This is a strange time... now that we're in the runup to Easter, I've been sort of exploring the religious side of things again - I've undergone a sort of immersion at St. John the Evangelist yesterday and today. They're on ceremony all the time, the people there. Evey word, every detail, every tone in the mass is scripted, although the meanings of all the little details are very often lost in the mists of time, and we can only speculate about them - and either hang on to them or let them slide. At St. John the Evangelist they gladly hold on to what most other people would gladly let slide. Some details almost seem to be perversely designed to elude meaning and to communicate nothing but the form of ceremony and decorum. The priests often have their backs to the congregation, and very often you can't make out what they're saying - they rattle on, declaiming at a high speed. There is still a lot of beauty in the whole thing, though there's an element of absurdity too - a weaving together of the sublime and the ridiculous. It's fascinating, really - if you're in the mood for this sort of thing, which I suspect a lot of people who may read this will never be. Oh well.