Through a glass darkly – 81

Salut de Chantilly I am writing this from Chantilly, where I have been since the beginning of September, doing a locum chaplaincy at St Peter’s, Chantilly. There has been an Anglican chaplaincy in Chantilly since the early 19th century, established to serve the needs of the English-speaking community who came here to develop the horse-racingContinue reading “Through a glass darkly – 81”

Through a glass darkly – 79

The Vercors The Vercors is a rugged area of mountains and plateaux in south-east France, about 100 kilometres south-east of Lyon. The area measures about 50 kilometres from north to south, and thirty kilometres from east to west; straddling the departments of the Isère and the Drôme.  The corner of the Vercors is clearly visibleContinue reading “Through a glass darkly – 79”

Through a glass darkly – 76

Montebourg Montebourg is a small town in the Cotentin peninsula, just off the N13 road that leads up to Cherbourg. The town was 90% destroyed by fighting in 1944, so there are very few historic buildings in the town centre. But there are three bakeries, two butchers, one advertising prize-winning tripes and pieds de porc,Continue reading “Through a glass darkly – 76”

Through a glass darkly – 75

Family matters We went south for Peter’s funeral. Lucky to find a train given the growing chaos on Scotrail. which has just substantially reduced train numbers because of the shortage of drivers and threatened industrial action. We stayed with Jem and Anna in Watlington, the first time that we have seen them since they movedContinue reading “Through a glass darkly – 75”

Through a glass darkly – 74

A gloomy few months As I’ve already indicated it has been quite a gloomy few months.  The news from Ukraine continues to be depressing; an unknown number of civilians including children are still trapped in bunkers beneath the giant steelworks, and the Russians seem unwilling to abide by the promised cease-fire and the humanitarian corridors.Continue reading “Through a glass darkly – 74”