I'm off to Rome for a few days, so all-y'all can get some peace around here! If you watch TV pics from the square, I'll try and wave my 'maverick' hat to you ;)

Hurry back, Sweet Thing; and let us know how it went.
Sheesh--given the news about the Pope, you may be in for more than you bargained for.

given the news about the Pope, you may be in for more than you bargained for.

oh, is Mav (secretly?!) a RC cardnial and likely to be shut up in a concave? (for who knows how long?)---

he must be the most worldly cardinal in existances!

Well he IS a legend of the West.

TEd artfully brings up yet another TV comedy show and tries to tie two threads together, probably unsuccessfully. It's probably all the booze, thinks TEd as he gots off singing, "What do you do when you're brandied?"

oh, is Mav (secretly?!) a RC cardnial
Why would you ask that...oh! Is the Pope Catholic?

What pope? What's a pope?

What do you do when you're brandied,
And you know you're a Mav?

I got to the apartment at 9.35pm, and two minutes later all the bells started ringing. Was it somethin' I said?

Seriously, had a great time - I got out just as the world, his padre and his ancient auntie all descended - the queue to see the old feller's corpse was over 5 miles long, ten abreast by that time, snaking back down to the backstreets around the Tiber.

Me, I spent loads of time surveying much older and nobler traditions of the city. The port of Ostia is really extraordinary - to step into an ancient city so well preserved that you can imagine the fish on the counter in the fish market, the drinks on the marble counter of a bar...

And the Romans themselves are as pragmatic as ever: was it going to be a problem getting a meal at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night when the Pope had just died? "No problem at all", said the larger than life waiter, adding with a nonchalent shrug "he was an old man. Now I can do you a wonderful dish to start, with baby shrimps and little pieces of calamari and some delicate pasta...!" It was a fabulous start to a stay in a city I think I love even more than Paris.

Doing the math, it looks like they were running folks past him at about five per second. That sound reasonable? Or did you get a good view of it?

The media have repeatedly reported that John Paul is "lying in state" for public viewing. I am not so sure about that.

Here in the Colonies, "lying in state" refers to placing the body of a deceased President of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol for public viewing. "Lying in repose" is what happens when the body of anybody, including a deceased president, is placed on display in a church or, as in the case of President Reagan, a library/museum.

In the Mother County, a deceased monarch "lies in state" in Westminster Hall, which is a part of the Parliament, and "lies in repose" in a church.

Or have I got it all wrong?

Perhaps the line is blurred because, in the case of the Vatican, the church is the state? The basilica is not merely the primary church, it is also the seat of government, is it not?

Good point, VC. John Paul was not only the pontiff of the whole Roman Catholic Church but also the "head of state" for the Vatican City, under some exotic extraterritoriality agreement with the Italian government.

Besides, 'lying in repose' sends the wrong message.

Yep, since the church somewhat predates any Italian government, I guess that seems a just description.

I'm sure your maths is sound, Fong - but I didn't go that near the Vatican thanks* ~ dja think I got <idiot> tattooed on me forrid?! I heard in the last 24 hours that they closed the queue off by the time it had got to a million strong!

* the closest was a quick trip on the metro to ascertain on Monday that the museum was indeed closed and the throngs flooding the train by then getting off at the previous stop (for the square) was a serious warning of the mayhem to come.