Patience is supposed to be a characteristic virtue of Benedictines. Close readers of this blog will have noticed some rather terse entries recently and may have guessed that patience was being tried somewhere or other in the monastery. The fact is, our Broadband connection has been more down than up for several days. Indeed, on some days we have had no access to the internet at all. Several calls to helplines in India have resulted in long conversations with diligent and charming support staff, but achieved little. Last night it was suggested that we open one of BT's boxes and do a little rewiring ourselves . . . but prudence is another Benedictine virtue. We have had Broadband access off and on this morning, which is just as well, because DRAINS are again featuring on the list of trying things. Strange how desire for the Kingdom becomes so muddled up with desire for reliable communications and efficient drains.