Povey Prattle

1. I was wakened at about 3:30 a.m. today (Dec 31st 2012) by the sound of a moped just outside my bedroom.  I thought “what the heck”. As I emerged into consciousness I realised that there was no moped.  What I had heard (and what had awakened me) was the sound of one of my long and drawn out snores. Pity my roommates when I go to Vietnam. 2. The internet is not perfect.  I know this because I’ve had problems when trying to log on to my e-mail account at Comcast.net.  My user name and password works well on my desktop, but they are always rejected on my tablet. This afternoon I trundled off to the local Comcast office to try to resolve the problem.  That office was mobbed. Folks all around me were grumbling on account of the long waits. I decided to be patient on the grounds of “fake it until you make it”.  That “faking it” worked well: so I was in a good frame of mood when my number was called after a one hour wait. My clerk was Phyllis. She listened to my story, and then

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a big sister.  That’s because she is seven years older than I.  By the time I began to form memories I was 5 years old, and she was 12. When I was five I started school at Greenbank Infants School in Bristol, U.K.  I cried a lot on that first day. The family legend is that I cried until the first “playtime” (recess) in the school playground (school yard) that morning. The legend goes on to say that I re-entered the classroom and announced “I am not going to cry anymore because I saw my sister”. That sister was my big sister Maureen.  Her “big girls” school started a week later, so she was able to lurk near my school-yard for that first mid-morning “playtime”. I think that I remember that morning, but it’s more than likely that I remember what was told to me later . However I recall that story is un-important. What is important is that I have a fabulous “big sister”. Her Christian names are Maureen Joy. It is alleged that she wa

1. Yesterday (Dec 28th 2012) I was a guest at an “end of the year” party, hosted by my neighbours Pat Cosgrove and Bill Byers. Pat and Bill host this party every year, and they do it so well. They provide good food and they invite thirty or more guests. It is always such a relaxed event. So I “kicked back”, and enjoyed being with some of my dear Florida friends (Bob Lewis, Ben Morse, Kay Dohoney and Barbara Dunne) and with other good folks (Tom, Tony, Alice, Irene) who I see just about three times each year, and also with another Tom (a friend from Pittsfield days who visits SRQ about three times each year). 2. Penne was looking very sad this morning. 3. My trip to Vietnam (at the end of January 2013) will include a modest amount of trekking.  I did not want to purchase expensive heavy trekking boots, so I bought these “Sonoma” walking shoes at “Kohls”.. They were reduced in price from $78 to $38.  I think that they will be more than adequate for my treks, and I am

I was born in Bristol, U.K in 1944. The U.K. is geographically a part of Europe, but you’d never know it!   For instance: Do you remember the alleged London Times headline  from  the 1930’s “ Fog in the English Channel – Continent Isolated” ?   That was the British spirit. . My first visit to Continental Europe was in about 1970. It was to the lovely little town of Oberstdorf in the Bavarian Alps. That was the prelude to many more European trips:-  to France, Austria, Italy, Germany , Belgium. Holland, Greece, European Turkey etc. In 1973 I spent two good weeks on the Continent of Africa , in Kenya and Tanzania, (with a 24 stay in Egypt). In 1975 I visited the North American Continent , and made it my home (in the USA) in 1976. My North American visits have also included Canada and Mexico. Later on I visited  the Caribbean (Aruba, and the Bahamas), and Central America (Honduras). I took a trip to Lebanon – geographically in Asia, but emotionally in the Near East.

And lo I went to St. Boniface Church on Christmas Day for the 10:00 a.m. service. I drove there with my SRQ friend Bob Lewis (a retired Episcopal Priest from Hudson, N.Y). Behold we encountered Tom Dillon.  Tom was a school teacher in Pittsfield, M A.  His heritage is Roman Catholic, but he frequently attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield during my duration there.  Tom inherited a condo in Bradenton FL. It is always a pleasure to see him when he comes south from Massachusetts. It came to pass that another Tom was at Church. He is a splendid semi-retired Roman Catholic Priest who in these days mostly worships in the Episcopal Church. Tom, Tom, Bob and JMP sat in church  together for the Christmas Day Eucharist. Two Episcopal Priests – a Roman Catholic Priest – a Roman Catholic educator.  Damn – that’s queer ecumenicism! The St. Boniface organists being exhausted after three services on Sunday 23rd Dec 2012, and three more on Christmas Eve wisely stayed a

(If you go to You Tube  and  search for  "O Holy Night/Nat King Cole"  you will encounter  a wondrous version  of the song, and rejoice in Nat King Cole's  and in  his fabulous diction). There is a story behind this song. I reproduce it here. N.B Thie follwoing is not my writing.  I "lifted it" from the WWW Stories Behind the Music: "O Holy Night" "O Holy Night" remains one of the world's most beloved Christmas carols, with uplifting lyrics and melody. The lyrics were written by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a resident of Roquemaure, France (located a few miles north of the historic city of Avignon). Cappeau was a wine merchant and mayor of the town, as well as an occasional writer of poetry.  Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Cappeau when his parish priest, shortly before Cappeau embarked on a business trip, asked him to pen a poem for Christmas mass. In a dusty coach travel

 As is the case for many folks I am a creature of routine and habit. ROUTINE My morning routine is almost unchangeable. Out of bed by 5:00 Bathroom. Boot up computer. Greet Penne and the cats – Penne gets half a biscuit and the cats each get a couple of small treats. Make coffee. Have first cigarette. Pour coffee. Check e-mail and Facebook . Except that this morning my computer would not connect with the internet. Woe was me. I tried all the tricks of the trade without success. I called Comcast.  Getting through to a real live person is a feat requiring enormous patience.  I was patient. The real live person told me that there were no reported outages in my area.  She asked me to “hold on”.  I did so for twenty minutes, and then my store of patience “went down”. So I hoved off to MacD's : “Tablet” in hand. $1.08 bought a medium sized coffee.  Within three minutes I was on line using the free wi-fi.  (Later I discovered that I could have saved $1.08 b

1. It was (by S.W. Florida standards ) quite chilly this morning (46 f,/7.7 c).  For my 6:30 a.m. walk with Penne I donned a top coat, scarf , and gloves. 46f in Massachusetts on December 22nd would have seemed to be almost balmy.  After six and a half years in Florida it feels cold! Is it true that our blood “thins”, (that’s the lore), or is there an alternative explanation as to why differing temperatures change our bodily reactions? --------------------------------------------------- 2. The cooler weather has its upside.  I was able to walk five miles yesterday, and about four and a half miles today. Penne was so happy! ------------------------------------------------- 3. She has been so happy that she dragged me out for a walk at about 4:45 p.m. today. There was a method in her madness. Somehow she knew that my neighbour, the recently widowed Sophie would also be out and about. She was correct, So Penne encountered Sophie this afternoon, and  Sophie met Penne

A follow up from yesterday's blog. Mental illness is illness.  It is not a choice. We in the United States have chosen to eviscerate (in the derivative meaning of that word) the medical, social and counselling services which are essential to mentally ill people.   Thus we have hundreds of thousands of ill people who are on the streets or in prison. (Incidentally in both places they are frequently the objects   not the perpetrators of violent behaviour). It is a national scandal – one amongst many. Once in a while  a mentally ill person will rampage. Because of another of our other national scandals -   e.g. the widespread availability of fire arms – including weapons which were designed for military usage,- those rampages can result in cruel and horrid murders –  shocking us to the core (for a week or two) when the murders take place in schools, and bringing us to despair when those killed are six and seven year olds. We are shocked for "a week or two"  But

1. Last Sunday, December 16th 2012 I was in another town and at another Church. I arrived early because my host is a choir member who needed to attend rehearsal. Wandering the huge campus of this church I came across a room named “The Other Cup”.  From outside I noticed that coffee and snacks were available, so supposing that this was a place for a pre-service cup of java I entered the room. There were twelve or fourteen people in the room - not one of whom greeted me. I poured a cup of coffee and took my seat. The others began an un-focussed discussion. Their chat meandered from here to there, and eventually settled on the murders of so many in Sandy Hook, CT on Friday 14th. Of course there were genuine expressions of shock and grief.  But the group easily came to their conclusion that the shooter Adam Lanza was mentally ill, and that “therapy” would have prevented this massacre. I am not so sure. I wanted to ask “what about evil"”,  but as a guest I refrained.  It

“Kate is coming today”.  That’s what I told Penne earlier today.  Kate is the great woman who cleans my house (she retired last summer but has “un-retired”). Penne likes Kate, and Kate adores Penne.  When Kate arrived Penne gave her many “kisses”. Whilst Kate worked I went off to have a haircut, to return a book to the library, and to lead the weekly prayer service at Resurrections House. That being done I walked with Penne, had lunch, and walked again. Then I drove over to Sarasota’s fabulous Asolo Theatre for a matinee performance of the musical 1776 (which premiered in 1969). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1776_(musical)  (cut and paste if necessary) My guests were the wonderful Ron and Charlotte Thompson. We enjoyed every minute of the show – with its historical accuracy, humour, lively music and superb acting. Post-show, Ron and Char headed towards the home of my good friend Ben, for a pre-dinner gathering. I drove home, fed the cats, and then walked Penne ov

I was on holiday in Greece at the time of the Columbine High School murders.  I read a paragraph or two about that massacre in an English language newspaper for tourists, but it all seemed so remote, so far away. I was flying from Tampa to Denver when the news first broke about the slaughters of the innocents in Newtown CT. A passenger in the row before me had paid to use the in-flight T.V., and as he flipped channels I heard no more than “killings in Connecticut”.  And that was all I knew until Sunday morning, when I read about this horror as I went on line to print a boarding pass. Back in my hotel room in Tampa I switched on CNN and began to get more of the story.  I had a sense of irritation with CNN and the scores of other T.V. stations who had their vans, their cameras, and their reporters in that small town.  I thought that such a huge presence was less than helpful and more than harmful to the residents of Newtown in their awful grief. “If only” the television media mogu

Home, sweet home. I am back at home after a brief vacation. Last Friday I arrived in Phoenix to stay with my dear and beloved friend Joyce.  (She was a parishioner in Pittsfield MA) We enjoyed two very relaxing days together, despite the unusual rainy and cold weather in Arizona. We did not need to “do” anything, we simply enjoyed being together. Michael and Joyce Nevertheless we took one trip:to the Museum of Musical Instruments: http://mim.org/ There amongst many other things we viewed John Lennon’s piano - on which he composed “Imagine”. John Lennon's piano John Lennon apart,  Joyce and I enjoyed a bit of shopping, a lot of talking, and the worship of God at Joyce’s parish: “St Barnabas in the Desert” in Scottsdale/Paradise Valley. See http://www.saintbarnabas.org/ After Church and lunch with Joyce I took a flight from Phoenix AZ to Tampa FL (the flight arrived in Tampa 20 minutes early!!, and then I stayed overnight at

Friday 14th Dec 2012. TPA –DEN-PHX Visit for two days with my dear friend Joyce Thornburg in PHX Sunday 16th Dec 2012 PHX – TPA Stay overnight at La Quinta Inn near TPA Monday 17th Dec 2012 morning Lunch in Tampa. FL  with my beloved friends Michelle Holmes and Derrick Jackson, from Cambridge MA. They will be in the area because Derrick’s nephew will receive his Eagle Scout award. Monday 17th Dec 2012 afternoon.   To SRQ and a joyful reunion with my dog Penne. Back in touch with you on Monday evening

I am taking a wee trip away from Friday 14th December 2012 until Monday 17th December 2012. (More about this tomorrow) I planned the trip three weeks ago.  But I neglected to pay attention to a few details. 1. I forgot to suspend my newspaper delivery. 2. I forgot to suspend mail delivery. 3. I did not make arrangements for cat care. Oh my! Fear not. After 6 ½ years living at Glen Oaks Ridge, SRQ I have discovered the blessing of having good neighbours. SO....  at very short notice and after a couple of conversations 1. My neighbour  Barbara will retrieve my newspaper from my driveway on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. Barbara does not subscribe to our local paper so I have told her to enjoy it for three days. 2. Another neighbour Kathy will stop by my home on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings to make a fuss of the cats, to refresh their water bowls, and to give them their evening treats.  Kathy will also retrieve my mail. GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Photo's via my friend Bill Byers .  He and I see each other most mornings as I walk with my dog Penne and he walks his dog Maggie at sunrise. . Most of these photo's were taken by Bill using his   iPhone. They show the Lakes at Glen Oaks Manor where Bill lives, and Glen Oaks Ridge where I live. I enjoy the morning light and I am grateful that Bill took and shared these photo's. .

Yesterday (Dec 10th 2012) I went to the locally owned pet food etc store (Holistic for Pets in Sarasota) to buy some bags of dried food for Penne my dog and for Adelaide and Ada my cats. I choose to use locally owned stores in the hope that some of my dollars are retained in my community. At the checkout I paid for the food, and for some “poop bags”. The clerk/assistant rang up my purchases and then said “thank you for being so low maintenance”. I was not sure what she meant, so I asked “what do you mean?” “Oh” she replied, “so many of our customers are very high maintenance" (which being interpreted means “hard to please” ). To be truthful I am not always a low maintenance person.  I am often very hard to please. But I have a great respect for those who work in retail stores. They are very often underpaid and undervalued. So I do my best to be kind and gracious to retail clerks/ assistants. I encourage my readers to “shop locally” whenever possible and to be

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Australia_Fair So, this is a National Anthem which never caught on. Ne’er mind about the Anthem, it’s incidental. But do mind about Australia. It’s a fabulous Country/Nation/Continent. I was there a year ago. On Dec 10th 2011 I was visiting my friends Andrew and Felicity McGowan in Melbourne. On that day I took a Ferry from Melbourne down to Williamstown. I could not resist that trip since I know of only two places called “Williamstown”:   - this  one in the Australian State of Victoria, the other one in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. More important than the two places called Williamstown is that I utterly enjoyed being in Australia. I visited the (under-rated) and gorgeous City of Adelaide. My days in Melbourne were delightful (it’s a fabulous City). And (of course) I spent some time in the “tourist trap” City of Sydney. A year later I am drenched in Australian memories. I would love to return there. Should you decide

Here is the letter I sent about my "second retirement".  It was published in the St. Boniface Church, Sarasota, FL newslette r Dear friends at St. Boniface, After fifty two years of preaching (yes I   began when I was sixteen years old!) I  have advised Bishop Dabney Smith of my   intention to retire from all public ministry   at St. Boniface, and in the other parishes   where I have served as a "supply priest". I love the Lord and my faith is deep and  sweet, but after all these years I  find  the task of sermon preparation and   preaching to be more of a burden than a  joy. It has been a joy and pleasure to serve   at St. Boniface from the pulpit and at the  altar, and I thank you for this privilege. I look forward to sharing with you in the   worship and service of God, but from the  pews rather than up-front. Yours sincerely in the Lord Jesus, Michael Povey.   "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the

Some years ago I wrote about a couple of Hutterite women who work in a local supermarket, and retain their traditional dress.  This is anomalous since Hutterite people live in “colonies”, and there is no such colony in this neck of the woods. I had a brief conversation with the older of the two women (it turns out that they are aunt and niece).  She was more than a wee bit surprised that I knew of Jacob Hutter. In common with other Hutterites she is very reserved; therefore I have not pressed her for more of her story. Last week whilst I was browsing at Sarasota’s Fruitville Library I glimpsed a title, which then caught my attention. The book is “I am Hutterite”, by Mary-Ann Kirkby (Thomas Nelson 2010). It is a delightfully nuanced memoir about growing up in Hutterite Colonies in Canada: - (New Rosedale and Fairholme, in Manitoba). Mary-Ann’s parents made the fateful decision to leave the colony and with it everything that was familiar, lovely, and tender. They were also lea

My good nephew Nick and his fabulous wife Lesley (“Lel”) were in Glasgow, Scotland today to do some Christmas shopping. Lord alone knows why they travelled the 371 miles from our home City of Bristol, England to get stuff in Glasgow which was probably readily available at home. Not to worry – “Lel” posted on her Facebook page that she was in line at the station (rail?) to get a “Bacon Sarny”. This, being interpreted for Americans, means a “Bacon Sandwich”. “A bacon sandwich?”  : -  “who could wish for anything more!” Not I.! The power of suggestion is often irresistible! Thus, inspired by Lel, I bought some bacon this morning with the intention of having a bacon (plus lettuce and tomato) sandwich for my supper today. “Fate” intervened, via my friends Ron and Charlotte Thompson. They hosted a magnificent birthday lunch for our mutual friend Bob Lewis. We ate: 1.  Fabulous nibbles (including Charlotte’s homemade salmon spread). 2 Deliciously spiced pumpkin sou

Grant, the artist who created the wonderful painting I posted yesterday is not a Kindergartner. He is in first grade. These distinctions are mightily important to six year olds. Here again is his terrific painting.  (Yes indeed this artist is six years old). Way to go Grant!  ( and his fabulous parents Peter and Ashley, and his younger brother Dalton)

Here is a painting By Grant Burroughs at his first ever art lesson at Lakewood Ranch. FL. Here is the artist -  Grant Burroughs - who is in kindergarten. This is a drawing which Grant made for me a couple of years ago.  I know him, his brother, and his parents from Church.  I framed Grant's drawing and it rests on my hall table. Do you not think that Grant's new picture is simply stunning?

My good pal Ben and I took ourselves to Sarasota’s  “Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall” for a concert by the Sarasota Orchestra this afternoon (Dec 2nd 2012) at 2:30 p.m. The Sarasota Orchestra is “as good as they come”.  In fact they are “better than they come” in the smaller American cities such as Sarasota. Maybe they are as good as the “big name” orchestras! The first offering today was Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony (No. 41 in C Major. K 551).  This is Mozart at his very best, and the orchestra played the symphony with wondrous skill, which enabled great beauty. Mozart would have been proud. After the intermission we heard “The Planets” by Gustav Holst. I’ve known “The Planets” since I was 12 or 13 years old and in High School.  (Perhaps it was even earlier since my beloved father loved to listen to classical music on the B.B.C.). But my enjoyment of “The Planets” has ever been on the radio, or via recordings. Now all these years later I enjoyed it live for the first time.

Graphic via Bruce Bryant-Scott. The Revd. Wes Wasdyke was the preacher at St. Boniface Church, Siesta Key, FL on November 17th 2012. Wes is a good friend and colleague. One of the texts that Sunday  was Hebrews 10:11-25. Here is part of what Wes Wasdyke said: “The reading from..... Hebrews urges us to “hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful”.  To “hold fast” means to be faithful, and to be faithful implies being obedient. Obedience is an unpopular concept in this post-modern age; it’s not a word we use easily. But an Episcopal monk whom I know speaks of obedience in a way which makes sense to me. He (the monk) explains it in the following way: ‘ What God wants from us is the same as what God wants for us. So when God commands, we should listen, because God is not only asking something from us but is also offering something for us”.  Remember, the gospel means good news. What God asks of us and gives to us is

My heading is taken from Psalm 133 verse 1 which reads “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” My charitable heart wants to believe that the Psalmist meant “brothers and sisters”. I've had three days’ worth of good and pleasant conversations in unity. On Wednesday I had lunch at the ever dependable “Panera Bread” with my brother Wes Wasdyke. Wes has had a dual career – as a Medical Doctor (Anaesthesiologist), and as an Episcopal Priest. He and his good wife Cindy have homes in Nashua N.H. and in Lakewood Ranch, FL. In retirement Wes is one of the “Priest Associates” at St. Boniface Church here in Sarasota. He is a fine, solid, and thoughtful preacher. It is always great to break bread with Wes, to talk about our convictions and hopes, and to share our mutual commitment to the God we know and love in Jesus Christ. On Thursday I lunched with my beloved Andi Taylor at the Lobster Pot on Siesta Key.  Andi is the Assista

A few years ago I traveled up to the Island of North Haven ME (in the Penobscot Bay). (see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Haven,_Maine) I was there to preach and to  celebrate the Eucharist at the one and only church on this small and isolated island. I was a guest of my friends Fred and Diana Emrich who spend half of the year on the island, and the other half on Longboat Key, FL. It was a lovely weekend.  North Haven ME is a beautiful place. But I could never live there (or on any small island). I love the bustle of cities. I am glad to have three supermarkets, two post offices, and four banks within a mile of my home in SRQ. It’s cool to live a twenty minute drive away from the SRQ airport, and no more than seventy minutes away from a larger airport (TPA in Tampa). And I am less than a twenty minute drive away from our opera House, our Van Wezel performing arts centre, the fabulous Ringling Museums, and seven theatres. All of this, and scores of restaurants –