What is in Kelvin's Head?

Predictions 2023 – How did I do?

31/12/2023

1 Generative artificial intelligence will become significantly disruptive of many sectors this year. Education practices will change quickly as a result of this but education will be but one of many areas of life to be affected.

Happening all around us (even to people who can’t see it happening around them) – prediction fulfilled.

2 No progress for those seeking marriage equality in the Church of England. There will be a lot of talk about moving towards some form of official blessings for same-sex couples which would have the effect of thwarting those seeking actual equality, making it more difficult to achieve. Further division amongst pro-gay activists in the Church of England.

Happening exactly as predicted. The recent developments following the LLF project make equality more even further away – prediction fulfilled.

3 Indyref 2 will not happen on 19 October 2023 as Nicola Sturgeon had hoped, which is a shame for those seeking to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK as the autumn will be the high water mark for the Indepedence movement. It will be downhill into the next General Election after that.

Happenning but not quite as I expected. Indryref didn’t happen but Indy polls are indeed riding high. However I didn’t see the mess the SNP would get itself into along the way. Prediction Fulfilled.

4 Trump and Biden will both declare that they intend to run for the US presidency in 2024 and American politics will continue to be all about Donald Trump.

Exactly as I said – prediction fulfilled.

5 Covid recovery remains bumpy, particularly through supply-chain problems due to mismanagement of Covid in China.

Pretty much as I said – we’ve largely forgotten the supply chain issues that continued from the end of last year into the new year and the spring. Prediction mostly fulfilled.

6 No conclusive end to the war in Ukraine this year.

Alas. Prediction fulfilled

7 Governments in Westminster and Holyrood will announce some kind of “new deal” for the National Heath Service.

Holyrood here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/programme-government-2023-24/pages/5/

Westminster: Pay – here https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/14/government-accepts-recommendations-from-nhs-pay-review-bodies/
Westminster: Medicines here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-deal-to-boost-nations-health-and-save-nhs-14-billion

Prediction fulfilled.

8 – UK Government will not succeed in blocking Scottish Gender Recognition Reform.

I remain surprised that the Scottish Governnent gave up on this. Prediction not fulfilled.

9 Liam McArthur’s bill in the Scottish Parliamant to allow doctors to participate in the killing of terminally ill patients will fail to receive parliamentary approval but will receive more support than similar proposals have before.

Bill hasn’t received approval but hasn’t gone to a vote either. Large levels of support in the media. Prediction partially fulfilled.

10 Changes announced to the UK honours system, perhaps at the time of the Coronation, to remove references to empire. OBE becomes Order of British Excellence.

Not happened yet. Prediction not fulfilled.

Result – about 7 1/2 out of 10 this year I think. Not bad.

8 responses to “I seem to have been spared”

Erp

06/12/2008

Glad to hear you are feeling better. May you have a good illness free Advent for you and your congregation. (Is blue or purple the Advent colour at St. Mary’s?)

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kelvin

06/12/2008

The colour is purple, though sadly we don’t have a full high mass set for this time of the year.

In my former congregation, we kept what people called “sarum colours” – blue in advent, unbleached linen in Lent.

I believe the term sarum colours to be historically incorrect, but I rather liked the distinction between the two seasons.

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Marion Conn

06/12/2008

Hi Kelvin, glad to hear you are feeling better. In respect to “sarum colours” may i suggest this website, http://anglicanhistory.org/essays/wright/sarum.pdf

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Erp

07/12/2008

Thanks for the distinction. One of the local churches (non-denominational university with one episcopal priest out of three ministers) here uses blue but I seem to have recalled purple from other places. I’m not sure where they got the blue candles though, they are a very odd shade.

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Ritualist Robert

07/12/2008

Speaking of Sarum, were there medieval uses peculiar to Scotland, Fr Kelvin? Presumably there may have been something like a St Andrews Use.

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ryan

07/12/2008

Yeah, I think the Sarum rite sounds fabulous, but Advent candles should obviously be purple and pink :-).

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kelvin

07/12/2008

I presume that there was a St Andrews Use, though I’m no medievalist and there may be people better qualified to comment about it than I am.

There certainly seems to have been a very spectacular Use at the collegiate church of St Mary and St Anne in Glasgow. There is some speculation that St Mary’s (with its side chapel dedicated to St Anne) might have some significant roots in that congregation, which met in a church where the Tron theatre now is.

The ceremonies (and endowments) of this church were lavish. There is a little about it on wikipedia.

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Fr Dougal

08/12/2008

Use of Aberdeen is very well recorded in FC Eels book on King’s College Chapel, rather like Sarum and Bangor.

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