The Dude moves on

Well, what about that. The Dude has found himself a place of his own. Sounds good too. Don't think of it as losing a son, more as regaining a garage as the motorbikes leave.

Free the Spirit

Anglicans letting their hair down always look slightly awkward. The congregation this morning at our united deanery celebration tried their best to say "Hey, look at us, we're relaxed, happening dudes!" but the fact that a lot of the men were in suits and ties on a stinking hot day didn't help. But... a cracking sermon from our bishop, though. I know you don't read that often on this blog, so I'll say it again; a good sermon by our bishop. Here is the gist of it.

Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out on the disciples in tongues of fire and a howling wind. Strange things were happening. People from many different nationalities understood one another. How could this be? It was because they communicated in one or other of the universal languages; of tears, because we all know what suffering is like; of laughter and fooling around, because being funny is something we can all appreciate; of music, because we can all recognise a tune; or of creativity, because we can all enjoy colour and shape and design. It is words that divide us. It is ideas, theories and doctrines that drown us.

If only the rest of us could have come up to scratch. Two people walked out, appalled by free liturgy. The rest of us tried hard to relax. I remember the Private Eye spoof Church of England liturgical rubric; If a spontaneous act is to take place, it should happen at this point.

A little dog ran in during the sermon. It trotted round, wagging its tail and thinking what fun it would be to play with all these people. A sidesperson collared it and threw it out.

The SMD Genome Project

So we can now breed monkeys that glow in the dark. this could be a handy trait to have. Trying to find a black dog on a dark night is not easy. I know. I could do with a little help, such as luminous paws, or a glow-in-the-dark tail. And now that we have mapped the human genome, and the mouse genome, how about someone doing the Small Manageable Dog genome? And maybe they'd be able to tell us what proportion of the SMD's genes are devoted to
- sniffing out small animals
- digging holes
- burying things

How good is that!?

How good is that!? My everloving second son sent me the DVD of the Reggis Perrin remake! Now I can watch it and give you all my considered opinion. Thanks son!

Forty seven million year old fossil found

Scientists have discovered a second forty seven million year old fossil primate. This time the ancient hominid was found in a small country parish. He has just been re-elected as a churchwarden for another year.

I live with a serial killer

I am pleased to see that numbers of the dormouse are increasing in all parts of the country, except, for some reason, in certain parts of the Welsh borders ....

Magic Bus rides out!

My birthday is now past! Next one will be the Big Six-Oh! We set the year off in style, taking the Magic Bus over to the coast, and spending the day, and the night, at Ynyslas, in the wonderful sand dunes there. The weather was gorgeous, the bus was comfortable, the crowds dispersed, and we had a great time on the beach, looking out over the Dyfi estuary. Spring tides promised some excitement as the water came up, and stopped three feet from the vehicles! Tai Chi on the shore on Monday made this the perfect day. As a test run for these ageing hippies, it was five star.

Countdown continues

367 days until my birthday. Off to the seaside in the Magic Bus. Serious downsizing begins when we get back.

Is the new Reggie Perrin any good?

While I wonder how my lump sum is going to last me until I'm ninety when the same sum would keep Fred Goodwin in the manner to which he has become accustomed for about half an hour ... the question i'm really wrestling with is, "Is the new Reggie Perrin any good?" and following from that; why did David Nobbs feel the need to remake it, apart from the need to boost his lump sum to something more like Goodwin proportions; and is Martin Clunes REALLY Reggie? I'm still not sure, and I've missed a couple of episodes, so may have to buy the DVD and do some serious study.

Mr Golightly's Holiday

Just finished my first book in three months. Mr Golightly's Holiday, by Salley Vickers. I had to read much of it several times, and my short term memory is a bit shot, so couldn't remember from one night to the next where I was up to, but it was a good read, and the right book to, hopefully, set me back on track to read, and to do a little writing; hence this post. If there's anyone still out there - hello again.