NOVEMBER 2024

 Kingdom Cafe, High Weald of Kent

WRITING & LEARNING

More learning than writing this month.  And good thing too!  Even writing my blog on Tom Holland’s book “Dominion’ meant re-reading it and engaging with it so that my blog on it made sense. 

On 3rd I went to the annual Evensong for the Worshipful Company of Fuellers (back in the 17th century they were the Woodmongers!) ( fuellers.co.uk). The incoming Master Elena had invited me and asked me to take notes of the Conversation which followed.  I learnt a lot about the climate change challenges facing the City, especially some extreme heat and flooding. 

Then I attended a talk by Diarmuid McCulloch in St Paul’s Cathedral on his new book ‘Lower than the Angels – a History of Sex and Christianity’.  The talk itself did not tell me anything new, but the Q +A afterwards was fascinating, especially the mediaeval myth often massacre of the sodomites.  It was a puzzle why Jesus  never mentioned the issue.  Why?  Because the night before he was born, God exterminated them all!!

Warning:  Professor McCulloch writes enormous books!  This one is 664 pages.

P.S.you coud see my blog on “Sex assn Society here at revandybooks.org

I went to two Sion College evenings, one in the Bow Wine Vaults to hear Nick Spencer of Theos on AI, and one in the Dutch Church, founded in 1550 for people from Holland.  We heard Rory Stewart talking about the rise of populism, and how he had got his forecast of the US presidential election completely wrong   His concluding thought that what is essential in these difficult times is courage.

MARKETING

Not much, but I have booked into the Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park next October (at a price!).  See creonline.co.uk

I had an interesting sales opportunity when I went St Pauls’ Cathedral.  I got talking to Russell, their Security Officer.  He was fascinated by my account in “Jesus the Troublemaker’ of how Jesus outwitted the Temple police and said he would get a copy.

CHURCH .

I continue to attend three local churches, St Cuthbert’s in my road, HTB Queens Gate and St Mary Abbot’s.  I have also started attending the informal midday prayers on Mondays at the Lee Abbey International Students Club, led by students themselves.

I have been to midweek choral evensongs at Holy Trinity Prince Consort Road and at Holy Sepulchre London.  The latter is where I hope to have the launch of my book ‘The Church has a Past – has it got a Future?’, probably on 11th June next year. 

I also went back to St John the Evangelist, Kingston, (stjohnskingston.co.uk) where I was curate-in-charge from 1986 to 1993.  The funeral of a good friend of mine at the time, Pat Lines, s great lady.  Sharp, could be fierce, but also kind and knew how to to be discreet.  It was great meeting up with old friends like Sandy Cragg, David and Isobel Robinson, Tony and Gill Hardy and Mimi Fagan, who I had not seen for years.

OUT AND ABOUT

Linda and I spent a great weekend in the High Weald of Kent, revisiting Ightam Mote and hearing a musical duo playing Tudor music, making several visits to the wonderful Kingdom Cafe (thiskingdom.co.uk) and having a great Sunday lunch at a 1492 pub, the Bottle House.  Their cauliflower cheese was the best I’ve tasted – because they use cheddar and parmesan. We also had a total blackout on Saturday night when in the gale a tree fell on our power line.  So we had to wait till Monday to watch Strictly Come Dancing.

FILM, TV & THEATRE

A frankly depressing month.  ‘No Other Land’ was documentary about a Palestinian activist on the West bank and an Israeli journalist.  Terrible.  Then two gritty crime dramas, ‘Justice – those who kill’, in which the main character is murdered, and ‘Shetland’ where the heroine is murdered at the very start!   

We also went to a play with our good friends Maggie and Richard to see ‘Guards at the Taj’, a two-hander of royal guards having had to cut off the hands of thousands of workers who had built the Taj nasal so that they could not build a rival building.  But the Italian meal we all had afterwards was delightful!

WEDNESDAY SAINTS

The weekly reflection and prayer on a saint of the week continues every Wednesday at 10.00 a.m.  It lasts half an hour, followed by half an hour coffee and chat – on Zoom.  Last month we remembered 

• Leonard, 6th century monk and liberator of slaves.
• Charles Simeon, evangelical vicar
• Mechthild of Magdeburg, mystic
• Isaac Watts, hymn-writer (See hymnary.org)

If you would like to join us one Wednesday, drop me an email and I will send you the link.