williamonthehill

A Lamp to my feet and a light to my Path

Over this weekend I am writing my presentation on Sacred Scripture for the parish RCIA class. I have before me the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Compendium of the CCC, the Bible, and a copy of the Vatican II document Dei Verbum (God's Word). I first encountered the latter on my Divinity course at Maryvale (alas, never finished). It is perhaps one of the best documents to come out of that Council of the Church; well written and a good guide to the study, interpretation and use of Holy Scripture in the Church.

It has always been a source of sadness to me that so many Catholics tell me that they "cannot", or "must not", or "are not allowed to" read Holy Scripture. Even sadder are those Catholics who cannot see the point of reading Scripture. It was Saint Jerome who said that "Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ". This is so true.

I am, of course a convert to Catholicism and it is because I have a Protestant background that I have a good grounding in reading Scripture (although I also have some 'bad' (protestant) habits such as taking a verse of scripture out of context in order to prove a point!).

I am a Reader in my parish and so I have good reason and purpose in reading Scripture to myself regularly. It is important that the Reader is familiar with, and understands what they have to read. It helps to be able to understand the context, the historical era, the meaning and the accepted Church interpretation.

But above and beyond all the above reasons; I just love the Word of God. It fills me up to overflowing with Love and thankfulness that I can Listen to His Word and obey His Teachings. Amen.

The last day of a temping social worker

I have finished my last day as a temp. I got my time sheet signed off and delivered it to my agency by hand. It was a really liberating experience. I have been a temp now since May 2001 with an approximate two year break to nurse my dying father. It has been seven years too long. I have had some wonderful experiences and some really horrid experiences. I learnt to adapt quickly, to respond to what the client wanted, to hit the ground running (often). I have worked with some really wonderful colleagues and I have worked with some right stinkers. All of it has been a wholly valuable learning experience and it has gone into making me the social work practitioner that I am. Without those experiences I might not have been offered the post I am about to start.

I have worked all over London and beyond. From Camden to Southwark, Hammersmith to Redbridge, and even in Epsom! I confess, that is an aspect of temping which I shall not miss - the sometimes long commute morning and night.

I have my memories and I have my CV to prove my scars! I will not miss being a temp. Hello job security. Hello regular monthly salary. Give me the forms to join the pension scheme!

New Job

The reason for a slow down of new entries has been that over the past three weeks I have been busy finding a new job. And now I can report that my search has been successful! On Monday I commence a new, permanent job with the Westminster Drug Project as the Senior Practitioner (manager) of the Croydon Arrest Referral Scheme. I will have a team of six workers under my authority and will be working in partnership with the Police, Criminal Courts, Probation, NHS, Social Services and other voluntary agencies. I am looking forward to the challenges the new job will bring.

I have been working as a temporary (Locum) social worker since 2001 and while I have enjoyed the variety and the flexibility that such working brings I have not enjoyed the financial insecurity and the lack of security and of 'roots'. It seems peculiar to say this if one has never worked as a 'temp', but I will actually get a small buzz out of having 'my own' desk on which I can put my books and a photo or two of the family.

Monday will be a good day.

The BBC Brand

Been quite a while since the last Blog. Really busy and lots of interesting stuff has just passed me by. Can't let the current 'Bash the BBC' spectacular own goal pass by without just a teeny comment.

I have never found Russell Brand to be at all funny. Sorry, his humour is just not mine. As for Jonathan Ross... Well, I can't see the point of him. Talentless, humourless, can't sing, can't dance - just what does he do to earn his £16,000 a day licence fee payers money? Answers on a small postcard please. The 'joke' of leaving a truly smutty, nasty message on an old man's answer maching - well, please how funny is that? I mean, really.Not funny at all and you just wouldn't do it. But to do it and broadcast the deed for all to hear. Truly, the mind boggles. Welll, mine does anyway but then, I have a mind to boggle.

What I find interesting is that this issue has identified the divide in modern society, namely that between the young, and the old. People like me, of a certain age and generation have found this entire sorry, sad affair shocking and outrageous. This is 'Auntie Beeb' for goodness sake!  'Yoof' on the other hand, e.g. anyone under about the age of 35, found the skit falling down laughing funny and can't see what the fuss has all been about.

In common with most mass media the BBC has placed itself in total thrall to the 'yoof' market and has been desperate to broadcast, commission and otherwise cater to, this alleged market. The reality of course is far different. I don't think you require a Focus group and online surveys to realise that the majority of regular BBC listeners and viewers are likely to be over the age of 40. Mark Thompson might have been ill-prepared and shocked by the response to the Brand/Ross 'skit' but he ought not to have been. And even if he wasn't briefed, the head of Radio Two who has just fallen on her sword, certainly knew better as her background has been entirely in marketing the BBC.

The reputation of the BBC has been badly dented by this episode, questions have been asked in Parliament and I would not be at all surprised if the Government of the day, of whatever party that might be, doesn't take another, more serious look at the way that the BBC is currently funded and decide that it  should go to the market place for its funding like all other Broadcasters.

Libraries for the 21st Century

The Minister for Culture, Margaret Hodge has been at it again. Celebrating Labour's keeness for dumbing down I mean. This time she was addressing the Association of London Chief Librarians. She told delegates that although spending on libraries had risen by 17 per cent in the past ten years, the number of books borrowed had dropped by 34 per cent. 

I can give Ms Hodge an explanation as to why the number of books borrowed from public libraries has dropped. My local library suffered (I use the word advisedly) a make-over about 18 months ago. Gone are librarians (customer assistants now, mostly volunteers, mostly part-time, none of 'em trained librarians). Books and other media are checked in and out via a self-service electronic machine. But the worse part of the new library is that the book stock was reduced by nearly two-thirds. Basically, there are fewer books to borrow. This library appears geared for the under 25 image and not word obsessed 'yoof culture'.  Heaps and stacks of CD's, Playstation games and 'graphic novels' but precious few books one actually would like to read. And a bias towards 'Mills & Boon' and 'Ethnic literature'.

Mrs Hodge thinks that libraries are 'not in touch' with modern culture (whatever that is) and should site themselves in shopping malls and supermarkets and invite Starbucks, Costa or whoever to host a library in their shops. Libraries should issue loyalty cards to encourage book borrowing.

Tim Coates, former managing director of Waterstone’s and author of the library report Who’s in Charge? Responsibility for the Public Library Service, said: “Book collections have become poor to the point of uselessness and that is a problem which is not addressed by clubcards or Costa coffee shops. Good coffee doesn’t make a poor bookshop into a good one – and neither will it do so for a library.”

I agree entirely with Mr. Coates. We do need better investment in our public libraries which means more, and more books, not less.

The Minister of Culture also called for libraries to provide a web-based lending service with home delivery, allowing books to be borrowed in Bromley and returned in Barnet. Preempting questions about how her proposals would be funded, she said that “there ought to be scope for efficiencies through greater collaboration”.

There is a story of a large London Borough which commissioned an expensive consultancy on the local library service. Apparently the principle consultant visited the Chief Librarian in the central library to discuss the prelimminary findings. As the meeting drew to its close the consultant, looking around at his surroundings commented that the central library embraced exactly all the problems that encapsulated the public library service in that borough - far too many books on long and high shelving.

You couldn't make it up!