Sunday and Monday, July 12 and 13. Tunbridge Wells.
In an earlier post about these two days I recounted the misadventure of David's and Tina's car.
On Monday Ingrid and I took the train east rather than west, changing at Tonbridge for the train to Staplehurst. The shuttle bus to our destination, the Sissinghurst Castle Garden, doesn't operate on Mondays, so we needed to take a taxi for the 5 mile trip. Along the way we learned that the suffix "-hurst" means "woods." In the unsettling and confused aftermath of the weekend's misadventure I forgot to take my camera, so looking at the website's Photo Gallery will have to suffice for pictures of the glorious gardens of Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson.
Wednesday. July 15. Harpenden.
In another earlier post I briefy mentioned our "full and delightful day" with Leo and Jo Morris. During my last Sabbatical five years ago Ingrid and I attended the celebration of his 50th anniversary as a priest in the Church of England. We first met Leo when he came to St. Bartholomew's in the late '80s and early '90's, and he has been a close friend and mentor ever since. We first met Jo in 2000 on my first Sabbatical.
On this visit Leo told us about his experiences in the Second World War. He was among the British troops at Dunkirk in 1940, but he wasn't evacuated during the famous boat rescue. Instead, about two weeks later, he boarded the Lancastria with about 6,000 other evacuees. At 3:45 pm the Luftwaffe bombed the ship, and at least 3,300 men lost their lives. Leo was among the 2,500 men who were rescued. This greatest maritime disaster wasn't reported at the time for fear of what it would do to public morale. You can read an account of it here.
Leo was then posted to the Eighth Army in north Africa. One day the jeep in which he was riding was hit by a bomb. The driver and the man seated behind him were killed instantly, and Leo and another man were thrown from the vehicle. Three days later Leo awoke in a hospital, and was subsequently evacuated to Jerusalem for his recovery. (The other man in the jeep died of his injuries.)
After that, "His Majesty's Government sent me a letter that my services were no longer needed," so Leo looked for ways he could help the war effort at home. Rats and other vermin were consuming vast amounts of the food being stored for wartime use, so he joined a government agency to deal with the problem. A call came through from the constable in a nearby village that he had captured a rat the size of a small dog. Leo assured the man that rats couldn't grow that big, but the man's insistence was such that Leo decided to go and see for himself. It wasn't a rat; it was a coypu, which had apparently found its way into a food shipment from South America!
Here's a picture of Leo with yours truly:
Thursday, July 16. London.
On this last full day in England, Ingrid stayed at the flat to prepare for our journey to France while I trained into London to meet Andrew Lloyd for lunch, and Ian Mobsby for a conversation about Emerging Church and Moot.
Andrew met me at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, and we walked east across St. Martin's Place to the recently renovated St. Martin-in-the-Fields. After lunch in the Café in the Crypt, we entered the church.
You will see a piano tuner preparing for a concert. Although St. Martin's has a music program, it is not the home for the eponymous Academy which was named for the church where it gave its first performance in 1959.
The window's brightness is almost blinding, because it is nearly all mouth-blown clear glass. Here's a closer view, the best picture I could manage:
According to a press release on St. Martin's website, the window "evokes the agony of the Cross, whilst the central ellipse creates an icon of contemplation. It can be seen as the light at the centre of existence, the glory of God, and of the light with which He illuminates our lives. . . ."
Here is another picture, showing the side balconies and ornate ceiling:
I picked up several parish brochures and booklets, among them In Search of Healing: A resource of prayer and reflection; a Parish Newsletter; and Welcome to our Worship, which includes their Mission Statement: "St Martin-in-the-Fields exists to honour God, and to enable questioning, open-minded people to discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ." There was also a one page flyer that proposes the story of Jacob's Ladder as another inspiration for the new East Window. The poem In No Strange Land by Francis Thomas is quoted; here are the last two stanzas:
“But (when so sad thou canst not sadder)
Cry; - and upon thy so sore loss
Shall shine the traffic of Jacob’s ladder
Pitched between Heaven and Charing Cross.
“Yea, in the night, my Soul, my daughter,
Cry, - clinging Heaven by the hems;
And lo, Christ walking on the water,
Not of Gennesaret, but Thames!”
Once more outside, I took this picture of Andrew on the steps of St. Martin's, with the National Gallery in the background on the right, and on the left the Fourth Plinth and one of the fountains of Trafalgar Square.
At just about 2 o’clock off of Andrew’s shoulder, on the lawn in front of the National Gallery, you can make out the white plinth and statue of George Washington. It was a gift from the state of Virginia, and it stands on soil imported from the United States to honor Washington's declaration he would never again set foot on British soil!
It was great to see Andrew before leaving England, and to catch up on all the things that had happened to us since last summer when he visited us in Deerfield and met my dad and Ingrid's mom.
Having said our farewells, I took the Northern Line from Charing Cross to the Tottenham Court Road Station, and then the Central Line to the Bank Street Station for a final interview with Ian Mobsby.
To be continued!
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