A Christmas loss

Another lost soul

It’s funny how so many gloves find their way on to the railings of a church. Funnier still how the finders, or maybe the elements, point a finger towards the spire…a kind of godly loss?

This fluffy beauty was on the railings outside English Martyrs Church, just outside town, spotted as we took a post Christmas walk up to the Asia Continental Supermarket on Sedgewick Street.

I’ve never been inside the church but just googled them to see if they had a site – it looks very jolly indeed. Having been brought up CofE, in truth, I’ve been inside very few UK Catholic churches and I’m always astounded by how ornate they are by comparison to their protestant counterparts.

Church decor is something which always makes me question the graven images commandment whenever I’m inside one.  St Walburge’s, also in Preston, is a fine example of fabulous church decor, with its splendid stained glass windows and minstrels gallery, the second highest spire in the country and beautiful stone. I’ve no idea if you can gain access for a peek, sadly its parish is all but non existent and I know, years ago, there was an urgent sense of it having to be saved from disappearing as a church per se but if you can get inside, revel in it.

While I find church interiors often quite beautiful in their over the top design, from a spiritual perspective, there can be none more moving than St Martin’s Church in Martindale, in Cumbria. Its serene simplicity, lack of embellishment and ancient design make it an idyllic place to sit quietly and contemplate life’s greater questions.

All that said, as a lapsed church-goer (understatement), for many, many years I ceased going inside churches, as a tourist, after being in Crete one Easter. We took an excursion on Good Friday to a village church, where the presence of so many tourists made it impossible for actual worshippers to attend their own service inside their own local church. I was ashamed to be there, merely to gawp at the interior,when people were trying to get in for more legitimate reasons on the most important day of their religious year.

So I stopped going inside. I missed the Dome of the Rock when I was in Jerusalem, have missed countless divine settings in Europe and chosen to stand outside instead. But I’m going back inside more of them, just choosing my timings and being more considerate, I hope.

On a lighter note, I feel compelled to discuss the Asia Continental – I have to say I love it, although spend far too much on sacks of spices which will go off long before they are used. It’s a wonderful place to find most of your foreign goodies, not just Asian cuisine.

There’s also a really good fresh fruit and veg section with a good range of everything from the pedestrian to the exotic, but best of all, for us, if you’re someone who makes jams or chutneys, you can buy stuff by the crate!

Perfect for when you’re whipping up a batch of Moro’s harissa or Mrs Balbir Singh’s mango chutney – I think it’s her recipe we use (?)!