Holiday Reading

We returned from holiday on Friday, to the inevitable backlog of emails. It's been a really good couple of weeks for me and Les - we even had some sunshine. I feel physically refreshed, spiritually restored and renewed. There's a lot happening over the next few weeks and months.

Generally, I like to keep 2 or 3 books on the go at the same time, and did so while I was away. For light relief, I read Michael Frayn's Skios - a farce involving mistaken identities on a Greek island, where wealthy patrons of a Trust have met for their annual gathering. Fun!

I have much enjoyed reading Unapologetic by Francis Spufford. It's a recently-published book, the author of which takes on the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens to claim that Christianity makes surprising emotional sense, in spite of all the alleged inconsistencies. Spufford himself is a practising Anglican Christian, but hardly typical in terms of his writing. It is racy, witty and passionate (proves that Anglicans can sometimes have these qualities!) and actually very convincing as he deals with some of the arguments for unbelief thrown at Christians. But don't read it if you're easily offended. He uses quite colourful language, as for example his definition of sin as the HPtFtU (the Human Propensity to F*** things Up)! He confronts head-on the problem of evil, both in terms of personal misfortune and global terror. My favourite quote is Far more can be mended than you know. I would recommend this to any Christian who feels at all browbeaten or defeated; and definitely to any sceptic who wonders whether Christianity can be believed in at all, with integrity.

Then, I am still wading through excerpts from Samuel Pepys' diaries. Here's a couple of things I didn't know: they are incredibly detailed and voluminous, including not only historical detail but also what he wore from day to day and what he ate; secondly, they cover only a period of less than 9 years, from January 1 1660 to May 31 1669, when he was in his late 20s/early 30s. He describes his rise to prominence during the Restoration of the monarchy (King Charles II comes to the throne), as a senior administrator for the Navy under the Earl of Sandwich. Although never quite achieving a knighthood (which he regrets) he is clearly highly thought of. Historically, of course, this was a period of considerable turbulence during which there was the Great Plague and the Fire of London in 1666, both of which are described in minute detail. Anglicans will also realise it was the time when the Book of Common Prayer (1662) was finalised, and Pepys often makes mention of Common Prayer, which he uses both privately and on 'the Lord's Day', as he always refers to Sundays.

November 4 1660 Lord's Day: Mr Mills did begin to nibble at the Common Prayer by saying 'Glory be to the Father etc' after he had read two psalms. But the people have beene so little used to it that they could not tell what to answer.

And as to religion itself: I see religion, be it what it is, but a humour (i.e. a mood), so that the esteem of it passeth as other things do. Nevertheless, Pepys is a most religious man who regularly comments on sermons he has heard and gives thanks to God for his good fortune.

An interesting debate to be had here about the difference between faith (as experienced and lived by Spufford) and religion (as meticulously observed by Pepys). There is no doubt in my mind that the latter must give way to the former otherwise - which is what 'religion' means - we are simply bound.

Blackbird sings

My favourite bird has to be the blackbird. I can remember years ago, doing my A levels one hot summer, a blackbird was my constant companion singing constantly in the high branches of the leafy horse chestnut tree outside my window. Ever since, I have loved the blackbird's song and it never fails to cheer me. You'll see him (it is the male who sings!) perched not only in trees but on TV aerials, on roof tops and chimney stacks, singing away. Look carefully and you'll see how his whole body is involved: a huge amount of energy goes into that song. It's described in one of my bird books as 'superb, musical, full-throated, mellow, warbling with many variations'.

Les and I went for a long walk today, and observed another songbird - the skylark. Its behaviour is amazing (captured in Vaughan Williams' music,  'Lark Ascending'): soaring high into the air with an exuberant outpouring of sound, till - seemingly exhausted with the effort - it sinks to the ground  and rests, still chirruping away. Again, it is as if all the energy of the bird goes into its song.

I wonder why birds sing. Sometimes, it seems to be entirely for our entertainment if, alone in some country place, a bird is in full voice. I believe it is also just one illustration of the Psalmist's exhortation, 'Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!' Is it too far-fetched to believe that is precisely why the song bird exists, to give praise to our Maker, to lift our spirits heaven-ward?

This little fella came and landed by me while I was taking some pictures on Lindisfarne last month.