London, GB | Formerly of New York, Buenos Aires, Fife, and the Western Cape. | Saoránach d’Éirinn.

2022 September

Cypher Shift

Out with the old, in with the new: the King has released his new royal cypher, with a stylised CR III replacing the familiar EIIR. As with so many things, I am sure we will get used to it with time.

Given the longevity of the late Queen’s reign it will be some time before we see it appearing on pillarboxes, but it will enter our lives more quickly via postal franking, stamps, currency, and uniforms.

Many are trying to come up with complex, almost mystical, explanations for why St Edward’s Crown has been replaced with the Tudor crown atop the cypher. More likely, I suspect, is that it is a useful means of giving the new reign a respectful visual differentiation from its preceding one.

I’ve always been rather fond of the Tudor crown, and the Caledonian version of the new cypher rightly includes the Crown of Scotland — the oldest amidst the Crown Jewels of this realm as (unlike England) Scotland was spared the iconoclastic destruction of Cromwell’s republic.

The new royal cypher, left, and its Scottish variant, right.

September 28, 2022 10:30 pm | Link | 3 Comments »

Bonnington Square

This little enclave is one of the best-kept secrets of London. I used to live just around the corner from Bonnington Square and walking into it was like entering a secret world.

Just steps from the gritty urban world of the Vauxhall gyratory there is a verdant realm where a good coffee can be had and where many neighbours actually know eachothers’ names.

Built to house railway workers, the whole square was compulsorily purchased by that archetype of grim 1970s misery, the Inner London Education Authority, to be demolished as a sports ground for the neighbouring school.

Within a decade, however, no demolition had been approved and the squatters had moved in — in this case organising a cooperative, building a community garden, and running a shop. They managed to negotiate the purchase of their homes from the Greater London Council and Bonnington Square was saved.

Gardeners have turned its streets into one of the most lushly verdant corners of central London, and now this five-bedroom house is up for grabs. If you have £1.9 mil going spare it would be a nice place to live.

For an ardent sun-lover like me the roof terrace — with barbecue artfully inserted into the old chimney breast — is the best feature, along with the proximity to the excellent Italo Deli.

September 27, 2022 11:45 pm | Link | No Comments »

LMS Quarterly Mass at St George’s

MISSA CANTATA
In accordance with established custom,
the regular quarterly Extraordinary Form Mass organised by the Latin Mass Society of England & Wales
will take place at
11:15 am
on
Saturday 24 September 2022
in
The Lady Chapel, St George’s Cathedral
Lambeth Road, Southwark, London SE1 6HR
All are welcome. A collection will be taken to defray the costs. (Please bring cash or coin.)

The Lady Chapel is to the right at the end of the north aisle of the Cathedral (on your right as you enter).

Earlier in the morning, as every Saturday at St George’s Cathedral, there will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 10:00 to 11:00 am, during which time Confessions will be heard.

September 21, 2022 2:45 pm | Link | No Comments »

The Installation of the Grand Prior of England


All photos © Grand Priory of England
On Thursday 8 September 2022, Fra’ Max Rumney was installed as the fifty-eighth Grand Prior of England, as reported on the Saint John of Jerusalem blog.

Msgr John Armitage gave this sermon on the occasion.

“Brethren, we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”

In a world that seeks fulfilment by seeking what I want, the Church is the witness, that the good we encounter in our world, is the result of the God who works for this good through those who love him, for the whole of creation is called according to his purpose. Only love can give our lives meaning and purpose, and our true fulfilment is a consequence of not doing what I want, but seeking, sharing, and doing what we need, building the common good of all humanity. The Church has its fair share of those of us who do what we want, but our Order has been greatly blessed by those whose lives had been dedicated to building up the body of Christ, living witnesses of what we need, these people we call saints.

Our founder Blessed Gerard, was known by his contemporaries as “the humblest man in the East, a servant of the poor, devoted to pilgrims, of simple appearance, but shining forth with his noble heart.” In the darkness of 1941 Pope Pius XII in an address to the Order, explained the true meaning of nobility:

“In these poor, these orphans these wounded these lepers, lie you own title deeds of nobility, received at Bethlehem from the King of Kings who being rich became poor, that by his poverty you might be rich.”

In every moment in time there is a grace to be found, and the history of the Church shows us that it is in the darkest moments that God’s grace is most profound. “For where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” (Romans 5:20)

When Pope Gregory the Great sent St Augustine to evangelise the pagan English, Rome was a dark and dangerous place, the Roman Empire was collapsing, the barbarians were at the gates, plague was rife, yet the successor of Peter sent a frightened monk to the edge of a crumbling empire. Pope Gregory understood the wisdom of the modern saying “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Augustine built a monastery, it was the spiritual foundation, lighting the flame of faith for his companions to spread the Good News in a dark and dangerous land. All works of the Gospel must be based on firm spiritual foundations which from time to time must be renewed. (more…)

September 20, 2022 10:00 pm | Link | No Comments »

Elizabeth II

ELIZABETH II

By the Grace of God, of
the United Kingdom
of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Jamaica
the Bahamas
Grenada
Papua New Guinea
the Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Antigua & Barbuda
Belize
and Saint Kitts & Nevis

Queen

quondam Queen of South Africa, Pakistan, Ceylon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, the Gambia, Guyana, Barbados, Mauritius, and Fiji

Head of the Commonwealth
Defender of the Faith

Duke of Normandy
Duke of Lancaster
Lord of Mann

Head of the House of Windsor

REQUIESCAT IN PACE

September 20, 2022 3:00 pm | Link | No Comments »

Home | About | Contact | Paginated Index | Twitter | Facebook | RSS/Atom Feed
andrewcusack.com | © Andrew Cusack 2004-present (Unless otherwise stated)