A holiday Sunday

It was time for some leisure after all the shifting of house malarkey of the last 2 weeks.  After a perfectly enjoyable service (Phillip the organist's last) with the wonderful Howells Collegium Regale as a Mass setting, it was off to the pictures to see "Quartet".  OK, the Filmhouse was awash with the middle-aged (ourselves included) but it was a good film about aged musicians in a Home for the crumbling artiste.  No one delivers a waspish put down like Dame Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly nicks scenes like billy-o as a randy old tenor, Pauline Collins is sweet and touching as an old dear in the early stages of going ga-ga - and I completely forgotten how good Tom Courtney was as an actor.  Plus Jim from the Dibley PCC turns up and sings!  Worth an afternoon out of the cold.

 

Then home to cook a nice beef stroganoff and find the heating's on the blink.  Life resumes on Tuesday with a return to work.  Poo!

Holiday time!

Well, that's me on a spot (2 weeks) of Annual Leave.  I started with a rather good AA meeting last night which got some head stuff into perspective and then went to the Chiropractor for my monthly "tweak"this morning.  I also treated myself to a fry up!  On return to the Capital, I pampered my self with a spot of massage (shiatsu, which is somewhat different from the Slavic I usually get) and then had a wee snooze!  My evening leisure was pure dead cultured - a HD showing at the Cameo of the Met Opera's 26 April performance of "La Fille de Regiment".  Great fun, although as ever with the Opera, the plot was pure mince!

Leisure, it strikes me, is important.  I used to feel guilty about it.  Perhaps, deep in my unconscious, there was a very working class instilled sense that being a cleric wasn't a "real" job.  Now I work 8 hour shifts 5 days a week, I feel no guilt whatsoever about doing things I like when my time is my own.  Also, my self confidence and sense of self-worth has improved greatly since I got sober and met Rachel, so I don't feel so odd or self conscious about pampering myself with a destressing massage or a hot shave or some other little treat.  God values both body and soul, so should we!

Annual Leave

It's been a wee while, but I have been on leave.  The 1st weekend was Festival - American concert at the Usher Hall, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Copland's Lincoln Portrait (listen to this if ever you doubt that the USofA has a culture that has great aspects) and a frankly painfuly Symphony by a Charles Ives (the 2nd movement can only be described as an American Nightmare and the slamming of exit doors in the Hall as it proceeded was quite revealing!).  Then, "5 Guys named Moe" starring the author who is now Detective Fearon in "The Wire" and has wee bowlly legs in real life!).  Oh yes and a Haydn Mass for the Assumption in St Michael's! Well, it is listed in the Fringe programme asa venue and performance so..

My Berwickshire lurk was very idle: I can recommend Bella Italia (not one of the chain BTW) in North Berwick for an Italian meal.  The Saltimbucca alla Romana was almost as good as the one I ate in Rome!  I also did some gardening: I now officially hate thistles (gardenweedius bigjaggybasturdus) and brambles (jammyfruitibush jaggybasturdus)!

Returning to da fringe I went to see "Reel to Real" a live miusical interspersing classic Hollywood clips with classic musical numbers (brill btw) and still have a few to see today prior to returning to work.  I also managed a jazz cruise on the Forth and have had a fabulous break.  Mind you ,company helps and the company was very congenial.  Dammit, I think I may be getting emotionally entangled and all that!

off to the Big Smoke!

And I don't mean Glasgow! No sirrah! I mean the Great Wen as Sam Johnson called it!I jetted down to our UK capital on Sunday night to spend a few days in the company of old friends and to finally visit some of those palaces I never managed to get to when I was a humble Curate in Ealing. Humble, of course being a figure of speech!

So of course day one was spent... in Walsingham. I'd arrived the day before the parish did a day pilgrimage, so it was into a bus at 7.30 and off we went. 1st person I met on arrival was a Scottish Rector I know in his holiday cottage in the village, then we got into the Shrine to robe only to find an unexpected Clergy House reunion - the Vicar and NSM of Christ the Saviour and 3 of his former curates, all present and liturgically correct! I think it's a local record. What is the collective noun for a gathering of former curates - a clump? A chapter? I've no idea!

Today the great plan is to "do" The Tower of London and possibly the National Portrait Gallery before meeting a friend of days gone by at Westminster Cathedral for Vespers and then going for a meal etc in one of our old haunts. But hey it's holiday, so it may change!

Olive Oiling the Wheels!

It's good from time to time just to socialise with your wardens, so tonight Tom, Margaret and I met up for an Italian meal in Edinburgh. Talked a certain amount of Church and business for Sunday's vestry meeting, but really just chatted over the pasta, pollo, desserts and lattes.

I'm really looking forward to getting away and winding down next week. It's been a fairly intense July/August. There must be a Harvest Festival due soon, but I can't remember when!