• Review of Predictions for 2018

    On 1 January I made predictions for the coming year. Time to see how I got on.

    1 – General Election in the second half of the year.

    Well, no we didn’t and the government linger on. Not right

    2 – “…and as the polls close, our exit poll predicts that the Conservative Party is unlikely to be able to form a new government…”

    Well, the government did linger on of a fashion.  N/A

    3 – The next but one leader of the Conservative Party becomes Ruth Davidson MP.

    Too soon to tell. Not right yet.

    4 – The hipsters get bored of vinyl and discover cameras with actual, you know, film.

    In September, I happened upon three or four hipster types from Denmark in the cathedral grounds taking photographs for a fashion shoot in Belgium. They had stopped shooting for a moment…. to reload film canasters.  Right – but likely to become more common yet.

    5 – No date for a new referendum on Scottish Independence.

    No date for a new referendum and no great call for one either. Right.

    6 – No progress for LGBT affirming Anglicans in England.

    Sadly correct. Right

    7 – Progress for LGBT affirming Anglicans elsewhere, particularly Brazil.

    Stunning progress in Brazil – marriage agreed by huge majority on synod floor. (And who else saw that coming!) Right.

    8 – Increasing realisation that sexual abuse is part of church culture. #churchtoo #metoo.

    Yes – meetings happening all over the place trying to work out how to respond. Few coherent policies yet. Right.

    9 – FTSE lower at the end of 2018 than it is at the beginning. (7687)

    As I write this the FTSE is at 6728 – worst year in a decade. Right

    10 – The end of the beard.

    Those with style, manners and culture have seen the error of their ways and shaved. A few young and misguided types cling on. Completely and utterly right.

     

    Not a bad year, I think.

18 responses to “Biretta Watch – Snowy Day”

  1. Lay clerk Avatar

    Hats are old hat. What you really need is a papal ombrellino to keep the snow off! Then you could wear a wooly hat under it which no one would notice because they’d all be so impressed by what you were carrying. Or maybe what the server was carrying for you.

  2. kelvin Avatar

    Don’t think for a moment, Lay Clerk, that I have not used such a liturgical essential whilst worshipping the Lord in Scotland.

    I most certainly have, though not to keep the snow off.

  3. Lay clerk Avatar

    Heaven forfend that I would even consider for a fleeting moment that you had not taken advantage of the full panoply of liturgical sex-aids available!

  4. David |Dah • veed| Avatar
    David |Dah • veed|

    I am sure that the proper term Lay Clerk is paraments!

  5. Jeff Queen Avatar

    I do like the biretta when traveling…will be wearing one this weekend in the St. Patrick’s day parade. Just a thought, maybe you should change the name of the site to “What’s on Kelvin’s Head.” Just a thought.

  6. Paul Avatar

    Have been trying desperately to find a Canterbury Cap these last few weeks. Seems no-one makes or sells them anymore!
    A shame, as my former parish was the home of Lancelot Andrewes and they are celebrating his contribution to the translation of the KJB during a Festival Weekend, 24/25 September. I so wanted to wear a hat more in sympathy with the 17th century!
    I shall either default to a skullcap or a biretta, I guess….
    😉

  7. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Some academic head gear (doctoral level) is based on the Canterbury Cap – try academic outfitters.

  8. Kennedy Avatar
    Kennedy

    I think I saw +Idris sporting one at the TISEC award ceremony.

    Maybe he’ll know where to get one.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Christmas Message from Bishop Gregor

    It is quite likely that people reading this blog won’t be aware of Bishop Gregor’s Christmas Message – I don’t think it was sent to clergy or congregations and it doesn’t appear on the diocesan website. However, it is quite a good one and so I’m putting it on here. I heard a carol new…

  • Christmas Sermon 2013

    [UPDATE: The Herald newspaper covered this sermon as a front page story here: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/clergyman-calls-for-human-rights-focus-at-2014-games.23039023] Here’s what I said in my Christmas Sermon this year. It has become something of a commonplace that Christmas, at least in the life of the shops and the media starts all too early. Even at the end of September, the…

  • We’re going on a journey

    A couple of years ago, there was a new initiative in St Mary’s – someone suggested that we should have a crib service for children at 4 pm on Christmas Eve. We kind of expected a few children from the young church to show up. In the event there were about 50 people in the…