It has to be said that the Cumbrian weather is not letting us down.
It must also be admitted that no matter how much we might like to, we can't blame the Government.
So we continue to struggle in a country of two halves, divided by amongst other things, the weather.
Apart from almost being blown off my feet by a gust of wind on the way to the Surgery I was wrapped up in a variety of winter weather layers and wearing my green hunter wellington's, which in this part of the world are not a fashion accessory, but a necessity.
So when I arrived at the surgery looking like an arctic explorer or a Cumbrian farmer, I waited as asked in the waiting room, dripping water onto the hard wood floor.
Then the Nurse came to the door and whispered a name, it could have been any name, Mr Next or Mr Unwell, or Mr Sick, or Mr Almost Drowned.
There was only one other person in the waiting room and he immediately stepped forward and entered the room, and the Nurse closed the door.
What happened next was like a Brian Rix farce.
First the Nurse emerged looking puzzled.
Then Mr Next came out and started haranguing the receptionist.
Then the Nurse disappeared altogether and I approached the receptionist to explain that I was still waiting.
Then the nurse ushered me into the room saying I will explain it to you inside.
But, once inside, she began to question me in a somewhat patronising manner, asking if I knew why I was there, almost asking if I knew the name of the Prime Minister and saying I called your name and you didn't answer.
Whispered I said, you whispered a name.
Then it was back out into the wild weather of winter to struggle back home, wondering all the while whether it is still warm and sunny in Genoa?
It seems that the big society is unravelling rather rapidly as the Prime Minister (Now what is his name again?) attempts to tell us clearly what is happening in Europe and how he is protecting Britain's interests whilst attempting to resolve the Euro Crisis whilst not being part of the Euro Zone.
Having his cake and eating it whilst pursued by an angry mob of Eurosceptics led by the Mayor of London.
As a Nation Britain has never quite seen itself as European. Occasionally there has been a Grand Project, Concorde, the Euro Fighter or the Channel Tunnel, but our reluctance to be European was once summed up for me by a member of the congregation in my first parish.
He was retiring and he and his wife were embarking on a Mediterranean Cruise, I expressed the usual envy at his good fortune and how much I expected that he was looking forward to the trip.
No Vicar, he remarked, it's the wife as wants to do it, I'd rather stay here.
He explained that he had once had a weeks holiday in Belgium with his family and it had rained for the whole week. On the Ferry on the way home, he had commented to his wife, if that's abroad you can keep it!
We need a bigger vision for the big society than we are being given. It's got to be about more than pavement cafes and shoes worn without socks, we need markets for our goods, prosperity for people and a more equitable sharing of the nation's wealth.
The North / South divide can be seen in jobs, wages, poverty, health and well being, but if we insist on being a peripheral nation on the edge of Europe but not part of it, then it will not only be the weather that divides us ...........
It must also be admitted that no matter how much we might like to, we can't blame the Government.
So we continue to struggle in a country of two halves, divided by amongst other things, the weather.
Apart from almost being blown off my feet by a gust of wind on the way to the Surgery I was wrapped up in a variety of winter weather layers and wearing my green hunter wellington's, which in this part of the world are not a fashion accessory, but a necessity.
So when I arrived at the surgery looking like an arctic explorer or a Cumbrian farmer, I waited as asked in the waiting room, dripping water onto the hard wood floor.
Then the Nurse came to the door and whispered a name, it could have been any name, Mr Next or Mr Unwell, or Mr Sick, or Mr Almost Drowned.
There was only one other person in the waiting room and he immediately stepped forward and entered the room, and the Nurse closed the door.
What happened next was like a Brian Rix farce.
First the Nurse emerged looking puzzled.
Then Mr Next came out and started haranguing the receptionist.
Then the Nurse disappeared altogether and I approached the receptionist to explain that I was still waiting.
Then the nurse ushered me into the room saying I will explain it to you inside.
But, once inside, she began to question me in a somewhat patronising manner, asking if I knew why I was there, almost asking if I knew the name of the Prime Minister and saying I called your name and you didn't answer.
Whispered I said, you whispered a name.
Then it was back out into the wild weather of winter to struggle back home, wondering all the while whether it is still warm and sunny in Genoa?
It seems that the big society is unravelling rather rapidly as the Prime Minister (Now what is his name again?) attempts to tell us clearly what is happening in Europe and how he is protecting Britain's interests whilst attempting to resolve the Euro Crisis whilst not being part of the Euro Zone.
Having his cake and eating it whilst pursued by an angry mob of Eurosceptics led by the Mayor of London.
As a Nation Britain has never quite seen itself as European. Occasionally there has been a Grand Project, Concorde, the Euro Fighter or the Channel Tunnel, but our reluctance to be European was once summed up for me by a member of the congregation in my first parish.
He was retiring and he and his wife were embarking on a Mediterranean Cruise, I expressed the usual envy at his good fortune and how much I expected that he was looking forward to the trip.
No Vicar, he remarked, it's the wife as wants to do it, I'd rather stay here.
He explained that he had once had a weeks holiday in Belgium with his family and it had rained for the whole week. On the Ferry on the way home, he had commented to his wife, if that's abroad you can keep it!
We need a bigger vision for the big society than we are being given. It's got to be about more than pavement cafes and shoes worn without socks, we need markets for our goods, prosperity for people and a more equitable sharing of the nation's wealth.
The North / South divide can be seen in jobs, wages, poverty, health and well being, but if we insist on being a peripheral nation on the edge of Europe but not part of it, then it will not only be the weather that divides us ...........
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