Povey Prattle

Hilde and Norbert Press are a lovely German couple who visit SRQ two or three times each year. Norbert formerly worked for IBM, and Hilde for Pan Am Airways, and then Delta Airways. They are wonderfully fluent in English. They can fly free (on stand-by) with Delta, and they often house sit whilst they are in SRQ. Hilde is a superb cook. Ben and I were their guests for a delicious dinner last Tuesday. H and B began to talk about the insidious Spanish invasion of Germany. (And you thought that it was the Germans who were colonising Majorca). But this invasion is of slugs, huge “Spanish” slugs which have come into Germany via imported produce. They have no predators in Germany, so they are multiplying beyond measure. Ben and I naturally told B and H of the well known killer of slugs - beer. Placed in a shallow dish in the garden it attracts slugs, who then get - well “sluggish”, and cannot escape. The Press’s knew all about this, and told us that they had tried this remedy. But ...

If you click on http://www.sarasotasheriff.org/arrests.asp (or cut and paste it into your browser) then scroll down to page 30 on May 1st, you will see the terrible crime for which J.N. was arrested at Res. House yesterday. (If this does not work, do a Google search for Sarasota County, FL Sheriff then go to arrest record for May 1st. pdf reader required.) Is your blood boiling yet?

I simply do not have enough orifices to release the steam which is been in my system today. FIRST, there was this internet story, from The Episcopal Cafe Williams won't allow Robinson to function as priest in England Citing fears of creating a controversy, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury has refused to grant Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the right to preach or preside at the eucharist in England. Robinson received the news in an email yesterday morning. Sources familiar with the email say Williams cites the Windsor Report and recent statements from the Primates Meeting in refusing to grant Robinson permission to exercise his priestly functions during his current trip to England, or during the trip he plans during the Lambeth Conference in July and August. The Windsor Report does not discuss the ordination of a candidate in a gay relationship to the priesthood, and it is priestly, rather than episcopal functions that Robinson had sought permission to perform. T...

The American ruling classes cannot abide uppity blacks. Nor can they abide truth tellers. Look at the histories of Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. Dubois Dr. Martin Luther King to illustrate what I mean. I say next to nothing about the disgraceful and lying right wing print, internet, radio and T.V. pundits. They are transparent in their trickery and dishonesty. But our so-called "liberal" media blowhards are much more deceitful and dangerous. They are far too savvy to take on Senator Barack Obama. So the uppity black who must be pilloried is conveniently Senator Obama’s (former) Pastor. How very convenient. Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a truth teller, and we cannot have that can we? We have become far too comfortable with the proven liar who has occupied the White House these past seven years. Bob Hebert’s column in the allegedly liberal New York Times this morning (April 29th) was a despicable piece of yellow journalism. It is character assassination worth of Senator Jose...

The Revd. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s Pastor is, of course, being demonised by the hypocritical right wing/christian fundamentalist cabal which dominates American media. Not one of the fundamentalist/fascist preachers and pundits is able to be anything near “fair” or “balanced” - or even accurate. Their hatred for the Gospel of Jesus is palpable. They prefer a “Gospel” of Americanism. Fundamentalists are, at best, heretics. Please see the Revd. Jeremiah Wright’s speech to the NAACP April 27th to get an idea of how this good man is committed to the biblical Jesus. http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=7586606 And if this link does not work, do a Google or You-Tube search for his masterful speech. And please do not forget that Pastor Wright’s political and religious opponents posit a Jesus who is like a white skinned, blue eyed, crew cut, all American boy. He’s probably (in their minds) a Marine, dedicated to killing all the infidel Muslims. This pervert...

After my morning walk I took myself to the 10:00 Eucharist at All Angels by the Sea on Longboat Key. I like it there. The Liturgy is crisp and to the point; the Rector, David Danner preaches well, and the Music led by Dale Hooey is excellent. My fondness for All Angels is unexpected. I have served blue collar, or moderate income parishes, and All Angels is clearly upper middle class and wealthy. It is the most genuinely friendly parish I’ve encountered in these parts. The worshippers are down to earth, and apparently uncomplicated. And they care for the poor. After Eucharist I had a good chat with Bill and Carol Freeman, on holiday from Maine. We discovered that we have friends in common: Mary Lou LaVallee, Dan Kunhardt, and Ed Greene. As we chatted, I remembered that we had met before. ‘Twas on the steps of the Cathedral in Boston on the day we elected Gayle Harris to be Bishop Suffragan. Bill and Carol’s son, Bruce (I knew him when he was in Athol, MA) was a nominee, as wa...