Phil White

If it wasn't for the tininess of the windows, I'd love the little council houses in St Ebbes (Westgate side). Less keen on the bungalow-maisonette combo on the river side, but that's partly for practical reasons.

His life is extremely hard.

A fluffy black and white cat curled up in a puddle against a white wall. His feets and tail are tucked in and so is his nosie. One paw is out. It is fluffy and white and you want to play with it. (Don't. He is very serious about his sleeping.)

Cover of 'Love Divine: A Novella' by Ysenda Maxtone Graham.

16 February - a Christmas present. Semi-epistolatory novel w/ episodes of dialogue written as sketches; mildly irritating. Not entirely accurate about C of E process; you... can tell that the author writes for the Spectator. But I did really care about the characters. Not a hardship to finish it.

Yes I think about handedness every time we get numbers about queer people. There's a incredible graph showing the jump of people saying they're left handed from something vanishingly small to ~10%. As soon as it becomes socially acceptable to be different, people who are different say so!

Oh I've not come across that!

Either A or C depending on tone and context. Is the teacher the pupil's mother?

😂

Wise!

I have been told that Catan is too much. (By the Bishop, who plays it.)

Oh good call!

Only junior Uno in this house!

I only have junior Bananagrams! Which might be interpreted as making a comment...

Current shortlist:
Dobble
Jenga
Fluxx
Carcassonne
Castle Panic
Articulate

Azul/ Alhambra probably too geeky? Thoughts?

Curating a selection of board games to entertain 18 members of the bishop's staff for an evening was not what I'd expected from 'other duties as assigned '!

So sorry!

My upper arm, with a fresh tattoo of a swan. The swan is sitting on water, but his wings are just at the point of unfurling. He's looking across (at a healed tattoo of blossom). My arm is pretty red because it was just finished when I took the photo.

Some people collect icons of the patron saints of the churches they have served, I'm collecting tattoos... (a swan, for Hugh of Lincoln)

There are definitely some living deaconesses who have been ordained priest since!

That is painful to hear, but entirely justified.

I wanted to re-read them when I became a bishop's chaplain!
(And really sorry you don't want to keep them accessible - I think they're brilliant, both in their depressingly plausible view of the future and their wisdom about God and ministry.)

LOVE this.

Me too. But I am reassured that I didn't dream it.

I have found @leonore2.bsky.social and the Ruth Harwood Trilogy ruthharwoodtrilogy.blogspot.com?m=1.
Thank you!

They're so good!

Yeah. I explained the bias in words of one syllable. But.

😬😬🤬🤬
Have complained. In case.

A still from the 1990s 'Jeeves and Wooster.' Stephen Fry, playing Jeeves, is on the left, wearing a dark suit and looking disapproving. Hugh Laurie, as Bertie Wooster, is on the right, wearing a grey suit with red tie and straw hat and looking silly. Jeeves, for those who don't know, is the archetypal literary valet, and when the reading talks about 'his valets and their clothing' it makes me picture this. Which I suspect was not intentional.

I don't think there is a more usable translation than the NRSV, taken all in all, but the first reading tonight really does show up its shortcomings. 'When the queen of Sheba had observed... the seating of his officials... his valets and their clothing...'

Maybe being partially sighted meant that they looked the same to him (despite feeling different) and he didn't realise they didn't look the same to everyone?

Or maybe he was trying to impress her and hit 'slightly weird' instead.

(Not a Brown fan particularly, but this is all very small potatoes)

Also, thinking about it: what this anecdote tells us is that he had *both* a clean spare duvet cover *and* a tablecloth before he was married. That's pretty impressive tbh. Not sure I did.

He is WELL KNOWN to be partially sighted! And the fact that he decided to put a tablecloth on the table is more than 95% of men would ever do. (Not wishing to be gender essentialist. But.)