it wasn't like it is in the porn films…

It’s about twenty-four hours since I went into hospital as there was blood and pus oozing from an abscess, and the doctor on call told me to head for the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. So, BelDoc told me to go to Accident and Emergency, so a friend of my boyfriend came over from north Belfast to east Belfast to take us to west Belfast and the RVH, I suspect that we did make it into south Belfast at some point but I’m not quite sure of the constituency boundaries. Once there, I reported on my predicament: having attended the … Continue reading it wasn't like it is in the porn films…

Rate this:

‘six hundred of the men who got sick and died were young and fellow Catholics’

I didn’t think that I would be posting quite as quickly after the last post – but reading what I have just read really makes me want to make sure others get to read what Fr Bernard Lynch said at a rally in London today. As someone living with HIV, Fr Lynch’s words somewhat grabbed hold of me. Fortunately, we can now live with HIV – it is no longer the death sentence it once was. Here is a wordle followed by the full text… Dear Holy Father, Welcome to the United Kingdom. I am one of your fellow priests … Continue reading ‘six hundred of the men who got sick and died were young and fellow Catholics’

Rate this:

a century of postings…

Having had a rapid increase in postings in recent weeks, the 100th post has come up rather more quickly than I had expected. So just a little look back at where the blog has been? Blog post 1 – Housework wings its way out the window – March 5, 2009 Well, it’s been a frantic few days for me here in Belfast. Trips to Bangor and Holywood have interspersed themselves with a trip to the cinema to see Doubt, as well the usual trips to University Street in the Queen’s Quarter of the city. Fit in two evening meetings as … Continue reading a century of postings…

Rate this:

lead, kindly light… Pope Benedict XVI

Sadly, due to illness, I was unable to use the ticket that I had been granted to attend the Vigil in Hyde Park, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to lie, sit, and kneel at a friend’s house in East Belfast to watch. Afterwards, he remarked that what the Holy Father said was not that far away from what could be said in a Christadelphian exhortation. If this is how close we are together, then there really is hope for Christian unity. The text of the homily given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to … Continue reading lead, kindly light… Pope Benedict XVI

Rate this:

We were made to receive love… also to give love. – Pope Benedict XVI

The words of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the young people outside The Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, Westminster, today. Thank you for your warm welcome! “Heart speaks unto heart” – cor ad cor loquitur – as you know, I chose these words so dear to Cardinal Newman as the theme of my visit. In these few moments that we are together, I wish to speak to you from my own heart, and I ask you to open your hearts to what I have to say. I ask each of you, first and foremost, to look into your … Continue reading We were made to receive love… also to give love. – Pope Benedict XVI

Rate this:

Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. – Pope Benedict ⅩⅥ

The text of the speech by His Holiness Pope Benedict ⅩⅥ, the Sovereign Pontiff, in Westminster Hall: Mr Speaker, Thank you for your words of welcome on behalf of this distinguished gathering. As I address you, I am conscious of the privilege afforded me to speak to the British people and their representatives in Westminster Hall, a building of unique significance in the civil and political history of the people of these islands. Allow me also to express my esteem for the Parliament which has existed on this site for centuries and which has had such a profound influence on the development of participative government among the … Continue reading Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. – Pope Benedict ⅩⅥ

Rate this:

rvh clinic needs to rethink working practices

I was up at the Royal Victoria Hospital yesterday for my regular checkup. The visit is now pretty routine, with a regular way of working: arrive, check in with the lovely receptionist, sit in waiting room (for ages) see consultant have blood taken for testing head down to pharmacy for prescription Now, my appointment was at 2.30pm but I was finally seen by my consultant at 3.45pm. Then had a long wait for the bloods to be taken. When I was finally called for the bloods by the nursing staff, I pointed out that I would not be able to … Continue reading rvh clinic needs to rethink working practices

Rate this:

the pope’s mission to uphold human dignity – letters at the guardian

The letter referred to earlier this week has been published by the Guardian. Hurrah.

We welcome His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the UK as both head of state of the Holy See and as leader of the world’s 1 billion Catholics and to the Catholic community of this country. We believe that his presence here comes at an urgent and pressing time, highlighting the trends in our country that serve only to denigrate human rights and human dignity. We support him wholeheartedly because in guarding the Deposit of Faith he: Continue reading “the pope’s mission to uphold human dignity – letters at the guardian”

The Kingdom of God is very near to you! – Pope Benedict XVI

In case you have missed the words of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at Mass for the Feast of St Ninian in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow today, here is the text of his homily: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10:9). With these words of the Gospel we have just heard, I greet all of you with great affection in the Lord. Truly the Lord’s Kingdom is already in our midst! At this Eucharistic celebration in which the Church in Scotland gathers around the altar in union with the Successor of … Continue reading The Kingdom of God is very near to you! – Pope Benedict XVI

Rate this: