“Love, Thou must teach us, every one,
To toil until Thy will be done;
So never in this world again
Shall child be housed in cattle pen”.

also suggests that he would have called for a social security system that put money into the hands of women and children; that got men able to walk to the town to the pub and the bookmakers into full time employment; and that made sure there were proper “safety nets” in place for when things fall apart.

I’m familiar with Father Andrew being from Forest Gate originally, my great-Aunt Mary who is now 92 used to talk about him, something about him preaching at the “Poplar Baths”.

In his words:

Problems at the Manger

O mighty God, O baby King,
Thyself must teach what welcoming
Thy children, old and young, should bring,
How each should make his offering.

For here are little boys and girls,
With tidy clothes and ordered curls;
A little Scout his flag unfurls,
His mother kneels in lace and pearls.

And here are faces pinched and white,
And men who walked about all night;
A soldier who has lost his sight,
A boy whose sums will not come right.

The young, the middle-aged, the old
Are gathered here, some gay with gold,
Some ragged creatures, starved and cold –
The fat and lean are in Thy fold.

And though our hearts at Christmas glow
With sense of shame that things are so,
Yet how to get the world to go
In Christian ways wee do not know.

There’s nothing wrong in tidy boys,
It’s nice to give expensive toys,
It’s natural to make a noise,
And lovely things are perfect joys –

Yet still we kneel before Thy straw
In penitence and puzzling awe –
Show us our system’s vital flaw,
And that strong truth the Wise Men saw.

Love, Thou must teach us, every one,
To toil until Thy will be done;
So never in this world again
Shall child be housed in cattle pen.

Vouchers get sold on at a discount. “I’ve a voucher for a tenner here, you can have it for a fiver”. They could be barcoded to work with a pass card (like the Tesco vouchers) but the shops would say it’s not their business to deal with social problems.

Baino,

Where would she go? This is a country where the emergency social services number for reporting children at risk is only manned from nine to five Monday to Friday.

The Left would set up an outcry at the thought of a system like the Australian one – middle class progressives like to feel they are caring about the less fortunate!

I am not in the least bit generous – a couple of years ago a lady left a few quid to the rector to be used for charitable purposes – once it’s gone, it’s gone.