St. Peter's Church, Anglesey Abbey

St. Peter's Church...charming...quaint...country.  In fact, it's very similar to the Alamo, in that the city has grown up all around it, but here it remains, basically untouched from pre-Reformation days. We discovered St. Peter's one day when we were a bit early for a Friday lunchtime concert at Kettles Yard.  This church is literally in their backyard.  The kids and I heeded the call to explore! 

Note the prominent font, commonly seen in early churches.  Wondering why the decorations are so modest?  Glad you asked.  On December 30, 1643, William Dawsing, the notorius "visitor of churches" whose job was to remove all signs of popery from parish churches, visited St. Peter's.  He held a big bonfire in the churchyard, and burned all holy pictures, altar railings, and anything else reminiscent of the Pope or the Catholic Church.

Look carefully at this stone on the floor of St. Peter's and you will see etched into the stone itself a figure of an apostle, or perhaps a child, which was originally inlaid in brass.  There are many of these stone etchings around in churches/cathedrals, but only a very few of them still have the brass inlay.  Most of the brass was removed and melted down for bullets during war time.

Changing gears a bit, one wintry day several of us went to Anglesey Abbey, an immense estate with The National Trust here in England, that has tours each February of their over 200 varieties of snowdrops (shown above).  This is variety number 149.  Oh my.  Were we in over our heads!  We must have been the only non-professional horticulturists in the bunch.  I mean, the questions the others on the tour asked contained words I'd never even heard of before!! (How I wished my dad had been there...he would have LOVED it!! As would you, Mrs. Jenkins. :))  So, I now feel quite educated about snowdrops.  You have questions?  I have answers. :)

Dramatic.  These silver birches in the garden reminded us of those found in Alaska, only these are WASHED every week to enhance their ultra-white color.  Anyone out there wash THEIR tress?

And, what ARE these people looking at?  Our newest "blue coat" convert, Marion Jongkind, has six children, and is a sweet friend of mine here.  She reminds me of another sweet friend I have with six children...enter Lady Van Neste. :)  Note to future Cambridge visitors:  children do not find snowdrop tours enthralling...:)

As we were leaving, Caleb captured this photo of snowdrops (beneath tree).  An interesting cultural note here:  Trees are not for climbing in England, as a general rule.  Nowhere we have been have the children been allowed to climb them.  It's really a shame because there are some GRAND old trees that would be PERFECT...