Newsletter: 12th August 2012.
Wednesday of this week is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a holy day of obligation. Masses in the Church are at 7 and 10am and at 6.30pm and there is a Mass at 8am at the Convent.
I am pleased to report that the Bishop has made good progress after his recent operation. He has been away for a couple of weeks to help him recover. Please remember him in your prayers.
The dog days of summer are here now – the schools are on holiday and I hope that you are able to enjoy these days. Nothing in the diary for meetings or travels so I am enjoying them.
If you look carefully, some small olives have appeared on the tree in the garden. I am not sure if they will grow very much, but at least it is a start. Further good news is that some bees have decided to move into the hive. I have observed them from a distance but have not looked inside as yet. I will leave that to Peter on his next visit. It will be interesting to see if they stay, if they survive the winter and if they produce any honey. Two previous attempts, with imported swarms, did not manage to survive.
Only another week or so until the exam results are published. These days can be quite tense, and I hope that you have all done well.
A prayer for today:
Set our hearts on fire with love of thee, O Christ Our God, that in that flame we may love thee with all our hearts, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength, and our neighbour as ourselves; so that, keeping thy commandments, we may glorify thee, the give of all good gifts.
To accompany the Batman movie, you will need a poem from Roger McGough:
They’ve had a hard day
Helping clean up the town,
Now they hang from the mantelpiece
Both upside down.
A glass of warm blood
And then straight up the stairs,
Batman and Robin
Are saying their prayers.
I noted that the other day that the signals are now working on the new line at Rotherhithe: a yellow on line beside the power station, probably leading to a red to protect the junction with the South London Line. No dates as yet for the introduction of the new service, but it cannot be long now. At London Bridge Station, work has started on the construction of a new cross platform bridge on the Brighton side.
By now you are looking for the recipe: at a birthday lunch the other day: the starter was some strips of celeriac dressed with some slivers of orange peel and some feta cheese with some capers. Quite simple, but very elegant and ideal for a summer day.
A recent gift was a large print of Wricklemarsh Manor, published in 1822. I have never seen this before. It shows the house with the adjoining stable block. The exact site is subject to debate, but probably it was alone the line of the garden. When the building was demolished, some of the stone was used for the construction of our present house. I am arranging for it to be framed and will put it in the Angelus Room for a while so that you can see it.
Some news now on the other great nephew who lives in Norfolk. He is now four and is about to start school in September. He lives in a remote part near to the north coast so the school is fairly small and he already knows many of the children. His mother works for RSPB and uses a small boat for some of her work so he is used to travelling around in a lifejacket. A very friendly boy and I look forward to seeing him soon.
Thank you for returning the forms for First Holy Communions and for Confirmations. At present it looks as if there will be about twenty for First Communions and eighteen for Confirmations. Please do not leave the return of the forms outstanding for too long as I need to place some orders fairly soon for books and other things.
Can your work out what this is?
L’insoutenable legerete de l’etre.
(excuse the lack of accents)
A mad game the other day was to try to guess
Versions of strange book titles.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon