Family / visits

[shewhomust]

It's been an eventful ten days, which is why there's been nothing from me but a piece of drive-by snark - and that's eventful not on the national stage, a rabbit hole I do not intend to go down right now, but here at home, where it counts.

Last weekend, then, as anticipated, family visit number one, durham_rambler's great-nephew and his girlfriend. I don't know which disconcerts me more, that we have a great-nephew (two, in fact, of whom this is the elder, and a university student) or that no-one else finds it in the least unexpected. They had been in Newcastle for a wedding, and took the opportunity to spend a couple of days with us. First visit to our house, we think, for Great-Nephew, first visit to his family for Girlfriend. We asked if there was anything in particular they wanted to do while they were here, and being well brought up young people, they asked to visit Durham cathedral.

I was hesitant about walking in to town and walking back (yes, I know; things have changed) so we took the car as far as Pimlico, and walked down and over Prebends' Bridge. So we came into the cathedral through the cloisters. Here's something I'd never noticed before:

Take a closer look:

I'm assuming it has lingered after filming something: the cloisters were part of Hogwarts school, which; feels appropriate, though it was a while ago... Something was going on now, because the door of the chapter house was open, and people in gowns, some black, some purple, coming and going; and more people in ordinary clothes, holding glasses. What was going on, we asked; they were, they explained, celebrating the Feast of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Cuthbert with a pontifical mass and a social gathering after - and would we join them for a glass of wine? We accepted a glass of water, and then continued our exploration of the cathedral. One more picture -

In the Galilee chapel there are four glass sculptures illustrating the life of Bede. I had read about this, and thought it would be interesting to see them, but I had since forgotten all about it, and it took me some time to work out what I was seeing. Four glass cases, containing elaborate glass confections which reminded me more of cake decorations than anything else. Here's my favourite:

It shows a scene from Bede's Life of Saint Cuthbert, in which sea otters come to Cuthbert, who is living as a hermit in the Farne Islands, to warm his chilly feet. The sea which surrounds them is filled with spectacular life forms - and what you can't see is that at the top of the rocks which form the backdrop are two teeny-tiny puffins.

Last night there was a very different family visit, my cousin A and his partner "up for the match". Once or twice a year they come north to see Sunderland play, and we join them for a post-game meal at an Italian restaurant in Sunderland. Saturday's match was cancelled, of course, but they decided that they had packed, and booked the hotel, and they might as well come...

Comments

[cmcmck]

Ah, Cuddy!

That old misogynist.

[shewhomust]

True - though to be fair, I don't think he liked people all that much in general!

[sovay]

The sea which surrounds them is filled with spectacular life forms - and what you can't see is that at the top of the rocks which form the backdrop are two teeny-tiny puffins.

That's really neat. The otters look very lively, and I like what look like the glass rings of barnacles. The saint does look a little like a cake topper.

[shewhomust]

I particularly liked the rocks, which manage to convey the shape and texture of rock despite being clear glass not black rock. I wish I could have managed to include the puffins ...