Some will Die Tomorrow

Babies, that is. And maybe you too. There was an event in Melbourne yesterday that I would have liked to have attended, but the Taverner's life is all pull, pull, pull.  There is Grace to be served to my customers. Not that there was no Grace being served up over there. There was. Buckets of it.

7000 brave souls confronted the State - and a crowd of assorted bigots and bullies - to walk a mile or two for Babies. I take my helmet off to them.

Last year a similar 'March for Babies' was attacked by hundreds of louts who committed assault after assault on peaceful men, women and children, and the Police did nothing much to stop it.  This year, after much 'communication' and a concerted effort by organisers and individual to expose that failure, the Victorian Police turned on a splendid effort to protect the innocent.

The police were with us every step of the way. The first part of the march saw little trouble from the protestors. But at Parliament House they surrounded the crowd on three sides with screaming, drum-beating, and non-stop interruptions. The police moved them into one main area where they carried on the whole time, trying to drown out the speakers.

Strange, last night in Lakemba in Sydney’s west a hate-preacher of Islam was telling a small crowd about how evil Australia is and how it must come under seventh-century sharia law. There were no protestors there. There were no crowds seeking to drown out his voice. There were no demos.

Believe it !

But here we had 7000 people who simply wanted to show their love and concern for the unborn, and we have these screaming banshees treating us as if we were a bunch of Nazis. Go figure. Their signs said it all really. One large sign held high by a very angry young man actually said this: “THE ONLY GOOD BABY IS A DEAD BABY!” 

OUR Legislators actually support this sort of madness. 

I kid you not. There were other equally appalling signs, such as “Cory Bernardi is a failed abortion”. 

The anger, rage and diabolical ugliness of these protestors was really something to behold. 

These really were manifestations of the demonic.

A large pro-life sign on a truck was spray-painted with graffiti, with words like “racist”. 

Umm, what does racism have to do with protecting babies? 

“Smash sexism” was another dopey sign. Again, what does loving babies have to do with sexism? Both male and female babies are horribly killed by abortion.

There was even a pamphlet being handed out by the radicals, pretending to be from our side. It was entitled: “You call this pro-life? Anti-abortion, white supremacy and the clash of civilizations.” 

Oh, now those who love the unborn are white supremacists as well. 

It featured four apparently really evil people: Senator Cory Bernardi, MP Bernie Finn, Lord Monckton, and one Bill Muehlenberg.

Now Cory was not even there, and I was not a speaker (the other two were however). But according to the pamphlet, the four of us were not only responsible for this evil pro-life rally, but we are the epitome of evil in this nation. In this pamphlet which is strewn with absolutely incredible lies and distortions, they even claim I said that Christians should use force and war against all Muslims.

But telling lies for a cause of genuine evil – the killing of the unborn – is par for the course for this mob. Indeed, it was all the usual suspects: the socialists, the anarchists, the Sex Party, and all the usual hate crew. And 2000 years ago we were told exactly why such bold lies would come about.

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/10/11/when-love-and-hate-collide/

You could not make this stuff up. No-one would believe it. But there it was, on the streets of genteel Melbourne, where the river winds its way lazily through the lovely modern city and where babies can be torn apart in their mother's wombs right up to the last minute before they would otherwise have arrived. 

The good people had come from across Victoria and even from interstate. My prayer-colleague, Kathy was there and several others I know quite well. Their aim was to 'Witness' and take a stand. 

Nice, ordinary families need strong Police protection !! How did it come to this?

Though brave souls readily expose themselves on the wide streets of Melbourne, few are likely to die for their view. The babies die though. And throughout history people have had to confront evil and expect to die. Our era is no different.

The Hilary Village is 'tolerant' of many views. NOT. 

It is a place of bullies in frocks, backed up by uniformed bullies with guns. And the PC bully is everywhere. The pressure from the wicked is very strong and for reasons that should be clear to everyone (it isn't though) the wicked have the ear of the legislators, politicians, bureaucrats and a

 vast 'Sinister', brainwashed public.

The rumours that God does not care or, indeed, is actually dead, are not true. He was prepared to die . So do we have to be.

Lloyd Marcus was watching the event unfold and had some quite pertinent things to say.

Confronting PC: Some Will Financially and Politically Die

I caught a bit of an interview with conservative actor Kevin Sorbo promoting his movie, "God's Not Dead" on the Sean Hannity radio show. Sorbo lamented that political correctness operatives continue to bully Americans with little push back. He cited a recent incident in which a little girl was kicked out of school for saying "God bless you" when a classmate sneezed, punished for religious talk in school.

My wife Mary told me about a U.S. soldier who was told by a school never to walk his child to school in uniform again. I am sure all of you could share horror stories of 

political correctness operatives overruling common sense and bullying people into submission.

Admittedly, I continuously rant about this topic. Folks, while I have evolved into somewhat of a sophisticated responsible adult, my roots are in the hood, the projects of east Baltimore. Living in that extremely tough environment, I knew if you did not deal with (confront) bullies, you would forever be their chump. 

As a 9 or 10 year old, I detested watching bullies push people around. I still detest seeing snooty intellectual liberal wimps with their big microphones and big stages get away with terrorizing people into submission.

When we were kids, though he was a little wild and crazy, my cousin Jimmy taught me the value of a strong military and how to deal with bullies. Two kids were taking my lunch money. Jimmy got in their grills and threatened to kick their butts. That was the end of that nonsense.

Six foot something high school varsity football star Broadus ordered me out of my seat beside pretty Barbara Jean on the school bus. Had he asked, I would have given him my seat. Even as a four foot something tall seventh grader, I instinctively knew I would lose something inside if I allowed Broadus to order me around. I told him no, I was not moving.

Once off the bus, Broadus began pounding my head into the gravel road. My mom saw the attack from a block away. She began running, but said it felt like she was running in place, unable to get to us fast enough. Incredibly, Broadus and I later became friends.

So yes, I have this "thing" about bullies.

Liberals, Democrats and the complicit MSM have hijacked the word "bully" to exclusively refer to anyone who dares to push back against their aggressive attempts to force their socialist/progressive agenda down our throats. 

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, Leftists call us bullies when we reject allowing them to bully us. Very clever, insidious and evil.

Lloyd very accurately describes the thugs, louts and bullies who attacked the peaceful marchers. 

I worked at a major ABC affiliate TV station in Baltimore for 15 years. Thus, I have witnessed from the inside the MSM arrogant superior mindset which dominated the TV station and their intention to force their agenda on the public. The general consensus at the TV station was that the public was a bunch of yahoos and we were the sophisticated smart guys.

The TV station launched a campaign titled, "Family First". On the cover of the brochure, I used a silhouette of a traditional family holding hands; father, mother, a girl and a boy. Public Relations axed my cover design claiming it was insensitive and offensive because families come in all configurations, two men, two women and so on. 

There was no agenda behind me selecting the image other than it worked for the theme of the campaign. I seriously doubted that the image of a traditional family on the cover of the station's brochure would have sparked mass outrage from the public.

And yet, the PR representative acted as though I was attempting to push my Christian values on the public. She used her authority to bully me into changing the cover design. I later learned that she was a lesbian.

Folks, I realize that I sound like a broken record continuing to write about the Left bullying us into submission. It just sticks in my craw. Allowing them to get away with it is an anathema to my spirit; like allowing Broadus to order me out of my seat. We must push back. We must say no.

In the Clint Eastwood movie, "Pale Rider", the locals were terrorized by bullies. They asked a mysterious stranger portrayed by Eastwood to lead them into battle against the bad guys. Eastwood consented, but also informed the locals that 

some of them were going to die tomorrow.

Know whose side you are on.

Make no mistake about it folks, confronting evil, pushing back against political correctness operatives is serious business. 

Our Nemesis are extremely vicious and relentless. They take no prisoners. Just as Eastwood warned the locals, I warn you. In the battle to take back our freedom, some will sacrifice themselves for freedom. They will financially and politically die.

Political Correctness is a horrible destructive cancer eating away at the core of our American culture. The miracle cure is courage.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/confronting-pc-some-will-financially-and-politically-die

Pushing back against the murderous laws of the PC abortionists is a long hard effort. Some good people will be attacked. Their reputations will be rubbished by calumny and their treasuries will be sacked by 'fines'.  Some nutter in the PC mob just might go too far one day and cause a death.

What do we do about such hatred? Clearly we have to recognise it, acknowledge it and Confront it. And we have to distinguish the hater from their hatred. The sinner from the sin.

Despite their invective, their hate-filled  - and frankly stupid -  signs, we must find a way to Love them. 

There is a battle we all must fight. Like it or not. And we - most of us - cannot do it without Grace.

Do drink deep. Drink long. Drink up.

Pax

Offending the 'Professional Offended'

All around us lies Hilary's Village where simply blowing your nose on a coloured handkerchief will 'offend' someone. It enables some hilarious complaining and a not so hilarious Industry of litigation, mostly brought by the State on some poor multiculti flower's behalf.

There was a billboard extolling the virtues of good fatherhood in the Village the other week, put up by a pro-life group. You would think that encouraging fathers to love and care for their children would be welcomed. But no.

It took just ONE person to complain and the sign was removed.

The 'deeply offended' have clout: they need a clout. Around the ear.

Power is entrenched in 'Commissions': The Equal Opportunity Commission, for instance, which like feminism has nothing to do with 'Equal' at all; or the 'Human Rights Commission, a Government-funded body of busy-bodies who revel in their clout. The Chairwoman (of course) is very selective (of course) and does not allow rationality to come into play, just emotion and bias. 

It is all very nurthuring and empathetic.  And pathetic.

Traditional western values are ignored unless they can be used against the traditional western people.

The H.R. Commission, for example is very vocal about 'refugee children in custody' now that a Conservative Government is in charge, ingoring the clear fact that such children are vastly fewer in number than when the 'Left' government was in charge and when they did not complain. It (the Commission) did not raise even her eyebrow while 1200 refugees drowned due to the Left government policy. 

Journalist Andrew Bolt was taken to court and found guilty of asking why some quite white people could claim to be aboriginal. They were 'offended' that he should question identity.

Muslims are another beneficiary of bias. A christian pastor was charged and fined heavily for reading passages from the Koran in his church a few years back (in Victoria). Two muslims complained. 

TWO !  An epidemic.

Meanwhile in mosques around the country the Koran is preached along with its diatribes against almost everything we in the west hold to be 'ordinary sense'. In such buildings (approved by planning committees and in reciept of government funds)  it is common to hear exhortations to Kill you and me. 

No complaint from an 'offended' ordinary person is acted upon, because it would not fit the 'Narrative'.

But some are speaking out. Especially about the 'kill' menace of the Muslims.

Regularly we see one of our 'Flagship' ABC programs, Q&A, a  panel of five arguing heads which rotate weekly - a tad slower but no less demonic than the head of the lass in the Exorcist - stacked with four lefties to one conservative.

The program follows 'Muslim Rulz'; just as in Islam it takes four women to equal one man, so it takes four lefties to equal one conservative.

I'm surprised no lefty has complained. (No i'm not).

The 'Professional cry-babies' abound. Feminists, pro-abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, even some Church of Nice people. The Zozchial Juztitz crowd. They all have their government-funded advocates quite funded-up, ready, willing and able - and touting for business.

Even our Kids are fair game. Roll up, roll up. Big Nanny is here.



Pax.

The Name

Back in the days before the Multiculti cult when people had countries full of their peers, family and tribe, it was pretty easy to know from where people hailed. They had names one recognised. 

Nowadays one's neighbour could have been born in Bangladesh or  Botswana, the next street or the next town. Who can tell? Some names are virtually unpronouncable. 

Anglophile peoples however are a closer named lot.

Well, it used to be so. The most popular boy's name in many parts of the English-speaking world now is Mohammed.

Many of us have surnames passed down to us from ancestors in England. Last names weren’t widely used until after the Norman conquest in 1066,  despite the Romans the Danes the Saxons and various others who had been 'absorbed'. But after the bloody Normans, as the country’s population grew, people found it necessary to be more specific when they were talking about somebody else. 

Thus arose descriptions like Thomas the Baker, Norman son of Richard, Henry the Whitehead, Elizabeth of the Field, and Joan of York that, ultimately, led to many of our current surnames.

There are perhaps 45,000 different English surnames, but most had their origins as one of these seven types.

Occupational
Occupational names identified people based on their job or position in society. Calling a man “Thomas Carpenter” indicated that he worked with wood for a living, while someone named Knight bore a sword. Like wot I did.  Some Knights passed their own names on though.

Other occupational names include Archer, Baker, Brewer, Butcher, Carter, Clark, Cooper, Cook, Dyer, Farmer, Faulkner, Fisher, Fuller, Gardener, Glover, Head, Hunt or Hunter, Judge, Mason, Page, Parker, Potter, Sawyer, Slater, Smith, Taylor, Thatcher, Turner, Weaver, Woodman, and Wright (or variations such as Cartwright and Wainwright) — and there are many more.

This kind of name also gave a clue about whom a servant worked for. Someone named Vickers might have been a servant to Mr. Vicker, and someone named Williams might either have served a William or been adopted by him.

From the obscure fact department: In medieval England, before the time of professional theater, craft guilds put on “mystery plays” (“mystery” meaning “miracle”), which told Bible stories and had a call-and-response style of singing. A participant’s surname — such as King, Lord, Virgin, or Death — may have reflected his or her role, which some people played for life and passed down to their eldest son.

Describing a personal characteristic
Some names, often adjectives, were based on nicknames that described a person. They may have described a person’s size (Short, Long, Little), coloring (Black, White, Green, or Red, which could have evolved into “Reed”), or another character trait (Stern, Strong, Swift). Someone named Peacock might have been considered vain.

Try that today and you would face a Tribunal 

when someone takes Offence.

From an English place name
A last name may have pointed to where a person was born, lived, worked, or owned land. It might be from the name of a house, farm, hamlet, town, or county. Some examples: Bedford, Burton, Hamilton, Hampshire, Sutton. Writer Jack London’s ancestor may have hailed from London.

From the name of an estate
Those descended from landowners may have taken as their surname the name of their holdings, castle, manor, or estate, such as Ernle or Staunton. Windsor is a famous example — it was the surname George V adopted for the British royal family.

From a geographical feature of the landscape
Some examples are Bridge, Brooks, Bush, Camp, Fields, Forest, Greenwood, Grove, Hill, Knolles, Lake, Moore, Perry, Stone, Wold, Wood, and Woodruff. Author Margaret Atwood is probably descended from someone who lived “at the wood.”

Patronymic, matronymic, or ancestral
Patronymic surnames (those that come from a male given name) include Benson (“the son of Ben”), Davis, Dawson, Evans, Harris, Harrison, Jackson, Jones (Welsh for John), Nicholson, Richardson, Robinson, Rogers, Simpson, Stephenson, Thompson, Watson, and Wilson.

Matronymic ones, surnames derived from a female given name, include Molson (from Moll, for Mary), Madison (from Maud), Emmott (from Emma), and Marriott (from Mary).

Scottish clan names make up one set of ancestral surnames. These include Armstrong, Cameron, Campbell, Crawford, Douglas, Forbes, Grant, Henderson, Hunter, MacDonald, and Stewart.

Signifying patronage
Some surnames honored a patron. Hickman was Hick’s man (Hick being a nickname for Richard). Kilpatrick was a follower of Patrick.

Wondering whether your family name is English? Try plugging your surname into the Ancestry.com.au Last Names Meanings and Origins widget. Type in the surname “Duffield,” and you’ll see it’s English, a “habitational name from places in Derbyshire and East Yorkshire, so named from Old English Dufe ‘dove’ + feld ‘open country.’”

http://blogs.ancestry.com.au/cm/there-are-7-types-of-english-surnames-which-one-is-yours/

And mine?  Amfortas.  It is famous; or was. 

The name has been derived from the Latin, infirmitas and also from the Old French, enfertez, both words meaning infirmity. I gained it from the Wound. 

The ever-wounded King. 

Offence marks a man.  Especially when the One offended is instead owed so much. It can impact a King's life and follow him through millenia.


Make your peace. 

Clean your past.

Clean your Soul. 

One day your name will be called out.



Pax.

Feeling Energetic?

The Tavern is a place to relax. Every corner has its own 'owner' who likes to sit in it with a pint. They relax. Sometimes they are a bit lethargic (not quite sloth, you understand) after a busy day. And sometimes there are folk who do not have busy days but they are at that stage of life when energy is lacking.

Or so one might think.

An old chap was propped up on a stool at the bar last evening, looking quite worn. A young fellow engaged him in some chat and noting the slump mentioned that he had far more energy that he imagined. 

"If you realised your energy potential, ol' man, you could take out Tasmania and most of Oz too, in one big bang."

I pricked up an ear and pulled them a pint apiece. I wondered if the Tavern would survive.

Young Joshua Carroll is an aspiring student of science. He will be working towards his undergraduate degree  soon in Earth and Space Physics with a Minor in Astronomy and his future goals are to complete a Masters and then a Ph.D in Astrophysics. As well as studying the astro-sciences, he is also a three-time combat vet.  An energetic lad.  

He was telling us that many people fail to realize just how much energy there is locked up in themselves. 

Personally, I have always seen the 'Human Being' physicality as an energy conduit. We take energy in - via food and air and drink - use it to 'power' ourselves and get rid of the left overs. Our bodies are continually 'replacing' bits down at the cellular level. It takes a lot of energy and most of it flows out the nether regions.  

(It can be a tad difficult being caught short in armour, I can tell you).

The energy comes from the stuff we consume that 'makes' us. Its the matter we are made of, you see. And....

Matter is made of atoms. The nucleus of any atom is an oven of intense radiation, and when you open the oven door, that energy spills out; oftentimes violently. However, there is something even more intrinsic to this aspect of matter that escaped scientists for years.

It wasn’t until the brilliance of Albert Einstein that we were able to fully grasp this correlation between mass and energy. 

Enter E=mc2. 

This seemingly simple algebraic formula represents the correlation of energy to matter (energy equivalence of any given amount of mass). Many have heard of it, but not very many understand what it implies. Many people are unaware of just how much energy is contained within matter. So, for the next few minutes, I will attempt to convey to you the magnitude of your own 

personal potential energy equivalence.

First, we must break down this equation. What do each of the letters mean? What are their values? Let’s break it down from left to right:

E represents the energy, which we measure in Joules. Joules is an SI measurement for energy and is measured as kilograms x meters squared per seconds squared [kg x m2/s2]. 

All this essentially means is that a Joule of energy is equal to the force used to move a specific object 1 meter in the same direction as the force.

m represents the mass of the specified object. For this equation, we measure mass in Kilograms (or 1000 grams).

c represents the speed of light. In a vacuum, light moves at 186,282 miles per second. However in science we utilize the SI (International System of Units), therefore we use measurements of meters and kilometers as opposed to feet and miles. So whenever we do our calculations for light, we use 3.00 × 108m/s, or rather 300,000,000 meters per second.

So essentially what the equation is saying is that for a specific amount of mass (in kilograms), if you multiply it by the speed of light squared (3.00×108)2, you get its energy equivalence (Joules). So, what does this mean? How can I relate to this, and how much energy is in matter? Well, here comes the fun part. We are about to conduct an experiment.

This isn’t one that we need fancy equipment for, nor is it one that we need a large laboratory for. All we need is simple math and our imagination.

I thought to be helpful here and brought him a whiteboard  and a texta. 

Now before I go on, I would like to point out that I am utilizing this equation in its most basic form. There are many more complex derivatives of this equation that are used for many different applications. 

It is also worth mentioning that when two atoms fuse (such as Hydrogen fusing into Helium in the core of our star) only about 0.7% of the mass is converted into total energy. For our purposes we needn’t worry about this, as I am simply illustrating the incredible amounts of energy that constitutes your equivalence in mass, not illustrating the fusion of all of your mass turning into energy.

Let’s begin by collecting the data so that we can input it into our equation. I weigh roughly 190 pounds. Again, as we use SI units in science, we need to convert this over from pounds to grams. Here is how we do this:

1 Josh = 190lbs

Josh is an average sort of chap and has yet to become a 'large' man like myself !  He would weigh more in armour, I'm sure.

1 lbs = 453.6g

So 190lbs × 453.6g/1 lbs = 86,184g

So 1 Josh = 86,184g

Since our measurement for E is in Joules, and Joule units of measurement are kilograms x meters squared per seconds squared, I need to convert my mass in grams to my mass in kilograms. We do that this way:

86,184g × 1kg/1000g = 86.18kg.

So 1 Josh = 86.18kg.

Now that I’m in the right unit of measure for mass, we can plug the values into the equation and see just what we get:

E=mc2

E= (86.18kg)(3.00 × 108m/s)2

E= 7.76 × 1018 J

That looks like this: 

7,760,000,000,000,000,000 

or roughly 7.8 septillion Joules of energy.

This is an incredibly large amount of energy. However, it still seems very vague. What does that number mean? How much energy is that really? 

Well, let’s continue this experiment and find something that we can measure this against, to help put this amount of energy into perspective for us.

First, let’s convert our energy into an equivalent measurement. Something we can relate to. 

How does TNT sound? 

First, we must identify a common unit of measurement for TNT. The kiloton. Now we find out just how many kilotons of TNT are in 1 Joule. After doing a little searching I found a conversion ratio that will let us do just this:

1 Joule = 2.39 × 10-13 kilotons of explosives. 

Meaning that 1 Joule of energy is equal to .000000000000239 kilotons of TNT. 

That is a very small number. 

At better way to understand this relationship is to flip that ratio around to see how many Joules of energy is in 1 kiloton of TNT. 

1 kiloton of TNT = 4.18×1012 Joules or rather 4,184,000,000,000 Joules.

Now that we have our conversion ratio, let’s do the math.

1 Josh (E) = 7.76 x 1018 J

7.76 x 1018 J x 1 kT TNT/ 4.18 x 1012 J = 

1,856,459 kilotons of TNT.

Thus, concluding our little mind experiment we find that just one human being is roughly the equivalence of 1.86 MILLION kilotons of TNT worth of energy. 

Let’s now put that into perspective, just to illuminate the massive amount of power that this equivalence really is.

The bomb that destroyed Nagasaki in Japan during World War II was devastating. It leveled a city in seconds and brought the War in the Pacific to a close. That bomb was approximately 21 kilotons of explosives. So that means that I, a single human being, have 88,403 times more explosive energy in me than a bomb that destroyed an entire city… and that goes for every human being.

So when you hear someone tell you that you’ve got real potential, just reply that they have no idea….

http://www.universetoday.com/114617/a-fun-way-of-understanding-emc2/

And when you say you are feeling tired, be careful how you lay down to rest ! 

Rest easy.

Pax

Sin : Calculated

Well, what do you expect in a Tavern ? We are very aware of 'sin' here and try to maintain some level of decorum. It is a place to identify with our own and seek some ease from it. 

Out in Hilary's Village - you know, the one that she thinks is needed to raise a child - there are more sins than you can shake a stick at. But some are more infamous than others.

The Church identifies some very basic ones, from which endless permutaions can be made.

The Seven Deadly Ones.

The Church also points to 'the occasions' of sin. Times, places, environments that sin is very likely to be found and to ensnare a a young Knight or farm-boy, a Lady or a wench. It was getting beyond high time someone actually tried to identify which places to avoid.

The University of Kansas Georgraphical persons have been busy looking close to home.  Of course they did not want to get down to street and house level, but they did look at broad areas.

The blue is where the particular sins are thinner on the ground. The red, where it seeps out of the ground and floats in the air. 

Beware ! 

Perhaps someone else might take a look at the rest of the world. The past British Empire used to be illustrated in pink !

Seek the Tavern !

Drink deep. Water your soul in fine Wine and Ale.

Pax

The Office

Running a Tavern is busy and varied. 'Tis "The Office".  But there are more exciting places.

In my case it is akin to the Clerical 'Office' and includes a set Prayer in the Crypt wherein is kept the Holy Grail

Other people work in their offices too and what a bore those places can be.

But not always.

Here is a cublicle-sized office. A bit tight-fitting but the view is fabulous. No paper to shuffle around and lots of close mates.

OK. It is 'military' but this Tavern is Militant. So - More?

More still? These French chaps are superb. THIS is low flying at its best.

Enjoy.


Now. Finale. This one is in the news this week. She has just been on a sortie sending ISIS 'troops'  (nasty butchers) to Hell. As they have been killed by a woman they won't be joining Allah nor will they get 72 virgins. 

Pray for even the enemy, and re-arm the rocket packs.

Our world is moving into a different geo-political phase. Old 'territorial' conflicts gave way to 'Ideological' ones over the past 75 years and now we are in for an unknown-length period of Religious conflict that cannot be so easily resolved.

Christendom itself is under attack.  Secularism is the current order of the day. Atheism has gained inroads. But Islam will be a far greater threat to all. It will get very messy. 

The new battle-ground is very near the place we call Armageddon.

Pax.

Clearing out Sale and Redecoration.

The world about us is fraught with clear and present dangers. We are assailed from within and from without. Hilary's village is a complete mess, crawling with home-grown and exotic threats, taxing the hardiest of Souls. It is all that we can do to hang onto the rocks and anchors as the tides of sheer wickedness buffet us.

If it was not enough that the waves of sheer stupidity mingle and crash with malevolence carrying off babes even before they make it out of the womb and into the world: out in the world itself are malign forces roaming our streets and threatening to behead people simply for mentioning Islam in any but glowing terms. 

Further afield there are hundreds and thousands of Christians being slaughtered in the name of Allah.  But even with that clear evidence our political and chattering classes shout above the cries and moans of the dying that ...

Islam is the Religion of Peace.

The Prince of Lies

would have you believe that.

Not surprising that new shipments of Grace have been pouring in. We need it. And my cellars have had to make room.

So some reorganising has been going on. Old stocks have been depleted allowing me to clear out parts of the cellar I have barely been able to get a broom to.  I am encouraging customers to do a bit of cleaning too in their own cellars.

Confession is good for the Soul 

and space is needed for a fine, clean Rosary.

A bit of scrubbing and mopping is needed from time to time and some useful suggestions too. That fine man, Sam Guzman suggested some points which I have eagerly adopted.

I have named parts of the cellar-space after Saints so as to more easily send my bar staff to the right spot when a new barrel is needed. 

Sam was telling me:, 

Brewed by monks for centuries, beer has always had a close relationship to Catholicism. In fact, Holy Mother Church has proven her love for this beverage by enshrining of an official beer blessing ** in the texts of the Roman Ritual.

Today, I want to share 5 holy men who have the distinction of being named patron saints of the noble art of brewing.

So be it. 5 newly named arches. 

He went on: 

Brewing has always been honored as a noble and honorable art, and through the centuries, many brew masters have called upon these saintly patrons to aid them in their craft. Whether you're taking up home brewing or simply enjoy beer, you can't go wrong by invoking the intercession of these holy men.

The Knight & Drummer Tavern is always happy to take good advice !  

1. St. Arnulf of Metz -

This old chap bears a striking resemblance to the Tavern Keeper some days,
and so too do his lodgings look just a bit like mine !

"From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world." 
- St. Arnulf of Metz

Perhaps the most famous of brewing patrons is St. Arnulf of Metz. St. Arnulf was a bishop and advisor to king Theudebert II of Austrasia. After his death at Remiremont Abbey, parishioners from his former diocese of Metz, who already venerated him as a saint, went to recover his body. The journey was during a particularly hot part of the year, and the travelers were ready to faint of thirst. One of the parishioners, by the name of Duc Notto, cried out, "By his powerful intercession the Blessed Arnold will bring us what we lack." Miraculously, their supply of beer was replenished and lasted until they returned home.

2. St. Gambrinus -

Yet another who has that same 'Kingly' air that I do.
But not the cold air up his skirt.

First of all, St. Gambrinus is not really a saint. In fact, it's unclear whether he was a real person or simply a myth based on real personages. Nevertheless, St. Gambrinus embodies the joyful enjoyment of alcohol, and has even been credited by some with being the inventor of beer. Other say he learned the art of brewing from the gods, and still others say he simply was a man who could down epic amounts of beer. Regardless, he is famous in European folklore for typifying the merriment brought by the blessed brew.

3. St. Augustine -

OK. This is nothing like the Taverner and not at all likely to look anything like
Saint Augustine either.
For a start he came from North Africa !
He was a chap who knew how to make a Good (and very long) Confession !

The Doctor of Grace is the patron saint of many things, not the least of which is those who practice the art of brewing. While it is unclear how he achieved this distinction, it is likely through his profound conversion in which he was transformed from a wild, drunken, and dissipated soul into a holy and temperate bishop.

Oh dear. Now now Sam. He may have been a 'lad' when he was a lad, but let us no overdo it.  I suggest ( as a return) that he very likely learned the art from all the Englishmen he came to convert. 

4. St. Luke the Evangelist -

By now you will have rumbled that the photos are not real.  

There is no mention of Luke's hair-cut in the Bible.
(that is unless you visit some of the strange American denominations 
which put all sorts of things in there!)

Yes, this is St. Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke. This holy man is the patron of everything from goldsmiths to lace makers to sculptors---and he is also another patron saint of brewers. If anyone can explain to me the connection between St. Luke and brewing, I will be much obliged!

There is an opener for any customer to educate us all. A fine drink for any who do. On the House. 

5.  St. Wenceslaus -

Definitely the Taverner's sort of King. He even has a shirt like mine.
Children know his 'lighter but fatter' side as Father Christmas.
Now the Taverner has been called THAT from time to time.
HoHoHo.

Known for his heroic almsgiving and compassion for outcasts, St. Wenceslaus was venerated immediately upon his martyrdom in 935 A.D. You may have heard of this good king before due to his holy life being celebrated in song, but you probably didn't know he is also a patron saint of brewers. Now you do.

So, what do you think of Sam's list? 

Personally I think they make a fine group to acknowledge whenever I go down to the cellars. And I go down there often. I will be passing them on my way to the Crypt from now on, thanks to Sam. 

As he said just the other day... Ah, beer. This blessed brew is one of life's great enjoyments and an incontrovertible sign of God's great love for us.

But let us leave the last word to him too, as the Blessing.

One of the great things about being Catholic is that the Church has quite literally thought of everything at some point or another. Some inventive cleric even thought to include a beer blessing in the Rituale Romanum (my parish also has an annual wine blessing). Creation is good. Beer is good. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R. Who made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray. 

Bless, + O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Latin:

V. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.

R. Qui fecit caelum et terram.

V. Dominus vobiscum.

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

Oremus.

Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen

http://www.catholicgentleman.net/2013/10/the-official-catholic-beer-blessing/

And finally, a humourous and slighly more secular take. 

Pax.