As we approach Christmas...

A rushed trip to London, to meet the Editor of the St Anthony Messenger (which I have never read and turns out to be a really good, bright, illustrated magazine: excellent feature on "Reclaiming Christmas", and an interview with Elizabeth Quinn, actress, who starred in London in Children of a Lesser God, and a feature on Burma, and more)...as I hurried for the train, I bought a newspaper as usual. Here, as we approach Christmas in Britain,2007, are some of the news items:

- a man who donated sperm to a lesbian to enable her to have children says he did it as a favour to her "partner" who was an ex-girlfriend of his...the two lesbians have now quarrelled and separated and it is unclear what will happen to the children

- new regulations are planned to force the destruction of "extra" embryos when in-vitro fertilisation takes place, so that a woman thus treated will not have twins or triplets but only one child

- a couple who decided not to have children are leaving their money to their pet dogs when they die

A good comment on all of these sorts of topics comes from Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail.

How prophetic was Paul VI in Humanae Vitae. How scary our culture has become.

Advent...

...is possibly the best of seasons. At home, I start to stack presents on the table by the the Advent wreath as I wrap them, with other Christmassy things alongside, bags of chocolate coins that get sent to various children for St Nicholas Day, a twist of silvery ribbon...

...and in church the first candle gleams on the Advent wreath up in the chancel, giving an ordinary weekday Mass a special feel. We will go carol-singing as a parish group, round the local streets, later in Advent, and send the money we raise to Aid to the Church in Need to help the hard-pressed Christians in Sudan. And the young people of the deanery, who are now doing all sorts of good things in association with World Youth Day, will be singing at our local railway station...they still need funds to enable them to get to Australia for this great event and if you'd like to help you can contact them through this link.

The excellent Women for Faith and Family run by Helen Hitchcock has some wonderful material for Advent. Rather than whinge about the commercialisation of Christmas, let's emphasise Advent and all its rich traditions...

An early start...

...as a taxi arrived for me while it was still dark, to whisk me up to London for a discussion on BBC Radio Ulster, about the blasphemy laws. I think it's possible to hear this on a playback system through the Internet, but haven't the least idea how this is done...help would be welcomed.

London looked rather magical on a wintry Sunday morning, the Thames grey and majestic, few people about, skeleton staff at the BBC in Millbank...after the programme, I toyed with the idea of staying on in town, getting breakfast somewhere and walking up to Westminster Cathedral for High Mass, but a car was waiting and the day was beginning to look fierce, so I was taken home. Jamie was getting up and I brewed coffee and made us something to eat, then in due course set off for Mass by bike and the HEAVENS OPENED, such terrific rain that I skidded and had to shelter in a doorway. Arrived at church and peeled off soaking coat,scarf, jacket, and these dripped water into a little puddle beneath the next pew as Mass progressed...afterwards I went into the parish bookshop where I bought some really lovely things for Christmas, but I'm not telling what they are as it would spoil the secret for Mother and for various nieces etc.

Incidentally, there is an excellent DVD about Pope John Paul produced by Vatican Television, which Mother and I enjoyed on Friday, much recommended. I see from the news that there is also a new one, just out, called Santo Subito and I am tempted to get that, too.

A very enjoyable...

... celebratory Parish Dinner at St Bede's, Clapham Park, on the eve of the First Sunday of Advent. It was great fun, a proper sit-down dinner.... tables decorated with golden crackers...excellent food...cheerful parish priest Father Chris Basden rushing about and presiding in style. There was a raffle, and much lively talk, and it was all hugely enjoyable...I wrote the history of this parish a few years back, published as a paperback under the title One Corner of London . The church is one of several built through the generosity of an heiress, Miss Ellis, in the early days of the 20th century: it now has five Masses every Sunday plus a Saturday evening Mass, and there is a parish school and a big annual Corpus Christi procession through local streets...the room where we were eating was the basement of the large house bequeathed by Miss Ellis and now used as the presbytery and parish office - older parishioners remembered this basement as a dark and rather mysterious kitchen area but in recent years it has become the parish hall and for the Dinner was packed to capacity, uncomfortably warm but extremely jolly and full of people enjoying themselves! A happy evening.

And here...

...is a picture of the Archbishop blessing the new office of Aid to the Church in Need in Sutton a couple of days ago. All the desks and rooms, and all of us, were duly blessed with holy water while prayers were said...it was absolutely splendid.

Golly...

...a Bishop seems to have spoken out about the reality of Catholic schools, and the tragic fact that in many cases they are simply not teaching the Catholic Faith. Look at this link, which is a detailed report from the Diocese of Lancaster, called Fit for Mission. It is a rallying-call to restore Catholic schools as places of faith and commitment to the fullness of the Church's mission, right down to things like having crucifixes prominently in central locations, use of the Catechism as the foundation of RE, emphasis on weekly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, regular confession, the Rosary, and more...it is all inspiring and encouraging. The only bleak bit comes in discussing implementation...oh dear...discussions...conferences...a Plan...and all, presumably, in the hands of the same bureaucracy that has helped to produce the mess that we have now. But if the Bishops stands firm and brings in some good people to help, he will go down in history as having done a great and decent thing in bringing about long overdue change and offering hope to new generations of the Catholic young.

HOPE...

...is one of the most glorious aspects of the Christian faith, so it was with great glee that I saw the headlines announcing that the Holy Father had devoted a whole new encyclical to this subject. It is, of course, a wonderful read. I downloaded it while at Mother's last night, sitting at the computer installed there by her grandson, my nephew E...extraordinary, really, that one can sit in a rainy suburb, with youths shrieking their Friday-night drunken tribal noises in the nearby High Street, and get the latest news hot from Rome, downloaded from a choice of websites and enjoyed after supper! The press today has lots of comment on the encyclical: I liked this one.

A blessing...

...of the new offices of Aid to the Church in Need in Sutton took place yesterday, with a great crowd of friends and supporters from Britain and from other ACN offices abroad, an Archbishop, lots of holy water, a great sense of prayer, the Papal Nuncio, and a general atmosphere of gratitude and enthusiasm.

The British section of this great international charity has flourished under the direction of Neville Kyrke-Smith and his team, and the new office is efficiently organised, with separate sections for the sales of Christmas cards (they have a range of most beautiful designs) and books and other items, the different departments such as accounts, media, publishing, and so on. We prayed specifically for the various groups of people we try to help, including those persecuted for their Catholic Faith in Sudan, China, and other countries.

From the generous gifts of people here in Britain, ACN is able to send help to hard-pressed people living in extremely difficult conditions, struggling with poverty, oppressive Government, war or its aftermath, and more...there are areas in the world where running a Christian orphanage, teaching the Faith, distributing Catholic literature, or simply gathering for Mass, mean risk of imprisonment. It all seems remote from suburban London. But the young team in the Sutton office, working with dedication and care, are part of a crucial link which does untold good.

Archbishop Kevin McDonald, Archbishop of Southwark, led us all in a most beautiful prayer, referring to work, and the fact that Christ Himself worked, daily, as a craftsman, for years. Taking holy water, the Archbishop then carefully blessed all the offices, and all of us - friends and supporters, staff from Sutton Carers who have an office in the same block and had been invited along to join the celebrations, visitors from overseas, volunteers, members of the ACN Board, and Trustees...as he went from room to room, the staff began the Rosary and we all joined in. Afterwards, there was lots of talk and quantities of wine and trays of delicious snacks, and the joy of meeting old friends and chatting away with all sorts of people...

To crown things, by coincidence, that evening ACN's John Pontifex was due to speak at The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. He did a superb job, telling about his recent visit to China, and with a popwer-point presesntation with snippets of film and other items, he was able to bring alive for us the complex problems facing that huge nation, and the life of the Church withion it. A truly fascinating evening, one of the best we've had. We meet, as regular readers of this Blog will know, at St Mary Moorfields in London.,..anyone who writes for a living, whether full-time or part-time, or who works in media or in publishing, or related fields, is eligible to join. Send a Comment to this blog, giving me an email address to which I can reply...

Of teddies and things...

...Oh dear, I was a bit too arch in my comments about naming a teddy-bear. I had meant to indicate that, as a gesture of solidarity, I was giving him the same name as that given to a teddy bear by an innocent British schoolmarm trying to work with a class of little children in Sudan! I did this because it occurred to me that perhaps many of us could name objects of affection - teddies, goldfish, whatever - by this name in order to show that it was just meant as a friendly thing to do...

Well, I have given my poor teddy that name, but he will only have it for as long as the poor woman remains in prison. Then I shall take pleasure in re-naming him, and will give him the name of Benedict. And he will be a reminder to pray that the grace and blessing of a good Christian name may soon be given to many of those who currently bear names associated with other religions.

Naming my teddy bear...

...hasn't been a priority so far. (I was presented with him the other day, as regular readers of this Blog will know, after speaking at a school). Today, it occurred to me that as a gesture of solidarity I would name him, and I have done so. From now on, he will always be known by that name.

Yesterday...

...while we were working on this Blog, a man came to the door to ask if I'd take part in a survey about London. Turned out to be on behalf of the official government-of-London bureaucracy headed by Ken Livingstone - they've commissioned an opinion poll. The first question - I'm not inventing this - was about whether or not I considered London to be a good place for homosexuals and lesbians to live in. Then followed a whole series of questions with a list of approved answers to be selected. It was all slanted to ensure a certain response - you couldn't just give your own answer but had to select from a list - so watch out for the headlines when it is published. There'll be things like "Majority of Londoners say they are glad to live in a city that offers diversity/ want more done about global warming/ believe the Mayor's office should give out more publicity about its work" etc etc. Asked which policies of Livingstone I opposed, I said that I disagreed strongly with his promotion of homosexual and lesbian lifestyles, but this wasn't on the approved list of replies.

The young man - he was v. pleasant - also had to ask ritual questions about my age, work, race, etc. I explained I was a Catholic journalist and gave him a couple of pictures of the Pope, which he accepted very nicely and put in his pocket. He was absolutely correct all the way through the interview, so I don't know if he found the questions as ludicrous as I did.

It all felt vaguely reminiscent of stories I heard from eastern European exiles twenty years ago, about how the official bureaucracy was always announcing the results of surveys proving the rightness of their ideological line. A major difference, however, as Mac pointed out, is that at least in Britain taking part was optional - I could simply have refused - and of course we will be free to criticise the report when it is published. Long may this freedom remain.

Look! I've learned how to put up a video...

...on my blog!! V. exciting. Mac has been here helping me. We ate lots of chocolate biccies. And here is the dear Holy Father, looking so reassurring. I really like just knowing that he's there in Rome, and doing us all proud.

Christmas and angels...

...go together, and I think a perfect stocking-filler is this delightful book about angels, produced by ResSource, with illustrations by David Clayton - mentioned on this blog recently as he gave a talk to my Catholic Cultural Group. There is so much ugly stuff around for children this Christmas - think of Bratz dolls with their nasty faces, or just all those plastic monsters, destined to litter the floor and be discarded...let's start getting a few more beautiful things into circulation, and things that children can really relish and to which they will return again and again with pleasure and interest.

Every year I collect greenery from a neighbour's evergreen for our Advent wreath: this involves knocking on her front door to ask permission, and her saying "Of course, yes, go ahead - as much as you like" and both of us having an agreeable ritualistic glow about this seasonal interchange, and knowing that it means Christmas is on its way...our parish bookshop also has something lovely Advent wreaths and other things for Christmas, and there's a book about St Nicholas which I am itching to buy for a small niece. Last Sunday I bought lots of Advent calendars - they are good to send to godchildren. And why only children? I found some nice ones that older people would enjoy, too...

Holy Ghost parish, Balham...

...runs Marriage Preparation talks, at which I occasionally speak. There was one on Saturday - a roomful of cheery young couples, a delicious lunch, lots of talk and a very happy mood all round. It is a joy to be part of this and to speak about the Church's message on marriage - a good atmosphere, one of real seriousness as we covered important issues, some good conversations afterwards...I am always touched by the non-Catholic fiance(e) who comes along with prospective spouse and almost invariably shows huge interest, listens, asks questions, becomes really involved. There can be deep and important conversations, an atmosphere of profound respect for the sacredness of marriage...Nicole Parker of the London Fertility Care Centre also led a session during the day. Parish priest Fr Stephen Langridge presides and the beautiful church is open to all for prayer. This is a large parish with its own blog and lots going on, but the church always seems peaceful even with lots of coming-and-going.

On Sunday J. and I had a lovely walk over Wimbledon Common - we enjoyed a glorious pink and glowing sunset and then almost got lost for a bit when darkness fell (J says my sense of direction is hopeless).

I am sending J's parents a copy of the latest Universe newspaper as there is a pic of J. in it at the launch of the Catholic National Library last week. He is with Rt Hon John Gummer MP and the headline says something about Top Catholics being at the event. I think they will be amused at having a son who is a Top Catholic.

Later this week Mulier Fortis is coming round for supper to help me with technical aspects of this Blog. I have promised her chocolate cake.

A happy day...

...as I went with Mother to see the newest member of the family, baby Francesca, my great-niece and Mother's GREAT-grandchild. Utterly adorable baby - see pic, which parents E. and F. have given me permission to put on my blog. In particular, please do notice not only the dear baby but also the QUILT, hand-made by Great Auntie Joanna... Oh, it was all so LOVELY being together, and the baby's big brother H, an enchanting little boy with the most beautiful eyes and delicious smile, is now toddling about and just at the happiest age for cuddles and giggles and agreeable times with doting aunts...

Incidentally, F. is a writer and journalist, and produced a most useful report on BBC bias a while back - now you simply must read this on Fr Tim Finigan's blog, which tells the story of an appalling example of BBC reportage. Ask yourself - or, better, contact the Director-General of the BBC and ask him - whether or not the BBC is now going to apologise for the distortion made in the programme in question, in the light of the information now made public?

To dinner...

...with friends: a really beautiful evening, candelight and delicious food and wonderful company and lots of good talk. Topics covered of course included education - the HUGE worry for parents is getting their child into one of the few - massively over-subscribed and enormously popular - good schools, such as the Cardinal Vaughan School or the London Oratory School. The Government solution appears to be to make all schools equally bad, in the name of eliminating "elitism". So they have whittled away at the good schools that exist within the State system - such as those I have mentioned - hindering them by various administrative restrictions and chipping away at their independence.

We also got talking about traditions and seasonal customs: the wife of an Ambassador said her impression was that Britain has retained more of these than some other European countries...I am a lot less sure...as Christmas draws near, all Western nations seem to be swamped with the same massive consumer-spending, ensuring that children will be knee-high in plastic junk toys , many of which will soon be discarded, while old customs, carols, family games, etc will be less evident. But there are lots of families - including our hosts this evening - where wonderful traditions flourish, with children singing and making music and all sorts of happy things are passed on down the generations...

Chelsea...

...is a corner of a London with a villagey feel to it. I arrived by bike at the Church of Our Most Holy Rdeemer and St Thomas More (above) to a cheery gathering in the crypt, fresh coffee brewing, and a warm welcome. This is a parish with a packed congregation each Sunday, traditional-style liturgy with beautiful music, standing room only, and with lots of lots of young families...some of the ladies at this coffee-gathering are among those who help with instructing the children and other parish activities. It was fun to be part of this very friendly group - very open to everyone, as I quickly discovered: one of the people at the table where I happened to sit was a newcomer and soon we were all talking away like old friends...

I had been invited to give my talk on Celebrating Traditional Feasts and Seasons, and this went well and led to a good and interesting discussion afterwards, as we explored all sorts of things...St Lucy's day...some London history...origins of various symbols and traditions...local Chelsea history...and more...

Patti Fordyce, a mainstay of the parish, made a delicious lunch over which a group of us lingered with pleasure, the newcomer and I now thoroughly feeling at home...

Memo to Karen...

...who sent a Comment to this blog. Your email address doesn't seem to work. Did you send it correctly? Could you send it again? Many thanks

To St Etheldreda's

..in Ely Place, for a glorious Mass to mark the opening of the Catholic National Library at St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough. The Abbot of Farnborough, Dom Cuthbert Brogan, celebrated the Mass and there was a feast of wonderful music, and an inspiring sermon from Father Ian Ker, who noted that the initiative of Catholic laymen in re-establishing the Library and launching it as a new venture in this way was absolutely what the Vatican 11 document Lumen Gentium had in mind when it spoke of the nature of the Church and the various roles within it...

Afterwards, a wonderful reception in the crypt, wine and talk and so many friends to meet and enjoy, all in the glow of candlelight. I talked to author Philip Trower who is a friend of many years' standing who is always a joy to meet...also the team from Miles Jesu . Now, why don't our Bishops, faced with a tragic task of closing down some parishes and abandoning beautiful churches, simply hand one over to the Miles Jesu team? They badly need somewhere to live, have so much good work to do, and could breath new life into a presbytery and into a church. They are a new movement, lay-run, no threat to any parish, and would give so much in service and enthusiasm. They would use the church for their daily prayers, have Mass there when they could, keep it open and loved and cherished. COME ON, BISHOPS!! WAKE UP and do what is necessary!

Jamie v. busy - speaking today at a conference for doctors and nurses at Guy's Hospital on the Mental Incapacity Act, and deep in discussions about the new legislation going through Parliament on human embryology. We met at the party but didn't get the chance to talk, so many people to meet etc, and finally were on the train home together, almost too tired for speech...

In the post...

...comes a batch of wonderful magazines from the Malcolm Muggeridge Society. A glorious read: some of Muggeridge's superb prose, and many articles by other fine writers. I am so grateful to hear about this Society: reading Muggeridge, especially his comments on the World Council of Churches, back in the 1970s, was so exciting to me that I can recall exactly how it felt - how everything stopped for a moment, everything felt refreshed and new and interesting, it was as if I'd just discovered the map of a strange place and knew where I was.

And then a memory of a visit to him and Kitty - the walks, the talk, and being made to laugh so much that it it was hiccuping. And that particular corner of Sussex, the fields and the rise of the hill, and coming in to tea with fresh brown bread and butter.

To Cumbria...

...to St Cuthbert's Retreat Centre at Wigton, near Carlisle. This is an extraordinary place!

Members of the Cor et Lumen Christi movement have settled here, and the plan is to restore this wonderful old building - once a convent and orphanage - into a centre where families and groups will come to celebrate and learn about their Faith, pray, evangelise, and be evangelised...

And they will do it, too. There is so much faith and devotion here. The project is going to be a huge challenge because although solidly and beautifully built, the building needs a good deal of basic repair and restoration work, as it was left abandoned for over a decade after the last nuns left...but the team here is young, dedicated, joyful, hard-working and prayerful. Already, one good-sized room has been magnificently restored, with some lovely original features to enjoy - magnificent crucifix in an alcove, beautiful warm-coloured red brickwork - and a good working kitchen alongside. We gathered here for a "Family day with God", hordes of cheerful children, a talk from me about (yes, you've got it...) "Traditional Feasts and Seasons", a lovely lunch with hot sausages, and an atmosphere of prayer and goodwill. The music was...um...not to my taste (Oh please, can't we sing some decent hymns?) but everything else was simply perfect: devotion, a young priest with an attentive congregation at Mass, friendship, a sense of relief as people felt they could talk about things too often covered by grim silence such as the challenge of raising a family with good values in the face of a sordid modern culture, the tragic abandonment of the Faith in too many nominally Catholic schools...

I was given wonderful hospitality, had some great conversations, felt hugely encouraged and cheered, and learned a lot. I explored the building - there is an old chapel just waiting to be restored ("But have you seen the dreadful 1960s addition?" I was asked "That'll have to go - and we found the original stained-glasss in an outbuilding and hope to put it all back...") and there is a wealth of local history here which simply must be recorded.

News that Traditional Anglicans...

...may be united formally with Rome is delightful. Apparently there's a group called the Traditional Anglican Communion, with various parishes in Britain and the USA...it conjures up agreeable visions of dear tweed-jacketed clergymen with families of Trollopian fecundity, and wives slicing up Victoria sponge sandwiches in damp marquees at rainy summer fetes, and people singing from old-fashioned hymn-books at gentle Evesongs. Oh, I do hope it all works out.

I am off on travels this weekend...off to Carlisle to give a talk there. I may not be able to blog while travelling...

The John Fisher School...

...in Purley, Surrey, was where my brother went to school and it was lovely to be there this beautiful fresh Autumn afternoon to speak to the Faith group, meeting after school. This is a group with a distinguished history - top blogger Fr Tim Finigan is an Old Boy, as are several other noted Southwark diocesan priests. The John Fisher School is a great Catholic boys' school with a heritage of wonderful service to the Church, and today's boys still wear the blue blazers and the splendid golden Fisher badge that has been seen locally for almost a century.

A warm welcome from Mr Dan Cooper, a great chorus of voices joining in the Our Father and Hail Mary as we started the session, and I enjoyed giving my talk about Pope Benedict XV1. Afterwards, a most agreeable chat with the Headmaster, himself an Old Boy of the splendid London Oratory School (of which I was once a Governor: the school choir sang for Jamie and me at our Wedding Mass in 1980 and then, a new generation of choristers, at our Silver Wedding Mass a quarter of a century later).

Cycled on to Mother's where the Coopers arrived with a splendid fish-and-chip supper - a cheery evening of talk, a get-together of old friends.

The Faith Movement is organising its Winter Session soon - a gathering for young people with daily Mass, talks on aspects of the Catholic Faith: this year's theme is "Hearing God's word", with talks on The Bible belongs to the Church, Christ, the Key to understanding the Old Testament, the Gospels - historical and true, The Bible and prayer in our lives....

Catholic artist...

...David Clayton was the speaker at the Catholic Cultural Group last night and was excellent. Explaining how he was inspired by Pope John Paul's Letter to Artists, and by the liturgy at Brompton Oratory, he explained how the ideas of truth, beauty and goodness should be at the core of art...a fascinating talk, which led us to think about architecture and the proportions of buildings, music, liturgy, and more...he works closely with Stratford and Leonie Caldecott at Second Spring and you can find out more by clicking here...

Our hostess, Alexandra Eversole, will be hosting a sale of Christmas gifts and jewellry on Dec 5th, with wine and mince pies - all in aid of ALERT, the anti-euthanasia group. Find out more from 0207 730 2800.

Tradition...

... and celebrations and so on, is a popular theme as Christmas approaches so I have a lot of invitations to speak at this time of the year on "Discovering traditional feasts and seasons", in connection with my book (which you can order by clicking on this link, and scrolling down. The book has recipes, games, stories, ideas for all sorts of activities...). Canterbury was a delight - it was a pleasure to be with the students and to talk with Fr Peter Geldard, with whom I did an interview for Catholic Answers a while back...

Hurried back from Kent to London, recorded some talks for Premier Radio (they will, I think, be broadcast in the week of Nov 26th as an early-morning "Thought of the day"), then went on to relatives where I was to babysit for niece E. We had a very happy evening. I helped her with maths homework, enjoying her comments: "A boy drinks half a litre of milk a day... Ugh, that's really greedy of him. He shouldn't drink that much..." We played a game of snakes-and-ladders, and one of chess, and it was all v. agreeable.

To Canterbury...

... yesterday to give a talk to the Cathsoc at St John Stone House, at the University of Kent at Canterbury, in the charge of the chaplain Father Peter Geldard. The chapel is small and plain, but absolutely packed for Mass on this ordinary weekday November evening. Afterwards a cheery gathering in the room down stairs, where an open fire made a glorious glow, and there is a a proper bar, The Barque. I enjoyed the evening, and after my talk (Traditional Feasts and Seasons") there was a good time of chat and conviviality over pizza before I went upstairs as I was rather tired. I was given a comfortable room and went to sleep with the cheery noise still going on down below. A happy evening.

Earlier, I had a most agreeable lunch with dear nephew - and godson - G. It's always enjoyable to see him, and there he was at St James' Park tube station as arranged, in tartan scarf and giving me a big hug, all so reassuring and joyful. We chatted very happily of big mugs of coffee.

St Edmund's College, WARE...

...is in a most glorious setting, looking beautiful on this crisp clear Autumn day. I was given a warm welcome, and shown around - the chapel is by Pugin and is glorious, with no horrible modernist wrecking having been done, and the boarders gather there each evening for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

I gave a talk on "Journalism and the Media" to a big gathering of senior pupils, and a number clustered round afterwards to talk further and ask questions. I was presented with a commemorative School Teddy Bear, very cuddly and wearing a St Edmund's jersey. It was all enormously enjoyable and I received agreeable impressions of England's oldest post-Reformation Catholic school.

Busy weekend...

...began on Friday evening at Mother's: much talk of Christmas plans, news of baby great-grandchild etc. On Saturday I made my November visit to my father's grave, russet and golden and orange leaves strewing the path in beautiful sunshine as I walked along. In death as in life, we are among friends and neighbours in the suburbs - the other graves in this quiet and beautiful graveyard carry so many familiar names. The local parish always has an All Souls grave-blessing, the priest sprinkling the graves with holy water...

Jamie has been away in Ireland for a few days so I seized the opportunity of a big cleaning-and-tidying session. Took several things to local charity shop, threw away lots of unwanted paper, etc. An old propaganda booklet from the Equal Opportunities Commission gave me pause for thought: produced in the late 70s, when all this non-sexist-let's-pretend-we-are-all-identical stuff came in, it looks terribly dated now, when the worry is about boys falling behind with basic skills like reading and writing and the realisation that they badly need good adult male role-models and that school is seen as all too "girly". And the pictures made one a bit sad: thirty years ago, the children's faces were actually different: less tense, more "open", the girls less angry, there's somehow a more innocent air ...

On Sunday, cycled to Mass - a beautiful arrangement of poppies with a flag at the side of the nave, making an understated and quietly poignant message - and then on to friends where I had been invited to lunch. A long talkative afternoon over a buffet, with quantities of children running about and shouting, hot sausages and chicken and salads and rolls on the table, babies being cuddled, adults enjoying wine and chat and laughter. The children all gathered like pins to a magnet when a box of doughnuts was brought in at the end of the afternoon, drawn as from nowhere.

Cycling home through the dark, I found Jamie, who had brought me some heavenly lavender-scented soap from Ireland and a lovely dark red candle all specially decorated which we'll use for Christmas. We had big mugs of tea and told each other all our news.

On this Remembrance weekend...

...do you think the men who volunteered in the First World War did it because they wanted a Britain where there would be human/animal hybrids? Or where children would be brought into being using artificial insemination for lesbians? Or where a Christian family who fostered children would be banned from doing so because they refused to teach homosexual activity as acceptable?

No, I don't think so either.

In the case of the Second World War there are many surviving ex-servicemen still living, so try asking some of them.

The Queen's Speech outlining the plans of this present Government, sets out the plan for human/animal hybrids. Concerned? Get the info from this website right away and write to your Member of Parliament and also to members of the House of Lords. The Govt is rushing this through at speed, so we all need to act quickly.

Magnificent...

Bath Abbey.

Autumn twilight...

...in Bath was especially beautiful, and a sprinkling of rain made the pavements glisten. I loved it. Visited Bath Abbey - freshly restored a couple of years ago and stunning in its beauty, the glorious symetry as you look upwards above the nave and chancel to the intricate carving soaring above...a plaque in the floor notes that the Queen came here in 1973 to mark 1,000 years of British monarchy, as the Saxon King Edgar was crowned on this site in 973 by St Dunstan and St Oswald.

Useful notes on the history of the Abbey tell us that St Elphege was Abbot here in about 980. This interests me as I grew up in the parish of St Elphege in Wallington, Surrey, was baptised and married there: Elphege was an Archbishop of Canterbury and was martyred by the Danes at Greenwich. Bath Abbey is dedicated to Sts Peter and Paul. Bath is of course a Roman city and you can visit the original Roman Baths: all part of the same Roman Empire into which Christ was born and in which Peter became the first Pope...

I gave talks to CathSoc meetings at the University of Bath and at Bath Spa University, all organised by the excellent chaplain Fr Bill. He also runs a busy parish on the city's outskirts, is hospital chaplain, active with the Ecumenical Society of the BVM, and more. The parish is dedicated to Sts Peter and Paul. He is a Servite priest and strides around in full-length traditional habit and it's really nice to see it on a modern University campus.

BATH IS A BEAUTIFUL CITY...

...and I am here to speak at Prior Park College, and also at the CatholicSocieties at Bath Spa and Bath Universities.

Father Bill OSM, chaplain to both universities, is organising a lecture about Edward Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius on Monday Nov 12th - see the Chaplaincy website.

Er...are you thinking about Christmas shopping?

...because if you are, might you consider buying my new Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations for your mother, godmother, auntie, sister, wife, or best friend? Look it up on the Gracewing or Family Publications websites.

Honestly, it's a much nicer and more interesting present than bath salts or a calendar with cats on it...

Mass at St Joseph's

...in New Malden, on an ordinary weekday morning is well-attended. I dropped in partly to be able to say thank-you to Fr Richard Whinder, our curate, who spoke so well at Towards Advent.

A crisp, fresh Autumn day with the trees in the most glorious colours.

A couple of items people have asked me to mention: a neighbour, who works at St Teresa's, our local home for the elderly, reminds me that the Friends of St Teresa's are running a Fair at the Sacred Heart Hall, Edge Hill SW19 on Saturday, from 2pm.

And the Friends of Westminster Cathedral have Clare Asquith discussing her new book on Shakespeare - about which I have written on this blog - on November 29th. Find out more about this here.

Cycled across London to St Mary Moorfields for a meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild: Charles Moore of the Daily Telegraph was the speaker. I was asked to give the vote of thanks, and was able to recall his earlier visit to the Guild, back in the mid-1990s, when he was speaking about the Catholic Church - just a few weeks later his conversion was splashed across the features section of the Telegraph under the banner headline "Why I am becoming a Catholic".

Meetings of the Guild are really terrifically enjoyable, and we have a good programme planned for 2008...any RC who works as a writer, journalist, pubsliher, on films or TV or related work, can join. Send me a comment to bthis Blog - WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN REACH YOU - if you are intertested... Members can bring guests to meetings, and frequently do, and all our meetings start with Mass and then supper, and a guest speaker...

Quantities of cheerful children...

...were scurrying about as I arrived at Highfield House in Chertsey, where I was giving a talk on "Celebrating Traditional Feasts and Seasons" to the Cor et Lumen Christi Community. I had never met this community before, but among the lovely families taking part in this Family Day were some that I knew, who enjoy the various events sponsored by this group - it was good to reconnect with old friends and to chat and exchange news. A warm and welcoming atmosphere, and a sense of great devotion at Mass: NOTE TO ANYONE CONCERNED ABOUT NOISY CHILDREN IN CHURCH - this group, which has enormous numbers of children, including babies and toddlers, seems to have discovered the secret of how to have them quiet at Mass!

The house is owned by the Community, and four families live there, each with its own flat, and all sorts of events and retreats are organised, attended by people from the local area and also from much further afield. The roots of Cor et Lumen Christi are in the Charismatic Renewal. A priest from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal celebrated Mass - a room has been set aside as a chapel, with a most beautiful crucifix and some magnificent icons - and round the walls are pictures of saints, including icons and, in some cases, ( eg Therese of Lisieux, Padro Pio) photographs.

The Surrey countryside was a glory of golden and orange on this pleasant Autumn day, and I enjoyed my journey by train and bike.

It was a success!!

Wonderful singing from the choir of More House School (Ave Verum, and Pie Jesu)...stalls and displays from all sorts of groups ranging from publishers such as Fisher Press ,Gracewing,and CTS and groups like Our Lady's Catechists and the Knights of St Columba ...Capacity audiences for all the talks, held in the Cathedral crypt... TOWARDS ADVENT went really well...

I woke early - as mentioned, I had been staying at an address in St Matthew Street, Westminster, near Parliament and near the Cathedral (note to correspondents - NO, that view of Big Ben ISN'T from my own home...I made it clear that I was staying overnight in Westminster!!!). I didn't have an alarm clock, but read somewhere that the Holy Souls wake you if you need it. So I said a prayer for them and asked to be woken at 6 am, and woke as Big Ben rang out its chimes for just that hour... got everything ready, grabbed a quick breakfast and was at the Cathedral Hall by 8 am.. having dropped in to the Cathedral for a quick visit first. Slight hassle about getting the hall unlocked then we got started... it is always exciting watching the Festival take shape, as groups arrive with big displays and stacks of books, all of us busy in the kitchen or the hall or greeting speakers/choir/helpers...

A happy day. Christopher Martin spoke about some of the notable Catholic churches and cathedrals in Britain, Fr Richard Whinder about Bishop Richard Challoner, Aghi Clovis about her journey to Christianity from Islam....

Browsing the bookstalls, I bordered a copy of JAMES, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, a new book just out from Fisher Press, for Christmas. When Jamie arrived in due course he looked at all the stalls too, bought various things, and when we finally met up - I spent most of the day rushing about on all sorts of errands - he said "Um..there is a new book out about James 11, but I didn't get it as I thought perhaps....." "Yes, I said. I've ordered it for you for Christmas."

After it was all over, J. and I had a quick wash-and-change and off to a birthday-and-fireworks party given by friends near Blackheath. It was a rather grand Black Tie affair, and it felt funny to be there after spending the day hectically rushing around a busy hall organising and coping with minor crises...I wore my lovely new swishy skirt and felt elegant. Urge to kick off my shoes and just flop was resisted. Wonderful fireworks on Blackheath and delicious food...home late and exhausted!

This is what I can see from my window...

...more or less. The November night is unusually warm and mild, and floodlight buildings glow against the dark sky.

All Souls Day...

...at Westminster Cathedral with black vestments and swirls of incense, solemn beautiful Latin chant, and a large congregation, and a sermon reminding us of the great reality of death and judgement and facing God...the Holy Souls chapel was full of twinkling candles all day, and, as every year, there are sheets of paper on which you can write the names of people to be remembered in prayer. I wrote my dear father's name as I have done every November since he died. The atmosphere in the Cathedral was especially solemn and reverent...

I am staying overnight near Westminster Cathedral so as to be ready for the Towards Advent Festival tomorrow morning. The chimes of Big Ben ring out through my open bedroom window. I am in St Matthew Street, just off the street-market in Strutton Ground, in a corner of Westminster which is almost like a village, but with Parliament and the Abbey ahead of us and the Cathedral just behind. This is the offices of the excellent pro-life group, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children: they will have a stall at the Festival tomorrow and material for this, along with all my items including stacks of jars of my home-made jam, wait downstairs for transportation to the Cathedral Hall.

To be in the centre of London in the middle of the night is rather exciting. I went to the Sainsbury's in Victoria Street to buy cheese for sandwiches to sell at the Festival. (The Association of Catholic Women has charge of the refreshments - all home-made by volunteers). Then, having tackled all sorts of last-minute arrangements for tomorrow, I settled here to write this blog, and relax with the Catholic Times (feature interview, by me, with Fr Peter Wilson of the University of London Catholic Chaplaincy - do read it!) and a wonderful book about the Apostles, written by the Holy Father, which I bought while in the USA...

Oh, I do hope all goes well at the Festival tomorrow...

All Saints Day...

...and I cycled to Mother's for tea: she produced lovely cakes and I some American maple-syrup cookies. Gave her some pumpkin-scented soap(!) from Alabama. She is so happy about the arrival of her latest great-grandchild and we talked about this, and I also related my American adventures... Cycled home through one of the most glorious sunsets I have ever seen - did other readers notice it? The glow from the pink and golden clouds ripened the Autumn leaves on the suburban trees to an almost luminous orange....

To the Sacred Heart Church at Wimbledon for evening Mass. Well, two Masses actually as Fr Mitchell had given me permission to hand out Towards Advent handbills so I was anxious to reach as many people as possible. LOTS of people at Mass, as yesterday for the vigil Mass. Now: our Bishops must get this message firmly:

WE VALUE OUR HOLY DAYS!

Here we are on All Saints, with people filling a big Victorian church on a November evening - because it's the feast of All Saints and we are glad to mark it!

It is one of the few Holy Days left to us, following our Bishops silly and tiresome bureacratic reasoning. If it were Ascension Day, or Corpus Christi, we'd be told we should stay at home and only celebrate on the nearest Sunday instead.

After the final Mass, I was invited to the home of the delightful E. family - oldest son Thomas is my godson - where there was mulled wine, and a candlelit room, and good conversation, and a new baby glowing with health, a perfect way to round off All Saints' Day.

Traditional Hallowe'en

Cycled through London yesterday, a crisp Autumn evening, from Waterloo to a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild at St Mary Moorfields, via the CTS Bookshop to get some small gifts for the choir at Saturday's Festival. The choir is from More House School - come and hear them sing! Excellent meeting, with dinner provided by our Chaplain Fr Peter Newby: we have all sorts of good ideas and plans for the Guild in 2008. Our AGM is always on January 24th, in honour of our Patron, St Francis de Sales.

Today I went to our local parish in New Malden as I needed to photocopy some things for the Festival - arrived at 12 noon and the little team at the presbytery were saying the Angelus. Somehow this gave the whole day a nice, villagey feeling. Valuable help with photocopying, and a cheery chat with the lady organising the parish Hallowe'en festivities, which celebrate a "Night of Light" with prayers in church, then a procession of all the children dressed as saints (they've been preparing their costumes over the past weeks) with home-made lanterns. They go through the local streets, and all passers-by get a little leaflet with a pumpkin picture and an explanation of Hallowe'en as the Eve of All Saints' Day. Then back to the parish hall for games (apple-bobbing and buns-on-a-string, all the traditional things) and party food.

Now that's the way to re-Christianise Hallowe'en.

So this is where I'll be on Saturday...

...Westminster Cathedral Hall. But it won't look much like that, because the Towards Advent Festival is always packed with people, and we have displays and stalls from a huge range of Catholic groups and organisations, and a programme of events ranging from a choir giving us a feast of sacred music to specially-arranged tours of the Cathedral treasures...

The Catholic Herald...

...newspaper has a splendid full-page advertisment for TOWARDS ADVENT which is most satisfying and spurred me on as I hurried about today making various arrangements. To the Catholic Truth Society to collect some leaflets - in the early years of Towards Advent, the admin of the venture was run from their office in Harleyford Road, with Adrian Thacker, and going there today brought back memories of busy meetings, planning, printing, lots of hard work...

Inconveniently, my bike choise today to get a puncture, so I had to walk across the river from Vauxhall to Westminster, but I didn't really mind as it was a most heavenly Autumn day with cascades of golden leaves wherever trees stood together, and the Thames looking grey and swirling and Westminster Cathedral having that gently glow from lamplight as dusk approaches...

A note from a friend tells me about a glorious CONCERT on Saturday evening - conveniently a couple of hours after TOWARDS ADVENT ends - at Brompton Oratory. Fabulous music, with wine and nibbles beforehand, starts 7pm, and funds raised will go towards LIFE (pro-life group,helps mothers and babies) and the Oratory Church. Get more info from 020 8 788 3115 or click here.

In the rain...

...to the Sacred Heart Church in Wimbledon, where they have a useful 8pm Mass on Sundays, a boon for anyone who has been travelling or had a complicated day. Exhiliaration, cycling through sheets of soaking rain and then entering into the warm, gently candlelit church. I usually hand out leaflets in this parish each Autumn to advertise the Towards Advent Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall, but the trip to America prevented that this year, so I will do it on All Saints Day, when they have two evening Masses. Cheery conversation with fellow-cyclist by the church's bike-rack, as we prepared for a soaking ride home. A cosy feel as I came into our kitchen and now I'm going to have a mug of tea with my dear J.

Kindness...

...followed me all the way to the airport as I left EWTN. I was rather sorry to be leaving, although home called me with 1,000 responsibilities and a busy week ahead...

While you are away from home, you are in a sort of bubble, living in time-out-of-time. Everything, from doing the hoovering to answering letters, is on hold - and, these days, emails ensure that the most urgent messages get tackled and news from home is guaranteed, so the bubble is a cosy one with anxieties removed but everything still at a distance.

Normally, I'd add "cooking" to the list of things left aside while away from home, but this time it wasn't the case, as my TV series involves lots of cookery demonstrations. I was producing masses of stuff every day, cakes and pies and biscuits and even some roasted lamb. Much of it had to be done twice - once to produce on the show as "here's one I've done already', and another created in stages in front of the cameras. Some items were actually produced three times. At EWTN, there is a shelf in the staff kitchen where food, books, clothing, or anything else that can usefully be passed on, is left: I found that trays of edibles left there disappeared with gratifying speed. Incidentally, this don't-waste-anything-and-let's-help-each-other atmosphere is one of EWTN's most pleasant aspects: a mix of everyday kindness and good cheer with a faint dash of ecological thrift and a large dollop of sheer generosity.

Home to a rainy London - which is the way I like it, so I wasn't complaining - a mountain of letters, and the rather endearing discovery that Jamie had been able to follow some of my domestic instructions, so laundry was drying and the fridge had food in it.

Home soon....

...and I'm writing this hurriedly at EWTN while waiting for the car that will take me to the airport. It's all been fun - yesterday recorded a couple more programmes and then had time for some souvenir-shopping (bought some gloriously American things - pumpkin soap for Mother, and some sort of Blueberry Syrup for Jamie to have on his morning porridge).

Also had time to watch some American TV...golly there are some odd things out there. EWTN is a relief after seeing some of the dippy things on some other TV channels, especially the religious ones! One showed a big religious rally with lots of people waving American flags, and at first I thought it was all rather nice - jolly wholesome and so on - but then it all went political and there was a great deal of ranting and a chap told everyone they should 'expect great blessings' for having attended the rally and started to list lots of things the President should do on foreign policy because it was all in the Bible. It was quite enjoyable to watch in an odd sort of way, an Evelyn Waugh novel come to life.

But it's impossible to visit America and not be hugely touched by the other side of all this - the huge kindness, the generosity, the largeness of people's hearts. Americans give generously to charity - huge projects of all kinds simply funded out of people's gifts, large and small. They are neighbourly - and regard all sorts of people as neighbours, not just convenient ones. They cope with things. There is a cheeriness here which is - at present anyway - missing in Britain.

Mother Angelica...

...is of course the famous foundress of EWTN and the work has grown and flourished since she began it in a garage some 25 years ago. I have to say that working here is energising, friendly and at times hilarious.

Catholic TV, fish pie, and fun....

...at EWTN, the international Catholic TV station based in Alabama. I am having a busy and very happy time, making a series of programmes which, among other things, involves me doing a lot of cookery...they were amused by the Britishness of my recipe for fish pie (fish with shrimp and cheese sauce, topped by mashed potato, since you ask). Terrifically interesting conversations, as there are people coming and going with many insights on different aspects of the Church and the world...did a chat-show with Fr Mitch Pacwa and will be doing an intervew re my new book etc etc...gosh I do enjoy America and the breakfasts with scrambled egg and good coffee after a very early morning Mass with glorious singing...the TV series on which I have been working will be broadcast in the Spring. Producer is Deb Piroch, who is talented and fun and is also very kind and helpful in every way. It really is a delight to be working here...

Joy!

Joyous news!...a phone call brings the delightful message that niece-in-law F. has given birth to a baby girl! Welcome to baby Francesca! A joyful buzz of phone calls and family rejoicing...I have permission from the young parents to put this news on my blog. Is there any greater joy anywhere than that which comes with the arrival of a darling new baby into a family?

Golden bright...

...Autumn day with a crisp fresh feel to it. Off to give a talk at a Catholic secondary school, about the work of Aid to the Church in Need, supporting persecuted Christians.

Interesting to observe trends in Religious Education. Have you heard the daft packet-of-sandwiches theory about the Feeding of the Five Thousand? It's the modernist take on this great miracle, deliberately invented to try to steer young people away from understanding the full Eucharistic significance...I heard it again today and it's clearly one of the bits of rubbish given to gullible RE trainees: the idea is that it wasn't really a miracle when Christ took the loaves and fishes and raised his eyes to Heaven...nooooo, what really happened was that when the small boy produced this simple food all the other 5,000 people who had apparently been hiding their packets of sandwiches greedily for themselves now produced them to share...

Quite apart from the racist idea of assuming selfish inability to share picnics was somehow the norm among 1st-century Palestinians...this daft theory doesn't even fit the facts. Why would it be considered remarkable if people simply enjoyed food they already had? What sense can be made of the link made in the Scriptural account with the manna in the desert - and Christ's extraordinary words about feeding people with his own flesh?

No wonder young people seem bored with their religion, finding it apparently hard to grasp its reality, or surrender to its joy, when they have it thus gutted of real meaning.

However...the school was welcoming, efficient, friendly, generous. Pupils mixed: some (a few) open, interested, capable of response to my talk about faith and ACN, and tales of derring-do in assisting Christians in various parts of the world... others with rigid body-language saying don't-come-near-me-with-all-this, shrugging, pushing away the holy cards, downcast faces hidden behind sheets of hair. It's something I always notice: among the young today some, especially the girls, have a wounded and alienated look...the pressures in today's vicious culture are so huge, and already in late teens there is a sense of violation somehow, of lost life. This makes it tough for teachers.

Interesting point made in discussion: those who believe face derision from their peers. "Persecution" isn't something far away from these young people, it can already be a reality, if you admit to being a believing Christian...yes, even in an RC school.

TV, Tradition, and Hard Work...

...more or less sums up my relationship with EWTN, the Catholic television network. Spent all of Wednesday in Balham, where Fr Stephen Langridge at Holy Ghost Church allowed a TV crew to invade the parish while we filmed a series of six interviews for CATHOLIC LIVES...these included Nicole Parker of the London Fertility Care Centre, Josephine Robinson of the Association of Catholic Women, Fr Alexander Sherbrook of St Patrick's Soho Square, Kristina Cooper of GOOD NEWS magazine, and more...on Saturday I fly to Birmingham, Alabama to make a whole new series about Traditions Marking the Feasts and Seasons of the Year (I don't quite know why I've put that in capitals but it somehow conveys the flavour of the thing...)

Wednesday's work was fun but, golly, it was exhausting, and at the day's end, when the little crew, after sorting things out and packing up and dealing with everything, met in the quiet church for Mass - said by a visiting priest from the Brothers of St John, who had come from Holland to watch our work as he works with a similar TV project in Amsterdam) - it was so good just to be there with the rhythm of the words and the bright glow of candles. I have only ever been in that church when it is teeming with families and chanted music on a Sunday morning, and having just a small group gathered (in exhaustion!) before the altar on a weekday evening with the darkening windows and the glitter of a lifted Chalice was a suddenly powerful experience.

Up early this morning to get to a committee meeting of Aid to the Church in Need. Afterwards, to a bookshop to treat myself to a new, looooong, interesting book for the flight to the USA on Sat. I do have some work to do on the flight, but there will be several hours in the air and I feel I can give myself up to the pleasure of deliciously uninterrupted reading. (I am actually planning to take some sewing to do as well - cross-stitch sampler which needs finishing and is rather fun to do - but have been warned that needles are sometimes confiscated as being potential terrorist weapons...anyone know anything about this?).

Auntie in a rush, in the rain...

...to Oxford, to address the Newman Society, because a planned speaker had to drop out at the last minute due to a family illness. I caught the Oxford Tube from Victoria (note to US readers: it's a bus, that's just its name) and through a most magnificent rainstorm it battled its way to Oxford. The city looked glorious in the rain, glittering pavements and golden leaves and glowing windows. I knew I'd be given sherry and dinner so relished a rain-soaked walk to the meadow by the river, through the war memorial garden which is just opposite the Old Palace. Then dinner (candlelit, with delicious food) and the talk - which was about the work of Aid to the Church in Need. Members of the Newman Society are formal and wear a special tie. It made me feel quite bohemian in my denim skirt. Everyone v. kind...and then the return bus - I couldn't stay the night, as I was due to make an early start in London the next morning for a day of TV work.

Home extremely late, and with rain still clattering down as I hurried in the the kitchen door and shook off my wet things.

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

A very happy 21st birthday celebration and book launch at St Etheldreda's Ely Place. A birthday, because it is 21 years since my "Book of Feasts and Seasons" was first published by GRACEWING, and a book launch, because my brand-new "Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations" made its public appearance....the crypt at this magnificent gem of a Medieval church was twinkling with hundreds of candles, wine and snacks were served, and small niece E. helped me to cut a celebration cake. Tom Longford of Gracewing made a hearty speech and said all sorts of kind things. Lots and lots of friends came, and it was a lovely, lovely evening. Many thanks to Fr Kit Cunningham for welcoming us to this party - 21 years ago there was a launch at St E's for that first book, and over the intervening years I have been in the crypt for many wonderful evenings with the Catholic Writers' Guild (a plaque in this crypt now marks the association with the Guild).

This was an evening to hold in the memory, full of happiness and friends and talk and laughter.

Preston...

...is a place of happy associations for me, with family links. Bit depressing, therefore, on my Sunday evening visit to find the usual dreary British-city feel, gloomy louts in the main streets chucking beer cans and yelling obscenities, pounding beat from packed but uncheery booze-places (somehow the jollier word "pub" doesn't apply), groups sitting on the pavement drunk, sense of loneliness everywhere. Seeking St Walburga's, I asked the way from various people, included a busy Catholic church where a huge crowd of Indian families had evidently been enjoying a gathering in the parish hall, now dispersing. A lot of children running noisily around the church and shouting as people gathered, talkatively, for Mass...I felt a bit out of place, but everyone v. nice, the kind priest directed me to St W's, and then when I got a bit uncertain at a road junction a bit further ahead, some youths drinking on the steps of an Elim Pentecostal church got me right again, although inadvertently hitting a sad note as they did so: "Yeah..that's the one they're gonna close...right? Yeah, OK, it's just down there...

At the big old prestbytery at St W's, the Franciscans - in traditional brown robes with knotted ropes round their waists, bare feet and sandals - run a chaplaincy for students at the University of Central Lancashire. Numbers small for this Sunday evening gathering, but a warm welcome, delicious spaghetti, international group with lovely friendly atmosphere, much enthusiasm for my talk on Pope Benedict...it would be glorious if, through prayer and dedication, this chaplaincy could grow and breathe new life into St W's, currently threatened with closure...

To Westminster...

...Cathedral, where I ran into a friend, Patti, in the excellent CTS bookshop in the piazza. We went for a quick and enjoyable chat-and-cup-of-coffee. P. is a colleague in the Association of Catholic Women, and we have shared in many useful projects and campaigns - she'll be helping, as always, with the mammoth task of serving food and rink to the 1,000-odd people who throng the Nov 3rd Towards Advent Festival. We last chatted when working on the ACW Schools Religious Education Project...

On to the Rosary Rally, which starts at Westminster Cathedral and goes through the streets, with banners and statue, to Brompton Oratory. Mother and I always meet it at the Oratory, having had an agreeable trip there by bus via a visit to a teashop, making it a pleasant day out. Oratory packed, of course, lots of good hymns, and a sermon that started with a vivid description of the Battle of Lepanto and the role of the Rosary in its outcome, establishing the feast of O.L. of the Rosary which is marked each year on Oct 7th. It was all very challenging, aimed at making us think about what is happening today and to our civilisation...

Afterwards, having seen M. safely on to the train home, I went to Westmin. Cathedral for Mass. Glorious singing from the choir of Farnborough Hill school, and a group of young people coming forward to start their preparation for Confirmation. Sometimes the future of Christianity in Europe seems small...but it's there...

Kingston....

-on-Thames was the County Town of Surrey when I was a child and I went there to take an important pre-scholarship exam when I was ten: can still remember the sense of trepidation as we got on the bus, and the weird feeling of being in a big school with lots of strange children. Then many years later I worked here as a reporter on the Surrey Comet newspaper - old-fashioned offices right next to the parish church.

Cycled there for tea on Friday with a priest from a new movement based at Hampton Wick - of which more in a moment - but found the centre of the town a rather depressing experience. Crowded shops, lots of people, thronging and spending...but louts hanging around the church shouting obscenities, chucking beer cans, while other people (?? I think actually students from what is now Kingston University) also hung about, also swearing and looking glum and cross...this gave a nasty and slightly scary feel to things. I had wanted to pause to enjoy things a bit. The Regimental Colours from my father's regiment hang in the parish church - I remember going there for the ceremony when I was about eleven. Autumn sunshine and the river sparkling. But police on the alert, their radios crackling into life "Yes...could you just send along another couple of peole...no, not sure...that would be of help...thanks..." so my sense of menace was shared by others.

Later, over tea, I was told that this is normal :"And it's much worse at the weekends, when there are groups hanging about with their black teeshirts with that satan symbol on, and litter everywhere..." Oh dear.

The group I went to meet is based across the river, at Hampton Wick, and is called the Heralds of the Gospel. Evidently a new Catholic movement, fostering very traditional Marian devotions.

The Red Mass...

...is the annual Mass celebrated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster for the start of the new legal year. It's attended by judges, barristers, and solictors - and here is Jamie (on the right) in his wig and gown, at the Reception in Archbishop's House after the Mass.

It's all very splendid and traditional - judges in red robes, full-bottomed wigs etc - and the Cardinal preached very well, about St Thomas More, citing him as an inspiration for lawyers today faced with laws that do not dovetail with the ethical principles of the Gospels, and urging that his courage and prudence were good examples to follow. You can read the whole of the Cardinal's sermon here, and it's recommended.

Needless to say, some ghastly Government bureaucrats have announced that Britain's traditional legal attire - wigs and gowns and so on - is to be abolished or restricted soon. (The legal profession was asked for its opinion and when this was opposed to the change - for important reasons including preserving the message of impartiality and anonymity of judges - this was of course ignored). So the Red Mass will be one of the few occasions when it can all be seen - and with it some idea of the solemnity of the idea of law based on wisdom and justice.

Graham Greene...

...was the subject of a fascinating talk at the Catholic Writers' Guild last night. Speaker was Father Ian Ker, whose books include The Catholic Revival in English Literature. As always, it was a great evening - lively conversations over supper, good questions and discussion following the talk. Debate about Greene's beliefs - the great drama of his best novels focuses on the question of Hell for those who die in mortal sin, the Church's ministry of dispensing absolution, the hugeness of God's mercy which is beyond what we really deserve...Guild members present included writers, columnists, a young sub-editor who has dealt with some of my features for the Catholic press, a young visitor from Germany working on texts at the British library...all made for very lively and interesting discussions. Novelist Piers Paul Read who knew Greene well gave the vote of thanks.

On the way to St Mary Moorfields I stopped to enjoy a great pealing of bells at St Paul's Cathedral...various important-looking people were standing around on the steps and I ran up to ask one what was happening "It's the annual seafarers' service". Golly, I didn't know we even thought about seafarers these days...and how nice that the old name is still used on such occasions.

But few people stopped to watch the Lord Mayor arrive with mace and dignitaries and all the trimmings, and as I cycled away I felt vaguely sad - we still have the trimmings, and things are done in style, but the heart has gone out of traditional London events somehow.

London's annual Rosary rally...

...takes place this Saturday, and has been advertised in parish newsletters across London, the suburbs, and the further afield, so there should be a good crowd. The procession starts at 1.45 pm from Westminster Cathedral, and ends at Brompton Oratory with hymns and Benediction.

It is remarkable that, while 150 years ago there might have been some controversy about Catholics marching a statue of Mary shoulder-high through Westminster and Kensington, today no one turns a hair. In fact, people rather like it - if they notice the procession at all (and many people are so used to various groups in today's London that they barely remark on yet another one) it is generally with mild interest and pleasure. Whereas, if we walked through the streets with banners affirming that two men can't marry one another, or that babies shouldn't be deliberately killed by abortion, we would provoke massive - possibly violent - opposition...yet 150 or even 50 years ago, such opinions were mainstream. A complete reversal of things. What a weird world this is at times...

Auntie goes to Soho...

...to give a talk to the excellent young people at the St Patrick's School of Mission. A great team, with students from China, Germany, and the USA as well as Britain. We prayed the Rosary together, as they do every day, in the little downstairs chapel before going into the big church for Mass. A little-known fact is that St Patrick's is home to a big Chinese Catholic community - the room where we lunched had lots of cheery Catholic posters and notices in Chinese and is host to the social gatherings after Chinese Masses.

Next week is a party to launch my new Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations. I shall wear the beautiful new skirt sent to me by my sister in New Zealand, which I also wore for the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon (see blog entry for a few days ago)....I know it's a bit daft to write about clothes on a blog, but this skirt really is a joy, all swishy and delightful, fits like a dream, and gives huge pleasure, and was commented on very favourably by other guests. As I not infrequently have a just-arrived-by-bike-sorry-I-look-a-mess appearance, it was gratifying to have a different feel...

In November I'm off to Bath where I'm speaking to Catholic groups at Bath and Bath Spa universities. I'll also be speaking at Prior Park School, as part of the Tamezin project on journalism.

An excellent report from Rome, at the ordination to the diaconate of a number of young men, including the son of friends of ours...it was evidently a glorious occasion. The North American College, where all the young deacons have been studying, now has more students than at any time in the last 40 years...

News today about the Holy Father having a warm and friendly meeting with Jewish leaders. A while back, I was sent some horrid anti-Jewish material, denouncing the Pope, from a group claiming to be Catholic. I am proud of our courageous Holy Father who quietly and prayerfully does the right thing and shows us how we should behave.

Brompton Oratory...

...is magnificent in its solidity, standing appropriately next to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I spent all of Sunday morning there - and indeed part of Saturday evening too. I was handing out leaflets for the Towards Advent Festival (Sat Nov 3rd, Westminster Cathedral Hall...oh I know you are tired of having me mention it all the time...but be there!!). The Saturday evening Mass has the Schola of the London Oratory school - wonderful singing. The 10 am Mass has an excellent children's choir - both girls and boys - and then of course there is the famous professional choir at the big 11 am High Mass, all very glorious. Always lots of small children - there is a strong family feel to the 10 am Mass, and at the eleven o'clock small wriggling running-about children are awed into something like silence by the fabulous music and - if they are pointed towards the altar and given a chance to see things - by the candles and incense and so on.

I do wish parents would take advantage of some of the really lovely prayer-books and other religious items for children that are now available. It seems mean to bring them into church empty-handed, as Mass can sometimes seem long. The publishers at Second Spring have done a superb job with their beautiful Mass book by Susan Bateman - incidentally their website has lots of other very good things too.

Jamie has been in Rome, at the diaconate ordination of James M, son of some friends. He brought home the beautiful order of service, which has most interesting information about St Peter's and especially at high altar and the Chair. Mass has been celebrated there, and St Peter's successors have been there, all in an unbroken link, down all the years from the Church's first dawning years.

This afternoon an Autumnal walk with F., a friend visiting from Ukraine - we followed the trail of our local small river, the Beverley Brook, which sparkles along behind houses and in sudden culverts, and still forms the official boundary between the two local Boroughs, as it has done since Medieval times. We diverted to drop into the local Catholic church as I wanted to pick up a copy of the Catholic Times (my feature this week was about St Denis - why not just buy the paper and read my column each week, if you enjoy this Blog?). F. was impressed by the large numbers of young people as the place was very full.

Pottering in the kitchen...

...this morning, I heard the sound of a strumming guitar and young voices singing next door. It was not, to be frank, very good guitar-strumming. One found oneself vaguely allowing it to float into the brain...and I suddenly realised I was hearing the words "Christ is risen..Christ will come again..." and that the girl next door and some friends were practising something for Mass.

I'm not a fan of guitar-music in church - it doesn't work well, kills off the possibility of good congregational singing, usually has tunes that are trite and often words that are pretty soppy too (though these have marginally improved since the '70s). I would perhaps have been happier if I had heard young voices raised in a simple but beautiful Kyrie, a glorious rendition of the Credo, or just a fine old hymn with a good tune...but for all that...somehow...there is something mildly heart-lifting about teenagers singing about God in a suburban garden on a September morning.

Lunching...

... with some 250 other women...golly, the NOISE!! But the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon is always fun, and this year I sat between Aghi Clovis, who is one of the four Catholic Women of the Year, and Sara Johnson, author and journalist, who was our guest speaker. Sara spoke extremely well, amusingly and frankly, putting the human and biological reality of marriage and children across in a superb analysis of why human beings need families. It was funny, forthright, and honest - and she murmured to me beforehand that some of it might be just a little too frank, and should she give a warning about this as there were some children present? We discussed, and I hurried off to warn the young mother of the children in question - who said breezily oh, not to worry, they very likely wouldn't be listening anyway, it would all go over their heads...and she was quite right. The boys, very cheery and looking v. nice in their best jackets and crisp shirts, were enjoying themselves and like most sensible children didn't bother about all the grown-up speeches at all.

The four Catholic Women of the Year included pub landlady Bridie Morrissey, Jo Norton a worker for seafarers with the Apostleship of the Sea, Ann Widdecombe MP - unfortunately unable to attend - and Aghi Clovis, already mentioned, of Human Life International. Chairman Jan Woodford presided, and there were speakers from the two charities we were supportinmg this year, Rainbow International - which helps children suffering bereavement or family break-up - and the Medaille Trust, which runs homes for victims of sex-trafficking.

There is always an atmosphere of goodwill, with people able to celebrate values that matter in a friendly and cheerful way... The Catholic Women of the Year are chosen from a vast number nominated, all with inspiring stories, and you realise just what a lot of goodwill there is around. They invariably dislike having their achievements paraded, but I can't resist mentioning Mrs Morrissey, with whom I had a lovely chat...her nomination had described so many quietly good things..helping out people in difficulties, taking in children needing care, running a prayer-group, and having an open-house at Christmas for anyone who might otherwise be alone...and Mrs Norton, whose work involves meeting ships and helping with the things matter to seafarers miles from home: phone calls, getting to a bank, buying neccesities for the next journey - and also arranging for them to get to Mass, to have rosaries, prayer-books, contact with the Faith, the knowledge that the Church is there for them even when miles out at sea...

Aghi Clovis is a great friend so it was a joy to be next to her at lunch. You simply must come and hear her speak, about her journey from Islam to the Church, at the Towards Advent Festival - Saturday November 3rd, Westminster Cathedral Hall.

Latest edition of VOICES, magazine of Women for Faith and Family, in the USA, arrives. If you enjoy this blog, you might enjoy some of the features I've written for the magazine, so try this link.

Traditional Catholic teaching...

... on marriage can be conveyed in new ways and has the power to inspire, especially if it's all seen in the fresh light of Pope John Paul's "Theology of the body". It is a privilege to be part of a team leading talks and discussions on this with young couples preparing for marriage in London. I was doing this on Tuesday with couples gathered at St Mary's Cadogan Street, Chelsea. Rain was lashing down, and it was rather exciting cycling there from Waterloo, across the river and round Parliament Square, up past Westminster Cathedral and on past the Royal Hospital (which is having a major rebuilding programme - giving our old soldiers good quality care, which they certainly deserve and have earned).

Earlier, I had had a gloriously long talkative lunch with a longstanding friend, C. - we first met years ago when I was editing the Roman Chronicle magazine, to which she contributed regular features. Over pizza and a series of cups of coffee, - and, in my case, a delicious piece of chocolate cake - we talked over a great many things ... gosh, what a gift friendship is! She also gave me a couple of religious medals - one shows Pope Benedict (of whom we are both huge fans) and the shrine of Our Lady at Altotting. Later, at Chelsea, the parish priest kindly blessed the medals for me and I am now wearing the Altotting one.

Balham...

...Catholic church, dedicated to the Holy Ghost, is in a corner of an agreeable square and has a cosy feel on an Autumn evening. Busy parish, and a very young one, lots of families with small children. FORUM CHRISTI is a Sunday evening gathering for the late-teens-and-twenties. Good atmosphere, warm welcome, tolerance of my less than slick use of power-point in talk on Papa Benedict, shared enthusiasm for the subject, real engagement and interest, and several people bought my books!

John Pontifex was there, having just run a half-marathon around Tooting Common raising funds for Aid to the Church in Need (see yesterday's Blog - helping beleagured Christians in the Holy Land). He had gone home, showered, changed, and was at the meeting full of energy!

I had begun the day in my own parish, where there was a Fayre in aid of the young people going to World Youth Day. I bought some nice things for Christmas ( hidden now in cupboard. Makes one feel v. smug to be so well prepared this early) and chatted to two students from Wonersh seminary who were there for the day - most encouraging. There was also a most gratifying moment when a lovely reader of this blog told me she'd bought some of my crab apple jelly!

From there I cycled to Carshalton, where Mother and I had our usual agreeable Sunday afternoon walk and Tea - seagulls around Carshalton Ponds as they have flown in from the coast as Autumn gathers, children shrieking and squeaking on the swings and slides in the park by The Grove. After seeing M. on to the bus, I cycled off, following the Wandle river down to Mitcham. I have lived this this corner of the world from childhood but never followed the Wandle along this stretch - there's a whole area that is really semi-rural tucked in between Mitcham and Colliers Wood, lots of it, with suburban houses facing away from an enchanting river-path, and clear water gurgling along with trees and grassy areas...then you emerge into South London proper, and are back on that great road that was old in Saxon times, and today is all Asian shops, and a great Islamic centre, and lively cafes and street-stalls, and shops selling great sticky sweets after Ramadan.

After my talk at Balham I cycled all the way home, so I must have covered a good many miles in all. I passed what was my old office when I worked on the South London News - it's now an ordinary shop. It was shabby and tired when I worked there in the 80s, and there was a horrible scary basement reached by a trap-door, where the old back copies were stacked. No one ever went there except to haul up an old bound volume for research when writing the "fifty years ago" snippet each week. Huge spiders, and a dusty placard on the wall which, through its layers of grime, still read "Please leave this air-raid shelter as you would like to find it".