For Christmas...

...we will be on a round of family visits.

A very cheery evening this week with the Catholic Writers' Guild, with Medieval music by Dr Mary Remnant - she called for volunteers to help with various musical instruments and Jamie cheerily obliged, making a glad sound with a set of chiming bells...it all rounded off a successful year for the Guild, which holds its AGM in January on the feast of St Francis de Sales, our Patron.

On Thursday I went carol singing with a couple of fellow-parishioners from St Joseph's, New Malden. We raised some money for Aid to the Church in Need's Sudan Appeal. House-to-house carol singing is a fading tradition: some people won't open their doors to anyone at night any more, others are fed up with children bawling "we wish-yer-merry-Chrisssmuss" and shouting for money, others are from cultures where they have never known carol-singing and are a bit baffled...anyway I think we gave some pleasure, and we ended up back at the church in time for the late-night Benediction which concludes the regular Thursday hours of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We sang "Silent Night" together before we went in, out in the crisp cold air, and then enjoyed the welcome glow and peace of the church with silent figures kneeling, lights glowing on the Advent Wreath and all attention focused on the Monstrance on the altar...

Friday saw more carols, this time at Waterloo Station. A good crowd, organised through St Joseph's Roehampton, and we had bells, a flute, guitar, and violin - we sang and sang, raised lots of money for children's charities, and got lots of good wishes and support and encouragement from people thronging through the station, many of whom stopped to enjoy, applaud, or even join in for a time...

I wish all my readers a blessed and glorious Christmas...