Sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words, and herein ends this evening's insightful political commentary. Cost? 1 Euro or to you, readers, free.
Moving from secular to, ahem, sacred, the Church of England's venerable Winchester Cathedral, founded in the 7th century A.D., has installed a Giant Bee above its front door.
That's right, a GIANT BEE. Here it is, getting ready to be hoisted up on the church's imposing western front. Attractive, isn't it. "But why," you ask, "this tremendous bee?"
The Very Reverend Catherine Ogle, Dean of Winchester explains, "The bee is a great symbol of the beauty and intricate connection of creation," and, "The Giant Bee also symbolises the importance of recycling, incorporating materials that have been thrown away or donated."
Thank God for that. Who knows, perhaps Winchester's Giant Bee will play its part in reversing the CofE's unsettling decline, and it's serious. According to the UK's Guardian, Church of England attendance is at an all time low, with the number of people identifying with the state religion falling from 31% in 2002 to 14% in 2018.
Winchester Cathedral's press office announced its bold bee initiative with the arresting headline "Glory Bee!" Will this curious mix of parochial mawkishness meets green religion-of-the-hive convert the English? And if so, to what, the Bee Goddess?
Don't say Christianity.
LSP
