JAMES, BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD, STAFFS Barton church is a long and low building in the dark stone characteristic of churches in the area. The window tracery in the aisles is deceptive, as the aisles were rebuilt and widened in 1864. In [...]
Arthur Middleton on after lockdown With the ending of lockdown public worship will be restored as churches are reopened, but it will require a good deal of teaching by parish priests to restore in people’s minds the importance of [...]
John Gayford explores the beauty of the Angelus The French artist Jean-Francois Millet completed his painting later entitled “The Angelus” between 1857 and 1859. It was commissioned by the American Thomas Appleton with the title Prayers for the Potato [...]
Thurifer comes out of lockdown One of the modern tropes that I do not understand, among many, is “my truth”. What does that mean? Does it mean perception? Opinion? Outlook? Interpretation of events? And why should I believe your [...]
Owen Higgs gives thanks for 150 years of St Augustine’s Kilburn I’d like to begin by saying two ‘thank yous.’ Thankyou Fr Colin for inviting me, and thankyou to the people of St Augustine’s for your welcome. I want [...]
Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69 – 155 AD) was a link with the Apostolic age of the church; he knew the Apostle John, who is said to have consecrated him as a bishop. In AD 107 he had an important [...]
Art Pedro and Ricky come again Jonathan Meades Unbound, £30 As Miss Prism said, ‘Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us.’ This month’s exhibitions piece is about the art shows which [...]
Christopher Smith falls down the linguistic rabbit hole again Who’d have thought that calling a group of people ‘ladies and gentlemen’ would, in 2021, be considered offensive? I really didn’t see that coming. Some hapless guard on a train [...]
One of the most beautiful moments during a Christian funeral is when the priest censes the coffin at the end of the service. A sign to those gathered that the person who has died was created in the image of [...]
Lincolnshire’s churches are the most underestimated in England. The south-western part of the county, Kesteven, is especially rich in spires. An important factor in this is the abundance of limestone from the belt that slants up England from the southwest [...]