Last night closed the obsequies for Holly, my sister. Cousin Alison had arranged a Meeting House of the Wilton (CT) Friends as a gathering place convenient to a great many of Holly’s dear (lower case) friends, and provided a Zoom link for remote mourner to join the event. Uncle R … | Continue reading
Two miles in pleasant weather (at a decent pace), Morning Prayer, hot breakfast, Pentecost Mass at St Nicolas’s, home to unwind for the early afternoon. Sermon below. In a couple of hours, we’ll connect with family and friends in Connecticut for a memorial to my sister Holly. The … | Continue reading
Not just a song by the Eagles (‘f***ing Eagles, man’), not just something I remember my dad saying, but my approach to my two miles this morning. I woke up feeling washed out, my muscles and joints loose but not really limber, not feeling any energy surge at the beginning of the … | Continue reading
Two miles each of the last two mornings. I made a hot breakfast yesterday, so it was fruit this morning. Coffee, of course, shower and in to church. Yesterday I arrived for Morning Prayer; this morning I arrived very early to set up the Lady Chapel for a small Low Mass of a Requi … | Continue reading
Yesterday and today, two miles each. Fruit breakfast, shower, Morning Prayer (at church yesterday, at home today), finished paperwork, caught up (somewhat) on email, and so on and so forth. Monday was a long trip to Church House in Kidlington; this morning will be a Zoom conferen … | Continue reading
Isn’t it odd that characters in television crime dramas never seem to have seen any television crime dramas? The spouse always takes offence when the police interview them, as if they didn’t know that the investigators ought to interview everyone connected with the crime. The fam … | Continue reading
I really did not want to run this morning, but I ran anyway. Coffee and fruit breakfast, Morning Prayer, then a trip to Kidlington for a lunch at Church House, then home to clean up marking. Not a thrill-packed day, but it accomplished what was required. | Continue reading
Walked and ran my two miles (usual route) this morning, fruit breakfast, got cleaned up and dressed, went to St Nic’s and prepared for the service, preached and celebrated, drifted home, and have been sitting mostly comatose since then. We were planning to go to Edith Wren’s birt … | Continue reading
My morning run started slow, but I got into a good rhythm on Park Road and thought I would stretch out my run a little bit, maybe draw it close to two and a half miles, so I crossed Stratton Way and ran east to Stert, ran down to St Nic’s, turned down East St… | Continue reading
My back and legs are still stiff from my over-eager book shelving extravaganza on Tuesday; yesterday I struggled on my morning run, so today — instead of running this morning — I walked most of my two miles. I walked, so as not to let my muscles entirely off the hook, but walking … | Continue reading
Stiff all over after shifting books around yesterday (not just loading the three bookshelves, but also moving book boxes out from Margaret’s library and my closet out to get them in position to shelve), so my morning run was slow; I felt as though all my motion was restricted, ev … | Continue reading
This morning, we took delivery of three more bookcases. They went directly to one of the only rooms that doesn’t have a bookshelf in it: we call it ‘O’Hare’, because when we moved in, that room served as the storage point for the luggage we used to help move our clothes, linens, … | Continue reading
Two miles yesterday, two miles today. The weather has been MISTy in the mornings, but not too cold, and my legs are slowly accommodating themselves to not taking four days off (cos of rain) out of seven. Two sermons this week (Ascension Day and Sunday), and various other obligati … | Continue reading
My legs were reluctant, my nose was streaming (presumably some pollen issue), but I recorded my two miles this morning. Coffee and fruit breakfast, Morning Prayer, will clean up, go to Mass (not on duty this Sunday), then finishnup marking. I did finish Perdido Street Station yes … | Continue reading
For a long time, the principal driver of traffic to this otherwise utterly obscure site has been [the wonderful] Jenee Woodard’s The Text This Week resource. As I settle back into parish ministry, it makes sense for me to resume my once-upon-a-time practice of posting my sermons … | Continue reading
No run on this rainy morning; coffee and fruit, put the bins out, laundry, Morning Prayer, pastoral care business, then home to catch up on marking, maybe a little Perdido Street Station as a reward if I make progress. This morning Señora Flora Dora Dinosaura (the Big Burrito) go … | Continue reading
My April iTunes listening according to last.fm: 1 Billie Holiday 7 scrobbles 2 Bruce Springsteen 7 3 Sleater-Kinney 7 4 The Beatles 7 5 The Style Council 7 6 They Might Be Giants 7 7 Elvis Costello 6 8 Florence + the Machine 6 9 PJ Harvey 6 10 R.E.M. 6 As always, the I’ve… | Continue reading
Yesterday I ran two good miles, came home for a shower and hot breakfast, then Morning Prayer, then I did some marking, Chapter Meeting, and home for more marking and reading, and even took a nap. No running this morning, among the rain- and thunderstorms. I’ll have a fruit break … | Continue reading
Two lugubrious miles 9my legs did not want to stretch and extend), fruit breakfast, clean up, Morning Prayer, appointment with a churchwarden, lunch consultation with other NT teaching staff, phone appointment, and by mid-late afternoon I’ll be done. | Continue reading
I reflect my age by (among other things) getting drowsy in the early afternoon and early evening. Methamphetamine would be helpful in counteracting that, and is calorie-free, but chocolate is also effective and delicious, and is legal. | Continue reading
Two miles this (cold but dry) morning at a rusty pace; fruit breakfast; clean up and go to Morning Prayer, then meet Margaret at a cafe after she sees the dogs off for their quarterly grooming (photos to follow). Communion for the residents of the Old Station House this afternoon … | Continue reading
We couldn’t be more chuffed that in her first year of full-time teaching at a permanent position, Pippa has been given an award by her peers in the Maine Art Education Association: ‘Philippa has not only showcased exceptional talent and creativity in the arts but has also made a … | Continue reading
Cold and rainy start to the mornings, yesterday and today; yesterday I was hammering away at a sermon, today I’ll be saying the Mass and preaching it at St Nic’s. Really, that’s most of the story. | Continue reading
Two (slowisn) miles, fruit breakfast, Morning Prayer, (cancelled) meeting with a warden, monumental grocery shopping, some house cleaning, in to Oxford for Prof. Esau McCaulley’s very strong paper ‘Finding Onesimus’, home to Abingdon, and a delightful visit with my former student … | Continue reading
Last week Ted Gioia posted another portion of his book Music to Raise the Dead about ‘the power of song as a change agent in human life’. He makes a fascinating point, and although I would steer clear of ascribing agency to non-animate forces,* I support vigorously the argument t … | Continue reading
The last two days I’ve run the morning two miles. Both days I’ve felt all right. Coffee, then Morning Prayer, fruit yesterday, hot breakfast today, various odds and ends of responsibility. I’ve been working on a blog post riffing on some observations by Ted Gioia, but haven’t rea … | Continue reading
So, I dinnae run yesterday or today (might have done today, but I had to catch an early bus and I couldn’t be sure I would run, shower, dress, and catch the bus in time), but I’m planning to run tomorrow. Yesterday was church day, and (as I had not leadership responsibilities) we … | Continue reading
Well, not full-on ‘sick’, lest Rishi Sunak denounce me as a participant in ‘sick note culture’, but definitely down with a cold, and too unwell to run in the mornings. Thursday night I did go to the annual parish meeting, where my team rector announced his paln to retire by the e … | Continue reading
Yes, as it turns out, I do have a cold. So, no running, very little activity at all, unless you count snuffling and coughing as ‘activity’. I showered, made myself a hot breakfast, read Malter Moberly’s The Bible in a Disenchanted Age, napped, stared blankly at social media, doze … | Continue reading
So, Monday and Tuesday I got up and ran my miles, on Monday especially satisfactorily. I rode the people’s limousine into Oxford and helped my charges at Oriel with their revision for collections at the end of the week (and ultimately for their final exams in a few weeks); I ran … | Continue reading
I ran my miles this morning, coffee and fruit breakfast, Morning Prayer, shower and dress for the service at St Nicolas’s, went to Waitrose for particular groceries (gluten-free and veg, since the small Cooperative location doesn’t devote much of its space to our dietary oddities … | Continue reading
Last night, Margaret — whom all will agree is a fine cook — was preparing a spicy roast vegetable dish, when it became clear that she needed to deploy two separate roasting pans. That, in turn, mean preparing two separate batches of spices… (You may see the plot twist on the hori … | Continue reading
Ran my morning two in lovely weather (I am going to be so relieved when spring/summer settles in), fruit breakfast, washed up, Morning Prayer, ran some errands in town, returned and settled in to close out my backlogged marking. In the meantime, Margaret had taken Flora and Minke … | Continue reading
Yesterday was a very full-on working day, with my usual run first thing, coffee, hot breakfast, shower, Morning Prayer, coffee, Chapter Meeting, Pastoral Care Committee meeting, home for writing a blurb for the weekly pew sheet, implementation (including a mind-creasing interacti … | Continue reading
Two miles in chilly, windy drizzle, coffee and fruit, shower and dress, Morning Prayer, second coffee, reading and transcribing Mieneke Cox’s guide to St Helen’s. Marking this afternoon (making headway). | Continue reading
Two miles at a non-demanding pace, fruit and coffee, cleaned up, Morning Prayer with particular intercession for Holly, then in to town for coffee and a pastry with Margaret and Fr Paul. Grocery shopping, a tutorial (cancelled, as it turns out), and marking in the afternoon. It’s … | Continue reading
Two miles at what would no doubt have been a decent pace if it weren’t for the blustery wind — at one point it felt as though there were a hand on my chest holding me back. Coffee, Morning Prayer, fruit breakfast, then Margaret came home after weeks in the US (first and last to… | Continue reading
A pleasant two miles this morning as Storm Kathleen brings 14° temps and clear skies (before wild winds and, no doubt, downpours, since every change of weather somehow has brought rain this winter). Next, Morning Prayer, then hot breakfast, then I’m determined to finish marking a … | Continue reading
I only took the short route this morning, and waled most of that, because as I turned onto the first main road on my morning run, I felt a little flutter in my lower back, as though my back muscles were warning me ‘Just give us an excuse, mate, and we’re going to coil up… | Continue reading
Two miles this morning, fruit and coffee, Morning Prayer, sermon prep, and developing prayers for an Easter service of Lessons and Carols… and I still haven’t gotten to the backlog of work that’s threatening to topple over and flatten me. | Continue reading
Two miles in the morning, coffee and Morning Prayer, hot breakfast, midweek Mass at St Helen’s, lots of time answering emails and editing an obituary… End-of-Life Hack: write your own obituary. Your survivors can edit it anyway, but give them as much as you can to work with. Save … | Continue reading
Obituary in MR magazine I’ll fill this post with a proper fraternal obit when I’ve gathered up the requisite facts and details, and composed my own reflections. For now, suffice it to say that I’m overwhelmed by the flood of testimonies to Holly’s friendships, her longstanding co … | Continue reading
A couple of days of radio silence here — first, because Easter Sunday was as busy as usual, and then as relaxing as possible. Then, because my sister Holly died yesterday morning, and I’ve been by turns paralysed and wobbly as that sank in. So I’m trying to recharge from the spir … | Continue reading
St Helen’s doesn’t have its Good Friday service till evening, so I’m working through the day. Ran this morning at about 6:00, two miles in light drizzle, coffee (no fruit — it’s Good Friday), Morning Prayer, work work work, hope I don’t forget the fast and have a snack before sun … | Continue reading
Most important, keep my sister Holly in your thoughts. She’s having a hard time; Margaret is on her way to sit with her, but there doesn’t seem to be any particularly good news on the horizon. Yesterday I sat down to clear out some backed-up (but not forgotten) marking, when a sm … | Continue reading
Two miles this morning, cup of coffee, Morning Prayer, stop at Post Office, hot breakfast, a little reading, then as I was settling down to mark, Flora developed diarrhea. Whee. | Continue reading
Ran my two miles (plus a wee bit extra), coffee and fruit, Morning Prayer, a cup of coffee and pain aux raisins (why raisins? These are clearly (US/UK) raisins, French raisins secs), home to do some liturgical proofreading and email clearing. I’m getting that Holy Week feeling… | Continue reading
Steady rain during running time this morning, which (along with the 6° chill) kept me indoors this morning. Coffee, fruit, Morning Prayer (in a few minutes), and a Palm Monday service latert this afternoon for some congregants who couldn’t get to church yesterday. | Continue reading