The Edinburgh Zoo

I spent part of my day off yesterday playing with my new birthday lens at the Edinburgh Zoo. Most of the animals were still fending off the cool weather inside and the whole place seemed a little down-at-heels.

The Asiatic Lions were in good fettle and the Indian Rhinos were out in the paddock churning up a little mud and eating some tender looking branches which had been laid out for them by their keepers.

I was looking suitably grubby for my day off (blue jeans and ratty jumper) and bumped into a school group from one of the schools where I am the chaplain.

They seemed a little surprised not to see me kitted-out in the usual dark suit and clerical collar.

One of them said loudly to her teacher "I think maybe I know that man!"

There may well be clergy who live in enormous sprawling cities who can go for days without being tagged. It doesn't work here. Everybody is somebody else's third cousin. I was recently on a pleasant weekend in Bruges where I bumped into one of my ecclesiastical superiors on a streetcorner at nine in the morning. I was with my wife - he was with his.

All remains solidly classical in our corner of the Anglican Communion!

The picture (top) is of a Great Grey Owl. Lots of them in northern Canada although their range includes most of the north of Europe as well.