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I’m delighted to be listed on the Scottish Christian Weblog page. www.scottishchristian.com is required reading. In fact, it is one of the newsfeeds that I check automatically using rss. Ian Ansdell must work very hard to keep up such a useful digest of Scottish church news. So, thanks Ian for listing the blog. I’ve updated…

I’m very surprised to read the lead article in the Scottish Episcopalian this month. It implies that the members of the General Synod from this Diocese and from Brechin have formed themselves into a support group to fight to save St Serf’s old folks home. My memory of the meeting in question is that no…

Overheard in the cathedral cloister this afternoon:”Who will dare to tell you the truth if a priest does not dare?” – Ambrose of Milan

The gospel passage this morning [Luke 9:51-62] is presumed by commentators to be one that is full of so-called ?hard sayings? and difficult circumstances. Firstly there is the whiff of something distinctly racist about the story of the Samaritan village. Then Jesus appears to be encouraging people to follow him into a life of poverty…

Another 10 days or so and the blog will have had 20000 hits since I started at the end of August last year.

So, there will be Single Transferable Voting in the next elections for councillors in Scotland – the bill finally passed through the parliament yesterday. [Note the use of the definite article in the last part of that sentence – it contains within, the entire ambiguity of the constitutional settlement]. Liberal Democrats have achieved one of…

Tilly due at the vet today for her annual check-up. Another bout of all in wrestling to get her there, I suppose.

Surprising things I have seen bishops do in the last 2 weeks: 1 – Attempt to celebrate holy mass in brown shoes 2 – Try to concelebrate uninvited from 20 yards away from an altar (retired bishop) 3 – Pray the daily office during a dull synod debate. (All the more impressive as I was…

Hmm – I’m discovering Joseph Lamb’s piano rags for the first time. Not too bad at Champagne Rag, but definitely stumbling through Sensation Rag. And I thought that Joplin was the last word in ragtime.