We’re going where the sun shines brightly
I finally got to the bottom of it. The Isle of Portland is an area of severe signal deprivation. The Vodafone man confessed this shamefacedly when I demanded to know why his sainted dongle denied me the gift of utterance. “You’re in a 2G area,” he mumbled, “you need 3G at least for the internet.” […]
Tweetfest
It’s been a while since I posted a roundup of news stories. Here’s a bunch. I can’t claim to have got them all; it’s a laborious business collecting them. They were all first posted on Twitter. I feel guilty about that. Twitter is a social networking site and I just use it as a filing […]
Is he?
No, I’m pleased to tell you. Reports are exaggerated. I remain sentient, mostly. Thank you, all those of you who have emailed to express concern. You’ve added to my guilt, but I am very touched. I’ve been busy – busy with stuff and busy thinking. It’s the thinking that’s kept me away from the blog. […]
Too Soon, Autumn
Get back on the trees you errant leaves! How dare you fly across my path so soon? Forget your cheering colours, green will do. My body has not had enough of summer. Margie McCallum
Where would we be without a sense of humour?
Germany! It’s an old Willie Rushton joke. And of course there’s no truth in it whatever. I have been contacted by a Year 12/13 student in Germany. Her name is Julia and she is working on a project which I want you to help her with – if you can. Julia’s working title is “How […]
Go, Bede!
The present life of man, O king, seems to me like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the hall wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in […]
On Being a Funeral Celebrant
Here I am, somehow standing in for this person we have all gathered to honour and farewell. I have listened to family and friends, asked questions to elicit the fullest picture, the roundest sense of the life at the centre of our ritual. And here I am, holding it all, the balance of dignity and […]
Westie goes west
I know a lot of you like a good gangster funeral. This one’s not premier cru, but it’s not bad. “My father was no saint,” Ryan McElroy, one of Mr. McElroy’s three children, said in a eulogy. “But people said he could light up a room. He’s been away 15, 20 years, and you still […]
What is a funeral for?
Three views here about what a funeral is for by Christian holy people in response to this article here. Something that allows space for people of all faiths and none to recognise that our lives are about more than the acquisition of wealth and bigger than the sometimes compartmentalised lives we live … until we […]
A true one-off
The best obituaries are to be found in the Victoria Times Colonist. Its archive of obits will prove a treasure trove for social historians of the future. Here’s an especially fine one — he sounds like a lovely guy. I like the scattergun approach. The task of collecting single words or phrases is something that celebrants […]
