Miscellanea - Bob Dylan, Trojan Horses and drug deals in May ...

Perhaps Bob Dylan wasn't as 'into' the 60s as the 60s were into Bob Dylan - an interesting insight from First Things [here] 
Pity the culture which assumes the word 'stoned' only has a narcotic meaning ...

A delightfully scholarly post on the subject of May in medieval literature - from A Clerk of Oxford [here]

Catholicity and Covenant bemoans the Archbishop of Canterbury's failure to articulate a Catholic theology of priesthood [here]. I have a degree of sympathy, all things being equal, with what he says, but I will refrain from making the obvious comments ...

The Astra Zeneca - Pfizer affair [more here] . Forgive my naivety, but doesn't the clue to the British national interest lie in the fact that the American drug company wishes to consume its rival.
An end to competition is bad for scientific research and bad - and costly in more ways than one - for the public health. At the risk of sounding like a Marxist (heaven forbid), the suppression of competition by industry predators is one of the contradictions of a globalised market ...

The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini,  speaks out against the assisted suicide bill [here]
"... Unfortunately we know from experience how easily public opinion can be manipulated, especially using ‘emotional’ arguments that try to move compassionate sentiments. But once we open this ‘Pandora’s box’ we know as well the horrible consequences that follow...."
Would that the Anglican synodically governed hierarchy (who keeps whom captive there, one wonders?) -  indeed, including those who control the agenda of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales -  had a similarly consistent insight; but then,  the keeping of promises and respect for the eternal value of human life ... sort of go together ... don't they ... ?

There has been a great deal of comment about the 'Trojan Horse'  possible Muslim fundamentalist infiltration of Birmingham schools - this is the refreshingly honest view of a parish priest who actually ministers there: 'What I didn't know in Holy Week' from the Vicar of Purgstall  

Anti-social social media: watch this: it has a point (... I type on my computer keyboard...)
Although, I say facetiously, the English have rarely spoken to strangers in public, most particularly on public transport.