The struggles of a Faith-keeping musician, ep. 2

A friend of mine described the use of media as a form of attention-seeking. If such is the case, then our legal system is a form of lying, our banking is a form of thievery, our shopping a form of cheating, our eating and earning wages a form of gluttony, and our enjoyment a form of hedonism, and love nothing more than meaningless emotions. Music would be nothing but a stream of noise and repetitive chords. Wouldn't it therefore be unfair to put these labels on the things that help us function in this world?

In every aspect of life is a good and holy purpose, however tainted it is. Our job is to unearth that purpose and to live it out to the full. Wherever we work, be it in the priesthood or religious life, be it in the media or in the legal system, be it in the government or in the working class, we are here to do as we can so as to bring Christ to others. In our own capacity, we tell people our stories. We tell people of things that have happened, we show people the atmosphere of prayer and the smiles and singing we have managed to capture. We show people the amount of young and old gathered together just because they want to meet Our Lord in a deep manner. To be Catholic is to be all-encompassing, and we would therefore be doing an injustice to God and to ourselves if we don't use what is at our disposal. We have been known to assimilate what is good in every aspect of human culture, and we still do so today.

The evil one lurks in every aspect of our life. Heck, where he is not welcome, he lurks around too — in church, waiting to prey upon the weakest soul; in work, hoping to lure people undertaking contracts into greed; at home, separating families; in the media, spreading junk. Once we have an understanding that we as God's people have to combat this, then any medium is necessary and imperative to do so.

The rationale is that we have to understand a particular means before using it. However, the interpretation of this rationale went completely wrong. As an analogy to this,  I can provide a real-life example:

I had an incident last Thursday when I had a friend over at mine. He went on a complete despair rant, saying that politics and law would always remain dirty. And as such, politicians and lawyers were awful people. His understanding was that Saul, David and Solomon were all rotten kings. I lashed out against him, as I considered it a blatant insult against all the good people who were in politics and law. I gave him two good examples of such people: Saint Sir Thomas More and William Wilberforce (the man who abolished slavery). Even my university chaplain was once a practising solicitor, and that profession by no means made him a horrible person. ...I trembled and cried explaining myself to him because this is a situation that every person will find himself in: the eye would call itself more important than the ear, the hand would call itself more important than the foot.

The good messenger of God would use the means at his disposal to bring people to the Faith. I am a media person, and it is therefore an insult to my faith if I were to be labelled an attention-seeker simply because I want to spread that Love through music, art and status updates, however imperfect the means. And so the politician would want to do everything that he can in his capability to draw people to the side of Life, like God would want us to do. And so the mother would want to do everything that she can to draw her family to God by being the best mother that she can be. And so the charity-worker would want to do everything to draw people to God by serving the poorest of the poor in this world. God has brought good out of seemingly evil situations, would we therefore want to doubt His ability to bring good out of the many means of spreading God's Love in this tainted world?

To each a purpose in life, and to each his suffering. To each his own sins and weaknesses, and if we don't do our best to overcome them with God's help, what good are we? I find that when The Rolling Stones sang "I don't want to talk about Jesus, I just want to see His face" in 'Exile on Main Street', they failed to recognise one thing: Christ's face is present in every suffering person. It takes us to recognise that face. We are the bringers of Christ into the world — laity and clergy alike — and the only way we're going to successfully do this is not by condemning the means, but by looking at ourselves.

The people who have stood up for Christ in the media have not drawn very much good attention to themselves — if ever they got positive attention, it was from the faithful; otherwise, they were pelted at with tomatoes and eggs. Still today I am pelted with tomatoes and eggs for standing up for Christ. Mainstream media shows what it wants to show. But to say that supplying information is no more than a fig leaf is non sequitur, because that is our calling — our faith is not to be a lamp hidden under a bowl, but to shine out for all the world to see, whatever the means. At the end of the day, spreading the Faith is supplying information — and a higher information at that.

It has been suggested, in many different times and by many different people, that the Church not be adjusted to the media, but create a new reality. What kind of new reality can we create, at the end of the day? Everything that we can think of creating comes from what has already been created. The Church is God's creation, and thus cannot create ex nihilo like He can. As an artist, I can wholeheartedly relate: I use sound waves, which are already existent. What I can do is manipulate what is already there. And so it is with colours and crafts. We turn to materials that already exist in the world. Yet God intervenes in human creativity, because all our creativity comes from God. With His help, we can create a far better reality than what we have now, with whatever we have at our disposal. At the end of the day, the crux of the matter is this: our imagination, however wild and however beautiful, is finite, and we have to turn to Christ for help in doing His divine work.

See also:

Episode 1

What happened to *appreciation*?

I recently read a status update that went,

Dear Nigerian girls, hope you saw what Kim K. bought for Kanye West on his birthday? Not a singlet or Boxers. She bought A LAMBORGHINI CAR worth $750k. We are tired of taking boxers and singlets as gifts, we even receive socks. We will hence commence a 3-day warning strike taking effect from tomorrow.

...Really?

I may not be Nigerian, but that was utter disrespect towards girls. I naturally took the offensive, representing all girls brought up with modesty and appreciation, and lambasted him on that page.

I'm sorry, but these boys freakin' suck if they want more than what the girls heart or funds can humanely give. Let them tell us what they want!

Yes. THEY FREAKIN' SUCK. Not mincing my words here. I couldn't be the least bit bothered about Kim Kardashian's gift to Kanye West. I stay away from almost all mainstream celebrity culture. Except perhaps Enya. And the Hunger Games, and films that are watch-worthy, and the occasional bit of mainstream music that is sometimes listen-worthy.

Seriously, guys, I know you're tired of boxers and singlets and shorts. But look at it this way: the girl wants to be with you. It isn't everyday that you find people with extravagant funds. Oftentimes she'll have enough to support herself, and perhaps get a gift for you. And we girls, from our grandmothers to our mothers to ourselves, have nearly always found it hard to buy gifts for boys — little boys and big boys alike. And the simple reason is this: we just don't know what you want!

My father has been brought up with deep appreciation in his heart. So have I. But I want to talk about my father because he is the best example I can come up with for a situation like this. My mother has always loved my father and me, and still loves us even from where she is. When she was still alive, she gave him whatever she could think of giving. A new shirt? Perhaps a new tie? As long as they looked beautiful on him, as long as they fit him, and as long as the gift came from the heart, that was what mattered. And my father took delight in all these gifts, not solely for the gifts themselves, but more importantly, what was in her heart.

That, my friends, is an example of a Man.

I grew up to thank people for every gift I received, even those which weren't as good as I hoped, even though people around me often tended to think otherwise, sometimes speaking ill about the people who gave them lousy gifts. Someone at least gave me a gift, and whatever his intentions were, I thank that person wholeheartedly. There are people who are sad out there, with no one to give them gifts! The fact that I received one is comforting.

The whole point of gifts is that there is an exchange of love and friendship between the giver and the receiver. Yes, there will be times where people genuinely ask for things, but the giving of the gift has to be coupled with the right intentions. Gift-giving, if done wrong, will tend to focus on the gifts themselves. That's part of the result of a commercialised culture. And that is what I saw with that nasty status update, and I believe a lot of upright-thinking women will feel the same way too. I'm discerning my vocation at this moment, but if I had a boyfriend who was so demanding as to insist that I follow Kim Kardashian's example on buying gifts knowing that I was low on funds to begin with, I would have him take a punch to the face, and out of my house!

Statements like the one I started with.... these make me sick to the stomach. As they should. I don't look up to people who concentrate on products, when receiving gifts. I wholeheartedly respect people who concentrate on other people. And I'm sure the upright-thinking woman would feel the same way.

Freshers' Week begins....... on a rather disgusting note

With the home students coming in, Freshers’ Week began yesterday. Today, there was the gathering with the University of Hertfordshire Students’ Union (UHSU) Media Department, and so I went. I was involved with the media last year, in that I was a blogger for UHSU Soapbox. I knew that new slots would be open for a new batch of Soapbox bloggers, and I also wanted to see what else could be done in the UHSU. So I arrived at the Forum, grabbed a hot meal and went to record two videos, one of which was an interview with one of the VPs, James Bowers — helped out with the Soapbox sign, asked about writing for the weekly newspaper, Universe… I grabbed the Freshers’ Issue of the Universe, and after a while, headed back home.

Just a few minutes ago, I read through it. And truly, what I’ve read is enough proof that Freshers’ Week 2011 begins on a rather disgusting note.

“…If you know yourself and know you might be a bit too drunk to remember that — I wouldn’t recommend (doing that) then, anyway — stick a little reminder in a discrete place by your bed to use a condom. You don’t want to have to be dealing with HIV or a baby for the rest of your life.”

This has undertones of a very serious, very dangerous nature. It’s been mentioned to us in the Faith Summer Conference, it’s been further explained to us in World Youth Day — Blessed John Paul II was right when he mentioned that the contraceptive culture would be a culture of death. In a healthy society, children are seen as gifts. Yet here, in this day and age, for people who are taken up by contraceptive culture, the ultimate disaster is a child. And that the word ‘baby’ had to be written next to ‘HIV’ only further highlights the plight of our people.

This is not new. Towards the fall of ancient Rome, approximately 2,000 years ago, a primitive form of abortion, known as ‘exposure’, was practised. Newborn babies were killed immediately upon delivery. Regardless of whether it’s done in the womb or outside the womb, what we’re killing is the same: human offspring. It is equally dehumanising. We don’t know whether any primitive contraception ever existed, but we do know that when contraception came into public use a few decades ago (purportedly to reduce the number of abortions to nil), the number of abortions skyrocketed. Heck, every provision concerning abortion had been passed after contraception came into public usage. It only takes a quick look into the archives of the Bills passed by the House of Commons to know this. Even the infamous decision in Roe v Wade (for North American readers) came after contraception was publicly accessible.


Sounds fishy? I think the facts on when the Bills were passed would be enough to answer your question and make you think.

On a side note, the irony is that the writer is part of one of the Christian societies under the UHSU. UHSU CathSoc is one of the Christian societies under the UHSU too. Well, I can bravely cite Tradition and state that in the early years of the Church, Christians never exposed newborns, and they never should!

“Be safe…”
 
A very overused phrase, with similar undertones to the previous phrase.

Dive further and you find a question on pregnancy and abortion.
 
Also, with similar undertones to phrase #1.
 

In truth, the disgust I felt from reading that paper is part of a much bigger problem.

There is pressure everywhere, mainly from the media, but also by people who have been taken up by their message. That message is one which reduces the human body to nothing but a commodity. I dare write about these phrases that I have come across, not because I wish to pick on any writer (the merits of the writers’ hearts are not for me to decide), but because I know where all this is leading to. 2,000-year-old history is repeating itself. It’s not a university problem, it’s a societal issue. There could only be one person at work, seminating all that perversion. Other people who spread the message to kill the offspring in the womb are all caught up by the thoughts of people around them and the messages of the media, but there is one sole driving force behind their thoughts. It takes one nasty lie to spread like wildfire and everyone to believe in it for great damage to be done, and it takes a disaster for people to see the error of their ways.

The ‘do what you want, be free, be safe’ mentality has been the cause of the downfall of many civilisations in the past, and I shudder to think of what would happen to our beloved Home Isles if they were to suffer the same fate!

Il vaut mieux « lui et elle »

Si jamais il y a du shonen-ai ou shojo-ai, le jeu aura comme (rating?) ESRB-Teen. Touhou et Ar Tonelico en sont des exemples. Tout le monde sait que Kingdom Hearts est pour tout le monde.

Bien sûr, mais je vois pas en quoi mettre un couple homo, que ce soit deux hommes ou deux filles, est une raison pour augmenter le rating. M’enfin, j’imagine que tout le monde n’a pas un esprit assez ouvert.

Simplement parce que ça ne tombe pas dans la définition de “family friendly”. Il y en aurait plus, mais j’ai besoin d’en trouver.

Ça vient encore du fait que notre société soit enfermée dans des schémas et idées reçues, quoi.

Peut-être que ce ne serait pas le cas.

Oui, je me répète. Peut-être que ce ne serait pas le cas.

On refusera peut-être de reconnaitre ce fait, mais si on s’aime, on sera prêts à se donner l’un à l’autre, et on n’arrêtera pas là. On redonnera cet amour à tout le monde. Le fardeau sera à nous de lever, et pas aux autres. Si quelqu’un se donnait à moi et je me donnais entièrement à lui, c’est à moi de lever le fardeau qu’il m’aurait donné, pour neuf mois, avec patience et tendresse. Si je n’arrive pas, physiquement, j’aimerais donner mon amour à quelqu’un qui a besoin d’une vraie famille. Un père et une mère.

Si on dit que notre société est enfermée dans des idées fixes, je réfute : je dirais plutôt que notre société est simplement là pour le plaisir, et presque purement le plaisir. Ce plaisir peut nous détruire. Pire, on ne reconnait plus ce que c’est la famille. L’enfant a besoin d’un père, qui protège comme un garçon, qui est ferme, dur et virile ; l’enfant a besoin d’une mère, qui protège comme une fille, qui dirige doucement et de manière gentille, qui caresse l’enfant dans ses bras quand l’enfant est déprimé. Et les deux parents doivent être ensemble. Les deux doivent défendre ce qui est plus précieux à eux, et face à la moindre remarque, ils doivent rester fort et devenir des héros pour l’enfant. C’est pour ça que nos ancêtres auraient dit que leurs parents figurent dans leurs meilleurs amis. Tout le monde était d’accord avec la définition de la famille.

Personnellement, ma mère était l’une de mes meilleures amies. Et aujourd’hui, quand je regarde autour de moi, j’ai envie de savoir… qui peut dire qu’au moins l’un de ses parents figure dans ses meilleurs amis. On dirait très peu de gens.

La famille est dégradée. Le divorce a existé pour longtemps, mais on n’osa jamais le faire — pour la famille, pour les enfants, pour l’honneur, pour la foi. Puis vint Henri VIII, qui n’aima plus sa femme (Catherine d’Aragon) pour quelconque raison et qui en voulut une autre (Anne Boleyn) pour le satisfaire et lui donner un garçon au lieu d’une fille (remarquons, pourtant, les souveraines de l’époque ; il n’eut aucune excuse à faire), et il a tiré des ennuis. Ce problème subsiste jusque maintenant : on peut simplement rompre les liens d’amour qu’on a PROMIS d’établir, même si le fruit de la promesse vit et grandit devant leurs yeux. Et aujourd’hui, quelqu’un a osé dire dans une recherche que le mariage traditionnel est destiné de mourir.

Vous, le lecteur, vous aurez su que je supporte le mariage traditionnel du fond du cœur. Mais je ne suis pas là pour faire une thèse. Je suis ici pour dire, humblement, pourquoi le shonen-ai et le shojo-ai n’iront jamais.

Avec tout mon respect, c’est biologique. Le mariage traditionnel donnera naissance à la famille qui est perdue dans les yeux de la société. Et en plus, il a au moins le potentiel de durer, et il a enduré le temps. C’est dans nos gènes, et cela se manifeste avec nos corps. Nous sommes des hommes et des femmes pour une raison. Alors dans les yeux de l’enfant (et encore plus dans les yeux d’un adulte), c’est impossible d’imaginer comment ça arrivera naturellement. Et donc on a la vérité pure et dure : l’homosexualité est motivée par le plaisir, et uniquement le plaisir ; le mariage traditionnel, même avec tous ses problèmes, donnera au monde la population qu’il a besoin.

Alors pourquoi suis-je contre le shonen-ai et le shojo-ai même si c’est simplement deux garçons ou deux filles qui se tiennent les mains ? Simple. Parce que des choses de ce genre ont toujours été, et seront toujours platoniques. Si je lis une histoire de deux garçons ou deux filles qui se tiennent les mains, qui jurent de se protéger l’un l’autre, quoi qu’il arrive, et qui se chérissent très fortement, CE N’EST PAS L’AMOUR. C’EST DE L’AMITIÉ FORTE. Historiquement, et toujours, les amis très proches se tenaient les mains, vouaient à se chérir et se protéger, et quand ils se séparaient, ils se disaient adieu. Ils s’embrassaient parfois, typiquement sur les joues. Ils étaient prêts de mourir pour leurs amis, parce qu’ils les trouvaient simplement dignes. Et aujourd’hui, si quelqu’un disait la même chose sans vouloir des rapports sexuels avec l’autre, quel que soit son sexe, on dirait qu’il veut juste chérir cette personne fortement. La charité se trouve naturellement dans l’amitié, et ça prouve que cette personne est un véritable ami. C’est tout. Regardez les œuvres de Shakespeare et les vies des gens d’antan et vous trouverez que c’est bien le cas. Le sonnet 18 de Shakespeare a été écrit pour remercier quelqu’un qui devint son patron lorsque personne ne voulut le prendre sous son aile. Évidemment, malgré les diverses références à l’« amour » de nos jours, pas du shonen-ai. Aujourd’hui où se trouve-t-il cette charité ? Il suffit de regarder comment des amis se traitent autour de nous…

Le véritable problème, donc, est que le monde ne connait plus la définition de l’amour. On pense que l’amour est suivi par un rapport sexuel, ou bien des petits copains et petites copines. Et quand cette « chaleur » que donne l’« amour » n’est plus là, c’est terminé. C’est pour ça que la famille est dégradé, et c’est pour ça qu’on confond les rapports entre les amis. L’amour, c’est la charité, où quelqu’un va hors de son chemin (et parfois hors des « lois » de la société et des factions d’aujourd’hui) et se met parfois dans des situations très difficiles et douloureuses pour chérir quelqu’un juste parce qu’il est digne d’être aimé. Juste parce qu’il est une personne, un être humain. On pourrait commencer par le montrer à nos amis. On pourrait commencer par garder ce principe, même face à l’abus (subtile que ce soit), la souffrance et la moindre remarque. On n’a pas forcément besoin de garder le même avis ; il suffit juste de chérir avec tout son cœur. Et quand on sait montrer la charité à nos amis, on comprendra pourquoi la charité nous permet de se donner l’un à l’autre, et nous permet de nous préparer pour le deuil qui suit... le deuil d’une vie toute entière, le deuil d’enlever un enfant et le fardeau de la famille (comme elle doit être).

O happy month of April.

Due to end-of-academic-year obligations, I have not written much. But this post is up so that I can cherish everything that has taken place during the month of April. Also due to end-of-academic-year obligations, I will not be writing much.

Twenty, wooooooo

Firstly, it feels weird. Secondly, the balloon is in my favourite colour. Thirdly, I got the balloon after my outing with my aunt and uncle in the Hatfield Galleria the week before my birthday. But as I’ve written in my previous post, it feels weird.

————————————————————————————————

Outings with Marta, Sophia and the friends from the chaplaincy.

Vanilla ice-cream! ^_^

Marta and Sophia.

Joining Marta this time are Phil and Glenn.

iHappyMacBook.

Another meal in Marta’s place. All of us contributed something. For my part, I brought four chicken breasteaks…

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Kirby plushie!

POYO! (>^_^)>

This plushie was given to me by my (LLB Year 2) coursemates Kevin and Clara, after they discovered that I find Kirby quite adorable, and that I mimic the trademark “Poyo!” quite well… I received the Kirby plushie the day after my birthday, when I made my way with another friend, Shelby, to Marta’s place for dinner. Kevin met me and gave me the plushie… D’awwwww. It’s adorable! *shiny eyes*

_____________________________________________________________

The last few lessons in St Albans

It used to be the case where, when people finished a year in the St Albans Law School, they could always return to it and relive the days where they walked in the hallways… if they were coming back to study for another year. This time, it’s different. The St Albans Law School premises are going to be sold, and the law school is moving to De Havilland Campus in September. So we aren’t really saying goodbye to the people in St Albans (especially those who are based in St Albans); we are bidding them adieu.

I really do feel sad. I was told there isn’t a single lecture hall in the De Havilland Law Court Building, several weeks ago. Today, another story comes — there seems to be one, albeit smaller than the one in St Albans. Regardless, St Albans Law School, you will be sorely missed by students and staff alike. I will not be surprised if, once we’ve moved to De Hav, I begin to hear complaints that things are not the way they should be.

Spotted in St Albans this afternoon.

Would you believe your eyes…



This. In a time where bus doors are at the front, and not the rear, in a time where sleek is the word, and in a time where modernism takes over.

The bus was owned by Sullivan Bus & Coach Company (read: the owners of the red double decker buses in London and Hertfordshire), and it was the first time they stopped in Stop 1 of St Peter’s Street. They also managed to get themselves listed on the roster — what a surprise.

I felt like I was taken back to St Albans as it was in 1901… at least for a few minutes.

Quiz night in Redbourn

I joined Tony and his friend Jack for a dinner and quiz night in Redbourn. The quiz was organised by Lacrosse Scotland. I hoped Sarah would come too, but she had a placement in Stevenage, I think. Dinner and drinks were £15 per head, which was costly, but once in a while…. I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad.

There were ten of us at the table, and we formed a team and called ourselves “Making Up the Numbers”.

This was part of the quiz. The sheet you see in front of you is ABC-123, which was one of the table quiz rounds. There were three — ABC-123, Great Scotsmen and something else… I forget.

And as for the other rounds, they were announced by the host, and we had to answer them within a short time frame. ABC-123 was the only round of the quiz where our team scored full marks!

Tony and a number of other had bought raffle tickets, and our table scored the most wins! I don’t know what one of my other teammates got, but Tony won this prize… which this guy’s playing with. Addict-a-Ball. A maze game. Boys will still be boys. ^_-

This was won with Tony’s raffle tickets too, but he let me keep it. OH YAY! ^_^ And it’s a really nice jumper — I wore it yesterday!

In hiding.

Some say that it’s a Scots tradition that the loser gets wooden spoons… Yes, as you can guess, Making Up the Numbers scored last place overall!

The winners helping themselves to the gift box. I didn’t get the name of their team, but oh well, it doesn’t matter.

The game was passed on to someone else… It’s all in the name. Addict-a-Ball. Highly addictive.

Yay, finally, a familiar face. ^_^

Posing with…… the FORFEIT!

Why did I take a picture of a 2p coin, you ask? Well, my teammates considered it “lucky” (I couldn’t care less…) after we flipped a coin for an answer to a question, of which we were not sure. We were asked to find out where in Scotland a certain film was screened. Two answers popped up in our heads: Glasgow and Edinburgh. So we decided that heads would be Glasgow, tails Edinburgh. I flipped my 2p coin and got Edinburgh… and it turned out to be the right answer, coincidentally!

Though to be honest, that didn’t help us much. We did not know quite a number of answers. Tony was by far the only true blue Scotsman seated at our table…

 

The Lord be praised for a pretty swell night. It was also my first trip to Redbourn, and I’m quite chuffed. ^_^

Thanks to Tony and Jack for taking me out!

Malaysians (students especially), this is something for you to solve. ^_-

 

Bangun pagi, terus zombie,

masuk bilik tengok TV;

pakai baju, gosok gigi...

 

Can someone help me finish the fourth line?

POYO!

Pink ball of pink cuteness!

This, friends, is Hoshi no Kirby.

And this explains why I’ve taken a liking to the one sound he makes.

 

 

Poyo.

And yesterday was more hopeful.

Yesterday was marked by happiness and hope. For starters, I had intended to join the auditions for Britain’s Got Talent. In the evening, there was Mass, the UHSU Catholic Society’s Annual General Meeting (where the minutes from the previous year were reviewed, and where the new staff were elected), and after that I stopped at Marta’s and Stéphanie’s flat in De Havilland Campus for a snack.

Tony reviewed the minutes, Peter (as president for 2010/2011) gave his commentary, Father Mark gave his commentary and we went on to the voting stage.

Voting stage. This one was taken just split seconds before Marta turned to the front. Priceless! ^_^

So the new staff for the chaplaincy are Michael McFadden (president), Peter again (this time as social secretary), Mark Tanner (treasurer) and yours truly (secretary).

After the AGM was over… I went with Marta to De Havilland.

This is the new law school building, still under construction. It does look impressive, although I haven’t taken a look at it in daylight… One thing I do know is that there are absolutely no lecture halls in this place. Only courtrooms and seminar rooms, the LRC and whatnot. Dear me, what of our St Albans atmosphere…

 

Joining the three of us were Mike…

…Mook, Pim, Jerry and Maria (who is in the background),

Carlos,

and another friend whose name I have forgotten…

Oo snacks! *restrains self from inhaling everything*

Preparing the camera…

One new happy family! The same picture was taken on Marta’s camera on 10-second self-timer.

That’s my Flip camera in Marta’s hand!

Nearly all the photos of the evening are courtesy of Mike.

And today, in the midst of my being sad, I uploaded the videos of me doing the front portion of the shirt. Starting here:

This one is a very short vid compared to Part 2, and only features me doing “hÉireann” and the gold stars and dots. I stopped because I needed to get some colour out of my tubes — it was either difficult to come out, or my colours had run out. I do know that I’m out of green glitter…. -__-

And here is Part 2, with a dose of music from yours truly! I did the rest of the front portion so that it’d read “Inniu Tá mé ag na hÉireann” (Irish for “Today I am Irish”). Since I didn’t have green (I had used it all up for the back of the shirt), I resolved to orange/gold, and I used quite a bit of poet’s logic for this one again!

The backing track for Part 2 is one of my previous works, “Céilidh”, dating back to 25 January 2011 (Burns’ Night).

And, on a coathanger, this is what the finished shirt looks like:

I needed to hang it because I reckon I’d use it for either Thursday or Friday (for the Céilidh). And speaking of Friday, Via Crucis is gonna go on as usual — now what do we do?!

This is for those of you who watched the YT videos first but did not believe that the shirt was from Marks & Spencer. I imagine maybe only a few people might fall into that category. I don’t know.

Yeah, so these are the many things which made me smile on Sunday. And then the (figurative) rain came on Monday…