Shadows But As Lights Unfolding: Easter Sunday

At this time last year I was in England. In light of it being the end of Holy Week, I am going to put some pictures of the most interesting places of worship we visited. For this trip, Hereford Cathedral was probably the most stunning, with the added attractions of the chained library and the Mappa Mundi. I could have spent days there.

Then there were dark, little 13th century chappels with crooked naves, and ancient, damp ghosts; there were churches that have been saved from financial ruin by creatively turning part of the buildings into marvelous restaurants; there was the amazing story of Yarpole where they have combined the church, post office, village shop, and art gallery into one entity, with a dear little tea room in the gallery under the medieval roof (the entire enterprise is run by volunteers, and the people I met I would have gladly brought home with me to stay). There were the village churches in which I was christened and Mum and Dad were married; and there was Bath Abbey in the late afternoon after rain, with hordes of French teenagers on a school trip; and I could even include the "drive-bys" of Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge - no stops at those hallowed places on this trip. And let me not forget Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon. Weobley and Milton Abbey and Ludlow and South Wales - there were always churches in my daily cache of photographs .

Happy Easter to all.