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From the
Rector
For
the fourth January in a row our very good friend, the
Revd. Cat Keyser-Mary, an Episcopal priest from the
United States has been to stay. Cat and I were at
seminary together in Berkeley, and Susan and I became
good friends with Cat and her husband, Pard, during that
year. Only a few friendships last the test of time but
this one seems to grow richer all the time.
Well, you know how it is when you have a chance to catch
up with friends! We had some time reminiscing, more
time sharing what we have been up to and yet more time
imagining what the future might bring. The stories
about the year gone are about successes and failures,
joys and sadness. And in all this there is always the
question – where is God? Given that Cat, Susan and I
met in the environment of seminary, where we were
engaged in (mostly) theological thinking about all
aspects of life, our mutual interest in this question
has been a key to our continued friendship.
On Cat’s first night here she joined us for the Epiphany
dinner at the Brookfield. It was a fun evening, which
included food and entertainment. We sang various songs,
but when we sang Jerusalem Cat asked me what it was
about. I explained that Blake’s ideal was that we could
contribute towards the building of God’s kingdom here in
England. “In other words”, she replied, “it’s
about seeing God in the ordinary things of life”.
It occurred to me later that this was indeed the job of
the church – to recognise God in the ordinary, just as
Jesus did in his ministry. Wherever he went he healed
people of their physical, emotional or spiritual
problems and then called them into the ways of God. He
was offering people the chance to see that God is not
remote or secreted away from life, but in our everyday
existence. In this vein the monk, Brother Lawrence,
many years later, noticed that God was every bit as much
present to him as he washed the monastery’s pots and
pans every day as in the abbey’s chapel.
As the church is that group of people who attempt to
follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we are those
attempting to shine a little light on the activity of
God in the lives of those with who meet, work or live.
God is always there, but sometimes we need to see
through special glasses or hear more closely in order to
recognise God’s presence.
May you know God’s healing presence with you,
David
This is about a seaport which
came to represent so much to the beleaguered people of
this country in the Second World War, captured by Vera
Lynn when she sang "The White Cliffs of Dover".
It also meant much to a reader of "Faith Matters"
but more about him later. In 1940, with the
German forces massed some 20 miles across the English
Channel, the people of Dover were in the front line
with the Luftwaffe just six minutes flying time away
and within range of 15 giant long-ranged guns which
the Germans were busily cementing in on the French
coastline.
The citizens were being urged
to leave Dover. Schools, factories and the like were
being closed to hasten the departure of people to
safer areas. They were not keen to leave but
eventually they did until the population had shrunk to
just 15,000. Then the message changed dramatically
because notices were distributed to every house (and
indeed to all the coastal towns and cities) telling
the occupants that they must stay in their homes in
the event of an invasion. This was necessary because
of the experience in France where the roads were
choked by refugees during the German invasion which
blocked the passage of our military vehicles. It also
led to the death of thousands as German aircraft
strafed and bombed the congested roads.
The defences of Dover had been
sadly neglected during the 1930s and there were no
long-range guns to counter those about to start their
bombardment from France. Winston Churchill galvanised
the military into action. Two former ship's guns,
taken originally from an obsolete battleship, were
found rusting in a depot. They were put into working
order and transported to Dover. The transportation in
itself was quite a feat because a special railway
almost two miles long had to be built to convey the
huge guns. Massive concrete emplacements were
constructed to receive them. The barrels of the two
guns were seven feet in diameter. These had to
withstand the tremendous force of the shells, which
meant that the guns could only be fired at long
intervals, and experts decided that they only had a
life of some 100 firings! In practice, they did
little other than to lift morale.
For the next four years, Dover
experienced some 3,000 hits from the heavy calibre
shells of the German long range guns, together with
incessant bombing, despite the remarkable achievements
of the RAF fighters in destroying enemy aircraft. The
barrage balloons, which carried explosives, also
restricted the bombers to operating at a height which
reduced their effectiveness. The fortitude and
courage of the people of Dover is beyond praise. So
who is this reader? He grew up in Dover and at the
age of 14 he was in the Home Guard in London during
the height of the blitz. When he was old enough, he
enlisted in the RAF and served in the Far East until
the war ended. His adventures continued in peacetime
when, after his ordination, he served as a Bush
Brother in the outback of Australia. Returning to
England, he was given the very tough parish of
Deptford in the East End of London before finally
becoming Rector of Havant. So if you wonder how the
citizens of Dover coped for four years with everything
Hitler threw at them, just have a chat with the
indomitable Canon Derek Brown.
Roger Bryant
Cost of Properties and Income Received
The Financial Statements of the church accounts are
published annually. It is not easy to digest these
figures and when the church accounts were computerised
in 2003, it was intended that information would be
published occasionally in a clearer format for
parishioners to see how their money was being spent on
the church properties. Last year in February as a
result of the Spirituality Questionnaire when
parishioners said they would like to know how much it
costs to keep the church functioning, a breakdown of
the cost of properties and income received in 2004 was
published in “Faith Matters” giving, inter
alia, details of the cost of utilities, council tax,
insurance and maintenance for each of our properties.
It was expected that the same information would be
available for publication in “Faith Matters”
for 2005. However, the Standing Committee at the
meeting on 9 January stated “the annual accounts
must be the authorised document for giving detailed
information to parishioners; individual parishioners
were able at any time to ask questions of the
Treasurer who could get guidance from the Standing
Committee when necessary; information like the rents
paid for Christ Church Bungalow and Centre was
commercially sensitive; and detailed information about
individual properties would be made available in
future to the Buildings Management Committee by the
Standing Committee, following a request from the
Chairman (BMC) through the Treasurer”. If you are
unhappy with this statement please make your views
known to any member of the Standing Committee and let
the editor know your views so as to share them with
other parishioners.
Colin Carter
Having read Debbie Jones’ words speaking on behalf of
PETA (“Faith Matters”; January 2006) I was left
with my usual farmer reaction – part agreement that
there are some areas of concern regarding the welfare
of animals and part annoyance at her ignorance of the
deep dedication of stockmen. Having just spent another
Christmas morning leaving my family opening presents
to put the welfare of my animals first I am not
prepared to let her rhetoric go unchallenged. As
space is at a premium I have had to phrase some of my
counter points as bullets:
● If farm animals suffered as much as Ms Jones asserts
then their productive capability would be affected and
they would not be economic. It is precisely because
the animals have a commercial worth that they are kept
and cared for – I believe the cases of animal cruelty
brought by the RSPCA against farmers is vastly
outweighed by those brought against members of the
public.
● Due to an incurable illness I have had one of my
cows shot on the farm and I can assert that she died
instantly. The brutal truth is that few humans will
have the luxury of the quick end prescribed for
livestock.
● If bull calves were not castrated it would not be
possible to rear them on grass because of the risk to
walkers and they would have to be slaughtered at 12 to
14 months of age before they became dangerous – half
the age that extensively reared animals live to.
● It is a fact that the great British countryside is
to a major extent the product of livestock farming and
the future of our key landscapes and associated
wildlife rely on the profitability of the livestock
industry. If supported the views expressed by Ms
Jones would pose a serious threat to the welfare of
well kept livestock, the welfare of native wildlife
and the importance of our countryside, spiritually and
for the national identity.
● Ms Jones is of course entirely welcome to her
viewpoint but having spent 35 of my 40 years tending
livestock we are obviously not arguing from a point of
equal experience. Her assertion that all farm animals
“suffer” is naïve and, to me, offensive. I
have learnt the difficult lesson of being able to care
for animals but then also send them for slaughter.
Furthermore I see no contradiction as a farmer,
conservationist and Christian in holding these views.
Colin
Hedley
Septuagesima by John Betjeman
Septuagesima - a time of waiting,
Running the race or holding fast.
Let’s praise the man who goes to light
The church stove on an icy night.
Let’s praise the hard-worked he or she
The Treasurer of the PCC.
Let’s praise the cleaner of the aisles,
The nave and candlesticks and tiles.
Let’s praise the organist who tries
To make the choir increase in size,
Or if that simply cannot be,
Just to improve its quality.
Let’s praise the ringers in the tower
Who come to ring in cold and shower.
But most of all let’s praise the few
Who are seen in their accustomed pew
Throughout the year, whate’er the weather,
That they may worship God together.
These, like a fire of glowing coals,
Strike warmth into each other’s souls,
And though there be but two or three
They keep the Church for you and me.
"War of the Worlds - The
Crusades"
Following the fall of Jerusalem, King Philip Augustus of
France and the newly crowned King Richard Coeur de
Lion of England made preparation for a joint Crusade
to the Holy Land but Emperor Frederick of Germany
was already ready to launch his own Crusade.
Frederick had been Emperor for 30 years and was now
approaching 70, so perhaps he felt that time was not
on his side! He set out on 11 May 1189 with a very
large army, estimated by contemporary sources as
between 100,000 and 150,000 men, although this is
thought to have been a huge exaggeration.
Certainly, it was the largest army assembled for any
of the Crusades. By March 1190, it had crossed the
Dardanelles and in May Frederick won a great victory
against a Turkish army commanded by Saladin's
son-in-law.
In June, Frederick died in
mysterious circumstances. His army had descended
from the Taurus Mountains on to the plain of
Seleucia, when Frederick and his personal guards
went on alone to the river Saleph. He apparently
slipped and fell into the water in full armour and
was swept away before anyone could help him. His
body was recovered and carried with his troops,
pickled in vinegar. As the army crossed into Syria,
Saladin attacked and virtually destroyed it. The
remnants struggled on to Antioch. By now,
Frederick's body was starting to disintegrate and
his remains were buried in the cathedral. The
German Crusade was over.
Now came the turn of Philip
and Richard. Their two armies were taken in
September 1190 by their respective navies to Sicily
where they spent the winter in preparation for the
Holy Land. Relations between the two armies and the
Sicilian people were not good. At one stage,
Richard decided to end the troubles by capturing the
capitol of Messina, which someone said took less
time than a priest to sing matins. (I have never
timed our Rector!) In March 1191, Philip and his
army set sail for the Holy Land and had an
uneventful journey. Richard and the English army
set sail ten days later and encountered violent
storms which drove two of his ships off course to
Cyprus. One ship had on board Richard's sister
Joanna and his intended bride Princess Berengaria of
Navarre. The Byzantine ruler of Cyprus refused to
help them, so Richard landed troops and captured the
island, installing two English governors!
After a total voyage of some
seven weeks, Richard landed in the Holy Land to join
the French who were besieging Acre. He took full
command of the two armies and, although ill with
sores covering his mouth and face, he conducted the
siege with great vigour, using French siege machines
which hurled great stones against the walls of Acre
day and night. The British fleet were blockading the
city and the plight of the 6,000 Moslems was
becoming desperate. Eventually, they offered to
surrender the city intact, together with 1,500
Christian prisoners including Lords, and offered a
large sum of gold, together with the "True Cross"
captured at Hattin. In return, the Moslems required
that they be allowed to return to Saladin's camp
unharmed. Saladin was furious when he heard of the
terms for the surrender but nevertheless he still
honoured them. Richard readily agreed the terms but
when the Christian prisoners were released, none of
the Lords was in their number. He immediately sent
ambassadors to Saladin who received them
courteously. He released some prisoners and paid the
first instalment of the promised gold. This did not
satisfy Richard. In revenge, 2,500 Moslem
prisoners, with wives and children, were led out to
a plain in full view of Saladin's camp and
slaughtered.
Meanwhile, Philip, who hated
Richard and the English, left the Holy Land with his
army and returned to France. In August, 1191,
Richard and his army started to march South through
Haifa and Mount Carmel to Caesarea. Many soldiers
collapsed in the baking and merciless heat and were
killed by the Moslem cavalry who were shadowing
them. The two armies faced one another on the
coastal plain. Saladin's cavalry were lightly
armoured and riding small, fast Arab horses. The
English cavalry were heavily armoured on large shire
horses. Richard had his troops in a tight
formation, with bowmen in front of the cavalry
behind a thick shield of pikemen. The arrows of the
Moslem archers bounced off the armour of the English
cavalry, with a resounding clang, but the arrows of
the English archers pieced the armour of the
Moslems. The attack of the Moslem cavalry was
repulsed with heavy losses. Finally, the English
cavalry charged sweeping all before them and the
battle was over. Saladin soon replaced his
casualties and the two armies continued to manoeuvre
around the Holy Land. Although Richard captured
Jaffa and Ascalon, the latter being destroyed by
Saladin (and subsequently rebuilt by Richard) before
the arrival of the English, Richard did not
recapture Jerusalem, deeming it not a military
necessity. Saladin recaptured Jaffa and in 1192
Richard captured it back in what proved his final
battle in the Holy Land. Saladin so admired
Richard's valour during the battle that when his
horse was killed under him, Saladin, under a flag of
truce, sent his grooms to Richard with the gift of
two of his own horses as a remarkable act of
respect. After the battle, the Moslems went wearily
back to Jerusalem. Richard was taken ill and
returned to England, ransom being paid for him after
his capture by first the Austrians and then the
Germans.
He finally arrived back in England in 1194. For
five years, he fought in France to retain his lands,
finally dying when struck in the shoulder by a bolt
from a crossbow. The bolt was cut out but gangrene
set in. As Winston Churchill put it, "Coeur de
Lion knew he must pay a soldier's debt". On his
death bed, Richard ordered that the archer who had
fired the fatal bolt and who was now a prisoner, be
brought before him. He pardoned him and gave him a
purse of money. Sadly after Richard's death, the
archer was flayed alive. This is how Winston
described the death of Richard; “He received the
offices of the Church with sincere and exemplary
piety and died in the forty-second year of his age
on April 11, 1199, worthy, by the consent of all
men, to sit with King Arthur and Roland and other
heroes of martial romance at some Eternal Round
Table, which we trust the Creator of the Universe in
His comprehension will not have forgotten to
provide." Saladin had died shortly after
Richard left the Holy Land on 3 March 1193 at the
age of fifty-four. I am sure one more seat would
have been found for him at that Eternal Round
Table. Next month we look at the Fourth Crusade in
1202. Patient reader, the end of our narrative is
in sight (but not next month!)
Roger Bryant
One of the social highlights of the church year is
the bell ringers dinner and this year was no
exception, in fact this year was the 25th annual
Bell Ringers Dinner. The evening of the 26th
November was a cold one but once inside the church
hall, the atmosphere was very warm and friendly.
The seating was taken care of by a seating plan and
so we were able to make our way to our seats to meet
with our dining companions. We were served a
wonderful seasonal meal by friendly waiting staff;
anyone who has ever used our kitchen will know what
a feat of achievement that is!
Father David began the after dinner entertainment by
thanking the ringers for all their work throughout
the year and by proposing a toast to the ringers, he
went on to tell some jokes and was a good warm up
act for John Dallen who had travelled from Exeter
for the dinner and to tell us some stories. Have
you ever heard Jethro tell stories with his very
strong Cornish accent, well John sounded just like
him and the hall rang with the sound of laughter.
John is a bell ringer and knows Bill Skilleter
through the Royal Naval Guild of Bell Ringers.
There were ringers from all around the area and even
some from Salisbury - you do not have to be a ringer
to attend, there were friends of ringers and many
from our own congregation so be sure to make a note
in your diary of the next dinner 25th
November 2006. Thank you to Bill and Barbara
Skilleter for once again organising such a wonderful
evening.
Sandra Haggan
From the Registers – January
6th Funeral of Grace Dubb
Worshippers across the diocese are starting to
implement Kairos plans that should place churches at
the centre of the communities they serve. Ambitious
plans to employ extra staff, re-shape church
buildings, launch new church activities and re-draw
parish boundaries are now taking shape across
South-East Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The aim
is to create new models of mission and ministry
suitable for the 21st century.
Each parish in the Portsmouth diocese was asked to
work with its neighbouring parishes – in our case,
Emsworth & Hayling Island - to draw up ‘Kairos’
plans that might help serve the physical, social,
spiritual and emotional needs of people living in
their neighbourhoods. The result was 277 five-year
Kairos plans that were approved and then blessed at a
service in Portsmouth Cathedral in July.
In this parish, the Kairos plans involved greater
support for our work with young people and schools,
particularly through the innovative Montessori-based
‘Godly Play’, for which St Faith’s boasts a
dedicated room in our Church House. ‘Godly Play’
introduces a different bible story to the children
each week and offers the chance to wonder about its
meaning, through conversation and art work. Its
creativity has already proved very popular with the
young people.
Our plans also involve improved pastoral provision not
only for the regular church members, but also, through
an ambitious plan, to reach out to non-church going
members of the community. The first part of this
project, namely to recruit and train volunteers, is
planned for early 2006.
The two other areas of our plan focus on links to the
wider community, such as the Social Services, Borough
Council, Police, etc., to improve communications, and
so enable effective links with existing agencies. The
final plan is about the church of St Faith’s itself –
making it even more accessible and offering visitors a
variety of useful information.
Meanwhile, churchgoers are also being asked what they
think of radical plans to re-shape diocesan
structures. Part of the ‘Kairos’ process
included a review of the structure and staffing of our
central diocese structures so it could be more
responsive to parishes’ needs.
Our diocese’s Structures Review Group suggested
getting rid of some boards and committees to help us
all focus more effectively on mission. It based its
report on the principles of more support to parishes,
cementing Kairos thinking at the heart of
decision-making, more accountability in the system and
a leaner diocesan structure.
Those principles were agreed by our diocesan synod in
November. But synod members agreed there should be
consultation across the diocese before the report is
debated in detail at a special Kairos synod meeting on
25 February.
The report recommended that the main responsibilities
of the Board of Mission, Council for Social
Responsibility and Board of Ministry be shifted to the
Bishop’s Council. It also suggested working with
other dioceses to create a joint Board of Education
and Diocesan Advisory Committee, and joint
arrangements over IT, accounts, human resources and
legal support.
It also suggested a new structure for central diocesan
staff, working in four teams in the fields of
education, discipleship, society and central
resources.
Copies of the report have been sent to all PCC
secretaries, and a copy is on the diocesan website –
www.portsmouth.anglican.org. If you would like to see
the report please contact Roger Bryant and if you have
any comments, positive or negative, please send them
to the Rector.
News from Nottingham and Derby
Have you ever stood in church, worried that you might
be about to be mowed down by a band of marching
Highland pipers and drummers? Nor had I until I
attended the recent Bonnie Prince Charlie service in
Derby Cathedral.
On 4th December 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie
and his army arrived in Derby on their way to London
to claim the throne. But the next day, hearing that
the opposing armies were very near, they abandoned
their campaign and set off back to Scotland and the
Battle of Culloden, and finally ‘over the sea to
Skye’. So Derby was the furthest south they ever
got. While in Derby, Bonnie Prince Charlie attended a
service in Derby Cathedral – then a parish church –
and this is still commemorated every year.
One thing that did not happen during Bonnie Prince
Charlie’s stay in Derby was a battle. But it would be
a shame to let history get in the way of a good battle
re-enactment, so the commemoration service was
preceded by a full-scale battle on the green behind
the cathedral. This began before the main service in
the cathedral had finished, so the final hymn was
accompanied by loud cannon fire. Then we went out to
watch the soldiers with their authentic 18th
century muskets, and an impressive sword fight. And
then back into the cathedral. As I stood at the
front, poised to read a reading, the pipers and
drummers did a deafening circuit of the cathedral –
even the organ couldn’t compete – and this was the
moment when I wondered whether they had noticed that I
was in their warpath, with no obvious escape route.
Thankfully, they veered off to the side in the nick of
time and the service proceeded in a more sedate 18th
century manner.
The following week, I preached at the main morning
service in the cathedral for the first time. My glee
at the absence of my supervisor the Precentor (he’s a
very good preacher) was slightly tempered by the
unexpected presence of his father, who is a bishop
(and apparently an even better preacher). To add to
the pressure, my sermon was videoed, so that I can
watch it with three of my co-students and a tutor and
we can tear it shreds. We each have to video one
sermon for this, and next term we will visit each
other’s churches to see each other preaching ‘live’.
The theme of my sermon was John the Baptist and
vocation, so I used our dear friend Cliff as an
example of someone who followed his vocation
faithfully. Derby Cathedral has three vergers, but
even their combined years of service get nowhere near
to Cliff’s.
I am now the official ‘carol analyst’ of BBC
Radio Derby. So far, they have broadcast two of my
chats about the theology of Christmas carols – and I
was stunned at how many people at the cathedral
claimed to have listened, especially as I was on at
7.10am both weeks. I have also put my Christmas carol
theology into practice with the cathedral choristers –
boys one week and girls the next (they are two
separate choirs). This took the form of pass the
parcel – not in the service, I hasten to add.
Each layer of the parcel had a line from a carol and
they had to see if they could find it in excerpts from
the gospels and the prophets. What they discovered
was that some lines come from the gospels, some come
from the prophets and some are simply made up (and
those ones went in the bin). Christmas carols can be
like a Christmas present: there is a real message in
there, but it can be so wrapped up in lovely wrapping
that you can’t tell what is real and what is
wrapping. For me, the two sessions were also a
fascinating reminder of how differently boys and girls
play pass the parcel!
Meanwhile, back at college in Nottingham, I have been
persevering with New Testament Greek. Greek seems to
have about a million more tenses than any other
language – I don’t know how they coped – but I have
now reached the point where I can read bits of the New
Testament without having to look up every single word
in the dictionary, which is a development. Comparing
similar passages in two or three gospels is
fascinating: for example, one parable might appear in
three gospels, with minor but crucial differences.
Playing ‘spot the difference’ gets you
wondering how such tiny differences came about and
why; and who decided which was the ‘right’
version? Doing all this with the Greek text is extra
fascinating, because it is that much closer to what
Jesus actually said (even though he spoke Aramaic, not
Greek) and what the original gospel writers actually
decided to write down.
We have also been studying the philosophy of
theology. This means the big questions, such as
‘Does God exist?’, ‘What is God like?’ and
‘Why is there evil and suffering?’ It might
seem a bit odd that this has been left until Year 2 –
after all, if it turned out that God didn’t exist, we
would feel a bit silly after over a year of training
for the priesthood – but looking at these big
questions is far more valuable, now that we can apply
all that we have learned and experienced over the past
year. And by the way, God does exist, even though we
can’t prove it.
Rachel Phillips
(niece of Alan Hakim)
California, Here I Come! – Part 2
Here is the 2nd and final part of Trevor’s
journey.
Eight o' clock on Monday morning saw us on the road
once more for the short drive into San Francisco,
which we entered over the Bay Bridge, longer than but
not as eye-catching as the more famous Golden Gate
Bridge. The early start was in case of morning
traffic delays, as we were booked on a cruise round
the Bay at 10.30, but we were in good time at
Fisherman’s Wharf, where the boat was waiting. We
sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the
narrow entrance to the very large Bay and harbour,
rather like at Portsmouth Harbour, but on a much
larger scale, then round Alcatraz Island, no longer
used as a prison. In the afternoon we had a local
guide to conduct us on a tour of the city in our
coach, including crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Tolls are payable on both bridges to enter the city,
but not to leave it. Finally we reached our hotel,
and my room was on the 24th floor of 26.
As we were staying here for two nights, Tuesday was a
free day, so with David and Elizabeth I rode on one of
the famous cable-cars down to Fisherman’s Wharf, it
was one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever
had! After looking round the shops and having lunch -
fish of course! - David and Elizabeth went back to the
hotel, but I visited the Cable Car Museum, housed in
the building where the cables are driven, passing over
large pulley wheels before entering the tunnels under
the roads, and what a noise they made! Leaving there
I looked down the road and saw all the notices on the
buildings were in Chinese, at the beginning of
Chinatown. I walked down there and waited for a bus
to take me to Union Square, where all the large shops
like Macy's are. It was actually a trolley-bus, and
when it came it was quite full. Immediately I got on,
a young Chinese girl got up and gave me her seat; the
Chinese are very polite and always defer to older
people. Apart from a black man sitting in front of
me, I was the only non-Chinese on the bus. They were
very helpful when I asked which stop for Union Square.
Next morning, Wednesday, we headed south along the
coast, making our first stop at Monterey, then on to
Carmel for lunch. By co-incidence, it was exactly 61
years since I had stood on the Biblical Mount Carmel
in Palestine, in October 1944. We continued along the
special 17-mile Coastal Drive, with spectacular
scenery all the way, and on to our hotel for the night
at San Simeon. The furniture was made out of logs,
but still very comfortable. Continuing southwards
along the coast on Thursday, we stopped to look at a
large colony of sea-lions lying on the beach huddled
together. Only one of them moved, to look up
languidly to see what this horde of disturbing
visitors wanted, then went back to sleep in the sun.
Solvang, our coffee stop, was founded by Danes, and
the buildings were in the Danish style, even to
imitation storks in nests on some of the roofs. Our
lunch stop was at Santa Barbara, but first we visited
the Mission on the outskirts of the town. When the
Spaniards occupied Mexico and other parts of America,
the Roman Catholic Church sent out missionaries
northwards into California, and they set up a string
of these missions. This was, I think, the largest.
The final leg of the journey took us past Hollywood
and Los Angeles to our hotel in a suburb of LA called
Anaheim which consists largely of hotels for visitors
to Disneyland. We were to stay three nights there,
and a ticket to Disneyland was included in the tour;
we could use it on either Friday or Saturday. We
elected to have an easy day on Friday, so we stayed
round the hotel. In the afternoon I walked along the
road for half a mile to Disneyland to visit the
'Downtown' shopping area, not inside the theme
park itself, so no ticket was needed.
Some of the party went on an extra tour to the
Universal Film Studios in Hollywood for the day, but
as I rarely go to the cinema I knew nothing about the
film sets to be seen, so did not opt for this one. We
three went on Saturday morning by the shuttle bus from
our hotel to Disneyland. The usual cost of a ticket
was $56, which is about £38, but once inside all rides
are free, as often as you wished. We went in a boat
through the 'African Jungle', where life-size
working models of animals and people formed tableaux
along the way. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
adventure was by boat in the dark, with tableaux lit
up along the sides depicting various pirate
activities. Next we went along the 'Mississippi
River' on a replica stern-wheeler boat, again with
appropriate tableaux.
After that, David and Elizabeth went back to the
hotel, but I stayed on for a time to sample other
rides and to look round further. Particularly I
wanted to ride on the old time American railroad train
which went all round the perimeter of the park, with
the Conductor, in period uniform, calling out 'A-aII
a-bo-a-rd!' after each stop. We all returned in
the evening to watch the 'Parade of Dreams',
with various brightly lit floats depicting Disney
scenes, and characters in costume dancing in front, or
on the floats themselves. It was a most spectacular
sight, and the place was crowded. Later there was a
fireworks display, but we chose not to stay for that,
as it did not begin till 9.30pm. The theme park, the
first Disneyland, was opened there in 1955, so they
were celebrating their Golden Jubilee with these
special attractions.
On our last morning, Sunday, we left in our coach for
Los Angeles Airport, but on the way toured the city
and Hollywood. We stopped at the place where there
are several theatres and concert halls, then visited
the famous Hollywood Bowl open air theatre. We
stopped at a 'Mexican Village' area, next to
the main Union Street railway station, or 'railroad
depot'. Lastly we went to the Hollywood
Boulevard, to have lunch in a huge shopping mall,
which had five floors. Next door was the Chinese
Theatre, where over the years many of the film stars
had left the imprints of their hands and feet in
concrete on the forecourt, with the dates when they
were made. Some went back to the days of silent
films, like Mary Pickford in 1926. I included some of
the better known ones to end my video record of the
trip.
Although such a tour involves a great deal of
travelling, the scenery was so varied that it never
became boring on the longer stages. The towns and
villages were spacious, with wide roads. Altogether
we covered over 2,500 miles in the coach. Add to that
some 5,500 miles each way by air and the journey to
and from Heathrow, the grand total must be nearly
14,000 miles in sixteen days, but well worth it.
What's more, I can now say that I have set foot in
all five continents!
Trevor Hopkinson
Magazine Income & Expenditure in 2005
The income in 2005 from sales of “Faith Matters”
was £626.68 and from advertisements £839.00 giving a
total income of £1,465.68. The cost of printing the 12
editions of “Faith Matters” was £1,331.00,
thereby giving a small profit of £134.68. The aim is
for the magazine to “break even”, so please
remember to buy your copy each month. The cost of
“Faith Matters” should remain at 30p during 2006
providing the printing costs do not increase.
Beryl Carter
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