R34 Restaurant India of Inchinnan

It was a pleasant warm day today. I got some stuff done in the garden. We went over to Paisley for 1pm Mass. On the way back home, we stopped off at the R34 restaurant for lunch.

The site where India of Inchinnan now stands was first used by William Beardmore and Company for the construction of airships during World War Ι. The company flourished for a number of years, successfully producing many of the R series airships, including the R34. The R34 aircraft completed the first transatlantic air crossing in both directions in 1919. Leaving Britain on 2nd of July the aircraft arrived in Mineola, Long Island, on 6th of July after a flight of 108 hours.
Despite the company’s successes, with the end of World War Ι came a slump in the aircraft manufacturing industry. Decreased demand resulted in the closure of the business in October of 1922.
Five years later, India Tyres purchased the site to house their tyre factory.

I recommend a visit here for lunch.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. It's been Wednesday since I woke up....and it's still Wednesday.

We were expecting a plumbe this morning, but he was delayed on another job. So we'll see him Saturday.

It's been a casual day. I did pop over to B&Q to buy some more red stone chippings for the path. It's over 60's day.....10% discount.....place is always jumping on that day. Clever move by B&Q!!!!

I got an e-mail from actor son John. He had flown from san Francisco to Malawi a couple of weeks ago. He flew in a plane.......not.....ok.

He has written music for a performance at the Edinburgh Festival. It's about Madonna and her acquiring of children in Malawi.

The producer asked John to go out there and rehearse with the cast.

He was there a week.

On his return to San Francisco, he brought with him a little tummy bug. He ended up in the ER room on a drip. He was dehydrated and could not get rid of the bug. Luckily he had insurance, and they paid the bill. He is left quite weakened. Notdoing his usual morning jogging. Says he now knows what it feels like to be old.......who is he referring to?????????? Where's my will........

He will be cmong over to Scotland at the start of August for the Festival. And he also has a part in a play opening in the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh in September...Confessions of A Justified Sinner.

Looks like we will be seeing a lot more of John this early autumn.

Beware...this means the Martians will be back on the street busking....you have been warned!

The photo is John in Malawi. A cruel person said he was not rehearsing the songs....he was teaching them to say "John Kielty".....naughty.....

Fr McGinty's Funeral Mass

This morning we celebrated the Funeral Mass of Fr. McGinty. It was a privilege to share in it. The church was packed. The altar was filled with priests from all over the Diocese to concelebrate with Archbishop Conti.

Everything about the Mass was just right. There was dignity, there was respect, there was wonderful singing. And there was silence in Church before, during and after the Mass.

Speaking personally, I find it sad that there can be so much noise before and immediately after many Masses. It can be hard to find a few moments of quiet reflection after so many Masses. Today there was no noise, no chatter, no laughter. And for me, that added to the solemnity of the occasion. Everyone was aware that this was not a time for idle chatter and gossip.

Reverence is one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and silence during Mass is surely a sign of reverence. It demonstrates that we are aware that in Mass, we are in the Presence of God, hidden in the Tabernacle under the appearance of bread. Over recent years, that reverent silence has been lost. Not deliberately. It has just slowly disappeared. I am now aware that some priests are trying to restore that silence with little "Silence Please" notices. Please God, we will all re-find our sense of reverence at Mass.

Today was a fitting celebration of the 40 plus years that Father McGinty spent as a Priest of the Catholic Church. It was strange to see the photograph of a younger Fr. McGinty in the Mass booklet. I nearly did not recognise him!

We will all miss him and we will keep him in our prayers. If he does not need them, then I am sure he will make excellent use of them for those are in need of prayers.

And his sermons......someone should turn them into a book! Often, a sermon is something to be endured. Not so Father Mc Ginty's!! We looked forward to them. You always learned something about God, or Bible history, or Jewish life and practices. There was never a wasted word.

May he rest in Peace.

Fr.McGinty Comes Home

At 5pm this evening, the coffin bearing the body of our beloved Parish Priest was brought to St. Patrick's Church in Old Kilpatrick...his church.

The church was filled.....standing room only. That in itself speaks volumes.

His mother, and other members of the family were there. I hope it gave them some comfort to see so many folk there to welcome him home and to spend an hour praying for him. A number of his brother priests were in attendance too.

There were many tears quietly shed. I suppose because it became even clearer tonight that he is not here anymore...that we will not share the Mass with him here.

It was a quiet, dignified service, led by his holiday relief, Fr. Austin from Malawi. He spoke eloquently of Fr McGinty. He has been a great comfort to all of us in the parish since last Sunday. He has said mass every morning for the repose of the soul of Fr McGinty.

It seems a little sad that tomorrow he will be moving to another Parish.

At 6.30pm, the coffin was taken from St Patrick's to St Stephen's in Dalmuir. The body will lie before the altar all night until the funeral Mass tomorrow at 11.30am. (It would have been fitting to have had the funeral mass in St Patrick's, but obviously it is too small to hold all who will wish to attend.)

The service at St Stephen's was dignified too, with many parishioners from many parishes, and many priests. Fr. Tartaglia gave a fitting homily that matched the mood of the evening.

Fr McGinty may not be here, but he is not gone. He has simply moved on to the reward that awaits his selfless work as a priest. For him I am sure there are no tears of sadness. They are reserved for us here still on Earth who mourn him. The readings tonight were full of the promises of Christ...."There are many rooms in My Father's House....."

I am sure Fr. McGinty would not wish us to grieve overlong for him. He was so full of joy and peace. But he will allow us a few more tears tomorrow. Then he will stand waiting for us at Heaven's door, the way he used to stand at the church door at the end of Mass. The only difference will be, instead smiling ans saying "Bye - Bye,"....he'll be smiling and saying..."Hello....I've been waiting on you!"

Eternal Rest grant unto him o Lord,

And let perpetual light shine on him.

Amen.

Fr Austin

After Mass yesterday morning, we checked whether Fr Austin was ok for shopping. But another parishioner had already seen to that for him. It would appear though, that the Diocese is not directly funding him. No sure of the details.

We went down to Dumbarton to get some hanging baskets, then on the way past the Chrch, we popped in to see if he wanted to go for a coffee. He was quite pleased. We took him over to the Erskine Hospital tea room. Then, we did a "Church Crawl"of all the churches in Clydebank. We got into St Mary's, and St. Margaret's in Whitecrook. The others were closed and there was a wedding about to begin at OHR. Still, he enjoyed seeing the area.

We hope to be able to take him, if he is still around, to the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre. Father knows of Livingstone and is keen to see that, and Loch Lomond.

We are very fortunate that to have a priest available to us at this time.

Tomorrow, Fr McGinty's body will be received into St Patrick's at 5.30pm.

A Slow Day

This was one of those days where I could not find much energy.

We did get to morning Mass. So that is something.

When I went out into my garden later, I discovered that some concrete pieces had fallen from where the house wall meets the roof. A quick call to the Council brought 2 men with ladders to remove the rest of the loose concrete. We are current.y awaiting a new roof....the present one is collapsing.....there is a huge hollow at the back, and one developing at the front. Only been waiting 2 years. Somebody did not record the repair 2 years ago. Hope they hurry.

Father McGinty's Funeral

There was still a sense of disbelief at morning Mass today.

Fr McGinty's brother was there this morning. I was at primary school with him hundreds of years ago at OHR.

We were given the proposed details of father's funeral, but these are not final yet.

His body will be brought to St Patrick's next Monday at 5pm. It will lie there till 7pm, when it will be taken to St Stephen's to lie in front of the altar all night.

The funeral Mass will be on Tuesday at around 11.30am.

It is as many of us expected. St Patrick's, his own Parish Church is just too small to hold all those who will wish to attend the funeral Mass. I expect even St Stephen's will not hold all who will want to attend to pay their last respects.

I have been thinking about priests. They come in many shapes and forms, with many different characters. Theirs is a difficult, lonely life. It is truly a vocation.

I am reminded that whenever I see a priest, I see someone God called to the priesthood, not someone who just decided to become a priest.

I have to confess that there are priests who disappoint me by the way they introduce gimmics into Mass, alter the words that should not be altered, fail to follow the proper rubrics. Fr McGinty always said his Masses with great care and devotion.

We should keep all priests in our prayers. They need them. Fitting that just a few weeks ago we were able to pick up a prayer leaflet from the back of the Church with a special prayer for priests.

We moved to St Patrick's when our Parish in Dalmuir was closed. We felt very quickly at home there, and in no small way due to the friendliness of Fr McGinty. He was always smiling, never bad tempered, never laboured the obvious in his sermons, never went on about money and collections. And he was always there at his post near the door at the end of mass with a word for everyone. We will miss him too at the short monthly Padre Pio Prayer group after the First Saturday morning Mass.

In case anyone wonders about the photos in recent blogs, I took them in various churches in Sao Paolo (Brazil) where I was the week before Christmas in 2008

The Day After

We went to 10am Mass this morning in St. Patrick's. There is still a great sense of shock....of loss...of sadness.

We know that Fr McGinty has been called home by his Loving God. We know that he has earned his rest. We know that no one dies by accident....that we die when it is our time. When hopefully we have completed that part of God's plan given to us. A part that we might never know or understand.

The sadness is ours. Father was not there this morning telling us at the beginning of Mass who the Saint of the Day was. He was not standing there at the door after Mass sharing a word with each of us as we left the Church.

I am sure Father is already in Heaven. But he was first of all a man, with the weaknesses and failings of all men. So he might be in need of our prayers. So we will continue to pray to God for the repose of his soul.

There is a lesson for us in this event....a reminder...that we do not know the day or hour of our own death. We should live each day as if it were our last.

I am reminded of the short little prayer about death known to many catholics, asking the Holy family for their help at the moment of our death.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary and Jospeph, may I breathe forth my soul in Peace with you.

Amen.

Fr Desmond McGinty RIP PP St Patrick's Old Kilpatrick

Shortly before 6pm Mass tonight, we were informed that our Priest, Fr McGinty had died suddenly during the night. It was the last thing any of us expected to hear, even though Fr was not a young man.

He had been away on holiday. A priest from Malawi had been covering for himuntil his expected return to the Parish on Tuesday. Fr McGinty had returned on Saturday and was staying with his elderly mother. After dinner, he retired to his room, where he died during the night.

The news has come as a great shock. Father was a kind, gentle man and I never heard anyone say a bad word against him.

He said 4 Masses every weekend. A Saturday vigil Mass, 2 Sunday morning Masses,and a Sunday evening Mass. It was a sign of his dedication to his parishioners and to the service of the Church His sermons were an absolute treat. He could say so much in 2 or 3 minutes. His bible knowledge was amazing.

No doubt people will ask why? Why him? Why now? There is no answer. WE are born, we live, we die. It is all in God's hands. God's ways are not our ways, and we do not know the hour or the day. We should always be prepared.

I am certain that he has gone to a great reward in Heaven, but we will all remember him in our prayers and masses in the coming weeks.

Garden Day

We were expecting a builder this morning. We want to make access to the loft easier. He did not come.

I took daughter to work in Glasgow, then I came home and began tidying up work in the back garden. I cut the hedge and the grass. I weeded, and generally spruced things up.

Then I poured myself a cold beer, and lay in the garden, alternating between sun bathing and reading. I am currently reading a Susanna Gregory novel, "The Westminster Poisoner" set in Resoration London. It is a large, heavy book.

The weather today was gloriously hot. But tonight we are expecting heavy rain and gale force winds.

Home Sweet Home

We are home after a relaxing short break in Perthshire and Angus

The weather today was beautiful. Sunny and hot.

We left after breakfast and drove to Dunblane. While my better half shopped, I visited Dunblane Cathedral. The connection with St Blane and Dunblane is unclear. St Blane actually lived on the Isle of Bute (Rothesay).We have viited the ruined Monastery there, hidden in a valley in the hills to keep it safe from Viking raiders.

The cathedral was interesting. So also was the nearby oldest private library in Scotland. It was founded by Robert Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane from 1661 till 1670. He left it for the use of the clergy of the area.

Photos Ancient tombstone

Monument to those massacred at Dunblane Primary School

Dunblane cathedral exterior

Perth Sunset

Bonnie Dundee

We ended up in Dundee today. But first we went throught the town and on to Broughty Ferry. There is an interesting small castle there.

Then we went on a bit further to another golfing/sea side town...Carnoustie.

From there, we made our way back to Dundee.

The town was busy today. Abertay University were having their Graduation Ceremony in Caird Hall.

I took a walk down to the harbour to take some photos of Discovery.

See myprevious blog for info on Dundee. On the way back to Perth, we stopped at a winery, where they make wines from local grown fruits....rasperry...blackberry...Elderflower...gooseberry.

Photos show, Broughty Ferry castle....Desperate Dan.....Caird Hall...Discovery

St. Andrews

After a pleasant breakfast, we headed towards Dundee. But as the day looked not too bad, we decided to cross the Tay and go on to St Andrews.

This is an ancient town with a colourful history. At the top of the town there are the ruins of St Rule's Cathedral, where at one time the bones of St Andrew were kept. It was a popular Pilgrimage centre in Catholic times. At the Protestant Reformation, the bones were removed, the tomb destroyed and the abbey desecrated.

Elsewhere in the town is a building refered to as St Andrews Castle. The truth is it was not a castle, but the Bishop's Palace, an important political centre.

St Andrews is of course the home of Golf, and the world famous "Old Course" is here, popular with golfers from all over the world.

We shopped, took photos, sat down at the Harbour and Beach and read.

Then we headed back to Perth and our evening meal.

Perth

We eft home about 1130 am this morning. We got a lot done before we left.

We stopped at Stiling for lunch, then went on the short distance to Dunblane.

Dunblane, of course, will always be remembered because ofthe massacre that took place there in the local primary school not so many years ago.

Then w drove on up the A9 till we reached our destination.

And we will be staying here, at The Glovers Arms till Friday.

Tomorrow we will spend in Dundee.

Dundee has many claims to fame.

It is the home of "Discovery", the ship hich took Captain Scott to the South Pole.

It was the home of jute making, andmarmalademaking.

It is also where the publisher DC Thomson began, giving the world such cartoon characters as Denis the Menace....Desperate Dan....Oor Wullie..and the Broons.

If you have never heard of them....google them!

Life and Death

This morning we attended the funeral mass of a neighbour. He was only 54.

He had been workin g in London. On Saturday, he suffered a heart attack. He wanted to get home...."back up the road".

He arrived on Sunday. Early Monday morning he passed away. He leaves a wife, 2 daughters, a son and 2 grandchildren.

I am now of the age that I qualify for free bus travel anywhere in Scotland! A new vista.....except I am not a good passenger. But....if it's free.....well.

I took this moon photo 2 nights ago. Not very good....need a tripod next t

ime

Just Another Day

We took daughter to work this morning, then we stopped off at PC world. I need a new joy stick for my flight simulator. Next we had a look in Staples where my wife managed to find the bargain table with reduced prices that were further reduced at the pay point.

Then we drove to Byres Road in the West End and had a nice latte.

Once home, I gave the car a thorough inside cleaning in preparation for Tuesday's short break. Tomorrow I'll go to the car wash and ge the exterior cleaned....lazy....I know.

Still warm, but not hot. Surfed outside in the garden today, sitting at our new Patio set. It arrived Friday, and today it shows signs of rust. I have contacted Tesco, and they will replace the set on Tuesday.

Thunder, Lightning and Rain

We had it all today. Started with hot sun, sky became blacker as the day wore on, clouds began to circle, and then the storm broke.

It has certainly cooled the place down. Last night, at 3 am, it was 18C. I know because at that time I was driving into Glasgow to collect daughter as there were no buses.

The roses in our garden have been damaged by the torrential rain. Our roof is in a poor state. I dread to think how much water might have gotten into the attic.

Got a few things done before the rain.

My mother does not like thunder. So I drove round to her house to make sure she was ok. She hadn't heard the thunder. At that time, there was much flooding.

Summer Heat

Another scorching muggy day here again.

We got some work done in the garden, took daughter to see Doctor....numb face....and did some work in Martin's garden too.

Had a cool beer recently, will eat soon.....then another beer with a dash of lime juice.

We got an e mail from John. He flew off to san Francisco 2 weeks ago. But tonight he is off to Dubia with Emirates Air. From there he flies to Kenya, then on to Malawi, where he will be rehearsing with some African children for a show at the Edinburgh International Festival in August.

This could be a hit show.

Journey Home

We travelled home today from Todhills.

We decided to avoid the Motorway, and instead travelld the majority of the journey on the side road.

It took us through some interesting places....Gretna Green, Ecclfechan, Lockerbie and Abington.

We stopped to visit a few sites :

Bruce's Cave where Robert the Bruce is supposed to have hidden and gained inspiration from a spider trying to spin a web.

Ukranian POW Chapel near Lockerbie. 500 Ukranian POWs were brought here in 1947 from Italy. They built a chapel and many of them settled in the area on release.

Lockerbie a small town forever remembered because of the Pan Am Jumbo Jet brought down there by a bomb.