In days of yore I attended a Kensington, London SW7 church presided over by Dr. Martin Israel.  He did a three hour guided meditation between 12 and 3 on Good Fridays He accomplished this without notes. Who does this now?

Martin was a rebel against the church of which he was a part. He gave me much of what I now hold dear and which keeps me on the spiritual path. To this day I have a binder’s worth of sermons which I transcribed from memory after each sermon.

Today, a wander round the town to see people doing their last minute shopping.  Anyone would think they are laying in for a siege. Baskets full of everything under the sun.  Most people were enjoying themselves in the good weather.

To the Methodist church where they used to offer lunch for £4 to all comers every Tuesday from 12 to 2pm. Now it is every other Tuesday from 12 to 1pm.  I can’t see any logic in that nor the logic of 1.5 hours allowed for having a hot drink. Now you have to pre-book.  This has not been thought out.
Three years ago I helped in the kitchen with serving the food but not cooking it. The list of rules and regulations connected with serving are huge. What you can and cannot keep in a fridge. How the temperature has to be measured (with a thermometer) so that you are not going to poison people.  They will be telling us how to tie our shoe-laces next.

An afternoon at home reading and doing very little. In the evening I switched on the TV and over to BBC2 by chance. There was a commemorative programme about Burt Bacharach, the notable computer and performer and all round nice guy. He had written over 500 songs. He was born in 1938 and died February this year 2023. The programme was devoted to his work.

I enjoyed Dionne Warwick another real human performer singing from the hear.. This was real music – with tunes – no violence – melodies – feel good material . They don’t make them like that any more.

And so to bed.