St Benedict has two feasts and among Benedictines today's celebration, the Transitus or Passing of St Benedict, is the more important. Given that Benedict wanted the lives of his followers "always to have a Lenten quality", it seems very fitting that we remember him in the middle of Lent with splendid liturgy and a rather less splendid commemoration in the refectory!. We are marking the Solemnity this year with the public launch of an online forum or bulletin board intended for all disciples of St Benedict but especially those who live in the British Isles. It has been some time in the making, but we hope we have now sorted all the security issues (always a nightmare with any kind of online project) and that it will become a genuinely useful service. Everything depends on the users, of course. See for yourself by visiting www.benedictineforum.org.uk (link opens in new window). It will probably take a while for the number of users to grow but we are in no hurry. Now that the Forum is up and running, you can expect to find more regular prayer podcasts returning to this page (are we tempting nemesis there?) and possibly even the audio versions of our Lent talks. Do not think, however, that monastic life is all work and no pray, sorry, play. Yesterday was wonderfully warm and sunny so when Duncan decided it was time to go for a walk, we were happy to oblige. The Ridgeway was spectacularly beautiful: blue skies filled with skylarks, green grass shimmering beneath a brilliant sun. We walked past the lambing field, where every ewe seemed to have twins or triplets, along the gallops, and down. Red kites soared overhead, and we were thrilled to see a short-eared owl at close quarters and two pairs of yellowhammers. Difficult to believe that just a short walk in the opposite direction and we should have been gazing at Didcot power station . . .