The Peruvian Lily we might consider one of the most beautiful flowers on earth. Although it comes in a whole host of colours, the individual blooms tend to have a couple of petals which are yellow, decorated with little crimson strokes. Had the entire flower looked like this it might have been a little overpowering and garish, but the contrast with its plainer petals make it the more attractive.
It is one of the oldest jokes in the book, yet it seems to be apter with each passing year:
"Guy Fawkes was the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions".
My summer visit to York saw me staying in the parish of St Paul’s, Holgate. Curiously, the modest hotel at which I lodged had once been the vicarage. The Church of England is a mixed bag, though St Paul’s looks pretty good judging by its website. Its building was not open to inspect, and it is only Victorian anyway. It claims:
After Friday’s coffee morning, a great, full-sized rainbow was observed in the skies about Salem Chapel. On closer inspection, a second could be seen, above it, running parallel. It was rather beauitful, and made the thick cloud and rainy sky a fair price to pay for so cheering a sight.
St Mary’s at Chirk in Clwyd, Wales, I was pleased to find open when I called in the autumn. An establishment of some vintage, I found it rather peculiar on three counts, the first being the number of monuments to the dead.
01282 540 562
pastor @ martintop. org .uk
Salem Chapel, Martin Top
near Rimington, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 4EG
Salem Congregational Chapel is a registered charity No. 252401 (England & Wales)
Sunday Worship 10.45am & 6.00pm