I realised at during morning prayer yesterday that in the midst of Heathrow Hell, I had glimpsed a moment of the Christmas story. People were getting grumpy and cross with the airport staff, panic was starting to appear on faces belonging to those who knew they were not going to get home in time for…

The realisation dawns that my dog-collar shirts are mostly in transit. I have a small stock (that is, a stock, not a stock of other shirts – ie a thing, not a collection of things) which I can use stuffed beneath other garments to simulate the bedog-collared look but that lives in the realm of…

Well as of 9 am Thursday… The cat is in Cat Prison The car is in Edinburgh I am in Glasgow having escaped Heathrow Hell by booking a last-minute sleeper My luggage, last seen in Sweden may be in London, Edinburgh or pretty much anywhere. Still, all I need is a quite couple of days…

Many thanks to all those who chose to correspond on the subject of Advent Wreaths. For the record, we don’t have advent wreaths in Sweden, but rather a thingy (adventljus?) which places the four candles in a straight line. These may be decorated with green stuff but are more likely just to be metal. This…

After a rather busy day of travel, I’ve arrived at my destination in Sweden, the Sigtuna Foundation, which is lovely. Today began with a challenging wrestling match with madam cat who had no inclination to go to cat prison for 4 days. She did not believe me when I told her that I would be coming…

Despite all our candle-lighting of last evening, the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney has been unable to elect a new bishop today. That will be frustrating for many people. I feel for all the candidates in these elections. They are very publicly exposed to scrutiny in what is a pretty unkind process. That process begins…

Let us have a little break for a poem – as heard in the Archers on Thursday… The Bargain My true love hath my heart, and I have his, By just exchange one for another given: I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss, There never was a better bargain driven: My true love…

I was just in conversation with my American correspondent in the Diocese of Argyll about Liturgical Matters. It transpires that there is schism between us. It is my belief that the candles on an Advent Wreath should be red, with the possible addition of a white one in the middle at Midnight Mass. It is…

I’m just about getting my head around the services to come over the next few weeks. An office day yesterday sorted out a lot of the questions and the Great Printing can soon begin. The presses will roll next week, when I am safely out of the way in Sweden. I’ve no idea who thought…