Easter Snow!!!

Well hello everyone! Unbelievable! To wake up to this yesterday morning, just as we had just had had some glorious warm spring days!!! I had gone down to my mother's in Cwmbran for a couple of days, as I had loads to do and wanted to see her and we actually sat in the garden, saying what lovely weather it was!!Still that's the British Weather for you. Today I have caught up with most of my business stuff and have a busy weekend-rehearsal Wednesday , concert Thursday night with my choir and singing my self in my normal job as soloist on Friday in Ebbw Vale at the Beaufort Theatre and then Saturday working at the Stage School and Sunday playing the piano for ballet exams. Musician's life is never dull!!!If exhausting!

Anyway, will be putting up my podcast of my trip to St Materiana's Tintagel Church on iTunes. If you just google iTunes, press download, click store and enter MaryinMonmouth you will hget these episodes and they can be listened to in the 'podcasts' folder, free and without difficulty! Don't forget it's free if you want to hear lil old me.

Shannon Matthews Latest Shock

I have been absolutely shocked to see Sharon Matthews' Shannon Matthews' Mother and Aunt have now been arrested s well as the Stepfather (22 years) who has already been arrested for having illegal child images on his computer (200 counts!) I find it so sad that a child, who should have every protection against this kind of thing in their own home felt so desperate she had to run away. We won't know the truth about this and we should not speculate, as we don't know all of it. I just find it so sad that when people can't seem to form deep and committed relationships. the risk to children increases. Not only their sense of belonging to a close family unit is shaken but they can also be threatened by people of perverted tastes who can stalk lonely hearts pages and look for single mums with children. All single Mum's should not be unaware of the risks. We are none of us perfect, but forming sturdy (and sometimes difficult)marriages is an important cacoon for nurturing security and self worth in children,who as children of previous partners sometimes just become inconvenient to a new love. This is not, of course always the case, but stability is an important concept in the Christian life and in everyone's life as St Benedict said. Stability brings happiness along with been loved and wanted and a child being a priority in a fmaily unit (without either the father or the mother.) I have heard many people say 'We are staying together because of the children'-how noble and selfless that it! And isn't it true, that marriage, like any relationship, is something you have to work hard at. You have to love more, when times are hard. It forces you to think more for the other person than for yourself, and can bring contentment and happiness as well as security and stability.

Madeleine McCann

Apparently there has been a sighting of Madeleine in Tenerife and detectives are investigating it.Margaret Jones, a tourist ist certain it was her. She was in the airport at the Spanish island. She rang Methodo 3 the McCann detectives when she got home to Cardiff.Sixty year old Mrs Jones who works in the media, said '
'I was sitting opposite a shop. I spotted a little girl with curly red hair with a man, who was about 5ft 10in.....When the little girl looked up, my heart skipped a beat. I took one look and thought, ‘My God, it’s Maddie’.They walked off and I had to get my plane'. She had also reported it to Crimestoppers on March 7th and emailed Leicestershire Police.

I think it was a pity Mrs Jones did not alert the airport police, but perhaps she had to catch her flight.

When you listen to the podcast, if you want to remind yourself about the Holy Madryn or St Materiana of Cornwall, look in the archive or this blog or go to iTunes and download episode 6 of Mary in Monmouth which is all about Queen Materiana of Cornwall.

My son is off to beautiful Italy on Friday. He is visiting he Bay of bella Napoli, Pompei, Vesuvius, Herculaneum and many other places as he is studying Latin. Just one thought! Wish it was me!!!!!!

Bridgend suicides . Madeleine McCann-Psychics

It seems that the police have made some progress in establising all these tenagers were linked through other friends etc. There was also some feed back in the papers about young people from Bridgend saying it is a great place to be and that a lot of what was written about the town was not true. It is not a rich town, but I think you have to worry about spiritual deprivation of young people. Not allowed to be taught about God at school (after primary school level it seems)they take comfort, if their messages of commemoration are to be believed in a 'happier place up there''with the angels' etc. Can it be that all the dumbing down of Christianity has not worked? That these youngsters are desirous of a God and afterlife-but want it now, in the true way of the twenty first century. Why, do they not rebel against this evil, evil culture of destroying themselves (and incidentally their families too, who by all accounts are loving and deeply distressed as you can imagine) We all have our crosses to bear in this life, and spiritual strength from the Eucharist, the Word and the people who make this a reality on earth, those near and dear to us, all make life joyful even when there is an odd 'dark night of the soul' or in the vernacular:

We have to 'Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again'!Not equipping children and young people spiritually is leaving them defenceless and weak in a deeply despairing world and lead them away from beauty and truth into dark regions.

Madeleine McCann
It seems psychics are drawing attention to the West Country and camping and caravansites. It would be a good guess in any case. Who looks twice at the families of travellers. I wish that someone would spot her somewhere. On each occasion the person guarding her at a sighting has always been claimed to be unkempt and untidy and could well be a very good idea of hiding her in a caravan. I think the time has come to close European borders and enforce checks on everyone again just to prevent children being smuggled as clearly she has been.How did she get a passport for someone to take her? Or do people even need one any more? God Bless you Madeleine.St Michael Guard you and God bring you home to your family.Still no news of Shannon Matthewswho ran away from home it seems and was trying to get to her father's home in Huddersfield.God Bless her and all our Children and keep them safe!