Newsletter 26th August 2018
Today is the Twenty First Sunday of the Church’s year.
Monday is the Bank holiday. I hope that the Bishop can be here for the morning Mass as I will be undertaking my duties on the steam railway in Hampshire. The railway closes in the autumn but we run a few trains over the Christmas season and I may have some further duties.
Please return the First Communion and the Confirmation forms as soon as possible. I need to have the numbers so that I can order the books and the other things that we need for the classes.
Monday is the feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine and Tuesday is the feast of St. Augustine himself. Wednesday is the commemoration of the death of John the Baptist.
Holidays are coming to an end and preparations are being made for the new term at school. The weeks have gone by quickly and many of you have come to enjoy playing in the garden. The new trampoline came from the Myra fund and is very popular. Another couple of weeks and we will need to empty the pools and put them away for another season.
The boy and his sister have been away at Disneyworld in Orlando this year. Their mother had to come back for her work but their father was able to stay with them for a further week so that they had a very enjoyable time.
We have had this before, but it is worth repeating:
Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea,
And love is a thing that can never go wrong
And I am Marie of Rumania.
(from Dorothy Parker)
Another strange verse:
A truant calf calls noisily:
Great obstinate, vile veal!
Thus dominating nervousness.
This is a mnemonic to help remember the names of the Roman emperors:
Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Nerva –
After this, time for something serious: A prayer to be said on Friday: Lord Jesus, you gave your life for the salvation of all the world: help us to follow your example and stretch out our arms in mercy to all our brothers and sisters, and by your grace to serve them with a love like yours.
A recipe for potato cakes: melt some butter with a little milk. Add 700grm of mashed potato, 55grm of flour and a pinch of baking powder. Mix well and mould into triangular cakes. Bake on a griddle or in a greased frying pan. This used to be a breakfast dish but it can be used for other meals.
Penelope Betjeman was asked to appear on Michael Parkinson’s television programme and declined giving, amongst others, the following reasons: I have a suet-pudding face. I have just knocked all the crowns off my front teeth. I hate coming up to London in the winter as I like the storms down here and am tied to ponies and dogs. (She lived near to Hay-on-Wye.)
Work is continuing to convert the old Eurostar platforms at Waterloo into additional platforms for the suburban trains. There are industrial relations problems with the new operator of South Western Railways and also there seem to be a financial problem. I thought Stagecoach ran SW trains quite well and I was sorry to see the change. You can walk along the balcony at Waterloo to inspect the works from above.
The holiday season is almost over so maybe we can return to a more serious newsletter next month.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon