Don't Rain On My Parade (III)...

And so, after a rather damp Bristol Pride and a less than sunny Manchester Pride, Yahweh saw fit to bless Cardiff Mardi Gras with wall to wall sunshine on Saturday. Surely, if God agreed with Cardinal O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, that gay marriage is a grotesque subversion, he wouldn't have given us such a glorious day.

Maybe, instead, he chose to punish us in other ways; by ensuring that the the bar prices at the Mardi Gras were sky high whilst the quality of entertainment was abysmally low. I could've endured the worthy speeches had they been punctuated by something interesting to keep me occupied in between. However, some children dancing and someone from S Club 7 lip-synching and dancing rather badly just wasn't enough to keep me going. Indeed, the only thing that did sustain me was the excellent company.

In the end, despite the prohibitive prices, the alcohol won out. I was, by late afternoon, wide-eyed and legless. The promise of Heather Small topping the bill was, I have to say, a stretch too far. I had to be assisted off the field and, in an attempt to revive me, taken for something to eat at a restaurant in the town centre where I accidentally set fire to my napkin (or so I'm told).

I look forward to a better Mardi Gras in Cardiff next year where fast track queues for ticket holders move quicker than the queues for non-ticket holders, where there's a better show of entertainment throughout the day, where alcohol is priced fairly and there's more of a choice, where the food is a little more varied than chips with everything and where I'm not getting collared every 30 seconds by someone wanting me to complete a bloody survey. Having had my bitch, I must say that I'm pleased it happened and I'm glad I went. We all had a lot of fun.

1 Year Ago:

A period of re-adjustment...

Is Tom Cruise gay...?

Does anyone care...? Passing a newsagent's on my run yesterday afternoon, I couldn't help but notice how many front pages had Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes splashed all over them, following news on Friday that they are to divorce. With the current crisis besetting the Euro and the news that Barclays manipulated the Libor (and with other major banks under investigation for their part in it), you'd think we'd have something else to talk about. So, in answer to "Does anyone care...?", it seems that people care a great deal about Tom Cruise, his life and his loves.

Following the news of their break up on Friday, Twitter was awash with jokes about Tom finally getting rid of his beard (I should explain that a beard is a term for the pretend female partner a closeted gay man uses to conceal his true sexual orientation - a disguise, if you will). News like this is a goldmine for anyone who fancies themselves as a bit of a wit and Twitter, with its 140 character limit, is the ideal method of delivery for the pithy retort. The beard joke was retweeted until it was threadbare, along with numerous other twitticisms about Tom Cruise and Scientology, Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Tom Cruise's height and, of course, questions about Tom Cruise's sexuality.

Indeed, questions (and inevitably jokes) about Tom Cruise's sexuality have existed for years; they have rumbled on ever since he first entered the public eye in the early 80s. One rumour concerned an alleged homosexual affair he had during the filming of Eyes Wide Shut, the Stanley Kubrick film he made with his then wife, Nicole Kidman. When his attorney got news that letters supporting this affair were to be used in Andrew Morton's biography of Tom Cruise, warnings of legal action were issued. Indeed, his attorney's sledge hammer to crack a nut approach to quash such rumours (and also the reporting of those rumours) has, according to many, wedded the words Tom Cruise to the word gay in the public's mind.

The other word wedded to Tom Cruise is, of course, Scientology. Most of you will be aware that Tom Cruise is a prominent member of the Church of Scientology. Other celebrity members include, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Marie Presley, Isaac Hayes and Chick Corea. Scientology is a religion that was started in 1953 by science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard and his wife. Tom Cruise was introduced to Scientology in 1990 by his first wife, Mimi Rogers. Since then he has campaigned for it to be recognised as a religion in Europe. Scientology's opposition to mainstream psychiatry was highlighted when Tom Cruise said, "I think psychiatry should be outlawed". He later went on to criticise actress Brook Shields for using anti-depressants, asserting that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance and that psychiatry is a form of pseudoscience.

Scientology teaches that people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature. Hubbard's views on homosexuality were that it is an aberration and that homosexuals are dangerous to society. In its early history, the Church of Scientology claims to have cured a number of ailments, including "overt homosexuality" by the application of Dianetics - a "science of the mind" that Hubbard invented and is practiced by followers of Scientology (Cruise claims it cured his dyslexia). Has the Church of Scientology changed its stance on homosexuality in recent years? They claim not to dictate sexual preferences but the San Diego branch of the church recently supported Proposition 8, a movement to ban gay marriage in California. If Tom Cruise were gay, he would find himself at odds with a number of his fellow Scientologists.

And it's not just his pronouncements on Scientology that have attracted controversy. Perhaps the most memorable interview Tom Cruise has ever done was the Oprah interview in 2005 where he demonstrated, through some pretty extraordinary behavior, his purported love for Katie Holmes. As many have observed, his actions during the interview, such as dropping to one knee, punching the air and jumping up and down on the sofa, made him look rather foolish. In acting terms, it's a performance that's more pantomime than Method Acting; it's the performance of a desperate man - a man desperate to dispell any rumours that he might be gay? The phrase that springs to mind is, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". Here it is again for those of you with strong stomachs.

So, is Tom Cruise gay? I certainly hope not!

1 Year Ago:

Best run of the week...

Run 30/06/2012 13:03
Distance	5:06 km	Time	28:24
Pace	5:37 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Sunny but blustery.

Run 29/06/2012 17:39
Distance	5.30 km	Time	31:39
Pace	5:58 min/km	Cadence	80 spm
Comments: Sunny.

I disagree...

This week saw the Government begin to send every state school in England a copy of the Authorised King James Version bible. This is to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the KJV Bible. Education secretary, Michael Gove said that "Every school pupil should have the opportunity to learn about this book and the impact it has had on our history, language, literature and democracy." The costs of £370,000 have been met by charities and philanthropists and the initiative has even won the support of arch-atheist, Richard Dawkins.

I think this is an error of judgement, very short sighted and I disagree.

Some people are atheist
Not everyone is Christian
One bible per school is restrictive
The text is available on the internet anyway
Some schools may not even need or want a bible
This money could have been much better spent on other things

I believe that this is, as Terry Sanderson states, "a proselytising opportunity" rather than something to benefit schools. It has been employed to appease those Christians who've been feeling a little unloved lately with same sex marriage under consideration and the ruling against town hall prayers recently.

A fair and just God...?

I used to work with a woman who was a fervent christian. She never missed an opportunity to sing praises to and about the Lord. She was, if truth be told, a very nice woman but, with her constant references to the Almighty, a very annoying woman. If she knew you had a problem of any kind, she'd give you a leaflet on how God could help you with it. It didn't matter what was troubling you, there was always a leaflet: What Jesus Teaches Us About Debt, God Can Help With Acne and Halitosis and the Holy Ghost and so on.

I remember one particular day a few years ago she kept leaving her desk suddenly throughout the day. She'd announced earlier that morning that she didn't feel very well and it soon became obvious to everyone that her sudden disappearances were emergency dashes to the toilet. By mid afternoon she was looking pretty distraught and she told her manager that she wanted to go home as she was still in quite some discomfort. She promised to come in early the next day to make up for the time lost and off she ran.

The next day she came in early, as she'd promised. She said that she still didn't feel 100% but nowhere near as ill as she'd felt the day before. Her manager took her aside to check that everything was OK. Ten minutes later, the manager emerged from the meeting room barely containing a huge grin. The manager later confided in us that this woman had not quite made it home the afternoon before and had soiled herself on the main road only a hundred yards from her house, adding, "And she was wearing tights!"

Now what sort of fair and just God allows that to happen to one of his most fervent disciples?

Gay theatre, Welsh nudism and a liberal Church in Wales...

Throughout today I have pondered on what to write for tonight's post. During my swim tonight I was unable to settle on anything and equally when trying to shape tonight's post over dinner, I failed. I've sat here and looked for inspiration online but no one thing seems to present itself. I am therefore going to brain dump a number of unconnected thoughts that have passed through my mind in the last 24 hrs:

My first job as an actor was with Gay Sweatshop; a London based, gay, political, theatre company. The play, Compromised Immunity played the Drill Hall before touring nationally. It introduced me to many friends and got me my Equity card. As such, I was interested to read this piece in the Guardian entitled, Q is for queer theatre, which paints an all too brief sketch of gay theatre and asks what next?

Carmarthenshire council seem at odds with themselves over nudism warnings on their beaches. With signs erected stating that nudism is not permitted and warning nudists that they may face prosecution, it's been pointed out that being naked in public is not illegal. Seemingly contradicting themselves, a spokesperson for the council said, "If genuine naturists turn up and aren't causing distress, life goes on". I think they're trying to ward off those nudists who are looking for more than a game of volleyball on the beach. Another spokesperson said, "It is something we are policing religiously and we won't tolerate it!" For those that can...



I knock the church and its leaders enough when they're being homophobic (lots of opportunities there) so it only seems right to praise the voices of reason within the church when they speak up. This week the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan has called on the Church in Wales to support gay people, adding, "Very often homosexuality is talked about as if real people were not involved, and gays and lesbians complain of being talked about rather than talked to in church". How refreshing.

My apologies for not tying these stories together in a seemless fashion with a common thread but my befuddled brain won't allow that today. I hope the nude volleyball video made up for my failings... ;-)

The Popes: A History...

I'm reading The Popes: A History by John Julius Norwich. As you might surmise, it's a history of the 280 Popes; heads of the Catholic Church from St Peter to Benedict XVI. The book opens with the assertion, "What cannot be denied is that Roman Catholicism began with Christianity itself; all other Christian religions – and there are more than 22,000 of them – are offshoots or deviations from it." As the Guardian review states, this is a bit dismissive and cavalier of Norwich. However, his book doesn't suffer from this approach.

What drew me to this book was the write up on the back cover,

Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable iniquity. One was said to have been a woman, her sex being revealed only when she improvidently gave birth to a baby during a papal procession. Almost as shocking was Formosus whose murdered corpse was exhumed, clothed in pontifical vestments, propped up on a throne and subjected to trial; or John XII, of whom Gibbon wrote 'his rapes of virgins and widows had deterred the female pilgrims from visiting the shrine of St Peter'.

And that's before you mention the Borgia Pope Alexander VI and his crimes of adultery, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder.

It's the more salacious passages that appeal to me (and, I dare say, many others). Norwich's style certainly plays to the gallery in this respect. Of Paul II: “He seems to have had two weaknesses, for good-looking young men and for melons; the stroke that killed him was said to have been brought on by a surfeit of both.” On John XXIII: “The most scandalous charges were suppressed; the Vicar of Christ was only accused of piracy, murder, rape, sodomy and incest.”

Of course, the book is more than a romp through the Vatican's dirty laundry over the last 2,000 years; there is much here that is informative as well as entertaining. When Christ said to Peter, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church"; if claims that Peter was crucified then buried outside Rome on the Vatican Hill are true, then Peter is quite literally as well as figuratively the foundation stone.

Today's run at 18:03
Distance	5.10 km	Time	27:42
Pace	5:26 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Grey and cold.

Hear my prayer...

O Lord, if, by some bizarre and unlikely fluke, you actually exist, hear my prayer.

Could you please find a way of demonstrating to Christian groups such as the Core Issues Trust and the Anglican Mainstream that their desire to mount a homophobic advertising campaign using London buses is contrary to the central message of Christianity.

I'm not asking that you smite them or visit them with plagues; no - all I'm asking is that you find a way of firmly explaining to them, once and for all, that their actions contradict the  central messages of Jesus' teachings about love and compassion and forgiveness and the like...

So please, no afflictions, fevers, inflammations, stonings, barrenness, banishments or killing of first borns; all I ask is that you clearly tell these people to stop claiming some authority for their crackpot ideas by using your name (in vain). I'm sure they will listen to you.

And whilst you're about it, could you have a similar word with Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, the Pope, Archbishop John Sentamu, Cardinal Keith O'Brien... I won't spell it out for you (being omniscient and all that) but, undoubtedly, you have a long list of these nutters.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

Today's run at 17:46
Distance	5.03 km	Time	27:24
Pace	5:27 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Sunshine and showers.

Immortality...

Swimming in a virtually empty 50m pool is the perfect opportunity to ponder the big moral questions that face us, such as the meaning of life or is Madonna better than Kylie. Today it was Easter that captured my attention as I thrashed, gulped and gasped up and down my lane.

As the different Christian churches and denominations struggle to make their story more relevant to the communities they claim to serve, I think it's time they sat back and reassessed the situation. Our engagement with their message may not be as pessimistic as they sometimes assume. As an increasingly secular society, we may not actually be that dismissive of and far removed from the central Christian story.

The Gospels would have us believe that Jesus, the son of God, died for our sins and was resurrected today, Easter Sunday - the most important date in the Christian Calendar. In doing so, Jesus proves his immortality to us and, with his aspirational message of "Be nice to others and you'll go heaven", offers us this immortal option too, come the day of judgement.

I'd argue that we have all of us, believers and non-believers, taken that message on board in some shape or form. Immortality has captured our imaginations for thousands of years and has been a tantalising quest for many down the ages. It seems to be a universal obsession. Along with Christianity, many of the other major religions have dangled this carrot as a reward for signing up and living by their rules. Literature too is littered with stories of immortality: Dr Faustus, Dorian Grey, Peter Pan and Orlando, to name but a few.

Pictured on the right is me aged 34 - about the same age as Jesus when he died, give or take a couple of years. No thinning hair, no grey, no wrinkles (other than a few laughter lines) and able to eat any crap in any quantity I fancied. How time changes us! At that age, would I have welcomed being frozen in time as I then was? Probably not. Ask me the same question today and, while it's not quite the simple and straightforward answer it was 15 years ago, I think the response still has to be a no.

While I have no desire to live for ever, I wouldn't mind prolonging my health, maintaining my looks and hanging on to my faculties for a little bit longer. Who wouldn't? At 49, I don't think I'm doing too badly; I try to stay reasonably fit, I try to eat a healthy diet and I try to stay active both physically and mentally. Ultimately though, as you well know, I'm fighting a losing battle; we all are.

As sure as (Easter) eggs is eggs, we're all gonna die. In the meantime, should we need a helping hand in squeezing the brakes and resisting the ravages of time, there are many options open to us, in addition to simply trying to remain active and eating a good diet: anti-aging creams, hair restorers, botox, cosmetic surgery and cryonics are, depending on your budget, worthy of consideration. However, no matter what advancements they make in science, cosmetics and medicine, deterioration and expiry are, ultimately, an inevitability.

While many of us no longer believe in the Gospels' every word, I think that the desire for immortality is part of our culture - even if that only stretches to a momentary and cosmetic defying of mortality and a slight postponement of the inevitable. And, for you believers out there: in the unlikely event that the Gospels got it right and immortality is really an option; well, even you are going to have to age and die prior to your moment of rapture.

Maundy Thursday...

Maundy Thursday commemorates the last supper and Christ's washing of his Apostles' feet. Indeed, the word Maundy comes from the first word in the phrase Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos. According to the Gospel of John, this is the explanation that Christ gave to his followers for washing their feet, instructing them to love one another. Such a shame that so many Christian leaders have ignored this Mandatum.

In the UK, it is traditional for the monarch to distribute Maundy Money on this day - well, you couldn't have her washing people's feet, could you? It's a custom that dates back to King Edward I. Maundy Thursday is treated as a public holiday in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Spain, Colombia, Paraguay and the Philippines.

Today's run at 17:53
Distance	4.13 km	Time	22:35
Pace	5:28 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Cold and grey.

Place your bets...

Following Dr Rowan Williams' resignation on Friday, who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury; head of the Anglican Church? I well remember the fuss and outcry the last time this position was vacant back in 2002. I wrote then:

Despite the stuffy conservative image of the Church of England (they are sometimes referred to as "the Tory Party at prayer"), Rowan Williams is hotly tipped to succeed George Carey as the Archbishop of Canterbury in October this year.

Dr Williams (presently Archbishop of Wales) is a theologian with a liberal outlook; he has been outspoken against the recent bombing campaign in Afghanistan, he supports the ordination of women bishops, is gay friendly and is in favour of disestablishmentarianism. He has the support of much of Blair's government and has won endorsements from the likes of former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu.

If appointed, it would be the first time in modern history for an Archbishop of Canterbury to be chosen from outside the Church of England and he would be the first welshman to hold that post in over 1000 years.

What, a taffy pinko-liberal to lead the Anglicans? Tosh - we can't have that!

It seems, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, is becoming a favorite for the role this time around, with many right wing Tories supporting him. Judging by recent statements he's made, they'll be very happy with him, should he get the job.

Today's run at 13:32
Distance	4.23 km	Time	24:39
Pace	5:40 min/km	Cadence	79 spm
Comments: Sunny.

Jowl flapping...

You'll no doubt remember Cardinal Keith O'Brien's homophobic outburst last Sunday opposing same sex marriage. Today saw a further development in the fantastical bile being spouted by religious groups in opposition to same sex marriages.

A letter by Archbishop Vincent Nichols (the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales) and Archbishop Peter Smith (the Archbishop of Southwark) was this morning read out in 2,500 churches. The letter calls on people to oppose this proposed change in legislation.

On their website, The Catholic Church in England and Wales have launched a petition for people to sign called the Coalition for Marriage. The introduction to this petition emphasises the profound consequences should this legislation succeed:

If marriage is redefined, those who believe in traditional marriage will be sidelined. People's careers could be harmed, couples seeking to adopt or foster could be excluded, and schools would inevitably have to teach the new definition to children. If marriage is redefined once, what is to stop it being redefined to allow polygamy?

This rhetoric is reminiscent of those sandwich board warnings you hear of announcing that the end of the world is nigh.

I like Stonewall Chief Executive, Ben Summerskill's response to this religious jowl flapping:

"If Roman Catholics don’t approve of same-sex marriage, they should make sure they don’t get married to someone of the same sex.”

Indeed, no-one will be forced to marry anyone and no church will be compelled to offer gay marriages. It's a bit like the reasoning used against Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers and Listeners campaigns of the 60s and 70s to clean up TV; no one is forcing you to watch - if you don't like it you can switch it off.

Today's run at 17:09
Distance	4.38 km	Time	24:10
Pace	5:31 min/km	Cadence	80 spm
Comments: Sunny and warm.

Rabbi Lionel Blue...

I have thought quite a bit today about Cardinal O'Brien's Sunday Telegraph article opposing Gay marriage, which I wrote about yesterday. I've been thinking how spiteful he must be. What a narrow and distorted outlook describes same sex marriage as grotesque; what a pinched and soured mind compares same sex marriage to slavery?

Listening to him spout his stunted view on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, I could feel my anger rising and would have left for work in a frame of mind far from calm, were it not for the wonderful Rabbi Lionel Blue and his thought for the day.

In his message this morning he contemplates the approach of Spring and those life affirming feelings we all share at this time of year. It's worth listening to the end of this short piece for his gentle swipe at Cardinal O'Brien. As @chris_burton_ remarked on Twitter this morning:

Cardinal Keith O'Brien 0, Rabbi Lionel Blue 1

What Rabbi Blue may have lost in his faltering delivery this morning was more than made up for in the warmth and breadth of his message. Unlike Cardinal O'Brien, he is compassionate, generous, forgiving and loving - all those so called Christian attributes that mark us out as human. Except, of course, Rabbi Lionel Blue is not a Christian - unlike Cardinal O'Brien who, so I'm informed, is.

Today's run at 17:20
Distance	4.01 km	Time	20:57
Pace	5:14 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Sunny and cold.

God fires a warning shot...

Last night God fired a warning shot to indicate his displeasure at Cardinal Keith O'Brien's Sunday Telegraph piece, We cannot afford to indulge this madness.

The Lord's displeasure is being passed off by the liberal and well meaning BBC as a meteor but many observers understand this heavenly fireball to be a direct reaction to Cardinal O'Brien's unchristian and intolerant attitude to Elton John, Dale Winton and homosexuals the world over.

Many within the Catholic Church have expressed regret at his remarks, stating that Catholicism had tested the Lord's patience lately. Some have cited the church's recent involvement in numerous child sex scandals, its homicidal advice about HIV prevention and the Vatican's Nazi sympathies during the Second World War as having worn the Almighty's patience pretty thin.

A high ranking US cleric said he hoped that Pope John Paul II's expression of regret in 1992 over the Vatican's persecution and incarceration of Galileo Galilei would count somewhat in their favour. However, he did acknowledge that John Paul's statement occurred 350 years after Galileo's death, by which time the principle that the earth orbits the sun had become universally accepted anyway.

Cardinal O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, was unavailable for comment and reports on Twitter of a plague of locusts settling in Morningside, Edinburgh have yet to be verified.

Today's run at 08:37
Distance	4.01 km	Time	22:16
Pace	5:33 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Raining and cold.

St David's Day...

St David is the only patron saint of a UK country who was actually born in the country of which he's patron saint; St Andrew was from the Middle East, as was St George and St Patrick is thought to have been Welsh.

St David is thought to have been born about 500 AD and died on March 1st 589 AD. To commemorate his death, March 1st is his feast day. He was a tea total vegetarian.

His flag, consisting of a yellow cross on a black background, is often used as an alternative to the Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon). Neither flag fits in easily with the other flags of the UK and is one more reason why Wales is not represented on the Union Jack.

On St David's Day, it's traditional for Welsh people to wear leeks or daffodils. Towns often stage St David's Day parades. Young girls dress in Welsh national costume (a 19th Century invention) and school children sing Welsh songs.

Rock 'n' Roll...!

What to give up for Lent...?

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent; a period of penitential preparation in the Christian calendar that culminates approximately 6 weeks later on Maundy Thursday in Holy Week.

Of course, Christians are not alone in depriving themselves as part of their faith for a period of time; Mulims, Hindus, Jews and followers of many other religions fast or give something up as an important part of their faiths too.

So what am I going to give up for Lent? With the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu's warnings about gay marriage and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey's opposition to gay marriage still ringing in my ears, for Lent this year I think I'm going to give up hope.

Today's run at 18:17
Distance	4.02 km	Time	22:17
Pace	5:33 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Squally showers.

My family and other sodomites...

Christianity has never been too kind to us sodomites. Ever since Ham saw Noah's nakedness and was banished into slavery, the scene was set. The bible is littered with references to us dogs; the abominations we have committed and the punishments that Yahweh sees fit to hand out.

When Christianity spread west during the First Millennium, homophobia became institutionalised and us faggots were burned alive for our genital fun. Over the next Millennium more elaborate and grotesque punishments were dreamt up - such as aversion therapy and chemical castration.

The dawning of the Third Millennium saw our hopes for a more liberal and accepting church dashed yet again. The Vatican continues to see us as engagers in unatural acts.  Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church assert that God Hates Fags and even our dear old Church of England's latent homophobia has found a renewed vigour in their second in command, John Sentamu.

And you ask me why I'm an atheist...?

Today's run at 07:48
Distance	4.01 km	Time	22:15
Pace	5:33 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Patchy cloud.

Dr John Sentamu...

I used to say live and let live when it came to religion. If someone asked me what I thought, despite being an atheist for my entire adult life, I'd usually respond with, "Whatever gets you through the day..."

Recent comments by Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and second in command in the Church of England ranks, indicate that possibly my laissez faire attitude needs revision. Sentamu has gone on record as saying that ministers should not overrule the Bible and tradition by allowing same-sex marriage. He continued:

"I don't think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is.
"It is set in tradition and history and you can't just (change it) overnight, no matter how powerful you are.
"We've seen dictators do it, by the way, in different contexts and I don't want to redefine very clear social structures that have been in existence for a long time and then overnight the state believes it could go in a particular way."

In a modern society, should we allow such believers of myth and superstition a national platform, given their medieval world view?

For anyone interested in this fool's bilious jibberings, you can read it here in Sentamu's interview with the Telegraph.

Today's run at 16:34
Distance	4.40 km	Time	24:36
Pace	5:36 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Clear. Cold.

Dydd Santes Dwynwen...

It's Burns Night tonight: a celebration of Robert Burns' life and poetry on January 25th, his birthday. Traditionally, haggis is eaten and whiskey is drunk, poems and songs by Robert Burns are recited and sung with much toasting and speeches given.

In Wales, today is Dydd Santes Dwynwen (Saint Dwynwen's Day). Dwynwen is the Welsh saint of love and as such, today is the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine's Day. The stories of how she became the saint for love all begin with her falling for Maelon. What happens then varies from banishment to rape but all agree that she never fulfilled her love and instead became a nun.

Never let it be said that we're not a romantic nation, us welshies...

Today's run at 17:28
Distance	4.01 km	Time	22:42
Pace	5:40 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Cloudy.

If...

I remember a story from 2003 where a gay Church of England cleric was forced to step down from his appointment as Bishop of Reading because of his sexuality. That man was Jeffery John, Dean of St Albans. What I hadn't heard was that in 2010 he was overlooked for the position of Bishop of Southwark, again, it now transpires, because of his sexuality. He is now considering legal action against the Church of England on the grounds of discrimination.

If I were the Church of England, I'd have a long hard think about the alienating effect my antiquated stance is having on ordinary members of my congregation - most people nowadays are quite accepting of homosexuality; they have friends who are homosexuals and they know them to be (for the most part) decent people. If I were the Church of England I'd also be wondering how long before my homophobia cost me dearly in hefty fines.

If I were Jeffery John, Dean of St Albans, I'd sue the Church of England's ass off. For an employer to treat an employee in this manner is indefensible. And having successfully won my legal action, if I were Jeffery John, Dean of St Albans, I'd get a job somewhere else. Surely, for a man of my seniority and with my talents and experience, there must be a job out there where I could really do some good and feel valued for doing it.

If I were a young, gay and confused Christian man, I'd probably look outside the Church of England for guidance regarding my sexuality - perhaps the Quakers; I've heard that they are quite accepting of gay people. Or maybe, if I were a young, gay and confused Christian man, I might take my church's message of intolerance to heart and, in my confusion and teenage angst, I might consider joining the already swollen ranks of those young gay men and women (who outnumber their suicidal straight opposites by a factor of four to one) in prematurely ending my life.

Today's run at 17:20
Distance	4.09 km	Time	21:31
Pace	5:15 min/km	Cadence	82 spm
Comments: Clear. Frosty.

Peace on earth...

With doubt cast in recent years as to whether Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, whether he was born in Bethlehem and even if the three wise men were kings, three in number, wise or even men; it's nice to be able to hold on to the theme of peace at this time of year. It's comforting.

Peace on earth... or so goes the Christmas message. Have a look at any Christmas carol or nativity story and you'll more than likely find the word peace sooner or later. The birth of Jesus ushered in a new chapter; gone was the vengeful and warring God of the Old Testament, swept aside by the new caring, merciful God of the New Testament. Yahweh had undergone a make-over.

With the birth of His son he mellowed; fatherhood gave Him a softer edge. Out went the aggressive Jeremy Paxman image to be replaced by a cuddlier Eamonn Holmes character. And He hasn't looked back since that first Christmas. Indeed, the festive season has long been associated with forgiveness, kindness and generosity. Legend has it that on Christmas Day in 1915 the German and British soldiers put down their guns and put aside their differences for a festive game of football in No-Man's-Land.

The message of peace has rung down the ages and stands as a bright and guiding torch in the depths of winter; a beacon on which to fix our gaze as we enter another year wondering what it will bring. It forms the core of many a leader's yuletide message; a cardinal point on our moral compasses. How then to explain this fighting between rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

Doesn't give much hope for the  rest of us, does it?