CHAPLAIN’S LETTER
As Christians we are “people of the book” - and for English speaking people throughout the world for more than three centuries, that book was the King James Bible. This year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible known as the Authorised Version. In the English speaking world for most of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and even the first half of the twentieth century the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer were the central texts of the Anglican church. English speaking grandparents and great grandparents and great great grandparents knew nothing else. People memorised many parts of the Prayer book, often because few people in those days could read. And if they could read, the bible version that they would have read would have been the Authorised Version.
So how did the King James Bible come about? As usual in the history of the church a new idea came as a result of a conflict between the church leaders who were meeting at a conference called by King James 1st at Hampton court in the year 1604. The king who was a shrewd politician, realised that getting everybody busy with a new bible translation might help to stop the quarrelling . And he was right – a new bible translation was something they could all agree on. So six companies of translators were formed to translate different parts of the bible and in 1611 their new bible was published for the first time.
Usually books written by committees are not very poetic, but these translators were not starting from scratch. They had a number of English translations to work from, including the translation of Willian Tyndale, and it was mainly Tyndale’s beautiful prose which helped to make the King James Bible one of the greatest books that have ever been written in the English language.
Today of course, the King James version, sounds beautiful but is a bit remote and old fashioned. We have a much wider selection of modern bible translations to choose from. But for centuries the King James Version was “the bible in English” and it travelled with the English across the world and helped to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the globe. For that, every Christian can be very thankful, for it helped to make Christ known in a language that billions of people today use and understand.
If you think about it, it is language that brings us together as Christians at Holy Trinity, and therefore in this anniversary year we give especial thanks to God for the bible translation that did so much to shape the language which binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
O eternal Word of God
limitless and free,
yet handed down to us
through careful human speech,
telling salvation’s story
in the homely and glorious words
of languages like English:
translate what we hear and read
into lives that speak your truth
afresh in this generation,
that many may come to love you
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Fr John
WIKILEAKS FOR CHOIRS V: PEOPLE LOOK EAST
The Christmas Carol “People look East” tells us about celebrating the birth of Christ in the warmth of our homes: “Make your house fair as you are able. Trim the hearth and set the table”. Until recently we looked East: the “Achterhoek“ (meaning “rear corner”), a region in the eastern part of the Netherlands. We spent many school holidays in this predominantly rural region that lies between the rivers Ijssel and Oude Ijssel and protrudes into Germany with Saxon place names such as Wichmond and Beckum. At Pentecost last year in the late afternoon we drove in what seemed to be the region’s own Bermuda Triangle – the countryside between Winterswijk , Groenlo and Deventer, only meeting the odd car, tractor or motorcycle.
Many cottages, villas and bungalows were up for sale there and local estate agents were more than happy to show us round. We began to fancy an escape to the country. The choristers of the French speaking church were the first to get wind of our plans to settle there. A chorister told us that a relative of his had her house for sale in a pretty village near Groenlo. We arranged a visit and as we drove into the village, we saw a sea of flags. We wondered whether the whole village had been notified of our arrival. Or was there a birthday in the Royal family? One villager said: “No, we thought it a nice gesture for the annual fair.”
On hearing the name of the village, one chorister warned us that we were about to commit social suicide. Another chorister, a retired Dutch minister, warned us that the locals would never accept us as equals as he had found out during his years of ministry in France. They responded like Judeans in Biblical times who thought that Galilee was the back of beyond. The conductor, however, gently suggested that perhaps it was a nicer idea to gain – excuse my French – “a pied a terre” (a modest foothold) there. Some choristers of Holy Trinity Church, not yet fully conversant with our plans, suggested that I should take up a teaching post in neighboring Germany and try to settle there. It was as if they were saying: “Be practical! If you can’t go to Galilee. Go to Samaria instead!”. Another chorister, who lives in the Betuwe, kindly lent us his local estate agent’s magazine, as if to say: “Please don’t go that far away!”.
We had already narrowed down our search to second homes until one day we spotted a luxury static caravans in a forest clearing near one of our holiday destinations. During an impulse visit to an estate agent we once went to see a static caravan on a lakeside. As we approached the caravan we were followed by at least four cats as if I was the local fishmonger bringing fish-offal. Another static caravan that was for sale turned out to be located in a caravan park due to be closed in two year’s time. At Pentecost last year we had a near ‘Damascus-Road’ experience as our car stopped to park in front of a village church near Deventer where we went to pay our last respects to a friend. Here we met friends who invited us for a cup of tea in the caravan park where they stayed. I think you can guess the rest.
When we saw the caravan park the pioneering spirit of kibbutz life possessed us. We decide to lease a bit of land in the forest clearing, buy a new static caravan and to put it there and to develop the poor soil, endeavouring to create a lovely garden.
We searched for a static caravan in a showroom located in an ugly industrial estate, looking quite like an army compound in the Gazza strip going under the unlikely name of “little paradise”. I suspect that “Paradise Lost” would have been more fitting! Here we bought a static caravan built in Hull and christened it “arnell”. When it was wheeled into the caravan park like a BMW sport car on a float, its pageantry was appreciated by the community: “Is that an English caravan? I mean the one with a built-in oven”, one temporary resident asked me. I was glad she did not add: “And with a sauna and room for a pony?”
For months it was nothing like the Good Life we had envisaged. We had to overcome quite a number of hurdles. In the wet season we were often faced with near swamp-like conditions and during this season of Lent we were faced with the longest period of drought for decades. We literally rose above it by having a wooden porch built on so that the whole place how has a faint Australian outback atmosphere.
With at least 5 friends and acquaintances on hand who were formerly or are currently associated with Holy Trinity church, the region is not as distant as Galilee once was to the Judeans. People look East!
Arnold
TERTULLIAN ON CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE (200 A.D.)
(Taken from a letter to his wife)
Where can we find words enough to fully tell the happiness of that marriage which the Church cements, and the oblation (Sacrament of the Eucharist) confirms, and the benediction signs and seals, of which Angels carry back the news and the Father holds for ratified? For even on earth children do not rightly and lawfully wed without their father’s consent. What kind of yoke is that of two believers, as they partake together of one hope, one desire, one discipline, one and the same service? Both are brethren, both fellow servants, no difference of spirit or of flesh; nay, they are truly “two in one flesh.” Where the flesh is one, one is the spirit too. Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together perform their fasts; mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually sustaining. Both are equally in the Church of God; equally at the banquet of God; equally in straits, in persecutions, in refreshments. Neither hides ought from the other; neither shuns the other; neither is troublesome to the other. The sick is visited, the indigent relieved, with freedom. Alms are given without danger of ensuing torment; sacrifices attended without scruple; daily diligence discharged without impediment; there is no stealthy signing, no trembling greeting, no mute benediction. Between the two echo psalms and hymns; and they mutually challenge each other which shall better chant to their Lord. Such things when Christ sees and hears, He joys. To these He sends His own peace. Where two are, there withal is He Himself. Where He is, there the Evil One is not.
Submitted by Peter
HOLY LAND TRIP – EVENING, DAY 2
After walking the Via Dolorosa, with the cross, to the Church of Holy Sepulchre, and visiting Calvary and the sepulchre inside the church, we wandered on through the old narrow streets of Jerusalem to the Western wall. Evening was setting in and when we reached the entrance of the Western wall it was dark. There was a thorough security check of our bags and person before we were allowed to follow the broad steps down to the Plaza. The Western Wall Plaza is a large open area that faces the Western Wall and functions as an open-air synagogue that can accommodate tens of thousands of worshipers. Prayers take place here day and night and special services are held here as well. To one side of the Plaza is the Western Wall (Ha-Kotel Ha-Ma'aravi). In Jerusalem it is the holiest of Jewish sites, sacred because it is a remnant of the Herodian retaining wall that once enclosed and supported the Second Temple. It has also been called the ‘Wailing Wall’ by European observers because for centuries Jews have gathered here to lament the loss of their temple. As I was going down the steps I took a photograph of the Plaza and the wall. Immediately an orthodox Jewish gentleman, in black, came rushing up to say that it was not permitted to take photographs on the Sabbath. Luckily I didn’t know, and so I had at least this one picture. Barney (our guide) told us to have a look around and meet up again in half an hour at the bottom of the stairs (I thought). There is a men’s and women’s half to the wall. The men pray on the left, the women on the right side. Moveable screens divide the two sections and block the view into the other gender’s side. There is a pretty fountain with four taps on each side where visitors can do a ritual purification, or just wash their hands. Barney had also told us that people, apart from praying while facing the wall, wrote wishes or prayers on pieces of paper and put them into the cracks of the wall. So I wrote a note to ask for: “Peace between religions, peace in Jerusalem and world peace” and put it into a crack. Then I returned to the foot of the stairs to wait for the others; but no one came. I waited for half an hour and started wondering if something had gone wrong. The plaza was packed with people, but I saw none of the members of our group. Did I get the time right? I didn’t dare move around as I might miss them. After an hour’s wait the Plaza was deserted, almost everyone had disappeared and I realised that they had left me behind. What to do now? The only thing I knew was the name of the hotel: Capitol (although I wasn’t quite sure). I walked up the steps to the security area and asked for help. They could only be of help if I knew the telephone number of the hotel, which I didn’t have on me. So next I asked for directions to the police station; that is a safe place to be if you’re lost. We had been warned not to walk about the old town of Jerusalem on our own after dark. Fortunately the police station was just around the corner; I couldn’t miss it, they said at security.
When I turned the street corner I saw an inconspicuous ancient little wooden door with ‘Police’ painted on it. There was a bell, and after ringing it a woman’s voice came out of a hidden speaker saying something in Yiddish. Then it was repeated in English: “Come in, push the door hard”. I stepped in and was on an indoor courtyard; open doors all around. I just stood there and waited while watching a kitten eating take-away food from a plastic box. Then a young female police officer appeared from one of the rooms. Thankfully she spoke some English. I told her what had happened: that I had been told by the Western wall security not to walk back to the hotel on my own, that I couldn’t take a taxi as I didn’t know the address of the hotel and that I wasn’t even sure if I had remembered the name of the hotel correctly. She said she’d give it a try, made some phone calls and then she motioned me to take the receiver: it was Barney on the phone. What a relief! Barney told me to take a taxi back and gave the street name of the hotel. The lady police officer insisted that a policeman should escort me to the taxi stand. We waited for a bit until a young man in uniform came in. He took me to a busy road, hailed a taxi and told the driver where to go. I was very grateful for this remarkable service. Coming to the hotel I felt like ‘the lost sheep that was found’! Different members from our group were waiting on the steps of the hotel to welcome me, Father Peter kept exclaiming: “Alleluia”. Everyone, including me, was very happy that I was back safe and sound. They had only realized that I had gone missing once they were back in the hotel (they forgot the bus count) and didn’t know what to do to find me; they were worried sick. They had all gathered at the yellow flag in the middle of the Plaza, which everyone knew about, except me. After greeting everyone elaborately my friend Lydia and her husband Bernard ushered me into the dining room to get hold of some leftovers. All in all this experience strengthened the bond with the group: I was no longer ‘the guest from Holland’, but now ‘one of the St. Albans parish group’. So it was a small miracle, thank you God! And next time I’m in a hotel I’m putting their business card in my pocket when I go out.
To be continued…
WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? - AN INTRODUCTION TO
2 THESSALONIANS
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul continues to address the importance of the second coming of Jesus to the Christian faith. Because of its similarity to 1 Thessalonians, it is generally believed to have been written not long after the first letter (approx. 6 months). Paul wrote from Corinth, after Silas and Timothy had returned from delivering 1 Thessalonians, in AD 51/52.
Paul’s purpose in writing was largely the same as in the first letter, as the situation in the church remained largely unchanged. He writes to encourage new believers facing persecution (1:4-10), to correct a misunderstanding concerning the Lord’s return (2:1-12) and to deal with the problems caused by some of the church refusing to earn their own living (2:13-3:15).
The theme of the second coming of Jesus dominates 2 Thessalonians as with the first letter. Paul teaches that Jesus' coming will be preceded by an ‘apostasy’ (or ‘rebellion’), in which the ‘man of lawlessness’ (or ‘antichrist’) will be revealed (2 Thess. 2:3). When Jesus comes, he will defeat this rebellious world ruler (2:8) and bring justice to oppressed Christians and judge their persecutors and unbelievers (1:5-10; 2:9-15).
Paul was challenging the false belief that ‘the day of the Lord has come’, which left them feeling shaken and frightened (2:1-2). How could they have thought this? Remembering that the Christians were undergoing intense persecution, perhaps they believed that the tribulation of the day of the Lord had already begun. Consequently they thought that the second coming was imminent. Furthermore, the community had a problem with those believers who refused to work. They may have decided to stop working and await and preach the second coming. However, it may have simply been a case of lazy Christians exploiting wealthier Christians' generosity in order to avoid work.
Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians is one that we can truly share in our own circumstances, as we too live in an uncertain world: ‘With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1:11&12)
SIGNS & SYMBOLS: SET APART
On July 2, God willing, Chris will be priested. The following short article gives a little insight into the concept of ‘ordination’.
Early July, around the time of the feast of St Peter, is a time that many denominations use to ordain people to be deacons or priests. The process and ceremonies may vary between each, but generally speaking ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart.
This goes beyond ‘blessings’ – a wish or pronouncement that God is with you; but rather it is intended to be making a change happen. Most of us think of events as being ‘before’ or ‘after’ a certain time or happening. For mothers, life is divided by the birth of their first child, ‘Before Baby was born … after Baby arrived....’
With ordination, the intent is that a similar profound change occurs. It’s not something you can erase or forget it or pretend it didn’t happen. Even if a child were to die, the mother would still be a mother: nothing will ever change that. And so it is with consecration.
Once someone or something is consecrated, it is changed into something or someone set apart for a specific use by God. This is NOT to say that all deacons and priests are holier or closer to God than other people, just that they are set apart to do his work
Some objects are similarly consecrated and set aside for specific purposes. Firstly, the oil that is used in the ordination service is consecrated especially for that purpose, and for use in confirmation, and even coronation ceremonies. The other items all relate to the bread and wine – which are themselves consecrated during a Eucharist service.
This month: If you could choose something completely different, what would you want to set apart for very special tasks? What other objects do you think the church consecrates?
If you can this month, attend an ordination service and listen to the promises that those being consecrated make.
GROW YOUR OWN MEDICINES
Much of modern medicine owes its origins to native plants although the connection between a tablet or injection and a plant is rarely obvious. There is a tendency to think that the use of plants for medical purposes is something from history but the reality could not be further from the truth. The world’s largest and most lucrative pharmaceuticals market is the United States where 70% of new medicinal drugs have been developed from natural sources. The good news is that you don’t need to leave it up to the big companies. You can grow some of your own medicines with only a bit of earth, a pack of seeds and a tiny bit of know-how. Plants have been around for millions of years without any help from humans and have independently evolved a huge range of ingenious strategies to cope with even the harshest conditions. As long as you place them in an environment that roughly matches the conditions they originally come from they are happy to take care of themselves with little intervention from green or not so green fingers. As there are so many possibilities the biggest problem is simply where to start. One way is just to pick plants that are useful at treating the afflictions you are prone to and which have a scent or flavour you like. There is almost always a selection of plants with similar properties so you are more or less bound to find one that suits you.
For digestive problems try angelica, caraway seeds, ginger, fennel, marshmallow, peppermint and slippery elm. For respiratory problems try echinacea, elderberries, eucalyptus, ginger, nettles, onions and garlic. For dermatological problems including cuts, rashes, bruises, burns, insect bites, eczema and psoriasis keep the following handy: aloe vera, chamomile, chickweed, pot marigold, plantain, St John’s wort and witch hazel. To soothe sore muscles and stiff joints try chilli, eucalyptus, ginger, horseradish, liquorice and turmeric. For headaches grow rosemary and feverfew.
Consult books (for example ‘Grow your own drugs’ by James Wong) or the internet ( for example http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants.html ) to identify plants in which you are interested and visit your local botanic or herb garden to learn to recognise them by look and smell. Start by looking around your own neighbourhood to see what seems to grow well and in what conditions (e.g.) north or south facing, on a slope or near water). If the plant you are interested in does well in a neighbour’s garden it will probably do well in yours too.
There are thousands of recipes available but I’ll end with just one that is useful to anyone suffering currently from hay fever and may spark your interest in trying out others.
Nettle and Chamomile Tea for Hay Fever:
Wash 2-3 tbsps fresh nettles and chop roughly with a large knife. Put 4 tsp fresh chamomile with nettles into a glass teapot with boiling water. Steep for 5 mins (this will also take the sting out of the nettles). Strain into a cup and add 1 tsp local honey, or to taste. Drink 3 cups a day while suffering from hay fever. Nettles contain chemicals with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties, which are
thought to go some way towards depressing the immune system’s allergic response. Locally produced honey is believed to give those suffering from flower pollen allergy some immunity from local pollens.
Treat plant based medicines with respect. Do a 24-hr skin test to check for allergies before applying an ointment and don’t give to young children unless under the direction of an expert.
Sheila for the Green Awareness Group
Diocesan Synod took place in Cologne some weeks ago and considered some far-reaching matters. These issues are so important that we have included a (very much abbreviated) report of the major items of discussion at that synod.
ANGLICAN COVENANT AND WOMEN BISHOPS APPROVED AND A BOOST FOR FULL-TIME ARCHDEACONS PLAN
The 2011 Diocesan Synod in Cologne was dominated by three major debates: the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, legislation to allow the ordination of women as bishops and the encouraging progress on plans which could allow the diocese to appoint four full time archdeacons.
SIGNING UP TO THE ANGLICAN COVENANT
The head of the Department of Unity, Faith and Order in the Anglican Communion Office introduced the Anglican Covenant explaining its history and background. After the founding of the Anglican Congress in 1963 the Anglican Consultative Council was formed in 1971 taking on the task of “mutual responsibility and interdependence”.
Events including the irregular consecration of Anglican bishops in Singapore and Denver in 2000 and 2001 and the consecration of a gay bishop in New Hamshire had reinforced the need for some form of agreed order. The Lambeth Conference in 2008 moved thinking forward towards the first Draft Covenant in 2009. We look forward to the reaction of the Provinces, including the General
Synod of the Church of England, which will receive our diocesan responses. Because the Europe constitution differs from the other 43 dioceses the formal response will be made at Bishop's Council in London in late October this year.
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FULL-TIME ARCHDEACONS PLAN
Synod discussed progress on the Strategic Review plan which was first debated a year ago. The Bishop reported encouraging and considerable progress in discussions with the Church Commissioners and other key funding and support groups in the Church of England. The Diocesan Registrar outlined the probable timescale for these changes which could see the February 2012 session of General Synod give first consideration to the changes. The revised plan, based on consultation, would go to General Synod in either July or November 2012, with the final approval possibly being given at the same session. Further legalitiesmean that a very approximate date for the provisions to come into force would be sometime between November 2012 and September 2013.
WOMEN BISHOPS – A PRAYERFUL AND SENSITIVE DEBATE
The debate about the draft proposals for women to become bishops was referred to the Diocese from General Synod, and consideration was spread over three sessions during the Synod in Cologne. First two keynote speakers introduced the topic offering different viewpoints but each sensitive to the effects of any change which would allow women to become bishops. The following day members met in groups to consider the issue. These groups reported back at a final session and after that debate there was a short time of silent devotion and prayer before voting, by houses. The result was:
Bishops - in favour 0, against 2; Clergy - in favour 11, against 10, abstentions 1; Laity - in favour 15, against 6, abstentions 3.
Because of the unique Constitution of the Diocese in Europe the formal response to General Synod must come from the Bishop's Council so although the views of Synod will be borne in mind the final outcome depends on this second meeting. After the main vote Mrs Ann Turner proposed that “this Synod desires that all faithful Anglicans remain and thrive together in the Church of England and therefore calls upon the House of Bishops to bring forward amendments to the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration of Women) Measure to ensure that those unable on theological grounds to accept the ministry of women bishops are able to receive Episcopal oversight from a bishop with Authority (i.e. ordinary jurisdiction) conferred by the Measure rather than by delegation from a Diocesan Bishop.” This was not accepted by Synod although it was felt by many who have reservations about provisions for congregations unhappy with women bishops that a differently worded “following motion” may be proposed at October's Bishop's Council. After this sensitive debate Bishop Geoffrey said that he felt it had been important for consideration of such an important issue to be done gently and slowly, in the context of worship and prayer.
If you would like to read the fuller report of synod, you can access this via:
http://europe.anglican.org/homepage/downloads/SYNOD%20DIGEST%202011.pdf
CLOTHES
As you are helping so faithfully by bringing clothes for needy countries to the church, I would like to tell you about some recent changes.
The bags with clothes, shoes and toys for India arrived in New Delhi in the beginning of March, but the custom-house officers and clearing agents are so corrupt that they constantly want more money to release the bags. They even wanted to impound the bag with toys, because these are suddenly 'forbidden items’.
I just read in the newspaper that a famous guru is challenging the authorities to form a private army of at least a thousand people to fight the corruption! Shall I write him and offer to join his army?
In Tanzania there is another problem. The import duties have increased so much and the price of selling clothes has gone down by just about as much, that it is not worth sending another shipment. So, my dear shipping manager thinks that it is better to stop sending to these countries.
But, there are so many places in the world where people are very happy with our clothes because they are not able to buy things themselves. So, I have looked around and found a few places where we can send things without the problems mentioned above and I propose the following:
1. A lady whom I know is going to Mongolia and would be very happy to help street children there with warm clothes.
2. Good friends of mine have founded and help in a children’s village in Suriname and will be very happy to take summer clothes there together with shoes and toys.
3. I know people who fly to India regularly and would love to take these warm clothes and other things for the Tibetan children.
4. I can bring the clothes and shoes for adults to Mensen in Nood, a reliable organisation that helps needy people all over the world. They have storage near my house.
I hope that you will agree with these changes and thank you very, very much for all your help in the past and I hope in the future!
Maya
FLIGHT PATH
Windsor Castle, outside of London, is directly in the flight path of Heathrow International Airport. While a group of tourists was standing outside the castle admiring the elegant structure, a plane flew overhead at a relatively low altitude, making a tremendous noise.
One particularly annoyed tourist demanded: "Why did they build the castle so close to the airport?"
PRAYER CHAIN
If you have any requests for the prayer chain, or if you feel called to take part in this ministry, please contact Anne Miechielsen by phone: 030 220 5049
A TALE OF ADDICTIONS
“Why don’t you bring Harry to Geneva for a long weekend?” Cora asked her brother Don, a dear friend of one-time colleague of mine. “He could do with a break.” Cora is a civil servant at the Irish diplomatic mission in Geneva.
When Don suggested the trip, I was really quite taken; you see, living in a flat, pancake-shaped country for as long as I have, you begin to get hill-withdrawal and if there is anywhere in the world where you can have a decent mountain-fix, at least in Europe, it has to be Switzerland. And so it was that Don booked us on a flight to Geneva at the end of May.
Now, call me old-fashioned if you like, but I was brought up to respect agreements. When travelling, you make an agreement with the carrier, in our case the airline, to present yourself at the gate at a given time and in exchange, they agree to get you where you want to go at a given time. Well, that’s the way it usually works out, but I do remember a spectacular occasion in the 70s when a certain airline ‘agreed’ to get us to Malaga in time for dinner. We actually ended up in Noordwijk-aan-Zee (a Dutch sea-side resort for our overseas readers). We didn’t see Malaga until the early hours of the following day by which time the car that we had booked was long gone. You have no idea how irritating a Spanish fan can be when it is wafted at regular intervals by an arm cluttered with bangles from the wrist to the elbow, as you try to get a bit of a nap! There was no air-conditioning in Malaga airport in those days and it was an insupportable hot (very) early morning in August. But there I go, digressing again.
The flight for Geneva was packed and ready to go, except for the three or four passengers who had decided to linger over their pre-flight drinks in the bar. They must have been pretty air-line savvy because they realized that, within reasonable limits, it is less of a hassle to wait for latecomers than it is to locate and unload their luggage so that you can leave them behind. Eventually the missing passengers sauntered in and took their seats and we could be off, just making our take-off slot by the skin of our teeth.
Cora had planned a day trip down to Avignon for the following day. She drives a convertible and has a particular driving style that Don describes as being like a nun driving, while she is saying her rosary, on her knees, with her eyes closed! Actually, she is a very good and relaxed driver, even if we did end up heading west instead of south. Perhaps she had heard of my map-reading skills, which wouldn’t have been from Jamie of course (see last month’s article) or maybe it was just that Don has no skills in that direction at all. In any event, the road map was plonked on my lap and I negotiated our way through a fairly complicated set of motorways until we ended up heading in the right direction.
As we got further south, it got hotter and hotter and the lid came off the car, and, do you know, that was the first time in my life that I have ever been driven in an open-topped car with the wind blowing through what is left of my hair. It was fantastic!
Avignon is a glorious, mediaeval walled city, which entirely deserves its World Heritage status. Cora had booked a small apartment right in the heart of the old city where the roads were only slightly wider than the car and where there was absolutely no parking! The door, as we passed it, looked like the entrance to a derelict building and I must confess that some apprehensions began to develop. However, after a bit of a hassle, we found somewhere to leave the car and headed back to the Rue de la Croix. We rang the doorbell – no answer; we banged on the door – no response. Then Cora had the bright idea of trying the handle. The door opened easily, giving access to a gloomy, but deliciously cool corridor that disappeared in the gloom. Eventually a man with an impenetrable French accent appeared and we were shown to a delightful, newly furbished holiday apartment. The windows looked out onto the street where, just down the road, there was a Cuban restaurant which made quite a racket until well into the early morning hours, but after such a long drive, a wander round the city and an excellent meal, we had no trouble at all in getting off to sleep.
Cora wanted to see the lavender fields of Aix-en-Provence, so we did a small detour the following day. However, the only lavender that was to be seen was growing in pots! Probably the fields had already been harvested because of the early heat. The drive back to Geneva was further interrupted by a brief visit to Orange (well, coming from Holland we could hardly miss that, now could we?) to admire the Roman amphitheatre. For those of you who haven’t been there, it is HUGE and makes Carnegie Hall look like a puppet show.
The following day was our last, so we decided to be utterly decadent. After a trip round the old city, popping in to the old cathedral, now a Presbyterian church, to admire Calvin’s chair (actually, it was rather ordinary and uninteresting), and to climb the tower for a magnificent view of the city, we decided on ‘afternoon tea’. (Please note: ‘afternoon’ not ‘high’ tea. High tea is a warm meal for servants and the children!) Now if the Hotel d’Angleterre didn’t know how to make an afternoon tea, then nobody would, so we headed off to this multi-starred establishment on the side of the lake. Despite the fact that Don was in shorts and a tee shirt, the flunkey at the door ushered us in and guided us to a table by the window. The decadence continued with a chocolate afternoon tea, gazing across the sun-drenched waters of Lac Léman towards Mont Blanc. There was so much chocolate in the confection that I felt a positive buzz as my cannabinoid receptors went into overload (in a true ‘chocoholic’, chocolate stimulates the same receptors in the brain that cannabis affects) so I didn’t really need a plane to fly back to Holland when, at last, the time came to head home. So, not only had my chocolate addiction been dealt with, but I had also had my mountain fix!
As I drove back to Buren from Schiphol and looked across to the horizon, I could have sworn that I could still see hills in the distance, but no – it was just the setting sun catching the tops of the clouds. Ah well, back to the pancake.
Harry
Services at Holy Trinity Church, Utrecht
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