Alabama...

...and birds carolling in the mild balmy weather as I sit at a kitchen table  in a pleasant house on the EWTN campus.  Staying here is something between a retreat and a busy-Catholic-action time. On weekday mornings the bells of the chapel chime out for Mass at 7am (you can check  to see if I am there by simply watching the Mass, which is broadcast worldwide). The guest houses are in a neighbouring road, and you can to the chapel, studios etc  through the rear gardens.  Each house is comfortable and well-furnished.- at weekends, there is food provided in the 'fridge, a well-equipped kitchen, and lots of good coffee.  My only complaint on previous visits was a lack of reading material...I would have to  borrow books from the book review office.  On this trip, I arrived to find a row of good things set out for me  (Benedict Groeschel, Joseph Pearce, Mark Shea, plus Chesterton and other classics, plus biogs of Pius XIII, Mother Teresa...).

I have plenty to do, and when I am not doing it, I have started work on a new book by way of fresh intellectual exercise. Emails from home tell me that Britain is having a sudden heatwave.