General Chat

the cathederal in Seville is something to behold, the alter is made entirely fromlooted Aztec gold, brought back by the conquistadors for which the aztecs paid a terrible price .
There again so did the Spanish
At least some of it went to the glory of god while therest lined the pockets of the great and good
igor

Maggie we visited Winchester Cathedral for the first time on our trip to the UK last year. We loved it and as it was a Sunday we went to the service. We also loved the town of Winchester:)

Sue xx

Have to admit I find the Catholic churches in Spain and Portugal creepy.
So much obvious opulence and wealth tied to the church and there in a pew, an elderly woman in faded black praying.
The contrast of the wealth associated with religion and the poverty of the pious is heart wrenching.

Hi Sue,
Winchester is lovely - I moved 28 times before settling here almost 20 years ago - and I still find new 'odd' things. There's a very old building backs onto the Cathedral grounds, it has two attic windows with a chimney breast in the middle. If you look sideways, you can see the chimney breast was built in front of the third attic window!!!
I only noticed that last year. The tops of downpipes are fascinating too - the old ones are very ornate and some have dates on.
Sometimes I want to write the 'alternative' guide to Winchester!
'Black Swan Buildings' - now flats, was once a hotel - mentioned in a Sherlock Holmes novel.

finally now i am going up ,
Fact the wealhiest organisation in the world the catholic church
fact the wealthiest landowners in Britain The church of England
igorxx

It's the same all over the world. Churches used to be open all the time until they were vandalised.

Here in Oz, it's the same. Old hostoric churches built soon after the country was colonised, have been used by drug addicts, who light fires in them, and break stained-glass windows. With less people supporting churches these days, it is not possible to have a 24 hour security service, so they have to be locked.

Gone are the days when people could pop into a church for a quiet hour of meditation.