Wednesday, 05/12/07

It has continued to be very busy with this and that. The city is busy with traffic; an unusual thing for Glasgow during the daytime. Saw a colleague for supervision this morning. Although officially retired she asked for a continuing monthly meeting with me. Then I had lunch at a favourite Italian restaurant, now taken over by the well-known Italian Paccitti family. It was nice to see old lunch friends - folk from businesses locally and musicians from the RSNO nearby.
Then off to the RC Chaplaincy at Glasgow University and met Fr John, the Chaplain, as he came out of 1pm Mass. Also chatted with Harry, the eccentric, who answers the door, takes the Mass Collection, answers the phones - sees all visitors. He was at Glasgow Uni and did Philosophy then Theology and was training for the priesthood but gave up. He lives alone locally and is rather isolated but is a valuable front-of-house man who complains loudly how everyone there at Turnbull Hall is mad, but everyone loves Harry the eccentric as he is such an asset. He invited me to the community free lunch upstairs but I politely declined. He gave me a large magnum bottle of Reserved French wine, which was a pleasant and unexpected surprise and I thanked him warmly for his gift. I spent some time in the chapel of St Mungo praying the Angelus to myself, with one other man there. I learned from John that after Sr Bridget was transferred after so many stalwart years at Turnbull Hall, the burden and pressure of this full community of students became too much even for him. So the Archbishop has arranged for some nuns to move into the Chaplaincy to help out - well, two sisters who are Benedictines, the first one is due in February. I miss my regular sessions in the Prayer Room at Turnbull Hall. The Prayer Room was where folk consulted me professionally - an apt room for my psychoanalytical work, and handy for the chapel next door too. A nice bunch of folk there. It's like a busy Parish Church. Local residents use the chapel too for the Daily Offices, daily Mass and Confessions. During the daytime the dining rooms upstairs are used by Medical and Nursing degree Students for lectures now. Sister Bridget's old office-cum-study-cum-lounge is now a computer room. Then one of my 'faithful' who had had a distressing time in Paris flew home unexpectedly today and so I had long chats on the phone with her. Think she is calmer and less self-punishing now, until we meet later in the week. Then Val left her mac in a restaurant in Troon the other day. St Aidan's Strollers ( the SAS!) had a walk there and then retired to the Yacht Marina for Christmas lunch. So, Val and I will drive to Troon on the south-west coast tomorrow to collect it and probably have lunch too. Meanwhile, back home I had been busy doing church administration from 8am, making phone calls, etc. Spoke to Lawrence Maclaren today, who is a most able, retired Chartered Accountant and he, like me, is so busy it isn't true. Not only is he doing our Accounts and Freewill Offering Scheme weekly, he also does the Accounts for 4 other Episcopal Churches in the Diocese. We agreed that it is actually busier as volunteer workers, than running our own family businesses.