I have had a comment asking me why nothing was happening on this blog. Simply I bought a house, with money inherited from my late father. It is in a village between Mayenne and Le Mans, and the house has needed a certain amount of preliminary work before progressively moving in from my rented house near Ambrières les Vallées.

Those of you who frequent Facebook can find photos and commentaries. I have named the house Rievaulx after the great Cistercian abbey in the Rye Valley in Yorkshire. My home is not a monastery and I am not a monk, but I feel inspired by the spirit of the Rule of St Benedict. I am also a fan of St Aelred, the Abbot of that community in the twelfth century, and his writings on friendship. Please ignore the claims of certain contemporary identity agenda groups on St Aelred. Rievaulx was also a place where I was taken by my grandparents who lived at the time in Pickering. This Abbey has figured many times in my dreams.

My immediate objective is to clear my rented house and get everything here by the end of March, and then deal with the house progressively. This is not a modern house, but an old building, possibly medieval in origin and renovated in the 1920’s. Never rip anything out unless you have an immediate solution to replace it! Too many owners demolish things in a spirit of contempt, and then become discouraged. We need to be realistic. Also, I am something of a “hard bastard” and have less need for modern comforts. I am writing this in  10°C!

I beg of my readers a little patience before getting back to philosophical and theological subjects. Already, I have my office (scriptorium) fully operational and my library is taking form. I need to transport my pipe organ as I have done before. It’s all happening.