The organist librarian

Discovered a sauna next to the pool which is great! Liz went early to school.I spotted a mobilephone call from the Thornton Heath surgery so rang up to find my healthcheck is postponed as nurse not well so missed Mass and spent day at school library. Saw Anna, Miss Bond and Monica so hopefully meeting with staff in January. Year 2 classes borrowed but system not working well. Hoepfully Anna will be freed to go in at lunchtimes. Classes mess up fiction and Bibles for some reason. To Chislehurst golf club for joint Blackheath/Bromley meeting for Frank Bond with bow ties. Sausage and mash. I got a lot support for my comments on the items in Dec Catena one of which is anonymous. Watched The Apprentice - 2 fired. Thursday to Mass and art - thinking about migrants painting. Julie encouraging me to do figures. Interfaith lunch - Fr Adrian on crutches. Interesting presentation on Gratitude journal. Spoke about the commendation. 

We got a taxi to Boston South station in good time. The Amtrak service got pretty full and took 4 hours along the coast with some fine views. I finished reading the book about Charterhouse monks. We got a taxi to Leo House. The debit card played up but messages came through from Barclays and the matter was resolved. The room is basic but clean – the bath is old but we are at the back and it is quiet so far. We unpacked and went to Port terminal to get our New York pass. This had hop on hop off tours for 4 days so we did the downtown one and got off at the Rockefeller centre where we had soup and wraps. The ice skating has started! We then got on the 8 p.m. night tour which took us over Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn. It was raining and windy! Tuesday Good breakfast at Leo House for $9. Bus tour uptown including Haarlem and then joined a second tour to Yankee stadium Bronx. Visited Riverside church which is huge and impressive. Considered buying a DVD of David Briggs playing th...

To 8 a.m. mass at St Mary's - Canon Collins at back, Fr David still using old text although copies of new one available. Shocked to find the acclamations are completely changed! Why? A penance. Choir back and sang Jubilate Deo by Mozart. Kids rehearsed and on great form. Practised Elgar and Bach. I played Walton Spitfire march and RAF march past and Dambusters march as it was Battle of Britain Sunday, also racial awareness Sunday and 9/11 commemorated after 10 years in New York and London.