Alder's Tone

But, not his own. Why? Well, we're about as religious as Richard Dawkins, though slightly less infuriated by those who do believe in something theologically beyond our own world.

So we see no point in the hypocrisy in having the wee guy christened. If he finds religion later on, then it'll be of his own mind, not that of ours. I hate to see media reports including lines like "muslim children were hurt" - why are they muslim? Because their parents are? Exactly, before they can speak children are given such tags because of their parents. Let them make their own mind up. Ours will.

What the day did bring was a sense of mortality and sadness to me. The wee guy was due his nap, and got really tired, so I nipped out mid-service and grabbed his puschair. We had a walk around the graveyard for the remainder of the service, reading a few of the gravestones. There were so many stories in there. One man was buried with both his wives, a quantity of people there buried their children first, with themselves following sometimes very close behind. Wives departing shortly after husbands, clearly unable to live without them - nobody left to nag, perhaps? There was money too, the big family plots in prominent spaces, edged with carved stones, huge marble stones, occupying multple adjacent plots. The private area walled off at one side, now overgrown as there is nobody left to tend to it.

It becomes very evident reading the memorials that there is no such thing as a "standard life", the only standard life there is in existence is the big financial company based in Edinburgh.

Wonder what will be on their epitaph?