text & commentary

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Mar 31, 2003

When the troops arrived, singing 'It's a long, long way to Tipperary' at Mauberge, after forced marches in the dark, it was one of the most tremendous moments I had ever experienced ... they looked so young, so elastic, so invincibly cheerful, so English, so tired and so fresh. And the thought of these men swinging on into horror undreamt of -- the German Army -- came to me like the stab of a sword, and I had to go and hide in a shop for the people not to see the tears rolling down my cheeks.

I went to mass this morning and it was nice to think I was listening to the same words said in the same way with the same gestures, that Henry V and his 'contemptible little army' heard before and after Agincourt..." [Letter of Maurice Baring to Dame Ethel Smyth, 25 October 1914, from France.]

Hi I'm Brad and I'll be your presider this morning! I'm still a little sleepy and I bet you are too but I'm sure God loves to peek at us in our jammies and when I'm on vacation like I was last week I like to say mass in my Tweetie Pie PJs to make God giggle, because that's what our faith is all about: as God's Holy People we are 'Today's Chuckle' in God's Thought for the Day calendar. Now officially today is the Martyrdom of John the Baptist but that's so depressing and it's such a scrumptious morning I've decided to say the children's mass instead so if you all come up round the altar -- yes, you as well, sir-- we'll start our celebration by holding hands and singing How Much is that Doggy in the Window ...