Dominic Marchmain: The Young Fogey

Do you know how hot I am?

2010-07-11T19:02:00.000+01:00

The article I came across on the Telegraph website about British men dressing badly in the heat rather reminded me of. . .

Schooling in Central London

2010-07-11T18:59:00.000+01:00

We read today in the papers of David Cameron admitting his worry about finding a decent state school for his children. He is right, of course, that some parents have no access to decent schooling for their children. Poor areas have poor schools which give a poor education to their poor pupils who will, in all likelihood, remain poor because of it. It is a vicious catch-22 which I strongly hope our new government can solve.

Personally, though, I can't understand by Cameron can't just simply pack his kids off to public school. Why should they be denied the superb education he enjoyed? Tony Blair did the same thing of course But that was to please the leftist social engineers in his party, and he anyway he packed them off to one of the finest state schools in London. Dave's reason is obviously political too. Sad, isn't it.

New Blog

2010-07-09T17:02:00.000+01:00

The Diary of an Intern is a blog, justed started yesterday by a friend of mine who asked me to restart this one to give him a bit of publicity, surrounding a fictional researcher in the Palace of Westminster. The main protagonist is LittleBagCarrer, a machiavellian aspiring politician who will do anything to further his career. There's only one post at the moment but I've seem some of the funny stories in store and it looks like a certain worthwhile read.

Keep Sunday Trading

2010-07-09T16:41:00.000+01:00

One of the bloggers over at ConHome is making the case for the total abolition of Sunday trading laws. Another typical so-called conservative dressing up free-market anarchy in the name of Toryism. I'm by no means opposed to free enterprise and free markets but there have to be some limits. The first commenter for instance made the point of employees being forced to work longer hours on a Sunday. A perfectly reasonable point to make, but there are others: what can people buy in an additional six hours on a Sunday (boxing day or not) which they can't buy any day? Why can't people spend time with their families rather than feel pressured into throwing money at the altars of retail? Why are these awful liberals who now infest a once great party doing everything they can to upset tradition in the name of money-making?

Of course we need to get the economy back on track but we don't do it by encouraging people to spend more money which they don't have.

Recognise dissent for what it is

2010-02-02T19:05:00.001Z

That, to me, was one of the key messages to the English bishops on their visit to Rome this week. Not some anti-gay rant which was cooked up by some (probably self-defining 'ex-Catholic') hack in the media. I've picked out what I consider to be one of the most important messages - certainly for maintaining the traditional doctrines of the Church. I suppose we can go away with something different but the problem is that with such a homogenous response from the media about the Pope attacking gay people, surely one would expect to find a direct reference?

Here is what His Holiness actually said.

He said:

Dear Brother Bishops,

I welcome all of you on your ad Limina visit to Rome, where you have come to venerate the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. I thank you for the kind words that Archbishop Vincent Nichols has addressed to me on your behalf, and I offer you my warmest good wishes and prayers for yourselves and all the faithful of England and Wales entrusted to your pastoral care. Your visit to Rome strengthens the bonds of communion between the Catholic community in your country and the Apostolic See, a communion that sustained your people’s faith for centuries, and today provides fresh energies for renewal and evangelization. Even amid the pressures of a secular age, there are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales. I am thinking, for example, of the enthusiasm generated by the visit of the relics of Saint Thérèse, the interest aroused by the prospect of Cardinal Newman’s beatification, and the eagerness of young people to take part in pilgrimages and World Youth Days. On the occasion of my forthcoming Apostolic Visit to Great Britain, I shall be able to witness that faith for myself and, as Successor of Peter, to strengthen and confirm it. During the months of preparation that lie ahead, be sure to encourage the Catholics of England and Wales in their devotion, and assure them that the Pope constantly remembers them in his prayers and holds them in his heart.

Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed. I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended. Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth. Continue to insist upon your right to participate in national debate through respectful dialogue with other elements in society. In doing so, you are not only maintaining longstanding British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them: when so many of the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel’s right to be heard?

If the full saving message of Christ is to be presented effectively and convincingly to the world, the Catholic community in your country needs to speak with a united voice. This requires not only you, the Bishops, but also priests, teachers, catechists, writers – in short all who are engaged in the task of communicating the Gospel – to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit, who guides the whole Church into the truth, gathers her into unity and inspires her with missionary zeal.

Make it your concern, then, to draw on the considerable gifts of the lay faithful in England and Wales and see that they are equipped to hand on the faith to new generations comprehensively, accurately, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they are playing their part in the Church’s mission. In a social milieu that encourages the expression of a variety of opinions on every question that arises, it is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate. It is the truth revealed through Scripture and Tradition and articulated by the Church’s Magisterium that sets us free. Cardinal Newman realized this, and he left us an outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth by following that "kindly light" wherever it led him, even at considerable personal cost. Great writers and communicators of his stature and integrity are needed in the Church today, and it is my hope that devotion to him will inspire many to follow in his footsteps.

Much attention has rightly been given to Newman’s scholarship and to his extensive writings, but it is important to remember that he saw himself first and foremost as a priest. In this Annus Sacerdotalis, I urge you to hold up to your priests his example of dedication to prayer, pastoral sensitivity towards the needs of his flock, and passion for preaching the Gospel.You yourselves should set a similar example. Be close to your priests, and rekindle their sense of the enormous privilege and joy of standing among the people of God as alter Christus. In Newman’s words, "Christ’s priests have no priesthood but His … what they do, He does; when they baptize, He is baptizing; when they bless, He is blessing" (Parochial and Plain Sermons, VI 242). Indeed, since the priest plays an irreplaceable role in the life of the Church, spare no effort in encouraging priestly vocations and emphasizing to the faithful the true meaning and necessity of the priesthood. Encourage the lay faithful to express their appreciation of the priests who serve them, and to recognize the difficulties they sometimes face on account of their declining numbers and increasing pressures. The support and understanding of the faithful is particularly necessary when parishes have to be merged or Mass times adjusted. Help them to avoid any temptation to view the clergy as mere functionaries but rather to rejoice in the gift of priestly ministry, a gift that can never be taken for granted.

Ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue assume great importance in England and Wales, given the varied demographic profile of the population. As well as encouraging you in your important work in these areas, I would ask you to be generous in implementing the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, so as to assist those groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. I am convince that, if given a warm and open-hearted welcome, such groups will be a blessing for the entire Church.

With these thoughts, I commend your apostolic ministry to the intercession of Saint David, Saint George and all the saints and martyrs of England and Wales. May Our Lady of Walsingham guide and protect you always. To all of you, and to the priests, religious and lay faithful of your country, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI

I emphasised the supposedly contentious passage. Hardly Bonfire of Vanities is it? It doesn't mention homosexuality at all.

In his entire address he says that England, Mary's Dowry, is in his prayers; that the Church has an important role to play in society and that the role of the priest is extremely important. So much for honesty and balance in the media . . .

The Young Fogey Handbook

2010-01-30T16:31:00.000Z

Whilst rummaging through some old bits and pieces this afternoon I came across an old favourtie which I haven't read for years. It's a book entitled 'The Young Fogey Handbook', edited by Suzanne Lory. Written in the mid-1980s when being a Young Fogey was all the rage - it takes one through all aspects of Young Fogey culture (or sub-culture, perhaps?) including fashion (nothing but a thick, tweed suit please), architecture, churchmanship and food. Young Fogeys love thick-cut toast with thick-cut marmalade, boiled eggs (with solders, naturally), bread and butter puddings, or milk puddings generally whilst eschewing 'small helpings' and 'designer food.'

On the drinks section I was glad to see all my own favourites, claret, sherry, port and ovaltine and relived the horror at some of the less appealing aspects of Fogeyism - the omission of oral hygeine and general neglect of outward appearance as well as the disapproval of Mrs Thatcher.

Nevertheless, Fogey or not, the Handbook is a thoroughly good, quick and amusing read and I strongly suggest you invest in a copy!

The Young Fogey Handbook

Silly Things

2010-01-30T15:02:00.000Z

Anybody interested in silly paraphernalia connected with the Knights of Malta and other things might be interested in this website. It sells everything from lapel pins and jewellery to perfume via military medals.

Perhaps a British medal from the first world war?

Or, just beneath it, the irony of which did amuse me:

I suppose it's a case of pick your side if you ever find yourself in need of a costume or fake decorations? Sadly the site doesn't feature any Knights of Malta 'tat.' But one could always just sign up through the Irish Province I suppose. . .

The New Modern Conservative Party

2010-01-29T17:44:00.000Z

Despite Cameron's half-hearted defence of the institution of marriage I think looking at the state of one of the associations in Essex might show what kind of society he wants to break/mould.

The femme fatale, two Tory lovers and claims of a violent bust-up at her home

Even more ridiculous is the idea of a Tory councillor being a hypnotherapist. Are we, as a party, in this part of the country really that desperate for votes? Or perhaps this Mr Benham hypnotised the poor girl into sleeping with him. . .

The silly mistake of Prince Charles

2010-01-27T11:44:00.003Z

There are certain things of which I do not tend to approve in blogs. The first is swearing (I'm a hypocrite too, I know) and the second is attacks on the royals. Nevertheless, I can quite understand James Delingpole's frustration at the absurdity of Prince Charles's visit to Climategate 'Research' Unit. I like Charles and I've a certain amount of respect for him. But sometimes he does silly things. What public figure in their right state of mind would praise an organisation whose acts of fraud have recently been revealed? If I was sent to prison for credit card fraud would I have members of the establishment queuing up to have their photograph taken with me?

No.

Why? Because this simply shows how entrenched the lie of anthropic global warming actually is.

If governments were ACTUALLY convinced of the evidence in support of this theory then they would be doing a hell of a lot more about it than sapping the taxpayer for every penny the poor bugger has.

The whole thing is a clever (or not so clever in the CRU's case) to make money and the sooner we realise that the better.

White, blonde, blue-eyed Jesus

2010-01-27T00:08:00.003Z

One would not normally expect to hear such things outside the extreme traditionalist circle within the Brompton Oratory but apparently . . .

The previous Pontiff

2010-01-26T23:45:00.003Z

I'll be honest in saying that while I had a good deal of respect for Pope John Paul II, he never really 'did it for me' in the way that Benedict does. Perhaps it was the cult of celebrity which surrounded him - which, to be fair, was not his fault. He was idolised by the young who then happily disobey him on morality. Or is that being unfair?

He has, after today, only gone up in my estimation following revelations that he practised self-flagellation. He would strike himself on the back and, as a bishop in Poland, would regularly sleep on the bare floor. Quiet humility is not a term often associated with JP2. We tend to think of over-the-top gestures, like kissing tarmac, yet that this comes as such a revelation means that there are many who completely under-estimated how humble a man he was.

The story in today's Telegraph also mentions a decision taken to resign should he (JP2) fallsseriously ill. He either changed his mind or it was ignored. And what a good thing too, or we would not be blessed with so wonderful Pontiff as Benedict XVI!

Dave has it right for once

2010-01-22T18:54:00.002Z

David Cameron is completely right to point out the 'social recession' hitting out society. There is far more life to life than money but most of the hard-nosed libertarians running the Tory party don't seem to realise that. It's nice to see 'Dave' saying something that actually makes a little sense.

It is nevertheless a shame it takes a horrific event to prompt a politician to action, especially one which gets so many column inches in the press. The state-funded genocide of innocent children is met with silence by our political class but tortue brings with it moral outrage. It's a start, I suppose. And it shows that our governing class still has some kind of sense of right and wrong.

Perhaps we could move the boundary a little further. . . back to where it used to be?

Tw*t but not shit. . .

2009-08-13T17:12:00.004+01:00

Despite the beloved not having totally have disposed of his backbone (demonstrated by his unwillingness to sack Alan Duncan) there do seem to be some double standards in the current Conservative Party.

While the focus on Duncan's language didn't come, a key problem was probably the way in which he made his feelings known. His language displayed his frustration - an entirely natural human emotion and one which is extremely common at the moment amongst our political class. They have endured public crucifixion.

Yet it seems that while "Dave" can knowingly swear (and use an extremely vulgar, degrading word) on public radio, Duncan can't be secretly filmed making his opinions known. . .

Seems DC is a tw*t in public life and just a shit to his own MPs.

I don't see why Alan Duncan had to apologise. . .

2009-08-12T19:57:00.001+01:00

since he was only speaking his mind and what he said made a lot of sense.

See here.

Mandelson's proposals will only make things worse

2009-08-08T21:27:00.002+01:00

I had thought that the government had done all the damage anybody possibly could do to damage our higher education system but Lord Mandelson has proved me wrong. The government is now to put pressure on our better (which in the Labour Party's mind means "exclusive") universities to introduce a two-tier grading system for more popular courses. Undoubtedly a move to increase the number of pupils from poorly performing state schools to attend good universities this will only make the system worse.

First, it is unlikely to actually to bring ANY positive effects at all. Why would those from poor families want to apply to university when this government introduced tuition fees, introduced top-up fees, abolished grants and and destroyed and dismantled our state education sector. They fear being saddled with debt for a long-time to come; they will feel patronised and insulted by this move and they will feel like outsiders in an exclusive university world which this government has secretly fostered.

This move will polarise student bodies in our good universities. Those from the higher-grade tier will resent others being offered lower grades for being poor. Those from the lower will resent the background and superior education of the higher. Indeed, it is likely that without the proper educational formation offered at our independent schools and other good state schools they will be able to succeed?

Our good universities are, therefore, going to be forced to accept students of a lower standard (however deserving their cases) onto their courses. Our future lawyers, medics and engineers will all be of a lower standard. Such political interference in our higher education system is totally unacceptable. If I need to defend myself in court do I want the best lawyer I can get or do I want a mediocre one so I can have the mushy, warm feeling inside, knowing that I'm giving a poor boy a chance? This principle extends through the medical, architectural and engineering professions.

Yet again we have a case of the government preferring to take action to fiddle the figures regardless of the consequences. It is more concerned with getting the poor into good universities (because the figures look good for "social mobility) than in giving them the support whilst they are there. If they can't keep up they will drop out or be sent down.

When I was at the University of Edinburgh I would have been considered poor to those of my acquaintance with exceptionally large allowances from their parents. Being but a humble middle-class boy I could not hope compete with that and very few people could. Would I have been been considered "poor" by Lord Mandelson? I very much doubt it.

If the government really wants to encourage those from poorer backgrounds to get into good universities then the way to do it is to restore standards and discipline in our state schools. The answer is real reform, not short-term. stastistical magic tricks.

For every £3 he takes from us he spends £4

2009-08-08T20:16:00.003+01:00

For every £3 he takes in taxation from the British people Gordon Brown spends four.

Alright, I know this report is from the Herald (which I believe is calling itself the Sun these days) but I thought the figures were shocking enough to account for any smut you poor things might comes across on that website.

I'm surprised to find this kind of story in Sun for, in the words of Bernard Wooley, Sun readers have no care for who runs the country (and, presumably, how the country is run) "just so long as she's got big t*ts."

I feel I should point out that no respectable young fogey would condone any kind of page three girl. . .

I actually enjoy facebook

2009-08-04T20:13:00.004+01:00

In contrast to the views if the spiritual leader of my Church (in this country, at least) I actually enjoy using Facebook. It's not as good as it used to be. I think it was much better without the school-children. Why can't they just stick to Myspace or Bebo and leave Facebook to the grown-ups. . .

Anyway, I decided to bring your attention to a wonderful group came across whilst googling for starched collars. I believe the stiff, detachable collar to be an accessory which no self-respecting gentleman should be without and I am extremely happy to see a number of younger people as members.

This little surge in fogeyism is excellent

Hezbollah stockpiling rockets.

2009-08-04T20:09:00.002+01:00

See here.

If only Mohammed's heresy had been squashed; if only the Crusades had been successful and if only the West saw the sense to give Israel the encouragement and the essentials to finish the job and the chaotic state in which the Middle East finds itself. . .

Benefits fail those who need them most.

2009-08-03T20:59:00.003+01:00

Today's shocking release from The Taxpayers' Alliance rather disturbed your humble scribe. Whilst, under this rotten government, the cost of social security has ballooned, there has been no way of telling that those most in need of society's support are getting what they deserve. In fact, the reverse seems to be true.

Social mobility has never been lower with the government seeming to want to keep the poor out of the good schools and the good universities (with its persecution of private education establishments and commitment to the failing comprehensive system) and to keep them in their sometimes desperate material state with the murky complexity which it has brought to the present social security system. Who but the most gifted of benefit-cheats could perform the necessary gymnastics through the red tape to get the most out of the system? What honest, unassuming and deserving person would be able work through the mires of bureaucracy to receive that to which they are rightly entitled?

Despite the £186bn which social security will swallow up, I doubt those who actually need a helping hand will get it. A simplified system will be cheaper, more effective and less prone to fraudulent claimants.

Let us hope the Conservatives are up to the task.

No to trendy modernism

2009-08-03T19:40:00.004+01:00

Despite being a fairly devout churchman (and a wretched sinner to, mea culpa) I have thus far avoided commenting on matters sacred too often for fear of turning this into a God-blog. I am an avid reader of most of the main religious blogs but had determined from the start that this would not be one. I shall stick to that principle but it is one that is hard to stick to when all manner of wicked people use every available opportunity to attack faith institutions and those who [try] to live their lives by a set of religious principles. These articles and comments feature prominently on the blogrolls of all the major parties and newspapers and so I have to decided to set aside my former coy ways.

I am a Roman Catholic but have the greatest of respect for the traditions of the established church in this country. Whenever I find myself in central London I sometimes like nothing more than to go to Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral and listen to the heavenly melodies of evensong as they resound about those great architectural testimonies of Christian faith. The pithy oral deliveries given at many modernist protestant congregational gatherings which one must give before one is deemed deserving enough to be given full admittance to the community is nothing compred to what these great buildings point us to.

I love the traditions of my own Church. The elegance and beauty of the Old Mass is almost indescribable. This makes the changes brought in the 1970s almost unforgivable - the iconoclasm that went on was of a near-desecratory nature.

The worship of God in the manner he intended.

Churches like my own and the Church of England have such a rich and wonderful heritage that it pains me to see their leaders to their own backs on the spiritual inheritance they have received. Many in the Catholic Church have fought hard to keep the Old Rite of Mass, which was the norm beforen the destructive changes of the 1970s, and at last, with a wonderful Pope, we are seeing progress. There are still, nevertheless, problems. My own local parish church for instance. We still have dreadful "hymns" which were newly written in the 70s and 80s. They were crap then, and they are crap now. We all have to shake hands at the Sign of Peace. We have the awful clericalist manner of the priest facing us with his back to God. And, more often than not, he is wearing some shiny polyester bathsheet which bears no resemblance to any kind of recognise liturgical vestment.

This has got to stop. And if any good could come out this Swine Fly business it's this: that we can use it to restore traditional religious practices back in our parishes: communion under one kind (since in the middle ages there was a practical as well as doctrinal reason) and the abolition of shaking hands during the liturgy.

If you have never been to an Old Rite of Mass, particularly if it's a High or Sung Liturgy, then I would strongly suggest you go, even if just for cultural and artistic reasons. I promise you will not be disappointed!

The Nasty Party

2009-08-01T15:28:00.002+01:00

No, don't worry. I haven't got that feminist cow Theresa May to write a post and bore us all to death about how we aren't nice people and that we need to be. . . well. . . nicer.

But I would suggest you have a look at the New Statesman and see how it is collated a collection of what is deems to be the greatest (ie, objectionable, embarrassing and apparently nasty) conservative quotations. To be honest, I agree with most of them. Put into their correct context (which I note the writers at the journal for a Nannying State have failed to do) most of them simply reflect what we all think deep down.

But what about great quotations from the political left? I cannot really say that it is very becoming or, indeed, a very constructive use of one's time to trawl the internet looking for quotations which will embarrass leftists everywhere - in other words, I can't be bothered. Nevertheless a few choice ones come to mind: Joseph Staling when he said that "one death is a tragedy and a million is a statistic" or Adolph Hitler when he declared the age of "individual happiness" to be over. Then there is Arthur Scargill when he accused the Labour Party of having moved too far to the Right or President Obama when he declared that he did not wish to see either of his daughters punished with a child.

If the New Statesman wants to play soundbyte tennis, I am pretty sure we can win.

Anything to fiddle the figures. . .

2009-08-01T15:16:00.003+01:00

I was shocked to read in the papers today that, whilst proposals are in the pipeline to cut higher education funding because of the shortage of cash in the kitty, the government has managed to find some spare funds to pay for trips abroad for university graduates in need of employment.

No doubt these bright youngs will be doing a lot of worthwhile charitable work, but if that is their wish they should pay for it, or their parents should. If they cannot afford to travel to faraway places to help their metaphorical neighbour then there is much work that needs to be done in our own country: soup kitchens, homeless shelters and so on.

This move by the government is an astounding waste of taxpayers' money. The government which, in the name of savings and modernisation, has abolished student grants, brought in tuitions fees, and then doubled those fees within a couple of years, and has generally done everything it can to deter those from humble backgrounds attending university now has the gall to waste that money sending young people on exotic trips to keep them off the dole queue.

Anything to fiddle the figures, regardless of how much of our money is wasted.

Well, well, well

2009-06-25T18:24:00.003+01:00

For the past few weeks we've seen nothing but scorn poured on politicians for the way in which they have handled their allowances. It seems, however, that the BBC is no better - on contrast to what they've tried to make us think in their biased reporting on the activities of our elected representatives.

I was in London earlier today, seeing friends and generally having a mooch around. I returned home and switched on the television to be greeted with the latest expenses scandal - that of the "top brass" at our dearly beloved BBC.

It seems that it is quite acceptable for Mark Thompson to claim £100 of taxpayers' money to buy Bruce Forsyth a bottle of champagne. But obviously it's claim disgusting for a Member of Parliament to claim a fraction of this amount to pay for a remembrance poppy wreath.

It's also acceptable for Mark Thompson, the Director General, to claim more than £2,200 to fly back from his holiday to sort out the repulsive behaviour of Jonanthan Ross. But we also paid for his family to fly back too.

We also forked out £1400 for Mark Thompson to charter a private plane and we also paid £14.99 for the deputy Director General to buy a book!

The BBC's defence was that these practices were extremely common in the entertainment businesses. It happens in privately owned broadcasting businesses so why should the BBC be any different?

But wasn't this the defence which our politicians employed? The very defence the BBC seemed to find unacceptable in their case, but suddenly its okay when its own tattered credibility is at risk.

The hypocrisy still gives me a very bad taste in my mouth.

Alas. . .

2009-06-23T19:07:00.002+01:00

. . . that turncoat Bercow was elected as the House of Commons speaker, propped up by the votes of Labour backbenchers.

He is smug, arrogant, tainted with the expenses scandal and is the sort of politician that the columnists at the Guardian have wet-dreams about.

I am not hopefuly for the future of Parliament. Will he bring back the wig?

I doubt it.

Gin

2009-06-16T17:20:00.003+01:00

I'm very particular about gin. I'm very particular about what I like in it.

Yesterday afternoon I met a friend for a drink and was rather upset to have been served with a beautifully mixed Gin (Hendrick's) and Tonic with a slice of lemon dumped in it.

Surely everybody knows that Hendrick's is served with cucumber?