Days Off.

I went to catch up with Ma today. She's been away in Tunisia (cue Charlie Parker soundtrack) - but her week turned into 12 days courtesy of that danged volcano. First the Cod Wars, then the banks - now the volcano. Why don't we just nuke Iceland? I mean, imagine using Kerry Katona as your Ambassador - you'd almost be as potty as the British FCO (Vatican section)! I cooked tea (seafood stir fry with sweet chili and ginger sauce - Morrison's finest!). Yesterday I visited the chiro and had the back tweaked and I feel much more limber! Missed the 3rd Leader's debate but feel a vague sense of gloom - the thought of a Tory administration just sits ill with me, especially when I was back in the ole home town and remembered school classmates going to soup kitchens during the Miner's Strike - I simply cannot bring myself to consider voting Tory. A broken society - yes, but who broke it with an insane rush to rampant individualism? TBW as Ted Heath called her. I just hope we get a hung parliament this time.

Sympathy for the (non) devil!

I feel a strange sympathy for Gordon Brown tonight. His comment in the car to his aide was certainly misguided (didn't sound like bigotry to me) and his reaction a bit OTT (but he is in a high stress situation just now) but his post apology press chat was simply awful. He went for smiles when a positively sober and grave attitude would have been more appropriate and he called the wumman by her 1st name rather than "Mrs Murphy" It was cringe-making and desperately embarrassing. I quietly shuddered for him because, although I do not support his party, he is a human being, a decent man and an excellent constituency MP for my home town. Poor beggar as they say.

Pastures new.

Since Monday, I've been based at my new (and hopefully long term placement) a mere 20 minutes walk away. Much less laid back, rather more challenging - and better grub! Staff macaroni cheese and chips on Monday, fried brekkie this morning - I could easily get used to this! The 7.30am starts are less of a joy but I will adjust. I'm mildly annoyed to discover that one of the male staff from there is being shifted to where I was supposed to go (so much for HQ's line that it was about rebalancing the gender weighting of the team to meet service user requirements - more like the other bloke hacked off all his colleagues here by being an idle gobs***e).

I am fascinated by the process of this general election. Much raving that the Lib Dems (my lot) will do awfully well. I am ancient enough to remember David Steel telling us to go back to our constituencies and prepare for government. It really depends on the 2 remaining debates. If our Cameronian clone leader performs well, who knows? I still think it was awful the way we dumped Charlie Kennedy. As long as our wee ray of Economic sunshine Vince gets to run the economy, I'm not fussy!

Our Mission statement.

I've meant to post this for ages (in the interests of Evangelism). I think it was Robin Williams who came up with it - I prefer him to Rowan!

TOP TEN REASONS TO BE EPISCOPALIAN!

10) No Snake Handling

9) You can believe in dinosaurs

8) Male and female, God created them; male and female, we ordain them

7) You don't have to check your brains at the door

6) Pew aerobics

5) Church year is color-coded

4) Free wine on Sundays

3) All of the pageantry--none of the guilt

2) You don't have to know how to swim to get baptized

And the #1 reason is...
1) No matter what you believe, there's bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

All we need now is a recruiting song - what about "In the Piskies" and see if we can get the Village People to record it?

In the chill zone.

After a rather stressed week (last 2 shifts a bit hectic), my days off appeared. Yesterday it was off to England shire (just) to enjoy congenial company, drink coffee by the beach, lunch in a castle, potter round said castle and museum (Bamborough), eat chocolate cake, walk along the beach and eat bacon and eggs. Today the idea of going to Arbroath to watch Cowden didn't much appeal, so off to Falkirk for a massage - which left even my toes relaxed! Then a pleasant baked tattie for lunch and back to contemplate a meal with friends. Tomrrow morning i will annoy God slightly and then a short 6 hr shift prior to starting at the new project on Monday - I discover my attraction to the staff there is my driving licence!

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Last night after work, I met up with a friend from my London days who was in town with the parish choir he sings with. They were doing the services at St Mary's (the choir being on post Easter break). So a very decent Italian meal in Bar Roma ensued: carapaccio of beef, risotto Della Oeste and Cassata Sicilliana (or ice cream in real speak!) for me, antipasti (that's cold meat in Scotland), lamb cutlets in Garlic and rosemary (the wife hates both lamb and garlic, so a wee treat whilst off the matrimonial leash!) and tiramisu for Tim! A nice guy (for a Tory) and a Yorkie, we ganged up together when working with the effete Southerners in Ealing.

This morning was an enjoyable Parish Mass at St Ninian's Comely Bank (covering for the Encumbrance), then up to Corstorphine, only to find my charge is oot with his family and there is hee-haw to do until he returns. Sunbathing with a coffee beckons!

Booze and my Barminess

Right, time for something mildly serious. When we were in GHQ for our training day, I picked up a book from our library. "Aspergers and Alcohol: drinking to cope". Given that I have both of the key words in the title as a major factor in my life, I thought it might be relevant. I read some of it the other night when my client had gone to bed nice and early. The stuff on adolescence was just my teenage years written up and I swung between relief ("THAT'S what was going on - I wasn't crazy!"), anger ("Why TF didn't someone notice there was a problem?") and a nice sense of self pity ("Poor teenage me"). And I felt like crying but I didn't. But I didn't wallow there too long - that is a bad idea. I found myself remembering the good things in my life today and going "it was worth the journey" (OK, a large part of the journey was utterly Shi'ite!). Happily, I zipped along to a meeting last night as I knew my wee heid needed some help with all this. Which it got! There is something terribly therapeutic about these meetings - the Sh**e Shared factor.

What a lazy Friday!

You'd think 9-5 om a Friday meant busy, busy, busy, wouldn't you? Not always. I arrived, had coffee and talked about music with colleagues (my taste is pants evidently). Dusted things and washed floors for an hour. Then we tried to get the computer to work. Failed. Went and bought lunch, cooked it and had coffee. Sat in the garden filling in the personal development plan. Played with boss's cocker spaniel while she did petty cash. Joined Grand National syndicate and picked horses with work mates (C'mon, King John's Castle!). Went home. And I get paid!!! It beats running a parish any day of the week!

Into every life, alittle rain must fall.

Arrgh! I went on a spot of training and admin yesterday which was OK, but I got asked to step into the office and was told that I was being shifted from the new project at Bingham (posh Craigmillar) to the big project at Shandon as there were too many male staff and not enough women (one client will only work with women). Plus - it's at the end of the road and walkable. Minus - it has the most challenging behaviours of all the units, it's all male and I've heard rumours that it's not the happiest place staff wise. I did say yes (people pleaser/it beats commuting to East Lothian which was the other option) but ain't entirely ecstatic. How in the name did it take from January to April to work out your clients would only work with women?

So today it's a day off and I'm going arty again. Why pay when there's good free stuff on the doorstep? Comments on the General Election can wait.

Easter and that!

I finished my shift on Holy Saturday (house cleaning and a long walk up Corstorphine Hill) which laid the way for the Vigil at 9pm (Candlelit and with Darke in F ;-)) and good lusty hymn singing. Then, after this mornings liturgical extravaganza, it was off to the flicks to watch Colin Firth in "A Single Man". Beautifully shot and designed, with a powerful central performance from CF, it nonetheless left me strangely unmoved, as if it really didn't engage me emotionally very much. Style was paramount - sleek bleak!

I came home and snoozed then some lamb curry - to morrow is day off and a bit of a long lie hopefully beckons!

Good Friday

The concelebrated mass for Maundy Thursday was very nicely done at St Michael's - and yes, we did actually concelebrate! I had to hurtle back from the Watch to admit guests, so went and venerated the sacrament in OSP's this morning, which I combined with doing the Stations of the Cross. That followed Mattins in the Holy Hut and tonight I will (at some point) recite the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. So I am keeping Good Friday in a reasonably firm sort of way!

Maundy Thursday - Year 1.

This is the 1st Triduum I've done since going Non Stip. There is already a different pace to it. I finished a sleepover at 8am, came home, helped in the House, showered, shaved and donned clericals. Then I went to the Cathedral to renew my ordination vows. I'd have said "and concelebrate" but we didn't. We wore chasubles and said nowt during the Eucharistic prayer - thereby concelebrating as much as a gang of ecclesiastical wally dugs! And please could we have a change from the Britten setting next year? It sounds like someone ought to call child protection at the opening of the Sanctus! Lunch, then off to the chiropractor. Being a "day off", I had a leisurely latte in Costa, then home for a nice soak in the bath before feeding and legging it to the Maundy Mass at St Michael's. Where I hope we can concelebrate better than at the Cathedral. See you later!