Lift up Your Hearts

As winter comes I am reminded of a very snowy end of term in about 1982 or 3 when there were heavy drifts all over the Heath and the school closed early for fear that we would otherwise be snowed in for Easter.

He gives snow like wool; He scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth His ice like morsels; who can stand before His cold? He sends forth His word, and melts them; He makes His wind blow, and the waters flow Psalm 147: 16-18

Anglo Catholics

"Are you Anglo-Catholic?" I was once asked by a lady in my first parish as she gazed with horrified fascination at my rosary. "Horribly." was my reply. Public school religion is famously (except in the Woodard Foundation) not Anglo-Catholic. But Haileybury has made its contribution to the catholic revival in the Church of England. Fr Basil Jellicoe (BFr 1912) is rightly remembered for his heroic labours in Somers Town and his invention of Housing Associations, but he was also a contributor to the Anglo Catholic Congress movement of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Sir Edwyn Hoskyns (Tr 1897) was a Cambridge theologian and New Testament scholar whose contribution to a volume of essays edited by E G Selwyn Essays Catholic and Critical had a seminal effect on Biblical studies. There is an article on his life and work in the journal of the Catholic League, here.

The Report of the Anglo Catholic Congress of 1927 contains contributions by Hoskyns on The Eucharist in the New Testament and Neville Coghill (Tr 1913), famous for his versification of the Canterbury Tales into modern English for Penguin Classics, who submitted a paper on Sacraments and the Presence of God in Nature.

Bishop Sir Edwyn Hoskyns Bt

Hoskyns' Father, also Sir Edwyn, (Tr 1865.1) was President of the Old Haileyburian Society in 1902 - 3, the year before he was consecrated Bishop of Southwell. Given that it was only in 1885 that Bishop King of Lincoln had reintroduced the Mitre into the Church of England, the Bishop of Southwell was presumably like his son, quite 'advanced', his photograph showing him in cope, mitre and coloured stole.

Raise a Glass

I was very sorry to miss the Pub Event tonight. Duty called at the Sea Cadets where I am Chaplain, and was committed to being on parade. It is difficult to get there very often, so I make it a 'must' to go once a month, usually on the evening of the formal inspection, when there is also a "church parade" at which I officiate.

Chaplain's Cap Badge

The Pub evenings are a splendid idea. I have been once to one, and it gathered a large number of OHs and a wide cross section of ages and backgrounds. The informality and the opportunity to drop in and out works.

Splice the Mainbrace!

Although not at the pub event I did raise a glass in the wardroom of the Unit after parade - it fell to me to ring the bell and splice the mainbrace following my new appointment.

Recycling

Tuesday evenings are busy in the parish, especially when, as this evening, one of the clergy is away. The youngest section of the Boys Brigade meets at 6pm and there is an "opening service," a short talk and a prayer to lead. Then at 6.45 the church needs to be opened and we say the Rosary. Tonight I slipped out to lead the opening service for the older section of the Boys Brigade at 7pm and back to church in time for Evening Prayer. Then Mass at 7.30 and Bible study from 8.15 until 9pm. Then Rubbish. It is bin night and the wheelie bins have to go down the end of our long drive and also the green recycling tubs. It always feels a bit like the last straw!

Recycling has reached Haileybury in a big way. There are recycling points everywhere. A sign of the modern world.

Magenta

Main Street, Magenta

"What is that man wearing on his feet?" My wife had to admit to her neighbour at speech day that she did know me as I sat on the stage and my OH socks were suddenly on view to the audience below. 

Magenta is a striking colour; not exactly subtle. It got its name from a town in Italy where a battle in 1859 caused the ground to be dyed with the blood of the fallen. Haileybury uses a particular shade, about which more on another occasion, but for now here are some pictures of the town whose sanguinary history gave the name to the colour we wear.

Once bloody battlefield

Memorial to those whose blood coloured the ground