#alpha course

On the way to the planned church my path passed this open gate: a further hint of the way the walls onto the street hide oases of good things

It also happened to lead me past a Protestant church, which described itself as a product of the union of the Lutherans and Calvinists.

I followed the signs to try and gain entrance at the side, but there was no reply. It was sad to see this remnant of the Protestant tradition failing to capitalise upon the 500th anniversary of the Reformation; instead the best it seemed to be offering was a community centre.

Beside the cathedral is the historic palace of the Archbishop, stolen by the state at the time of the Revolution and now the Bordeaux town hall. Or as the sign says

It’s all about spin...

Whilst access to the front is severely limited, its gardens at the back constitute a public park in which there is an art gallery, where I ended the day.

But first, to the obscure churches.

St Bruno's church was part of a large monastic establishment on what was then the Western fringe of Bordeaux. Occupied by the Carthusian Order between 1615 and the revolution, it is now a parish church; no other of the monastic building remain. Some half of the choir stalls are still present, whilst the main feature of the church is the extraordinary 'trompe d'oeil' painting on the ceiling of nave / choir that give the impression of an Italianate plaster ceiling, as recorded in this photo.

The Revolution saw the monks executed or exiled

The local park saw a box from which you could borrow books

and the play ground rides have a age limits imposed!

Walking up to the ancient basilica of St Seurin. with elements dating back to the 6th century. This is the view up the street to it.

A wikimedia photograph

It was interesting to see a banner advertising the Alpha course slung across the entrance.

The building dates from the 11th century and after, and part of it was built by the English, if it is reasonable to describe the plantagenets as such so early; as such it is the only remnant of their rule of the area that I encountered. Despite its historical importance and even its being on the UNESCO world heritage as part of the historic pilgrimage route to Compestello, it was practically deserted, with only one other persons there; a worshipper who’d come in to PRAY!

There is something wrong when the 'Oxford Arms' British pub ends up only advertising Danish and Irish drinks

The other English pub dares to call itself the HMS Victory, the flagship of the British in the Battle of Trafalgar, which ended Napoleon's naval hopes.

10/10 for chutzpah.

I am old enough to remember when British 'Give Way' signs said so on them. Then we chose to conform to European standards, with just the symbol.

I guess the rational explanation is that such signs are so rare in France that they feel the need to explain. One can be more impolite...

I spent most of the rest of the afternoon in the art museum at the Mayor's house. To my surprise I discovered a secret of viewing art of focusing exclusively on a small part of the picture for a significant period before looking at it all again. This led to interesting effects! This is Roger Lambert-Loubere ‘D'une maree l'autre’ (One tide to the other) since you asked...

DeclineWe continually hear lamentations about decline in the Church. In mainstream denominations numbers drop like stones down a deep well and we wait for the splash as they finally hit bottom. Serious questions have to be asked about the continuing future of the Church of Scotland and the Church of England. The Roman Catholic Church cannot rely on the importation of believers from Poland and…

This is sort of a humor article on something I heard through the Alpha Course yet is an awesome testimony. First off, the Alpha Course is led by a British pastor, Nicky Gumbel. A lot of people love listening to him just for his accent. From listening to him, you can hear the wisdom.

I have been studying the Bible for about twelve years consistently and can’t find anything wrong with his doctrine…