From time to time I get recipes from Poland; sometimes the dish is something traditional, sometimes something newly-created. Invariably the next stage involves translating the recipes into English. And most of the time this presents not only a linguistic challenge but a ‘substantial’ one too. Or to put it in clearer terms, I have to find substances – ingredients –…

In my second parish I came across a bunch of very talented and skilled young musicians, very keen to form a band and get involved in the Sunday liturgy. As individual musicians, each and every one of them was brilliant; as a band, they were able to produce a lot of noise but very little music. Everyone was playing everything,…

What a festive season we’ve had! Heavy and persistent rain, blustery winds and floods, now topped off by snow and ice. It was supposed to be a relaxing time of rest and joy; instead many people have battled for survival against the unbridled power of the elements. Sometimes their fight was unfortunately given over to damage limitation. Excuse the pun,…