My morning run today shaved more than a minute off Wednesday’s, so I’m settling back closer to my pre-Bannister plateau zone. Coffee, fruit, Morning Prayer, home for second coffee and toast, and marking and homily-writing. | Continue reading
Good night’s sleep, slow but satisfactory run (not even trying for speed), coffee, fruit, shower, Morning Prayer, some groceries, home, back to church for Chapter Meeting. | Continue reading
I got a good night’s sleep after an evening devoted to resolving a security problem with a bank account (the kind of security problem that you definitely don’t want to put off) (honestly, forgers these days are hardly even trying, though corruption in general is so slipshod that … | Continue reading
I see that Alan Jacobs has been reading The Dark Bible, which I also am in the midst of. I’ll be interested to see what he has to say; my first impressions are mostly very favourable. | Continue reading
I got up and made coffee this morning, ate some fruit, dressed for running, and made my way to the Stratton Way bus stop to catch a bus to Oxford. I knew that since today is a bank holiday, there would be fewer buses; I did not know just how very few there would be.… | Continue reading
Yesterday’s morning miles, I walked/jogged cautiously, looking ahead to Monday; coffee, hot breakfast, a second cup, and the morning spent composing the homily for today’s 8:00 at St Nic’s. The other only thing I specifically accomplished was a thorough grocery trip to Waitrose i … | Continue reading
I ran to a very good pace this morning. I’ll take things easy tomorrow and Sunday, with a view to staying limber but not over-doing before Monday. Coffee, fruit, shower, Morning Prayer (and check messages), back for coffee and toast. And so on… | Continue reading
I’ve been reticent about saying this in public (though voluble in personal conversation), but now that the season of Annual Meetings is over I feel free to say: I will retire from my parish ministry post here in Abingdon Parish at the end of my licensing period in January 2027. T … | Continue reading
I took today as a jog/walk day; my joints and sinews felt wobbly, so I didn’t want to press hard. Coffee, fruit, shower, Morning Prayer, and coffee in town at R&R to start the day. | Continue reading
I have a particular devotion to Peter Martyr a/k/a Peter of Verona a/k/a Peter of Milan, so I observe his feast today by looking fondly back at my photos of the Portinari Chapel at St Eustorgio’s in Milan (coincidentally, I was just talking at St Eustorgio’s yesterday with a coll … | Continue reading
Adequate run this morning, at about my (current) ordinary pace, and with no pain or stiffness. Coffee, hot breakfast (it’s Wednesday, duh), shower, Morning Prayer, home for coffee and toast, back to the Parish Centre for Staff Meeting, home for lunch, and later in the day I will … | Continue reading
I took this morning’s miles at a jog/walk/run pace, about two-thirds of full-on running speed; as I said yesterday, I really don’t want any injury before I run Monday. I expect this will be my [second and] last time, since I’m beginning to consider other ways of staying fit. That … | Continue reading
Morning run at a cautious pace (don’t want to risk any injuries this week in anticipation of the Bannister Mile next Monday), coffee and fruit, shower, Morning Prayer, signing some real estate documents, then coffee for public office hours at R&R. | Continue reading
Having missed yesterday’s run, I determined to run this morning even though I had the 8:00 service at St Helen’s, leaving only a narrow window for running, drinking coffee, editing homily, showering, dressing, and hurrying to church in time to assure the congregation I would in f … | Continue reading
I took my morning miles at a jog-walk pace; my joints protested mildly, and with the Bannister Mile up next Monday I thought I would give them a break. I came home for sermon-writing and coffee and a hot breakfast, followed by more writing till lunchtime. After lunch, Margaret an … | Continue reading
In between trying the Oud Sapparot and the two recent disappointments, I tested two fragrances that earned more positive responses from Margaret. The first was Tom Ford‘s Tobacco Oud, which Margaret liked for its warmth and its proximity to the Oud Sapparot; indeed, she indicated … | Continue reading
Got some deep sleep last night, good run this morning (squarely at the new plateau) and most importantly it felt good, coffee, shower, Morning Prayer, will check messages, then in to R&R for public office hours. I hope to get to Oxford this afternoon for a lecture by Prof. Jean M … | Continue reading
Margaret had two very strong negative reactions to scents (so far). She was dubious about Essenza di Colonia. She used ‘perfumey’ to describe it, and found it too sweet. I too was put off by the flowery scent — white flowery, like lily or jasmine in my imagination — and soapy imp … | Continue reading
Morning run at my new plateau (the ‘slow average’ I’ve been talking about), coffee, fruit, shower, Morning Prayer. Today’s plan includes addressing (wearisome) home-buying queries, answering questions from editors and publisher about The Last Essay, and — I dunno — reading and wo … | Continue reading
I skipped my morning run today because I slept later than I might have, because I had another night of interrupted sleep. Then, too, I needed to finish up my homily for this morning (below the fold), and to talk with Margaret about travel plans. Coffee, fruit, then off to church … | Continue reading
My running time this morning came in between my previous plateau and the new, aspirational plateau; so one could call it a slow average pace (with respect to the newer), or an incremental improvement (with respect to the past). Either way, on arriving at home I poured a cup of co … | Continue reading
Morning run was on the good side of average — not pushing any boundaries, but just about the better plateau that I’ve been working from. Coffee, fruit, shower, Morning Prayer, then in to Oxford for a morning revision for my Orielenses. I’ll be back after lunch. | Continue reading
Montale, Oud Sapparot Margaret gave this an ‘agreeable’. It led with a sweet and smoky scent; it recalled for me a grilled pineapple sort of scent. Then settled into a gently earthy, spicy lasting impression with elements of wood and leather. M. says that if this is the best, she … | Continue reading
Jonathon Delacour is, I think, (or ‘would be’, I don’t know; if you know, please tell me) 78 this year. I read skimmed through his whole archive on the Wayback Machine, but I didn’t find what I was looking for; those pages reminded about some amazing times and conversations, and … | Continue reading
Had a fitful night, but that has the benefit of leaving me plenty of time for a run before the 9:30 service at St Michael and All Angels. I aimed at a slower, but not glacial, pace; in the end, I went more slowly than I’d wished, but the important thing was to give my… | Continue reading
I do have a sermon to prepare for tomorrow, though two days of reading proofs took up some of my homiletical energies. That’s obviously my main task for today (the sermon, not the proofs, which I have returned to their editors with my input). I ran another very good couple of mil … | Continue reading
I was wondering whether the verb ‘refurbish’ had a non-iterative simple form; sure enough, there it is, and a good deal more specific in scope than the general sense of ‘spruce up’. According to Wiktionary, ‘furbish’ is used strictu sensu for ‘to polish, to make smooth and shiny … | Continue reading
My morning miles went by at a near personal-best rate (I had a week of faster times in March 2025, but then I was pushing so hard that I gave up timing my runs for four months to disarm my over-competitiveness), and felt mostly very good (a couple of slight twinges in my left kne … | Continue reading
I didn’t run this morning; I could have done, I woke up in time, but just didn’t pull myself together in time. I did make coffee and hot breakfast, showered, Morning Prayer, and headed into town for public office hours at R&R, but they’re still closed (they seem to be repainting … | Continue reading
Looks as though I missed yesterday. I ran to a near-perfect [current] average time, coffee and fruit, bade goodbye to Margaret (who’s at the SST for a few days), Morning Prayer, Public office hours at The Missing Bean (cos R&R was closed), grocery shopping, home for lunch and the … | Continue reading
Yesterday afternoon, Margaret and I took a road trip to the nearby village of Sutton Courtenay. To be precise, a road and footpath trip, since about half the ramble involved a dirt trail. Sutton Courtenay shows up in written records beginning in the 7th century, and has a 12th ce … | Continue reading
I took this morning easy, with a jog-walk in a very light drizzle. I tried out my new exercise earbuds (JLab Go Air Sport+) and they performed satisfactorily, though the control buttons are a bit too sensitive for a runner who wears a hoodie. There also seems to be a lag between … | Continue reading
Ran to a good time this morning. Much as I dislike running, it’s less frustrating when it doesn’t specifically feel bad and give a disappointing result (I know, I know, it’s the doing not the achieving); with the Bannister Mile coming up in less than a month(!), I’d like to reach … | Continue reading
I walked and jogged this morning, had my coffee and fruit, fed the dogs, out to R&R for public-facing coffee, proofreading the parish newsletter, finish a good book and writing an appreciative note to an author-friend, home by way of the Cooperative for groceries, lunch. Maybe or … | Continue reading
It’s Wednesday, I’ve had two respite days and I will have another five, but I have to look toward the future and make sure that I’m ready for pitching back in (and not all grumpy and unprepared). I still love the freedom, though, and I love the fact that the Iranian people have a … | Continue reading
Ran my miles, more than a minute faster than yesterday; clearly I benefit from not having the stress of Holy Week hanging over my head and curtailing my sleep. No coffee at first, cos Margaret and I went to Oxford together for the morning. We had a start at Love Coffee, then pick … | Continue reading
I favour arguments from texts to arguments from what people treat as necessary inferences. That’s by way of explaining that I prefer to stick to what we used to call the text itself rather than back-translation, hypothetical ur-forms and sources, and — pace my friend and mentor R … | Continue reading
I had a good night’s sleep last night (Holy Week keeps me up after my usual bedtime and wakes me early, if only to work on sermons), and although I didn’t do anything significantly later than usual this morning, I could have, which makes a tremendous difference. Had another slow … | Continue reading
It rained this morning, so that I didn’t run. Coffee, fruit, sermon tune-up, cleaned up, went to St Nic’s, and led the Easter service. The service went well, and the sermon was well received, better than I expected at the end of a small marathon of services and homilies. I napped … | Continue reading
Slow average run. Coffee and hot breakfast. Morning Prayer at St Helen’s, plus some groceries for Margaret and me. During my run, it occurred to me that I might use an Easter poem as a vehicle for my sermon tonight, and explored George Herbert, John Donne, and Gerard Manley Hopki … | Continue reading
No servers appeared for the afternoon Proclamation of the Cross and Mass of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts, so I soloed it. Minor complications, but I made it through alive, easily enough since the first final boss isn’t till tomorrow. I did not, however attempt a speed run; reverence … | Continue reading
Didn’t run this morning — too little rest over th past four days, with two and a half coming up, feeling proper knackered — so, coffee and fruit, Morning Prayer, to Waitrose with the Dr Missus to help stock the kitchen for her weekend baking project, checked messages (now that th … | Continue reading
A month ago, I blogged about Jon Hicks’s dissatisfaction with iTunes/Apple Music; at the time, I concentrated on playback aspects of the software, but this afternoon I was playing my semi-random semi-weighted shuffle through our AirPlay-compliant tv, and I remembered that Jon als … | Continue reading
So, I woke a bit later than ideal (though it approached ‘ideal’ since I stayed up late watching the last episode of our crime drama), and felt a very strong temptation to take a day off — but I didn’t, in order to keep up and perhaps sound my legs into condition for the 4… | Continue reading
Ran to an average time, coffee and hot breakfast (yay, Wednesdays!), shower, Morning Prayer, and a morning and early afternoon banging my head against tomorrow night’s homily. Stress-free interval, then dinner and Low Mass for Spy Wednesday. Full day, one day closer to Easter. | Continue reading
Twenty-two years ago — long before my current students were born! — Lawrence Lessig wrote the book Free Culture under an Creative Commons Non-Commerical/By Attribution Licence. If I recall correctly, I picked up the PDF of the book & read it directly (those were the days), and wr … | Continue reading
… and I’m pondering some other form of exercise — but for the time being, running wins out because it’s functionally free, gets me out of doors for a half hour in the morning, the weather will get better eventually, and my body will probably get less stiff and wonky. I like swimm … | Continue reading
Took a long nap yesterday afternoon, went to bed early, then couldn’t fall asleep till late, and slept late enough that I didn’t have time to run before Morning Prayer. Whose idea was this time change scheme anyway? Coffee and fruit, Morning Prayer, public office hours at R&R, ba … | Continue reading