Povey Prattle

On Friday 30th December 2016 I was privileged to pray the Invocation and Blessing when Jesse Rollins was elevated to the rank of Eagle Scout. Jesse, together with his older brother Chris and his super parents Keith and Lisa are beloved members of the Church I attend (St. Boniface Episcopal Church , Sarasota, FL).. The pathway to the rank of Eagle Scout is far more difficult and demanding than the easy come /easy go journey to Confirmation in the Episcopal//Anglican Church. Just sayin' ....  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jesse and jmp

At the west end of Glen Oaks Ridge, my home in Sarasota, there is a bit of land which is part of our property. The lore is that once upon a time the City of Sarasota had eyed it for an extension to nearby Prudence Drive.  That never happened (thank goodness).  The land is a gentle and pleasant buffer between us and the next door Glen Oaks Manor community. "Back when" the Glen Oaks Ridge Board decided that the buffer land needed a fence.  It was a fence which made no sense, it kept nobody out or in, 'Twas just a bit of ugly nonsense. Forty or so years on that fence began to fall apart.  The Board made the good decision:  that it would be cheaper to tear the fence down that to have it repaired or replaced. Nothing but the fence posts to be removed. Opening up the land Of course some of the abutters are already complaining, believing as they do that "Good Fences Make Good Neighbours". That's of course from a poem by Robert Frost.  It's s...

Stock photo' We have a problem in capitalistic America. It is a problem which affects the life and financial security of people who work hard, but cannot get ahead. It's a problem which is rooted in injustice.  It' s problem which cowardly Democrats and smug Republicans alike refuse to address. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When my family members visit me from the U.K. I have to give them some instruction in the matter of tipping, particularly in restaurants. For you see, the assumption in the U.K. is that wait-staff/servers are paid a decent wage, and that tipping (usually 5%) is a way of  showing generous gratitude for good service. 'Tis not so in the good ole USA. (the land of the free and the home of the poor). In Florida for instance the minimum wage for restaurant servers is just over $5 per hour. That is not a living wage, even for the very few who work for forty ...

Farewell  good root vegetable When I was young I despised the flavour of  parsnips which our Mum included in her famous Saturday lunch-time winter stews, together with turnips, carrots, onions, spuds, and  a bit of stew-beef  or lamb meat. As I grew older I "adored" the flavour of the parsnips which Mum would par-boil, and then roast (with spuds) alongside Sunday's Roast Beef, (Do understand young friends that in the olden days the beef we used for roasting included super veins of fat;  fat with which the aforementioned potatoes and parsnips could be basted.  Lament with me that modern day beef  [as sold in those dens of iniquity known as supermarkets]   has been denuded of the slightest traces of fat).   Forgive my digression.  I was writing about the joy of roasted parsnips, and or parsnips in general, A  few years ago when I became concerned at the condition of the skin on my ha...

When I was a parish rector I always liked the service on Christmas Day more than those on Christmas Eve.  There was much less to fret about than at the Christmas Eve services in all their glory, Christmas Day usually brought out the beloved faithful, whilst Christmas Eve brought out the twice a year folks. I truly liked and valued the twicers and did my best to welcome them as Christ had welcomed me. The Christmas Day service  had a different dynamic: - more intimate, less "busy".  That suited me well. Christmas Day worship, (sans choir, trumpeters, and players of the shawm) has its own musical challenges. I was reminded of this on Christmas 2015 when I was the celebrant and preacher at St. B's on Siesta Key.  I had not chosen the hymns. The closing song was "The First Nowell" - all six verses. It goes  on, and on, and on. By the end of the sixth verse I could scarcely give a fig about who had been born! -- I was the presider again on ...

I had to take my car this morning  to a local Goodyear Service Station for a leaking  tyre to be fixed. I was certain that the station was located at 401 North Lime St, here in SRQ. That was the address I gave to me good pal Rick who had agreed to meet me there, and drive me home. I got to 401 North Lime Street. I twice  drove the length of the street.  There was no sign of a Goodyear Station. Rick also got to 401 North Lime Street.   He also  twice  drove the length of the street. He found  no sign of a Goodyear Station. I called Goodyear.   Oh dear, they are at 401 North Lemon St! In truth I had my "Citrus is a twist". Rick and I finally hooked up at the correct address from where he drive me home. Later this morning Goodyear called me. They reported that they'd found a nail in the leaking tyre, and that all four tyres were in poor shape, I was not surprised since the most recent report I received from Sa...