We are in that time of year that most priests love, full of marvellous feasts and memorials. As a child I used to wonder at autumn and the changing colours of the forests that line the Wye Valley, where I grew up. At this time of year I miss Wales, but I have to say that Chelsea, where I serve as Parish Priest, has its compensations.
On 4 October we celebrated the feast of St Francis of Assisi. In Francis’s part of Italy the speciality is wild boar (cinghiale), which Italian friends of mine tell me now overrun the forests. We have a similar problem in the UK with the overpopulation of deer. The NHS should serve venison: cheaper than alternative meats and better for patients.
