Bother !

Those New Year intentions of mine aren't doing too well today...Here I am blogging between the hours of Morning and Evening Prayer, the rain is coming down in torrents so I don't see the dogs getting walked any time soon, and I'm busily not doing my end of last year expenses. Grrr.
In an effort to prevent myself from doing anything that might be remotely constructive, I wandered over to Dave Walker's wonderful Cartoon Blog where he has a post appealing for suggestions, real or imagined, of the things that clergy carry about their persons.
There are some entertaining ideas in the comments - and it made me ponder the essential contents of my own bag (or, in happier times, bike basket. The Duffeplud gave me a wonderful example of this species for Christmas, which simply hooks over the handlebars, so that I can have it sitting beside my desk in the study and drop things into it as I realise I might need them later - thankfully the basket was sitting right there when the bike was pinched so it's not gone as well)
So a list of the USEFUL contents of my bag (less than 50% of the actual contents, of course....time to weed again) looks a little like this

• Church book and desk diary - stuffed with essential bits of paper that I'll lose any day now

• Pens

• Mobile phone (which will be buried in the deepest recess, so that I only reach it as it stops ringing. Always. Without fail.)
  

• Book of Pastoral Prayers (includes such diverse liturgies as house blessing and marking the end of a relationship..)

• Keys - Church, Hall and Home

• Headache pills

• Brush/comb

• Small wooden bear to entertain miserable toddlers

• (If I DONT need them) Visiting cards

• Purse (usually empty of anything that might help to pay for parking)

• Post it notes (stuck to interior of bag and thus incapable of sticking to anything else)

• NRSV New Testament & Psalms (the copy I was given by the Bishop during my diaconal ordination)

• RevGals "That'll blog" notebook, as sent to me by Songbird

• (Not often enough) Camera (though current phone isn't bad at photography, so this is less vital than it used to be)

• Memory stick

I would like it to contain an oil stock, but I don't currently own one, and it ought probably to contain the sick-call stole that lives in my home Communion set....Tissues would also be an improvement on the current yards of loo paper that lurk in the depths- try offering that to a distressed parishioner with any sense of dignified compassion, eh!

This may well come into the TMI category - but I'd love to hear what you keep in your essential kit...and any entertaining additions that you feel might really boost my ministry! No point in mentioning chocolate - it wouldn't stand a chance.