Povey Prattle

My next door neighbour has the above bumper sticker on her car. My first reaction was "Oh no, how can intelligent people be so stupid?'    She is a retired Medical Doctor. But it is not a matter of stupidity.   It's all about "politics as sports". Liberals support CNN, and think that Fox News is Fake (Faux) News. Conservatives support Fox News, and maintain that CNN is "Very Fake". That's all well and good if we reduce our civic commitments to a sort of gladiatorial contest. Reduced to a binary "good v  evil" matrix has a feel-good factor for conservatives and liberals alike.   We post our memes and statements, but forget an essential question: "How does what I say contribute to a richer and deeper citizen-ship?" With that in mind I beg you to listen to today's edition of the radio programme "The Hidden Brain". Here is the teaser from National Public Radio: Passion Isn't Enough: The Ri...

I said good bye to my beautiful Penne At the home of my friends Ron and Char And then I cried for three whole days.

In March 2019 I was visiting friends in San Antonio, TX when I received a disturbing e-mail from one of my dearest friends, the Revd. Gwen Sears. It was about a tragic fire in Sheffield MA, and the deaths of Luke and Justine Karpinski and their three children. Luke spent some of his formative years in Dalton, MA, and attended the parish where I was the Rector, in Pittsfield MA. He and Justine met at Waconah Regional High School in Dalton, MA, where they were High School sweethearts. When he was aged about seventeen Luke was visited with a nasty illness called leukemia.  He undertook miserable (but ultimately life saving) treatments at a Boston Hospital. I traveled from Pittsfield to Boston a couple of times to visit him in the Hospital.  Justine was always at his side - two lovely teenagers in love! A few years later (maybe 2001) Justine and Luke called to ask if I would officiate at their wedding.    That I gladly did at the Jiminy Peak resort in Hancock...

It was Melba H-K who put me on to him.  He has fixed and improved stuff in my home for more than eight years, at reasonable prices, and with great skill. You probably know that he has been replacing and improving the lighting in my otherwise gloomy kitchen.  He'll finish on Feb 13th. It already looks good. As he worked  today he saw that the light in the extractor fan over my oven was not working. I knew this.  There was a time when I could jiggle the switch to make the light work.  That time ended about a year ago. My handyman had a replacement switch in his treasure stove. He didn't need to seek my permission to install the new switch, so he did so, much to my happiness. So now I can use the range-top in good light. All things bright and beautiful - an improved  hood light. My kitchen is small.  In the ideal world it would be totally  re-modeled. That would be a frivolous expense at my age. So I will gladly settle f...

I am, not before time, having the lighting in my kitchen replaced, and greatly improved.  It's been so poor that I couldn't see the end of my nose. Therefore my kitchen has been out of use all day.   I had a hearty breakfast, skipped lunch, and invited myself to dinner with my friends Donna and Jack Chrisman, and their daughter Ashley Lloyd. It was a very fine dinner prepared by Ashley: a salad with baby spinach and heirloom tomatoes, and some wonderful pork loin with pasta and delicious sauce. Shall I say d e l i c i o u s,    better than anything I could/would cook. The kitchen work is three quarters done and will be finished by Wednesday evening. This is good -  I have worked in an ill-lighted kitchen for many years - all too long. This is bad -  I'll have to find new excuses to savour and enjoy Ashley's cooking! "It all makes work for the working man to do".  (Michael Flanders and Donald Swann) P.S.  Did I t...

1.  There is a southern English prejudice against northern England.   We (including I,  who was born and raised in south west England) all too easily fall into the trap of seeing the north as a post industrial waste land.  "It ain't necessarily so!" 2.  My good brother Dave Povey has a keen eye (and a fine  camera)  for a good photo'. His pics were taken  at Pennington Flash Country Park, Lancashire, U.K., which is near to the post industrial borough of Wigan, Lancs.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennington_Flash_Country_Park

N.B.  All of the photo's in this entry are from stock, i.e. not taken by me. THE GREAT My good friend Ashley and I decided to go out for breakfast this  morning. We looked for a place which would be  much, much better than the national chains; and better than a local greasy spoon.   We chose well and ate at "The Rosemary" on Orange Ave., a block north of Fruitville Rd. The food was superb and the service was first class Our server attended to our needs without wanting to be our best friend!  She was great. Ashley had the   ST. GEORGE OMELETTE  Mushrooms, Sautéed Onions, Diced Tomatoes & Brie Cheese. Served with Choice of Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Patty’s Cheese Grits or Fresh Fruit. I opted for BERMUDA FISH CAKE BENEDICT   Fresh White Fish, Poached Egg, Key Lime Hollandaise & Diced Tomato. Served with Choice of Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Patty’s Cheese Grits or Fresh Fruit. (Egg...