Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

What's happened on the blog so far? You may be forgiven for wondering what all this is about. You may be reading as an archive in 2011, wondering what it was all about; I can't help you, as I don't have the benefit of hindsight. A bit of catching up might help.

Racing Demon was the title of a play by David Hare about the Church of England, taken from a card game where no one knows the rules and the whole thing proceeds and ends chaotically. I saw it at the National Theatre. Lots of talking, and while the characters were talking they shuffled paper, stapled and filed things. And the blog name comes from the Matthew Arnold poem "Dover Beach", taken up and used by radical theologians including Don Cupitt and the novelist Ian McEwan, in "Saturday". This Racing Demon is taking an increasingly jaundiced view of the Church of England from the point of view of one who has been part and parcel of the whole thing for many years, but perhaps not for too much longer. There are also observations of life in this peculiar and delightful part of England, which is not named, and of people - friends, family and neighbours - who are also not named. That gives me a chance to be honest. I am critical, but like to believe that it is kindly meant. Some people get initials and some get nicknames. Sometimes the nicknames get changed, or people have more than one. I'm sorry, but I haven't always asked permission of you, nor if you approve of the names. Finally, my Myers-Briggs type description says that I am "likely to enjoy a quirky, individual and eccentric view of life, and to revel in the detail of it".

That's about it really. I've found out how to do some other stuff, so you can see the improvements. The picture used on the header is of me looking out over Cardigan Bay. Some have spoken approvingly of this photo, though others have asked what has happened to the rest of my legs.