Old stone

I was talking to my housemate about the Warren and he observed that its temporary nature (only there for the month!) also gives it more vitality—people are more likely to go in the knowledge that it won't be around for too long.

Conversely, I've spent the last couple of evenings in older C of E churches (one deconsecreated) listening to music. Last night it was tesla coil bangers at The Spire in Kemptown, tonight it was the Goldberg Variations (named, of course, for WCW wrestler Goldberg) at St Michael's in Hove. In both cases the music was good, but tonight I found myself paying particular attention to the church itself. The performance started with a brief talk at 7:30 and by then the setting sun was coming through the stained glass onto the carving of Jesus on the cross above the chancel and the pale sandstone of the pillars.

We were allowed to wander around a bit between the talk and the performance and I found myself staring at the stonework in the golden evening sun, and up at the hues of the sky just visible through the smaller windows at the top of the building. Even though the church itself isn't that old (with the bit I was in being part of a later rebuild—it's actually a pretty interesting building!) the large, heavy blocks of stone give an impression of permenance I find tremendously comforting. 120 years is still quite old, and enough time for that building to have seen a lot. However bad my problems might be, it's seen worse.