“The stuff of nightmares” rather well describes last week’s weather conditions, as well as my recent efforts to keep the acres of car parks at St Joseph’s and Holy Family safe underfoot. The back-breaking and time-consuming, valiant, lone fight against the elements turned out to be mostly futile as a mix of snowfalls and short thaws followed by frost cancelled…

For the sake of this sermon, I was looking for an example of frustration but the recent turn in the weather provided me with a first-hand experience. The morning after last Wednesday night’s snowfall looked beautiful as the pristine white blanket covered the ground. In the parish garden, it was my dog who broke the unspoilt beauty by leaving tracks…

The English Lions, the Polish Eagle, the Gallic Rooster… To the uninitiated ear, it might sound like a part of a zoo inventory while actually, all three terms relate to the national football teams taking part in the current World Cup in Qatar. In fact, animals might represent countries in more ways than sports. Many countries use animal imagery as…