I finished reading Yancey again today. It's a good book I think. It doesn't exactly provide solutions to anything much, so much as point out that if faith seems hard, then you're in good company.

My friend Vicki, with whom I was at Sixth Form yet hardly ever speak to now, sent me a text today saying that her first day at work went okay. That she had a job was news to me, so we exchanged a brief flurry of phone calls and I said I should probably phone her instead. She's doing market research (glorified data entry quoth she) in Bracknell now. I didn't phone her before phoning Rosie though. I just had an idea that I should phone, and we talked of various fun non-things for a while. In my confusion, I was not aware that Will was at Rosie's. When I found it it was tea-time, so I didn't speak to Will, and instead ate Dad's patented throw-everything-in-a-big-pot-and-add-chili-powder chilis. Dad was faux-moaning about having to go to the inuction of a new vicar over in West End. I thought I might go, so I did.

I thought the induction was quite good; a jolly upbeat sort of an affair. We arrived pretty dashed early so that Dad could robe up, and he sat up at the front in an official capacity, so I was left to wander round on my own for a bit. I remembered that I had neglected to phone Vicki so I texted to let her know that I wasn't likely to. The church was pretty small and old-skool, but it was packed out with people dressed up nice. I should have known, but I was the only casually-dressed person there. Apparently, Bruce Nicole, who is the vicar of a church down the A30 a little way, is the Rural Dean. I had no idea. The bishop was there, doing his thing, giving a sermon and saying bits of the welcome at various times. The hymns were to organ accompaniment, which makes a change, at least for me. We did a version of "Be Thou my Vision" in a dodgy rewrite with key words missing which messed up the metre something chronic, and well had a good stumble over that. At one point in the service-book there was a little instruction to kneel, where everybody looked at each other and the bishop said sitting would work. The procession at the end was a little silly, only because the organ voluntary was ludicrous. Just you listen to this (right-click: save as should work) and try and tell me it doesn't sound like clowns should troop out to it at the circus. I feel I have probably dwelt on the negative too much. Possibly because the good bit wasn't so memorable, but it was fine.