Fortunately getting-up at 0600 is no hardship for me - in fact I am very much a morning person rather than a night owl. But I do object to getting up relatively early in order to ensure I get to an apointmnent on time only 50 miles away because the roads are so poor. Even leaving home at 0715 it still took me an hour and half to cover the journey - but at least I was half an hour early rather than half an hour late. But again, its no hardship listening to the "Today" programme for half an hour in a wayside bower even if 95% of it was about the credit crunch and the crash of Icelandic Banks - evidently their accounts are frozen...
In good naval tradition I knocked on the door of the RC Bishop of Clifton five minutes before my 0915 appointment. The Rt Revd Declan Lang is a very pleasant youngish bishop (yeah - right...the same age as me) and was ordained priest in the same year as me also. We had a really good chat, and I am greatly relieved that I have now firmly put my foot on the first rung of the ladder that I hope will lead me into membership of the Catholic Church. If all goes well, I hope that I might be received before Christmas. We did talk briefly about the possibility of (re-) ordination, but lets go one step at a time and see how things pan out. But certainly I think it could be a possibility in a couple of years time - fortunately, not my decision!
Meanwhile I'm off to the USA tomorrow and return to Germany on 28th October, finally leaving there and returning home on 30th October ready to start my new (lay) job in London on 3rd November. Hey! The grass doesn't have time to grow under my feet pal!
Oh and I must mention my dear friend Fr Andrew Callon who I saw on my way back from the bishop's this morning. Poor old thing is convalescing after some surgery and was in his usual good form - amusing and witty as always - but obviously still uncomfortable. Get better soon chum and keep applying the lotions!