Barry's Musings and Family News

Fasting and Feasting During Lent

2012-02-26T18:13:00.002Z

I just came across this and think it is worth sharing:

Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season in which we should:

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.

Fast from thought of illness; feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on the phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; feast on hope.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.

Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.

Death of a good friend

2012-02-19T00:31:00.000Z

Just heard that a good friend from college days, Lawrie was found dead at his in house in France on February 15th. He was a great guy, one of the best, we kept in touch and saw one another over the years. He lived most of his working life in Singapore so we didn't meet that often. But that did not break the bonds of friendship.

May he rest in peace.

His wedding day

At his place in France

Happy Memories

Study Weekend in the Snow

2012-02-15T10:19:00.001Z

I arrived back form Boston to have to go to a study weekend for my Diaconate Course. Apart from being very enjoyable academically it was great to go for a stroll in the snow covered countryside.

Quite why a scaffolding company was flying the Jolly Roger defeats me!

Boston - At last!

2012-02-13T20:28:00.000Z

Well eventually I did make it to Boston. I was working all week but did manage to take a few photos.

Faneuil Hall

Inside the Hall

Why we are going to the dogs as a country

2012-02-06T03:53:00.002Z

Left home at 7:30 to go to Heathrow for a BA flight to Boston. I checked the flight schedules before I left home and the flight was on. When I arrived at Heathrow at 9:00 I found the flight was cancelled despite the weather improving! I transferred to a Virgin flight, when we boarded the captain said that we should arrive at Boston ahead of schedule only for us to have to sit for ober an hour on the plane whilst they de-iced it. Why couldn't they have de-iced it whilst we were boarding.
A severe case of left- hands and right- hands with a major disconnect in between. Al this for three inches of snow and temperatures just above freezing - how come flights can take off from Moscow when there is heavy snow and minus 20degress C.
Sadly major companies no longer care for their customers; all they want is massive profits with minimal investment.

Hectic Weekend - then a ramble in the Surrey Hills

2012-01-16T07:49:00.000Z

It was a rather hectic weekend , Saturday we were up early to drive to Wonersh for one of my study days. We got back at about 6:30; changed and were out by 7:15 to go the Catenian New Year Party. This was a formal do so we had to change quickly. It was a great evening; one of those times that for no specific reason flowed and was much better than previous years.

Some of the happy throng

Sunday after Mass we drove to Mugswell to meet up with the Old Askean Rambling Club to join them for a 4 mile ramble across the Surrey Hills. It was a perfect afternoon, the company was great and the views were grand. It will give you some idea of the age of the group when I say that Julia and I were two of the youngest in party. Most remarkable was Victor; he left school aged 18 in 1942 to join the RAF. He will be 88 this year and I just hope that I am still doing walks like this in 24 years time!

Proposed ITSO Reunion in San Jose; May/June 2014

2012-01-10T19:22:00.000Z

We just heard some brilliant news. There is a proposal to have an ITSO (where I worked in San Jose) reunion in May/June 2014. This will be the excuse we needed to go back and see all our American friends. We may even get to see our old house.

A relatively quiet Christmas this year

2012-01-01T15:35:00.000Z

As usual Christmas started with Midnight Mass which was proceeded by a Carol Service; this year the service seemed better than the usual high standard.
There were meant to be ten of us for Christmas lunch this year, unfortunately the tummy bug that has been doing the rounds meant that there were just seven of us. We still managed to eat and drink more than we should have done.

Helena was with us at Christmas, after Christmas Lawrie and Emma joined us. We walked off some of the pud with a gentle stroll around Knole Park; and promptly undid any good that it may have done us by indulging in some tapas in a Sevenoaks restaurant. Still if you are going to sin, sin joyfully!

All in all it was a most enjoyable Christmas

A salutary lesson for me

2011-12-30T15:02:00.000Z

I was returning an item to a department store in Bromley. The assistant asked me to go with him to the section where the goods were sold to check on the barcode number. As we were walking across the store a lady came up to the assistant and said that she was the man she needed and proceeded to open her shopping bag to retrieve something. I was just about to remonstrate with her saying he was doing something for me when she handed him a package and apologised for not giving it to him before Christmas. It was a Christmas present and she then told me how helpful he had been throughout the year and she wanted to give him a little something.
I am so glad that she found the present before I had a chance to say anything. Somewhere in this is a lesson for us all, well me at least, and perhaps the beginning of a New Year resolution.

A Happy, Peaceful and Holy Christmas to you all

2011-12-24T10:52:00.001Z

At the Funeral

2011-12-23T17:27:00.000Z

Photo showing the family present at Gordon's funeral

Gordon Mellish RIP

2011-12-13T10:22:00.004Z

Yesterday was the funeral of my Uncle Gordon aged 99. He was the last of the Mellish "Boys"

Dick(my dad) Leslie , Richard Mellish(Grandad), John, Gordon, George

Ada (my mum) Emily (Grandma) Grace (wife of Gordon) Taken 1939/40

This obit was in the Westcombe Park Ruby Club programme on Saturday:

Gordon John Mellish was born on the 25 January 1912, the middle of the five "Mellish Boys". There was a sister but sadly she died in infancy. The Mellish family always had close links with Combe. Cousin Tom Mellish captained the club in 29-30, and eldest brother Dick captained the Club in 36-37 and the year after the war ended in 46-47; Dick was club President in 66-68. Brother John was also a club regular first team player who then turned gamekeeper and took up the referees whistle. When John went to live in America he did much to help get Rugby off the ground over the pond and was rewarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award for services to American Rugby.

Gordon although never a player served the club faithfully for many years. His wife Grace, they married on 7th September 1939 and were married for over 72 years, was one of the stalwart band of ladies who made the club sandwiches in the fifties and sixties. Gordon with his elder brother George was a regular on the touchline come rain or shine. Gordon helped on the committee and was one of those unsung heroes who did so much to keep the club afloat during the amateur era. In his latter years Gordon was not able to attend the ground very often but kept in regular phone contact with several former players and always took a keen interest in the clubs fortunes. Gordon's last visit to the club was at the Old Crocks Reunion Lunch a few years ago when he was 95. The lunch was memorable for several reasons. There were four generations of his family present; his beloved wife Grace, his two children Gordon and Lesley, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Before the lunch Gordon was seen in the bar, a bottle of wine in each hand, looking for his pint of beer. After the lunch he went outside and stood and watched the game.

Perhaps his greatest claim to fame was the Erica Rowe "incident" at Twickenham. Gordon was a ground steward and there was a wonderful picture in the News of the World the following day showing Gordon, arms outstretched, chasing the topless lady across the field. Sadly for him he did not catch her!
With his passing the club has lost one of its treasured links with the past. He was a great friend and servant of the club; like his brothers he held strong opinions and was not afraid to express them, you argued with him at your peril as he was usually right! We offer our condolences to his wife Grace and to his two children, Gordon and Lesley and their respective families. He may be gone but he will not be forgotten

Gordon and Grace at their 70th wedding anniversary celebration (aged 97 and 95)

Boston, USA

2011-12-08T15:19:00.000Z

Just back from a short business trip to Boston. It is a fabulous city; a great shame that work gets in the way of sight seeing. Still if it wasn't for work I would not have gone! Note to self - must go back with Julia!

View from hotel

State Capitol

A typical Bostonian

Shutting up shop

2011-12-02T16:43:00.000Z

Last weekend we had a quick trip to Devon to close the Lodge for the winter. We now have anti-freeze in the heating system and all the other pipework is drained. Hopefully we will not get quite shuch a cold winter as last year; but at least we are prepared. We managed a trip to Launceston which we had not seen before and the site where the lodge is visited by a herd of deer.

The Woes at Thomas Cook

2011-11-24T19:34:00.000Z

There is a lot in the press about the financial problems at Thomas Cook and whether there is a place/need for tour operators. As mentioned previously in this blog we have recently returned from a fabulous tour of South Africa. What we did and saw in such a short period would have been impossible to arrange independently. We also had the services of an excellent tour manager and local guide. So there is a place for tour operators; perhaps the secret is in the word tour.

Political Donations

2011-11-23T06:53:00.000Z

There was a report out yesterday regarding the funding of political parties. Basically it suggested that taxpayers should fund them. My question is why? Why should there be any central funding of political parties? Limit individual donations to £5000, no corporate donations, no trade union donations just money from members. If the parties cannot attract individual members then they go under.! Perhaps then we will see all parties reflecting the views of people in the street rather than the present concentration of focus groups, political advisers, PR gurus etc. If the politicians and parties cannot make do with money that they have how can they expect to be able to run the country?

Thank you Helena and Sam

2011-11-21T00:14:00.001Z

Blogging has its advantages as you will see. This past weekend Julia and I went "t'up" North to see her twin sister Phil and husband Peter. They live in Baildon, just north of Bradford, and we had a great time with them - thank you Phil and Peter. On the way home on Sunday we went to see Helena and Sam in their house - the first time we had seen it. It is in Stockport and while not massive is a fantastic first house - photos below. Whilst we there they gave us a fantastic present as a thank you for the help we had given them - a bottle of Berry Bros and Rudd No 3 Gin. They got the idea from reading a previous post where I extolled its virtues - so blogging does pay!

More from South Africa

2011-11-07T17:45:00.001Z

I have managed to prune the 1400+ photos that I took down to a slightly more manageable 900+. It is amazing how many you take when in "rapid-fire" mode. There are still more to be consigned to the rubbish basket (trash can for any American viewers).

Memorial at Islawanda

Wot no tigers!

2011-10-25T18:02:00.001+01:00

Julia and I decided to celebrate our Ruby Wedding with a whistle-stop tour of South Africa. Yes it was rushed, yes there were lots of very early starts but in 16 days we saw most of the major tourist attractions. We went with Riviera Travel and they were brilliant. We had a great tour manager, Matt, and a very good Afrikaans guide Richard. We had two days in Kruger during which we saw the "big five" and went animal tracking, a day at the Zulu battlefields, the Garden Route, visit to a winery, whale watching at Hermanus, Cape of Good Hope, penguins at Simons Town, Table Mountain, Robben Island. There was not much that we didn't do.
About the only thing we didn't see were tigers; but then there are none in Africa as my granddad shot them all - or so he told my dad!
We really had a fabulous time - all we need now is a few days rest!

Fiel pero desdichado

2011-10-09T17:41:00.002+01:00

The cognoscenti among you will recognize this as the family motto of the Marlborough Family and conclude that we have probably been to visit Blenheim Palace recently. You are absolutely correct! Part of our Ruby Wedding Anniversary present from Julia's twin sister Phil and her family was a voucher for dinner, bed & breakfast at the Feathers Hotel in Woodstock. This is an excellent hotel which is infamous for its Gin Bar having over 100 different gins. Julia's one complaint was that we were not able to try them all. We now have a new favourite Gin - No 3. It is from Berry Bros and Rudd, the wine merchants of St. James's Street. No 3 is an exceptional Gin, at £33 per bottle it should be, I doubt if we will be drinking too many bottles of it but I would encourage you all to try it - you will need a decent tonic water to go with it, something such as Fever-Tree or Q Tonic Water.

Blenheim Palace is exceptional; the day ticket can be converted to a year ticket at no extra cost and we spent two days looking at the house and grounds. If you have not been I do encourage you to go.

Whilst we were in the area we are went to visit the grave of Winston Churchill, a member of the Marlborough Family.

'Floozie in the Jacuzzi'.

2011-09-26T16:25:00.001+01:00

We went to Birmingham (well somebody has to) to attend the graduation of a friend's daughter. After the ceremony we adjourned to San Carlo for lunch, highly recommended. We the had a wander round the city center with our sone Lawrie and his partner Emma. We came across the statue by Dhruva Mistry known as the 'Floozie in the Jacuzzi'. This with its attendant guardians are a striking example of town centre sculpture.

Friends Reunited

2011-09-16T15:40:00.001+01:00

Last week we met up with friends from Australia; Pat and Angie. Pat was with us at RCET all those years ago and John, Maria, Martin and Julia joined us. We met at the Ock Mill, a Beefeater pub just outside Abingdon. What made it special was that they put us in a room of our own so we could chat and joke without disturbing others. A great reunion. We then went to John and Maria's for tea and cake. A great way to spend a day.

Julia (M). John, Maria, Pat, Julia (W), Martin & Angie

Interesting Stats

2011-09-13T09:33:00.000+01:00

These are the current pageview stats - so IE and Firefox are just about neck and neck. In the operating system stakes Windows is the clear leader with the wondrous Mac some way behind; the rest knowhere

Pageviews by Browsers

Internet Explorer

2,397 (41%)

Firefox

2,295 (39%)

Chrome

540 (9%)

Safari

468 (8%)

Opera

73 (1%)

Mobile

9 (<1%)

Jakarta Commons-HttpClient

8 (<1%)

Java

7 (<1%)

Mobile Safari

3 (<1%)

Navigator

3 (<1%)

Pageviews by Operating Systems

Windows

4,877 (83%)

Macintosh

699 (12%)

Other Unix

68 (1%)

iPad

61 (1%)

Linux

42 (<1%)

iPhone

39 (<1%)

BlackBerry

13 (<1%)

Android

9 (<1%)

iPod

6 (<1%)

Samsung

3 (<1%)

Fog in Channel - Europe Cut-off

2011-09-13T09:29:00.000+01:00

Well it was not quite as dramatic as that. Last Thursday I had to go with a colleague to the Channel Islands. We arrived at Guernsey OK and saw the customer. It was drizzling and murky when we arrived, by the time the meeting finished the fog closed in. The lunch-time Red arrows display which was due around lunchtime was cancelled.

We went to the airport to get our flight to Jersey. All flights were delayed with some cancelled. Rather than tell everybody the airport was closing they kept us hanging around. Eventually we decided to call it quits and just made it to the last ferry of the day at 17:30. A two hour plus crossing saw us in Jersey for a rather late customer dinner!
We were rather concerned that we would not be able to make it back home on the Friday, fortunately the weather lifted and there were flights back to the "large island". Just as well really as Saturday was a Diaconal Study Day at Wonersh.

From this above to this below

So all was well that ended well!

Wise words from a wise man

2011-09-12T08:19:00.001+01:00

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered: "Man.
Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

And the sky did not fall in

2011-09-05T07:41:00.002+01:00

At Mass yesterday we used, for the first time, the new Missal. I must confess that I was strongly against it; being a post Vatican II convert I did not want the service and liturgy that I cherish changed in any way. However as the Mass progressed I found that I was paying more attention than usual; the fear of saying something wrong made me pay attention the liturgy and what it really meant. I came away with a deeper sense of the wonder that is the Mass and the sacrifice of the Eucharist. No doubt in a few years we will come to think it strange that there was all this fuss and bother.
Perhaps the revolutionary idea would be to change the liturgy every ten years or so in order that we never say things by rote but always have to search out the full meaning and mystery of what we are about.

Thought for the Day

2011-09-02T10:23:00.002+01:00

Picked this up from a friend:

Kids with special needs aren't weird or odd, they only want what everyone wants....to be accepted!

Devon Delight

2011-08-27T11:15:00.001+01:00

Julia and I spent a very pleasant 9 nine days down at the Lodge with our son Lawrie and Emma his partner. Being with them encouraged us to go out more than we normally do - to be fair last year Julia had a bad leg ulcer which rather curtailed things. So for the first time this year we were able to enjoy the glorious Devon countryside. We even went horse riding on the moors, you see so much more from the vantage point of a horse's back and you don't have to worry about falling over when viewing the scenery (just falling off). Coupled with good food and beer it was a great break.

Rioting in the UK

2011-08-10T12:44:00.000+01:00

We have received several emails and telephone calls from our overseas friends and relatives. We are all OK and have been unaffected by the troubles. Fortunately our youngest son, Lawrie, who is a policeman is away on holiday and so has not been involved in trying to quell the riots. This is a great relief to Julia and I as you can imagine.
There have been many reasons put forward for the riots; the best one I heard was from a black pastor on TV. He said that many parents are now frightened to discipline their children for fear of social services descending on them; schools do nothing as many are put off by all the legislation; the police feel hindered by all the human rights lawyers that appear out of the woodwork. The result is a generation (or two) who have never known discipline. While this analysis may be simplistic I believe that there is a kernel of truth within it. Discipline must start in the home as does education.

Mainz, Germany

2011-08-08T17:10:00.000+01:00

Last week I had to go to Mainz in Germany to help with a class that was being run. Julia came with me so while I worked she went to see the various sites. Mainz is a lovely town; I have been about twenty times over the years but Julia has seen far more of it than me in just four days. We did manage a couple of evenings out with a colleague and his wife and saw some of the area as he had a car.


We found a bar!


View across the Rhine


And at night

Street market

A typical street in a Rhine village

Hacked email - Apologies

2011-07-28T07:50:00.000+01:00

Apologies if you received a SPAM email from me. It would appear that my account address book was hacked into last night. It wasn't me - honest guv!

More Photos

2011-07-25T12:39:00.001+01:00

John and Maria - Best man and one of the bridesmaids

and yes he made a speech here!

as did our son Andrew

Some of the guests - the "young" table

Julia and her twin sister, Phil, another bridesmaid.

A Red Letter Day

2011-07-25T01:14:00.002+01:00

Sunday marked our Ruby Wedding Anniversary. Some forty five of us celebrated with lunch at our favourite Italian - Ferraris in Bromley.

It was really enjoyable, friends of over forty years standing were with us. We cannot thank them enough for the friendship.

Our family; Helena, Sam, Julia, Barry, David, Gaew, Andrew, Emma and Lawrie

The Last Ramble (and my first)

2011-07-21T10:09:00.002+01:00

Last night was the final ramble of the season for the Old Askean Rambling Club. Despite all our good intentions Julia and I had not been able to make any of the rambles; until last night when I was able to make the final one of the season - a gentle ramble around Eltham. Not much of a choice of walks you might think; but you would be wrong. We started at Eltham Palace and at the back of it there is a surprising amount of green spaces. Eighteen of us rambled for a gentle couple of miles, expertly guided by Dermot Poston who is a fount of local knowledge. We went via some farms and fields to the Tarn, past some lovely house to Royal Blackheath Golf Club and then back to our starting point. We finished at Dermot's house for a glass of wine and some food - an excellent way to spend a Wednesday evening - and we avoided all the rain bar a few spots proving that the sun does shine on the righteous!

The Chancellor's House

By the Tarn

Royal Blackheath Golf Club

The Tilt Yard Gate

El Presidente!

2011-07-17T18:03:00.003+01:00

Last Thursday I was elected President of the Old Askean Association. I feel somewhat of a fraud as until recent years I has not taken any part in it. For dome reason links with the old school, or rather college as it now is have lapsed somewhat. It is my aim to strengthen these links and we can hopefully increase the membership of the "Old Boys". If you would like information on joining the Old Askeans' please write a comment to this post.

Update on the Lodge

2011-07-10T07:28:00.000+01:00

Julia and I are just back form a couple of days at the Lodge. The aim was to finish off the work and generally make sure all was "shipshape and Bristol fashion". The one major outstanding item was the cooker and the problems we were having with it, when using the grill the controls become too hot to handle. We had arranged for a service engineer to attend to take temperature measurements etc; as luck would have it we found out at 9 pm the evening before he was due to arrive that the power was being turned off during the day by the local supply company - the best laid plans of mice and men. One day we will get this finished, he said hopefully.

The lounge

The new look kitchen

We did manage some time by the sea

One Parish, One Mass

2011-07-04T00:03:00.003+01:00

For the past three years we have held a Parish "One Mass Day". The aim is to gather the whole Parish together and have one Eucharistic Celebration. As there are so many people attending the event has to be held out-of doors. This year we were blessed with splendid weather and a gathering of some 750 people. The preparation for the event takes some days and a lot of hard work; that is just preparing the site, erecting marquees, building a stage etc. Never mind the liturgy, choir practice etc. Still the hard work is worthwhile and this year it was a great success. After the Mass there is a picnic followed by entertainment put on by the parishioners. This year quite a few stayed behind after the event to help clear the site which we did in record time. At least we have 12 months to recover before next years "One Mass Day"!

Ready for the Mass

The choir, final preparations

Some of the congregation

Processing in

The Mass is over

Elvis, not on the moon but at St. Joseph's!

Two of the site crew

Father Pat's Obituary

2011-07-02T08:23:00.000+01:00

Canon Alfred Patrick Pearson was born on 16^th April 1932 in Brockley, only son of Alfred and Mary. He was encouraged by Fr Norman Gillett of Forest Hill to discern his vocation, and attended Mark Cross before studying at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. The Reverend ‘Alfred’ Pearson was ordained priest on 23^rd May 1959 in the Seminary Chapel along with six others from his year, by Bishop Cyril Cowderoy. Fr Alfred preferred his middle name, and was usually called Paddy by those who knew him.

Fr Pearson’s first priestly appointment was to the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lee, where he was to remain for nearly ten years. Records indicate that he was next appointed to the parish of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, in Canterbury, on his tenth anniversary, 23^rd May 1969. He was in Canterbury for just under a year and a half, before being appointed in October 1970 to another church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, this time in Sevenoaks.

In August 1975 Fr Paddy was appointed as Parish Priest to Saint Simon Stock Parish, Walderslade. His ministry was very much appreciated in the Parish, as was shown in a letter to the Archbishop, shortly after it had been announced Paddy was to be moved. The letter referred to Fr Paddy’s ‘marvellous work’ and how stunned the people felt when they heard of the ‘terrible decision’ that would move him away from Walderslade to the parish of Saint Henry and Saint Elizabeth, on the Isle of Sheppey.

He took up his new appointment as Parish Priest in April 1978, and at the same time took on the duties of Dean of the Chatham Deanery, a role he undertook for nearly six years. In 1983 towards the end of his second term as Dean, Paddy wished to stand down as Dean, and asked the Deanery clergy not to put his name forward. However, the majority of clergy in the deanery ignored this request; after much thought and with regret and he wrote to the Archbishop to decline the role, due in part to the poor health of his father. During his time at Sheerness he celebrated his silver jubilee, and in a note to the Archbishop he wrote that he was “looking forward to my ‘Golden’ ”, a milestone he reached recently.

In 1984 a series of meetings took place in the diocese introducing ‘Ministry to Priests’. Paddy was unable to attend his local meeting due to surgery, but he wrote to the Archbishop with his thoughts. He believed “that something needs to be done to encourage priests who are shy and / or lonely”, but he favoured ‘Jesus Caritas Fraternals’. He concluded his letter saying “Nevertheless I would vote for the scheme if it were flexible and there were priests who would find it a source of support in the lives.” The Archbishop listened carefully to Paddy’s comments, so much that he made Paddy a Team Member in the
Ministry to Priests programme. He went on later to serve five years on the On-Going Formation Team.

Fr Paddy spent nearly eight and a half years on Sheppey, and was key in the process of restoring the parish buildings “to edifices of which we [the diocese] can be proud”.

In September 1986 Fr Paddy was appointed as Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Parish, Bromley, a post he was to hold for twenty years until his retirement in the summer of 2006. In March 2000 the Archbishop appointed Paddy as a Chapter Canon; he felt “honoured” by the appointment, he wrote that “it is awe inspiring to be asked to contribute to the deliberations of the Chapter”.

After his retirement he moved to live near the Cathedral, and was a great support to the Dean and Cathedral staff, regularly celebrating Mass and hearing confessions. At Easter of 2010 Canon Paddy suffered a stroke, and made a very good recovery. Soon after he moved to a flat next to the presbytery in Petts Wood, to be closer to the many friends he had made in Bromley.

Canon Paddy was a priest of great generosity and hospitality. He had a great care for his brother priests, especially those who worked with him as curates, and frequently entertained very generously – often at his club, the Overseas League. He died of a heart attack on Thursday 23^rd June 2011, at his flat in Petts Wood, aged 79 years, in the 53^rd year of his priesthood.

May he rest in peace.

Memories of Father Pat

2011-06-27T23:35:00.002+01:00

When Father Pat retired form St. Joseph's Church Bromley in 2006 I put together a CD of photos taken over the years with captions and music. You can download this and play it - it is an exe file (so you need some form of Windows emulator if using a MAC). Click here to access the file - it is large 300MB so will take a while to download.

Father Pat (Canon Patrick Pearson) RIP

2011-06-23T18:16:00.002+01:00

Have just heard that our former Parish Priest, Father Pat, has died. I have no further news of his death but he did have a major stroke last year. He recovered and I had lunch with him only last week. He was a lovely gentle man and an inspiring priest in his quiet understated manner.It was a privilege to have known him.

Abused: Breaking the Silence

2011-06-21T23:45:00.001+01:00

Have just seen the BBC documentary Abused: Breaking the Silence. This is not much that one say apart from the utter revulsion I feel and anger that it is being covered up; or at least the Rosminian Order is trying to cover it up. A very good article in the Daily Telegraph click here to read by Damian Thompson. It is so sad that after the Pope's visit and all that was said that some people still do not get it; be open, be honest, be truthful. What made it worse for me is that at the weekend we went to the wonderful Mass at Southwark; then on Sunday we witnessed a friend's ordination as a deacon, a wonderful service and very uplifting. Then you get a kick teeth from this programme; it is a real test of faith to say the least.

40 Years On

2011-06-19T09:23:00.000+01:00

Next month on July 24th Julia and I celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary. We started the celebrations by attending the special Celebration of Marriage Mass which is held every year at St. George's Cathedral Southwark. The Mass is open to all that are holding a significant wedding anniversary and some 750+people attended the services.

Depaul UK - Helping the Young and Homeless

2011-06-16T10:27:00.000+01:00

I was at a meeting earlier this week where there was a speaker from Depaul UK. This is a charitable trust that works with young disadvantaged and the homeless. From their website:

Depaul UK helps young people who are homeless, vulnerable and disadvantaged.

We protect young people by finding them a place to call home.
We prevent young people becoming homeless by rebuilding family relationships and offering through the gate support to young offenders.
We provide young people with the chance to fulfil their potential through education, volunteering and training.

Depaul UK is part of Depaul International, a group of charities working to support homeless and marginalised people around the world.

It is worth looking at the site and thinking about making a donation. It may come as a surprise but there are homeless and disadvantaged youngsters in "prosperous" boroughs and towns.

Interfaith Walk

2011-06-12T16:32:00.001+01:00

On Saturday Julia and I took part in a walk around the "Holy City" of Southall. It comprised people of all ages and faiths and we called in on a wide variety of places of worship, Christian, Islamic, Sikh, Buddhist... It was fascinating and we all got to understand each other a bit more. Strangers are scary, friends are not so the more friends we make the better. There was also a multi-faith event taking place in a park in Southall where we had lunch, again a great experience.

Christian

Hindu

In the Park

Islam

Sikh

Naked Chicks!

2011-06-08T16:14:00.000+01:00

Click here!

Diaconate Formation Progrmme

2011-06-06T11:20:00.001+01:00

Last Saturday was our last study day until November, yippee! There is just one piece of coursework to complete then I can relax, although no doubt I will be busy reading various books and documents. This time though without any pressure which will be good.
Actually it has been a most enjoyable year and I know that I will miss the company of my fellow students. We are a diverse bunch but we all get on well and I do enjoy meeting and talking to them. All in all it was a "fun" year.

The Lodge

2011-06-05T07:16:00.004+01:00

Work on changes to the Lodge are proceeding, albeit much slower than we would have liked. We have now been down three times this year and have still not had a holiday! Each time we have been working. In fact we come home needing a break. The carpets have now been replaced, needed as they were damaged when the pipes burst in the big freeze last winter. The changes to the utility room are now complete. The new kitchen is almost done but when we last left the tiler was still working away. So hopefully after the next visit all will be shipshape; except that there is a problem with the new oven/grill unit and we have to arrange for that to be sorted. It really is never ending!

From this

To this

Super Injunctions -2

2011-05-24T08:22:00.000+01:00

Ah well it is all out in the open now; well more or less anyway. I still do not see what point there is in knowing who is "mating" with whom. The only people that it should concern are the people directly involved and their families. The case of Sir Fred Goodwin may be slightly different in that he appears to have broken the banks own rules and the bank is now partly owned by us the taxpayer.

If it was someone who was taking a high moral stance on issues then we should be aware of their hypocrisy. The case of members of Parliament is interesting; if they are prepared to cheat on their loved ones then what do they do to us the taxpayer and voter - guess that we get screwed in any event.

Super Injunctions

2011-05-09T10:18:00.001+01:00

I see that thanks to twitter we can now "find out" who has obtained super injunctions and what they are for. Question is - so what? Does it really matter if we know/don't know who has been having affairs? I can understand the public interest if it is someone who takes a high moral stance; members of the clergy (any faith/creed); politicians - if they cheat on the ones they profess to love what do they do to their constituents? But footballerss, showbiz types etc - whoever thought they were paragons of moral virtue in the first place.

Rite of Candidacy

2011-05-08T07:48:00.001+01:00

As part of the Diaconate Formation Programme on Saturday I underwent the Rite of Candidacy and was Instituted as a Lector at St. George's Cathedral, Southwark. Archbishop Peter Smith presided.

Royal Wedding Weekend

2011-05-03T08:07:00.002+01:00

Julia and I took the opportunity to spend three nights in Norfolk and visit some of my cousins. We went up on the Friday and saw Peter and Nena who live in Hoxne. Despite some health problems they were both in good form. We had lunch in a nearby pub and then went back to the their house where we had a good natter. We stayed at an excellent, click here for a link, B&B in Ormesby St Margaret which is near the coast at Scratby.
Saturday we planned to drive up the coast to Cromer, but we got hijacked by a windmill at Horsey and then walked a mile or so to the beach to see the seals.

We also saw a fine looking bull

This took most of the day so we went back to change and saw my cousins Tony, Barbara and Gina with whom we had dinner. An excellent day.

Sunday we went to Sheringham and Cromer and on Monday had a leisurely drive home stopping off at a couple of place with lunch at Aldeburgh. All in all a great weekend. We must do this more often as we realised that we hadn't seen the family for a few years. In Cromer we saw a great art gallery run by George Debenham who does oils and photos, to see the work click here and also here.

Despite the sun it was a "bit bracing" due to the strong (gale force??) winds

Wow this guy is something else

2011-04-26T10:59:00.001+01:00

Rather reminiscent of Magritte this photographer/photo manipulator Erik Johanssson is well worth looking at.

Easter

2011-04-25T10:24:00.000+01:00

Some great liturgies at church and some great times with the family. Helena, Lawrie and Emma were with us and Andrew and Gaew joined us for Easter Sunday lunch. This ended with us all playing ball in the garden followed by games indoors. A great family day and as it is Davis's birthday on April 25 and Lawrie's on April 26 we had two birthday cakes and a triple toast - Andrew's birthday was on April 18.

Good Friday "Churches together in Bromley" service

Easter Sunday Lunch

Playing in the Garden

Old Askean Dinner

2011-04-22T07:44:00.000+01:00

The Old Askean Annual Dinner at the RAF Club was a great success. As Senior Vice President I proposed the triple toast, The worshipful Company of Haberdashers, The Governors and the School. I thought that it was just a case of proposing the toast, but when I arrived and looked at the menu I saw that I had to make a speech! So it was time for a quick think; it seemed to go down OK. One of the points I recounted was that when I left school I received a grant from the Haberdashers Company of £25. That doesn't seem much today but then it would have bought more than 250 pints of beer - what more could a student want?

In full flow

Julia talking to Dermot, my English master. Dermot is an Old Askean, when I started school I did not realise that it was his first day as a teacher. A great teacher and a lovely man who not only introduced me to some literature but to the joys of caving and mountain walking.

End of an Era

2011-04-09T11:15:00.000+01:00

Sadly on Tuesday our cat, Spike, was put to sleep as he was very ill. We had Spike and his sister Ariadne almost from birth some 18 years ago. Ariadne died a couple of years ago, now Spike to is dead. I never thought that I would become so attached to a pet; but after 18 years it is almost as if one of the family had gone.

Spike

Ariadne and Spike

Barn Dance

2011-04-04T17:48:00.001+01:00

Two friends of ours Martin and Julia recently held a Barn Dance to thank people for their help and support - they had both lost a spouse within the past two years. It was a great evening full of laughter and memories; the only thing to do is look backward with gratitude and forward with hope.

Barry Martin John (my best man)

Julia (Mrs M), Julia, Maria (a bridesmaid)

Silent Retreat

2011-04-04T08:20:00.001+01:00

As I have mentioned previously in this Blog I am in the first year of a Formation Programme which, God willing, will lead to me being ordained into the Permanent Diaconate. Last weekend Julia and I took part in a Silent Retreat held at Ashburnham in Sussex. The retreat centre is set in the former home of the Asburnham Estate in Sussex which in 220 acres of gardens and woodland. It is a lovely setting and it was an interesting experience. It is amazing the different ways that you find to communicate when you are silent. The beautiful lakes helped along with the glorious weather.

Prior to the retreat starting Julia and I spent the afternoon at nearby Battle Abbey. Somewhere that we had not been to for years.

Grounds and gardens at Ashburnham

Wrestle Poodles and Win! The Tigers Head Days

2011-03-28T10:31:00.000+01:00

I just found this album in our local Poundland Store. It is the the original Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band with guests Stephen Fry, Phil Jupitis, Adrian Edmonson and Paul Merton. It was recorded during the reunion tour a year or so ago, which I was fortunate to see.

The Bonzo's were an early musical influence on me (along with others from my school) as we used to go to the Tiger's Head on a Thursday evening to see them, in those days the lead was the late great Viv Stanshall. It took all the four special guests to replace his unique brand of humour and musical zaniness. If you get a chance do invest a pound and buy; sadly The Tiger's Head is now closed and is in the midst of being demolished. Yet another place of my youth consigned to the dustbin.

PS The proper edition is a two volume CD set; the Poundland version just has the first CD; maybe the second will be in another edition.

When does mild change from warm to cool?

2011-03-15T00:37:00.000Z

Was listening to the weather forecast this evening and the announcer said that the next few days would be mild. This got me thinking, in winter when we say it is mild we mean warm for the time of year. Yet in summer when we say it is mild we mean that it is cool for the time of year.
So when does this change in meaning take place? Is it when the clocks change? Is it buried deep within the human psyche? It appears to morph from one meaning to the other; yet we all know what the forecaster means; how, why? (And why am I bothered?)

Old Askean Annual Dinner

2011-03-09T14:06:00.000Z

The Annual Dinner 2011
will be held at the:
The Royal Air Force Club
128 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7PY
Friday, 8th April, 2011
Time 6:30pm for 7:30pm
Tickets: £48.50 including wine at the table
Menu:
Roulade of Smoked Salmon, filled with Prawns,
bound in Crème Fraiche
and garnished with Salad Leaves.
***
Piccata of Pork with glazed Apple and Rosemary Jus,
Button Onions, Smoked Bacon Puree,
Potatoes and Red Cabbage.
***
Fruit Tart with Cream
***
Coffee and Petits Fours
Dress: Dinner Jacket (preferred) or Lounge Suit.
Your guests and members of the Hatcham Association are
most welcome.
To reserve your tickets, please complete the attached form and
return it to Barry Ash to whom any queries should be
addressed on 0208 4646464 or edward.ash@xlnbb.co.uk
To: E B Ash Esq.,
Flat One, The Laurels,
1, Homefield Road,
Bromley.
BR1 3LA
Old Askean Association Annual Dinner
Friday, 8th April, 2011.
From:
Name:.....................................................................................................................................
Address:...............................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
Post Code: ................................................
Email: .....................................................................................................................................
Tel:............................................................................................................................................
in case of queries.
Any Dietary Requirements?
.....................................................................................................................................................
Please indicate if you would like to be seated (if possible)
near any other particular diners:
.....................................................................................................................................................
Please send me …… tickets for the Annual Dinner at the
Royal Air Force Club on Friday 8th April 2011 at £48·50
each.
Names of Guests: ...........................................................................................................
I enclose my cheque (payable to “Old Askean Association”)
for £………… and a stamped, self-addressed envelope (to
save on clerical work).
Signed: ............................................................... Date: ..........................................

New Baby

2011-03-04T08:39:00.000Z

Well actually all babies are new if you think about it. Last Sunday we visited Kieran and Claire to see Nathaniel.

One proud dad

The Real Princess

2011-02-25T08:03:00.000Z

The Family Group at the Wedding

2011-02-17T00:44:00.000Z

We now have a photo of the family at Nicola and Joe's wedding. The only person missing is Sam, Helena's young man. Sadly he had to work that day.

Lawrie, Emma, David

Helena, Barry, Julia, Gaew, Andrew, Peter

Peter, Joe, Nicola, Phil, Natalie

Tucson

2011-02-16T09:55:00.001Z

I did manage to see some of the countryside;

Flying High at Pima

2011-02-08T12:21:00.001Z

When I was looking at the planes that were outside (see previous post) the proceedings were enlivened when some fighters took off from the local US Airbase. The planes looked very dramatic against the mountain backdrop. Sadly it all happened so quickly that by the time I was able to get a photo they were high in the sky.

Pima Air and Space Museum

2011-02-08T11:58:00.002Z

I had a spare couple of hours yesterday and managed to get to see the Pima Air and Space Museum. I have been past this and the "Boneyard" many times over the years but never had the time to look inside. It was well worth the visit; at a reduced fee as I am over 62, who said that there are no benefits in aging! The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) known as the Boneyard is where over 4000 (yes four thousand) planes are stored. Some can be made airworthy othere are used as spares for planes in service others are scrapped and sold. As an example there are B52 bombers there that were scrapped as a condition of one on of the disarmnament treaties with the Soviet Union.

The air museum itself is fascinating, planes of all shapes and sizes from early planes to some of the latest. The guided walking tours were excellent and the guides extremely knowledgeable. It was a well spent couple of hours.

An American Original

2011-02-08T02:01:00.000Z

I am in Tucson Arizona on business. It is good to see that the arch typical American is alive and well.

Diaconal Studies

2011-02-04T10:49:00.000Z

As I have mentioned previously on the Blog I am in a three year formation program which, DV, will lead to me being ordained as a Deacon. We have this topic to write about; I would welcome your views on this:
Your best friend has been living for years with an unrelenting painful affliction. There is no known cure and no effective pain control. Although the condition is not in itself life threatening, your friend is incontinent and bed-ridden. Your friend tells you that he or she can no longer stand the pain, embarrassment, and dependency and wants to end their life. He or she has given this a great deal of thought and pleads with you to leave several blister packs of paracetamol by the bed. What would you do?
Give clearly argued reasons for your answer. You may put the answer in letter form addressed to your friend if you wish.

Online banking

2011-01-31T10:56:00.001Z

My bank, NatWest, is the latest one to go down. I wonder which computer problem this will be assigned to?

My Goodness My Guinness

2011-01-23T14:30:00.001Z

I spent a couple of days in Ireland last week on business. In the evening I went to a pub, as one does, to sample a Guinness. I am not sure what it is about Guinness in Ireland, but it does taste better than over here in England. It used to be said that it was because the English pint was brewed at Park Royal in London and not in Dublin. It was therefore missing the magic ingredient of the water from the River Liffey (actually the water comes from the Wicklow Mountains, specifically, Lady's Well).The Park Royal brewery is now closed and it is all brewed in Dublin. So is it really different, is that it "doesn't travel" or is it psychological?

Spot the Barry!

2011-01-17T17:30:00.000Z

This is one of the "large" group photos taken at our niece's wedding.

Fancy this for a daily commute?

2011-01-17T17:27:00.000Z

Gives me the shakes just looking, click here to see a great way to get to work!

Christmas and New Year 2010

2011-01-03T00:36:00.003Z

As always this proved to be a rather hectic time; but very enjoyable. It started on Wednesday 22nd December when we took our former Parish Priest, Father Pat to Westminster Cathedral for their "Christmas Celebration" which is a service of choir singing, reading and carols plus a reflection by Archbishop Vincent - a great evening. That evening Helena arrived home for Christmas, as always it is great to see her.
Then on the Thursday Phil, Julia's twin sister arrived with husband Peter, they were still celebrating their daughter's wedding the previous weekend. That evening Phil's other daughter, Natalie came over with boyfriend Pete for dinner. A most enjoyable evening.
Friday saw Peter and I go to join up with the a host of other Mellishs for a pre-dinner drink - mine was J2O as I was driving. Nevertheless it was a good to meet up although numbers were down, largely due to the cold and snow. Lawrie and Emma arrived in the early evening. Then later that evening we all went to the carol service followed by Midnight Mass at St. Joseph's Church. Then back home to a couple of bottles of bubbly to toast in Christmas. So we eventually got to bed around 4am; not a good idea.
Christmas day our good friend Father Peter ( a surfeit of Peter's this year) came over. We lunched late around 4 pm, but were amply fed with nibbles, smoked salmon etc whilst we waited (plus more bubbly).
After a great lunch there was the grand present opening - with 11 of us at home there were plenty of presents to say the least.

After the present opening it was party time which consisted of various games starting with a Christmas quiz and ending with charades with various activities in between, again a rather late night!
On Boxing Day Father Peter had to go "back to work" in his parish. Our friend Mike came over for lunch just to keep the numbers up. Again a great day this time finishing at the relatively early hour of 2am. The one sad thing was that Phil and Peter had to leave after dinner as they had commitments t'up North This was the first Christmas that we have spent with them and we certainly thoroughly enjoyed it. I just hope that they did.
On the Monday Father Pat came for lunch along with two other friends, Paddy and Veronica. Again we had a great time although this time they all left early although we stayed up with Helena, Lawrie and Emma playing more games - the TV had a good rest.
On Tuesday we went up to town around Covent Garden. Had a good Turkish lunch out; but dreadful service! As always the street entertainers were good.

Quite what he was doing juggling knives up a ladder in his underpants takes a lot of explaining - he started off in a kit and no he is not Scottish.

On the Wednesday Helena left to go back to work and Lawrie also left as he was on duty on Thursday (he returned Thursday night). New Year's Eve was sober for Julia and I as we went to evening prayers at 11:30 followed by Midnight Mass. We did go back to the presbytery for a drink with Father Tom when the service was over.
So the year has drawn to a close. I did manage to keep this Blog going - a minor miracle. We are not quite sure what 2011 will bring. There is repairs work to be done at the lodge as we suffered burst pipes in the extreme cold and for some reason the boiler tripped out. Julia and I celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary and hopefully her leg will soon be cleared of the ulcer which has now been with her for nine months. I will continue the Diaconate Studies and hopefully my essays will pass muster. What else........?

Happy New Year one and all, may 2011 bring you peace, good health and prosperity.

Farewell "Mo"

2010-12-20T17:00:00.000Z

Clean shaven once more!

Growing it did raise £850+ for Prostate Cancer Research so it was worthwhile, even though Mission Control was, shall we say, not in favour!

The Wedding

2010-12-20T16:32:00.000Z

Well after 7.5 hours on the road we made it up to Baildon, we went via Birmingham to collect Lawrie and Emma. A long old haul with plenty of traffic jams thanks to the snow; but we made it safe and sound.

It was all worth it when the wedding took place, our niece Nicola looked stunning.

Julia's twin sister, Phil. The mother of the bride.

The snow added a festive touch although it was mighty chilly when the group photos were taken outside. David seems rather cold, and cold champagne doesn't help much!

In the evening floating laterns were lit which meant another trip outside.

"Uncle Peter", the brides father with Andrew and Helena

Emma wrapped up warm!

I even danced with my wife!

All in all a great bash, many congratulations to Joe and Nicola; they are a lovely couple. We even managed the drive home without hitting one traffic jam!

The snow has gone - but may be back!

2010-12-13T00:47:00.000Z

Well the snow has gone; at least for the time being. According to those nice Weather Chappies on the TV Arctic conditions are set to return later this week. That is when we are due to drive t'up north to the wedding of Julia's niece. I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens. As all the ladies (well Julia at least) have bought the posh frocks etc for the wedding I just hope that we can make it.

The "Mo" is still on; Nicola did ask me to keep it for the wedding although whether she sees it will depend on the weather.

Alright as you have probably guessed by now I am taking these self portraits on the iMac.

The UK in the snow from above

2010-12-07T21:01:00.000Z

Lots of the white-stuff about!

Thanks for the Donations

2010-12-07T17:16:00.000Z

Well Movember has drawn to a close. Thanks to the may who sponsored me I raised £492.50 for Prostate Cancer Charities. When I started I thought that anything over £100 would be good, so to have raised so much is great and the site does not stop taking donations until 09:00 GMT on 10/12/12, so you can still click here.
I have not yet shaved the Mo off; Julia says it makes me look grumpy perhaps because I am a grumpy old man.

Anyway there it is all I need now is my fedora and I shall be complete.

The iMac is here

2010-11-30T16:10:00.000Z

and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box I was happily using it on the internet! I went for the 27 inch version which didn't seem that big in the shop, but seems massive in the office; still as I get older and the eyes start to fail I can use a very large font! Being a student, albeit part-time I was able to get a reasonable discount. Now all I have to do is get used to the differences between it and the stuff from Mr Gates. I know who has the better product and it doesn't come from Seattle!

The Leg and the Mo

2010-11-29T20:59:00.001Z

Never to take the easy way Julia got an infection in her leg ulcer, which to put it mildly gave her absolute hell. She is on antibiotics and now seems to be on the mend. Last weekend we had the Church Christmas Fayre - this was the first one that Julia has missed; it would have been too much for her standing all the time. Yes there were chairs but knowing my wife.........

The Mo is coming along. Much to my great surprise I have raised £452 - and there is still time to donate. Click here please! The Mo is looking better than I had hoped for although my niece has asked me to keep it for her wedding on December 18. I am not sure if she is that serious and if mission control will allow it; we shall wait and see.

Update

2010-11-22T19:23:00.000Z

Julia has been suffering with a leg ulcer for past seven months; it began whilst we were on the Pilgrimage in May. Eventually she went to the doctors to see about treatment. To cut a long story short she had operations on the veins in both legs last Tuesday. She has not been too brilliant since; she went out today for the first time and came back absolutely shattered. Hopefully things will now start to improve. We went to the funereal Mass of a Catenian friend, Brian, who was a lovely man. He was only 74 but he had eight great grandchildren at the Mass; we are in our sixties without any grandchildren!

The Mo is coming along; sponsorship always welcome: - click here please.

Study Weekend

2010-11-15T15:07:00.000Z

Last weekend saw the first "Study Weekend" of my course in Pastoral Theology. Apart from the learning it was a good chance to get to know the other eleven in my year and those in the years above. It took place at High Leigh which is a conference centre in Hertfordshire, about 30 miles north of London.

The house had originally been owned by the Barclay Family (of banking fame). It is now used as a Christian Conference and Study Center. various bits have been added on to accommodate students/delegates but it remains quite a nice building with pleasant grounds

All in all a good weekend. Despite all my studying the "Mo" continues to grow!

If you wish to sponsor me and help raise money for Prostate Cancer Charities then click here.

Closing the Lodge in Movember

2010-11-09T19:56:00.000Z

We managed a weekend at the Lodge to prepare it for the winter break. David came down with us and we all had a great time. After Mass on Sunday we went to Boscastle, scene of the terrible floods in 2004. It is now fully recovered although the main road in was closed for maintenance; the shopkeepers were not best pleased.

The "Mo" Nine days in!

Movember - Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

2010-10-31T07:57:00.000Z

What disease affects 1 man in 6? Prostate Cancer
I'm joining the growing club of modern gentlemen who believe in the virtues of fine moustachery, immaculate grooming and growing a moustache for Movember. I am looking for like-minded ladies and gentlemen to join my team to change the face of men's health.
Movember is about raising funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK.
It's time we did something about this.
The more people we get on board, the more lives we can impact. I am asking you to join the team and either grow a moustache as a Mo Bro or as a Mo Sista to help us on our journey.
The rules are simple, you are cleanly shaven on 1st November and you have 30 days to grow a Mo and raise cash for charity. I think especially those who already have facial hair should join, shave, and grow a Mo.

Clean shaven at start of the month

If you would like to donate please click here and then follow the steps

If you would like to join my Movember team click here and follow the steps. Once registered you'll be sent all the information you need to raise funds and start growing as part of our Movember team.

To see the impact Movember citizens are already making, click here.

Also, a few FAQ’s
• Yes Julia doesn’t like me growing a Mo either, so isn’t that even more reason to participate and raise funds for a fantastic charity
• I need you Mo Sista’s now to encourage the men to join in, and later to help and encourage. So no worries you don’t need to grow anything
• The team name I’m a member of on the public register on the UK Movember website is ‘The Authority & Co’ – I’m doing this with some work colleagues.

I hope you join / support me to change the face of men's health and have a bit of fun along the way.

Memorial to a Frenchman

2010-10-21T08:15:00.001+01:00

Last weekend we met up with a couple of old college friends of mine John and Martin together with Maria and Julia their "better halves". Regular readers of this Blog (are there any?) will recall that we meet up two/three times a year. This time it was the turn for us to meet up in the Bromley area. We went for lunch at "The Thai" Chislehurst; excellent food albeit service was a tad slow. Still we had a good time and will happily go back there again.
After lunch we went for a walk around Chislehurst Common and the duck ponds.

Further on the walk we came to a rare site in England, a memorial to a Frenchman and a royal one at that! Napoleon III and Empress Eugine, who were exiled to Chislehurst, and made Camden Place their temporary residence. The Emperor and Empress soon established a varied social life at Camden Place (now Chislehurst Golf Club) and entertained much royalty and nobility there. The Emperor and Empress' only child, Louis, Prince Imperial, was also residing in Chislehurst, although he was stationed at the Royal Woolwich Military Academy as an officer cadet in 1872. He went with the British Army to South Africa nd fought in the Zulu Wars when his party was ambushed at the Umbanzi River. The people of Chislehurst erected this memorial to him.

It was not all history on the walk, we did see some interesting funghi

Then it was back to Mellish Mansions for tea and cake before our friends departed for home.

Family Matters

2010-10-06T19:23:00.001+01:00

We called in and saw my last remaining uncle and aunt; Gordon and Grace who live in Worthing. They are 98 and 96 respectively and have now been married for over 71 years, some achievement! They are both OKish although not quite as sprightly as they were; hardly surprising really to say the least. We had a good chat with them and spent a happy hour or so with them.
The other recent family event was the double birthday celebration of my cousin John and his wife Anni. It was a great bash with some 60 plus family members there.

After we had chatted, ate and drunk our fair share (or even more than our fair share) their children gave a life history with photos. They then said that as Anni was Austrian they had a surprise for them; some dancers came in doing the Viennese Waltz. There was a sudden cry from Anni when she recognized the masked dancers as her two sisters, husbands plus two children who had flown from Austria for the party.

To say that Anni and John were delighted is the understatement of the year. Quite a party!

Visit to Vilnius

2010-09-25T08:47:00.001+01:00

Last week I had to go to Vilnius on business. As always on business trips you get tantalising glimpses of fascinating place without the time to explore; work gets in the way! the country has a fascinating history although from the thirties to the nineties it suffered greatly. First invasion by Germany and then the era of the Soviet occupation. I did manage a visit to the old KGB building which is now a museum dedicated to the Genocide Victims.

On the outside are the names of a few of the early victims of the reign of terror.

Inside I found it very chilling and macabre. There was not much to see in the cells; the were mainly bare and empty, but somehow the knowledge of what went on; the brutal beatings, the solitary confinement sometime in freezing water, the padded cell so that screams went unheard gave it a very disturbing atmosphere. Upstairs there was an exhibition of what happened and how the partisans fought back against overwhelming odds. There are pictures and stories of Catholic Priests and Bishops who opposed the Soviet regime; they too perished here or in exile in Siberia.

Isolation cells

I felt quite ashamed that this had gone on in my lifetime and that I knew nothing about it. Mans inhumanity to man knows no boundaries.

The city itself is interesting, there is a lovely cathedral and the people are friendly and welcoming.

On the last evening some of the locals that we were working with took us out into the country to a restaurant serving typical food, very good and filling to say the least!

All in all a very interesting place and one more on the list of things to do and places to see.

Sundowners for Andy

2010-09-19T17:57:00.001+01:00

Andy and I joined IBM about the same time some 26 plus years ago. We both joined in property Services looking after IBM buildings. We also both joined up in the "Back to the Field" call some 23/4 years ago; this was IBM getting non-IT professionals to move into IT. Andy ended up in sales where he had a very successful career and was well respected by all who worked with him. He was one of those who worked hard and played hard; apart form his wife Diana two of his great loves were sailing and the outdoors. Sadly Andy died of cancer almost two year ago. One of his last wishes was that a bench in his memory was installed by the sea at one his sailing clubs.
Thus on Saturday we went to Thorney Island Sailing Club for the unveiling of the bench; designed and built by his uncle, and drink a sundowner or two in his memory.

The plaque

Diana saying a few words

Max with his son, my Godson Joe

Diaconate Formation

2010-09-19T08:55:00.000+01:00

At last I started the formation programme which will, God Willing, lead me to the Permanent Diaconate in the Church. The formal part of this process is a degree course in Pastoral Theology form St. Mary's College, Strawberry Hill (scene of a recent visit by the Pope). This takes place at St.John's Seminary at Wonersh, there is one study day per month, two study weekends each year plus visits to your personal tutor - plus lost of reading. the first study was last weekend. It was very enjoyable except that now the homework starts! A reflective diary, a presentation and a 1500 word essay. If anyone would care to post a 1500 word comment How the letter, Dei Verbum, affects our understanding of the Bible as the "Word of God" it would be read by me with great interest - complete with footnotes, bibliography etc please!!!

Dietary Update

2010-09-13T09:43:00.001+01:00

As I haven't mentioned the diet for several months you have probably guessed that things went slightly askew! From a weight of X stone 10 lbs I managed to achieve x stone 14 lbs - a net gain and not at all what I meant to achieve. There are a whole raft of mitigating circumstances, but dear Oscar Wilde summed it up most succinctly in Lady Windermere's Fan; "I can resist everything except temptation." Matters came to a head last Monday when I went to a formal Catenian dinner and struggled for several minutes before I could do my trousers up! So it is back on the diet which means cutting down on bread, potatoes, pasta etc and no beer although wine is OK. So far I have managed to lose a few pounds, in fact this morning I was x stone 6 lbs although I suspect this may be a false low. Still it is in the right direction at least.

Dropbox

2010-09-09T18:07:00.001+01:00

I have just installed Dropbox which is a file sharing application and it allows non Dropbox users to link to files you put in the box, even when your host computer is switched off. You simply put files into the Dropbox public folder on your machine and create a link to them. This Internet stuff will never catch on!
So to test this click HERE and you should see a family photo taken at Helena's graduation. Please let me know if this does/does not work for you.
Many thanks

Back from Devon

2010-09-02T00:02:00.000+01:00

Julia and I spent the last 10 days or so down at our lodge in Devon. Despite the poor weather we had a great time. We met up with Mike and Jane, Mike is an old college friend of mine who lives in Exemouth,. We met at the Cary Arms in Babbacombe for lunch; as luck would have it this pub/hotel starred in the Sunday Times Travel Section the following Sunday. It is well worth a visit; not cheap but great beer and good food.

View from the pub

We also saw a great art exibition at Buckfast Abbey, it featured fourteen pictures of the Stations of the Cross and twelve pictures of the Stations of teh Resurrection - well worth a visit although the exhibition closes on September 13.

As always Dartmoor is lovely, as are the animals!

All in all a great few days.

Official Graduation Photograph

2010-08-13T08:47:00.000+01:00

At last the official graduation photos.

Trying to trace Pauline ??? (nee Sollitt)

2010-08-10T16:48:00.001+01:00

Rather a long shot this one. Julia and I are trying to track down one of our bridesmaids who we lost touch with shortly after she got married (neither of us can remember her married name). Her maiden name was Pauline Sollitt and she went to St. Paul's College at Newbold Revel with Julia all those years ago. This photo was taken at Pauline's wedding (I suspect that like all of us she may have changed in 37 years!)

A Hectic Few Days

2010-08-09T07:53:00.003+01:00

Last weekend we had the great "excitement" of the arrival of a new Dyson Vacuum Cleaner (our first Dyson). The last vacuum cleaner had developed a habit of cutting out and you had to wait an increasing length of time before it reset itself. Like most modern appliances it was impossible to take apart to see exactly where the problem lay, that is progress for you. Matters came to a head when it took me almost 2 hours to clean the car; most of the time being spent waiting. Anyway this machine is awesome in what it sucks up. It is not the quietest or the lightest but it certainly cleans.
Then Helena came down from Hull mid-week for a job interview as a management trainee. Julia went up to town with her (browsing the shops whilst Helena had the interview) and I joined them after work. We met up with Andrew and Gaew and had a couple of drinks followed by (sadly) a rather indifferent meal. Still we had a great evening; it is the people that count.
Friday the bottom fell out of my world as I had a colonoscopy in the evening (too much information). I see the great man this week although he did say that there is nothing seriously wrong; phew!

Sunday a long time American friend, Pat Reilley, came over for the day. I first met Pat in 1997 when I was in the States for six weeks on business writing an IBM Redbook. As I was over for such a long period I made contact with the local Scouts, I was a Scout Leader at the time. Pat was the international adviser and we struck up a good friendship. Pat made a small memento which is now one of my treasured possessions;

Pat had been to Scotland with some American Scouts and was now in London with his grandson, Todd and another scout, Ian. We had a most enjoyable day, we took them to Greenwich showed them the Zero degrees Meridian Line, the Royal Observatory and then down to the town to see the painted hall in the old Naval College and the local market. Then back home for dinner, a most enjoyable day.

Todd, Pat and Ian

The Painted Hall

T'up North

2010-07-30T07:18:00.001+01:00

There are endless debates as to where the "North" of England begins. My dad thought that Manchester where Julia comes from was in the frozen Arctic wastelands, whereas a college friend who was born in Carlisle thought that Manchester was in the South Midlands. A recall many years ago staying in a hotel in Winchester and this debate was taking place in the letter columns of a local paper. One writer said that north was anything north of the A34 (a local arterial road) and that London was the most southerly of the northern fishing ports!
Anyway this week I had to spend a couple of days in Sunderland at a customer. I stayed overnight at a hotel in Roker on the beach front. The weather was lovely and I was astounded at how lovely it was. It was just a shame that I was working and could only enjoy the scenery on an evening and before breakfast stroll.

Celebratory Weekend

2010-07-26T07:06:00.001+01:00

Saturday saw Julia and I celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary.

We have lost touch with one of the bridesmaids, Pauline, who is standing next to Julia. Maria, married to John my best man we still see regularly as we do Julia's twin sister Phil who is standing at the end.

We did not do that much to celebrate; saving it up for the grand curry night next year! It coincided with a friends 65th birthday/retirement/new conservatory party. So we went there and had a good time, excellent in fact.

If anyone reading this knows Pauline (nee Sollitt) and knows where she is please let us know.

Graduation Day

2010-07-16T14:33:00.001+01:00

Wednesday saw Helena graduate from the University of Hull with her degree in politics. This meant an early start for Julia and I (5:30) to drive up to Hull and see Helena strut her stuff! It was a great occasion, the graduation was at 2:30 pm but before then there was collecting the robes, official photos etc. The official photos will be some time; but in the meantime:

After the ceremony held in the City Hall we went back to the University for some drinks. We then went out to dinner at Ceruttis an excellent (albeit somewhat expensive) fish restaurant. We had a great meal which was worth every penny; a good end to a great day.

Reunion Day

2010-07-13T08:17:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday saw three of us ex-RCET (Rugby College of Engineering Technology, then Lanchester Polytechnic, now Coventry University) types meet up as we are want to do some three times per year. John, Martin and myself plus spouses have been meeting up on a regular basis since we left college in 1970.

This meeting took place at the Barley Mow in Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire near to John's house. We were joined by Julia Walsh, widow of another RCET man, Stuart. We had an enjoyable lunch followed by a stroll along the Thames then back to John's for a clotted cream tea - a most enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.

Barry, John, Maria, Julia (Mellish), Julia (Walsh), Martin plus dog!

Hello Sailor

2010-07-07T10:17:00.004+01:00

After a gap of some thirty plus years I took to the water again taking part in the IBM Business Partners Regatta as the guest of one of the teams. Organised by Sunsail we raced in Sun Fast 37's.

A professional skipper is provided and there is a motley crew of six amateurs who are whipped into shape by the skipper in a mornings training session and we then take part in three races over a two day period. It was great fun although as I type this I ache in muscles that I never previously knew existed.

Skipper Pip Hare - you would have thought she would read the manual before the race!

We finished 7 overall (out of 34 boats) and we finished in 7, 7 and 9 in the three races. We, the crew that is, were pleased with our result although Pip Hare would have liked to have won - she is a competitive young lady; having just won a round Britain and Ireland yacht race - click here for interview .

It was a great couple of days and we had a formal dinner on the Monday evening in Cowes which was very enjoyable although I was shattered after the days sailing - getting old! At least I didn't do a Lord Lucan as one member of the crew did - the youngest at that! It must have been something he ate, nothing to do with alcohol at all..............!

A most unlikely looking sailor!

And in the evening!

A massive thank you to RecartaIT who were the business partner whose boat I was on. Haven't had so much fun in ages.