newsletter 27th July 2014

Newsletter 27th July 2014
I hope that you are enjoying the holiday time. The choirs are taking a break and music at Mass will resume in September.
Today is being kept as the Day for Life. There are some cards for you to take and there is a second collection to support the Church’s work on human life issues.
On Saturday I have to go to Esher for the celebration of a wedding. I will be back for the Saturday evening Mass but I may not be about at 10am for the morning Mass and there will be no mid-day confessions.
Great excitement this week as the great nephew celebrates his third birthday and a new baby is due. I hope to have details for you next week.
Thursday is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Sisters have asked if the Mass at 6.30pm can be on Thursday rather than Friday evening this week.
My jubilee celebrations are fast approaching so may I remind you of the details. The actual day is 30th August but the celebration will be on Sunday 31st August. There will be a special Mass at 11am – the choir has prepared music from Haydn’s St. Nicholas Mass and afterwards there will be some shared food in the garden. (Pray for a fine day, as otherwise we will need to move to the big hall.) I will provide something to drink but if you can, it would be good if you could bring along a dish to share. I would welcome some help on the Saturday to bring some chairs and tables round from the hall and on the Sunday, to help with a move if the weather is not good. I have put up a list for this in the porch.
Now that the school term is over, a chance to catch up on a few tasks. A dreadful job is a check on the drains round the Church – they tend to become choked with leaves. Put on some very old clothes and a very long wash afterwards. Time also to review the files and paper work. An enormous amount builds up from school and Local Authority meetings and from time to time, there is a need for a thorough clear out.
Thanks to all who help in the garden. My pot of basil has survived so far – the snails have not discovered it yet. The new parsley is beginning to grow. The roses have done very well this year and I am beginning to cut them back. A very poor crop of apples but I understand that this is happening everywhere – a combination of a very wet spring and a lack of bees.
Leaving London Bridge station, on the left you will notice that the plinth for the next stage of the extension of the new tracks is now finished. It looks as if there will be a new bridge span, joining up with the section of track bed that has already been completed. A most interesting operation to put the spans in place, using giant cranes. There is no indication yet as to when this will happen. Lots of men in orange jackets and hard hats and curious boys are kept at a distance.
At this time of year you need a recipe for gazpacho. Soak some bread crumbs in olive oil and wine vinegar. Mix together in a liquidizer with some crushed garlic, a de-seeded green pepper, a chopped onion, a small chopped and de-seeded cucumber and some peeled and de-seeded tomatoes. If necessary add a little iced water. Season with salt and pepper, keep chilled and serve with some finely chopped pieces of hard boiled egg, cucumber and tomato.
And some Hopkins
…..nature is never spent;
There lies the dearest freshness deep down things
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward springs –
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! Bright wings
A prayer:
Lord, feed our souls that we may continually live in you and you in us. Purify us in our obedience. Protect us in temptation. Renew our spirits with your endless life. So may we follow you in greater holiness and love.

Best wishes to you all
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon

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