On my way here.  Ten hours on the train means time to write an essay on pastoral mentoring and hopefully to do some reading on literary theory.  Posting it might make it happen!  Looking forward to catching up with loads of folk from all over the place; looking forward to hearing some good speakers on intersting topics; looking forward to bringing back some new ideas and impetus for life 'up north.'  I may even bring back a stick of rock, you never know (... thinks, oh no, does that open another confectionery-related 'can of worms'... Edinburgh rock vs seaside rock... these really are not even vaguely similar!).

Being good and doing some online searching for my mentoring essay (meant to have 10 books and 3 journal articles to appease UWS and not allowed the kind of bibliography I'm used to where you don't have to cite everything you list). University of Manchester e-resources include Eighteeth Century documents that have been scanned.  Among them was this:

The Female Mentor, or Selected Conversations

Pseudonymous authorship 'Honoraria' London 1793

Not quite what I'm after but does connect up the two avenues of study I'm ostensibly involved with.

Just trying to see how I can justify citing it in my mentoring essay!!

This week seems to have seen news media at its least responsible.  A leaked memo cited ad nauseam to ensure maximum offence could be caused and the tireless reporting of a gaff by the PM heard only because someone failed to switch off a microphone.  Don't really see either as news myself, but tyg.  Anyway this from Kester (HT Maggi Dawn) lends a bit of perspective and humour to the situation.

If you are after some prayers you can use to help prepare for the elections next week then how about here or here or if you are looking for some that have a political theme but not explicitly for the elections here.  Please be aware of copyright and make sure you acknowledge as appropriate.

It is feasible some of these may feature next Wednesday evening in our Eve of Election Service, so don't be too surprised if you're there and think 'hmm, seen that before'.

A query arose over the language we use in minutes of church-related  meetings: how should people be identified?  Am I to be called Rev. (or Revd) Gorton or Catriona Gorton or just Catriona?  And does it matter?

It reminded me of the first ever church meeting at Dibley when I was asked what I should be called.  I said 'Catriona, that's my name,' which caused some consternation for those who felt it really chould be Reverend Gorton.  Six years later I had a sly chuckle when one of the most formal of our folk was introducing me to someone: 'this is our minister, Reverend Gorton, but we call her Catriona'

So, if you want to be very formal, I have Rev./Revd before my name and a minimum of 26 letters after it (reduced from 27 when one professional body changed its name!).  Which is of course why I really need to get a doctorate like an additional cranial orifice.