That's St Zosimus the martyr who was executed in AD110 not one of the other St Zosimuses (yes, there really is more than one St Zosimus!).
Lapsed Catholic that I am (I never practised, although I was baptised as a baby - perhaps 'lapsed' is overstating the case) I'm afraid I don't really have much time for the Zosimuses. I saw a car with a Darwin Fish on it the other day and I was going to namecheck that symbol here until my internet investigations threw up an even more amazing icon for atheism - The Flying Spaghetti Monster
Yes, Pastafarianism has been doing the rounds for a few years now, but I'd never heard of it. It does suffer from that smugness that a lot of atheist satires of religion tend to possess but unlike some religious doctrines that can be equally smug this does make points that can actually be proved in fact. And they do have Talk Like a Pirate Day as a holiday so that's in their favour.
See how easy it is to get distracted. That small wander through the gardens of controvesy was entirely caused by me wanting to obliquely get on to what some of us are celebrating today, namely Father's Day. I'm afraid I didn't send my own father a card, but I did phone him only to interrupt his viewing of the US Open golf so it was a very hurried conversation.
Back in 1999 I decided to have a go at this fatherhood lark myself. By and large I haven't done too badly - two offspring who still seem to enjoy my company despite living apart giving them an easy opt out if they ever decided they had better things to do. At 11 and 3 years of age I'm immensely proud of both of them and despite all the anxieties that understandably go with any parenting, lately I've been happy with what my role in their lives has been and I'm worrying less about what I may or may not be doing and just enjoying their company.
So was any of that reflected in how we spent Father's Day? Well, it's been a tiring week so I'd pretty much resigned myself to this being a fairly low-key weekend. We spent most of the time watching telly or on the computer with the odd walk here and there ('there' yesterday being the Harbour Bar for ice cream. No2 son didn't realise at first that the toddler cone his ice cream came in was edible. Upon finishing, he handed it to his servant for disposal as is his way only for me to sign back to him that he could eat it. Cue an experimental nibble followed by contented munching).
It was as we set off for a stroll today that No 1 son found an envelope in his pocket and handed it over to me. Turns out it was a card from No 2 that he made at nursery - the words on it completely obliterated by green paint. No 1 then mentioned that his mum had given him five quid to get something for dad but he had forgotten about it until now. When a few minutes later I lamented that I had forgotten to get cheese for the pasta we were having for tea he suggested getting me some for a Father's Day gift. So that is what I received: a block each of Red Leicester and Double Gloucester. And when we got back to the flat and No 2 saw the card that I had opened he quickly declared 'mine!' and asked for it back...
I've really enjoyed today. I said earlier that I've been relaxed in the boys' company, but I do still worry it's a bit boring sometimes. So it brought a smile to my face when I took the boys back home to see No2 enthusiastically regale mum with tales of dragons and witches and daleks in what he calls 'old Doctor Who'. And No 1 son? I was just pleased he didn't think getting his dad a present was too cheesy...
More soonliest.
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