In this issue October 1998 Reflections on Windsor A challenge from Chernobyl Trains and tapestries La vie universitaire Francaise Silence in church! This month’s Notes & Events The Parish Magazine of St Peter’s with All Saints’ Welcome to the October issue of the Berkhamsted Review. In this month’s issue... The popular cliché ‘Doesn’t time fly?’ never seems more true than at this time of Reflections on Windsor year. Summer holidays, warm weather and Fr Mark Bonney tells us of his light evenings seem hardly over and yet experience during his month away. here we are looking forward to the winter months, judging by the notices in this A Challenge from Chernobyl month’s issue of the magazine for In the second of two articles, Barbara Christmas fairs, preparation for Advent Conway completes the story of the visit and much else. Indeed, I notice Tesco is of a group of children from Belarus. nicely stocked up with Christmas crackers just in time for the mad rush there’s bound Trains and Tapestries to be in the next few days (!). John Cook on infighting in the PCC and There is a point to this, other than the much else around the town.. perennial complaint about the early start to the Christmas ‘season’ (the commercial La Vie Universitaire Francaise one, that is). Time disappears particularly Jessica Irons finds that French quickly when one is planning some sort of university life is a little different to event - what seems months away soon England. becomes a matter of days. This time of year, going through Christmas to the early Wishful Thinking months of the new year, sees a whole English football hooliganism? Stephen variety of events in the town - and very Halliday points firmly to the media. fortunate we are too. Of course, there’s little point in putting in the hard work if Silence in church! no-one knows about what you’re doing - Revd Peter Hart argues that we so do please tell us so that we can include shouldn’t be preoccupied with silence. your event in the Review (and pictures of people enjoying themselves make great ... plus our regular features, readers’ covers!). Chris Smalley letters, notes & notices and diary dates. Editorial Team: David Woodward, 3 Murray Road HP4 1JD (862723) Chris Smalley, 18 Osmington Place, Tring HP23 4EG (826821) email: [email protected] Advertising: David Woodward, 3 Murray Road HP4 1JD (862723) Circulation: Daphne Montague, 27 Hill View HP4 1SA (875320) Treasurer: Miles Nicholas, 46 Fieldway HP4 2NY (871598) Committee Sec.: John Cook, The Gardeners’ Arms, Castle Street HP4 2DW Responsibility for opinions expressed in articles and letters published in this Review and for the accuracy of any statements in them rests solely with the individual contributor Next Copy Dates (all Fridays): 2 October 6 November 27 November (note early date for December issue due to Christmas) 2 review leader Fr Mark Bonney My month away broader picture of the context of one’s life at St George’s and ministry - it is so very easy to become reflects on his House Windsor is swamped by the local things (often very time spent now a little important, sometimes trivial) that the recently at Windsor. distant, but its wider context passes one by. general influence At the end of the course all the three will I’m sure be groups in which we were working tried to with me for some time. I would like first focus our reflections upon what we of all to say thank you to those who thought were the main challenges ahead covered services and other duties while I for Christian believing beyond 2000. We was away; it was an excellent opportunity came up with a lot of questions and not to have been able to take. too many answers! Questions to do with As Canon John White (one of the authority - whether we like it or not ours is course tutors) had said in June’s Review a society in which the older models of the course was no holiday, although the authority imposed from above no longer change of environment and routine carry weight, and this has many balanced some quite long days. The implications for the way Scripture is used twenty three participants had all and the way the Church operates; researched and written a 10,000 word questions around our place as Christians project during the preceding months (I within a plural society and our relationship chose to write about the homosexuality with other faith groups; moral questions debate within the Church of England), and resulting from the rapid advances in in our groups of eight we each presented information technology and in medical and and discussed someone else’s project. scientific fields. Within those same groups we also had a What came out of all this for me series of Bible studies on the letter to the personally was an awareness that in an Romans, eight book reviews, a daily increasingly complex and rapidly period of theological reflection on what changing world there is a danger of we had heard about, and discussions seeking refuge in neat and tidy certainties resulting from the input of some 15 and straightforward answers that are very lectures. The lectures covered a wide possibly wrong. The Church is often asked range of issues, the speakers having been for answers to difficult questions - it must asked to link in with the overall course grapple with those, but not be afraid of the title of Beyond 2000, Christian Believing grappling, and resist the quick and easy Into The Future. We heard from the head answer, especially in areas where we don’t of one of the largest comprehensive really know what we’re talking about. schools, a media expert, an up and coming Gazing into the tea leaves and saying what defence lawyer, a Muslim leader, a the world is going to be like in 30 years professor of history, an NSM priest in the time is an exercise fraught with senior management of the Hong Kong danger, (continued on page 12) Shanghai Bank to mention but a few. We also had a couple of trips out to places like Cover: Olga and Elena from Belarus get St Botolph’s in Aldgate, the Lloyds acquainted with how canal locks work Building, the Steinberg Centre, the Lotus during a day out on the Grand Union (see factory (software - not cars!). It was a article on p9). Photo: Barbara Conway splendid chance to reflect and get a much 3 SARAH DAVEY MSTAT Teacher of the Alexander Technique Cranio Sacral Therapist Phone (01442) 250712 4 it will be on display in Berkhamsted Civic Centre from Monday 5th October to Saturday 10th October. Going by the reports of those who have already had the opportunity to view it, the tapestry is an impressive piece of work and well worth going to see. Some readers may remember the Berkhamsted Pageant in 1966. Following that event - or rather series of events - there was a proposal to hang a tapestry depicting the pageant in St Peter’s church. Regrettably this idea was not exactly warmly acclaimed when the Parochial Church Council considered it. There was squabbling about whether the matter should be discussed at all as it was not on the agenda, then strongly voiced views were expressed for and against. The report The Millennium in the Berkhamsted Review of November Any future references in this column to the 1966 recorded that the Council hardly Millennium will mean the year 2000. All distinguished itself over the matter. educated people know that the year after Further criticism of the PCC appeared next is not really the Millennium – that in a letter in the same Review, complaining will be a year later – 2001; but there is that it took half an hour to discuss the nothing we can do to stop the year 2000 price of a piece of coconut matting. Given being celebrated and called by that name. a ball of string and a crochet hook apiece, The media have the final say in all such the letter claimed, they could have knitted things and they will take no notice of those a mat in less time than that. Let us have of us who may think otherwise. less sound and fury from the Council on Certainly computers believe that the matting and tapestries, the commentator year 2000 (which I see that the computer pleaded, and more fire in the belly on magazines are now calling ‘Y2K’) will be spreading the word of God. The reports of a special year, and by all accounts many of today’s PCC meetings seem rather them will mark the occasion by going on restrained by comparison. the blink right at the very start - on 1st Mail Trains January 2000. Following comments in the Review a The year 2000 will also be the 200th month or two ago about the dropping and anniversary of the death of perhaps picking up of mail from trains at Berkhamsted’s most famous son, William Berkhamsted, I am very grateful to two Cowper. I hope that the Cowper Society readers who have let me have very will be organising some suitable way of interesting accounts of what used to making sure that this is not forgotten happen. among all the other celebrations. Mr Roger Osborn who now lives in Tapestries Clarence Road joined the GPO in 1939 and In last month’s Review there was an article after the war he became part of the about the exhibition to be held of the Travelling Post Office (TPO) team.