Life......

A work in progress

2011-08-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

I have decided to return to the blogosphere (assuming that is what its still called). I do so against the background of a journey which I was close to completing when I last posted and which has since led me to a new spiritual home.

My decision to join the Roman Catholic church as a member of the newly established Ordinariate was both one of the easiest and most joyful decisions I have ever taken. From the Rite of Election in March to reception on Maundy Thursday I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome which the Ordinariate group received. It is true that we are currently modest in size. But then, as we are reminded in the gospel, so is the mustard seed.....

There are a lot of good catholic blogs and websites around. I will add a few favourites of my own in due course. But I have decided not to add to their number. I would add nothing of any particular value.

Instead this blog will be sort of about my life as a continuing journey and the success or otherwise I have in negotiating it. There are still a few details to be sorted out but I aim to be posting again come September....

End of Part One

2010-12-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

The loss of a close family member is never easy to take. I think grieving is the loss we feel for someone taken from us. In this case someone very special who I know I will miss. The funeral service yesterday was a reminder how great that sense of loss will be.

But there are consolations. The loss of someone dear can be a time when those left behind can give and draw strength from one another. A large family meal on the eve of the funeral (an even bigger one scheduled for last night fell victim to the weather - we were all a very long way from home and travel prospects for the next day were not promising) underlined the point. I just hope that we don't lose that real sense of the ties that bind us.

And there was a final act still to be played out. Following the committal the church was filled with the sound of a cherished favourite of hers - Vaughan Williams Lark Ascending. It was a present I remember buying her a few years ago and for a few minutes I realised that the gift I had given was now being shared. This beautiful piece of music had become a keepsake, one that will always remind me of her. What a wonderful way to say goodbye!

This is the point at which I have decided to reflect on where this blog is going. It began as an attempt to try and make sense of the world I live in. 3 years on and rather than continue to allow myself to be confused, frustrated, angered, heartened, inspired or amused by what goes on around me I have decided to stop being bemused and anchor myself to something more solid. In the past 14 months or so, in common with other Anglo Catholics I have been reflecting on how to respond to the prospect of joining the new Ordinariate. During the autumn I had one of those 'got it' moments, when things just became really clear. Now, inasmuch as anything makes sense to me, the Universal church does. I think now I would prefer to be there. I hope they'll have me.

So I am not sure I should really carry on with this when there are scores of far better informed and more erudite bloggers out there. I am not sure I have anything left worth saying. So for a while, I may just not say it.

Ordinariate Exploration Day

2010-11-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

We live in changing times. For many Anglo-Catholics its time to consider how we should respond to the Holy Father's offer of full Communion with Rome through a new (yet to be established) Ordinariate.

For those of us resident in this part of Kent we have the good fortune to be able to hear more about the Ordinariate next Saturday, 20 November. There are three excellent speakers so we should have, after an hour or two, a much better idea of what the Ordinariate is and the options available to us.

The meeting was originally going to be at 10:00am but this may have denied people the opportunity to attend the Bishop of Fulham's final Mass in London. So in keeping with the theme of changing times, the Ordinariate meeting will now start at 3:30pm. If you are planning to attend, please note the new time.

North of the Border (and The Big Silence, last time)

2010-11-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of days north of the border to mark our 20th wedding anniversary. It was a wet and cold Friday evening when we arrived. The city in the twilight looked every bit as gloomy and unforbidding to my French wife as it must have done to Mary Queen of Scots roughly 450 years earlier. But a bit of sunshine transforms even the most sombre of places and so it was on Saturday morning.........

.... we set out reasonably early and visited Edinburgh Castle in bright autumn sunshine. By late morning we were ready to continue the well trodden path down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Royal Mile has turned into a bit of a tourist trap with plenty of opportunities to part the unsuspecting tourist from their hard earned groats. I thought we were doing well when we stopped to pay a visit to that most uncommercial of venues, St Giles Cathedral - only to discover that if you did want to take pictures, that would cost you. In practice the extensive restoration works there meant that we should perhaps await a future visit before taking pictures.

So....back to the Royal Mile and on to the Palace.............

.........which greeted our arrival with a traditional Scottish deluge. You'll have to take my word for it that we actually visited. It was too wet to take pictures of the Palace from outside whilst, inside, photography was strictly forbidden.

For all that and in particular the rain, a wonderful couple of days. But for our next anniversary I promised my wife to chose a location with a more equable climate. That will be a challenge given we were married in early November. The UK certainly is out!

Returned home and caught up with the last episode of The Big Silence. The programme finished with each of the 5 volunteers setting out to find silence in their everyday lives. That each of them appeared to be determined to succeed, in spite of initial difficulties, was enough to reassure me that silence is more than golden, it really is transforming.

For obvious reasons we were not at home when the programme went out. A few years ago I would have attempted to video the programme on the Delay Timer facility on my Video and hope for the best when I got back. Nowadays the video recorder is pretty redundant. Many channels show their programmes more than once a week; or they have a +1 (Hour) channel (Channel 4, for example); or they allow you to view programmes on-line through facilities like the BBC's i-player. It was the latter I relied on to catch the last part of The Big Silence.

The downside of the BBC i-player is that programmes are removed a week or so after transmission. Fortunately some very bright person has put the whole series on YouTube and you can find it here . As far I can see it has been uploaded in the form of 12 x 15 minute segments. Perfect to digest in small segments if you don't want to watch it all the way through in one sitting . And a case of Youtube matching the BBC in Public Service broadcasting.

Guardian Angel

2010-11-03T02:52:00.000-07:00

'See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 18:10)

A wonderful story from France about an 18 month old toddler who survived falling seven stories from the balcony in the flat where he lived, by landing first on to a cafe awning and then bouncing into the arms of a passer-by. The little boy's saviour had to move a little to get into the right position but having done so, caught the boy. Apparently the toddler was fine, cried a bit but then calmed down straightaway. Not a scratch. Even more extraordinary is that the cafe itself was closed and normally, when closed, the owner wound up the awning. It was however broken so on this occasion he hadn't been able to.

It transpires that the boy had been left alone with his three year old sister by their parents, who had gone for a walk, so I guess he needed a guardian angel to look out for him. Whatever you think about that, it is still a miraculous escape and unusually in the press these days, a story that leaves you smiling.

The Big Silence (3)

2010-10-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

The second of the three-part series following 5 people who embarked on a journey through silence to better understand their deeper selves was broadcast last night. The five volunteers had been taken out of their busy everyday lives to spend 8 days at St.Bueno's in North Wales, time that was spent in silence save for a daily half hour session with a spiritual guide.

The pace of the programme was very slow as the transition of each volunteer into acceptance and the embrace of the deeper silence took place in front of us. At the end each had undergone a transforming experience, one that they would now carry back with them to the 'real' world.

Next week's programme will follow their subsequent progress and will allow us to see whether they can hold on to what they had gained at the retreat. It is compulsive and at times very moving. Both the first programmes are available on BBC i-player. If the Channel Controller BBC-1 is reading this, can I suggest a repeat showing at a more popular time. All religious programming should be this good.

The Big Silence (2)

2010-10-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

An intriguing first programme. Meeting my son in London for a weekend home from university meant I missed the original transmission (which just tends to prove my point that 7:00pm is just simply the wrong time, 9:00pm would be far better) , so I caught up with the programme this morning via the BBC iPlayer.

"When people enter into the silence that's when they meet God.......". For those of us lay people whose lives surrounded by noise and busy-ness, that is a potentially disturbing yet truly inspiring reflection. I look forward to the rest of this series.

The Big Silence

2010-10-21T23:22:00.001-07:00

Tucked away at the less popular time of 7:00pm, BBC2's new series 'The Big Silence' starts this evening. As the BBC website has it: "Abbot Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk, believes that he can teach five ordinary people the value of silent meditation, as practised by monks in monasteries, so they can make it part of their everyday lives. He sets up a three-month experiment to test out whether the ancient Chrisitan tradition of silence can become part of modern lives."

If its half as absorbing as "The Monastery" it will be worth watching. Its not often that religious programming is given space to make a case for the alternatives to secular living. Perhaps BBC2 might be tempted to re-run the programme at 9:00pm when the busy people it could engage are actually sitting at home?

Mixed Emotions......

2010-10-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Big day yesterday as we took our son to University. As far as I can gather he settled in OK - within 10 minutes of arriving he disappeared with a few other new arrivals, clutching some of the finest beverages on offer from the lager brewers of Europe. So much for the bit that says: will he be able to meet other people and make friends?

As a parent I realise the adjustment parents have to make when the people dearest to us do what we brought them up to do - fly the nest and start making their way in the world. At which point you then ask yourself: can they cope? Parenthood is never a short term project. It seems to last well past the point when other people would tell you they are adults and perfectly able to fend for themselves.

For all that, I feel blessed. I will miss my son (and in a year or so's time with any luck my daughter) like mad. Not just because they are my children. But rather because I really like them. They are nothing like me but they are great when they are around. That is a fantastic thing to take from 18+ years of parenting and I hope that others in a similar position feel the same way.

But it is still bittersweet...........just when your children grow into the people you like to be around, they go and leave you. That's how it's supposed to be, but its still not easy.

A lifestyle choice?

2010-09-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

"I loved him. I will miss him every day of my life. I will miss him every minute of every day. I thought the world of him. I couldn't have had a better son."

These are the words of a father whose son took his own life in a suicide pact with someone that he had met on the internet. You can read more in this report from the Indy. As a father myself, I found these words unbearably sad.

I recently wrote about an organisation called Exit International who offer seminars to people over 50 to tell them about End of Life choices - killing yourself in the most convenient and painless way possible. Exit are not, I must stress, implicated in this terrible case. But they are helping to make suicide respectable, attractive even. And what is to stop the odd, determined and depressed person under the age of 50 arming themselves with the necessary hints and tips from Exit to do what 35 year old Stephen Lumb and 34 year old Joanne Lee did? Who is to say that mum or dad having decided they were just a burden would not leave their children to deal with the consequences of opting to take one of Exit's 'Life Exit' choices? And supposing their children felt that maybe, doddery or not, they would rather their parents saw out their time with their love and support?

Where next? Can we expect a rallying cry from Rights activists saying that not only should we have the right to terminate life in the womb but we should be supportive when people feel they are past their sell-by date and help them take their lives? Is anyone interested? Does anyone care?

One way trip ........

2010-09-20T15:28:00.001-07:00

The picture above is a moving scene from a film called 'Soylent Green', released in the early 70's. The late Edward G Robinson, plays Sol, a man living in New York around 2020. He is utterly devastated when he discovers a secret, state sponsored solution to deal with the problems of the overcrowded, polluted, environmentally devastated world he lives in. In this world the authorities permit (even encourage) people to die early and Sol elects to take this way out. He visits a clinic which duly obliges with the fatal injection, easing his passage to the next world by allowing him to watch panoramic scenes of awesome beauty to the background of Beethoven's Pastoral.

I was reminded of this film earlier this evening when I tuned in to Radio 4. I picked up on part of a programme called 'Choosing a Time to Die'. The bit I heard included an interview with Philip Nitschke, the founder of Exit International, an information and advocacy outfit that aims to raise awareness about 'End of Life choices' or voluntary euthanasia. This link to the BBC website offers a summary. Among Exit's service offerings are seminars to the over 50's on easy ways to commit suicide. The matter of fact way it was discussed was extremely disquieting.

I hope this is not the start of a new trend towards making VE respectable or a way of further aiding those who are campaigning to make assisted suicide legal. But a concept which 40 years ago seemed chillingly dystopian appears to be with us, here and now.

Message Received........

2010-09-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

'For this reason I appeal in particular to you, the lay faithful, in accordance with your baptismal calling and mission, not only to be examples of faith in public, but also to put the case for the promotion of faith’s wisdom and vision in the public forum. Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility. Do not be afraid to take up this service to your brothers and sisters, and to the future of your beloved nation.'

So spoke the Holy Father at yesterday's mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. I found these words inspiring. Is there anything in those words that any Christian - and not just Roman Catholics - could take issue with? I say this because the anti-Papal (he's German so he must be planning to invade Europe shortly, he's promoting paedophilia) sentiment which is very evident at present is not just coming from atheist fundamentalists. It is coming from within the Christian community too, in one case openly supporting the National Secular Society. So it's not just Ian Paisley but what I hope would normally be more informed and thoughtful voices from within the CofE. Presumably these people skip over the 'One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church' bit when they recite the Creed on a Sunday. All very sad.

With friends like these..........

2010-09-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

This is the list of the great and good who signed a letter - from the look of things drafted for them by those good people in the National Secular Society - in today's Guardian protesting at the fact that the Pope's visit to the UK is a state visit:

Stephen Fry, Professor Richard Dawkins, Professor Susan Blackmore, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Ed Byrne, Baroness Blackstone, Ken Follett, Professor AC Grayling, Stewart Lee, Baroness Massey, Claire Rayner, Adele Anderson, John Austin MP, Lord Avebury, Sian Berry, Professor Simon Blackburn, Sir David Blatherwick, Sir Tom Blundell, Dr Helena Cronin, Dylan Evans, Hermione Eyre, Lord Foulkes, Professor Chris French, Natalie Haynes, Johann Hari, Jon Holmes, Lord Hughes, Robin Ince, Dr Michael Irwin, Professor Steve Jones, Sir Harold Kroto, Professor John Lee, Zoe Margolis, Jonathan Meades, Sir Jonathan Miller, Diane Munday, Maryam Namazie, David Nobbs, Professor Richard Norman, Lord O'Neill, Simon Price, Paul Rose, Martin Rowson, Michael Rubenstein, Joan Smith, Dr Harry Stopes-Roe, Professor Raymond Tallis, Lord Taverne, Peter Tatchell, Baroness Turner, Professor Lord Wedderburn of Charlton QC FBA, Ann Marie Waters, Professor Wolpert, Jane Wynne Willson

Good for them that they can get these things off their chest and thanks to the Guardian who decided to let them share it with the rest of us. They have now had their say. I hope they have the courtesy and good grace now to step back and allow the visit to continue as planned. As so many of them are such sanctimonious windbags this may require a supreme effort of self restraint. But we live in hope, eh..?

Back to Business

2010-09-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

A short break on the Algarve (just: I got the day wrong and we only just made it to the airport in time) to recharge the batteries. Having eaten well, slept soundly and got a bit of golf in I returned to find the country in chaos. Charlton, on the wrong end of a late penalty at Exeter have now slipped further down League 1, the Coalition government is embroiled in scandals (phone hacking and shared hotel rooms) and Stephen Hawking confirms there is no God. Enough to tempt one back onto the plane and head back to Portugal.

Fortunately September is the month when things do start getting back to normal. This article by Michael Bywater in Saturday's Independent captures the mood perfectly. And on reflection there is a lot to look forward to: my son embarking on his university studies; taking my daughter out for some driving lessons; the Holy Father's visit later in the month and the prospect for some renewal of spiritual life in the UK; even the party conference season and in particular the Labour leadership election.

I'm ready to roll.

The Big Kick-off.......

2010-08-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

........was of course last Saturday in spite of some mistakenly thinking that the minor league competition known as the Premiership, which begins again next weekend, is really the main event.

Arriving at the Valley on Saturday for our first game against Bournemouth it felt like there had never been a close season and certainly no World Cup. That there has been a lot going on at Charlton in the past few weeks soon became evident when we took our seats. What was virtually a new team was introduced to the crowd (and in one or two cases, probably, to one another) whilst the giant electronic scoreboard was turned off, a cost cutting measure whilst the club awaits a sponsor.

As for the game itself, a goal midway through the half from Akpo Sodje (one of the few survivors from last season) was enough to secure three points. A pretty harsh sending-off of midfield anchorman Jose Semedo meant that Charlton played the last 30 minutes a man short. Bournemouth used the one-man advantage to press forward but they offered little threat and in the end we saw out the match comfortably. Tonight I fear we may assume the role of Goliath when we travel to League 2 Shrewsbury for the first round of the Carling Cup. Embarrassing cup defeats have become something of a habit in recent years and tonight's draw has the potential to be the latest. Still if the worst comes to the worst the manager has the opportunity to argue that we can now concentrate on the League.

Meanwhile story of the week has to come from the Southampton vs. Plymouth game. Southampton advised the Plynouth Herald newspaper that they could not allow one of their photographers into the ground. Undaunted the paper asked local cartoonist and Plymouth fan Chris Robinson to capture some of the highlights of the game for their readers. The excellent results left compare favourably with the 'real' Roy of the Rovers item that leads this post. I'd like to think this is a trend that could catch on. The speech bubble in the crowd is a particularly nice touch.

Merlin (Part 2)

2010-08-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

The news from Pakistan means that humanitarian relief is everyone's priority this week. As one of the organisations that forms part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), Merlin will be co-ordinating its efforts with those of other aid agencies. The appeal for funds is being led through DEC.

Some further photographs showing the widespread flooding and the work of the Merlin teams in some of the devastated areas can be found here.

2010-07-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have the good fortune to be working currently at Merlin, an international aid and development charity. Its not the biggest of the charities working in this area but it has carved out a reputation as being pretty good on its feet in an emergency (we were in Haiti soon after the earthquake) whilst also hanging around long enough to help put more durable arrangements in place in those countries that need it most.

Sustainable healthcare provision requires properly trained health workers. Without them it will simply fall apart. So we are currently campaigning for world leaders to step up to the plate and commit to having properly trained health workers in those countries that need it most.

You can go the campaign page here. Read the stories about people working in some of the toughest countries in the world and then decide whether the campaign is worth supporting . It costs nothing to add your name to the petition but if the campaign has whetted your appetite and you wish to find out how you can donate just follow the links to the main Merlin site.

They think its all over....it is now

2010-07-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

In spite of temptations to add to the outcry about England's lamentable performance in the 2010 World Cup, I initially decided to say nothing. It seems that Fabio Capello was asked to take a group of tired (in one or two cases downright unfit) and not particularly motivated players to take on the world. How could we expect any more than the debacle that followed.

For England's players the priority is the Premiership. That is evident when, between tournaments, clashes between club and country are settled in favour of the former. And why shouldn't they be? These players are highly paid to play for their clubs, not for England and certainly not to risk injury whilst playing in their country's colours.

The Premiership itself is a high speed, spills and thrills affair: great for the viewing millions worldwide and certainly a better spectacle for the neutral than the rather more sedate ((if technically superior) football on offer in the Italian or Spanish Leagues. But the physical demands on the players must be huge and come late May after 38 league games, two cups and maybe even some European games there cannot be a lot left in the tank. Little wonder they look lacadaisical. The players need a holiday, not another 4 weeks of football.

But the players are certainly not blameless. They are quite happy to receive huge sums of money that reflects the riches that come from subscription television, notably Sky but also latterly ESPN and a host of overseas buyers. In fact it is subscription television that has undoubtedly been the key factor in creating the monster that is the Premier League. Billions paid for broadcasting rights quickly get paid to the clubs but then just as quickly are turned into huge salaries (£90,000 a week anyone?) paid to some not particularly outstanding players. And to the agents skimming off their percentage. Wage bills are now such a high proportion of a club's total expenditure that many are now reduced to spending money they do not have either to simply stay in the League or to compete for a European place. In fact the biggest irony of the present set up is that in spite of the billions that have gone into football the game has never looked more bankrupt. How can this be?

What subscribers like me have to acknowledge is that so long as we keep paying our £20 a month to watch football we are simply perpetuating a problem. And so it was yesterday with a heavy heart I decided to forego my weekly (in practice, if you choose, it can be a daily) fix of live football: I cancelled my subscriptions to Sky Sports and ESPN. I will continue to watch anything free to air and I may use some of what I save to watch my beloved Charlton away from home as well as at the Valley. But what I cannot do is acknowledge that I am part of a problem and then do nothing about it.

Now to get another 100,000 like-minded followers of lower league football to do the same.

Sunny Afternoon

2010-07-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous summer afternoon in July saw us go to Paddock Wood for the annual Hop Farm festival. A great day out and all within 30 minutes drive from home. This year the bill was topped by none other than Bob Dylan. On a very full festival bill there were some excellent support acts, all of whom acquitted themselves very well, among them Seasick Steve, Mumford and Sons and a new name to me Johnny Flynn. Such was the wide appeal of the line-up that ageing and wizened old hippies like me could rock along to Ray Davies singing "You Really Got Me" or Dylan (albeit with much of the voice all but gone ) singing "Like a Rolling Stone" whilst the younger generation enjoyed Mumford's "Little Lion Man" or Laura Marling's "Alas I Cannot Swim".

However what really struck me was that how this contemporary music really appealed to all ages. I saw a group of lads joining in with old Kinks numbers as if they had grown up with them, grandads appreciative of Johnny Flynn's eclectic folk; and everyone rocking out to bluesman Seasick Steve among whose armoury of eccentric guitars was the quite astonishing Diddley Bow (an old piece of wood, one string, and what appeared to be a can of coke at one end) . In my youth my father was less than polite about my 70's Progrock LP's ('Is that on the right speed?'). Such divisions in this post rock'n'roll era seem to be a thing of the past. We all rock together.

View from the Pew

2010-06-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

I have just sent my annual renewal payment to Forward in Faith. That being so I reckon I have earned the right to offer an ill-informed opinion to the discussions on the latest proposals announced by the Archbishops of Canterbury and Rome on women bishops - and in particular the arrangements for parishes who would rather they kept with the traditional arrangements of men only priests and bishops. Its a perspective offered by a fairly worldly accountant (if there can be such a thing) who has helped organisations get their financial affairs in order.

Larger failing organisations - and I refer to those in the public or not for profit sectors - often get mired financially because it is not clear who is responsible for what. Its not practical for the Chief Executive to take every financial decision, so to make matters manageable the CEO will delegate to others in the organisation, responsibility and authority for financial decision making. Usually those responsibilities are consistent with the wider management responsibilities that individuals carry. Typically therefore I will get a budget to cover the costs of the staff I manage and maybe the costs of training, travel and equipment that allows them to do a good job.

Where this process gets more complicated is in larger hierarchies where the process of delegation carries on down through the chain of command; so that middle managers will get a slice of budget to manage on behalf of, say, their Director. The logic is the same: the manager is closer to the decisions that need to be taken and so they should be responsible for the financial consequences of their decisions.

However a scheme of delegation is not without its problems. Lets say that as Middle Manager A I am rather good at managing my resources. Near the end of the year I have a bit of spare cash and I would like to use it to buy some nice new IT kit for my team. However my boss has a problem in that Middle Manager B has got themselves into a financial hole. So my boss would like to raid other parts of their empire to make their books balance. If as Middle Manager A I am truly empowered, then I can in theory say, sorry boss, but the new IT kit is on its way in. If, on the other hand, my boss's view prevails then I hand back the nest egg I have built up, consoling myself that perhaps its for the greater good. That said, there is no guarantee that my boss having perhaps juggled the money successfully, got herself out of a hole and is now keen to thank everyone for a job well done with a 'Fun' team event does not then find themselves having to instead hand the money back to the CEO who has an even better idea.......

Often I have been through a process of saying to managers throughout the organisation: 'who is in charge of the budget when...........'. Because the answer to the question tells you where real accountability and responsibility lie. Some organisations genuinely try to push responsibility right own the line and absolve senior Directors teams of any formal delegation. That's fine when things are going well but not advisable if the going gets tough. Others tend to place effective control nearer the top of the organisation which can be a bit stifling for every day decision making but does at least mean that the Board are better placed to take take urgent resourcing decisions . What is clear though is that the answer to the question: who is really in charge when ......... can only have one person as the answer. Regardless of what the answer is, the real decision can only really sit in one place. Answers of 'one the one hand it could be, but on the other hand its also...' or worse still 'we don't know/we've never thought about it, people tend to make it up as they go along...' just do not work. This sort of ambiguity or decision-making vacuum is the recipe for the type of financial problems that caused you to ask the questions in the first place.

This slightly rambling piece was prompted by reading the Archbishops proposals because it seems to me the one question I would ask is this: 'Who is in charge when.......'. If its crucial to the parish and its a. The Bishop brought in to oversee the Parish - then its a Flying bishop; if its b. Its down to the Diocesan Bishop - then its no different to the current code of practice; and if its c. 'Well... both' then by my analogy with delegated management, the whole proposal would be doomed to failure.

Sunday, Sunday

2010-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Two Sundays this week. To begin with I made it to church twice: once for early Mass and once for the celebration of Corpus Christi. The latter was followed by the Forward in Faith AGM for the Rochester diocese. All in all an occasion to lift the spirits which you can read about here.

The other bit of Sunday was a bit of serious digging on my allotment - which sits behind St John's, Sevenoaks and was my first port of call after the 8:00 Mass. My wife is largely the inspiration for the increasingly pleasing results in the picture. But assuredly my back will testify that it too has played its part in ensuring that we don't get a letter soon telling us to get our plot up to scratch.

Legacy

2010-06-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

A very much delayed postscript to the earlier sequence of thoughts on the election. That 'New' Labour probably spent a lot more of our money than was wise seems widely agreed. But was it all bad? That thought struck me recently as I was reacquainted with the journey up the A1 to Yorkshire. I have always taken the A1 in preference to the M1, not least because if there is a hold up there are plenty of easy ways round any delay. Not so on the motorways where there is no relief before the next official exit. Against that the A1 was always a tad slower, not least because a succession of roundabouts between Peterborough and the A1(M) in South Yorkshire added to journey times. Those have now gone - replaced by slip roads and flyovers at each major junction. The result was a much better journey, doubtless achieved at a cost but equally very tangible evidence that taxpayer's money was being invested for our collective benefit. I have also heard (and to some extent seen) the benefits of the Labour government's investment in schools and hospitals. They are now in far better shape than they were when Labour came to office in 1997.

All this was thrown into even sharper relief last week when I accompanied a number of others on a bus journey through the new Olympic Park.To be honest I was stunned at the progress - 2 years out from the Games, remember - that was being made. Many of the stadia are now nearing completion and some of the early landscaping of Olympic Park is underway. This surely is cause for some early national pride on a very professional approach to such a huge challenge.

The Olympic programme is not simply about hosted the Games. Its also about the regeneration of some of the most disadvantaged parts of London. Parts of the Olympic Park will after the games be transformed into areas of new housing. Meanwhile just down the road at Stratford, the new Westfield Shopping Complex will be one of the largest undercover retail centres in Europe. I hope that having embarked on such an ambitious project the new coalition does not lose its nerve and see this through to a fitting conclusion: a transformed East End of London.

2010-05-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I will vote. I can honestly say that my mind is not yet made up although it is also fair to say that I live in a constituency where my vote will not make much difference. A goat wearing a blue rosette would probably be returned with a 10,000 majority. No disrespect to the sitting MP who does a pretty good job but this is not the sort of place that is ever likely to be other than "Con. Hold" when the results flash up on the screens on election night.

I have seriously tried to be a good citizen. In particular I have read the manifestos, watched the Leaders' Debates and read the papers. As a Christian I have been particularly struck by Choosing the Common Good, the booklet issued by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales which basically seems to argue for a public life that is underpinned by virtue and a concern for others.

We cannot pretend, too, that the state of public finances is other than a cause for great concern: as a country we are living well beyond our means and early action is needed to bring public spending under control. I have therefore looked hard to see who can set about delivering a stronger economy and social justice within the framework of repairing society.

I cannot support Labour. To begin with I believe they waged an illegal war against Iraq and in justifying their decisions, misled the country. There is blood on their hands and the passing of time only reinforces that belief. For the rest I can only direct you to this website which sets out so starkly the binge spending that has taken place since 1997. Government spending is set to double over 13 years, debt has more than doubled. Had spending kept in touch with inflation spending this year would have been a shade under £450bn. Instead it is heading for £700bn. Whilst there have been real improvements in health and education in line with their priorities I think the current administration has shown less than ideal levels of stewardship. An opportunity to deliver both sustainable and affordable improvements in our public services has been lost.

The debate about virtue in public life so admirably articulated in Choosing the Common Good has sadly been overshadowed by concerns about immigration which, after the economy, appears to have been the other big issue of the campaign. As a result I think the Conservative's ideas of "Big Society" (and by implication, Small Government) have not been sufficiently prominent. I suspect the Conservatives themselves concluded that people for the most part were not interested. However if the Conservatives were returned to Government I hope they would return to the concepts of "Big Society". Under Labour the state has become increasingly overbearing and has pursued an increasingly secular agenda. It is hard to see that another term of Labour would see any softening of tone or a change of direction.

For me the last challenge is balancing the need for tightening of belts with social justice. To this end it seems to me that the Liberal Democrats rather than the Conservatives have made a better case. Raising the income tax threshold to £10000 coupled with the programmes for tackling youth employment seem more than substantial than anything on offer from the Conservatives. Whilst, too, I think the Lib Dems plans to bear down on tax avoidance as a means of paying for their pledge to support the lowest paid are a triumph of hope over experience they are still considerably better than the Conservatives plans to raise billions from efficiency, plans which are patently laughable. So, expect a VAT increase (20% basic rate with some further widening of scope) whoever gets in to Government.

Nobody in this campaign appears to have demonstrated the leadership and vision that this country badly needs. On that basis a vote for 'None of the Above' would be a fairly verdict on each of the three main party leaders. Sadly that option is not available.

Rather then that chaos should descend on Friday I would not be sorry to see David Cameron in Government: but with a majority of 1-5 seats, dependent on Liberal Democrat support to see difficult measures through. In return for that support legislation would be brought in to reform the current electoral system. Because even if the Conservatives confound the polls , are returned with a working majority (30+) and 40% of the vote, they will probably have done so with less than 25% of the people actually voting for them. That's a democratic deficit which needs to be put right.

Looking after the pennies......

2010-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

With nine days to go before polling, the Institute of Fiscal Studies pronounced that not one of the three main parties seeking our votes was being sufficiently explicit about how they would tackle the black hole in public finances. The introductory remarks by Robert Chote are backed up by a wealth of analysis from other IFS speakers. But the overall point is the same: the gap in Britain's public finances is matched only by the gap in credibility displayed by the major parties in how they would cut the deficit.

Political parties do not tend to write manifestos that are too honest about what they would do if elected to office. Labour learned their lesson well and truly in 1992 when the late John Smith's Shadow budget proposals were rather too open about what would happen if John Major's Government were not re-elected.

So we now have obfuscation, evasion and less than transparent answers to awkward questions. The Labour Government should have had a spending review in advance of the election. They haven't because presumably the outcome would have been a sure-fire vote loser. Whoever takes over now will need to move pretty swiftly to fix budgets for the three year period from 2011/12 or the uncertainty around public finance will only increase. Whilst Labour are culpable neither the Tories nor the Liberal Democrats have offered us any real clues as to what they would do. No-one can object to more efficiency (Tories), or bearing down on tax cheats (LibDems), so that's where, we are told, the savings will be found. How is trust to be restored to political life if our leaders or would-be leaders cannot be honest about the difficult decisions they intend to take?

The latest slew of opinion polls suggest that maybe David Cameron is recovering some of the ground lost when the Nick Clegg bandwagon began to roll after the first televised leaders' debate. At 36% the Tories have a solid led over both Lib Dems (29%) and Labour (28%). But even at that level this is hardly a bandwagon, let alone a would-be landslide.

We are told that coalition government or hung parliaments make for weak and indecisive administrations. But how democratic is it that a party with barely one third of those voting (and probably less than a quarter of those eligible to vote) can be said to have a clear mandate. If the Lib Dems surge says anything it is perhaps that more representative Government comes from more than one party having a say in running the country. And after the expenses scandal perhaps it is better to have two-party government so that one lot can keep an eye on the other...........

Liberal with your money

2010-04-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a look at the Conservative party proposal to fund £12bn of savings through a new Efficiency drive in the public sector. I concluded then the plans were unlikely to generate a fraction of the sums quoted. In part this was because they were covering ground that was already the focus of efforts to generate savings and in part because some of the proposals were based on full year projections when an incoming Government starting in May would not have a full year to start with.

So if I am sceptical about the Conservative's plans the Liberal Democrats financial proposals appear eye-wateringly fantastic. £17bn tax redistribution alongside a spend and save package aimed at generating a net £10bn a year after 2010/11. I am not a great expert on the fiscal arithmetic but the critique of the Lib Democrats tax proposals here is fairly balanced. It has been costed and independent observers generally believe the figures quoted are reasonable. What it fails to observe is that the projected savings may be eroded by the tax avoidance industry. Certainly the £5bn targeted from anti-avoidance measures strike me as a triumph of hope over experience. I also cannot believe that those home owners sitting on a £2m+ pile will not sit by and let the state take a 1% levy. Finally hitting the airline industry with a per plane duty may not be viable in the wake of the current disruption to services - huge losses are currently being suffered by carriers. So overall a creditable effort but not one that quite does it for me. Either those ambitions of a £10,000 threshold will need to be phased in or like all the other parties there will have to be an increase in either the scope or basic rate of VAT.

So on to the spend and save package. Here I think they have done a good job. The savings proposals for the most part in quite specific areas. Whilst many will welcome the end of the ID card scheme and biometric passports, they may feel less comfortable about the proposals on Trident and the reform of winter fuel payments. There are weak spots in these proposals. A lot rides on our old friend Whitehall waste. The Lib Dems also appear to dislike Quangos so much they are going to abolish them twice (once in Education and once everywhere else). These proposals may not withstand scrutiny once they see the light of day but I doubt whether any party does not have a bonfire of the Quangos in its sights. And we do at least we know what a Lib Dem Government would do to save money. And no-one - even the Labour and Conservatives who must now consider how to deal with resurgent support for the Lib Dems - can argue that the proposals lack transparency.

My challenge to the two main parties would be for equal transparency. Do I think we'll get it? If they want to recover lost ground I think they must. The two party cartel is having to deal with a challenge to its inalienable right to take it in turns to run the country. They should stop trying to tell us what they think we want to hear and tell us instead what we need to know.

Work in Progress

2010-04-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

My very low expectations for this election campaign are not being disappointed. Yesterday the newspapers carried a story about how the Conservatives planned to finance their policy of reversing Labour's planned increase in National Insurance contributions - the tax on jobs you will recall. The Conservatives acknowledge that the NI policy - at a cost of £6bn - will need to be funded. Interestingly they have indicated that they have plans to raise £12bn with half paying for NI, the remainder to go back to the public sector.

The source of this funding - discussed in the FT by none other than that public sector efficiency guru Sir Peter Gershon - would be as a result of driving out further efficiency savings in the public sector. All very laudable except that the targets for driving out £12bn in a year seem for the most part very familiar - back office reform, better procurement, freezing IT projects and bearing down on consultants. I would be amazed if this shopping list was not already the focal point for many public sector organisations as they look to deliver on existing efficiency targets. For that reason I believe that most of the £12bn is accounted for in existing targets and plans - in short there is a huge amount of double counting here. Many public sector operations are already struggling to realise bottom line savings as a result of these initiatives (many of which have been worked on since "efficiency" and Vfm resurfaced in 2004) and so to believe that there will be a step change in improved delivery immediately after the election is hard to swallow - hence the leading cartoon. And even if there is a vast swathe of public sector organisations not yet 'doing' efficiency, many of the proposals here cannot be done either quickly or without a cost - and zero cost is implicit in the Conservative Party figures.

However that is not to dismiss the whole exercise as fanciful. The plans to freeze recruitment and allow savings to be generated as a result of not filling vacancies ought to meet the objective of generating savings in 2010/11 and at no cost. So this morning, with my trusty fag packet to hand, I did some quick figure-work.

The assertion I have seen is that turnover rates in the public sector is 8%. Lets assume that the 8% represents a net exodus from the public sector (questionable but still) and lets assume an average salary of £25000 or just over £2000 a month). The ONS statistics on the public sector indicate there are a staggering 6.1m employees. If 8% are leaving annually that is nearly 1/2m a year or more pertinently, 40,000 a month. So each month the public sector could find itself able to save £84m (40,000 leaving multiplied by £2000+ per month) simply by not replacing the people that leave. Now as we go month by month through 2010/11 the accumulation of savings is impressive. For example in the first month of 2010/11 (April) we save £84m; in May we save £168 - the £84m from the people who left in April plus a further £84m from the May departures. By my estimates that is worth £6.6bn by March. Impressive and certainly sufficient to pay for the NI policy.

But: recall that the savings have to be generated in 2010/11 at no cost. We're already into 2010/11 and there will be a flow of appointments already in train which are probably irreversible. So I have written off the first three months. No matter because by my estimates there are still potential savings of £3.8bn to be had even if the policy only starts to bite after three months. If we also assume that the promise to afford a degree of protection to front-line services would mean that only half the departures would not be replaced we could see a saving of £1.9bn being generated - in line with Conservative thinking here.

Just one small snag - the number of post losses to generate this saving in 2010/11 has been quoted as 40000. By my reckoning its rather more than that. Partly because the machinery to ensure an effective freeze could probably only operate for nine months in the year of the election; and partly because, on the assumption that this is being done by natural wastage, savings will be built over the year as people leave and not from Day 1.

By my reckoning the post losses that would need to be found to fund plans in 2010/11 are 182,000. It is only once we have a recruitment freeze running across the whole year that savings will start approaching target levels. My own estimate is that on the basis of an average public sector salary of £25000, one would need to lose 80000 jobs to save £2bn in a full year. That a bit less scary than the 182,000 required for 2010/11 but still more a good deal more than 40,000.

And bear in mind, thats the most do-able bit of the £12bn we have been told can be saved through efficiency. In short the whole thing is fantasy politics. Lets hope the rest of this campaign can be conducted on the basis that the British people are not idiots.

Weighing up the Pro's and Con's

2010-04-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

....and we're off. Four weeks or more when our political leaders will be alternately meeting the real people in whom they are now taking an uncharacteristic interest; or rallying the faithful at set piece "meetings". And whatever it is they are doing, ensuring that the mass media are watching. The public meanwhile will be trying to assess which party is promising the best hand-outs or at least is offering a commitment not to touch the things that matter to them. On such things will the latest 5-year contract be drawn up between the people and the party fortunate enough to win enough seats to form a government.

The ideas such as they are seem to revolve around "change", "fairness" and - serious expression - "tough choices" (is there any other type of choice?) over taxes and public spending. I will listen to the debates and then I will vote. At this stage (unusually for a life-long centre/leftie) I have a really open mind. I am attracted to some of the Big Society rhetoric of David Cameron and so am really prepared to give the Conservatives my vote. However they have this habit of blowing their credibility with silly stunts like the promise not to reverse the impending National Insurance increases. That's £7bn that will need to be found elsewhere - not a trivial exercise. Labour are the devil we know but they look tired and I am not sure they have the stamina to govern for another five years or to start dismantling the bloated bureaucracy that they have spent 12 years building. The Lib Dems meanwhile have a real asset in Vince Cable but unlike Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp last night I don't think he can win this one on his own.

The best contribution to the debate that I have seen to date have been Choosing the Common Good published last month by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. On a similar theme a new book, 'Red Tory' by Philip Blond, (read about but not read yet) appears to express similar sentiments, arguing that our broken society needs to be repaired by more communitarian solutions rather than, on the one hand, the promotion of unbridled free markets associated with the Tories, or the state sponsored solutions that are Labour's stock in trade. Armed with these two, my choice will be for the party which is at once brave enough to deal honestly about our options for public spending and taxes before being elected and then has the courage to set about rebuilding a country in which people take greater responsibility for contributing to the communities in which they live and the people that live there.

So dull I cannot even think of a title...............

2010-03-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

I forgot why it was I had not shared the financial results of the British Humanist Association until I read them again tonight. They are pretty unexciting, which says a lot even for annual accounts. The trustees there appear to be models of financial rectitude and the financial stability of the BHA with income just below £1m per annum seems pretty assured for the future. The accounts for 2008 show that around £12ok was spent on the atheist bus campaign although with donations slightly in excess of that, a very public campaign did not blow a hole in their finances. If you are suffering from insomnia the accounts are free to view on the Charities Commission website. Perhaps I have missed something noteworthy based on a quick read through, but I suspect not.

I have recently reflected on the sheer poverty of choice for the British electorate in the forthcoming General Election. Any remaining vestiges of sympathy I might have had for Labour were well and truly blown away with the revelation that former Cabinet Ministers were offering their services (for cash) to lobbying companies. The whole lobbying process feels to me wholly undemocratic and whilst I am not so naive not to realise that this is how business gets done in the Westminster village it is yet another unwelcome reminder as to how far standards have fallen in public life. Still I suppose it gives the Government a decent election slogan: Vote Labour: the Best that Money can buy.

A final parting shot is this. The combination of a determined (zealous) group of anti-religionists, a workable (but not huge) pot of money, some lobbying skills, a friendly media and a group of former Cabinet Ministers for hire may be all it takes to further undermine and marginalise religious life in this country. Nothing in the election campaign thus far suggests that any of the major political parties will do more than stand by and let this trend continue.

And the winner is........

2010-03-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

The following excerpt from Wikipedia on the 1992 election makes for interesting reading. I have italicised and boldened a few select passages.

"The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in the 20th Century, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil Kinnock to be consistently, if narrowly, ahead.

John Major had won the leadership election in November 1990 succeeding the outgoing PM Margaret Thatcher.

During his term leading up to the 1992 elections he oversaw the British involvement in the Gulf War, introduced legislation to replace the unpopular Community Charge with Council Tax, and signed the Maastricht treaty. The UK had gone into recession around the time of Major's appointment, along with most of the other industrialised nations. John Major announced the date of the election on 11 March shortly after Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont had delivered the Budget. It was one of the most dramatic elections in the UK since the end of the Second World War, after the Conservative Party defeated the initial favourites, the Labour Party.

Labour had been ahead of the Tories in the opinion polls since as long ago as 1989, and Thatcher's main reason for her resignation was that she felt that the Tories would stand a better chance of winning the next election if they had a new leader. As 1992 dawned, the recession deepened and the election loomed, most opinion polls suggested that Labour were still favourites to win the election. However, on Election Day, The Sun newspaper ran a front page headline which urged "the last person to leave Britain" to "turn out the lights" if Labour won the election. This headline was widely regarded as the saviour of the Conservative government, and The Sun famously ran a front page headline the next day - It's The Sun Wot Won It - to claim that it had won the election for the Conservatives."

Today's Sunday Telegraph reports the Tory lead in the polls down to a 2-year low. This is in line with the trends reported by other pollsters. Now not all the parallels are the same - not least because the current PM does not appear to attract the same degree of public support and sympathy as John Major. But the scepticism about Mr Cameron does appear to have echoes of the Kinnock leadership.

Overall I do not think one can rule out the potential for a re-run. The prospect of lightening striking twice and an unlikely Labour win strikes me with about as much glee as the Major, "against the odds" victory in '92. But if Mr Brown does pull it off in the face of such hostility to him and his government, no-one can say that he hasn't earned it or that the Conservatives hadn't blown a huge opportunity.

Export Drive

2010-03-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

As part of an irregular enquiry into how secularism is being funded I had the good fortune to stumble upon the accounts of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason Ltd. These are filed with Companies House so we can all view them provided we are prepared to pay the princely sum of £1.

My money might have been more wisely spent. All the accounts for the year to 30 April 2009 tell us is that there has been a substantial growth in income up from £81k to £317k. The balance sheet reveals a cash balance of £186k and debtors of £57k. The accounts make it clear that reserves (reflected in the cash and debtors) are being built up to to establish the charity.

Of the donations that have been made, the British Humanist Association got £13k, which will have pleased Stephen Fry. However the biggest item by far is a donation of £102k to the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason (US). The US arm of the Dawkins Foundation actually controls its UK equivalent so I guess that having racked up some Gift Aid from UK donations the money goes to support its bigger cousin across the pond.

So next step is to see what is on the record for the Foundation over there.

A Party Political Broadcast...........

2010-03-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Two interesting pieces in the papers about the place of Christianity and the church in everyday life. The first from Nigel Farndale in the Sunday Telegraph argues that national life without the Church of England would be much diminished, a curious conclusion, perhaps, coming as it does from an atheist. Whilst I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of the piece it strikes me as a plea for the preservation of the faith as heritage asset: Morning Prayer as an event that overseas tourists would queue up to watch; the sort of institution that John Major was conjuring up when he talked about warm beer, cricket on the village green and old maids cycling to evensong. Nostalgic certainly, beguiling perhaps, but ultimately irrevelant.

The second from Frank Skinner in last week's Times takes a rather different, Christian perspective. As far as persuading me is concerned, he was pushing at an open door. And his comment that whilst there are relatively few people in church these days, they are at least there because they want to be there struck a particular chord. Whilst I do not believe Frank's tongue was entirely absent from his cheek I think there is some truth in the idea that persecution (even it is of the "Oi, you, God-botherer" variety) is the natural condition for the average Christian.

A General Election is weeks away. Thus far, the choices put in front of the electorate have been lamentable. A government as tired as this one ought to be looking at meltdown on polling day. Thanks to David Cameron and the Tories "New" Labour is now believing a hung parliament may be a realistic outcome. And not forgetting the Liberal Democrats, challenging though that is. The remarkable thing missing from all three political parties is leadership, a sense that they have what it takes to see this country through the depths of a recession, are able to take the tough decisions on the economy and at the same time, take us with them.

The most compelling pitch in the forthcoming election debate I have seen thus far is Choosing the Common Good, not bad considering it was written by Catholic Bishops in England and Wales. Of course they do not have votes to win but it is perhaps that very factor that allows them to write with conviction; and to spell out an agenda which seems to me to argue persuasively that our growth as individuals is in large measure about the things we do and the care we take of those around us. This is not the church as quaint relic or as beleaguered and oppressed pariah struggling for survival in a secular world; this is the church with a relevant message for the world today. If only I could given them my vote...........oh, I just have.

Schism!

2010-02-27T01:08:00.000-08:00

Are we seeing history in the making? It seems to me that a great institution, one that seeks to shape people's everyday lives, is now tearing itself apart. Differences of opinion are being expressed in very strong terms and it may be that it is too late for reconciliation. Perhaps there will just have to be a parting of the ways with one camp staying put and the other moving off in a new direction. This of course is a reference to the unholy row that has blown up among members of the Richard Dawkins foundation. This article in yesterday's Times tells the whole story.

I have from time to time ventured onto an atheist discussion forum to offer a Christian perspective. Whilst some of the exchanges have been extremely cordial I have nevertheless suffered the proverbial hairdryer treatment at the hands of the more fundamentalist factions of the atheist community. It now seems that they are turning the hairdryers on one another and even on their leader. Poor Professor Dawkins: how he must be suffering for his faith.

Its not often that I sign petitions but this one which I read about on Fr. Ivan's excellent blog got my early and unqualified support. There is a fair bit of dust being kicked up by the NSS and others about the fact some of the costs of the visit are being picked up by the taxpayer. Why shouldn't they? The fact that some people do not necessarily wish to engage in a particular activity does not mean that those who do should have their views or aspirations trashed. Nor is it without parallel that State visits (or in this case one with equivalent status) are supported with public funds. So, since the secularists have a petition I think its terrific idea that we fight fire with fire and have one of our own.

I think its worth comparing the scale of taxpayer support for the Pope's visit with the money that we are being asked to find for the 2012 Olympics. Because there is one certain parallel between the two and that is whilst everyone may not support a visit from the head of the Roman Catholic church there are plenty who are equally unenthused by the Olympics. Now the costs of the former according to an NSS article is £20m. I would suggest this compares extremely favourably with the £9bn+ that is being spent on the Olympics (or, for every £1 for spent on the Holy Father, that's £450 for the Olympics). The Olympics investment of course is in part about legacy and the laudable plans for the regeneration of areas of East London . So I suggest that the Pope's visit may leave another legacy, the regeneration of Christian faith in parts of the country. Now that, as they say, would be priceless.

A fair challenge (Part 2 with all the right bits in)

2010-02-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

Last week I reflected that in spite of its high media profile, it was not that easy to discover much about the National Secular Society. I was wrong. Having ascertained the NSS was not a registered charity I found it why: as a lobbying organisation it does not pass the public benefit test that would enable it to acquire charitable status.

The NSS is a company limited by guarantee (status that would not of itself prevent it from registering as a charity with the Charity Commissioners). By virtue of its operating size (well below £0.5m per annum income) it can properly be exempted from some of the onerous reporting and disclosure requirements placed on larger incorporated bodies.

That is not say there is nothing about them. Our Companies legislation still places a duty of disclosure, albeit it at more manageable levels. So for example it is possible to see the Memorandum and Articles of Association: broadly statements of why the company exists and its governance arrangements. A lot of this is fairly standard stuff but the principles o which it is founded bear repeating here:

The National Secular Society affirms that this life is theonly one of which we have any knowledge and human effort should be directed towards its improvement. It assets that supernaturalism is based upon ignorance and assails it as the historic enemy of progress;
The National Secular Society affirms that progress is possible only on the basis of equal freedom of speech and publication; that the free criticism of institutions and ideas is essential to a civilised state;
Affirming that morality is social in origin and application the National Secular Society aims to promote the happiness and well-being of humanity;
The National Secular Society demands the complete separation of Church and State and the abolition of all privileges granted to religious organisations
It seeks to spread education, to promote the friendship of all peoples as a means of advancing universal peace, to further common cultural interests and to develop the freedom and dignity of humantiy

As for the objects these are:

To uphold and propagate the principles in Clause 3

To stimulate freedom of thought and inquiry in all matters relating to secularist principles

To promote a secular system of education

To maintain and assert the same right of propaganda for opinions and ideas which conflict with existing or traditional creeds and beliefs as is now exercisable in favour of such creeds and beliefs

To publish and distribute, either gratuitously or otherwise, books, pamphlets and periodicals designed to promote these objects or any of them

To originate, to watch over or to petition Parliament in relation to measures pertaining to the principles and objects of the Society

To initiate, organise and participate in campaigns for such reforms as, in the view of the Society, would promote human welfare and enhance the quality of life

To purchase or otherwise acquire, either wholly or in part, and to print, publish and sell any newspaper, journal, magazine, periodical, leaflet or book for the purpose of circulating information on all matters relating to the principles and objects of the Society and for that purpose to carry on the business of newspaper proprietors and of newspaper and general printers and publishers, booksellers, advertisers and advertising agents and contractors

This represents the latest version of these documents - I cannot say how they differ from earlier versions. In terms of substance I doubt whether it is much.

The last accounts for 2008/09 have been lodged. This confirms the picture of a very modestly sized operation. Income appears split between mainstream income and donations; and more substantial donations and legacies (defined as £2500 or more). The nature of substantial donations is not explained further - without them though the NSS could not sustain operations at the level suggested in the accounts. Finally the NSS holds investments valued at well over £1m as a way of generating income for future operations. In the current economic climate it may be that these are not performing as well as hoped.

As far as expenditure is concerned, naturally this is dominated by staff salaries (around 1/3 of income). Equally predictable the next highest expense is stationery and information dissemination at just over £40k. Oh and the auditors resigned in 2009 - probably not too much of a surprise as they did their inspection for free. Even accountants have to eat!

Where does all this lead? Just one reflection for now. Here is an organisation that is barely the size of two or three church parishes able to leverage significant thought leadership through the national media, with an agenda that is pretty unambiguous. None of this would be too serious if this was just another lobbying group. But the target is religion or, as they call it, supernaturalism. As a Christian, I am not sure I should sit idly by and do nothing.

How does it add up?

2010-02-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

The last few days the National Secular Society has been getting a considerable amount of national media coverage - Cherie Blair's act of judicial mercy, the cost of the Pope's visit and so on.... That suggests an extremely effective lobbying group, one that has now become the media's sound-bite of choice when they are looking for a counter to a "religious" news story. A visit to their website similarly suggests a well-organised operation.

It says on their website that NSS is reliant entirely on donations for its continued survival. I visited the link to see how one could make a donation. To my surprise there was no opportunity to Gift Aid one's donation. Well, that put paid to one assumption: that the NSS is a registered charity, a view which seemed to be confirmed when a search of the Charities Commission website also drew a blank. If that is the case, fair play to them as it would be incompatible with their principles if they were able to use the tax advantages used by charities to supplement donations.

But it raises another question: how does the NSS survive financially? If anyone is reading perhaps they could let me know: my search capability does not extend much beyond the NSS website or Google. Better still if anyone has a set of their last financial statements (or knows where to get them) I would be very grateful.

It all adds up.....

2010-01-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

This interview in today's Independent is a welcome piece of common sense from Charlton's very own Chairman Richard Murray.

At a time when many in the private sector are taking pay cuts as an alternative to losing their jobs, there seems to have been a deafening silence from the professional footballing fraternity. Instead the only noise is the rumour mill humming with speculation as to which of a whole host of clubs is likely to next go into administration. Portsmouth, Norwich, Crystal Palace, Charlton themselves perhaps?

The root of the problem in my mind is in the Premiership where wage inflation has reached ridiculous levels, fuelled by TV - and notably Sky - income. It would be one thing if clubs were actually making huge profits on the back of Sky's largesse but the opposite seems to be the case. Manchester United, not so much a football team more a global brand, struggle to service debts approaching £1/2bn. Talk is, come the summer, they may have to offload playing assets like Rooney or Vidic. And if Manchester United are struggling, what hope is there for the rest of the league.

Mr Murray, it seems, has the only solution.

Party Political Broadcast

2010-01-23T01:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday saw the conclusion of the trial of two brothers, accused of grievous bodily harm on 9 and 11 year old brothers. Society has now dispensed justice and the pair will be detained indefinitely. If nothing else at least due process has been served. Just how long the two will actually be kept is a matter of conjecture. The two boys who murdered Jamie Bulger were judged to have been rehabilitated and released on a life licence after 8 years in 2001. Perhaps a similar pattern will be followed here.

The press has been full of the parallels between this and the Jamie Bulger case. Another (predictable) one followed yesterday when politicians began a war of words. Conflict broke out when David Cameron suggested that the Edlington case was evidence of a broken society. The words echoed many of those spoken by Tony Blair in 1993 so the Conservative can point to a noble tradition of political interference and point-scoring.

Like many with an election looming, the alternatives to this misfiring and listless Labour Government need to be taken seriously. And this week the Tory's policy on education seemed to be taking us in a new and potentially exciting direction. But yesterday's statement seems to me to be misjudged. Take this teasing section for example:

Do we have a problem with some aspects of what’s going on in childhood? Do we have a problem with our care system? Yes, we do. So let us say to that head teacher: you do what you think is right for discipline and order in your school; that we say to that police officer, social worker, teacher, probation officer: we’re going to judge you on the results you achieve not endlessly second guess the processes you follow

I am asking myself what those words really mean. Taken at face value there is something of the means justifying the ends about them. More worryingly if I was a police officer or teacher I might be saying: well, good, the state is not going to second guess what is or is not a proper intervention. But to what extent will the state support an individual intervention to restore discipline if it is challenged in the courts. How precise will the government be about what is legitimate process and what is not.

Mr Cameron needs to be put on the spot and asked to explain word by word what that statement means. He'll certainly need to if he wants my vote.

2009-12-17T13:55:00.001-08:00

Somebody else's words this time. On a train journey with a new fangled Blackberry I can get the day's readings on Universalis (now bookmarked) and from here this daily reflection from St John's Abbey - which, through the miracle of technology, prompts me each day via an e-mail to read the update. I share this because I found the message frankly inspiring and worth passing on to others who may have stumbled across this blog.

After years of looking for someone else to blame for all our deficiencies there seems to be more appreciation today of accountability and responsibility. In fact the former word may be in danger of taking its place with other overexposed words like diversity and codependency. This new trend could encourage us to see the value of our life, our words, our example for our family, our friends, our neighborhood, our world. What we do or do not voluntarily do in the way of worship, love, honesty does strengthen or weaken the character, the tone, the texture of the community of which we are part. For our little part of the world and for many people around us we are irreplaceable; without the things we do or say they are diminished. Our lives, words and actions can build up or tear down. Our encouraging words or gestures help someone else through the day -- or the night. Our sympathy and listening tell others they are not alone, have worth. The respectfulness or dignity we bring to what we do helps others believe in the worth of living. What we do in response to our conscience is vital to the world around us and is our way of responding to the call of the Lord in the here and now.

This Week's Good Cause

2009-12-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas is traditionally seen as a time of goodwill, when we reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves through acts of charity.

Here's a truly worthy cause: one which I am sure no-one could disagree is both heart-warming and certainly in need of our money.

How fitting that the Christmas season is used to make this appeal.

In fact I am more confused than ever. On the one hand we have the foundation which like many of those cult movements which Richard Dawkins denounces, looks to its followers to empty their pockets to promote the fundamentalist anti-theist cause on a wider stage. So it could be a sort of quasi-religious movement.

Or is it simply a clever piece of marketing a la Disney with prospective consumers of the Richard Dawkins "experience" lured into the many books and DVD's via the medium of his website and the Foundation. It looks like it could be just a money-spinner right up there with Snow White and Cinderella. Fantastic!

Saturday, Saturday....

2009-12-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

...used to be my favourite day of the week and in some ways it still is. Saturday for the most part is football day. Last night peace descended in our home after the draw for the 2010 World Cup was completed and the conflict of loyalties that my half-English, half-French children have to undergo every time the two countries meet was avoided. The draw itself with its system of seeding backed up by secondary measures to prevent regional imbalance in any particular group is a masterpiece of stage management. Even so we were one ball away from the following group:

England

USA

Algeria and..........

.........France

The considerable baggage of politics as well as football might have left us with not so much a "Group of Death" as a "Group of Shock and Awe". Fortunately the real drama is likely to be played out by Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. And if North Korea repeat their heroics of 1966 we will have a story on our hands.

Today Charlton face Southend United at home. This ought to be a straightforward 3-points, Southend are trying to compete with a wafer-thin squad and will be visiting on the back of a heavy home defeat by Norwich. Charlton, unbeaten at home, 2nd and riding high after a 2 -0 away win in midweek. What could be easier to predict? Except we Charlton fans are a fatalistic lot so I'm going for a draw.

I ought to keep up a pretty consistent record of attendance at the Valley this year except my daughter wishes to join today's Climate Change protest and there is all round agreement that maybe a little discreet adult presence - just in case - would be in order. So the Red and White apparel of match days may need to give way to something blue should I have to go green.

Option A then Charlton, Option B somewhere in London......... and if both fail then it may be Christmas Shopping at Bluewater................. On second thoughts, say no to CO2.

Parents off the Hook

2009-11-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

A post with a longer gestation period than usual. Which means that it is rather less topical when I first thought about writing it. But the fact I am not quick witted or articulate enough to commit cyber-ink to cyber-paper should not be an impediment to saying anything.

The latest campaign from Richard Dawkins marketing wing is a full-on plea to parents, teachers and others with responsibility for bringing up and educating our children not to "indoctrinate" them with our own values. Instead we should let them choose for themselves. The spirit of this idea seems very sixties to me. I have this vague memory that there were schools then where outmoded ideas like "lessons" or discipline were seen as unhelpful in a child's development. So they were allowed to do pretty much as they liked. Not suprisingly they chose to run riot.

As a parent I am relieved I did not see this poster about 12 years ago. Then I would have faced a real dilemma. Bring them up as catholics (as I did). Or listen to the wise counsel of Richard Dawkins and keep them away from religion. The problem is that would have opened up a series of difficult questions as to what I should say. What moral compass should I equip them with? Christianity strikes me such a good way to provide children with some standards with which to grow up I fear that any alternative would smack of improvisation. I mean don't steal and don't murder are a bit Old Testament. Perhaps: if you must steal or generally create mayhem, at least don't get caught.

Last week was inter-faith week. I had the privilege of attending a work-based "event" at which a number of speakers from different religious traditions talked about how their faith informed their approach to working life. Among them was a humanist who gave a good account of the humanist perspective about how we should give of our best in this life as its the only one we have. But more strikingly as I listened to the accounts of those with faith - and in particular a Sikh - I was impressed by the thought that the journey we are on to make sense of this world and to connect with God really is a universal one.

Richard Dawkins and other anti-theists wish to win a people for science and rationalism. But I believe the price we would pay for their "victory" is a moral vacuum. And how would that vacuum be filled? Whilst we should stand behind our own beliefs I also think that we should not be afraid to stand shoulder to shoulder with other faith communities and decry this latest campaign for what it is: dangerous nonsense which undermines our role as parents and creates far more problems than it would ever solve. Religions across the world are at heart about our relationship not just with God but with one another too, and whilst they are prone to fall into the hands of those who will distort and pervert religion for more secular ends, the basic tenets of religious faith provide us with far more by way of a toolkit for life than science. And so it is a wonderful way of helping our children understand their place in the world.

One last thought: the Dawkins marketing department obviously aren't parents. The average child having been brought up in a faith-based environment, far from becoming a fully fledged and deluded theist, has a tendency to push back at everything that parental authority can muster by the time they reach their mid-teens. A far more effective poster would have insisted that parents do label their kids; and then left the kids to give their response.

Better off on our own?

2009-11-13T02:48:00.000-08:00

On the way in to work yesterday I took a few seconds out from reading the paper to take in what my fellow commuters were up to. We were reading books, papers, e-mail on our Blackberries. Or we were texting, taking calls on our mobiles or taking in a film, playing on hand-held game consoles. In short we were carrying in our hands life-lines to a world of choice: work, friends or just their own personal space.

When we get off the train, we continue to simply inter-act with the world until it meets all our needs. And our world seems to me to offer this gratification as never before. On the way in to work there are dozens of food outlets where I can choose from numerous different varieties of coffee, have an English or Continental Breakfast or something entirely different altogether. At lunch its Italian, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Fusion,Vegetarian, Low-fat, Gluten-free: I want it, I can get it. Ten years ago if I wanted to buy a CD I might go to the town and scour the shops to see if it was in stock. If it wasn't I had to order it or - most likely - go to London. No need now: if I want the product, I can order it on-line; if I want to experience the music I just log on to Last FM and listen; or download it. Same too with books and films.

And if I do want to go to a shop I can now do so virtually 24 hours a day courtesy of the local supermarket. Sunday no longer presents an obstacle to my shopping fix either. I am naturally outraged that some stick-in-the-mud people restrict my Sunday shopping to between the hours of 10 and 4 but I guess that leaves a bit of time to just chill. And boy can I do that. Satellite television caters for my every need - football or film mostly but if the urge takes me I can watch repeats of Who Wants to be a Millionaire or America's Next Top Model.

In short I can now design my own world and have it to conform to all my preferences. I can read the news when I want - I can even have it sent to my mobile if I prefer. Mass media communications are increasingly designed to fit the person. And if I wish to respond then the same digital media opportunities present themselves - Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and so on.

In this world where our own desires can be so readily gratified the question that came into my head was this: why should anyone feel the need for God? When the world can meet all your everyday needs and more why think about the transcendent? And just as that thought of why bother goes through your mind along comes a bendy-bus saying "There probably isn't a God so enjoy life". So its not so much a case of "Is there a God" as: well, even if there is does it matter? We're doing perfectly well without God, without religion; we have our laptops and our i-Pods. We have on-line shops and real shops. We have the world at our finger-tips on Facebook. Show me where God is in all this. There is no evidence, after all, that even if there is a God that it affects me personally, is there?

So, one by one, the light switch is being turned as more of us recognise that we can do perfectly well without God. Both from a personal perspective and from that of society as a whole. And for those of us resolved to keep the switch s firmly "On" what are we to say who have set the switch in the "Off" or "Couldn't Care Less" mode.

Why I am a Christian

2009-11-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

It is simple as this. I get up at 6:30am. Off to the study for 10 minutes reflection and prayer. Each day, I log on to the laptop and go to the Universalis for the day's readings and I find this.

Luke 17:7-10 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty".

Everyday I make a living in London. The "real world" perhaps. And there are thousands of books out there on how to work, to lead others and to survive or succeed in that environment. Which of them can sustain us better than those few verses from St.Luke's gospel. Just wonderful.

Competition time

2009-11-04T23:07:00.000-08:00

With the candles still warm from Hallow'een and the fireworks still unlit a reminder that Christmas is not far off greeted me yesterday at my local Tesco. A huge decorated tree greets shoppers and reminds us that there can barely be 50 shopping days left till Christmas.

I will be keeping an eye out for the Christmas gift idea or product that seems most utterly at odds with the Christian notion of Christmas but is nevertheless offered as a serious suggestion. Hot off the blocks is "The Atheist Guide to Christmas" which is so disappointing because it persists only with the notion that there is probably no God. Have these people lost the courage of their convictions? Just too wet to be taken seriously.

An early front-runner therefore is the Waitrose Food and Home Direct Catalogue (free). This offers seasonal and other fare to would-be entertainers in ready and convenient form. At a price. 15 iced cupcakes at £10.50. 12 afternoon biscuits at £15. Or for Christmas day itself how about mashed potato at £5.50 for 4 or Roast potatoes at £5? Wouldn't we better advised to use our money on something that is more in keeping with the spirit of the season. On somebody in need for instance? Food for thought....

Losing my Religion......

2009-11-02T21:28:00.001-08:00

..."That's me in the corner"

If its not already obvious, this blog is written by someone who knows more about balance sheets and football than they do about religion. I do take an interest but I do so without any particular training beyond reading the odd book aimed at a wider readership: Abbot Christopher Jamison or Karen Armstrong, for example; New Directions from cover to cover, obviously; and blogs like Damian Thompson or Ruth Gledhill. I make study of the scriptures a daily habit and they still have the habit of beating the rest hands down.

...."Trying to keep up with you"

But I am no theological heavyweight (or for that matter, featherweight). I am probably much the same as the average church-goer: not ignorant by any means but certainly lacking the

knowledge of someone who feels they have much to offer the debate about the Holy Father's recent announcement of full Communion for disaffected Anglicans. So like the rest of us in the pews, I will listen closely to the debate, to the guidance of our bishops and priests; and above all hope to be guided by the Holy Spirit. But.........

...."Consider this..."

Wikipedia says that "Anglo Catholics believe is fiercely debated, even among Anglo Catholics themselves. " Perhaps that explains the mind-boggling number of Anglo-Catholic "traditions" in the world today. And nowhere is Wikipedia's observation more evident than on the blogs, websites and forums where the future of Anglo-Catholicism is discussed. It isn't just Roman Catholics and Liberal Anglicans expressing scepticism about the nature of these proposals or dismissing this as a move that will change very little. Quite often the controversy is between Anglo Catholics.

For what its worth, this may be the time when the luxury of internal dissent is one that should be put aside; for all Anglo-Catholics to ask themselves the question: what are we for, if anything. Having done so we can at least begin to consider future, not as a loose alliance of Christians but as a group with far more in common than what divides us. Because far from thinking that very little will change I think Anglo-Catholicism could be squeezed out of existence, caught between the pull of Anglicanism on the one hand and the Roman Catholic church on the other. I believe the future is far healthier if Anglo-Catholics consider our response to the Holy Father and to our longer term future as a corporate group.

Because what really is the future otherwise? Some will stay put, others will move to Rome. But overall we may end up even more fragmented than we are now. Whatever critical mass there is now will be lost, probably for good. That really would be tragic

The Holy Father's has offered a way ahead for Anglo Catholicism. Whatever our response, I pray that its a single response.

"....I've said too much"

Losing my Religion......

2009-10-29T15:51:00.000-07:00

...."That's me in the corner"

...."Trying to keep up with you"

But I am no theological heavyweight (or for that matter, featherweight). I am probably much the same as the average church-goer: not ignorant by any means but certainly lacking the

...."Consider this..."

The Holy Father's has offered a way ahead for Anglo Catholicism. Whatever our response, I pray that its a single response.

"....I've said too much"

Blessings

2009-10-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ours is a mixed house in more ways than one. For the purpose of this posting its about faith and in particular the challenges of being an Anglican married to a Roman Catholic and reconciling what appears to be the irreconcilable. Our children were baptised Roman Catholics, attended a Roman Catholic school, took their first holy communion at the local Roman Catholic church and in time were confirmed there too. To say that their attendance since has been a tad more erratic would be an understatement. But I have never thought ours was anything but the right decision.

And as a couple in spite of a good deal of mutual accommodation the fact of the matter is that we have always sensed that barriers existed. Some of them we might have put there in our minds but it is no more than reality that an Anglican like myself does not take holy communion in a Roman Catholic church. So whilst the church and its people in both churches have always been very welcoming there is always a slight sense of one of us standing outside the community.

On Tuesday the Holy Father's generous offer of full Communion for disaffected Anglicans may have opened the door for a coming together that I could scarcely have dreamed of even a few months ago. As an Anglo-Catholic I think the advice that we make this a time of quiet reflection and prayer to be the right one. But right now the positives seem to be safely outweighing the negatives.

And by the happiest of coincidences last night we were visited by Fr.Ivan as part of a Programme of Parish Visits with the theme of A Wave of Prayer. Fr.Ivan brought with him an icon of Our Lady which remains with us until it is passed on, like a relay baton to the next visit, creating a wave of prayer across the parish. So it was for a wonderful couple of hours Roman Catholic and Anglican were in the same place, our home blessed both by prayer and a sense that a divide may be coming down. Think globally, act locally is maxim used a lot in the business world. For a while last night the two came together.

Positives

2009-10-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

A funny old weekend. I managed to attend the first part of a very uplifting and successful Walsingham Day at Saint John's on Saturday; was cheered by Charlton's return to the top of League 1 on Saturday afternoon - before writing off my computer keyboard when I emptied the contents of a glass of beer on it in the evening. Heigh ho.

I seem to have spent a lot of time at the keyboard not least because I have a huge amount of various business and volunteering-related stuff to do, most of it involving tax returns and Excel spreadsheets. At such times I need distractions and the internet comes up trumps. I got drawn in to a various interesting discussion piece on Father Ed's blog about his appearance on the front page of the Tunbridge Wells Courier.

The origin of the piece was an earlier posting on his blog about the increasingly secular content of funeral services ("My Way" by Frank Sinatra, etc, etc) and Fr.Ed's piece lamented the passing of yet another area of Christianity from people's everyday lives. The tone of the offending blog item was characteristically unambiguous and it was perhaps the absence of the "on the one hand...........but on the other...." that is expected of our clergy that it came in for a bit of a hatchet job from the local paper. The suggestion was that it was rather insensitive to say such things in a time of family grief. Needless to say the local Humanist rep felt it necessary to put the boot in. I would reflect that a priest expressing views about the Christian faith ought not be seen as worthy of front page news and I hope that this incident does nothing to dilute future content of Fr.Ed's blog.

From time to time I pitch in with a Christian perspective to an atheist forum. I do so secure in the knowledge that such interventions are likely to attract a bit of flack. However tonight I received a response to an earlier contribution to a debate on science and religion that was quite unequivocal about my mental health (Christian = Deluded/Mad/Crazed etc, etc). By any standards of civilised debate, it was not measured. It was a hate and anger filled rant that made me wonder who the real "Fundamentalists" are.

It will hardly be headline news but I am increasingly begging to recognise that my faith is under real attack. Unless something happens and soon the triumph of liberal secularism/atheism/Dawkinsism is not a question of if but when. That is a real threat to the church. In particular I see real dangers for the Church of England as it attempts to tackle its many internal divisions. Time to put away the Vicar of Dibley, Derek Nimmo and the eccentric/harmless stereotypes with which it is associated in the popular mind. It is really time to recognise that the church's very survival is at stake.

Being a Parent

2009-10-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

This past week I have been trying earnestly to ensure that daily life is better underpinned by prayer and the scriptures. Its part of trying to live my faith a bit more fully. Not always a success but I'll keep persevering.

Whilst without a bit of expert help I find the scriptures anything but easy to work out, part of today's reading from St Mark was anything but. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” That struck a chord coming as it did at the end of the week when we have faced some difficult challenges about our relationships with children and the way they are raised today.

Yesterday the horrific details of a convicted paedophile ring came out in court. A couple of days earlier the suicides of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca were equally shocking reading, primarily because the culprits were teenage kids allowed full licence to roam and create mayhem by their parents and the local community. Today the conviction of five youths for the murder of a 65 year old man who confronted a gang who happened to be destroying his garden fence continues the run of shocking stories. How can the parents of children who are paedophiles, members of feral gangs or just simply sociopathic live with themselves. Equally are they now asking themselves where it all went wrong?

As a parent I know how challenging raising children can be. It is a constant series of judgements aimed at striking the right balance between letting your child take decisions for themselves whilst protecting them the worst the world can throw at them; giving them space to develop relationships among their peer group whilst keeping them rooted in preparing them for the rigours of the adult world; setting boundaries for them without attempting to put them into a straitjacket. Its not just children either that need help. Being a parent is also an educative process.

The stories of the past week are grotesque and not typical of the everyday story of raising children as experienced in most households. But I see little evidence that these stories will never be repeated again. Child abuse is shocking but abusive children are surely no more acceptable. I see a case for taking a long hard look at our values as a society in raising children. Jesus has set the bar impossibly high but we now live in a secular society. So those who believe they have more to offer in terms of moral leadership need to engage in some serious rethinking around where we are now. And to kick off, parenting and childcare in particular needs to be seen for what it really is - stewardship of the most precious assets of our world. If that basic proposition can be accepted then it is starter for creating a culture where we value the value of parents and genuinely support them in getting on top of a really tough job.

Riches of Embarrassments

2009-08-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

A day when temptation got the better of me.

Some time ago I joined the MP3 generation. My i-pod is a constant companion and my computers all contain seriously large quantities of music culled from CD's, downloads and the like. The most notable absentee has been the music held on my even more serious collection of LP's. That's just been collecting dust in a cupboard, resisting the switch to the joys of our digital age.

That is, until today. I was on my way back to the station when I passed Maplin Electronics in the Strand. I had a few minutes to kill so I thought I'd have a quick look round. In a second I spotted it. A thing of beauty: an ion USB turntable. And nearly half price to boot. For those of my loyal readers this is a record deck which can be connected to a USB port on your computer. It includes software that allows old scratchy analogue recordings (even 78's) to be converted to an MP3 file. And the software, moreover, incorporates facilities that allows you to edit out some of the noise and scratches that appear on even the most carefully looked after LP (and mine assuredly are not).

So to work. Straight off the blocks came a classic not heard in years: Simple Minds New Gold Dream, to be followed by Spirit of '76 by Spirit and maybe the Best of UB40 or Kimono my House by Sparks. A nostalgia packed evening in short. There were teething problems to be sure. To begin with the software does not automatically "clock" the gaps between tracks: you have to do that yourself. Secondly I discovered the whole process has to be done in silence. As I rolled back the years with Simple Minds' "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" the parallel conversation I was having with my wife about bringing in the washing came through loud and clear. So that was one particular "remix" despatched straight to the delete bin.

The third problem is less one of teething. In 40 years I think its fair to say that my taste in music has been prone to some serious lapses in taste. These will return to haunt me in the weeks to come. I am already asking myself what it was about the Police's "Ghost in the Machine" that could have persuaded me to part with my hard earned money. Other similar horrors lie in wait............

Evil

2009-08-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

There are some days when you know that reading the main news is going to be hard work. So it was today with the item on Baby P and in particular the story of their abusive parents, Tracey Connolly and Steven Barker. There is plenty of coverage in the paper about the events leading up to the dreadful abuse and eventual death of a defenceless child; the appalling rape of a toddler of which Barker was also found guilty and the early warnings that were not heeded about the sadistic nature of Barker and his brother, allegedly torturing their 82 year old grandmother in order to change her will in their favour.

I find it easier not to rationalise these acts in any way other than that they are both evil in intent and totally inhuman in their execution. Perhaps that I might take comfort in the thought that they are not "one of us" and that the best solution for us is their incarceration for life. Key thrown away. No parole. Kept away from all decent society. Then the question crosses my mind: perhaps they, like everyone else can be redeemed, to understand and acknowledge the enormity of what they have done and seek forgiveness. So: should society be trying to rehabilitate and repair; or should we simply be kept safe from the risk that they could just as easily do it again. I really do not have a clue.

Hold the front page

2009-07-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel sorry for those in authority. Swine flu for example. At present (close to, if not in the silly season) the UK media needs the current epidemic to be a "story". There are just two angles with one common conclusion. Angle one is that the Government is not doing enough and the fabric of the nation is falling apart as bodies pile up on the streets. Angle two is that the Government has completely over-reacted throwing scarce resources at a non-event, presumably to take our minds off Afghanistan, the economy or the Norwich by-election. The one conclusion is that they are incompetent and the sooner they allow the nation to judge their performance, the better. The resulting General Election or change of leader would be a really good story- one which would keep the papers in readers for months.

But its not all bad either. In today's Independent this article by Christina Patterson brought a smile. It prompted the hope that the recent and current turmoil in the CofE is resolved in a way that leaves the national treasure described in this article substantially in place. It should be required reading by all who have a part to play in tackling the current difficulties over women bishops, gay priests and so on. It should remind everyone that a healthy, tolerant and inclusive church need have no fear of making proper provision for those who believe that the catholic traditions of the CofE need to be sustained through a period of change. It also should prompt the question: if the religious impulse described in the article is here to stay, how can the church engage those who acknowledge the impulse but who are doing "something else" on Sunday?

Cause for Alarm

2009-06-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

I fear I may be developing an unhealthy obsession with matters atheist. It doesn't help that last week's Sunday Times carried a story about Atheist summer camps. The story at first stirred memories of my own boyhood when I was despatched three times to "Champs Camps" a Christian camping retreat in which wholesome outdoor activities were interspersed with prayers, bible readings, music and in particular blood-curdling stories about what awaited us if we did not repent and turn to Jesus. Most of us did although the effects were short-lived. And most (myself included) soon returned to more pressing matters like girls, cigarettes, beer and Led Zeppelin. In some ways it was like all holiday experiences: great while you are there since there's an opportunity to get away from day to day life, but quickly forgotten once reality rears its ugly head.

The Sunday Times article says that the atheist organisers are keen to offer a robust alternative to what has traditionally been a faith based activity. To help young adults think for themselves rather than swallow religious fairy stories. Perhaps they were on to something? So I started to worry until I began to read about the camp-fire songs. First one up is John Lennon's Imagine.

Now apart from believing that this piece of saccharin may be about the most overrated song ever the video is something else. John (with Yoko to hand) sings "Imagine no possessions" at a large white piano. In a very large room. In a very big house. His house. John Lennon without possessions? Er, lets move on from that shall we? Now its time for "Imagine no religion". Please sir, does this mean the same as imagining no possessions?

That said, the church does need to avoid the temptation to allow itself to be drawn into doing a topical "flavour of the month" pitch to gain worshippers; to get down with the kids to attract the young. It frankly looks ridiculous. I think the church has so much more to offer if it sticks to its core values, the things that inspire and takes people from the "pleasures" of this world and offers a real and profound alternative.

Young people aren't stupid and they do think for themselves. They deserve to have something to think about.

Where Was I?

2009-06-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

..Aimlessly trawling the web when up popped the item on the BBC website as Breaking News. Michael Jackson rushed to hospital.

I immediately switched on to News 24 as the story developed with reports of him being taken to hospital unconscious and not breathing to hospital slowly but surely became confirmation of his death at 50 from cardiac arrest. Time will tell whether like JFK and Princess Diana I can remember where I was when I first heard the news but increasingly these days the answer to the question is: glued to a rolling 24 hour news channel.

I have long since ceased to have any interest in Michael Jackson as a musician. His legacy is two absolute 24-carat gold albums, Off the Wall and Thriller, a string of great singles with the Jackson 5 and I gather an awesome live show although I never saw him perform. In truth I think after Thriller we got into very rapidly diminishing returns. Bad was a so-so retread of Thriller, Dangerous a so-so retread of Bad and so on. But even that as a legacy is more than most musicians manage and I hope it is this for which he is remembered.

Is it too much to hope that the music business, the media circus and perhaps those who take a particular delight in reading about the private lives of others take the opportunity to reflect on fame and the price the famous pay for it. Can anyone say that for all his millions they would really like to have swapped places with him? And assuming the answer is a resounding no perhaps the next steps is to consider those other recent victims of their celebrity - Britney Spears and Susan Boyle spring to mind - and to ask what can be done to prevent another tragedy?

Good News

2009-06-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Some rather good news today.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090603/tuk-curry-a-day-could-keep-dementia-away-dba1618.html

As one who cannot get enough of the stuff but who in their mid-50's believes that maybe the time had come to settle for Wincarnis (do they still make it), sensible salads and Werther's Toffees comes this story. It reassures me that those nights in my youth spent hitting the Chicken Madras after the pub were doing me good.

Sometimes things come together rather well. Next to my regular and really wonderful place of worship at St John's Sevenoaks is my allotment and next to that a great Indian restaurant, the Banana Leaf. The ideal weekend would involve a visit to all three. What is even better is that the spiritual nourishment and physical exercise I get at the first two is officially supplemented by health benefits from the third.

For once the news gives me cause to smile.

Where Angels Fear to Tread

2009-05-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

This week as a kind of personal dare I have signed up to an unfamilar internet forum, an atheist one. Its an interest because somehow I have felt the need to explore the limits of my own faith and to understand the views of those totally opposed to mine. And boy are they different: unreconstructed Dawkinists everyone of them, articulate, smart (smarter than me at least) and passionate about their subject.

Its been instructive I think. The fact that a Christian - and in my case a pretty poor one - would stick their head over the parapet was cause for cordiality followed pretty swiftly by a barrage of very searching challenges and questions. Whilst there was hostility there has been a resolve on all parts to try and keep the debate respectful.

And it has been worth it. To begin with I was not alone in terms of fellow Christians who believe we should stand up for what we think. I found some of their postings extremely insightful. And it helped me too. Since the first sign of evasiveness or woolliness was pounced on with glee it helped me to really get my head round what my faith was about and why it was such an important part of my life. Far from talking me out of Christianity I fear they have helped me take a further step in the right direction.

Out of Order

2009-05-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

One week further on and the latest revelations from Parliament keep coming. Takes our minds off swine influenza I suppose although it also helps me forget there's another round of elections next month. Of course I must vote but it will be for the least bad rather than the best candidate/party on offer I suspect.

The picture is the late Phil Silvers in the role for which he is best remembered: Bilko. Bilko ran scams that make some of our MP's look like amateurs although they invariably backfired on him by the end of the show. The morality and standards of the age dictated that crime should not pay and so in the Phil Silvers show it did not.

Few MP's can now believe that the creative and innovative approaches they took to their expenses were worth it. Whilst the disclosures in the Telegraph were necessary they have proved damaging. Like the banking system once the hue and cry has settled some positive changes to the system of MP's remuneration will be necessary. It should be an opportunity to take a harder look at what we ask of our MP's and so come up with something that will encourage those with a wish to enter Parliament appropriate and proper incentives to do so. A quick shopping list suggests:

- A decent salary. £65000 is not enough. An article in last weeks Times said that might be about £25k light. That seems a lot closer to a fair wage given the responsibilities we place on our MP's;

- A substantial reduction in the number of MP's to finance the salary increase above. I'd suggest say 200 off the current cohort of 650 or so. A good saving on the public purse (maybe £50m) which could more than fund increased MP's salaries and pay for our hospital chaplains, thus keeping the National Secular Society happy. All round this seems to be a much better use of public money;

- e-enablement of Parliament. Is it necessary that we drag MP's out of their constituencies to be lured into the temptations of the Westminster village? Do they actually have to be in and around the house as much as they are? For some debates surely it is not beyond the wit of someone to provide a facility for on-line voting. For some meetings video conferencing would surely be a good substitute for being there in person. I am not saying IT is the answer to everything (for example, Ministers would still need to be in London) but it should be available to allow some MP's to spend more time in their constituencies - and with their families. It would also save some money. e-enablement would also have benefits on Parliamentary demographics - people who felt unable to commit to living away from home would be able to do so much easier.

I think that's a few starters for ten.

Cheers!!

2009-05-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Am I alone in thinking that these days the freedoms we take for granted are under threat. Not as a result of some later day Orwellian totalitarian police state but rather as a result of a succession of rather mean spirited and more trivial restrictions. Nanny state stuff. Smoking bans, responsible drinking campaigns, CCTV cameras and so on. All of it possibly with some merit but sometimes perhaps enforced disproportionately.

But in a development reminiscent of Passport to Pimlico (from which the still above is taken) comes this really heartening snub to the massed ranks of petty officialdom. Its concerns the story of a pub in Barnsley that claims to have found a loophole in the smoking ban. By designating a separate room as a "Smoking Research Centre", they then invite customers desirous of a cigarette with their pint to first complete a survey which asks them about their smoking habits post the ban. Having done so they can then have then have their nicotine and alcohol fix. Custom at the pub - which was struggling and up for sale - has soared.

I think this is a brilliant and enterprising initiative, the British at their best. Suffice to say the forces of petty officialdom in the form of the Local Authority are winding up for a swift and decisive counter-offensive to put paid to this impertinence. Shame! Killjoys!!

Margaret Rutherford, Stanley Holloway: where are you when we need you?

Its the paperwork.....

2009-05-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Being self employed has some things to commend it. In particular I am pleased to have dispensed with the pretence that the organisation I work for is wonderful, has a mission and strategy that I believe in wholeheartedly and that their values are my values. In the end its a job of work. If I do it well then the client is happy: if not, they can show me the door. Somehow that seems a better way of working, free of the office politics and all the other baggage that comes with being a corporate animal.

But it has its drawbacks: the paperwork, the tax returns and the taxes themselves. Once the government have got the income tax, the national insurance, the employer's NI and VAT out of me they have done far better out of it than I have. However I feel very fortunate to be working at a difficult time for the economy. So I happily render unto Gordon that which is Gordon's.

Had I known that quite a lot of the rendering was going to be more unto MP's themselves than I might do so a bit more grudgingly. Its not the money itself that is the problem rather the conduct of MP's from whom we might expect better standards of conduct. Surely the noble calling to public office should not be devalued by the kind of naked self interest so evidently displayed by MP's on their expense claims. What example does that set to the rest of us?

There is a pressure group called "None of the Above" who believe that we should be allowed to tell politicians just what we think of them by positively voting for none of them. If we had an election tomorrow I am sure that the "None..." party would have a landslide on its hands.

Who's fault is it anyway?

2009-05-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

An excellent piece in Thursday's Times by Daniel Finkelstein sums up better my thoughts on our current public finances than I could ever say myself. Its here out of interest. What is particularly striking is that the latest drive on reducing public spending suggests that vast sums can be saved simply by making central government more efficient. That is doubtful. Of course there is scope to do better and get more bangs out of the taxpayers buck but there is a myth that public sector land is some sort of haven for the idle, with huge salaries, two hour lunch breaks for all and only the occasional inconvenient interruption when mandarins have to spoil an otherwise agreeable afternoon supping tea and eating cucumber sandwiches to deal with affairs of state. In truth the public sector is a place where people work hard and where the myth of "jobs for life" is just that: a myth. The low hanging fruit of easy efficiency gains have long since been picked and what is left will be modest in scale and something of an uphill struggle for those left to deliver it.

For my vast army of readers I'll offer two suggestions for getting public finance back under control. Under this government there has been a proliferation of independent or quasi-independent organisations set up to deliver some aspect of government policy. I believe many - each with their own boards, accountabilities, and internal mini-bureaucracies are a luxury we cannot afford. A very quick and wide-ranging cull is needed. That doesn't necessarily mean putting a stop to the function but just merging it into the work of another organisation. Secondly I believe that what makes good politics (short term, expedient, media friendly) can be the enemy of sound stewardship of public money. All too often hapless officials are expected to justify decisions which in all honesty were not really theirs but those of their political masters. This is not about clobbering Ministers. By contrast I think there is a wider issue about managing our own expectations of what governments of whatever political persuasion can really do and whether the only response to some media outcry is to throw money (our money) at it. It all goes back to the Daniel Finkelstein article: we are the ones who have created the mess but when are we going to accept some responsibility for the mess we're in?

2009-05-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

To sung mass at 10:00am - I failed hopelessly to organise myself for the normal 8:00am. As it was I was able to listen to a very uplifting homily about Jesus the shepherd and us as his sheep. I am resolved to be a better, God-centred and more joyful sheep as a consequence.

Joyful and sheep was the theme for the middle part of the day as I took advantage of a free ticket to join 22,000 other sheep to watch Charlton's last game in the Championship - for a while at least. There had been talk before the game of a demonstration after the match to show the club Board what we thought of them. Frankly the performances on the pitch over the season as a whole merited nothing less. But a glorious spring day, a 4-2 win (which sent the opposition down with us) meant that any thoughts of protest soon evaporated in the warm sunshine. We were happy bunnies.

After a week of flu scares and wavering governments it is good to sit here with a glass of Jameson's, the wonderful Amiina playing in the background, laughter upstairs as my son's darts evening with his mates moves towards a pulsating climax and the prospect of a day off tomorrow on what promises to be yet another beautiful spring day. Does it get better than this? Probably not. Reality will intrude soon enough and in ways which are unwelcome. But for now I am, as they say, seizing the moment.

Peace Prize

2009-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning always starts early and in particular starts with Sunday, Radio 4's weekly religious magazine. Today's programme picked up on the item that was doing the rounds before Easter about the funding of hospital chaplains by the NHS. The National Secular Society were protesting that such support was not a proper charge on the public purse. The costs, they argue, should instead be borne by churches and individual patients exercising personal choice. Costs UK wide are said to be around £31m although workings on the back of a few backs of fag packets have the figure as high as £44m. Thats quite a lot of nurses, so the argument goes. And nurses are surely a better use of £30 - 40m than the chaplaincy. Enter the Taxpayers Alliance (Daily Mail with attitude) who, like the NSS, believe this money could be better spent (or, I suspect, preferably not spent at all).

The work of hospital chaplains is not an area that I know much about. It seems to me that when you are at a low ebb health wise (ie wondering whether you are actually going to get through this crisis) some sort of spiritual support would be of great comfort. And I believe many are comforted this way. But equally if I was say Richard Dawkins or Ricky Gervais, committed atheists both, I might resent the intrusion.

But this whole episode leaves a nasty taste. The NSS is being manipulative. If they believed their arguments stood up why come out with this research just before Easter? I'd conclude that it was a spoiling tactic designed to catch the attention of the UK media to the fact that they are still around at a time when we would otherwise forget about them . Why get into bed with the Taxpayer's Alliance who have a very different agenda (and who frankly would be better advised to focus more attention on far worse examples of taxpayer waste). And finally why try and persuade us that they are highly principled sweetness and reason itself, all about human rights (everyone has the right to a religion or not to have one) and then focus on hospital chaplains as an example of religious privilege. The NSS agenda is dishonest. Like the BNP they would have us believe its about protecting the rights of all. They do not: the NSS want to eradicate religion.

Valley of Gloom

2009-04-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's Championship fixtures sees the now doomed Charlton team visit the side one place above them in the table, Southampton. Southampton still have a good chance of surviving the drop but the news for their fans this week of the decision to put the clubs parent company into adminstration will mean that there will be all round gloom and despondency at St Mary's.

Until recently both sides were in the top tier of English football. Charlton's collapse has been spectacular, Southampton's less so but with both clubs struggling financially the outcome for both is likely to be the same. Administration may also prompt the Football League to impose a 10-point penalty on the hapless Saints, a fact that would make an early return to the Championship all the more difficult.

The economics of football has been the subject of much media coverage, even books. What is undoubtedly true is that the game seems at one level to be a huge success story. Our big 4 (Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal) do well in Europe and are able to flex financial muscle to attract stars from across the world to play in England. Premiership sides generally benefit from the rights money paid by Sky and others to compete for star names and more importantly to attract new owners to invest (or lend) significant money as a route to success. Just below the top 4 there is a clutch of 4-6 teams close to competing for the top prizes - notably Aston Villa, Manchester City , Everton and Tottenham. Their natural place tends to be the UEFA cup and semi-finals/losing finalists of domestic competitions but the challenge is developing.

The galaxy of star players on view combined with the frantic pace and rather greater degree of unpredictability of English football means that the Premiership's attractions are no longer confined to England. It is truly a mass global product, happily consumed in China and Malaysia as well as it is in Europe.

But beyond the glitz I believe the game is less healthy. For years we have prided ourselves on our achievement of having 92 professional teams in 4 divisions; a game in which teams like little Wimbledon can have a tilt at the top; in which the smaller clubs could survive by supplementing match day income and other local fundraising initiatives through the sale of promising players to teams in the higher divisions. That model still exists but now takes it place alongside the market place that exists world wide for players to ply their trade in the Premiership. Europe and Africa now represent a wider catchment area for talent scouts and that shows in the starting line up of a number of Premiership teams, notably Arsenal.

Alongside that is the issue of player power. This is not the sort of player power that simply dictates how Directors and Managers run the club (although it can result in the unseating of a manager) but is more about the leverage they can exercise over contracts. The fact is that clubs either meet the asking price or lose the player to their rivals. This has resulted in the phenomenon of players income becoming the predominantly major part of a club's outlay. Some have a wages policy which ensures that no more than a given percentage of income goes out in players wages. But it is not always the case and for some clubs upwards of 80%, even 90% is going straight from the Tv companies and turnstiles into players' pockets. The well publicised saga of Kaka's transfer suggested his contract would have been worth £500k per week. That was exceptional although many of our top earners will be negotiating contracts worth up to £150k per week. This probably several times more than many of the fans who turn up to watch (and who thus help contribute to their wages) will earn in a year.

Sky have undoubtedly done most to create this wage inflation. There is growing awareness of the phenomenon and even a website which challenges whether the trend is good for the game

http://www.footballerswages.com/?page_id=21

What is undoubtedly true is that to compete in this League everyone in the Premiership has to pay its players Premiership wages. That's Ok so long as the club is in the Premiership. Unfortunately each season 3 clubs are relegated into the Championship. That means that significant losses of rights money take place and a club has to retrench financially. Many clubs like Charlton and Southampton find the adjustment difficult to make, they have to sell their best players and effectively rebuild a team from scratch. If that doesn't prove successful then the inevitable consequence is that the team struggles in what is a competitive 2nd tier of domestic football and risks further decline. So we then get into a vicious tailspin from which clubs find it difficult to recover. Two of them meet today at St Mary's, Southampton.

I have no instant solutions but I think at the very least we need those in the game to take stock of what is happening and decide whether something can be done to preserve our traditional structures. I would suggest its urgent: the gap between the top 4 and the lower ends of the professional game will continue to widen as TV rights deals get ever greater. And in an economic recession clubs at the wrong end may decide that survival is impossible and throw in the towel.

Football survives on our money. We part with it at the turnstiles and pay over our subscriptions to Sky. I think the game owes it to all its fans to ensure greater stability at the lower levels. Its not as if its short of money.

Change Initiative

2009-03-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Within the public sector its hard to avoid change. Its generally accepted that things need to be done better and for less money. So organisations across the whole sector are busy expending energy, effort (and occasionally some money) at making themselves better. I am up to my neck at the moment in helping roll out a change programme: great when it goes well, dispiriting when it doesn't and always exhausting regardless.

The key to making change worthwhile is deciding: what change? This is tricky not least because there are shed loads of products out there from which to choose. And all of them naturally (so its said) will transform your organisation. Balanced Scorecard? Lean Management? TQM? Leadership Development? ABC?

All have their advocates and all of them doubtless have their place. But into this mix I would add public sector leaders who tend to be very passionate about reforming public service and who encourage a climate in which change is embraced . This in turn can lead to lots of ideas and initiatives top down and bottom up, and a huge diversion of effort which if not managed means we forget there's a day job to be done as well. In this frenetic environment in which new ideas emerge in quick succession I fear that some initiatives get sidelined as soon as the next big idea hits the streets. As a result they run out of steam before we get a chance to see them through.

Apart from the basket of change options we also have to deal with the desire for pace. Its not enough that we change. Its equally important that we do so quickly. It is I think an article of faith that pace is always important. So that's what we (try to) do. But at times the average public sector manager must feel like a hamster on a wheel, pausing only to take on board the exhortation to run faster.

In the next few years I wonder whether the public sector will be able to reform itself in this way. Public Finances are under pressure and the money to pay for new initiatives will be hard to find. So maybe in these straitened times it might be an idea to dust off some of those initiatives that never got finished (or even saw the light of day) and extract some value from them. And maybe do them at a more measured pace. At a pace that allows us hamsters to jump down from our wheel, draw breath and, well, enjoy life a bit more.

Saturday, Saturday.........

2009-03-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

If you had asked me a few years ago: what's your idea of a great Saturday, its unlikely I would have responded with "a quiet day reflecting on vocation". I found myself joining others contemplating vocation at the quiet day at St John's, slightly fearful I'd be exposed as a bit of imposter. So it proved. The subsequent description of us as "young" in Father Ivan's blog could never be applied to me . Saga now permeates my life in ways I never thought possible and the only sport in which I am likely to attract the soubriquet "rising star" is likely to be bowls.

The day was special, not least the period of silence before mass and the opportunities for quiet reflection in the afternoon . God getting a word in edgeways is something that daily life all too rarely permits. But the whole day was a really enriching experience: I really enjoyed talking to others in the group and the mass included a sermon on the parable of the prodigal son that made me wonder whether I'd ever really get some of this Christianity stuff right.

Next weekend offers yet more tantalising choices. Catch some sun and get some more potatoes planted or torment myself again at the Valley where Charlton take on Preston North End. I cannot get too worked up about a match where the outcome from the home supporter's perspective is academic - we're down anyway. However loyalty is about following the team through the bad times as well as the good. So all things being equal, on Saturday the potatoes will have to wait.

A Hard Week

2009-03-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

The end of a very long and tiring week.

As dispiriting as it was from time to time at work, the news was hardly uplifting. The story about Tim Kretschmer a 17-year old who shot and killed 15 people at his school was shocking. I find it hard to comprehend how someone is reduced to expressing their anger and frustrations in such a way. In Western Europe or the US life for a teenager is hardly about a fight for survival. But perhaps our relative comforts do not leave us any less anxious about establishing a sense of identity; of what we are and what we are here for. Perhaps he felt those around him (story is he was bullied at school) denied him that. And that the best he could do was take matters into his own hands. Shocking that such a short life (and those of some of his contemporaries) ended as it did. I cannot begin to comprehend how the parents and children of the school will ever recover from this ordeal , it is tragic beyond words.

At about the time Tim was born Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was underway. The sums involved are truly awesome. $50bn I have seen reported. In court he expressed shame and apologised for his wrong-doing. But what are we to make of that given that he was defrauding investors for nearly 20 years and was fully aware of what he was doing? Of course there are no dead bodies here, no parents mourning the loss of their children. But such pity as I have now is not for the fraudster or his possible 150 year jail sentence.

In two parts.....

2009-03-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Standing Up for Christ

A few recent blogs and today's homily are a reminder that standing up for Christ is not (yet) cause for shame or stigma. And that we should resist the wider trend to dismantle our Christian traditions. It is odd that at a time when the diversity agenda rightly reminds us of the need to be sensitive to the traditions and religions that now form part of twenty first century Britain there are some who feel that this need not apply to our own church. Why is that? I'd guess that in our rush to give people the freedom to challenge the church's position back in the sixties and seventies we overlooked the fact that other faiths did not (and were in no hurry to) welcome challenge.

There seems to be a presumption that to be Christian is to be a bit well, how shall we put it, unsound. Time to put this straight. And by that I don't mean some crass campaign on bendy-buses or a right-on rock festival. But a steadfast eye-balling of detractors and a quiet but unwavering assertion that we are certainly not mad and that our faith provides us with a better basis for dealing with life than they might imagine. Nobody is compelled to go to church. But I will have no problem pointing out that its a lot more rewarding than Ikea or Bluewater.

Part 2

Charlton 2 Watford 3

Whilst there is nothing of the Gerald Ratner about the club's fall from grace, the journey to League 1 is no less painful or, seemingly, irreversible. There is a real joy for me in having a "boys' day" out with my son but it ends when we have to watch the team and barely kicks in again till we are safely out of the ground after full-time. No time with him is ever wasted, but the spring tour of prospective universities promises, overall, to be a more rewarding experience.

For a while yesterday I thought we were going to win. At half time the other side were on the ropes and I thought the second half would simply involve scoring the third goal that would secure 3 points. Sad to say after half time we were not at the races. Their equaliser (for 2-2) was a very classy finish and the winner was less about how than when, so badly had we gone off the boil. Personal view is that the windy conditions yesterday needed a bit of adjustment. First half, playing into the wind, all was fine. Our strikers exploited the uncertainies of a hanging ball and made hay. 2nd half the ball didn't hang: it blew straight to the opposition. But for some reason we didn't adjust and start passing the ball on the ground. It surely isn't difficult to see what is going on and make allowances for it. But, no: as time ticked away the tactic of hopeful hoof was all we had.

Oh well, next season perhaps.

Number 11 Bus

2009-03-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

Barely has the ink dried on my first blog for 2 weeks when along comes another.

Defeat at home to Doncaster tonight (a late finish at work means I was at least spared having to watch it) means relegation is pretty much a certainty. In football the ends can pretty much always justify the means. So Parkinson assembled a team of journeymen players (many on loan) with the view to making us difficult to beat and capable of picking up some wins, so I guess the plan went, on the way to safety. Sadly we played ugly and still lost.

We haven't played in the third tier of English football for many years now. So the prospect of watching Millwall and Tranmere again has a certain nostalgic value. But my one hope is that something is done to inject a dash of verve and style; or at the very least we go out and play the game as it should be played. Its not impossible - both Swansea and Doncaster have demonstrated that good football is not impossible outside the Premiership. I hope Charlton can follow their example.

Recharging the batteries

2009-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

One of the dubious pleasures of crawling up the organisational hierarchy was the requirement to attend a succession of courses on how to be a manager and later, a leader. The various personality profiles, preferred working styles, 360 degree feedback and inevitable personal improvement plans all tended to blur into one so by the end I began to suffer leadership development fatigue.

But I cannot honestly say that they were not of use. I do remember in particular learning on one course about the need to look after and regularly keep topped up physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy. And that each for different reasons needed attention.

A recent trip to France gave me a heaven sent opportunity to attend to all 4. Being with the family was the emotional well-being, Abbot Christopher Jamison’s latest (finding happiness) ticked the spiritual side, whilst a week’s snowshoe walking in the alps was a double whammy – getting up the mountain did for the physical whilst the tranquility and settings more than helped recharged the mental box.

The Abbot’s book was a good way into lent and not too heavy that it could not be fully digested on a holiday. But as I slogged up the mountain side I was struck by the “different-ness” of my surroundings. And then I thought some 50 miles west, beyond Geneva it probably looks more like Kent (ie green) than the Antarctic. And then that the margins between a comfortable environment and a harsh one are perhaps finer than we sometimes assume. Go up a few hundred feet, travel a few hundred miles north (or inland) and life could be a lot less easy unless we adapted to it. We are blessed to have such a comfortable environment – and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Confused of Sevenoaks........

2009-02-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

I am following with close interest reports about this week’s Synod discussions about Women Bishops and in particular plans to establish measures for those basically opposed to the idea. As a staunch advocate of equal rights its odd that I find myself (and very happily at that) in that part of the church that believes that women cannot be admitted to the priesthood. Other blogs will explain why that is not necessarily a contradictory place to be. I have drawn some comfort from them although its fair to say that I still have some residual unease. But anything which relies basically on faith I guess must also bring with it at least a few doubts. And I know I am not the first one to experience that.
Personally I think Codes of Practice are a poor substitute for proper legislation. I am sure people will point to excellent examples of codes that work. But they generally strike me as little better than trusting things to luck on the grounds that the matter being regulated does not justify full legislation. Is that the intention here?
It seems that in any case that what is being offered to everybody is a sticking plaster to deal with a gaping wound. If the reality is that two very different “Churches” exist within the Cof E it is surely better to proceed on that basis rather than pretend that there isn’t a problem. I think there is a pressing case for the traditional Anglo Catholic wing to devise a straw man structure which we believe would offer a sustainable future and to discuss how that could be accommodated within a wider – more federated – C of E. If the remainder of the church concludes that traditionalists cannot be accommodated then maybe it is time to move on. I hope and pray it doesn’t come to that: we would all of us be the poorer for it and it hardly squares with a Christian ethic of reconciliation and tolerance.

Do you feel lucky?

2009-02-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

From time to time I stumble on a website and it keeps me going for days. Last year it was the satirical website Newsbiscuit from which I now get a daily e-mail with the story of the day. Newsbiscuit is a spoof e-news site. The best "Stories" are those which are patently a fiction but close enough to some of the absurdities of everyday life to strike a chord of recognition. Yesterday's headline - "Government announces improvement in daylight hours" - was spot on.

This week I have stumbled across something better - and I trust and hope - legal. The site streams current movie releases and after enjoying Frost/Nixon last week, I hit on another I would have taken in had the local cinema not closed down.

Its a Clint Eastwood piece called Gran Torino. Eastwood is the central character, Walt Kolowski, a former Korean War veteran, recently widowed and aware now that the world is very different to the one in which he worked, married and raised a family. The Eastwood persona at the start of the film is very much an older and angrier version of Harry Callahan from Dirty Harry. He is racially intolerant - not a great advantage in a neighbourhood dominated by immigrants - but the story focuses on the unlikely relationship between Eastwood and his neighbour's son, Thao, who is part of a sizeable Hmong immigrant community where he lives.

At one level the film is about racial tolerance - although not delivered with the power of the very wonderful Crash. But its real power is as a story of individual redemption. Eastwood's character - supported more than he thought he would ever need by a young Catholic priest - puts his anger to one side and focuses on giving Thao a chance in life that would otherwise have been denied him. In turn the anger that consumes Walt is replaced by a real sense of purpose and, I would guess, inner peace. Eastwood is now nearly 80 so he may not have too many more films in him. But this is a wonderful piece of story-telling and one with a spiritual dimension sadly missing from so much of what turns up in the cinema these days.

Is this how it all ends...?

2009-01-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow evening is probably as season defining as it gets. Interest in the cup ended on Saturday with a better display but ultimately defeat at the hands of Sheffield United. A local derby at home to Palace will be less about bragging rights and more about whether the Board should start planning for League 1 football next season.

I was resigned to our fate some time ago. Failure to win a series of very winnable home games, away form that if anything is worse than it was under Pardew, have marked us out as a club with impeccable relegation credentials. Phil Parkinson is trying to cobble together a team with enough about it to string some results together and climb out of the bottom 3. But its not just about new faces - it never was. Its about creating a sense of purpose, cohesion, pattern and collective will. Its when everyone knows their job; everyone knows what is expected of them and when; and they play for one another and the shirt. Players at this Division are all pretty talented and the margins in terms of skill are probably not great. The difference between success and failure is in all those intangible qualities. So far these have been worryingly absent from the Valley.

A local derby is usually enough to motivate a team to raise its performance. I hope it does tomorrow. Because for Charlton tomorrow a draw will simply not be good enough. A draw, or worse still a defeat, and I suspect the Board will be in for a tough time at Wednesday's AGM.

Its a funny old game......

2009-01-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

My occasional preoccupation with football was fed plenty of food for thought this week. Charlton's performance last Saturday was as inept as I had seen for a long time. Two goals the result of panic defending followed by an hour trying to create something worthwhile at the opposite end. Then on Tuesday, joy!: eighteen games without a win ended with a cup win at Norwich. Not surprisingly Norwich parted company with their manager the next day. Across the club blogs, despair has turned to hope overnight. Dare we hope for a revival or will this prove to be a false dawn.

But this isn't what caught most of my attention. This blog is about trying to make sense of the world around me. Just recently a number of bishops criticised the government for what they argued was a questionable preoccupation with wealth generation and economic growth:

" In a series of interviews with The Sunday Telegraph, the Bishop of Manchester accused the party of being "beguiled by money" and "morally corrupt" while the Bishop of Hulme said it was "morally suspect" and the Bishop of Durham said it had reneged on its promises." appeared in the Sunday Telegraph just after Christmas.

This week the papers were full of a sensational story: Premiership club Manchester City - currently being bankrolled by extremely wealthy middle eastern owners - were planning to make a bid of £100m or so for Milan's Brazilian star, Kaka. That would just about double the world record transfer fee paid in 2001 by Real Madrid to Juventus for the French international Zinedine Zidane. The rewards for Kaka personally aren't bad either, a weekly wage of £500,000 is one figure I heard quoted.

Given we're in a recession all this proved a tad controversial. People are asking whether this is any sort of example to be setting at a time when jobs are being lost and many people are feeling the credit squeeze. We might like to see professional footballers held up as role models for young people. What sort of a role model would Kaka be?

As it turns out that's an interesting question. Far from being an empty-headed, hedonist taking advantage of the perks that would undoubtedly be available to a 26 year old at the peak of his athletic powers, it turns out Kaka is an evangelical Christian with a very deep faith. Here's a piece from his Wikipedia entry:

At the age of eighteen, Kaká suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his church.

Discuss.

Where are the Peacemakers?

2009-01-10T04:19:00.000-08:00

I have just spent the morning watching Al Jazeera, the images from Gaza a reminder of the capacity for man's inhumanity to man. 800 Palestinian dead in the last weeks, many of them women and children. Children interviewed from their hospital beds bearing witness to the loss of parents, brothers and sisters in front of their eyes. Many are not suprisingly now traumatised . Much of this seems to be passing us by - the Daily Express lead concerns plans to replace household dustbins with giant communal bins to which we'll all have to take our rubbish. So its tough for us here as well, isn't it? But somehow I doubt whether the number of dustbins per street is today a lively topic of conversation in Gaza.

There is just a handful of people who can put an immediate stop to this suffering and they know who they are. Most of them are in the United States and are not too far removed from the office of President. They are the people who selflessly defended the rights of the Kuwaitis from the oppressive regime of Sadam Hussain; and who then, equally heroically, liberated the Iraqi people themselves. So its not as if intervention isn't an option. President Bush and President to be Obama need to stop dancing round their handbags, unite in calling jointly for an immediate ceasefire, through the UN stabilise the position on the ground, secure early humanitarian relief and as a matter of urgency begin the process - a proper homeland for the Palestinians, recognition and territorial security for Israel by Palestine - that will change the lives of the people who now can have little grounds for hope. What is the point of being the most powerful person in the world if you don't use it. The current inaction is shameful and a disappointing start to what I thought could be a new start for the United States on the world stage.

No doubt tomorrow there will be prayers for peace. Across the world. I hope that hardened hearts are moved accordingly.

Called to account

2009-01-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

The appearance of Charlton's accounts today give more cause for gloom. In spite of an upbeat report from the chairman (a great year apart from the results - football and financial) the disclosure of an 11.5m loss, declining income and an ever worsening liquidity position is not designed to lift the spirits. Full credit to the Board who have shown their commitment to the cause by stumping up 14.5m to help keep the clubs net cash flow in reasonable health. Fans' may criticise some of their decision-taking (eg on manager selection) but they surely cannot argue that their hearts are not in the right place. And it cannot be easy to keep smiling when even the auditors appeared to equivocate over whether we are a going concern.

I have long since concluded that football is a bubble industry with ridiculous sums of money being spent on TV rights, transfer fees and player wages simply because of the market for subscription-broadcasting. With the economy in recession I think it may not be too long before the bubble bursts. But if so I may find this part of the blogosphere is less pre-occupied with trivia.

Days Like This.........

2009-01-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today (Saturday) is for me the highlight of the sporting calendar - FA Cup 3rd Round. It is the day when the games "big boys" can be pitched against struggling teams 3 divisions below them - or from outside the league altogether - and can come unstuck. Every cliche in the game - its 90 minutes, eleven against eleven and so on - is brought into play. Newspapers carry stories about part timers getting ready for their big day: postmen, decorators, who look forward to their 15 minutes of fame. By 5 o'clock this evening there should be a story or two to look forward to although whether there'll be a repeat of last year's competition when all but one Premiership side had been put to the sword by the semi-finals is perhaps too much to ask.

Charlton's match today is against Norwich, a side only a few places above us in the Championship. So this is not one of the day's more enticing encounters. Phil Parkinson has so far resisted selecting some of the club's younger players, preferring instead more experienced heads (a number of whom are on loan) to get us out of the mess we're currently in. I hope he takes the opportunity today to give some of our younger players a game. He hardly has anything to lose and you never know: putting trust in some of our talented youth may deliver him his first victory after nine attempts.

But for me, the beauty of the day is that something genuinely sporting survives pretty much as it always has done. It is a throw-back to a boyhood with afternoon tea-times spent watching the scores come through on the teleprinter; or listening to Sports Report on the Light Programme. Or queuing for longer to get into a juicy home tie; or following the club to an away game. All this in spite of the fact that the big clubs do not always appear to take the cup too seriously or that television companies screen the juicier ties away from the traditional Saturday, 3 o'clock kick-off time.

This is not me being a dyed in the wool fogey. I'm pretty passionate about Europe and thought we should have replaced the pound years ago. But it is about recognising that some aspects of our life are pretty good as they are. That they are not broken and do not need changing. I think that the relentless pursuit of "market solutions" or Political correctness has too often left us worse off than before. I really regretted the loss of traditional Sundays in the 1990's because frankly I always felt that 6 days a week should be enough for shopping. Nowadays the supermarkets apologise for the law that obliges them to close at 4:00pm. I think someone should pipe up and apologise for the loss of quality of life, the fact that we have no space left in our lives that is somehow different and is not for sale.

So round 3 of the FA Cup is totemic. And I hope that the first Saturday in January retains its essence of surprise, unpredictability and remains the day when a footballing David can prevail over the Goliaths of the Premiership. That way part of our heritage is retained, for us to enjoy now and for future generations. Long may it do so.

Its Parky out there

2009-01-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

So the outcome of the Board's calm and considered strategic review was....er, confirm Phil Parkinson in post. Well I suppose there is just a chance that the Board's patience and faith will be rewarded; the team will record back to back victories, regain its confidence and begin a steady rise up the table. But the omens aren't good: 8 games played with 3 points out of a possible 24. Away form looks dismal whilst at home teams are happy to walk away with a point leaving us ever further adrift at the foot of the table.

Assuming that Parkinson's vision is different to that of his predecessor then it will be interesting to see how he reshapes the squad during the current transfer window. Its hard to be too confident thus far because of his 3 loan signings, only one, Jay McEveley, looks to have really strengthened the team. The others frankly look they were here to get a game and build up a bit of fitness. I suppose a permanent recruit to the ranks may prize the shirt a bit more. Although I don't have a great deal of time for the person we might do worse than try and tempt Lee Bowyer back to the club where he started his career. That with McEveley's loan made permanent and another defender might put a bit of steel into the squad. Frankly the odds on staying up now aren't good: we need to start thinking about life in League 1.

Mixing Politics and Religion

2008-12-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

As a child I was taught that neither of the above were suitable conversation in polite company. Invariably any discussion, I was warned, ended in a huge row. On the world of blogging no such taboos seems to exist. So in direct contravention of my earlier, self-denying ordinance, here's my two-pennyworth.

Those who were disappointed that the Pope's recent address failed to offer a spiritual perspective on the current economic recession will doubtless be delighted with the pronouncements of the 5 bishops reported in today's Telegraph. Hard to find much to argue with in what they say although the timing does seem a little opportunistic. But in the interests of balance:

I spent a fair amount of my working life in Government. Not as a politician but a civil servant. Politicians I found on the whole did not enter political life for the sake of their egos and certainly not for the money. But somewhere along the way most appear to lose the plot. Why is that? I'll offer two thoughts.

a. Governing the UK is not easy. In fact I'd say it's becoming impossible. How do you balance the need for wealth creation with redistribution; or employment rights with the need to lighten regulatory burdens; with the social issues which arise from an increasingly diverse population; with environmental and sustainability concerns against the fact that many "Green" policies could impact adversely on those with low incomes? Lots of these dilemmas are not new but resolving them without being confronted with a whole set of new problems is a hell of a challenge.

b. As the complexity of government increases so does the burden of expectation of those in government. This is not helped at election time when political parties appear to offer the earth at no extra cost to the taxpayer. Indeed many will offer to reduce taxes and deliver more and better public services. If we add to the tendency to over-promise and under-deliver the other election-winning ploys that are often trotted out and which are frequently drawn round a more moral agenda (back to basics campaigns, politicians pictured with their families) then the scope for disappointment is huge. No politician will be elected if they offer a less rosy picture of life when they get into power. So when (not if) they fail to live up to their own hype the all-round sense of failure is hardly a surprise. Nobody learns anything: next election the stakes are raised because the promises become ever more extravagant.

If we are to mix politics and religion then I have two suggestions to make. Firstly politicians need to be more honest with the electorate about what they can and cannot do. The scale of ambition should be about the art of the possible with a clear warning that they cannot do it on their own. The country as a whole needs to play its part. From these modest beginnings they may be able to re-engage a cynical electorate.

For the church I'd prefer the message to be that there is more to life than just politics and to take back that dimension that we have entrusted to politicians and which they are palpably incapable of delivering. A message along those lines rather than the offer of political capital to an ill-deserving opposition party would certainly have got my vote.

2008-12-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

A wonderfully uplifting midnight mass with my family - most Sundays the prospect of early mass appears to motivate only me to get up - followed this morning by the slow straightening up of the house following the reveillon last night and getting things ready for lunch today. Our's is an Anglo-French alliance which means considerable food preparation both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

But with Wallace and Gromit in prospect later today everything is shaping up very well.

Christmas inevitably brings back memories of childhood. I remember one Christmas attending church with my grandmother. The sermon would inevitably pass a ten year old by but I did notice my grandmother making a note at one point. Afterwards she said to me she'd written down something the preacher had said: "Christianity is your life and the way you lead it". That just about summed it up for her.

With these words ringing round my head I think this may be my last Blog for a while. Not for ever in all probability but for a week or two at the very least. I had always intended this Blog to be a way of trying to make sense of the world I live in. Why strengthening Christian convictions were mixed with angst about Charlton. In fact I am not sure I need worry: it's just the way it is. And as for any insights, those of others are considerably more interesting and readable. I have decided to be of more practical use to those around me. To put my hand up a bit more when others ask for help (I do little more at church than attend). And to remember the life is about the service of others not my own opinions.

A very happy and peaceful Christmas.

Must do Better

2008-12-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

School's out soon and with it the normal rash of assessments about my childrens' progress. I recognise the heading not because it is said of mine but because it habitually appeared in the reports I handed over to my parents.

But assessments are not just limited to students. Just about everything gets assessed these days. So here's one from me rather than one about me.

On the way in to work today there was an interesting Opinion piece in the Times about an alternative Christmas service, one for non-believers. Partly ironic, partly "alternative" spirituality, part pure sentimentality. Overall a bit of a dog's dinner.

So a couple of questions from me. If you are going to have a truly alternative Christmas why is it necessary to appropriate the dates reserved for a Christian festival. How about February? That way the humanist/non-believer/atheist "majority" (inferred from the article) would have something special to call their own. Taking the same dates feels a bit like sending out your cat to spray in next door's garden. Not very worthy.

Secondly what a joyless alternative gets served up. I can get truly exhilarated listening to the "Christian" Messiah. Atheists will have to make do with Do They know its Christmas, or Baby, its Cold Outside feat. Rod Stewart. Or Carl Sagan's humanist insights into the need for us to cherish the earth and each other. Or The Muppet Christmas Carol. Nothing here about hope, about God among us. Uplifting and inspiring messages that justify all the things that cause us to mark out Christmas as a very special time.

Final score: Non-believers 0, Believers 2
Assessment: Humanists have bitten off more than they can chew here. Must do better.

Very trying....

2008-12-15T15:48:00.000-08:00

For an English cricket loving Charlton fan, not a good day. After India effortlessly knocked off nearly 400 runs in the 4th innings to take the First Test, I then watched the pain of my side denied a first victory in 13 games with a goal scored with virtually the last kick of the game.

Still I'm trying to look at this way: for an Indian cricket supporter living in (and supporting) Derby County, today life must feel pretty good.

I have felt for some weeks that the game is up for Charlton this year. Sometimes you feel that it doesn't matter what you do, the end result will always be the same. What the club really needs now cannot be bought for love nor money - its a bit of luck. Just enough to give the players and management a lift; to re-instill some self-belief; to give them some hope that they can start winning again. But if not: well, we had a good run whilst it lasted and we can look back on the good times if the lean times do come.

If Charlton's cause looks lost, the same cannot be said of Anglo-Catholicism. In place of the Indy I read the latest "Forward in Faith" on the way in to work today. The front page was a great read - a series of quotes from the Anglo Catholic community speaking out against the proposed code of practice. Actually it was a front page worthy of the Indy itself.

In nearly all respects I regard myself as a liberal. In matters of faith, I am unapologetically traditional. I am not sure the values I hold in everyday life need necessarily extend to spiritual life. So I am not convinced that because, for example, I support equality and diversity in the work place that need necessarily mean I should automatically belong to a church that has signed up to women priests. Surely religious views are a matter of moral conviction - and they are very personal. I don't dissent that others should see it differently: simply that my views are seen as valid. For me the strength of the Church of England has been its capacity to embrace diversity. Having the Anglo Catholics in the church at a time when synod has given the go ahead to the ordination of women bishops is tough all round. But the church has accommodated ambiguity in its structures before - I think all that is being asked now is that it continues to do so. Properly. The problem with a code of practice is that every breach would doubtless be met with a tut-tut and a shaking of heads - but no more. I think the church needs to find a better answer than the one on offer here. I pray that it does so.

Staying Awake

2008-12-13T04:27:00.000-08:00

One of my weaknesses is Sci-Fi movies. Not the ridiculously bloated space operas of Star Trek or George Lucas but those great low budget pieces that get shown at odd times of the day (more likely night). More often than not they're in black and white and invariably comprise a heady mix of acting unknowns, creaky sets and infeasible plots. But there are some pearls all the same. I see the 1950's cold-war classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" has just had a high budget makeover and been remade with Keanu Reeves. I'll bet the original is far better. One original that may never be remade is a late 1980's low budget feature called "They Live" and directed by John Carpenter. The central conceit is that the earth has been invaded but that we earthlings have been hypnotised/brain-washed so that we now only recognise as "reality" the fiction that the aliens have created for us. But all is not lost. A resistance movement has started up and they have developed a way of helping see the "true" reality - via the use of special sunglasses.

The clarion calls of the rebels is: "They Live:We Sleep". When the sunglasses donned we see the subliminal reality that the aliens have created beneath the veneer of "normality" - slogans like "Consume", "Obey" shout out from otherwise normal advertising hoardings; innocuous banknotes bear the wording "This is Your God". Like all the best science fiction the purpose isn't to thrill us with hi-tec action but to hold up a mirror to some aspect of our lives -in this case the suggestion that we are so in thrall to material wealth and the untrammelled capitalism of western society that we are incapable of seeing anything else.

At the start of Advent we are told to remain watchful. Like the freedom-fighters in "They Live", we Christians maybe have to don some dark glasses to navigate our way through the commercial temptations and the pressures to consume ever more that so characterises the modern Christmas. I occasionally have left mine home this week and the result has been the rise in stress levels that accompany the fear I have forgotten to buy something. I resolve to do better in the next week.

But then maybe the frail nature of capitalism is being exposed without the need for special eyewear. In town today the shops are full of Xmas goodies and offering plenty of discounts to entice us inside. Some of the discounts make the recent VAT reduction look a bit mean spritied . Among those discounting most keenly is Woolworth's although in their case it is for little more purpose than clearing stocks before they close down for good. When they do that will be yet another piece of the High Street landscape and an abiding memory from my childhood gone. Another victim to the changing times and the very deep economic recession.

Perhaps it need not be all bad though. Dare one hope that without lots of money to spend people may turn their attention to the real meaning of Christmas.

A Long Weekend

2008-12-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

After a couple of mis-starts here's the weekend update.

First of all a miserable defeat at Blackpool which leaves us bottom of the table. There comes a point when the optimism that precedes each game does a 180 degree turn. You then expect the worst. Even a draw or playing well and losing leaves you clutching at straws - or green shoots anyway. But at least resignation and despair makes defeat easier to swallow.

I feel desperately sorry for the Board at Charlton. Two and a bit years ago they handed over a couple of seasons of transfer money to a new manager in the expectation that we could push on: from mid-table into Europe. What I don't think they realised is that it was our talismanic manager, Alan Curbishley, that had kept the team punching well above its weight: almost certainly in a false position. Once he went the spell was broken and the team's fortunes sank. Even a good replacement like Alan Pardew found himself unable to stop the rot.

What next? I really don't know. Curbs back at the Valley seems the obvious answer, yet the man is unlikely to want a job outside the Premiership. Anyway they say you should never go back. Phil Parkinson has a credible claim to the job but as Pardew's former No.2 he will inevitably be seen as part of the regime that got us in this mess in the first place. He will not be given time to turn things round. All in all I don't have an answer and for that reason I feel desperately sorry for the people who have to lead the club forward in all this - the Board.

In spite of my unforgivable absence from Mass the weekend was a reminder of some of the things that are important to me. A visit to family in Devon on Saturday was then followed by a chance to catch up with a greatly missed old friend in Dorset. It was a reminder that whatever else preoccupies us we need to find time for those dearest to us. I drove back in the glorious winter's morning sunshine on Sunday in very high spirits.

Back to the here and now. In my mind there is a very confused set of thoughts going round about great leadership, our lives as Christians and the example set by those in power be they politicians or football managers. It is not going away. But it will have to wait.

Healthy Body, healthy mind

2008-12-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

After a day spent in trains and offices what could be better than a good game of tennis.

In December.

Outdoors.

At night.

Under floodlights.

Minus 2 degrees.

Are we mad? Well the good news was that we didn't have to queue.

Actually, few things leave you feeling better than a bit of outdoor exercise on a crisp winter's day. Spirits definitely raised and maybe a tot of Irish Whiskey (medicinal) to keep the mood up.

As the gentle thwack of a tennis ball punctuated the bracing night air an idea struck me.

This is when we should hold Wimbledon. How can we expect any Brit to triumph when we play in conditions that favour players accustomed to Californian or Mediterranean summers: to the weather routinely found on Bondi beach or the Copacabana. No, hold Wimbledon in November in fog and at night. That would sort the men from the boys and give us a fighting chance of delivering a champion.

Hang on a minute.......

2008-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

To early Mass. Whilst I've forgotten most of the religious education of my Primary School I do remember that the first Sunday of Advent is the start of the church year. As a child Advent was the start of a seemingly interminably long period that ended with those much anticipated presents on Christmas Day. Recently I have looked forward to Christmas less with anticipation and more with dread. The pressure to spend, eat and drink when we have plenty of everything seems a bit incongruous. I can well understand that in Victorian times the prospect of Christmas in the middle of a long cold and hard winter must have seemed like a ray of hope. What is so special about Christmas now? Seems to me its an excuse to spend money we haven't got on things we don't need and in any case we could afford to buy on 360 other days of the year.

Today's homily at least suggested that there was more to think about at Christmas than the opening times of Marks : the real meaning of Christ's coming. On that basis I am going to enter into the spirit of the thing. Quiet contemplation mixed with the watchfulness that we are exhorted to display as Christians. I will of course do the other stuff; but I want this to be the year I enjoyed Christmas and I think now I can.

Surprise, surprise! The rain held off for an hour or so which meant we could get some digging done at the allotment. Although the plot looks a bit bare that means its quiet for the weeds as well as the veg. We've not always been too lucky in having neighbours who keep their plots under control. Now at least on one side they've done wonders which means that when the border is tidied up it will stay tidied. That's sufficient motive to get the whole thing looking decent - not a prize-winner perhaps but not an eyesore either. And we are still getting the odd cabbage and with luck there'll be sprouts before too long.

abandon hope.........

2008-11-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

It seems only yesterday that we were on a high after the match against Reading. Since then its been disappointment heaped on despair. The events of the last three months have seen us tumble into the relegation places, move a manager on and now release the striker who, nominally at least was brought in to replace Darren Bent.

There are times when the thing you most need is to stop falling and feel you're standing on solid ground. For Charlton in truth the falling started soon after Alan Curbishley walked out the door (and at the time there were plenty who thought that a positive development) and we haven't really stopped since. An unwise choice of replacement for Curbs (Iain Dowie) a clutch of new players brought in at considerable expense but who did not strengthen the team, dismal form prompting more managerial changes and all the time the light at the end of the tunnel was no more than a new trap door opening. We now face the real prospect of 2 relegations in 3 seasons. Unthinkable really but best face up to it and start dealing with it.

What do you do when things are so out of control, nothing you do makes any difference (in fact it seems to make it worse) and you are reduced to the role of hapless onlooker. There are at present plenty of suggestions doing the rounds. Some of them involve reshaping the team, others a change of manager, others hoping that new owners will coming charging over the hill, laden with gold to bail us out.

Today complete with new manager and a clutch of new loan signings we take on Southampton in a relegation six-pointer. Southampton themselves have preceded us on the journey out of the Prem and into the lower reaches of the Championship. Last season a whisker away from the drop. But recent form suggests that they are finding some form. Charlton in recent weeks haven't always played badly either but that in itself is a concern - playing well and losing is no basis for survival.

If anyone has the key to turning this round it ought to be Phil Parkinson although if he has he was certainly keeping quiet about it when Pards was at the helm. One grain of hope is that he does seem to have put in some work on his communications skills with the press at least and it would seem the players. The margins between success and failure at this level can often be measured not in terms of team strengths but in confidence and self-belief. If he really can improve things in this area then who knows the free fall may stop and the Charlton machine will rise gracefully back into the air again. But then again, I know nothing.

Fight the good fight......

2008-11-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wednesday ended with the shocking reports from Mumbai. I suppose the reports that the "terrorists" were seeking out holders of British and American passports was a reminder that in this war on terror we are the enemy. It was also a reminder that we take peace, order and normality for granted.

The words of Andreas Liveras a British multi-millionaire marked me. His final hours were broadcast to the world through the BBC. He'd gone down to the hotel dining room for a pre-dinner drink and something to eat. He could reasonably take for granted that all would be well, his visit to India would end and he'd come back home to whatever life awaited him back in the UK. We cannot live our lives in any way other than assume that this will be the case. Perhaps the people in Baghdad were living out their day to day lives on the night when the words "shock and awe" took on a new meaning. And so tonight I'll go to bed wondering whether Charlton can pull things round, if my daughter will get through her GCSE mocks OK, my son will make any progress with his university application; if my contract will be renewed.

Is that reasonable or is that just complacency. I remember as a boy going to a Christian retreat and being terrified by one of those "fire and brimstone" sermons designed to shake me into repentance. The message then was you might be going back to your tent in 30 minutes but what if this was the night when God's judgement rained down on the world. What account would you be able to give of yourself? I am not sure about fire and brimstone but perhaps if we embraced the notion that all this could end very quickly, that those plans for our futures were futile, that the reckoning was going to begin now and not in 20 years we might treat the here and now and the people around us very differently. Certainly we would remember that in the war on terror the victims are not "terror" but fellow human beings.

2008-11-24T15:15:00.001-08:00

Better days ahead?

2008-11-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

"Recession: A Time when money is returned to its rightful owners"

No time to catch up with the detail of today's PBR. But I caught some of the headlines on the way home. Presumably its still up for debate whether this is a much needed stimulus for the UK economy, a damp squib or a cynical pre-election bribe.

I would like to think it will help those people facing difficult times. Not sure whether a 2.5% drop in VAT was the right measure. I preferred the 20% income tax rate and was sorry when it was dropped.

Taxes and public spending being in the news here are two passing thoughts.

a. Every government pledges that it will pay for some of its election pledges by cutting down on Whitehall waste. This is easier said than done. The fact is that no pound spent by Whitehall feels like it is a wasted pound in the hands of the beneficiary. Even a bureaucrat travelling Business Class at ludicrous expense will justify the cost one way or the other. The recipient of a grant or benefit will call foul when that money is withdrawn and will do so far more vociferously than the tax-paying public who will obviously see little or no direct benefit.

b. In today's paper there was extensive coverage of the battle being fought out in Manchester over plans for a new congestion charge. Now a congestion charge which raises money for better public transport seems like a pretty good idea to me. Wider public benefit, reduced congestion and cleaner air. What's not to like about that? Hang about and maybe most of Manchester will tell you. Votes in the balance and if it falls then prospective green taxes may follow suit. Perhaps taxation isn't the best way to catch people's attention. Sadly perhaps we need some environmental catastrophe before something which commands a consensus of the majority can actually be done.

Yesterday was not one of the better November days in living memory. Snow, hail, frozen rain and just plain torrential rain for the most part. But as I returned home from a shopping trip I realised that no rainbow ever turned up except when we had rain. So a bit of consolation when I was on my home. David Bailey it isn't but you get the drift.

2008-11-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

"Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man".

Sunday. Sunday starts with 8 o'clock mass. And the reason for the quote above is that I have returned via a very long winded route to what my grandmother called "high church". As a boy I went to a small church school on the South East London/Kent borders. Our church was the local Cof E which observed very Anglo Catholic traditions. Every Wednesday the priest visited and taught us incomprehensible things (to my very young mind anyway) like the catechism. Thirty years later and after periods punctuated by Sunday School (United Reform), agnosticism and apathy I returned to regular church going. I was confirmed in the C of E but then courtesy of my wife and children became a (non-communicant) regular at the local Roman Catholic Church. The desire to remain CofE whilst not giving up on catholic worship has taken me full circle to a church that could have been the one of my boyhood. Does this simply prove that the Jesuits were right as the earlier quote suggested. Or is something else at work? The reason for this blog I now realise is in part the search for an to answer that question. But for now 8 o'clock mass is a cornerstone of my life and I am eternally grateful for the peace and spiritual nourishment that it brings.

Nourishment of another kind sadly missing today. Rather than harvesting home-grown vegetables to go with the Sunday roast, heavy snow, sleet, hail and rain forced me to seek alternative forms of physical labour - the local gym to be precise. On the treadmill (they have little televisions) I watched England getting their customary pasting from Sehwag and Co; whilst burning off the excesses of the previous week. If our cricketers could only raise their game this would be a great "win, win": watching sport and getting fit.

On the Charlton fan pages this evening the talk is of only one thing - Pardew's replacement. In truth whilst I felt it was time for him to go I do feel sorry that things didn't work out for him and that after two years he lost his job. Yes, he was well paid and yes he probably doesn't go away empty handed but I doubt whether that was what he hoped for when he signed on the dotted line.

At the highest levels of professional sport the margins between success and failure are ridiculously thin. For Alan Pardew he may well reflect that two or three moments in a game or decisions on a particular team selection could have changed everything . Actually I hope he does think that because he may then see that he still has a lot to offer the game.

One of the posters tonight said that they have been supporting the team long enough to know a relegation team when they see one. I was there yesterday so I know what they mean. We may yet get the right person in and when we do, they may well start a revival. But in football there have to be losers as well as winners and the biggest challenge for us fans is to recognise that as with others before us - Wimbledon, Leeds and Leicester, for example - things can get worse before they get better.

.....12 hours later

2008-11-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

I use to play football at weekends. Park stuff, certainly not the Premier League. And more often than not the team I played for was not exactly setting the place on fire. You know when confidence is low. You allow other teams to dictate play, boss you around. And when you do get the ball it is treated as the proverbial hot potato - to be got rid of at all costs.

Watching Charlton today put me in mind of those days. The defending was not school-boy; school-boys would not have committed the sort of howlers I saw today. By the time the opposition's fourth goal went in I was laughing. I actually applauded their fifth because it was well taken and was the first time we hadn't actually handed it to them on a plate.

We have got some good players: Moutaouakil, Bailey, Bouazza, Hudson and so on. Pound for pound they match anything in the Championship. But today I got the feeling they would all have been plying their trade somewhere other than the Valley. Maybe doing a bit of Christmas shopping at nearby Bluewater. 2 - 5! That was a bit of a let-off really.

I am not good at the body language thing but watching Alan Pardew being interviewed on Sky was painful. He didn't look into the camera. He looked a haunted man. Sure enough a couple of hours later and he was on his way. By mutual consent - a compromise agreement. He doesn't take the club for too much compensation and he can argue he wasn't sacked. A sad end but the best outcome in all the circumstances. I hope he can move on to something that works better for him. For Charlton something better is getting pretty pressing. Don't fancy League 1 next year.

Tomorrow is time for other stuff on my list. To early Mass - to lift the spirits and to help me see things in their perspective - followed by an hour or two's digging on the allotment. By 4 o'clock tomorrow evening the grouchy spectator at Charlton today will be a fading memory.............

It's 8:21.......

2008-11-22T00:21:00.000-08:00

......and its very cold, the sort of weather that prompts you to start a blog. So here goes.

I am no obsessive so no single theme - in any case I couldn't hope to match the passion or devotion of those other bloggers. But in no particular order here is what might turn up:

- Charlton Athletic

- Religion

- Allotment gardening

- Music

- Politics

- Film

- Books

At present Charlton are likely to turn up most. To start with we're at home today and I'll be there. We are in a relegation dogfight already and a blog seems as good a place as any to vent my feelings. I fear Sheffield United may present yet more opportunties for a cyber-rant but I go full of optimism.