Finding the Holy Grail

For a long time Nigel and I had wished to visit mysterious Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh with its links to the Knights Templar and rumours of the Holy Grail. 

Finally Nigel, Pascoe and I had tickets. However, at the last minute,  a trip to Accident and Emergency ruled out the day. (Don't worry -  everything turned out okay.)

We thought that was our opportunity gone, but Pascoe was a hero and got tickets moved to the next day. 

We were still on course to visit Rosslyn.  Would we discover the secret of the Holy Grail?

When we arrived, the ancient exterior was impressive, the interior even more so.

Inside, the virtuoso carvings conveyed so many ideas - green men burgeoned in every corner, the virtues occupied one side of an architrave, the vices the other. Up an arch jigged the Danse Macabre.  

I spotted a guide on hand for queries.

'What is your favourite thing here?' I asked.

And she showed us a photo of one of the pinnacles outside.  It had been created hollow, and carved with a stone flower, in the centre of which was a hole, just big enough for a bee to enter.  The bees used it as a natural hive, with the advantage that it was too high from the ground ever for humans to open it up....Until a few years ago, during restoration.  Within the stone pinnacle were new honeycombs, but beneath were layers of fossilised comb, dating back hundreds of years.

Bees are referred to many times in the Bible, so even this hive has a deeper meaning - exactly what, it's hard to say, but bees sometimes represent industry and unity, sometimes God's blessing and abundance.

As we left, we were no wiser about the Holy Grail, but we definitely felt we had been let into one of Rosslyn Chapel's secrets.

Green Church

Covid hit our church hard. Several much loved older people died, afflicted by the isolation and delayed medical treatment of Lockdown rather than the Covid virus itself. Some of the members who had been most creative and most generous with their time moved away. One or two developed long-term illnesses. And then our vicar retired.

So coming out of Covid has felt like the aftermath of a nasty fall. Gingerly we have picked ourselves up and tested each limb for strains and bruises.

However, there is now a very tangible sign of new life – the creation of a green space in front of our church. A team, led with great energy by Celia, has packed the modest plot with flowers to attract bees and a wet area for amphibians. Above, there are swift boxes and a swift call playing to attract the birds to nest, (my own contribution). On either side are benches for people to sit and appreciate it all.

The fact that we have accomplished this long-awaited project now in the spring, and that it will blossom and flourish through the summer must be a good sign.

So by the time winter chill creeps in once more, the plants will have become established and our new vicar will have taken up his post.

For more about our environmentally-aware church http://www.saint-lukes.co.uk/