imagine peace

Dear Sheddists,

last week we visited Lichfield Cathedral just as the final touches were being added to their forthcoming, 'Imagine Peace' exhibition.

We pass rows and rows of trees in pots surrounding the Cathedral. One thousand nine hundred and eighteen of them to be precise. They symbolize the end of the First World War and the regrowth of woodlands at the Somme and the Western Front. Out of conflict hope returns.

There are lots more art installations inside, some created by local school-children and uniformed groups, others by Peter Walker, the Cathedral's artist-in-residence. There are long scarves wrapped around stone pillars and knitted hats, all part of a piece called 'Make do and mend'. Poignant letters to the 'front-line' have been written by children and pinned to an enormous board.

Nearby there's a bed covered in a brightly coloured patch-work quilt.  It represents the power of dream. Seemingly by chance a set of ladders has been placed close to the bed, no doubt to help assemble the remainder of the installation. It brings to mind thoughts of Jacob's ladder and his wrestling match with God.

The two most poignant encounters lie ahead, however.

The first is a lovely white-haired lady cleaning wax from a pew candle-holder. She's caught in a shaft of sunlight from the windows overhead.  We stop to chat and she tells us of her service in the Cathedral. There's a twinkle in her eye and the depth of her love is clear to all.

The second is an exhibit called, 'Buttons', constructed around the statue of 'The Sleeping Children' by Francis Chantrey. The statue commemorates the death of two clergy daughters, the eldest by burns sustained when her nightie caught fire and the younger, just a year later, following an illness.  Buttons are scattered on the floor to represent all the innocent children who died in war. They form a protective barrier around the two sleeping girls.

So much food for thought.

Yours as ever,

electrofried(mr)