As ever, when you have to go away from work for a few days this always means a frantic rush to ensure everything is in order. This almost suggests that you cancel whatever the trip might have been in favour of an easier life! Due to be away Mon-Fri in the last week of January this week before was no exception.

Choir practice on wednesday meant rehearsing for two Sundays and ensuring that musical arrangements were in place for my return and for the practice. An additional burden was having an extra day off courtesy of Martin Luther King day on 16 January. The attempt to take this day off and the two days off I usually get just added to the stress.

Then on Friday 20 January my day off was interrupted by a funeral. I drove away from the funeral that Friday afternoon and dialled an uber as soon as I had left my car. I still am not savvy about addresses in Tampa so the taxi ended up passing the church again before reaching its destination. The good news was that for some reason unknown to me the Uber cost me nothing at all! It was 4.30pm and I had arranged to meet some friends at a restaurant. I had arrived so early but was delighted to discover that the restaurant was next to a bar which I had enjoyed once or twice before. I found myself sat next to a guy whose thirst had ensured a certain conviviality and he engaged me in quasi political comment. It was clear he was no fan of Trump. Eventually friends joined me and we adjourned to the restaurant as planned. It was a Bohemian type of place with good food with no pretences and a fine selection of ales. we had a wonderful time together and so we capped it off by returning to the bar for a couple more tipples. One of my friends was good enough to drive me home so I did not have to fork out for another taxi ride.

The following day I had two meetings with to-be -weds and we managed to sort things to their satisfaction and mine. I did the evening Mass and returned home for a rest. Sunday followed the usual pattern with a frenzied attack of packing during the afternoon.

On Monday I was bound for St Louis where I would spend the next 4-5 days with liturgical composers from across America. It was an invitation only conference so I was delighted to be invited. I didn’t know quite what to expect but had submitted one piece for critiquing and another for the Concert. In the event the concert piece (Canticle of Tobias) was mislaid so I substituted my ‘Blessed are the Clean of Heart’.

At the Tampa airport security while refitting the belt to my trousers the belt broke and I felt insecure. So as soon as I had touched base with the welcoming party I was off in search of a replacement. The information desk advised that I try the police. This was a little scary, I thought, but followed their advice nonetheless. I didn’t get the warmest of welcomes from the police but was relieved not to be arrested for wasting police time! In the event I remembered that I had packed another belt and this sufficed.

Once the expected early cohort had arrived we were driven by a stretch limo to the Sisters of Mercy Conference Centre in Frontenac. This limo was in fact more like a minibus and the stretch was a vertical rather than horizontal one, just in case you were wondering.

Once established in allocated rooms there was a light sandwich lunch for us. I had arrived with Kevin Keil and was joined by Paul Inwood and David Haas. I had some business with David Haas but did not feel it appropriate to enter into this immediately. Later on I was able to find him alone and dealt with it then.

All the delegates met around 5pm with an introduction of all the attendees. This took a while and was followed by the first of the very complete meals. Every meal we were offered amounted to at least 3 courses but there was no wine with the meal. After an evening prayer which celebrated the Care for Life in a broader sense than many might have expected on Roe-v-Wade anniversary day, we adjourned for drinks and more food!

It was a long night and the next day came rather too soon. The programme for the week was full on and included a retreat element given by Cyprian Consiglio. He brought to bear a wide experience of other faiths and cultures with strong insights into our own Catholic cultures. Besides his reflections his musical gifts were immense as he included his own unique playing of the guitar and songs.

During the afternoon we started the first of two sessions critiquing compositions. All compositions were anonymous so my setting of Catherine McAuley’s ‘Suscipe’ received unexpected comment. Most of the comment was directed at the text which many considered archaic and inappropriate. Well, it was a set text and the writer’s name had been deleted. Perhaps the editor did not know Catherine McAuley (founder of the Sisters of Mercy) or that she had died in the 1840s but since mine was one of the earliest to be reviewed I was unaware of any ‘right to reply’. I was however happy that after the session some composers did come up to me individually with complimentary and useful comments about the music!

Wednesday followed a similarly full on schedule ending with a Banquet at the Hilton Hotel in Frontenac. I was happy to find myself sat with Christopher Walker so we were able to have a good conversation. John Foley had fallen earlier in the day but had sufficiently recovered to make a welcome if somewhat bloodied return near the end of the banquet and in time for the photos. The journey home was uneventful and more wine followed.

Thursday was a mixture of organisational meetings and rehearsal for the evening’s concert. Each of 5 conductors were allotted a composition by each composer that wished to be part of it. We were joined by additional local women to rectify the balance of voices.

The rehearsal lasted almost 3 hours and then it was an early evening supper before changing into ‘glad-rags’ and the concert. The concert went really well. We sang one piece by a guy I had never met or heard of. It was simply beautiful and prompted an immediate emotional reaction in me as I tried to sing despite blubbing throughout. If I ever thought that my Germanic blood led to me being an emotional cripple then this piece put an end to that!

After the concert we adjourned to yet another wine social and when all the guests had departed we sat down for a last semi-drunken chat until after 1am.

I left the centre before breakfast as my flight was 9.50am. Once through security I heard my name being paged. It turned out that suspicion had been alerted by a metal box in my luggage. It appears that they are not accustomed to people travelling with a digital recording studio! I broke my journey in Atlanta but was back in Tampa by 2.30pm.

On Saturday I managed to complete the selection of songs for the February School Masses and printed the Song Sheet. I also managed to print a wedding Worship Aid … just as well since the wedding itself was at 1pm. One Vigil Mass later and I was home to watch Chelsea beat Brentwood 4-0. I was not feeling well so was in bed by 9.30pm.

Sunday morning was a little tense…. not particularly for musical reasons but because after the first Mass I had discovered that the stitching to the rear of my trousers had given way so I had to return to find a more decent replacement. The choir also suffered a somewhat expected short-term memory loss regarding the music. We had practised it 11 days before but the time gap was too much, I suppose. All will be well next week! They are a great bunch of folk.

Back at church for the evening Mass I was also able to grab music for tomorrow’s Tampa Catholic Mass at St awrence so that some of my ‘day off’ might be just that!

 

 

In my last blog I mentioned the death of one of our priests here at the age of 71. Fr Rock’s Memorial Mass was amazing. In fact I reckon it was the most joy-filled Mass of this type I have experienced. He has chosen all the music two years before and I reflected on why he made the choices. He had wanted to come in to ‘Angels we have heard on high’ regardless of when the funeral might have taken place! Other choices included ‘Gift of finest wheat’ (he had worked with Owen Westerdorf), On Eagles’ wings, and the Franciscan hymn ‘All creatures of our God and King’ for which I provided a snappy arrangement which, I hope, gave new life to the old German tune. I remember John Bell complaining ages ago that the life had been sucked of this tune by the organ accompaniment! The homily was full of memories of this delightful man. A full church gave its farewell and I was delighted that so many of the choir attended, much to the delight of the Franciscan Friars present. I even played the Sortie in Eb by Lefebure-Wely at the end. He would have laughed!

The weather turned really cold after that and over the weekend the temps dropped to 32f which is a temperature rarely experienced in Florida. The cold snap, known as Floridian Winter, passed within a few days and the beach beckoned again as usual. However not for a few weeks have I ventured out with the kayak.

Stephen Hicks, my old organ teacher, will visit St Lawrence in March to give a concert. I am really excited about this as I have not heard him play for about 30 years. On Thursday an engineer from Rodgers Organ company visited to deal with some poor contacts and an historic amplifier issue which had been detected in 2015 but probably had existed some years before that. I had hoped that it would be a simple matter of replacing fuses. Indeed this did work for a while and enabled me to hear the organ as it was intended to sound. After a few further minutes the fuses blew and a few more capacitors to boot. There is no alternative to replacing the amplifier at a cost of $3500.

On Friday afternoon I managed to complete my UK tax return and was quite pleased that I had only to pay 14 pounds this year! I went off to Charann’s Bar to celebrate and fortunately chose to get an uber taxi. The combination of friends and a very strong beer (Space Dust 8.2%) proved too much for me and I’m afraid I cannot recall much at all!

I awoke on Saturday feeling pretty terrible … the only satisfying aspect was that I appeared to have lost some weight! I confined myself to the office and routine tasks before playing the Vigil Mass and returning home.

The rest of the weekend passed smoothly enough with the usual Sunday Masses.

Weather forecasts here are not to be trusted recently. Monday had promised to be sunny all day but as I type at midday there is no sign of it so my day off could be one of domestic admin and packing for next week’s Composers’ Forum in St Louis, MO.

By the time my next blog appears Trump will have been inaugurated and the world might have changed somewhat in the process.

In my last blog I mentioned the death of one of our priests here at the age of 71. Fr Rock’s Memorial Mass was amazing. In fact I reckon it was the most joy-filled Mass of this type I have experienced. He has chosen all the music two years before and I reflected on why he made the choices. He had wanted to come in to ‘Angels we have heard on high’ regardless of when the funeral might have taken place! Other choices included ‘Gift of finest wheat’ (he had worked with Owen Westerdorf), On Eagles’ wings, and the Franciscan hymn ‘All creatures of our God and King’ for which I provided a snappy arrangement which, I hope, gave new life to the old German tune. I remember John Bell complaining ages ago that the life had been sucked of this tune by the organ accompaniment! The homily was full of memories of this delightful man. A full church gave its farewell and I was delighted that so many of the choir attended, much to the delight of the Franciscan Friars present. I even played the Sortie in Eb by Lefebure-Wely at the end. He would have laughed!

The weather turned really cold after that and over the weekend the temps dropped to 32f which is a temperature rarely experienced in Florida. The cold snap, known as Floridian Winter, passed within a few days and the beach beckoned again as usual. However not for a few weeks have I ventured out with the kayak.

Stephen Hicks, my old organ teacher, will visit St Lawrence in March to give a concert. I am really excited about this as I have not heard him play for about 30 years. On Thursday an engineer from Rodgers Organ company visited to deal with some poor contacts and an historic amplifier issue which had been detected in 2015 but probably had existed some years before that. I had hoped that it would be a simple matter of replacing fuses. Indeed this did work for a while and enabled me to hear the organ as it was intended to sound. After a few further minutes the fuses blew and a few more capacitors to boot. There is no alternative to replacing the amplifier at a cost of $3500.

On Friday afternoon I managed to complete my UK tax return and was quite pleased that I had only to pay 14 pounds this year! I went off to Charann’s Bar to celebrate and fortunately chose to get an uber taxi. The combination of friends and a very strong beer (Space Dust 8.2%) proved too much for me and I’m afraid I cannot recall much at all!

I awoke on Saturday feeling pretty terrible … the only satisfying aspect was that I appeared to have lost some weight! I confined myself to the office and routine tasks before playing the Vigil Mass and returning home.

The rest of the weekend passed smoothly enough with the usual Sunday Masses.

Weather forecasts here are not to be trusted recently. Monday had promised to be sunny all day but as I type at 10am there is no sign of it so my day off could be one of domestic admin and packing for next week’s Composers’ Forum in St Louis, MO.

By the time my next blog appears Trump will have been inaugurated and the world might have changed somewhat in the process.

 

Happy New Year, one and all.

Eventually I got what seemed to be a Christmas break. It got interrupted by a midweek work day on Thursday but it still felt OK.

On 28 December I joined friends and Charann’s bar for an unwanted Christmas present swop. I took along an electric fondue set I’d bought months ago from Goodwill and people were bending over backwards to get hold of it! I swopped for a bottle of wine, box of chocs and a wine stopper. The idea of ever having to use a stopper eludes me!

On Friday I joined the choir for its Christmas party. A colleague Marty drove me there so I was able to wet the whistle a bit. It was a great evening with fine food, wine and conversation. An ordinary gathering, I hear you comment. Well how many of you had a gathering where the attendees broke into an impromptu performance of the Hallelujah chorus followed swiftly by a rendition of ‘All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth’.

On Saturday I had a wedding followed by the Vigil Mass. Sunday was fairly normal in its demands but I’d become ill the previous day and thought I might have to rest during the afternoon despite having gone to bed early and remembered to apply earplugs to deal with the fireworks.. In the event I joined colleagues at a New Year luncheon which was calm and energising.

Monday is normally a day off but a funeral and the slim chances of getting all my parish work done meant that I had to work. That evening I attended a rehearsal for the Evening Prayer which would welcome the new bishop to the Diocese.

On Tuesday I’d managed to cancel the liturgical music rehearsal with the school which meant a later start with a school cantors’ rehearsal. Later I completed an arrangement of ‘All creatures of our God and King’ which slightly alters the rhythm and gives the tune a lift from the VW arrangement. At 5pm I left for the Bishop Evening Prayer. I’d not eaten since breakfast so I was feeling very tired. The event was great and delivered by a Schola of men only, sometimes singing in 7 parts!

On Wednesday I was in work at 7.30am, played for the 8.3oam School Mass and drove like an idiot to get to the cathedral rehearsal for the Installation Mass at 10am. The rehearsal ended at noon and we had time with fellow music directors over lunch. The music selection was eclectic and impressive. We finished there at 4pm and I drove back in traffic to prepare for the 7pm choir practice. I managed to get through the Epiphany stuff as well as the material selected for the funeral of Fr Rock a dear assistant priest at St Lawrence. He had died unexpectedly on Christmas Day and the previous week he’d given me some Franciscan bookends which he’d had since 1958, the year of my birth!

Today I was awoken at 4am by the maintenance. It appeared that a ground floor apartment had flooded because the water tank in my apartment had corroded and leaked. There was no damage to my apartment. By 8am the maintenance team were back to change the tank and switch the water back on. Unfortunately I had to be washed and shaved for work so instead I went for a morning dip in the pool! In the morning I wrote a flute part for my new arrangement of ‘All creatures’ which we would use later tonight. At noon I gathered a few members of the choir to sing the Midday Prayer from the office of the Dead. Over a hundred people turned up including some from the retirement home where he was chaplain. It went really well and eventually I was able to return home for a rest albeit slightly interrupted by a welcome call from my twin followed by a skype call to my mum.

Soon I will again return to church for the Memorial Mass for Fr Rock. It promises to be quite a gathering … he was a really popular man.

 

Today is a day I always remember as the wedding anniversary of friends Martyn and Alison. 15 years ago today a group of friends met in Glasgow to sing at their wedding under the direction of John Bell. I always remember it because the feast is the Massacre of the Holy Innocents … a strange day to celebrate, I often think!

Last Wednesday I went into work late to do final preparations for choir practice. The choir worked really hard and we were joined by a couple of other parishioners who joined for Christmas.

Thursday was a work day until midday when the entire staff met for its Christmas social. We had a great meal time together and much frivolity besides. I stayed on during the afternoon to tie up a few loose ends. At 5pm I met for an evening meal with three of the choir. I was really tired but they were understanding and I walked away with enough for a further meal and a wonderful hamper of wine, cheeses and other goodies.

On Saturday I was back in the office around 2pm as we had the Christmas Play and Christmas Vigil Mass in Higgins Hall. This Mass is held in the Hall because over a thousand folk turn up. In the event there were 1400 people and all went well. At 6.30pm there was another Mass in the Church and at 11pm I met with the choir. It was great to see Art make an appearance. He is recovering from a quadruple heart-bypass. He looked lively enough if a little thin.

Midnight Mass went really well. We sang Bernadette Farrell’s ‘So certain star’, John Bell’s ‘Advent Lullaby’ and my own ‘Canticle of Tobias’ in addition to all the usual seasonal fare. I got home around 1.30pm and poured a whiskey before bed. In the apartment beneath me the natives were restless and decided to assemble on the balcony beneath my bedroom. Their noise kept me awake until 4.3pam when I called security to shut them up!

My friend Marty was playing the first morning Mass so I was able to grab a few more hours in bed. I poured a cup of tea and the cup broke! The morning Masses went well although it was disappointing that Fr Rock was not well enough to celebrate the 12.30pm Mass. I spent the afternoon back at my apartment nibbling at food, speaking with the family and sleeping. Back at church for the 7pm Mass I was amazed that people actually turned up! I ate my hat!

Back at my apartment I opened a fine bottle of red and watched some movies until sleep descended.

I awoke the following morning to discover that our Franciscan Fr Rock had died. Only the previous week he had given me some bookends which he had owned for 58 years! Next week would be busy with his funeral and the new bishop’s installation.

Monday and Tuesday were spent mostly at the beach in 85F

I started the year with the completion of dental treatment which had dominated my mouth during 2015 subsequent to one of my front teeth coming up against the full force of a fresh strawberry coated in chocolate. The implant having been completed already there remained the small and expensive issue of 5 replacement crowns which have left my smile the talk of Tampa. I have been awarded honourary membership of both the Colgate Ring of Confidence and the Donny Osmond Appreciation Society.

The low point of the year was attending the funeral of Sir William Hayward who had been such an influence on my musical career. Fortunately I was able to return to UK and attended his funeral at Shrewsbury Abbey. I was invited to give a lengthy eulogy and the singer Russell Watson, with whom Bill worked frequently, sang a couple of solos. His death and that of Paul Reed a year earlier have robbed me of good friends with deep expertise in a variety of areas.

My family continues to remember with great affection my oldest niece Emily who died at the tender age of 21 last year. Her sister Bethan continues to surprise us with her musical successes. She organised what she called EmFest in a local pub and by all reports it was a great success both in terms of the turnout and the monies raised for the Mind Charity.

The high point of the year was the marriage in August of my youngest brother Richard to Camille. The cunning fox had sequestered her on the internet from Brazil and brought her to UK where they now live happily in Guildford. The marriage was a real meeting of the Jakob clans. In a wise move children were not obvious and adults were able to spend quality time together in the hotel which we took over for two days. I played the organ and generally advised Abbots and their entourage how to navigate the revised Marriage Rites.

Within two hours of my return to Florida the death of the Pastor Emeritus was announced. Having been founding Pastor at St Lawrence for 49 years and a priest for 58 years Mgr Higgins was as well known in city business circles as he was in religious. The funeral was spread over three days and involved much diplomacy from me as my predecessor had a long-standing agreement to direct the music.  I think it would be fair to say that my position here was further confirmed as a result!

Scottish friends Ross and Scott visited me again in February and Paul Inwood dropped in one Sunday in January.

I was able to attend the National Convention of Pastoral Musicians in Houston, Texas and renew friendships with Marty Haugen and Bob Hurd. I was also encouraged by the interest shown in my compositions by publishers OCP and GIA. It was also good to meet up with my English musical colleagues Paul Inwood and Christopher Walker.

In June I managed to take a week’s holiday on Sanibel Island further south in Florida and later in September another week on the East Coast soon after a hurricane had passed!

A gift from a parishioner has enabled me to set up a recording studio in my office. It is proving difficult to get the hang of but will be greatly aided by a discovery in my favourite charity shop of the same equipment (and more) which I have now installed at home for the princely sum of $49!

I now drive a Nissan Rogue which is larger than any car I’ve ever driven but have had no accident since, possibly because it makes me more visible to the terrible drivers who abound in these parts. However my insurance costs have risen drastically as a result of the accidents I suffered and I now have to pay $1500 for only 6 months cover!

Next year looks set to start in interesting fashion. Out of the blue I was invited a couple of weeks ago to the Liturgical Composers Forum in St Louis in January. I’m looking forward to learning so much and perhaps even growing in confidence. I’ve also sent a publisher three compositions which have been tried and tested over the years. I haven’t sent anything for over 10 years and I’m rather reluctant to send stuff until it has been honed by use and even then the fear of rejection dominates. It’s a vulnerable thing to subject your heart’s outpourings to the scrutiny of others.

A new bishop will be installed in the diocese here in early January and I’ll be involved in that and it is even possible that one of my chunky pieces, Canticle of Tobias, may be used.

My organ teacher Stephen Hicks will visit Florida with his family in March and I am hoping to hear him play for the first time in 30 years since he moved to Norway. I’m negotiating now for a concert at St Lawrence.

I am hoping that during the year I will be granted a Green Card which will enhance my status here in USA. It’s a long process and in the Trump era one never knows how even legal aliens will be treated! By September I hope to be able to move from this rented apartment to a house somewhere close by. This location works well for me being close enough to work and with great access to airport and beaches of St Pete where I continue to enjoy kayaking on my days off.

As I look back on 2016 I feel greatly blessed by being able to enjoy my work in Florida, by technology such as skype (philipjakob2) which allows me to keep in touch with friends and family. I work longer hours, with less holiday and play for more Masses than I ever thought humanly possible but I am inspired by the reflections of really pastoral priests and colleagues. If you are interested then you might wish to read my blog which is now enhanced on philipjakobflorida.blog

Current temperatures are 80F, a bit lower than this time last year but then we are experiencing a cold snap!

Peace,

Philip

7930 Bay Pointe Drive, Audubon Village Apt A24, Tampa FL 33615, USA

Email   philjakob58@gmail.com

Skype: philip.jakob2

Blog: philipjakobflorida.blog

St Lawrence Catholic Church, 5225 N Himes Ave, Tampa FL 33614, USA      pjakob@stlawrence,org

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Well in the last couple of weeks several things have given me great optimism for the coming New Year.

I managed to submit three compositions to OCP and to have completed that process is something of an achievement for me. I write loads but haven’t submitted much to major publishers and this is my first submission in about 10 years!

In the same week I got an invitation to attend the meeting of the Liturgical Composers Forum in St Louis, Missouri at the end of January. I’m hoping I might pick up a few tricks from fellow composers. I’ve offered them my Canticle of Tobias and my setting of McAuley’s ‘Suscipe’. We’ll see if they get an airing!

It is also possible that my Canticle of Tobias may get heard during the Installation liturgies of our new 6ft 9in Bishop in St Petersburg on 4 January. Having said that I haven’t heard anything for a while after initial interest so it might be off the agenda altogether. We’ll sing it at St Lawrence this Christmas anyhow!

I’ve also just heard that my tenants have renewed their agreement to rent out my house in Sheffield for a further year. This is good news as there was some doubt on the part of the agents.

I also won again on the horses! This time a friend placed the bets as instructed and we all met in a bar to watch the race on TV. The horse ran a terrible race and I was as despondent as my friends until I realised that my bet had been erroneously placed on another race and that that horse had won!

So it’s been a pleasant and auspicious couple of weeks for me so I won’t tempt fate by going on about it!

Friday was my day off and I spent a bit of it relaxing at the beach as I felt unwell for anything else. Later I got the urge to meet up with friends for a drink. During the evening I became feverish and started popping some vitamin supplements recommended by others who were suffering the same symptoms and went to bed early.

On the Saturday I went into work during the morning. This week ahead would be one of additional events which would keep me from preparation time so whatever I could do at the start of the working week would be a bonus. I had a choir rehearsal at 1.30pm by which time I became fully aware that I was really ill but dare not cancel the rehearsal which was a focal one for the Christmas repertoire. Many of my choir are challenged in the short-term memory department so there was only one alto rather than the usual seven or eight. Sopranos were also in shorter supply but the men excelled in their attendance! It was a good rehearsal and we got through my Canticle of Tobias, Bernadette Farrell’s ‘So Certain Star’ and ‘Jesus Christ the Apple Tree’.

The vigil Mass followed immediately and I was grateful for the arrival of the Cantor to relieve me somewhat. Still feeling sorry for myself I dropped into my local Goodwill charity store. You know that expression ‘if it looks too good to be true it probably isn’t’? Well a month ago I bought for work a digital recording studio. It cost quite a bit but I considered it to be a good long-term investment as we are expanding our use of the website here and I wanted to provide some resources so that parishioners and particularly newcomers could learn the music at home.. On Saturday I dropped into my local charity store and discovered the same software (Presonus Studio One Artist) together with interface, cables, microphone and headphones. It appeared unused so I bought it all for $49!

On Sunday the choir excelled in their singing of my ‘Our hearts are restless’ Farrell’s ‘Blessed and holy’ and Quigley’s ‘There is a longing’. The whole Mass went well. There was something in the air because this whole weekend the people really responded well. They often do but this was surprisingly good.

During the afternoon I load the software I had bought from Goodwill but it did not load because it had already been loaded (presumably by a previous owner). It was all confusing because despite the price being so low it did appear unused. So I wrote to the manufacturer to see what could be done and resigned myself to the possibility of there being money wasted and no bargain!

This morning being Monday was a day off. I awoke early enough to remember that I had a funeral for which unusually there had been no contact re the music requirements. On closer scrutiny the funeral turned out to be the following week. So this left me the complete day to piddle around the apartment. I skyped my best friend Mark and his wife in Spain and then did some ironing. Then I got a reply about the recording software. They had just solved the problem and sent me the most recent software at no cost and it all works … yippee!

Then I got the chance to skype my brother Richard and his new wife Camille. I asked him to phone my mum and warn her that I wanted to speak to her on skype too. It was great to see and speak with her because she had not been too well recently. She appears to be taking doctor’s orders seriously and is responding positively!

With all this good news I cannot keep from celebrating in the customary manner at the local bar!

 

 

 

As the weekend approaches will we all witness another electoral surprise in Italy? I have just heard a news report in which an Italian lady supporting the establishment proclaimed that “if it’s a choice between Jesus Christ or Barabbas the people will always choose Barabbas! The people will always make the wrong choice.”

It is difficult to say anything other than Trump is the peoples’ choice and he in turn continues to make surprising choices for those who will form his cabinet and advisors. The appointment of the ‘Mad Dog’ General Mattis as Secretary for Defense is one such decision although some of his more outrageous statements reflect those of Trump.

I awoke on Monday to learn that Pope Francis has chosen a new bishop for the Diocese I currently serve. Robert Lynch was required to submit his resignation when he reached the age of 75 earlier this year. He was hopeful to be replaced by the end of the year and I must admit to being sceptical about this. Bishop John Rawsthorne in my old and dear Diocese of Hallam waited almost 3 years for Rome to appoint the current Bishop Ralph. Yet in the closing days of November we discover a new Bishop in Bishop Gregory Parkes of Tallahassee. He has only been ordained 16 years and has already served almost 5 years as a bishop! Also noteworthy is the fact that he is 6ft 9in tall! He’ll be installed in St Petersburg on 4 January so this part of the New Year will be  a busy one indeed.

Since my last posting we have celebrated Thanksgiving over here. This seems to be a signal for most of my colleagues to take an extended break. I however had to maintain services as usual with choir practices, funerals and Thanksgiving Masses. It was a delight to receive an invitation to join the family of one of my colleagues for their celebration. The generosity of their hospitality was immense and as the evening drew on I became slightly worried about falling into the pool around which we all ate!

Tuesday of this week was a full-on day. I had discovered over the weekend last-minute requests for sound equipment from the church to resource three major events during the week. I got into work very early on the Tuesday to get an overview of all the requests and then went to a meeting I’d called to establish whether needs could be met. In the event through the miracle of communication solutions were found and stresses eased. This left me free to drive to the next event on my schedule. I attended a workshop on iconography at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre. A Benedictine nun gave the presentation and without doubt she was a skilled iconographer and historian. However she was in a wheelchair and the 50 persons attending could not see the icons she held up. I would have hoped that the organisers might have seen this coming and prepared accordingly but they did not. On the more positive side I was asked whether I might deliver next year’s presentation to Directors of RE and Youth Formation folk. I have indicated that I’d be delighted to take this on.

Another unexpected outcome of the day was a chance encounter with a nun who fronted interfaith and justice action in the Diocese. I had been searching for a way into this expression of faith for a while and this chance encounter opened the doors immediately! I have a meeting with someone on Tuesday which may take this further.

The workshop ended with a great lunch provided at the centre for which I was entirely grateful given that I had a full day ahead. On my return I rushed to get the music for the weekend together as we had a choir practice later that evening. In the event all went well and I ended a 14 hour day by seeking the refuge of my bed.

Wednesday began in the usual way with a School Mass. I had intended to work a further hour before returning home for the afternoon. in the event I was asked to entertain some visiting nuns who would be speaking at the evening’s Advent Gathering. This turned out to be a 2-hour affair by the end of which it was barely worth going home. The Gathering was a little disappointing and raised questions for me.

I took my time getting to work on Thursday since the only significant item on my agenda was the meeting of the Parish Pastoral Staff. I take the minutes for these meetings which is tricky since I also tend to have a lot to say. No change there, my UK friends will comment.

I hadn’t enjoyed a drink (alcohol) since Saturday so I dropped into my local bar to meet up with friends and ‘blow the frost off a couple’!

Another 2 weeks passes and we have moved into the Trump era.

I managed to stay awake until the result was all but certain, rising the next morning to a new world. The disbelief for me mirrored that after the Brexit vote, but for the majority of folk here it seems to have been complete relief. Most people were amazed at having to choose between two unsatisfactory candidates but the unwillingness to countenance Hillary was overwhelming regardless of class, origin etc. Most seem reconciled now to the possibility that there is something new in the air and that change might be positive. “It is what it is” is the most common response! I read that elsewhere in USA there have been massive protests against the democratic outcome but am astonished also to read that the majority of these protesters seem not to have voted at all!

It is now over 2 months since the first stage of my application for a Green Card was submitted and I can’t help musing that the delay may be in part due to the incoming administration’s greater scrutiny of immigrants. At least I am not an ‘illegal immigrant’!

For the last couple of days the weather has taken a turn and the temperature has plummeted to 50F in the early morning and not rising far above 65F during the day. It is very sunny however and promises only to be a short cold snap. I understand that back in UK things are more irksome as the snow begins to fall along with the temperatures.

At work I witnessed my first fire alarm. It turned out to be genuine but the procedures followed in such cases were lamentable. This is not the place to enter into the detail but my erstwhile teacher union experience determined that things must change. My observations were articulated at a scheduled staff meeting the same day and well received by management.

At the same meeting I also challenged staff to consider how a Christian institution such as ours could be so enthusiastic in its celebration of Halloween. This was a more difficult position as it was a completely counter-cultural argument. I did remind folk that the Church is called to be counter-cultural!

There are changes afoot in the workplace here introduced by developing legislation concerning the working hours for all employees. Over the next few years as the programme rolls out I’d imagine that most employees who ordinarily are contracted for a 40 hour week will be paid overtime if they exceed this amount. The task is then for employees to ensure that this level is not crossed as in my case the employer does not wish to raise the wages bill unnecessarily. This is a good thing and for my part I would comply although there will of course be foreseeable times in a year when overtime may be unavoidable.

I have some music which I wish to offer for publication. Those who know me will know that I compose a lot but wait ages for it to be used in various situations before even contemplating anything further. I have one piece I wrote since the summer for the revised Marriage Rites so I thought I would strike sooner. However I now realise this last week that OCP have published Paul Inwood’s setting of the same text so I am not hopeful for that one at least! We’ll use it at St Lawrence whatever.

I’ve also been looking into buying a house over here as the current situation of renting an apartment is just a waste of money. My bank does not lend to people of my immigration status so I’m not quite sure of my options but will pursue a few leads before my rental agreement terminates in August.

I have been under some pressure recently to wash my car. Americans seem to have a love affair with their cars so it never dawns on them that it might be possible to leave it blemished by dirt and sand etc. I have just removed the kayak from the roof so at least it is acceptable in a car wash now. Some friends have also advised that my age determines that I am eligible for a senior wash! So on Wednesday I may venture out to establish my inalienable rights!