A visitor

Over the weekend we had one of my sisters to stay.

She's 11 years older than me, so was quite a grown up when I was a kid. She was also largely responsible for my adherence to the Faith. She had rejected it, and was into all sorts of drugs and the associated life style. So almost inevitably she got pregnant as a teenager, and our doctor got her to sign for an abortion (freshly legalised in the UK). My mother tore up the papers, and my parents welcomed her back into the family, and my lovely nephew (now a young man) is the result.

People sometimes think I am anti-abortion because I am a Catholic. True in a way: but it would be equally true to say that I remain a catholic because the Church is relentlessly pro-life - and my nephew who had a death sentence passed on him, is alive only because of my mother's faith.

Anyway, it was lovely to see my sister: she's still fairly anarchic and the kids were awe-struck by her. She played a lot of duets with Charlie, and drank lots of red wine, and a good time was had by all...