and on a different topic....THIS is useful....

 ...from the Christian Institute.

Please watch and make use of the info

It is a strange feeling....

 ...when something with which you have been actively involved becomes the stuff of memoirs..

Keston College was an excellent institution run by Rev Michael Bourdeaux, which chronicled the plight of Christians and other religious believers under Communism. It did a most useful job, and highlighted some of the courageous men and women who spoke up for truth and human dignity  under a cruel regime and often suffered hideously in prisons or labour camps in the USSR  as a result.

Michael's new book telling the Keston story is a good read. As I got into it, I was fascinated to learn how the project began, and  then rather moved to reconnect with people  who over the years became part of the story.  It felt strange to come across, suddenly, a quotation from a letter in the Catholic Herald by some one called Joanna Nash, calling for more public action on behalf of persecuted Christians...

Memories...standing outside the Soviet Union in vigils of prayer...especially one Christmas Eve, when passers-by stopped to give us their support...

And one particular memory: meeting Irina Ratushinskaya, the poet who endured imprisonment for  her courageous writing. She told us of a strange prison experience: being in a bitterly cold punishment cell at night, in solitary confinement, unable to sleep...and suddenly having a  sensation of warmth, and a deep understanding: "Some out out there is praying for me at this moment."

and here is some good news:

 

After an hotel in Northern Ireland rudely interrupted a speaker and stopped him addressing a group discussing marriage, the hotel has now climbed down,  apologised, and more...read here...

It is, of course, disgraceful that this incident should have occurred in the first place. What on earth did the hotel staff think they were doing?  I mean, literally - what did they think? What was in their minds? What had they been taught and told? Why did they imagine they had any right to prevent some one from speaking about marriage?

Boys and girls who have been attending schools in Britain over the past few years have not been encouraged to think freely and along large lines. They have been taught to pass exams, and to adopt words and phrases that will help them to do that. They have not been encouraged to read widely, to debate freely, to ponder history, to argue over ideas and ideology.

It's really rather frightening.  Thank God, at least, for the small mercy of this apology...and for what it now means for wider freedom...

On the subject of the political activities of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex...

 

....I'm inclined to agree with this comment. 

 ...

 A visit to the Royal Air Force Memorial overlooking the Thames at Runnymede

My Uncle John's name is on this memorial - Pilot Officer John Michael Campbell RAFVR. 

His name is on Panel 123.  He was killed in 1943.

There are 20,000 names on this memorial - airmen who died for our country in World War II and have no known grave.

Recently our family received some extraordinary news. Uncle John's aeroplane - a Stirling bomber - has been found deep in a lake in Holland where it fell. It was identified by its number...and the crew were identified when Uncle John's silver cigarette case was found, bearing his initials JMC. The Dutch army is now helping to recover the aeroplane, and a local museum honours the crew. The Dutch are grateful to the Royal Air Force for helping to liberate their country from Nazi occupation.

The Queen's words at the opening of the Runnymede memorial in 1953 have never seemed more important.  At Runnymede King John signed Magna Carta, establishing the freedoms that British people have treasured down the years. 

In London...

...extreme left-wing campaigners tried to stop newspapers being printed.

They call themselves "Extinction rebellion". But they are not rebelling., merely shrieking out the standard leftwing line on a range of issues, and using militant tactics in attempts to stop healthy debate and if possible to wreck Britain's economy, on the grounds that our industries damage  the world's ecological balance. 

Meanwhile China mines coal and launches new power stations month by month, and buys up large tracts of land across Africa, establishing ports and transport links on a massive scale, establishing her new empire.

The Knights and Dames of St Gregory...

...in the diocese of Portsmouth, marked St Gregory's Feast Day with a Mass at St Edward's Church, Windsor.

There could be no music - all the restrictions were obeyed. But it was good to get together, in our robes, and to honour St Gregory and be inspired and reminded of our calling as Christians...and the need to re-evangelise our country and to offer the glorious message oi Christ...

We posed for the traditional photograph - robed and masked, a picture for history.

Read about why the Anglican patrimony matters...

...and Auntie Joanna analysing it...here...

and let me know your thoughts.

NEXT series of HISTORY WALKS....

CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS: SEPTEMBER 2020

All welcome…no need to book, just turn up! We suggest a donation of £10 for each Walk. 

Wear suitable shoes and clothes – we walk whatever the weather!  We maintain social distancing.  More information at: www.catholichistorywalks.com

Sunday September 6th, 6.00pm (after 5.30pm Mass) steps of Westminster Cathedral London SW1P 1LT. Nearest tube: Victoria.  We will explore Westminster, Whitehall, and St James Park.

Tuesday September 8th 7pm  (NOTE TIME), after 6pm Mass, meet at St Dominic's Priory, Southampton Road London NW5 4LB.  Nearest tube: Belsize Park.  We will learn about the Garden of the Luminous Mysteries, and walk to Hampstead Heath, encountering the forgotten Fleet River, and the story of Gospel Oak.

Friday September 11th 7pm,  after 6pm Mass meet at St Dominic's Priory, Southampton Road London NW5 4LB .  Nearest tube: Belsize Park.  We will learn about the Garden of the Luminous Mysteries, and walk to Hampstead Heath, encountering the forgotten Fleet River,and the story of Gospel Oak.

Tuesday September 15th meet 6pm  after 5.30pm Mass, on the steps of Westminster Cathedral Londson SW1P 1LT after the 5.30pm Mass.  We will explore Westminster, Whitehall, and St James Park.

Sunday September 20^th, meet 4pm main door, St George’s Cathedral, Southwark. Nearest tube: Waterloo or Lambeth North. We will  discover Southwark’s story and walk to Lambeth Palace and the river,

Sunday September 27th meet 3pm (note time) St Elizabeth's Church, The Vineyard, Richmond TW10 6AQ. Nearest tube/overground: Richmond.  We will learn about Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I  and walk along the Thames to St John Henry Newman's childhood home at Ham.

The Catholic History Walks are organised by an independent Catholic voluntary group and the walks are led by Catholic writer Joanna Bogle, We are happy to organise a school, parish organisation, etc.   Just contact us:

chwalkslondon@gmail.com

and read about Auntie Joanna at a baptism at WESTMINSTER...

...in the strange London that is slowly opening up after the Coronavirus lockdown...

Read here

 IMPORTANT READING....

here...

 CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS

Come and enjoy an August walk, and discover our Catholic history on the way!  Two special Walks to celebrate the life and message of St John Henry Newman:

Wed Aug 19th meet 6pm  Church of the Most Precious Blood, O'Meara Street, London SE1 1TD (nearest tube/overground  LONDON BRIDGE). We'll walk across London Bridge - with its story of St Olaf and Viking battles -  to the birthplace of St John Henry Newman in the City.

Wed Aug 26th meet 6pm

at St Elizabeth's Church, The Vineyard, Richmond TW10 6AQ. (Nearest tube/overground: RICHMOND). We'll visit  Richmond Palace and its links with Henry VIII etc - and walk along the river to St John Henry Newman's childhood home at Ham.

We'll be socially-distanced as we walk. All are welcome - no need to book, just turn up! A donation of £5.00p is suggested. More information: www.catholichistorywalks.com

With lockdown easing....

...we visited friends in Sussex. A great reunion, long talkative meals, a happy family time...

The Sussex Downs glorious in summer sunshine, the English Channel crashing against the sand and pebbles on the beach....

Cycled to Mass on Sunday morning along lanes past meadows and streams, and fields of ripening crops. Mass at this church,  famous for its replica Sistine chapel ceiling...

Read about life in prison...

...here

On-line petitions often seem a waste of time...

...but I am signing this one, anyway, and urge you to join me:

HERE IS THE NEW SERIES OF HISTORY WALKS....

....read here....


And come and join us!!!


It is bleak having to "sign in" to get to Mass on Sundays.  It's bleak not knowing if and when the schools will open in September.


But getting together can be a boost to morale. Come on a cheering History Walk, cherish the wonderful heritage that is ours in Britain.... widen your knowledge  and enjoy the Thames and dozens of great stories....

...and there are signs of hope...

Read here...

...and we hope to offer some History Walks along the Thames soon...

Auntie Joanna resumes her blog...

...after  a longish gap. Things have been busy.

With lockdown easing, it has been possible to get to London to help out with serving breakfasts at St Patrick's Soho, to the homeless who gather there...and to Trafalgar Square to offer teas and coffees. Good to reconnect with old friends among the teamworkers at both venues. The group at Trafalgar Square is organised from Westminster Cathedral and includes people from Farm Street. The leader is the chairman of the St Vincent de Paul group at the Cathedral - and was also the voice you may have heard when Cardinal Vincent  Nichols celebrated Mass, broadcast on  BBC Radio 4 recently. The Mass, of course, was without a congregation, but  had a reader, the only person present apart from the Cardinal and altar server...it must have been a strange experience.

The Cathedral is now open for prayer: a joy and a great reassurance. In these weird and uncomfortable times, the unchanging stability of this London landmark somehow carries something of the solidity of the late Victorian era in which it was built.

During lockdown, I have written one book, and begun work on another.  I've completed a piece of embroidery and launched a new one (cross-stitch kneelers for the  chapel of the wonderful Community of Our Lady of Walsingham).

I've been reading Dietrich von Hildebrand and  was thrilled to listen to this excellent sermon

 And, looking ahead, I will be getting this book as a must-read

AND WE MUST BE ALLOWED TO OPEN OUR CHURCHES!

This is getting urgent.  There is absolutely no reason why people should not be allowed to go into churches and pray. The Bishops of England and Wales are calling for this and the Govt seems to be negotiating, and there must be no delay.

Read here:


Cardinal Vincent Nichols has spoken out strongly, as has Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark. I quote him:


Respectfully, I believe that it is now time for churches to be allowed to open for individual visits for private prayer. Supervision and hygiene regimes can be put in place akin to those in supermarkets and any churches that cannot implement these would remain closed.Since the Government’s decision, on 23 March 2020, to close places of worship our churches have remained shut. We accepted this as part of the important strategic effort to save lives and contain the spread of Covid-19. Important Christian festivals during Holy Week and Easter all took place behind closed doors, each priest celebrating alone without a congregation.

As restrictions have been lifted, there is growing frustration that churches remain closed for private, individual, visits of prayer. This comes when restrictions on access to other ‘non- essential’ facilities are being relaxed. For Catholics, access to church buildings is spiritually essential, something recognised by other Governments internationally.

At stake here are two paramount principles. The first is freedom of religion and the second is basic equality and justice. Total church closure was justifiable in the initial weeks of the pandemic. However, to enable non-essential shops and services to open, while keeping churches closed for individual prayer, is an infringement of both religious freedom and equity.