Monstrous Regiment of Women

Guess what I am learning to do at the moment?

2011-11-25T17:41:00.000Z

11/11/11 Aftermath

2011-11-11T10:51:00.000Z

Have you forgotten yet?...
For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days,
Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways:
And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow
Like clouds in the lit heaven of life; and you’re a man reprieved to go,
Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare.

But the past is just the same-and War’s a bloody game...
Have you forgotten yet?...
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz–
The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets?
Do you remember the rats; and the stench
Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench-
And dawn coming, dirty-white, and chill with a hopeless rain?
Do you ever stop and ask, ‘Is it all going to happen again?’

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack–
And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men?
Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back
With dying eyes and lolling heads—those ashen-grey
Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay?

Have you forgotten yet?...
Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you’ll never forget.

Siegfried Sassoon 1919

The Go-Between

2011-11-10T21:22:00.002Z

The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A stunning, heartbreaking book set in the forgotten world of pre-First World War England. I was not sure I would get on with the novel at the start, I found the opening quite slow and the use of memorabilia a rather cliched way of going back in time but when the story really got going it had me hooked. I was struck by the vulnerability of Leo and the utter selfishness of Marion, but most of all by the powerful way in which the author brings the household and all its members to life. I am always interested in how authors deal with memory, both that of individual characters and collective memory such as a significant moment of history, and what makes The Go-Between so painful to read at times, particularly near the end, is the knowledge that the First World War will consign every detail of that society to history and that few of the male characters to whom we have been introduced will survive to old age.

View all my reviews

Medieval Castaway

2011-11-03T17:12:00.000Z

Poor Banished Children has been reviewed in The Weekly Standard. I was glad she talked about the psychology of slavery because one of the things I was trying to do with the book was to explore precisely what might happen emotionally and psychologically to a person taken into slavery, to get 'under the skin' as it were, of a woman in a situation few of us could ever imagine having to bear. I didn't want it to be just a stock portrayal of victimhood because there are plenty of those out there and I hope I partly succeeded in bringing some of those emotional complexities to life.

The only thing that amuses me, reading reviews are the number that contain the words 'this is not for the squeamish.' The strange thing is that I am an exceptionally squeamish person who would probably have to keep closing my eyes if I ever watched this novel as a film, but I was so shocked by some of the stories I read when I was doing my reearch for the book that I was determined to be as realistic as possible. The original draft was much more graphic, but a friend who read it suggested that in some situations 'less is more' and advised me to go through the manuscript with that thought in mind. I went through and toned down or edited out any detail I did not think entirely necessary and also made use of techniques such as dream sequences and disturbed flashback (where the narrator is distracted or confused in the act of trying to remember) to soften the horror slightly. I realise that the end result is still very violent in some places, but I hope not gratuitously so.

Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays?

2011-10-30T14:25:00.000Z

Having been to lectures as a student on the subject of whether Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe or even Elizabeth I wrote them, I'm going to have to be boringly conventional and say that I think William Shakespeare probably wrote Shakespeare's plays. Still, it is good to see a bit of literary controversy being stirred up by the new film Anonymous (which looks from the trailer like a pretty third-rate rehash of every conspiracy theory ever mooted on the identity of the Bard). I only wish there had a been a more pro-active approach taken to the Da Vinci Code when members of the great British public were taking that fabrication as fact.

Yeeees! Oh Frabjuous Day!

2011-10-29T12:03:00.000+01:00

OK, you probably have to be a Malteser living in Britain to be quite as excited as I am by this news, but Amazon UK has started selling Kinnie, the taste of summer days on the beach in a 500ml bottle, the finest soft drink ever invented, available with free delivery. This calls for some good, colourful, absurdly noisy Maltese fireworks...

New book pending

2011-10-28T11:03:00.000+01:00

I finally signed the contract for another book earlier this week and posted it back to the publisher. I always feel girlishly excited at the thought of another project and can't wait to set to work polishing and editing the manuscript. I try to make every book as different as possible, so there are some familiar themes but the action is set in near-contemporary London. Watch this space.

Poor Banished Children and Modern Day Slavery

2011-10-27T17:47:00.000+01:00

A reviewer on Amazon recently posted a comment about Poor Banished Children in which she mentioned modern slavery in the form of trafficking. Not many people have drawn that parallel but it was in fact learning about the evil of trafficking that made me all the more determined to write the book.

I am ashamed to say I knew very little about the subject until I was at my parents' house flicking through a copy of the Wonersh Seminary Magazine and came across an interview with the sister who founded The Medaille Trust to help women escaping traffickers. I was appalled to read about women being bought and sold for sex in cities like London and Birmingham. The horrors they went through were not so very different to the accounts of slavery in the seventeenth century I was reading about; being lured away from home, abducted, sold, beaten, raped, humiliated... the list goes on and on. I looked up The Medaille Trust's website and read more.

One of the things that most struck me when I was conducting my research into the Mediterranean slave trade was how much more material was available about men's experiences, partly because more men escaped than women but also because the suffering they went through was more public and is perhaps also more obviously horrific. One question I ask on radio interviews sometimes is: "If I say the words 'galley slave' to you, what images spring to mind?" Most people have quite a vivid picture in their minds (usually taken from the feature film Ben Hur but never mind) and appreciate how terrible such a fate would be, but say the word 'harem' and it still has an exotic, slightly cheeky sense to it. I wanted people to consider that a woman sold for sex would face a fate just as brutal and humiliating in spite of the pretty clothes and trivial bodily comforts.

Because in the end, if we do not take an evil seriously, it will never be eradicated and the sexual exploitation of women is a long way from being eradicated.

Thank you to archivists everywhere

2011-10-26T12:45:00.000+01:00

I am not usually much of a Royal Watcher but a friend sent me the link to this video of the Queen visiting St John's college some time ago, which features (at around 32-40 seconds into the video) Her Majesty talking to the college archivist. Since this particular archivist is so modest that he may be embarrassed to find himself featuring on this blog, I will not publish his name (though I suppose it is not difficult to find out). I will however say that I am very glad he had the chance to converse with the Monarch, since archivists are usually invisible, undervalued and know more about the history of a given institution than most of the professors. They are the willing and generous givers of obscure information to students, writers and researchers, and are so very rarely thanked.

Towards Advent

2011-10-25T20:22:00.000+01:00

I will be signing and (hopefully) selling copies of my books at the Towards Advent Festival in Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday 19th November. The festival is a great place to buy Christmas cards and gifts, grab a coffee and chat to the many stall-holders. If you come along, please drop by my stall (I will be behind the Gracewing stall) and say hello.

No Worries

2011-09-23T13:39:00.000+01:00

This is one of the most inspirational videos I have ever seen. I wept tears of joy for this amazing man. What a hero!

Maternal Mortality and Abortion

2011-09-22T11:45:00.000+01:00

I gave a presentation at SPUC Conference last weekend on maternal mortality and the need for a pro-life response, edited highlights of which are available here.

Evangelium

2011-08-02T17:14:00.000+01:00

See you there! I am giving a workshop on the Sunday morning on the subject of Becoming a Catholic Writer.

The Real Ibrahim Reis

2011-07-12T10:56:00.002+01:00

Here at TSA

Imnarja!

2011-06-28T14:16:00.000+01:00

Wonderful celebration of Maltese culture in Stepney last Saturday. It is getting harder and more expensive to go back to Malta, so if we cannot take the children to Malta, the events organised by the Maltese Cultural Movement are a good second best. There was Maltese food, Maltese music, Maltese accents everywhere, donkey rides, a bouncy castle, Maltese souvenirs...just one small criticism. We needed more of three things: 1) volunteers to run the stalls, the queues were a nightmare 2) more produce as most things ran out and 3) more space - there are more of us Maltesers in Britain than you'd think! Aside of that, thanks to the organisers for bringing a little piece of Malta, complete with the chaos, to London for the day.

Reminder: please add my new blog to your blogrolls:

That Singular Anomaly

2011-06-22T21:35:00.000+01:00

I have a new blog! Come and visit That Singular Anomaly (and perhaps add it to your blogrolls and become a follower as well if that takes your fancy). As the quote from the Gilbert and Sullivan song suggests, the blog is dedicated to book-related and more generally literary subject matter. It will be my main focus for the time being but I will occasionally post more campaigning related news on this blog as I can't bring myself to abandon the regiment just yet.

Ave Maria Radio

2011-06-16T18:21:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow I am going on Ave Maria Radio for the Catholic Connection programme. 9:15 AM Eastern Time and 2:15 PM British Summer Time. At least, I think that's right. I am fast developing a phobia of time zones and check multiple times online beforehand because I am positive I will miscalculate one day and be in the shower at the precise moment the phone rings to bring me onto a show. Having said that, the only show I have missed so far went wrong because the producer dialled the wrong international code. When he rang later to apologise for the error, it didn't occur to me to ask who he had actually ended up interviewing, or what country they were from...

Book Review from His Hermeneuticalness...

2011-06-12T19:43:00.000+01:00

...here. He is in fact very modest when he says he did not contribute much, he answered a relentless bombardment of questions from me on different subjects, such as the exact words of absolution in the Old Rite, the precise moment in the Mass when the names of the dead might be mentioned and the moral complexities surrounding acts of war. I was overwhelmed when I was researching the book by the incredible generosity of so many people who willingly shared their time and hard-earned knowledge to help me shape the story.

On one glorious occasion, a friend who is an expert in piracy and life at sea came round for dinner with his girlfriend and acted out (slow motion) a combat scene with me in the corner of my kitchen whilst my husband made coffee, so that I could make absolutely sure I got the different moves right.

Poor Banished Children - Book Trailer

2011-06-08T21:19:00.000+01:00

Son Rise Morning Show

2011-06-06T21:14:00.000+01:00

I am going on this radio show first thing tomorrow morning - Eastern Standard Time, that is. This will be my first time on a radio channel transmitting in another time zone, so I will be sitting in my house talking on the phone during my children's afternoon nap whilst listeners in Cincinatti tune in on their way to work. I'll get used to the idea...

End the War on Women

2011-06-03T15:00:00.000+01:00

Hospital staff abuse the vulnerable

2011-06-01T09:28:00.000+01:00

Panorama has secretly filmed vulnerable patients being verbally and physically abused in a private hospital. This digusting, inhuman behaviour is yet another symptom of a society that does not respect the inherent value of human life.

I could not help thinking again of Professor Lejeune, who dedicated his life to giving disabled people back the human dignity society had denied them.

"I have lost my Nobel Prize"

2011-05-31T12:25:00.000+01:00

A touching interview on Zenit with the daughter of Professor Jerome Lejeune. Professor Lejeune is one of my heroes, a brilliant and courageous scientist whose pioneering research into Down's Syndrome has never been properly acknowledged because he did not approve of killing his patients. Wherever people stand on the abortion issue, it is impossible not to admire a man who was prepared to take on the might of the scientific establishment on a point of principle, knowing it would have devastating consequences for his career and reputation.

He never received a Nobel Prize but I hope I will one day attend his beatification.

The Apologist and the Clown

2011-05-27T08:00:00.004+01:00

This allegory for the obstacles facing Catholic apologists really set me thinking. To read the rest of the article, check out the Napa Institute blog.

“According to this story, a traveling circus in Denmark caught fire. The manager thereupon sent the clown, who was already dressed and made up for the performance, into the neighboring village to fetch help, especially as there was a danger that the fire would spread across the fields of dry stubble and engulf the village itself. The clown hurried into the village and requested the inhabitants to come as quickly as possible to the blazing circus and help to put the fire out. But the villagers took the clown’s shouts simply for an excellent piece of advertising, meant to attract as many people as possible to the performance; they applauded the clown and laughed till they cried. The clown felt more like weeping than laughing; he tried in vain to get people to be serious, to make it clear to them that this was no stunt, that he was not pretending but was in bitter earnest, that there really was a fire. His supplications only increased the laughter; people thought he was playing his part splendidly — until finally the fire did engulf the village; it was too late for help, and both circus and village were burned to the ground.”

h/t Insight

Child Abductions in China

2011-05-26T08:12:00.000+01:00

h/t to PRI for this report on child abductions in Chinese villages. According to the report, family planning officials have taken to abducting 'illegal' children from parents who cannot pay the fines and placing them in orphanages, where they can then be put up for adoption. In the past, they would smash up a person's home, now they are stealing children. But, oh yes, I had forgotten, there is no coercion by family planning officials in China. Couples are encouraged to have fewer children...

India's Missing Girls

2011-05-25T13:06:00.000+01:00

This article about the continuing scourge of sex selective abortion in India, otherwise known as gendercide, makes appalling reading for so many reasons. I was particularly cut up by a story at the start about a woman who was forced into repeated abortions by her family.

In the years between the birth of her third daughter and her son, Kulwant became pregnant three times. Each time, she says, she was forced to abort the foetus by her family after ultrasound tests confirmed that they were girls.

"My mother-in-law taunted me for giving birth to girls. She said her son would divorce me if I didn't bear a son."

Kulwant still has vivid memories of the first abortion. "The baby was nearly five months old. She was beautiful. I miss her, and the others we killed," she says, breaking down, wiping away her tears.

Until her son was born, Kulwant's daily life consisted of beatings and abuse from her husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law. Once, she says, they even attempted to set her on fire.

"They were angry. They didn't want girls in the family. They wanted boys so they could get fat dowries," she says.

The Cousin who saved Graham Greene's Life

2011-05-24T17:29:00.000+01:00

I was intrigued by this article about Graham Greene's cousin and the role she played in saving his life. I went through a massive Graham Greene phase when I was a teenager and particularly fell in love with The Power and the Glory. I have rather more mixed feelings about him as an author now but The Power and the Glory is still among my favourite novels and the nameless protagonist's overwhelming sense of regret as he stands in his cell moves me to tears every time I read it.

Books, Pirates and Catholicism

2011-05-22T20:41:00.000+01:00

My interview with Premier is available on play again. I had a great time in the studio and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Lizzie and Dave. My only fear beforehand was that I would oversleep and arrive late, so I woke up every hour the night before, convinced my alarm would not go off. I mentioned this blog during the interview, so if anyone is visiting via Premier Radio, welcome to the Monstrous Regiment!

I am going...

2011-05-19T12:58:00.000+01:00

...on Premier Radio's Big Breakfast Show on Saturday morning. I am feeling a little nervous, more about doing something dire like sleeping through my alarm or my train getting cancelled, but - potential catastrophes aside - I am very much looking forward to talking books on the show with Dave and Lizzie.

Mariana's Journey

2011-05-16T20:37:00.000+01:00

The new issue of Dappled Things is now available for purchase from the website. Please consider subscribing to this excellent platform for Catholic writing. Some of the content is already available online and the online features page is well worth a visit. My short story looks at the crisis faced by a young woman whose husband has recently been killed in Afghanistan. The inspiration behind the title is Tennyson's poem Mariana.

Lewis and Tolkien on Myth and Knowledge

2011-05-15T20:55:00.000+01:00

I am mulling over an article in Faith Magazine by Roger Peck entitled C S Lewis and Tolkien on Myth and Knowledge I am somewhat exhausted after a very busy weekend, which is probably not helping my concentration much, so when my head has stopped spinning I will have another read of it. Here is a taster

An idea is either true or false but both true ideas and false ideas must be meaningful, and it is imagination that makes them meaningful before reason makes them either true or false. For Lewis the imagination is the organ of meaning as reason is the organ of truth. But myth lives in that middle ground between truth and meaning, experience and knowledge, abstract thought and concrete reality, reason and imagination, head and heart. And as myth transcends thought, says Lewis, "Incarnation transcends myth".

The Fine Delight

2011-05-12T11:59:00.000+01:00

Very interesting interview in The Fine Delight with the founder of literary magazine Dappled Things, looking at two of my favourite subjects, Catholicism and Literature.

When talking about Catholic culture, especially Catholic art and literature, the first thing people bring up is the “sacramental imagination.” That’s certainly true and important, but I think it is just as important to develop what we might call the “paradoxical imagination.” Perhaps I need a better term, but what I mean is that part of Christianity’s genius is getting at the truth of things by standing them on their heads. That’s how the most triumphant and hopeful image in our religion ends up being also the most humiliating and desperate: the crucifix. No Catholic literary culture or subculture is going to flourish until we can rediscover and internalize the paradoxes at the heart of life and reality, instead of just trying to create a sanctimonious or vaguely mystical version of what the secular world has to offer.

Dreams of the Dead

2011-05-11T15:42:00.001+01:00

Death has come for me again. The others are already lost. I heard their screams as I was cast into the night; I heard them cursing as they burned or drowned before the roar of the explosion stopped up my ears and I fell into a world of silence. I am burnt by fire and stifled by the black, icy waters that drag me down. There is merciless darkness everywhere, which even the flames tearing the ship cannot pierce. I spin and struggle, raising my head for air as my blood freezes, and I know the sea will take me in the end.

First paragraph Poor Banished Children. As a relative put it, another characteristically cheerful start. More on the publisher's excerpt page.

God's Undertaker

2011-05-10T13:09:00.000+01:00

I came across this article on Mercator.net about a new book God’s Undertaker – Has Science Buried God? by Professor Lennox of Oxford University. It sounds like a fascinating read.

The remarkable picture that is gradually emerging from modern physics and cosmology is one of a universe whose fundamental forces are amazingly, intricately, and delicately balanced or ‘fine tuned’ in order for the universe to be able to sustain life. Recent research has shown that many of the fundamental constants of nature, from the energy levels in the carbon atom to the rate at which the universe is expanding, have just the right values for life to exist. Change any of them just a little, and the universe would become hostile to life and incapable of supporting it.

Anyone read it?

Happy Birthday Nicholas

2011-04-25T16:25:00.002+01:00

Nicholas turned one on Easter Sunday. I can't believe how quickly the year has passed and how blessed we are to have him. Having spent the first few days after Nicholas' birth hovering around the Special Care Baby Unit with a paediatrician speaking ominously about meningitis (thankfully, his illness turned out to be much more minor), I have not stopped thanking God for the miracle of modern medicine and the joy this little one gives to all the family. Happy birthday, Nicholas.

On a related note, please pray for a friend of mine who has just got in touch with me to say that her newborn baby, Gabrielle, is seriously ill in intensive care.

Parcels and Pages

2011-04-21T21:17:00.002+01:00

Well, the parcel containing my author copies of Poor Banished Children arrived at the start of the Easter holidays and I have to admit, I still get girlishly excited holding the finished product for the first time. Ignatius has put up a website for the book now that it is on sale. Just out of interest, I don't own a Kindle but I notice that many books are now available in e-form, including mine and there does not appear to be much of a price difference between the electronic and the hardcover versions. Why is that?

Review from Publisher's Weekly

2011-04-08T17:07:00.002+01:00

"De Maria (The Cassandra Curse) writes an absorbing tale replete with Barbary pirates and concubines. In 1640, a badly injured woman washes ashore on the coast of England following an explosion at sea. Warda, the woman, has come a long way from the island of Malta where she was born, and her sickbed confession to a priest is a story of adventure, enslavement, and piracy. Disowned by her family, young Warda is raised by a Catholic priest who teaches her Latin and the healing arts and prepares her to live as an anchorite. But the landing of a pirate ship dashes that, and Warda is captured and sold into slavery in North Africa. Through changing circumstances and locales, she remains fiercely stubborn, balancing a refusal to concede to her circumstances with a ferocious desire to live at any moral cost. The author creates a memorable heroine and renders scenes set in unfamiliar places and times with only a few details and swift dialog. Varying viewpoints provide a fuller portrait of Warda, her aching soul, and her momentous choices. Catholic writer De Maria deserves a wide audience." (March, 2011)

-Publishers Weekly

Man murdered by Chinese Family Planning Officials

2011-04-06T09:26:00.003+01:00

A young man has been stabbed to death by Chinese family planning officials after he tried to stop them beating his father. They had come to Mr Xu's house to take his daughter for a forced sterilisation and began beating him when they could not find her. When his son intervened, he was murdered. The authorities have taken no action against this man's killers and the case has received typically little coverage.

I wonder if politicians and agencies such as IPPF and UNFPA could bring themselves to tell this family that China's one-child policy 'does not involve coercion'?

h/t Women's Rights Without Frontiers

Roll Up! Roll Up!

2011-03-30T21:07:00.003+01:00

Last chance to buy The Cassandra Curse and Father William's Daughter at the current price. Unfortunately, with shipping costs and bank charges escalating, I am going to have to put up the price slightly to £11.99 per book as of 6th April. Sorry about that, but you still have six days to go before the price increase...

Thank you Chile for protecting human life

2011-03-21T17:15:00.000Z

2 Minute Silence for Christchurch

2011-02-28T16:13:00.001Z

A relative based in New Zealand has asked me to pass this on.

A two minute silence will be held across New Zealand on Tuesday 1 March at 12.51pm to remember those who lost their lives to the Christchurch 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday 22 February 2011. Please invite all of your friends to this event so we can get behind the strong residents of Christchurch!

Some Reviews of Poor Banished Children

2011-02-20T20:45:00.002Z

"A soulful, beautifully written, and haunting novel."

- Ron Hansen, NY Times Best-selling Author, Mariette in Ecstasy

"The hypnotic tale of an unforgettable girl who loses everything in the world but her courage -- and the unshakeable knowledge that with every new trial, her soul remains at stake. Set in the terrifying days of Barbary piracy, peopled by both savages and saints, this novel will rivet any reader ever to have felt the forces of evil and redemption. It is a meditation on guilt, innocence, and transcendence that will haunt the reader long after the book is done."

- Mary Eberstadt, Author, The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism

"This is serious fiction with prose that is clean, strong, and worthy. We are drawn into a first-rate story-Corsairs, Barbary pirates, cruelty, slavery, shipwreck, suffering, and heroic sanctity. It has skillful character presentation and true craftsmanship in the narrative: dreams, memory, straight reporting, and confession. Above all, here is the Catholic Faith in all of its depth, radiance, and plenitude."

- Thomas Howard, Author, Narnia and Beyond

Fr Marek Rybinski

2011-02-19T19:23:00.005Z

I have just returned from Mass at a Salesian parish where it was announced that a young Polish Salesian priest, Fr Marek Rybinski, has been found murdered. The 33-year-old was serving with the Salesian community in Tunisia and is the second religious to be killed in Tunisia since the upsurge in violence. The motive for his death is not yet clear: it may have been theft-related or an act of terrorism, but the community is obviously distraught and there are serious concerns about the safety of other members.

Please pray for the repose of Fr Rybinski's soul and for the comfort of his brother priests and his family back in Warsaw.

National Emergency!!

2011-02-18T18:10:00.000Z

Fitzbillies, the famous Cambridge supplier of cakes, buns, pastries and all things too delicious to name, has gone into administration after 90 years. According to the BBC, with rents exceptionally high in Cambridge and aggressive competition from chains, independent establishments like Fitzbillies are struggling - and in many cases failing - to compete. It is horrible to see these wonderful places being driven out and Cambridge becoming yet another of Britain's dreary clone towns.

Fiction and the Dantesque Vision

2011-02-14T16:48:00.006Z

I didn't realise until he referred to it part of the way through the article, that this reflection on being a Catholic Writer was penned by the creator of Fr Dowling Investigates, as the series was known in Britain.

When Dante dedicated the Paradiso to Can Grande della Scala, he said that the literal meaning of the Divine Comedy is the way in which human beings by their own free acts earn eternal punishment or reward. That is the vision of human action that makes fiction Catholic. It is not a matter of having priests and nuns on the set, not a matter of explicit reference to Catholic things, but rather the Dantesque vision. There are priests and nuns in stories that lack this vision; this vision is present where there is nothing peculiarly Catholic in view.

Chen Guangcheng

2011-02-12T08:00:00.000Z

As many of you will know, Chen Guangcheng is the blind lawyer who was imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese authorities for trying to expose thousands of cases of forced abortion. I wonder if the directors of any of the so-called 'pro-choice' agencies which claim that there is no forced abortion in China, could bring themselves to say that to this brave man and his wife, who continue to suffer for challenging a lie with which the West colludes.

This video has been released exposing the misery of house arrest and continuous surveillence that Chen and his family have to live with.

Latest updates from ChinaAid

Chen and wife were beaten for releasing this video! ChinaAid has just learned that on the evening of February 8, Chen Guangcheng and his wife were beaten severely by officers from the Public Security Bureau of Linyi and Shuanghou (Chen's hometown). The violence was inflicted because of the video the couple recorded, which was released yesterday. Chen and his wife were beaten so severely that they are not able to move from their bed, and they were denied the right to go to the hospital for medical care.

Ron Hansen on prejudice among writers

2011-02-11T10:30:00.002Z

This article on American Catholic author Ron Hansen and his experience of anti-Catholic prejudice will ring familiar bells with many Catholics who find themselves facing suspicion and even hostility from people who really should know better.

“The publishing world can make it seem that Christianity in general is benighted, that only uneducated people are interested in it. You can get the feeling that there's a kind of ghetto that you've been put in,” he said.

One famous novelist told Hansen to his face that he hated Catholics. “Well, I'm a Catholic,” Hansen answered him. “He was somewhat embarrassed, but not as embarrassed as he should have been.”

On another occasion a novelist friend suddenly walked out of the room when he found out Hansen was Catholic. A third assumed him to be a “lapsed” Catholic, and upon learning that Hansen actually practiced his faith, said, “That makes me really nervous about you.” That makes Hansen wonder aloud: “Can you imagine saying that to anybody of any other religion?”

A famous actress who will remain nameless to protect the guilty, informed me when I was a teenager facing daily anti-Catholic taunts from an embittered teacher, that Catholics who are bullied 'aren't deserving of any sympathy whatsoever.' After all, she added, wrinkling her nose as though having a Catholic in the same room as her made her feel a little queasy, if Catholics are not prepared to conform to society's expectations, they can suffer the consequences.

I suppose I think that one of the tasks of a Catholic writer - or indeed any Catholic for that matter - is to challenge society's assumption that it is still acceptable to discriminate against any minority which refuses to conform to the status quo. Or perhaps to go a little further and ask, not just 'do you really believe you have a right to bully, insult or silence people because you disagree with them?' but even more 'would you really want to live in a world where you had such a right?'

Just for Fun...

2011-02-09T13:58:00.002Z

I was given a DVD of one of the David Tennant series' of Dr Who for Christmas and had great fun watching the Shakespeare episode with friends. It got me thinking, if you could borrow the Tardis for a day and travel back in time, who would you choose to meet? I have always thought it would be nice to meet Shakespeare for a writing tutorial. As he was sharpening his quill I might even pluck up the courage to ask: "Look Will, are you actually a Catholic? And have you met Robert Southwell? While you've got a moment, what is the point of Titus Andronicus?"

Calling all Medics

2011-02-08T10:28:00.001Z

I would like to inform you of a Catholic Medical Association conference in South East London on Saturday and Sunday March 19-20th 2011.

Excellent speakers will address topics at the heart of medical ethics. This is a spiritual and learning conference for healthcare workers, arranged by the Catholic Medical Association (Kent Branch.)

There will be the opportunity to meet and deepen understanding among practitioners from all disciplines and at all stages. On-site arrangements will available for their care of children who attend with their parents (please make a note of the ages and number of children on booking.)

6 hours of CPD may be gained for medical professionals for attendances on Saturday and Sunday. Certificates of attendance will be available. For full details of the Conference, download the brochure or email the Conference Organiser Wendy Kane.

Do please come if you can and pass this on to others whom you know who might like to attend.

Finally, the National Symposium of the CMA will be in Manchester on the 18th and 19th June. Further details of this event will be in the next edition of the Catholic Medical Quarterly.

Pre-order your copy of Poor Banished Children

2011-01-31T18:32:00.002Z

Poor Banished Children can now be pre-ordered in hardback and paperback on Amazon. Or here for US readers

An inspirational Woman

2011-01-28T10:00:00.000Z

I was saddened to read in The Times of Malta of the death of Annabelle Vassallo, a young Maltese woman who battled cancer for just over four years. A devout Catholic, she became very well-known in Malta particularly after she published a highly successful book charting her struggle to live with cancer. I was very moved by an interview she gave last year and wished I had known her. She comes across as one of those quietly inspirational women Malta gives the world from time to time, who bear witness to the true meaning of dignity and courage in the face of terrible suffering. Requiescat in pace, Annabelle.

Poor Banished Children

2011-01-27T10:37:00.000Z

Here's the blurb...

An explosion is heard off the coast of sixteenth-century England, and a woman washes up on the shore. She is barely alive and does not speak English, but she asks for a priest...in Latin.

She has a confession to make and a story to tell, but who is she and where has she come from?

Cast out of her superstitious, Maltese family, Warda turns to begging and stealing until she is fostered by an understanding Catholic priest who teaches her the art of healing. Her willful nature and hard-earned independence make her unfit for marriage, and so the good priest sends Warda to serve an anchorite, in the hope that his protégé will discern a religious vocation.

Such a calling Warda never has the opportunity to hear. Barbary pirates raid her village, capture her and sell her into slavery in Muslim North Africa. In the merciless land of Warda's captivity, her wits, nerve and self-respect are daily put to the test, as she struggles to survive without submitting to total and permanent enslavement. Slowly worn down by the brutality of her circumstances, she comes to believe that God has abandoned her and falls into despair, hatred and a pattern of behavior which, ironically, mirrors that of her masters.

Poor Banished Children is the tale of one woman's relentless search for freedom and redemption. The historical novel raises uncomfortable questions about the nature of courage, free will and ultimately salvation.

Coming Soon To A Book Store Near You...

2011-01-26T10:32:00.003Z

...which if you live outside the US, Canada or Guildford may be Amazon.

Drum Roll...

Fireworks...

Wish I could be home for Christmas

2010-12-20T15:51:00.002Z

This is for my friend Angela, who is stranded in Washington DC and anyone else facing the prospect of Christmas away from their families.

Dappled Things

2010-12-19T20:44:00.002Z

I have just had the distressing news that the Catholic literary magazine Dappled Things has had a very poor response to its fundraising campaign and may have to close if it does not receive enough financial support. Dappled Things is a unique magazine, offering a platform to Catholic writers who would otherwise be unable to get their poetry and short stories into print, but it is even more than that. I have experienced firsthand how dedicated and supportive the editorial staff at Dappled Things are, I am sure I would have given up altogether by now if it were not for the constructive criticism and encouragement I have had from this wonderful team, far beyond the call of duty. There is such a need to nurture and promote Catholic writing; we Catholics have a rich literary heritage and I long to see the emergence of a new generation of Catholic authors who will continue this proud tradition. If you care about Catholic literature, please consider donating or subscribing to Dappled Things.

Motherhood and Justice

2010-12-09T18:41:00.002Z

If you are looking for an overseas aid agency to support, look no further than MaterCare. They receive no government funding but they are doing groundbreaking work saving lives in the developing world.

Boys!

2010-12-04T09:15:00.001Z

A Dominican friend sent me this video showing the brothers having an irreverent five minutes. Boys! Really!

Free Speech is Not For Sale

2010-11-10T21:37:00.002Z

h/t to Dolphinarium for alerting me to this petition.

This week is the first anniversary of the report Free Speech is Not for Sale, which highlighted the oppressive nature of English libel law; a law which is extremely hostile to writers, while being unreasonably friendly towards powerful corporations and individuals who want to silence critics.

In light of recent events on the British Catholic blogosphere, Catholic bloggers should be particularly aware that English libel law is a pernicious tool in the hands of bullies everywhere.

The English libel law is particularly dangerous for bloggers who are generally not backed by publishers and who can end up being sued in London regardless of where the blog was posted. The internet allows bloggers to reach a global audience, but it also allows the High Court in London to have a global reach.

Priestly bloggers face the additional threat of being abandoned to their fates by the very bishops who should be supporting them as a matter of principle.

You can read more about the peculiar and grossly unfair nature of English libel law at the website of the Libel Reform Campaign. The campaign is not calling for the removal of libel law, but for a libel law that is fair and which would allow writers a reasonable opportunity to express their opinion and then defend it.

The British Government has made a commitment to draft a bill that will reform libel but it is imperative that bloggers and their readers send a strong signal to politicians so that they keep their promise. You can do this by joining me and over 50,000 others who have signed the libel reform petition at

http://www.libelreform.org/sign

You can sign the petition whatever your nationality and wherever you live. Indeed, signatories from overseas remind British politicians that the English libel law is out of step with the rest of the free world.

The Catholic Church saved my life

2010-09-15T08:50:00.001+01:00

As you have probably noticed if you are reading this, I am not blogging very much at the moment. However, I received this email this morning from a woman who asked me to share her story and I felt that it was the least I could do. For reasons that will become obvious as you read through, she has asked to remain anonymous but has felt compelled to write because so many enemies of the Church are taking it upon themselves to speak (shout/rant/scream) on behalf of abuse victims and she wanted to tell her own story about the role the Church has played in her journey of healing.

I have never written or spoken publicly to anyone about the difficult experiences of my childhood and adolescence. But constantly hearing phrases such as “oppressing victims of child abuse”, “supporting abusers”, “covering up abuse” being bandied around by slightly hysterical commentators as general slurs against my faith and my Church, I finally feel compelled to speak.

I grew up in a household where, with one unstable parent and the other in denial about the situation, verbal abuse and domestic violence were sadly commonplace. Trying to avoid being in the firing line of my mother’s terrible and violent rages, to protect my younger siblings, and terrified of intervention by some well-meaning and some not-so-well-meaning social workers, security and a sense of being “care-free” which I have often heard other people talk about when referring to their youth were not amongst my early experiences.

I struggled several times with eating disorders, with depression, and on one memorable occasion seriously contemplated suicide. At the age of 13, my newly-discovered Catholic faith quite literally saved my life. In my early twenties I finally realized that there might be a reason behind my repeated bouts of depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms (panic attacks, repeated nightmares, flashbacks etc). Through a Catholic friend with contacts in Catholic charities I was put in touch with a psychotherapist. After a few sessions, she commented that many people with similar experiences to mine were now dependent on alcohol or drugs, or both, and often on the streets. As a young professional with a degree from a top university and no alcohol or drug problem, I seem to have got off lightly! Again, whilst we must always take free will into account, I think a great deal of the credit for this goes to my faith and to the support of so many within the Catholic Church. It was with the support of a priest that, recently, I was able to contact social services in order to share some of what goes on in my parents’ household, where younger siblings still live, and ask for help for them. Without such support, I would never have dared to take such a step on my own – perhaps I would never have been able to realize the need.

I, like many others, have been shocked, sickened and saddened by the stories of abuse within the Church or institutions of the Church which have emerged recently. I feel that there is nothing I could say to those affected which would really be adequate, but if asked or if they were reading this I would say, simply, that I am sorry for their pain, from the bottom of my heart. Further than that, I don’t think it is appropriate for one person to comment on another’s suffering; just as a doctor should not compare the pain of one patient with the pain experienced by another. No matter how sympathetic others may be, our own sufferings are known only to ourselves and to God.

What I find entirely inappropriate is the use of these terrible stories in a deliberate attack against the faith and the whole Church. I do not generally go around “announcing” my experiences to all and sundry, since they are painful and private things; but I feel sure that there are many “victims of abuse” who have probably suffered much worse and found refuge and solace within the Church. The humble, quiet priest who helped me will never get public recognition since I am not going to disclose his name. Please God, there are many more like him who are so needed in our country.

Every day, I thank God for the gift of the Catholic Church. Without it, I quite literally do not know if I would be alive today to write this. I know now that my life is a beautiful gift from God and it is through the Church that I have learnt this. I am looking forward with great joy to the visit of the Holy Father, and if I were to give one message to him it would be “Thank you, Holy Father”. Many who are speaking about Pope Benedict ahead of this Papal Visit purport to speak on behalf of victims of abuse. They may be saying what seems to them to be true; but they do not tell the whole story. My story is not there and I now want my story to be heard. Saint Paul says “Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you”. This is an account of the hope that is within me.

The Vocation of the Obstetrician

2010-07-30T10:12:00.004+01:00

Having now given birth to three babies, two after long and complicated labours, I am aware that I owe my life and that of my sons to the skill and dedication of obstetricians. I was therefore very interested to hear Robert Walley talking about his understanding of the role of the obstetrician and why he chose this particular specialism.

Boccelli's story

2010-06-10T15:07:00.002+01:00

I am not a great Boccelli fan, but I was touched by his story and thought I would share it.

A child's view of life in detention

2010-05-26T12:25:00.001+01:00

Take a look at Wells Botomani's account of life at Yarl's Wood

Introducing Nicholas Xavier

2010-04-28T14:38:00.003+01:00

Nicholas Xavier was born on Saturday, weighing 9lbs6. We have only just come out of hospital because, unfortunately, Nicholas became unwell shortly after birth and had to be transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit. The moment he stopped breathing is not one I am ever likely to forget, but thank God he is now fully recovered and it is such a joy to be home with him at last.

Reassuring story as I approach 40 weeks

2010-04-13T13:11:00.002+01:00

A came across this story about maternal mortality in the UK, which made me quake (momentarily) in my boots. Apparently, Britain is 23rd in the world for maternal deaths, compared with Malta which is 8th. One of the points made in the article is that Britain is still a very safe place to give birth and that one of the factors that may be pushing up the figures is older women giving birth, which is causing an increase in heart attacks during labour.

One of the points that isn't made in the article which I think needs to be considered is how complacent we have become as a population about maternal health. When I was in labour the first time, I was bullied into going home by a midwife going on about how much more comfortable I would be in 'the comfort of my own home'. I duly started bleeding in the comfort of my own home and it took over forty minutes for me to get back to the safety of the hospital where they could do something about it. I was more fortunate than a woman I know who was told the same thing and gave birth on her sitting room floor. Having said that, before I point fingers at medical professionals, I learnt my own lesson when I contracted an infection after birth and stopped my doctor from calling an ambulance. A doctor friend pointed out afterwards that if a GP asks for your consent to call an ambulance, the correct answer is yes.

"I didn't want to make a fuss," I said.
"Women die from post-partum infections."
Yes, I know, and I give talks on the subject...

Please Mr Landlord...

2010-03-17T09:00:00.002Z

With the due date just one calendar month away, our landlord (pictured - at least I reckon that is probably what he looks like) has decided that this is just the moment to require us to vacate his property so that he can sell it. He is, of course, entirely within his rights to force out a heavily pregnant woman with the minimum legal requirement of eight weeks' notice - and in twenty-first century Britain that is frankly all that matters - but I really do wonder how people like that can sleep at night.

Please spare me a thought as I dash about obscure bits of Guildford looking for an alternative home for the family before the baby arrives, and for the new baby who will be born surrounded by boxes and general upheaval... and indeed for my two other children, who will have a great deal of unexpected change to deal with in the next two months.

Teenage girls and sex

2010-03-12T14:15:00.002Z

Funnily enough, none of them sound like the cheerfully self-assured girlies in the scripted discussions on FPA DVDs...

Six weeks to go

2010-03-07T20:10:00.004Z

I am now officially 34 weeks pregnant, feeling rather tired and anaemic but it's only SIX WEEKS TO GO. I am just over halfway through the first draft of my next book but the prospects of finishing it before my waters break are looking increasingly remote, particularly as I have a feeling this baby is going to come a little early like the others did. An Easter baby would be wonderful.

Pride and Prejudice

2010-03-04T08:25:00.001Z

Couldn't resist posting this telling of Pride and Prejudice in emoticons

h/t His Hermeneuticalness

Talk in York

2010-02-16T19:51:00.005Z

I went up to York last week to give a talk on the New Feminism to the Catholic Chaplaincy and dropped into the Faith Symposium at Ampleforth on the way up. I was made very welcome by the chaplain and the students, given a delicious meal and taken to the pub afterwards, a rare treat now that I have young children. As always, I was impressed by the calibre of the questions - not a cliche in sight. I was quizzed about the socio-economic situation and the difficulties it poses for the majority of women who want to take time out of the workplace to raise their children, how I might answer criticisms of the New Feminism that it is not feminism at all, questions about abortion, the role of fathers and the reasons why so many women and men have rejected feminism.

One question I found particularly interesting was from a black student who pointed out that feminism comes across as very 'white' in that it has always seemed to disregard the experience of women from other countries who, for example, always went out to work because the luxury of staying home was never open to them. A criticism of feminism in the past has been that it is white and middle class, not so much a question of 'votes for women' as 'votes for ladies' and I think that is still a major problem today.

Population theories and Racism

2010-02-06T15:13:00.005Z

I came across this very interesting interview with a leading environmentalist who points out that the primary environmental issue is overconsumption not population.

ML: The first part of your book traces the history of the population control movement and makes some disturbing links between eugenics and the founders of the modern environmental movement. Do you believe that there is a racist element to population control measures?

FP: There has been. I suspect that in some places, there still is. I think it's dying. But we have to be careful to look for it. You can see it as underpinning the notion that it's people in countries far away, with dark skins, breeding, that are damaging planetary systems and are causing greenhouse gases emissions. How dare we! Is there racism in that? I suspect there is a bit.

Fred Pearce also reiterates the warning that some countries in Europe will have lost 80-90% of their populations by the end of the century.

And the food craving of the week is...

2010-02-03T15:03:00.002Z

Aaaargh! I have an overwhelming craving for wine gums. Yes, wine gums. Wine gums of any flavour (except blackcurrent which taste like cough medicine) I'm going to be a toothless diabetic by the end of this pregnancy at the rate I'm going...

Do you like know what I mean?

2010-01-24T10:25:00.003Z

I know this is doing the rounds at the moment, but I loved this video...

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

As to why my generation are incapable (apparently) of speaking with conviction, I think it is very difficult for young people to have any confidence in this regard because we grew up in a culture where the received wisdom was that there are no absolutes/certainties and only the naive or immature fail to realise this.

Medical Ethics Conference

2010-01-16T13:33:00.002Z

I have been asked to advertise this conference which had to be postponed last year due to unforeseen circumstances.

Life and Death Matters: Disability Rights and Incapacity
London Metropolitan University
Monday 29 March 2010

This symposium aims to consider issues in end-of-life care, both proposals for active euthanasia and non-treatment decisions particularly where the patient is no longer competent. It will do so bearing in mind the plethora of financial, medical and research interests that there are in the human body, the costs of healthcare as well as the psychological, moral, and social implications of current and proposed law. Of special interest are the implications of such law for healthcare professionals, patient trust, forensics, disability rights and attitudes of care and protection of the vulnerable. The conference aims to promote a critical evaluation of healthcare provision for the elderly and incapacitated, thereby creating a forum for a wide range of interested parties, including lawyers, patient advocacy groups, policy makers, students, the disabled and healthcare professionals.

Speakers include:

Professor Raymond Tallis, (Writer, Philosopher and Geriatrician) Lord Alex Carlile of Berriew Q.C., (House of Lords) Dr Peter Cave (Chair, Philosophers Section, British Humanist Association) Professor Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff, (House of Lords) Dr Philip Howard, Consultant Gastroenterologist, St George’s Hospital Dr Gillian Craig, MD, FRCP.Vice Chairman Medical Ethics Alliance

6 CPD points available for lawyers. Venue: London Metropolitan University, 16 Goulston Street, London, E1 7TP (Nearest Tube: Aldgate East or 5 min walk London (Liverpool Street Station)

Cost: £65
£25 (discounts available to students, unwaged and certain other participants, please enquire)

Includes light lunch and refreshments

To apply contact:
Claire Keefe: Tel: 0207 320 4950,
Email: c.keefe@londonmet.ac.uk

For further details contact:
Dr Jacqueline Laing: Tel: 0207 320 4930
Email: j.laing@londonmet.ac.uk

A Pregnant Pause (sorry)

2010-01-05T16:04:00.002Z

I have been thinking about blogging over Christmas and have decided that I really need to take a break for a couple of months. I am getting to the stage of the pregnancy where I get very tired and I am frantically busy preparing for the birth of the baby in April and also trying to get the bulk of my next book written before life gets even busier. I will not be able to resist putting up the odd post now and then but will probably not be posting regularly again until Easter.

Happy New Year (belatedly) and a blessed Epiphany.

Happy Christmas

2009-12-24T14:42:00.002Z

"Let folly praise that fancy loves, I praise and love that child Whose heart no thought, whose tongue no word, whose hand no deed defiled." St Robert Southwell

Was Shakespeare a Catholic?

2009-12-22T20:31:00.002Z

Well, this isn't exactly conclusive evidence and I have to admit, I wasn't entirely convinced by Clare Asquith's book either (though it is a great read and I thought that some of the arguments were quite compelling) but it's not a question that is going away any time soon. My supervisor at Cambridge was pretty certain that Shakespeare was at the very least a Catholic sympathiser, and his father's name appeared on a list of Recusants. I think that there are some very strong Catholic references in Shakespeare's plays and poems, which I would like to blog about at a later date, but I am also all too aware of how easy it is to read hidden messages into literature.

It's no good. Somebody is just going to have to unearth an icon with To Master William Shakespeare on the occasion of his Confirmation inscribed on the back. Or something like that.

This Little Babe

2009-12-20T13:28:00.002Z

In celebration of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, here is part of Britten's Ceremony of Carols. I love This Little Babe which, along with Behold a silly tender babe was written by my hero St Robert Southwell.

Sycophant Blair and the Iraq War

2009-12-15T14:16:00.003Z

Sir Ken Macdonald's damning evidence to the Iraq inquiry is certainly frank.

"The degree of deceit involved in our decision to go to war on Iraq becomes steadily clearer. This was a foreign policy disgrace of epic proportions, and playing footsie on Sunday morning television does nothing to repair the damage. "It is now very difficult to avoid the conclusion that Tony Blair engaged in an alarming subterfuge with his partner, George Bush, and went on to mislead and cajole the British people into a deadly war they had made perfectly clear they didn't want, and on a basis that it's increasingly hard to believe even he found truly credible."

What I found most interesting however, was Macdonald's reference to Blair's self-justification.

"Since those sorry days we have frequently heard him repeating the self-regarding mantra that 'hand on heart, I only did what I thought was right'. But this is a narcissist's defence, and self-belief is no answer to misjudgment: it is certainly no answer to death."

Expressions like 'I personally feel very strongly that...' and 'I had to listen to my conscience on this one' are pretty standard excuses used by people like Blair to justify their unethical positions on all kinds of subjects but as MacDonald puts it, self-belief is no answer to death. What consolation is it to the families of the 100,000 Iraqi civilians and the 1000+ soldiers who have died as a result of this conflict if Mr Blair claims to have done what he thought was right?

As the daughter of a former prisoner of conscience I do not need to be educated on the importance of following one's conscience (and yes I have had plenty of lessons from trendy liberal Catholics on that subject in the past, who would never have the guts to go through the hell my father endured) but I also know that the 'I'm following my conscience' line is all too often muddled with 'I just want to do whatever I want and nobody is going to stop me.' Obedience to conscience should never be an excuse for willful ignorance or self-justification, it is an act of obedience, it should involve seeking the Truth, discerning the Truth and obeying the Truth.

A woman at the steps of the guillotine once said: "Oh liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!" It is equally possible to say: "Oh conscience, what crimes are committed in thy name!"

Christmas Reading

2009-12-12T19:19:00.006Z

Hint hint, it's not too late to order yourself a really cheerful Christmas read.

If family disasters are not really your thing, you might like to try Father William's Daughter, which contains a chapter referring to Midnight Mass and Christmas in a West Country market town. And only one or two disasters like violent death...

NB If you are ordering books from outside the UK, please remember to use the International delivery link on the righthand side.

Marital Arts

2009-12-11T20:11:00.001Z

This made me chuckle...

h/t Loving it!

Irena Sendler

2009-12-09T21:30:00.002Z

I came across this amazing story the other day, about a little-known twentieth century heroine, known as the 'female Schindler' who saved the lives of over 3000 Jewish children during the Second World War. As a social worker, Irena Sendler was able to gain access to the Warsaw Ghetto and smuggled out children and babies in boxes, who were then sent to convents, presbyteries and foster families. She kept scrupulous records of the children in jars which she buried in her garden so that she could reunite them with their parents after the War, but tragically the majority of parents were gassed at Treblinka and the children were adopted.

She was eventually arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, but refused to tell them where she had hidden the children's identities, even when they broke her arms and legs. Her friends bribed a Gestapo officer to save her life and she was listed among executed persons. She went into hiding for the rest of the War and died recently at the age of 98.

This courageous Catholic woman was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but was pipped at the post by... Al Gore, a guy who made a slide show about global warming.

Babies

2009-12-08T21:22:00.003Z

I can feel the baby moving about. I am at that pleasant phase of the pregnancy where I can feel reassuring little movements but the baby is not yet behaving as though he is wearing football boots.

What's the protocol these days about talking to toddlers about pregnancy? Is three-years-old too young to understand that there is a baby coming?

'Regret' over sterilisations

2009-12-07T19:53:00.002Z

The Czech government has finally expressed regret for the sterilisation of Roma women without their consent, a practice that went on for decades and, according to activists, continues to this day. Lawyers working for some of the women are demanding financial compensation, but I have a suspicious feeling compensation will not be forthcoming. In any case, it is difficult to see how it could ever be possible to compensate a woman for depriving her of the right to have children.

The Roma community were targetted because they have a high birth rate and favour large families. I have found numerous reports of this story on news sites and a few human rights sites, but no comment from any major women's group. All right, maybe I am just not looking hard enough. Perhaps somebody could point me in the right direction...

Exciting things in the post

2009-12-04T13:56:00.003Z

My advance cheque has arrived - hooray! Oh Frabjuous day! Calloo callay!

Sorry, but you have to understand how seldom junior novelists make any money out of their writing. As Greg Watts put it on his blog once, for every J.K. Rowling, there are thousands of writers like us who don't get the champagne and canopes treatment, but I really don't mind. I have written the first couple of paragraphs of book number 4 and will be working against the clock from now until April to get the first draft substantially completed before the baby pops. Full steam ahead!

The Snowman

2009-12-02T20:20:00.003Z

It being December and bitterly cold, I have introduced my children to that glorious 1980s children's classic The Snowman. They liked it very much, particularly the Walking in the Air sequence and the part where the snowman and the boy go racing around the woods on a motorbike. I was about to get all misty-eyed and hormonal over the ending when I remembered the Irn Bru parody, which put a swift end to that.

Birdsong

2009-12-01T09:00:00.000Z

I am re-reading Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong at the moment. I very rarely read literature about the First World War as I find the subject so distressing, but Birdsong makes compelling if at times unsatisfying reading. I have never really understood why some writers feel the need to describe sexual encounters in such gynaecological detail. It is supposed to be erotic, no doubt, but it just leaves me thinking: "Look sweetheart, do you really think your readers don't know how it happens?"

I remember that with Tim Severin's Corsair - really terrible book about the slave trade, a subject which should provoke powerful emotions, written by a man who just doesn't do big emotion. In that book there is a male rape scene written in such cold, technical detail that it is impossible to feel any pity for the victim at all.

Having said that, one relative of mine who read The Cassandra Curse complained that it was 'a bit explicit' though I have no recollection of having written a single sexually explicit scene. Maybe I need to go back and read through it again. I might shock myself.

Celiboosters

2009-11-30T09:00:00.000Z

I was battling the Christmas shopping crowds over the weekend, looking for a birthday present for a two-year-old friend of my children, when I bumped into two seminarians I know from Faith. I was so completely distracted, what with trying not to run the pushchair over people's toes, ensuring I did not lose Hugh in the melee and keeping a close eye of Francesca's hands in case she started putting shiny objects in her pocket, that I failed to notice until one of them said my name.

I pondered to myself after the welcome conversation, whether the sight of a flustered mother absorbed in a cloud of domestic trivia is one of those celibacy affirmation moments I sometimes hear spoken of. An Australian seminarian I met at my in-laws once said that the correct term for such moments was 'celibooster' (he had appeared in the house just as Francesca was settling down to an episode of the Tombliboos, Hugh was having a hair cut and somebody else was racing around the kitchen).

Of course, you don't have to have children to create a celibooster (I assume I am using the word correctly here - perhaps it is a verb, to celiboost. Doesn't sound right). I was once pouring tea for a group which included several priests and told one of them off for mumbling when I asked him if he wanted milk or not, to be greeted with a cheery voice behind me going: "Three cheers for celibacy! Hip hip..."

Anybody got any celiboosters to share?

First Sunday of Advent

2009-11-29T18:02:00.001Z

Swedish Chefs etc

2009-11-26T22:08:00.002Z

I showed a Swedish friend this clip of the Muppet Show's very own Swedish chef making doughnuts, to see what she made of it. She said she thought he sounded more Danish than Swedish...

Crying Rooms

2009-11-25T19:47:00.005Z

I have always had mixed feelings about the presence of crying rooms in church, but I am coming to feel that they are more of a hindrance than a help to families with small children. There is an excellent crying room at St Joseph's, well equipped with toys and books, which I have used many times with my children, but since we often travel at weekends and find ourselves worshipping at other Catholic parish churches, many of which do not have crying rooms, I have noticed a number of things:

1) The children behave better if there is no crying room or 'play room' as they see it. They sit in the pew next to us, leafing through books or drawing. If they get disruptive, one of us takes them outside to calm down before they come in again.
2) There are more young families present, possibly because they do not feel duty bound to sit apart from the rest of the congregation like outcasts because they have embraced the Church's teachings and been open to life.
3) People are more accepting of the fact that there are children in church because they do not expect them to be shut up out of hearing in a glorified cupboard. When an old lady attacked me for having 'distracting' children, she kept saying, "there is a facility, there is a facility. Your children should be in there."

There may, of course, be space in your average parish church for a whining room, sound proof and preferably invisible as well, for intolerant, self-righteous individuals who think they have a right to attack exhausted parents and drive young families from the Church. Just a thought for parish councils to ponder.

Back to Guildford (and blogosphere)

2009-11-23T20:06:00.002Z

I am back in Guildford after a wonderful long weekend in Cambridge, mostly spent rushing about catching up with as many people as possible. Some of our friends had not seen Francesca since she was eight months old and were quite surprised when she walked through the door, chattering at the top of her voice.

One friend I met up with for coffee is writing a science fiction book. Sci fi is a genre I know very little about as it has never been a great favourite of mine. Anyone know anything about the sci fi market at the moment? Who publishes it/reads it?

Books, pancakes and good company

2009-11-19T16:32:00.004Z

The book launch was great, even though I found standing for any length of time quite difficult and I really REALLY fancied a glass of wine, nice though the elderflower cordial was. It was good to meet up with a few friends I haven't seen for ages like Mulier Fortis, his Hermeneuticalness and Sr Gemma Simmonds. I was sorry to hear from Sr G that one of my old teachers has been battling cancer for a year and had to undergo horrific surgery. Prayers would be appreciated.

After the launch party, a group of us went to a Polish restaurant for a quick meal and I indulged in a plate of potato pancakes with sour cream and apple sauce. Heavenly after a long day.

(...and yes, I have shamelessly pinched this photograph from Mac's blog)

Book Launch

2009-11-18T13:43:00.002Z

I am off to the Brompton Oratory this evening for the launch of English Catholic Heroines and an evening of orange juice and canopes. I do enjoy book launches and the good thing with being a contributor rather than sole author is that you don't feel under quite so much pressure and get to enjoy the whole experience.

Dr Edward Erin

2009-11-17T13:11:00.003Z

A senior doctor has been jailed for six years after being convicted of spiking his pregnant mistress' drinks in an attempt to cause an abortion. Dr Erin had - by all accounts - made strenuous efforts to persuade the lady to undergo an abortion and took matters into his own hands when she refused. Despite his failure to kill his own child, it was a horrific case, clever and calculated in its execution, which a friend of mine described as "the kind of bizarre evil which Agatha Christie writes about."

The question that is not being asked in the wake of this disturbing case is the extent to which Dr Erin's behaviour is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coercive and forced abortion. His actions may have been extreme, but I know from experience working in the pro-life movement, that there are plenty of little Dr Erins around who persuade, bully and emotionally blackmail their girlfriends into abortions and get away with it. Look at a website like Abortion Changes You, where women post their experiences of abortion and so many of them refer to a boyfriend who 'said he'd walk out on me', 'told me I was stupid to forget my Pill', 'said it was all my fault and I'd let him down' or 'just told me to get rid of it.'

During a campaign at Cambridge, the argument "most of us just wouldn't have a choice" was used with wearisome regularity by people who in the same breath defended their position with "it's all about choice." The boyfriend is not always the culprit. I once had a tearful student tell me that when she told her mother she was pregnant, shortly before travelling to England to start her studies, her mother frogmarched her to the doctor to get the RU-486 drug and commanded her to take them, telling her she was a stupid girl who had let everyone down.

The dogma of choice is trotted out as though it were infallible and beyond question, but question it we must. We are obliged to ask - whose choice are we talking about? The boyfriend's choice? The pushy mother's choice? Society's choice?

Fish and Chips

2009-11-14T13:54:00.003Z

I have been camping out with the children at my parents' house all week as our boiler is awaiting repair and the house is absolutely freezing - not good since both children had streaming colds earlier in the week.

Last night, thanks to a babysitter, we all went to St George's for a parish fish 'n chip supper and quiz. We called our team The Knights of Malta (I originally thought of The Guildford Five but thought it would be in rather poor taste). We won and the prize, appropriately enough, was a box of Maltesers...

C.S. Lewis on Love

2009-11-12T20:43:00.002Z

I can't say I agree with everything C. S. Lewis writes in The Four Loves but I was reminded of this quotation earlier today when I was looking up a friend on Facebook and found it on her profile.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. Not even an animal. Wrap it carefully with hobbies and luxuries, avoid all entanglements and keep it safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in the casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable".

I suppose it strikes a chord with me because I feel that my generation were brought up to be very cynical and emotionally detached from everything. At school, being passionate or sensitive was treated as though it were a character flaw that needed to be ironed out. Admirable people were calm, cold, more likely to greet the world with a sneer than a smile, the sort of people who 'didn't let anything get to them' and were safe behind their wall of ironic detachment. Mature people didn't let their feelings get a look in, they didn't even do foolish things like get married because it could be 'such a lonely and depressing existence' which presumably involved giving your heart to someone else and taking the risk it might be broken.

Looking back, I am grateful for my Maltese upbringing and the gift of the Catholic Faith for ensuring that, when I faced two choices - a safe, heartless hinterland or the adventure of love with all its risks and struggles - that only one choice was possible.

Now I walk alone...

2009-11-11T20:50:00.006Z

The Wind on the Downs

I like to think of you as brown and tall,
As strong and living as you used to be,
In khaki tunic, Sam Brown belt and all,
And standing there and laughing down at me.
Because they tell me, dear, that you are dead,
Because I can no longer see your face,
You have not died, it is not true, instead
You seek adventure in some other place.
That you are round about me, I believe;
I hear you laughing as you used to do,
Yet loving all the things I think of you;
And knowing you are happy, should I grieve?
You follow and are watchful where I go;
How should you leave me, having loved me so?

We walked along the tow-path, you and I,
Beside the sluggish-moving, still canal;
It seemed impossible that you should die;
I think of you the same and always shall.
We thought of many things and spoke of few,
And life lay all uncertainly before,
And now I walk alone and think of you,
And wonder what new kingdoms you explore.
Over the railway line, across the grass,
While up above the golden wings are spread,
Flying, ever flying overhead,
Here still I see your khaki figure pass,
And when I leave the meadow, almost wait
That you should open first the wooden gate.

Marian Allen

Cambridge Medical Ethics Forum

2009-11-10T19:56:00.004Z

I paid a brief visit to Cambridge yesterday evening to give a talk to the Catholic Medic Ethics Forum at the Chaplaincy. The debate in the taxi from Cambridge station to Fisher House was almost more animated than the discussion after my talk, as the driver insisted on quizzing me about 'this view that women have to have as many children as possible and sit at home with them. Then when the kids grow up, sit at home with the grandchildren.'

I did my best to explain the Church's teachings and battled the feeling that nothing I said would make any difference. By the end, however, he sounded slightly embarrassed about bringing up the subject in the first place, perhaps because he had not expected me to argue with him. Good to know that none of the Church's other teachings - the divinity of Christ, the Resurrection of the body etc - are remotely problematic, since I never get questioned about them by members of the public.

It felt surprisingly normal to be back in the oh-so-familiar library where I spent so much time as a student and I was impressed by the group who turned up. I was talking about abortion, the law, the Church's position, conscientious objection and common arguments in the abortion debate. There was time for questions afterwards and some informal chat before a friend dropped in to take me back to her house for a bite of supper and an early night.

Remembrance Sunday

2009-11-08T16:50:00.000Z

Ninety-one years since the Armistice, the First World War has finally passed out of living memory and this is the first Remembrance Sunday where there are no First World War veterans to lay a wreath for their fallen comrades. I thought it would be fitting to commemorate the occasion with one of Wilfred Owen's poems, as so many of us first learned about the horrors of that War by studying the poetry of men like Owen, Rosenberg, Brooke, Nichols and Sassoon, few of whom lived to see the Armistice.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Wilfred Owen

Society of Authors

2009-11-07T16:19:00.003Z

I am now officially a member of the Society of Authors. The membership card arrived in the post this morning, along with the membership pack and I felt more than a little excited to have joined a community of authors. The membership fee is well worth it for the free legal advice they offer, particularly as I still qualify for the youth rate.

On top of this, there are discounts at certain bookshops and they offer regular seminars and workshops on different aspects of the writing profession. I am particularly keen to go to one of their workshops on how to do a reading. I am used to public speaking, but there is something peculiarly terrifying about reading your own fiction in public. Not sure what it is exactly, but the very idea fills me with a certain panic.