I’m not normally a fan of weddings. Funerals are great because you learn things — and anyway, the outcome is certain. But weddings? When you reach my age you realise there are a diminishing number of Saturdays left in your life, and the case is not obvious for standing around with people you don’t know and may never see again.But this Saturday was different. There was something perfect about it. The marriage, short and very sweet, took place in the lovely little church of St Michael and All Angels in the Derbyshire village of Church Broughton.Kate was marrying Doug, the ceremony officiated by her mother, Jane, who’s about to retire as the local vicar and makes you wonder why the Church of England so long denied itself the calm, steady, unshowy spirituality that a woman can bring to the ministry.At the reception in a sunny rural garden I was overtaken by a perfect peace. It was so, so English. The gathering was not (in today’s lingo) diverse, but its very heterogeneity — English families, mostly of a certain class, nice people, mostly rural, mostly local — gave the occasion an air of mild, friendly self-assurance: the England of George Eliot, who well knew this corner of the Midlands: an England still so recognisable.I say “an” England. There are other Englands and we love them differently; but in an age of identity politics let’s recognise that this England too has a quiet identity, as strong as it is gentle.
There will be an afternoon of Messy Church fun at Hascombe Village Hall on August 25th.There'll be a mixture of craftwork, creative ideas, painting and even some music.And with the sports ground to play on we can enjoy some outside fun, too. And if it's a really nice day why not bring a picnic tea to enjoy after Messy Church finishes?To enrol please contact either of these two ladies.Sandy on 208329 or hascomechurchsecretary@gmail.com orSheila on 200204 or sheilajones4@btinternet.com
New research indicates that some stained glass windows from Canterbury Cathedral may be among the oldest in the world.The panels, depicting the Ancestors of Christ, have been re-dated using a new, non-destructive technique.</span>The analysis indicates that some of them may date back to the mid-1100s.The windows would therefore have been in place when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was killed at the cathedral in 1170.Léonie Seliger, the head of stained glass conservation at the cathedral, and part of the research team, told BBC News that the discovery was historically "hugely significant"."We have hardly anything left of the artistic legacy of that early building [apart from] a few bits of stone carving. But until now, we didn't think we had any stained glass. And it turns out that we do," she said.Dr Laura Ware Adlington, who led the research, said that the windolyser's results were "very exciting"."These findings will make us all, from art historians and scientists, to members of the public visiting the cathedral, look at the Canterbury stained glass in a whole new light."Prof Caviness said she was ''delighted'' to hear that her assessment had been confirmed by Dr Ware Adlington.''The scientific findings, the observations and the chronology of the cathedral itself all fit together very nicely now,'' she told BBC News. Prof Caviness, who is now 83, told me that the finding had jolted her out of a ''Covid numbness'' that she had been feeling.''I wish I was younger and could throw myself more into helping Laura with her future work. But I've certainly got a few more projects to feed her.''Dr Ware Adlington's study suggests that some of the Canterbury Ancestors may date back to the back to the period between 1130-1160, at least 10 years before Thomas Becket's infamous killing at the site in 1170.
