Now remind me. Where did I leave it?

You might remember that it's sometime around this time of year that the first issue of the new journal Usus Antiquior is due to sneak it's way through our snail encrusted slots (courtesy of Royal Mail or whoever) and into our collective traditionalist bosom. Don't hold your breath. I suspect there may be some delay before the editor sole, Dr Hemming, manages to put together enough material of academic credibility to pad it out. I'm afraid blow-ups between traddies and their petty jealousies have undermined what could have been quite a good independent journal of scholarly work on the rites we love. Instead those of us who subscribed in advance find ourselves potentially chained to what now proclaims itself 'a journal of the Society of Saint Catherine of Siena.' (see http://www.caterinati.co.uk) This shouldn't be confused with the excellent Saint Catherine's Educational Trust (see http://www.stcatherinestrust.org) which works hard to provide traditional Catholic educational opportunities in Britain. The Society of Saint Catherine, rather, is a Dominican sponsored group centering on the work of Dr Hemming and his friends. Dr Alcuin Reid, who thought the whole idea of the journal up in the first place, does not seem to be counted amongst these friends any more (nor are several important board members and contributors). Perhaps it's time for those who have already forked out good cash to the publisher, Maney (see http://www.maney.co.uk), to seek a clarification on whether their hard earned traditional cash is actually going towards traditional purposes or being redirected into the hands of yet another dreary liturgy magazine perched, philosophically, astride Ockam's razor.