Category: Religion

Incense and Truffles

Macbeth; Act I: First Witch … her husband’s to Aleppo gone … On Good Friday in 2000 I didn’t pay for a ticket on the Heathrow Express and I wasn’t a fare dodger. I went to the wrong terminal and there was no charge to take the train between terminals. I just caught the direct BA… Continue reading Incense and Truffles

St Yeghichè and St Cyprian

In a dictatorship when said dictator wants to impose his will he issues a Presidential Decree and at a stroke the dictator’s whim is law.   In the UK there are democratic elections and two chambers in parliament to debate and scrutinise legislation. That is unless something is too trivial to detain our politicians, such… Continue reading St Yeghichè and St Cyprian

Bon Dia

Valentia is one of the most westerly points in Ireland, lying off the South-West coast of Kerry, connected to the mainland by a bridge. If you want to go there be careful not to buy a ticket for Valencia – and vice versa.

St Thomas the Apostle

Yesterday I went to The Royal Hospital, Chelsea. It was a Vets’ Service. Let’s get something clear. If you are an American you will assume it was a Service for Veterans; if not you will intuit that it was attended by uniformed members of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps.  –more–> After they had filed into the Chapel, designed by… Continue reading St Thomas the Apostle

A Monsignor

I’ve  been asked by a regular reader to mention a famous 20th century scion of the Gilbey family, Monsignor Alfred Gilbey.  To get him in context, Monsignor Gilbey is the grandson of the Alfred Gilbey who founded the firm with his brother, Walter, in 1856. I met him only once that I can remember, when… Continue reading A Monsignor

The Guards Chapel

On a Sunday morning in June 1944 the Guards Chapel was hit by a flying bomb during Matins. The whole building was destroyed, except the apse, and 121 people died.

St Patrick in Soho

In London in the 18th century there was a concerted effort by rich Catholics and the Catholic Church to alleviate the poverty and misery of their less fortunate countrymen. The Benevolent Society of St Patrick (1783) and the older Irish Charitable Society (1704) are manifestations of this, (There’s a Welcome on the Mat), another is… Continue reading St Patrick in Soho