Sunday Jan 14th
Wonderful concert at Westminster Cathedral Hall, given in aid of the work of Miles Jesu, new Catholic movement which runs all sorts of ventures from help for street-children in Russia to conferences and meetings explaining and teaching the Catholic Faith in Britain.

There was a happy atmosphere and the music a joy: young violinist Ruth Rogers and pianist Matthew Schellhorn. Some glorious Mozart, some Debussy and Franck (less enjoyable piece by a modern comoser called Wilson). Afterwards there was wine and a delicious buffet. Miles Jesu have some good material, including a DVD on the theme of "Vocation" which I intend to watch.....they also have booklets and a journal "Continuity" and a website www.milesjesu.com. The crowd could have been bigger at the concert, but it was a wonderful evening and a good start to their 2007 activities.

As I left, one of the helpers pressed some chocolate cakes on me (I have never been known to refuse choc cake) to take home. At Clapham Junction one of the routine can-you-give-me-some-money-for-a-place-to-stay types asked me for cash, and I told him truthfully that I didn't have any, but offerred him some cakes which he accepted. One is always in a quandary about people asking for money: I know a couple of the regulars on our train-route , and they know me, and they know that I invariably suggest that they go to The Passage (Carlisle Pl;ace, SW1 - near Westminster Cathedral) which not only offers accomodation and food but can help with sorting things out for the longer-term too.....though of course that's not always what they want.....on one occasion, when I had told a chap about The Passage, and written down its name etc for him, he moved on down the train, and another passenger, sitting opposite, said "What was the name of that place you mentioned? Here - give them this!" and handed me a £10 note! I was touched, and wrote to Sister Ellen at The Passage when I got home, telling the story and enclosing the money. She didn't find the story at all unusual: I rather got the impression that sort of thing happens quite often!

Spent a lot of time today messing about with my bike. As I was cycling down past Green Park the other evening, another cyclist shouted (rather rudely, I thought!) "Where are your f---ing lights?" I thought that the dynamo lights worked perfectly well, but evidently they don't, and on Friday a policeman, in the same district oddly enough, as I rounded that tricky bit in front of Buckingham Palace, stopped me and said much the same thing but in more polite language:"Are you aware that you have no lights whatever? You are risking a serious accident...." Hmmmm. Sorted through various cupboards at home, chucked out a lot of junk, found lights from old bike. How to fix them on? (Old fixtures lost with previous bike - stolen by unknown thief from oustide station last year).