Last month we visited the nice town of Romont in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It has a medieval town centre right on the top of a hill with some formidable fortifications, including several distinctive towers. We went to the stained glass museum there and the church with its famed stained glass windows. Then, while…
When we landed back in Christchurch the parishioner who picked us up from the airport had hoped to show us something new in the vicinity of the Church, namely the functioning pedestrian traffic lights across Harewood Road. We were disappointed. Those traffic lights were still not working, just as they had not been when we…
As in much of Europe church bells are ever-present in Switzerland. They mark the time by striking every quarter hour and on the hour indicate the actual time. Of course, that means that most church bells are electronically controlled and on automatic timers. Church bells are also rung before church services and in some places…
The location of the vicarage being adjacent to the railway line brought back memories for Gayle of where she lived during her Primary School years. At that time her family lived on a small block of land that backed on to Morrinsville. It too had a railway line adjacent to its boundary. This section of the line was a convenient shortcut when…