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Well you would expect me to say it was good and it was. A beautiful villa through the kindness of friends. Beautiful weather. Even the cancellation of the return flight didn’t altogether take the good of it away!

It goes without saying that Eve – now nine months old – is a significant advance in human development. Happy to be read to – Spot the Dog, Hairy MacClairy and the others. She joins in with rapt attention, happily turning pages. It seemed to me almost quasi-liturgical – repetition of rhythms and sounds in a loving relationship. That seems to me to be akin to liturgy. Who knows where it will lead!

We’re doing the inter-generational family holiday – the Independent says that it is becoming increasingly common. Since Eve arrived, Alison and i have become very much the ‘older generation’. I’m getting quite good at it. I nod and smile. I feel no need to express significant views on anything – whether important or unimportant. Meanwhile Eve herself, like most of her generation, seems to have arrived ‘half-reared’. Indeed the only blot on the landscape is her chickenpox. That was so startling that the cabin staff of Jet2 were brought up short. But as you would expect we had a doctor’s letter, a printout of their policy and a paediatrician in the party. It’s the old rule – never get taken by surprise by anything

So a good time is being had by all …

This evening I’ve been with the Rector, Canon Jonathan Mason, and the Vestry of All Saints, one of our two congregations in St Andrews. It’s a special congregation with an Anglo-Catholic tradition – generations of students have ‘discovered’ the life and worship of the Scottish Episcopal Church in All Saints.

One of the most important parts of our Casting the Net movement is our Mission Action Planning. It starts with a meeting between Vestry and Bishop – this evening we had Rev Christine Fraser with us. She is one of two facilitators from the diocesan team who will work with the congregation over the next year. In about a year, we hope to see a Mission Action Plan which expresses the hopes and visions of the congregation for their future in mission

We’ve been learning all the time. My own feeling at present is that it is the process which is potentially a transformative influence on the life of the congregation. It’s two things really. It’s easy to say ‘we are all called to mission’ without having much idea of what theatre means in practice. Casting the Net and MAP have given us a language and a practical approach. The other is relational and cultural – at the heart of the Mission Action Planning process is a congregational meeting which encourages people to talk together about their faith, their congregation and their hopes. That encourages fresh voices and new agenda

I look forward to coming back for the next stage.

Another Thought for the Day for BBC Scotland.

I’ve been a bit slow about the blog. One has moods – but maybe it will change!

You struggle to get stuff to happen and it doesn’t. And then you turn your back for a moment …

They said to me that we have been trying to find a priest for the Central Fife Group of congregations – Lochgelly, Glenrothes and Leven – for four years. These are places which deserve the leadership and care of a priest. They are communities where it is really important that the Scottish Episcopal Church should be present and effectively so.

So one day the phone rang and a powerful vocational stirring brought Thomas with Cheryl and Joshua to Leven. His Service of Introduction was last night. It was a happy and encouraging moment. Our clergy were present in support – our ecumenical partners were also there and we were delighted to see them

This is what I said

Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s best and bravest journalists. This is his piece in the Irish Times two days ago in response to the campaign in support of Sean Quinn.

Some of you may have heard me say that I believe that two things erode and corrode a society – moral ambiguity and weak leadership.

This stuff reminds of of how it was in the years of violence – and I hear the echo of Conor Cruise O’Brien who spoke of the ‘sneaking regarders’ – those who would neither condemn nor approve.

Ireland has today been mourning the loss of favourite author Maeve Binchy

She began her writing career as Editor of the Irish Times Women’s Page in the early ’70’s. It was a remarkable part of a great period in the life of the Irish Times. They just didn’t do the stuff which women’s journalism normally concentrated on

She moved on through Short Stories to the books for which she is best remembered – starting with Light a Penny Candle, Circle of Friends and many more.

She is remembered here for her huge personal warmth and love of people. I heard Jilly Cooper describing meeting with her as being like coming into a room with a blazing and welcoming fire.

Two very typical pieces of her writing stay with me. I thought the early short stories were the best of what she did.

I can’t remember whether it was Victoria Line or Circle Line – but she describes a rather mousey young couple who have decided to go to a wife-swapping party at the end of the line at Seven Sisters. As the train passes through each station, they become ever more apprehensive about what it might actually be like …. ‘Let’s just go home’ they say in the end

And somewhere in her journalism, he describes the experience of standing in a garden centre behind a young couple who want to buy a summer house. But they can’t quite afford it … And it begins to become difficult and distressing. You may have heard me say that in Ireland we don’t just listen in to other people’s conversations – it’s all right to join in if you want. Maeve listens in and suffers with them .. until she can bear it no longer, ‘How about a nice flowering cherry?’ she asks

A reminder of one of the reasons why Donegal is special. This is Tramore just to the west of Horn Head. But observe the sets of footprints on the sand and reflect on that story of the two sets of footprints becoming one …

The e mail from Lambeth reminded me that the Anglican Cycle of Prayer remembered us last Sunday – one of those moments when it is good to be part of something bigger. But does it make any difference .. objectively … really

To which I would say that I think it does. I surprise myself by believing implicitly in the grace of ordination – and it think it is all part of that. Beyond that, I listened to a sermon on Sunday about the Feeding of the Five Thousand – and I think it connects to the Miracles of Grace department of which Casting the Net is of course a part. And finally – for me anyway – I think it connects to the idea of vocation as a continuing journey. People sometimes misunderstand. The journey forward isn’t primarily about strategy, planning and organisation. It’s about calling and response.

The first meeting of the Celtic Bishops which I attended took place in the Slieve Russell Hotel in Co Cavan. Parts of Cavan and Monaghan have been among the more depressed parts of Ireland. But Sean Quinn brought economic regeneration and employment to that part of Ireland – and the Slieve Russell was part of that empire. Sean Quinn was good news. Indeed the meeting took place to the accompanying clatter of his helicopter constantly coming and going. It’s grounded now and so is Sean Quinn

There is a huge shortfall in the assets of his insurance company. Today’s Irish Edition of the Sunday Times has a picture of him emerging from Mountjoy Prison where he had been visiting his son. And all of this links in some way to the story of the failure of Anglo-Irish Bank and the wider financial crisis of 2008

In Ireland all is this is sort of direct and personal. In a relatively classless society, people like Sean Quinn are seen as ‘people like us’ who achieved unimaginable wealth and brought prosperity to others. And then the whole political and financial edifice came crashing down. In Scotland it has felt very different – more distant somehow – and the only moment at which it became personal was the stripping of Fred Goodwin’s knighthood.

I think that the consequences will be long term and unknowable. The Irish electorate took a fearsome revenge on the political class at the last election – but between the lines it feels like a revolution which is incomplete. The new government appears competent, honest and lucky. But rumbling in the background is the feeling that the Irish electorate and Irish politicians know that they were complicit in sustaining something which they knew was unsustainable – and the consequences of that are unknowable.

Just as unknowable are the political consequences in Scotland, But here is one suggestion. With the failure of RBS, etc., came damage to Scottish trust in the probity and prudence of the Scottish banking and financial sector. That leaves in its wake a nervousness about the future – concern about the ‘lender of last resort’ question. And that in turn plays in the background of the independence debate. Unknowable.

It was time for a break. Poppy’s personal physician declared her fit to travel – 16 is a good age for a Burmese cat – so Alison and I headed for the ferry at Troon and here we are.

Donegal fascinates as always. I can’t resist these ‘Wake’ signs – I know that there have always been wakes in the Irish countryside. But, in the name of progress, these official and almost permanent signs have appeared. Look beyond the sign to the beauties of a wild fuschia hedge on the roadside just above Dunfanaghy.

Another essential element of Donegal life has been addressed – I got into the field where Francis was spreading fertiliser and we had our regular conversation about the possibility of emptying the septic tank and making good the slight blemish in its structural integrity with a touch of quick-hardening cement. The answer promised action ‘after the August fair’. And that of course means the Church of Ireland fair which raises a substantial part of the parish income. Leave aside the ‘how to finance your parish questions’ …… this reminds us that we are in the historic province of Ulster, although in the Irish Republic. There is a substantial Protestant population here and the community is well integrated – the whole community supports the Church of Ireland fair.

So the latest strand of the Bogstead sagas is under way – and the Irish Government has just required all septic tanks to be registered. Perhaps they share my obsession and are going to create a new sort of Domesday Book

That’s the charming side of Irish life today – the rather bracing way in which Ireland is dealing with the aftermath of the financial meltdown follows …