They must have a mole

Or be against small furry animals

Walthamstow Christian Party's rather sketchy website - the 'Contact us' page is even less exciting than this one. One of their manifesto items (you need to go to the national website for this) is for compulsory Christian worship in all schools - I wonder if this extends to Jewish schools?!

The floppy

Following the news that Sony is to stop making 3.25" floppies, I thought it the right moment to scan and post this picture of a real floppy.

As the label says this is an 8" floppy containing part - disk 17 of 18 - of pnx (a version of Unix) for the ICL PERQ. Note the disk capacity - 256 bytes!! (I hope that's not a misinterpretation on my part). I keep the floppy up in the attic, I've no idea whether it would still work as 8" floppy drives are a bit thin on the ground.

Teaser Tuesday - 27 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

They don't interest me. There is hardly a single person in the House of Commons worth painting; though many of them would be the better for a little whitewashing.

I'm still reading Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and couldn't resist quoting this far from random, but wonderful, quote especially as the UK is in the midst of an election campaign.

Hitting a Miss on Skaro

The BBC bungled the last few minutes of Dr Who on Saturday:

.. or even the Eurovision Song Contest!
I've not watched this week's episode yet, but intend to do so when my memory and a repeat are in the same room together and then, hopefully, the inane coming next will be missing!

Mutterings - 25 April

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Hell :: Freezes over (and Dante)
2. Scott :: of the Antarctic
3. Dominion :: Death hath no..
4. Stunt :: actor
5. Cougar :: cat
6. Columbia :: drugs/ coffee
7. Gasp :: last
8. Cancerous :: tissue
9. Bitty :: kitty (also nom of usenet poster)
10. Quit :: Crtl-G (emacs key binding)

Jeunes filles au jardin

I've not put up a classical piece for a bit, so here's a wonderful performance of Mompou's 'Jeunes filles au jardin' a sort of merger between de Falla and Ivor Novello.

It has the wonderful Satie-esque performance indication of 'Chantez avec la fraîcheur de l'herbe humide' (Sing with the freshness of damp grass). I'm currently learning it...

Teaser Tuesday - 20/21 April

(yes, it's a day late!)


Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

'I wish now I had not told you about Sybil Vane.'
'You could not have helped telling me, Dorian. All through your life you will tell me everything you do.'

As you'll see from the previous post, I've been away, on my return drive I was listening to the completely ridiculous (and wonderfully amusing) Portrait of Florian Thrust (an ancient Round the Horne program from 1966 - I've been trying to find the script for that episode to link to but, so far, I've failed). From that sketch it seemed a natural consequence to re-read Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. I picked up my copy for 3p(!) from Bowes & Bowes in Bradford in the 1980's and I don't think I've read it since then...

Silent for a few days

... probably...
I'm heading into Northumberland for a job interview on Wednesday, warm fuzzies (or faith equivalent) appreciated!

Mutterings - 18 April

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Drug :: Raid
2. Questions :: Answers
3. Active :: Career
4. Facts :: Dispute
5. Amount :: Cash
6. Supervise :: Invigilate
7. Ingredients :: Recipe
8. Dentist :: Inspection (booked one of these on Friday)
9. Meal :: Cooking
10. Packaging :: Present

West Chiltington Hedgerow

DSCF8082
Originally uploaded by rajmarshall

I've been away for a few days so here's a picture of the hedgerow in West Chiltington walking from my mother's house to the church and graveyard where my dad is buried. There's a couple more of the walk here - and some of another walk around the area from last autumn.

Teaser Tuesday - 13 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Then when your mother did come, when I still hardly knew her, she gave me that look of hers - no twinkle in that eye - and said, very softly and very seriously, 'You ought to marry me'. That was the first time in my life I ever knew what it was to love another human being.

Marilynne Robinson's Gilead - our current book group book of the month.

Interesting selection of countries

Thinking Anglicans reports a press release/closing statement from the latest GAFCON meeting in Bermuda (I suppose they have to meet somewhere but it is nice for some!). This paragraph caught my eye:

We are also aware of the challenges that many of our sisters and brothers face in different parts of the world. In particular we are mindful of those who live with the threat of violence because of their Christian faith, such as Nigeria, Iraq and Sudan and those who live in places of deprivation and disaster such as Haiti and Chile. We also observe that there are a growing number of nations, such as Kenya, Uganda and now the United Kingdom where Christian views are marginalized or ignored. We stand with all those in such circumstances and assure them of our continued prayers.

So what have Kenya, Uganda and now the UK done? I thought we'd been in their bad books for a long time - probably since the 1960's! I guess the Kenyan objection is to legislation, and some folk in Uganda have dared to oppose a vile piece of anti-gay legislation. But why are these countries singled out for derision and ones like the US and Australia ignored? I know there were folk (sorry very important bishops) there from the US and Australia so they might not have wished to embarrass them but there was a Kenyan rep and one (by proxy) from Uganda. I guess it is all politics.

Mutterings - 11 April

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Habit :: Monk's
2. Relaunch :: Party
3. Mondays :: Tuesdays
4. Bootstrap :: compiler
5. Funk :: Fear
6. Appreciate :: Food!
7. Yay! :: Hurrah!
8. Life :: Conway (game of)
9. Sheets :: Between the
10. Date night :: what? (ah, it's an American TV show..)

Cornered?

cornered?
Originally uploaded by rajmarshall

Jasper (the ginger cat) thinks he has the squirrel cornered but lacks the killer instinct, the squirrel is too confrontational and it escapes. A couple more of this mornings wild hunt are here - together with some older pictures.

Once is quite enough

Lara Bruckmann singing Sondheim's - I never do anything twice - not to be watched if you feel you might be shocked! Wickedly funny.

Teaser Tuesday - 6 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

It's builded firm of genes and cells,
And neurons without number;
My Ark enfolds the million years
That Adam spent in slumber.

And when destruction swirls around,
To Ararat I'll glide;
My Ark will then come safe to land
By light of Spirit's guide

To follow on from my reading earlier in the year of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, here's a teaser from her 'The Year of the Flood'. I'm nearly tempted to find a hymn tune it fits and sneak it in one Sunday! I'm not finding it as dark as Oryx but it is early days!

Happy Easter!

Easter
Originally uploaded by rajmarshall

..spotted on the way to church this morning.

Mutterings - 4 April

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Philanthropy :: Kindness
2. Said :: Edward (writer, Palestinian), repeated
3. Blanks :: Dominoes
4. Tapas :: Bar
5. Orgasm :: Arrrrhhhh!
6. Movement :: Slow (I hope that's music and not influenced by the above)
7. Detention :: Protective
8. Restaurant :: Menu
9. Weird :: Sisters
10. Sniffle :: Cold

Continuity

We've been a number of times to Honfleur in Normandy, and on a couple of occasions we've been into the Erik Satie museum, in memory of a composer of wonderful eccentricity - probably best known for the Gymnopedies but there's other works well worth the explore. The museum is difficult to find but conjures up the man vividly - the children - who were then young teenagers and allergic to anything which might be a parental enthusiasm - loved it!

An image from that place which caught my imagination and has lived with me and which, I hope, is appropriate for this Easter Saturday was the room in the picture above which summons up both his hedonism - his love of Paris cafe society and his faith - where he was typically in a church of just one(!). The room is split in two, one half being the cafe, the other the church. A communion goblet lies on the table with the wine running down and, in the cafe, there's a wine glass knocked over. The two streams merge into one and flow together across the room making one common experience. How do we feed our Christian experience and our `out-there' experiences into one?