IN LENT ...

I guess you really have to hear me growling this whenever someone describes something they have been doing during the current season that is anything but penitential to understand it, but trust me any Seminarians who know me will be in stitches right now.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to say that there have been recent debates in the Seminary about whether groups of us should engage in social activity during these forty days, particularly after two house groups went out together, one to have dinner and the other to go bowling.

One other such excursion occurred last night when a few of us went to the local theatre to see a pre-West End production of Dickens Unplugged. If any readers are familiar with The Reduced Shakespeare Company they will know who produced it. It was a marvellous performance reducing about 10 or so of Charles Dickens' major works into a 90 minute performance of drama, song and dance. I haven't laughed so much in a long time (those who know me will be in stitches again at that comment). It included two excellent comical adaptations of David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. One or two books were summarised in the form of a two minute song accompanied by an acoustic guitar. It also included scenes from the life of Charles Dickens himself who apparently had an obsession with performing the bludgeoning scene from Oliver Twist which eventually saw him shuffle off this mortal coil. The whole thing was performed by 5 English men who basically played an American appreciation band who tour the world introducing the delights of Charlie Dickens who walked the streets of London Town.

The Director of Studies, who arranged the trip, suggested afterward that our next public performance be Vatican II Unplugged '16 documents in 60 minutes.