Holy Week 2010

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted by a great throng of people carrying palm branches and spreading them before him as he rode into that city.

Jesus enters Jerusalem

As we embark upon the holiest week in the churches calendar, it’s been quite sad to see how much things are deteriorating in this country with regard to Christianity. The press seem to be having a field day, trying as they might to discredit our heritage, and some of the most discriminating events that have been thought up by some of the large institutions of this land, by which they try and justify themselves by saying that “it might offend our Muslim friends”

This country has always been associated with tolerance, however this has been abused and continues to be so, we also are supposed to have the right of free speech but again if you say anything that is remotely bias you are castigated as being racist, however it’s interesting to note it doesn’t seem to work the other way round!

This has and always has been a Christian country and it’s about time our so-called politicians stepped up to the mark. Several serving and retired Bishops of the C of E stepped up yesterday to support  Shirley Chaplin who is a nurse but was told she could not wear her Crucifix at work as she has done for some 30 years. Mrs Chaplin refused to remove or hide her cross when Royal Devon and Exeter NHS trust told her that it was a health and safety risk to patients!!

She has worn her cross every day since her confirmation 40 years ago as a sign of her Christian faith. However it is a very sad state when the initiative was taken by the retired Archbishop of Canterbury yet the current incumbent when asked about it said “no comment” is it any further wonder as I have stated before that the C of E is dead, when its leader can’t step up to the mark!

The Holy Father himself is also at the centre of a press slur and he said yesterday that “ the Roman Catholic Church would not be intimidated by claims of sexual abuse” and that they were “part of a conspiracy against the church” at the Palm Sunday mass in Rome he said “ From God comes the courage not to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion” In London Archbishop Vincent Nichols said “ the Pope won’t resign, He is the one above all else in Rome who has tackled these things head on”

The most abiding picture that we have of our Lord is that of him on the Cross. We are unable to imagine just the physical agony that this act alone must have caused him.

We wear our Crucifixes as a reminder of the supreme act of love. It is there ever present that Christ gave his life so that we all could live.
There is that old saying that for those who do not believe in God no explanation is possible and for those who do believe no explanation is necessary

As we prepare to re enact the events of The Last Supper, Good Friday and Holy Saturday ( The Triduum) let us pray that Jesus’ supreme act of selfless love be not found wanting in this Christian land of ours.

Holy Week: What Happened on Fig Monday?

On Monday morning, Jesus and the Twelve leave Bethany to return to Jerusalem, and along the way, Jesus curses the fig tree
Matthew 21:18-19
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it,
“May no fruit ever come from you again!”
And the fig tree withered at once.

The Annunciation of The Lord

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to thy Word

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.

Our Blessed Lady never said no to God, she knew she was part of something big, she knew that for some reason yet to be revealed that she was special in some way. The enormity of it all can only be imagined and she would only have been a teenager at the time, yet given all that she knew she would have to endure, she put her trust and faith in God.

Be it done unto me according to Thy Word

Sing we of the blessed Mother
Who received the angel’s word
And obedient to his summons
Bore in love the infant Lord;
Sing we the joys of Mary
At whose breast that child was fed
Who is Son of God eternal
And the everlasting bread

Sing, we too, of Mary’s sorrows
Of the sword that pierced her through
When beneath the cross of Jesus
She his weight of suffering knew,
Looked upon her Son and Saviour
Reigning from the awful tree,
Saw the price of Man’s redemption
Paid to set the sinner free.

Sing the chiefest joy of Mary
When on earth her work was done,
And the Lord of all creation
Brought her to his heavenly home;
Virgin Mother, Mary blessed,
Raised on high and crowned with grace
May thy Son, the worlds redeemer,
Grant us all to see his face.

Now in Passiontide and looking forward to Easter just over a week away we also remember the role that Mary had to play in the theatre of his crucifixion. Simeon told Mary at the beginning of her child’s life that “a sword of sorrow” would pierce her heart. Mary stood by her Son throughout His passion and, in her faith experienced the joy of His resurrection.

I followed close behind my son as he stumbled toward Calvary. Nothing had ever hurt me more than to see him in such pain. I saw the cross digging into his shoulders, my heart stopped when I saw him fall face to the ground, the heavy cross landing squarely on his back.
For a moment I thought my beloved son was dead. Now my whole body began to tremble, then the guards kicked him. He slowly began to rise and walk again yet they still whipped him. I wanted to shield him with my own body.
But, I knew this had to be, so I walked on and wept silently.

I had managed to break through the crowd and was walking by the side of my son, I called to him through the shouting voices.
He stopped, our eyes met, mine full of tears and anguish, his full of pain and confusion.
I felt helpless;
Then his eyes said to me “Courage! There is a purpose for this”
As he stumbled on, I knew he was right, so I followed and prayed silently.

What greater pain is there for a mother than to see her son die right in front of her eyes!
I, who had brought this saviour into the world and watched him grow stood helplessly beneath his cross as he lowered his head and died.
His earthly anguish over but mine was greater than ever, yet this had to be, and I had to accept it, so I stood and mourned silently.

The crowd had gone, the noise had stopped I stood quietly with one of Jesus’ friends and looked up at the dead body of our saviour, my son.
Then two men took the body from the cross and laid it in my arms.

A deep sorrow engulfed my being, yet, I also felt a deep joy.
Life had ended cruelly for my son but it had also brought life to us all, I knew this had to be.
I could only be most grateful for the sacrifice of my son for us, yet, what emptiness I felt. Trying to live without him whom I loved so!
But, only two days later that emptiness was filled beyond belief – he had risen.
Our saviour had opened the doors to a new life.
That is the way it had to be – because his undying love for you would not stop at anything less. I could rejoice forever, but not in silence.

English Church (C of E) Dead!

Having been born into the Church of England, practised Anglo-Catholicism from the age of 16 – 38 or there about I was horrified latterly to find that amongst others I was being presented with a choice, stay and accept so-called “women priests” or leave and join the true Church of Christ.

At that time there was general uproar from the Catholic wing of the C of E and many rally’s were held. The rest is history and when the vote to Ordain these people went through this was the sign that God was sending to us that we become “proper” Catholics and return home to the bosom of Our Blessed Lord. For myself the journey was not an easy affair, living as I did then in Birmingham, I had connections with the Birmingham Oratory and so I went off to receive instruction from the Provost The Very Reverend Paul Chavasse, and was duly received on Monday of Holy Week (Fig Monday) 19–

In 1994 I moved to my present address some 100 miles away and found it initially difficult to find and settle to a church that suited me and indeed I have moved arround several times in the last 15 years, the reasons being are that I was spoilt, in my C of E days as the two Anglican churches I had belonged to had ceremonial of the highest order and indeed I had worked my way up the ranks as a server from an acolyte to MC and Sacristan over many years.

The Catholic Church since the 1960′s had been going through stages of re – building itself and the problem was as is accepted by many, that it went far beyond its remit. Once beautiful churches had succomed to modernism for modernism sake. Altars were ripped out, statues were replaced by faceless images, vestments and altar frontals, candlesticks, everything was gone in an instant, the liturgy changed it seemed forever.

It was a difficult place to be especially as you knew how things were to be done indeed should be done and it did not sit well.

The town of Reading in Berkshire where I live had a tradition of three churches in the Anglican tradition. All Saints, Downshire Square, Holy Trinity, Oxford Road and St Giles, Southampton Street. The latter I knew very well as my old parish priest had moved there from  Birmingham some years before and indeed it was from there that I took him back to the Birmingham Oratory after he had resigned from the C of E over the issue of women in the priest hood, to start his studies for the Catholic Priesthood.

After a period of thought I went up to Holy Trinity, Good Friday 2004 and found the service very beautiful and moving, I spent Easter there and continued from then on until last year (2008) becoming involved again in the serving and administration of the church and also taking on the role of Sacristan and must say a role I enjoyed immensely. The then Parish Priest moved on which left the church in interregnum, relying on local priests to fill in all except one to good effect things did not go to well for me during this time and I also had to face the fact that I was a Catholic and not an Anglican so my concience kicked in and I left. 

Pope Benedict XVI does not recognise them as a Church, which he made quite plain from the start of his pontificate. As a traditionalist himself he is gradually bringing back and reinstating all the old practices. He knows the church has moved down a road it was never meant to go and that Bishops at the last Vatican council interpreted what John XXIII had said to their own ends, which set about a cancer which spread around the globe but which is now being cured by the current Holy Father.

The C of E however has set itself on a path and determined to see it through whatever, by the ordination of the first so-called female Bishop in this country!

Those that did not leave the C of E the first time will certainly go this, The Holy Father in anticipation of this event and as a reply to a cry from the traditional Bishops, clergy and people of this land made a very generous offer recently to welcome them into the true faith with special conditions attached not previously available which prevented many more the first time round. ANGLICANORORUM COETIBUS

The C of E was furious because “they had not been consulted” perhaps they should look back to the time when they ordained the first woman, the Roman Church had not been consulted either!

A Faith and Gay!

As an openly gay man, and very at ease with it, I never cease to be amazed at how in the last 10 years or so the government of this land has tried to make the law right in respect, and to respect us, as we should be. 20-50 years ago if you were openly gay you would have been a target for the police ( and an easy one at that) to get you into court by whatever means to have you put away and further back than that it was even worse.

I never really had any trouble to speak of with anyone whilst growing up (except for a few things which I am not very proud of although we all make mistakes during our life, its part of growing up) and realising that I was gay at about 14 it was something that I kept very much to myself until I was about 18 when I gradually got more friends about me who were the “same”
I was raised in a very loving and close family and my parents always told my two sisters and me that they didn’t mind what we did as long as we hurt no one by our actions.

I don’t really know when my parents realised that I was gay but I can point to a single incident with my father when I was about 21, when he told me in conversation that he knew I was gay but didn’t elaborate. I was very lucky, because I know of several of my friends and acquaintances who had been thrown out of the family home when either their parents found out or when they actually told them.

About 99% of my friends and associates are gay and probably of those, at least 70% are in stable or long tem relationships, alas that has always eluded me but sometimes I think that is my fault and lost opportunities. I think that this is probably down to the fact that I have a faith and being a committed catholic has always been a barrier to this, I have however friends of mine that are both catholic and in long term relationships but I suppose that is luck on their side as that was one of the things that they had in common. Most of those whom I have met have had very little if any faith at all.

It seems also that to have a faith and to be gay somehow should not go together and that is down not only to the militant gay community in general rejecting religion because of the churches stance on homosexuality or it the general bigoted view by so called heterosexuals that the two do not go together – what utter rot.

The present Pope Benedict XVI who I adore, has been at lengths to voice his concerns over our laws on equality and civil partnerships, and whilst I appreciate that he and his predecessors have to promote Catholic dogma it also has to be seen that in itself it’s a contradiction of Catholic teaching as Christ himself said there were no greater maxims in life than Faith Hope and Love and that the greatest of these was Love.

What that actually means is to love thy neighbour and when we say “but who is our neighbour” we have to say everyone that we come in contact with. Christ did not say you must love your neighbour unless he is homosexual.

The trouble is that the fanatics and fundamentalists out there and boy there are plenty of them in every religion, will always point to something that St Paul wrote in his epistles and not to put down anything any of the writers in the great book, one has to remember the time in which it was written and that perhaps as with other authors, they were his own feelings and had not come from anywhere else but him.

Its very interesting to see that in today’s papers an eminent Tory MP, Nick Herbert stated that homosexuality may actually be “given by God” and not to sound blasphemous in any way, but something its worth thinking about, many priests, good holy priests at that, in both the Church of England, The Catholic Church and many other denominations all have serving gay priests and religious, some indeed Bishops!

Again numbered among very good friends of mine are priests of both the Anglican and Catholic churches. I would say that a good 90% of those practice a celibate life and I don’t just mean the Catholic ones, the others are in relationships of some standing and can be found living at and in the presbytery.
It’s very well known that certainly in the last 40 years or so it has become a common fact.

Some parishioners it can be said are quite naive to that fact, others do just not think it is possible and others just accept it and get on with their lives – and why is that? The answer is quite simple because they act and get on with their vocation as they are expected to do. So why is it that the Church states that gays cannot become priests when they have been there all along and something else to ponder upon is that as is always expounded, you do not decide to become a priest, God gives you that call, the vocation is God given.

That then promotes the question if God is so against homosexuality why then has he called thousands of us to become priests. Another point to ponder upon is as we are told “we are all made in the image and likeness of God” and that is not to say what we look like, no, it means everything that we are is what God is.

Other things Mr Herbert said are “Whether it is given by God or set by nature, homosexuality isn’t nurtured by doting mothers or weak fathers. It isn’t a condition to be cured and it can’t be willed away by prayer” He also said “in the UK we created in law a civil union for heterosexual couples, specifically devoid of any religious ceremony and significance for those who do not wish to marry in church. So what religious grounds could there be for opposing the extension of a secular institution to gay couples”

I have no problem at all with equality, what is a disgrace is that it has taken so long to get here. If two people of the same sex are in a long-term loving relationship then yes they have every right to protect their interests and have a partnership should they so wish. It is not a marriage as is so often reported and I have to say promoted by what I term as silly queenie gays. However, I do personally draw the line at gay couples adopting children and I can’t think for the life of me why they would want to, a child needs its mother and father or certainly those of that sex that can step into that role.

I also believe that the almighty has given us laws to live by, the ten commandments are the best example, but I also believe that as a loving God he just wants us to do the best we can, we are ALL called to be saints but that grace is reserved for the few and they are elevated to that place to be an example to us, equally I am sure that there are countless more saints both living and dead that we will never know about because they all get on with their lives and TRY to live as best they can to the maxims laid down in faith – I would seriously doubt if sexuality came into the equation, its what you do with your life.

Valentines Day 2010

This year it falls on a Sunday, not a good day for it but works well for the Florist. Of the three main occasions in the year Christmas and Mothering Sunday being the others it’s the only one where it has to be on the day itself otherwise it’s no good.

What do I mean? if you send your flowers on the preceding day or the day after Valentines Day, the occasion is passed or you have jumped the gun and whilst there are some old romantics out there where the day before is perfectly acceptable to 99.9% of the Romeo’s only the day itself will do.

This is where the Florist, in these times, can and will come into their own because they can offer their own delivery service since the multiples like Marks and Spencer, Tesco’s, John Lewis etc are not able to deliver on a Sunday, and whilst supermarkets will be open for business, you will be able to pop in and pick up a very lack luster bunch of something. They will never offer the quality or range that your local good Florist will be able to offer you and if you really think that a bunch of 10 short, small headed Red Roses for less than a fiver is good value, then that’s where you will be better off buying your flowers! I am sure your sweetheart will throw them at you as she kicks you out the door!

Florists are there for a reason, they are the professionals and know what they are doing and what they are talking about, you won’t find one in a supermarket, they just sell flowers – that’s it.

No doubt there will be plenty of Florist bashing from the press in the coming week, its no more than we expect – journalists again creating sensationalism to sell papers. What they don’t tell you is that markets and by that I mean wholesale, deal with supply and demand and its the whole world dealing with the same event, that’s what dictates the cost of all perishable items we buy be it Flowers, Fruit and Vegetables. Also because of our climate and the costs of fuel.

 Roses come from various places in the world as does most of our Flowers. A lot are grown in Holland and more than 70% of production is grown to MPS standards but increasingly Columbian (Asocolflores Florverde social and environmental) and Kenyan flowers (fairtrade) are produced in a more natural way due to their climate and so Flowers also come to us from quite a distance. It’s also worth mentioning that because of the fact mentioned above when it comes to air miles or the carbon footprint, while they may have come a long way this is more than set off by the low CO2 costs in terms of reduced heating and lighting in these warmer countries.

There are many different types of Red Rose produced for our market and in varying different lengths and both of these factors contribute to the cost of the flower – it’s not the Florist trying to make a few quid, they are making the same as they would at any other time of the year.

So what roses to choose, the main favorite is Grand Prix, large-headed deep red velvety with slightly black edge (completely natural) when open and usually come in 60cm, 70cm lengths and can be anything from £2.50 – £6.00 each, good strong stems and last well.

Red Naomi, a real stunner bigger head than Grand Prix, at least 75 petals per flower slightly scented and longer than average vase life. £4.50 – £8.00 per stem.

Passion, good length of stem as above but a much smaller head although good colour and vase life. £2.50 – £4.00 per stem.

Freedom, nice red small head and stems about 55 – 60cm length. £ 1.50 – £3.00 per stem.

However if money is no problem then there is Grand Amore, a super large rose with very good colour and a 14 day vase life and you would probably have to order it in advance because of the costs. Est £8.00 – £12.00 each

Kenyan roses are the ones you will see in the supermarkets, 35 – 45 cm, small head and usually bunched. These are also the ones that would most commonly be used in the hand tied dozens offered by the multiples websites unless it mentions the variety be ready for this rose to be used. Bunch £4.99 – £7.99

The costs above are only for estimation and if you are ordering a Hand Tied bouquet from your florist remember that it’s not just a case of multiplying the cost of your rose by 12 there is foliage and fillers to consider plus the costs of make up which includes the presentation, so for a good bouquet you should expect to pay in the region of £60 – £90 for a good quality large-headed rose and £40 – £50 for a medium headed rose.

However there are many other flowers that come in Red and should be thought about, the Rose may be traditional but why not go for a mixed Red flower bouquet or a Hand Tied of just Red Tulips or Red Carnation, there is no hard and fast rule that says it should be Roses, in fact there is nothing in History that tells us it should, its just something that has been adopted over the years and comes from the meaning of flowers.

After almost 60 years The Society of Floristry finished!

That’s the official line anyway, but what it really means is they have now run out of money! 

I was elected to the council of SoF 2000-2002 my two year term, and at first I was really honoured to belong to such a prestigious body but as time went along I could see that all was not as it should be.  Having the 50th anniversary of the Society occurring during that time executive members of the council had decided among themselves that they were going to get rid of the old logo and design a new one. I and others were uneasy about this after all as the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”  

The old logo (above) had been good for 50 years and was certainly good enough for another 50 and when you see what was to replace it is it any wonder there were and was much disapproval.  

If this wasn’t enough the company seal and all its literature was going to have to be replaced and the costs were escalating especially at a time when the Society’s funds were in a poor state. It was also decided to move the annual show from the very central Birmingham venue to Nottingham which posed its own problems.  

The only good thing to come out of this time was the modernising and re-vamping of the website which I think has been their most valuable asset and I was involved initially with this venture.  

In 1951, his Majesty The King opened the Festival of Britain  on the steps of St Paul’s. The United Nations was tying to find a way of ending the Korean War and the Conservatives won the general election.  

At the Normandie Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, SW1, a small but determined group of Florists got together and voted to set up The Society of Floristry. On August 28th 1951 it officially came into being.  

The founders were originally Anne Lewis, Molly Jenkins and Margaret Ritchie. The other founder members were :- Robert Fowler, George Tooley, Dorothea Biscoe, Douglas Bailey, Cecil Bennett, Jeanne Bookless, Ruby Caney, Arnold Francis, Kathleen Furniss, Antonia Gilmore, Donina Taylor, Doris Ware and Pearl White all now deceased.  

Over the years they were all very proud of how the Society had gone from strength to strength and that their original mission as a voluntary body with the purpose of helping to raise and maintain the standards of Floristry was bearing fruit and developing into something they could have only dreamt about. How sad now they would have been to see what has happened!  

The experiences I had whilst being a member of council from fellow members was in some cases where they would walk around at annual shows as if there was a permanent bad smell under their noses and that they generally felt they were in a class of their own, it continues to this day!  

I was fortunate that a couple of past presidents became friends and were grounded people but the then current and subsequent presidents have acted in such a throw away manner has brought the SoF to its knees – deplorable.  

The Society was funded by its quarterly magazine “Focal Point” and considering there were some 7000 florists around in 2001 only about 600 subscribed at that time and numbers have fallen ever since. To my way of thinking the magazine might just as well have been put online but there would always be the odd one or two who would complain that they did not use and don’t intend to start using a computer – daft in this day and age – when you consider the vast amount of “silver surfers” that have enthusiastically taken on this valuable resource.  

During this time they decided that  they were going to put up the annual cost of the magazine they would have to make it a much more “Glossy” affair and try and find a new printer that would give a better deal on the costs of production.  That found the project did not really work nor ever has. The Florist magazine or as it is now known Florist and Wholesale Buyer is subscribed to by so many Florists and produced every month gives all the information needed as to what is going on in the industryand always has, so whatever you saw in Focal Point would always be in F&WB so why subscribe to both? 

All these points and more has produced this result, do I sound cynical am I bitter? No, I have always told things as they are, I am not a yes man, I know I am not liked for it but thats their problem and not mine. I will always stand up for what I believe but I will also always say sorry if I am wrong and I very seldom are! 

The Society of Floristry, established in 1951, has called an early Annual General Meeting to discuss and, if agreed to, vote on the closure of the Society and transfer of funds and activities to the British Florist Association. The ring fenced funds will be put into a trust fund for the specific purpose of creating training bursaries. Meanwhile the BFA have called an Extraordinary General Meeting for 3^rd February to discuss and, if thought right, approve the purchase of the SoF.Commenting on the move Deborah Richardson, President of the Society, said: “This recommendation has not been taken lightly and is done with a heavy heart. However the reality is that the industry has changed and Society no longer has the same role to play as it has in the past. Therefore it makes sense to join forces with the BFA, who have their own strengths, in order to make a unified body which better represents and serves the industry.”

And following on from that:-

Members approve BFA acquisition of Society of Floristry 

 

British Florist Association (BFA) and Society of Floristry members voted in favour of the proposal for the BFA to acquire the Society at their respective EGM/AGM’s on 3rd and 7th February.

BFA President Mark Ward said: “This is excellent news, not just for members of BFA and Society, but for the industry as a whole. This only serves to strengthen the already strong voice of the BFA. We look forward to the launch of the new Training and Education Committee in April, which will ensure the strengths and experiences of Society in this important area are utilised.”

Mark added: “We do expect a crossover of those who are currently joint Society and BFA members, and these will be dealt with once we obtain the Society membership list on March 1^st.” From this date, invitation to renew memberships as they expire will come from BFA. 

 

The purchase of Society of Floristry will take place on 1st March 2010, at which time all Society members will automatically become members of BFA.

100 Ways to Skin a Cat

It seems like everybody has their own thoughts on how to get through this recession. Some of the things you’ll see across the internet and blogosphere is advice like:

1. Protect your job
2. Move while others are distracted
3. Earn extra money
4. Evaluate your mortgage
5. Pay off high interest credit cards
6. Reduce spending
7. Haggle your way to savings
8. Conserve and reduce your energy bills
9. Don’t take on any unnecessary debts

I really could go on to reach 100 just to represent the saying, “100 ways to skin a cat”. But I won’t waste your time. I know you can Google it for yourself and find hundreds more advice from every Tom, Dick and Harry out there.

So let me get straight to the point.

With so many ways and advice, how is it not everyone gets rich? How is it not everyone who reduces their spending gets rich? How is it  not everyone who has an education gets rich? How is it  not everyone who starts a business gets rich?

Because it aint what you do, it’s  how you do it. Cause while there are 100 ways to skin a cat, if you don’t do it RIGHT — whichever method you have chosen — it won’t bring RESULTS.

So what is the ONE right thing that you need to do to get rich?

Bob Proctor knows. And he wants to tell you that there is a science — a formula — to get rich. It’s about doing certain things in a certain way. And his blueprint has been proved to make anyone get rich across centuries.

So before you waste your time trying out 100 ways blindly, get the  one formula that will transform your financial future.

To learn more about the Science of Getting Rich – Click here