Libre Office triumphant

Eddie and Ann have been enjoying the garden, and strolls on the beach at La Cala this last couple of days. We went to Mijas pueblo for lunch and a walk around yesterday. Today, I celebrated the Annunciation a day late at St Andrew's, and did some preparatory work for the Good Friday Vigil at the Cross. When it came to prepare the St John Passion dialogue, I realised I didn't have a suitable text anywhere in my archive, so I had to download one and then edit it into an A5 leaflet format. Working with MS Office 2003 on the Chaplain's laptop, using first Publisher and then Word was infuriatingly frustrating, as neither program would let me control the pre-set format, and text wouldn't display as I wanted it. I wasted a couple of hours on this and then give up and went home feeling most annoyed. 

After lunch, I had another go with the same text I'd downloaded, and in half an hour had a print ready document, using the latest version of Libre Office. Each new edition marks an improvement on the previous one. It gives me all the control I need where I need it, and these days loads up and runs almost as quickly as MS Office, a credit to the work of hundreds of volunteers who had worked on code revision over the past couple of years. I've used Libre Office and Open Office before it, with loyalty, although never exclusively, as there have been times when I needed to use MS Publisher for special booklet production. I keep a copy on one of my several machines. All the rest have Libre Office. Why would I bother to buy a Microsoft product which insists it knows better than I do what I want and how I should do it. However inefficient and quirky my productivity habits are, I remain the best judge of what gets the job happily done. And in almost all cases these days that means Libre Office. Well done you guys!

  

Epiphany Sunday farewell

Clare and I went to the eight o'clock Eucharist at St Catherines before breakfast and helping Rachel pack everything ready to depart. As her Mac is currently unserviceable, I've given her my little HP 11.6" travelling laptop to take back with her. It's been a constant companion in my travels over the past three years - Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, North Wales, Kenilworth. I think I may miss it. O wonder if I shall get along as well with the new 14" touchscreen machine - less eye strain hopefully.

Last night I discovered Libre Office wasn't working, possibly due to an installation error when I updated a few days ago, or else something I did when removing all my data to make way for hers. So be it, I set about downloading and re-installing afresh, but the TalkTalk Broadband internet connection was so erratic, stopping and starting as it often does in the evening and at night, that the installation file download failed twice, and then a third time while acquiring a copy of Foxit Reader. After a half hour wasted waiting for downloads to throw up error messages, I looked in my new laptop's download folder and found a copy of Libre Office I could transfer and use to re-install, and all was well.

We left in reasonable time and arrived at Thatcham in good time for a fine Sunday dinner of roast lamb, followed by trifle. We made our goodbyes and headed back down the M4 while there was enough light for Clare to drive half the distance. As soon as we were home and fed, Clare took down the cards and un-decorated the Christmas tree. No point in waiting for the real Epiphany day tomorrow, now that our magic month of family togetherness is over, I guess.

Review of life

A quick visit to the doctor this morning for my annual 'hypertension review' which, I suppose, is to check if my condition has changed and if the medication is still doing its job. Some time ago, using a blood pressure measuring device at home, I discovered that the first few readings were invariably high., and then it levelled off. Whenever I went for a checkup at the surgery, the result of their measurements was generally similar, causing furrowed brows of concern, and another visit to schedule. Over the past year I have shed excess weight and changed eating and drinking habits, perhaps as a result of spending four months in Mediterranean lands. When you feel really well and fairly fit, what's to worry about? 

After my previous visit I indulged in a spell of obsessive behaviour and took my BP twice daily, before during and after our holiday in Pembrokeshire, taking readings multiple times and averaging them out after eliminating the highest and lowest pair, each time. I was satisfied with the outcome of three weeks' effort, and showed the chart I'd compiled in 'Libre Office' to my long suffering GP, who graciously accepted that it showed nothing to worry about. On average it's lower than it was a year ago, lower than when I retired, lower than when I was compelled to close down St James' church and clear the building with very little support from on high. Stress can certainly be very damaging to middle aged clerics at risk of forgetting to look after their health properly, and that was certainly the case with me five years ago. But you learn the hard way, don't you? 

The freedom of retirement has done me a power of good. I still take on responsibilities and enjoy the work I get asked to do, but the pressure and stress of obligation that goes with being a licensed office holder of the church, depending on it for accommodation and income, is no longer there. When I was younger, being provided for, not having to worry about money or shelter was a blessing, and all that was asked of me was that I should flourish in ministry wherever I was planted. I think I did my best, but as the decades rolled by, it became increasingly difficult to feel satisfied with my best, ever inadequate to a situation changing for the worse. I guess that's how family carers for highly dependent sick people may feel, when it seems nothing they can do will make their loved one better - hence the stress.

Three years into retirement I make every opportunity I can to support colleagues and congregations that need gaps in pastoral care plugging. I'm aware it's appreciated. Occasionally I wish there was something more in depth I could do, working with groups or individuals to grow their faith. Being available here and there as a locum pastor is a bit like being a bee or a butterfly flitting from plant to plant - an analogy I recall hearing from Ken Cracknell, an itinerant inter-faith theologian thirty years ago - I must remind myself that all that flitting around is a means of cross-pollination, bringing fresh insight while rehearsing ancient truth.. Whether that contributes to ultimate fruitfulness, we may never know.