer directly.  If someone was to hand me one, then I wouldn’t turn it down, but I would probably only drive it for a while and then replace it, as fun as it was it isn’t really my type of car.  If I had £30k to spend on a car I would save or borrow another £5k and buy a second-hand Lotus Evora a proper sports car, with back seats that you can actually sit in!  But then again I don’t want another car now that ‘Baby’ is back.

AGM Alternative

Tags

Music

If it wasn’t for All Saints AGM tonight, I would be off to St Andrew’s by the Green to see Kieran Goss who I had not even heard of before Sunday evening when he was supporting Eddie Reader.

Not only can he play that guitar and sing, he is also entertains with his craic, but then again maybe there will be some good craic at the AGM, one never knows.

Saint Cecilia

Tags

Saints

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and Church music and her feast day falls today.  As if often the case with early Christian martyrs there is some dispute over just when, where and how she died.  My preferred version is this one:

Cecilia her husband and brother-in-law held meetings of Christians in their home eventually her husband and his brother were arrested and then executed for practising Christianity.  Next on Prefect Turcius Almachius list was Cecilia herself.  Firstly the officials who went to arrest Cecilia attempted to kill her by smothering her with steam in a bath house, however, the attempt failed and she arrested and was to be executed by decapitation.  It is said that she refused to die until she had received Holy Communion and consequently despite trying to chop off her head three times, she remained alive, surviving another three days before finally dying.  Despite what must have been horrific neck injuries it is said that for those last three days she sang to God which is why she has been linked to musicians and Church music.

What is More Pleasing than a Psalm?

Tags

Advent

That is the question that Ambrose of Milan asks in his commentary on the psalms and then goes on to answer it his own question thus:-

David expresses it well: ‘Praise the Lord, for a song of praise is good: let there be praise of our God with gladness and grace.’  Yes, a psalm is a blessing on the lips of the people, a hymn in praise of God, the assembly’s homage, a general acclamation, a word that speaks for all, the voice of the Church, a confession of faith in song.  It is the voice of complete assent, the joy of freedom, a cry of happiness, the echo of gladness.  It soothes the temper, detracts from care, lightens the burden of sorrow.  It is a source of security at night, a lesson in wisdom by day.  It is a shield when we are afraid, a celebration of holiness, a vision of serenity, a promise of peace and harmony.  It is like a lyre, evoking harmony from a blend of notes,  Day begins to the music of a psalm,  Day closes to the echo of a psalm.

For those of you who didn’t know Ambrose is often credited with being the person who introduced hymns into western worship, he certainly has a way with words about him, his commentary could almost be mistake for a psalm in its own right.   I therefore find it interesting that nearly 1,700 years after he wrote these words and encouraged the Western Church to include singing in its worship – not only psalms but all music by voice or instrument directed towards God – that the love of hymns has meant in many churches the singing of the psalms has died out or in dying out.  In fact even the reading of the psalms is something which appears to have disappeared from many a service outside daily prayer.  Even if the psalms aren’t sung Ambrose’s observation on the rhythm of the psalms bringing about great beauty and harmony to our days and reciting them every day is surely something we would all benefit from.

So with Advent just around the corner I have decided that this year during Advent I will post the psalm for Morning Prayer along with what I hope might be a helpful picture over on Advent Jottings.  I encourage you to take time with the psalm to bathe in its words and rhythm and maybe find anew a source of comfort strength and praise for the whole of the year ahead.

The Registration of Civil Partnerships Same Sex Marriage

The Scottish Government are currently running a consultation process on the above the documentation can be found here.

While there is no saying as to the outcome of this process might be, it can be said with some degree of certainty that whatever the outcome there will be an impact on our society and church.  If you are living in Scotland and reading this, then you too can make a response by filling in the form at the end of the paper.

The Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway is also offering an opportunity to discuss the issues raised in the consultation.  The discussion, headed by Bishop Gregor Duncan, will be held this coming Saturday 19th November at 2pm, the venue is St Bartholomew’s in Gourock.  It will help if you have previously read the consultation paper if you intend going along.

Regardless of whether you can come along on Saturday please take the time to read and make a response as this will be the only way the voice of the pews will be heard due to the Scottish Governments time constraints on the consultation.

Any response needs to be made by 9th December at the latest and responses can be made online.

Samuel Seabury

Tags

Samuel Seabury

In the 1780′s and before, the church in America had no bishops to call its own, so on the 25th March (which happens to be my daughter’s birthday) 1783 Samuel Seabury was elected and set off for England to be consecrated.

A warning to those of you with a sensative nature when it comes to matters of church history.  What follows is simplified (probably overly so) to cut a very long story short.

In 1534 Henry VIII had imposed on the church an oath which all clerics had to swear, stating that the King alone had rule and dominion over his lands including all spiritual matters.  His daughter Mary who had held fast to the Catholic faith, disagreed with her fathers divorce to her mother, and was greatly saddened by all the suffering and exectuions the oath had brought about repealed the act during her short reign.  However in 1559 Elizabeth I, who like her father wasn’t inclined to give the Pope any authority ver her realm and wanted to legitamise her own claim to the throne (her half-sister Mary had in effect turned her into a bastard with no rights), reintroduced the Act of Supremacy requiring any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the church in England and by 1562 making failure to take the oath treason.  For the next 200 years those who were ordained in England had to take the oath and state that:

no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual within this realm

Supremacy of the Crown Act 1562

For Samuel Seabury in July 1783 the swearing of this oath was essential if he was to be made a bishop, however there was a problem.  Seabury despite arguing that he could swear the oath, wasn’t believed by the English bishops that he would or could keep it after all he was wanting to return to an America and take with him independence for their church with their own bishop.

Meanwhile in Scotland;  the Reformation had brought about a rise in Presbyterianism, due in no small part to a disagreement over the role of bishops which had rumbled on since James VI of Scotland’s reign.  Those who had not embraced the reformed practices took a stand after James II was deposed in 1688.  Having sworn allegiance to James as King, they stated that they could not during his lifetime swear allegiance to the new monarchs William and Mary.  Politically James was the last link to the Jacobite dreams while ecclesiastically William and Mary were seen as having Presbyterian sympathies.  Those who took this position were known as non-Jurors, and they included almost all the bishops and clergy in Scottish Episcopal Church.  The Parliament in London declared that these non-jurors were no longer the official church in Scotland, and while that meant that indeed their worse fears were now realised it also consequently meant that the oath of allegiance to the crown was no longer required by those ordained by the Scottish bishops.  Seabury therefore turned to Scotland and in Aberdeen on 14th November (which happens to be my son’s birthday – spooky or what?) 1874 Samuel Seabury was consecrated bishop by the Bishop of Aberdeen; the Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness and the Coadjutor Bishop of Aberdeen.

Consecration of Samuel Seabury - Stained Glass window Old St Paul. Edinburgh

They Write the Songs

Tags

Lee MacDougall, Rumer

It’s been a while since Hubby and I have been to a concert but last night saw an end to our musical dry spell.

Over the years the quality of support acts have grown and now my expectations of them are quite high, so Lee MacDougall had a lot to live up to and live up to it he did.  When he stepped out from behind the mike and sung to hushed concert hall without any amplification he showed just what a talented singer songwriter he is as his voice filled the Glasgow Concert Hall without any sign of straining.  His set of songs could have easily come off any charting album, he just needs that break through song to make the jump to being the headline act.

As good as Lee turned out to be we hadn’t taken a trip into Glasgow on a wet Friday evening to see him it was Rumer.  Her voice and style has captivated me this year and  I really wanted to see her live.  Despite having only the one album out as yet she and her fantastic band filled the next hour with a mixture of her own songs along with hits from Elton John, Carol King, Joni Mitchell to name a few.  We also got a sneak listen to a few tracks from her new album (February 2013 expected release) which is a host of less familiar covers from some big named boys from the 70′s.  For parts of the evening I just sat back closed my eyes and floated away on the ripple of her voice.  If you have yet to discover Rumer’s soulful jazzy sound then here’s your chance.

Double Feature

Tags

Films

Well we couldn’t quite agree on which film to see, there were four on the short list, so we decided to revisit our childhoods and go for a Friday double feature of our own making.  Whatever happened to double features?

The Help – My choice, but Hubby enjoyed it more than he thought he was going to.  While in many ways it was beautifully shot there was something about the shooting which also made it seem too modern.  The costumes were fab, but the hairstyles again were too modern, maybe I am being picky or maybe there was some subtle and clever cinematography and production to underline what for me was one of the most powerful things about the film which I hadn’t been expecting.

The racism – I knew it was a major part of the film – but I wasn’t expecting it to shock and bring me up time and time again, especially with the realisation that such attitudes not only existed but also were seen as acceptable even main stream in my life time.  It wasn’t until the credits were running – which I always like to stay for – that I started to wonder if there was also mind games being played with the music.

I rejoice at how far things have come while shuddering that bigotry is still alive and well today, however I’m not sure if there was some clever stuff being done in the production department to make that very point or it was more simply the films topic bringing to the foreground of my mind the fact that justice and equality is still far from complete and is still alive and well in my children’s lifetime in a whole host of guises.

A film to challenge and inspire, to tempt the tear ducts into action and laugh out loud, and while Hubby commented that he was one of only two males in the cinema it isn’t a chick flick.  I now need to read the book.

Johnny English Reborn – Okay it might have been a bit predictable but there was certainly never a dull moment and even a sprinkle of surprises.   If you want to while away 101 effortless minutes then this one might be for you.

Oh and one of the bonuses of being one of the saddos who likes to read and see the credits is that occasionally you get rewarded with a little extra and Johnny English Reborn is one such occasion.  I’m not going to tell you what it is, I will just say that if there is something not quite right about the take away scene to you either then it will all make sense if you stay to the end of the credits.