A Funeral By Any Other Name

Funeral: noun,  a ceremony or service held shortly after a person's death, usually including the person's burial or cremation.

I've had an aversion to the term 'funeral' for a very long time. My son, Andrew, insisted that he would not have a funeral to mourn his death. He had made all the arrangements for a 'celebration of his life'. My dear friend Mo (of recent posts) also insisted that no one should mourn her demise but should celebrate the life she had had. I, too, have made such desires known for the inevitable event (long off though I hope it is).

A few days ago I went to a celebration for a life lived. It was quite a long service in terms of physical minutes (well over an hour) but it seemed very short because of the nature of the celebration.

There was so much happiness expressed for a life lived. That is something I have not seen on Lewis.

In fact, therefore, whatever one calls the service the generic term is a funeral and it can be religious or non-religious, a mourning or a celebration as is decided upon.

I was intrigued by the recent celebration I attended which was held in a church and was a religious service. All the celebrants were female: the vicar and the person who conducted the service (who was a friend of the deceased and, I assume, a deacon); and those who delivered the eulogy and the readings (Proverbs - The Hymn to a Good Wife and Roald Dahl's 'Be an Enthusiast'). The SoSo Choir (of which the deceased was a member) were also all-female and performed 'The Rose'. I think the Church Wardens were female as well. As The Dylon said "The times they are a-changin'. ".  I would add "..and about time too."

The service had a very different feel to any other I have attended (although it's by no means the first with a female celebrant).

St Mary's Church, Cilcain

One of my original purposes of blogging was to provide a diary of sorts or at least a reminder of things I've been doing. In Eagleton Notes I have rather lost track of that objective. When CJ, Partner Who Loves Tea and I went to Cilcain in North Wales in July and had lunch at the The While Horse about which I blogged we also popped over the road and visited the Anglican Parish Church of St Mary's The Virgin. If you are interested in knowing more about the church then there is information here and here so I won't bore you here.

Safari Day 3: Lewis

True to her reputation Pauline brought lovely weather to Lewis with her - during the day anyway which is what mattered. So we drove across the Island to the West Side to explore.

The hills of South Lewis from The Peatland Road

Looking South and West 

The Garenin Black House Village (Pauline in red).

Old and new thatch. Weighted fishing net was thrown over to help keep the thatch in place in storms.

Pauline capturing a thatcher at work. I think she got some cracking photos.

Just another village black house.

The village street 

The Broch at Dun Carloway

I'll do a proper post on the Broch one day

From New Zealand to The Standing Stones of Callanish

The interior of the Black House at Arnol 

and the Church at Eoropie

TW3

That Was The Week That Was. Remember that programme from half a century ago? Of course you don't. Well not if you're younger than I am. I wrote that start to this post this morning whilst it was fresh in my mind knowing that I had a day when I wouldn't be able to finish it until this evening. Coincidentally it's been in the news today.

Those of you who followed my A Hebridean in New Zealand blog will know that Pauline and I went on safari in New Zealand's Northland each year. Well last week Pauline visited Scotland and we went on a Highlands and Islands safari.

There will be more detailed posts on both our blogs (bearing in mind that Pauline's away for ages yet) but just to prove that Pauline woz 'ere here are a few photos.  

The most amazing thing, though, was that it didn't rain on us during the day all week. Pauline has a reputation for bringing good weather and she certainly came up trumps last week.

Day 1: Straight off the plane from Dublin and a visit to Fort George near Inverness

Day 1: The Ledgowan Arms in Achasheen for the first night

Day 2: The road to Applecross on the West Coast

Day 2: Pauline and the Nighthawk on the way over the 'top' to Applecross

Day 2: On 'the top' looking over to the Cuillins on the Isle of Skye.

Day 3: The Broch at Dun Carloway, Isle of Lewis

Day 3: The Standing Stones at Callanish, Isle of Lewis

Day 3: St Moluag's Church, Ness, Isle of Lewis

Day 4:  St Clement's Church, Rodel, Isle of Harris

Day 5: Uig, Isle of Lewis

Day 5: Uig Sands, Isle of Lewis. As good as New Zealand (but slightly colder!). 

Day 6: The ferry, a journey through the Highlands and a night in a superb hotel.

Day 7: Surveying the scene at Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

Well that was the week, that was. And a most enjoyable safari it was too. Enjoy the rest of your holiday Pauline.

St Moluag's, Eoropie

Last year CJ and I went to Eoropie on Lewis.  We visited St Moluag's, a 13 century church.  It was a magnificent day and we took plenty of photos (nothing new there then).  Dad (and he was by no means alone) always told me that anything leading the eye towards the main subject of a picture should be off-centre.  As a rule I agree.  Rules are, however, there to be broken on occasion.  This, in my view, was one of those occasions.

There's a lot more to this little church but the rest can wait for another day.

St Clements Church, Rodel

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would do another post on Rodel Church.  In fact I shall do several.  Here is the first: of the 1528 tomb of Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, 8th Chief of MacLeod.  I shall keep the text brief because there is lots of information on this important 15th century Isle of Harris landmark notably Wikipedia, Undiscovered Scotland (a complete misnomer in this case because Rodel Church is very discovered and essential visiting by any tourist on Harris) and Leverburgh.co.uk .

1528 tomb of Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, 8th Chief of MacLeod,

The Holy Trinity

An angel spreads insense from a censer

A Highland Galley under sail - part of the measure of a Chieftain's power

St Andrew's Mission Church, Wern at Minera

When we were coming back from Llangollen we came via World's End. Hopefully I'll blog about that some other time but before we got to Wrexham we arrived at Minera and there was something I've rarely seen before surviving today in Britain: a wrinkly tin church (corrugated iron to those non-New Zealanders amongst my readers). The building was no longer used and was for sale. My first thought was how similar it is to the many rural churches found throughout New Zealand which can bee seen on Pauline's blog The Paddock.

A Day at Chester Cathedral

Today CJ and I went to Chester Cathedral. Parts of the Cathedral (admittedly a very small part) date back 2000 years. The present church, however, was not built as a cathedral but as a monastry in 1092 - over a thousand years ago. So it's seen quite a lot happen over its lifetime. I used to go to the Cathedral when I was in my late teens/early twenties. Chester has always been very important to me and at one time the Cathedral was, briefly, too. What surprised me today was that I didn't remember the inside of the building at all. Of course the main body of the church has changed little but the infrastructure for visitors (who have to pay an admission charge) has made considerable changes. There were far fewer visitors than I recall and I suspect that the charge is a substantial contributory factor. The building is a historical edifice and regardless of the religious significance today it has played a hugely important part in the life of Chester.

I am sure that on this Blog and on CJ's Blog there will be many posts on our visit and doubtless a lot of duplication.

I thought that I would start my posts with a very modern addition to the Cathedral: a sculpture by Stephen Broadbent entitled Water of Life and installed in the Cloisters Garden of the Cathedral in 1994. I think it is one of the most beautiful things in the Cathedral

Jesus said the water that

I shall give will be an

inner spring always welling

up for eternal life - John 4:14

Glasgow Cathedral: Part 1

Earlier in the week I mentioned that I had been to Glasgow Cathedral. It was raining. I've been waiting for some sun ever since so that I could get some decent photographs of the exterior and the surroundings. As the sun has steadfastly refused to show its face I have decided to give you a glimpse of parts of the Cathedral.

The original nave having veen destroyed by fire in the 1100s the present nave was consecrated in 1197 and extended and completed between 1207 and 1232 - 260 years before Columbus discovered America.

The Quire screen behind which is the eastern arm or Quire and below it the Lower Church

In the Lower Church can be found the Blackadder Aisle built by Robert Blackadder who was the first Archbishop of Glasgow (1483 to 1508).
It is a quiet sanctury full of light and contrasting with the rest of the building.
It is a good place to pray for friends.