Remembrance Sunday

The photo is inside the Memorial to the Victories of the Marne in the grounds of the Louis XIII castle in Dormans, France. There are two chapels, one above the other.This is the lower chapel.
I have been touring this area, the Marne Champagne region of France. It is hugely sobering to see the war cemetaries and the chapels built by the side of them, to see the museums of war artefacts and the photos of the villages that were flattened, the families standing bemused by the ruins of their homes. The day after tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday, and war memorials throughout this region are being cleaned up, pressure hosed, flowers tidied up and so many fallen leaves swept up, ready for services. Some will be simple, some will involve more pomp and ceremony. Someone said the other day, I forget who, (anyone remember?) that this is all outdated, meaningless for today's generation. How can they say that? The news continues to tell us of our boys who still do not come home, and who pay the ultimate sacrifice for our countries. We do not learn from our mistakes it seems, and we have to remember, with pomp and ceremony, lest we should ever forget.

Wounded Healer

I have returned to the blogging scene after a few months away - so watch this space - I will be talking about my book that will hopefully be appearing in 2010 - how getting in touch with our compassion and empathy will be needed to heal this fractured earth - and the Wounded Healer is such a potent symbol to use.

And of course the greatest Wounded Healer of all was Jesus Christ. This is a picture of the nativity set up at our local church last Christmas - the manger empty waiting for the birth of the Christ Child.