with a poster of rasputin and a beard down to his knee

This is good stuff, but I was very distracted by the thought "Clement Freud lives"!

Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline

I started to watch this film late last night; couldn't stay awake but wish I'd recorded it. Idiocracy is a bit like Wall-E except with people not robots - it also has mountains of rubbish and green plants in the denoument. If I'd watched the whole thing I might have been better prepared for "Let us be human" week 2, which was very stimulating stuff. Thanks Sam!

Actually, check out these REM lyrics from 1985 and feel that shiver down your spine (unless they've been reading the same stuff ...)

Ready to let go of the steering wheel

Especially after 1100 miles of driving! We went to Scotland on Easter Day and returned last Sunday - a typical vicar's week off after the festival.

Above is a shot of Fingal's cave, on the Island of Staffa. We went there on a boat trip which also took in seals and puffins. We landed on Staffa and were able to walk into the cave, and hear the weird sound of the waves.

The weather was truly great - sunshine every day, so we were able to go on several long walks, crabbing trips and the like, as well as visiting the local farm to see newborn lambs (aaaah! etc).

It always takes me about 3 days of a holiday to switch off from work, but Easter, though busy, was all good - a total of 222 people in church over three services on Sunday which is over 10% of the population of the benefice (fair play to the statisticians, some were family visiting for Easter). Generally the events of Holy Week had gone down well and had not detracted from the appeal of coming on Sunday too, as I have observed in other parishes in the past. I'm an empty tomb preacher on Easter Sunday because I am a crucifixion preacher on Good Friday. Can't understand why people get hot under the collar about which is most important; you need both!