Busy doing quite a lot of things, really

[nineveh_uk]

It has been quite a busy week. I went to Chelsea flower show with my mother, had an interview for the job I applied for a couple of weeks ago, and visited undergraduate university friends in the Yorkshire Wolds.

Chelsea - I'd never been before, and it was a lot of fun. We went for the second half of the day, which is sufficient time to see everything that matters, i.e. you completely ignore the shops, the flower arranging, and the food, while walking all the way round every single garden, and each stand in the pavilion. There were some lovely gardens, some amazing nursery displays, and some extraordinary tat. It doesn't matter how expensive it is, tat is still tat. I would have enjoyed it on my own, but with my mother it was much better, because she used to be a landscape architect and knows what she is looking at and can actually explain why something is innovative, impressive or otherwise. She is also indefatigable when faced with plants - we did not stop once, no cafe, no bench, no Pimms or champagne (there were surprising numbers of quite drunk people).

Job - I didn't get the job, which is disappointing, but given that it is the first thing I have applied for in five years I am looking on the bright side of having got back on the horse and put in a decent application, decent paper, and - not getting the job notwithstanding - decent interview performance. I shall not be asking for feedback, as I feel I'm much better off analysing my own performance and considering how to address shortcomings, than being

The Wolds - were lovely, and we went to York and round the Minster, which now costs a whopping £9 entrance fee*, but this was all right because Wolds Friend (as opposed to visiting-from-Ireland friend) had already paid this for a bunch of visiting relatives and was determined to get every penny out of the 'annual' ticket (a great deal if you live locally and want to pop in often, seriously off-putting if you don't. I hate annual tickets in general). We also went to Betty's, where I ate a raspberry frangipane, and bought this postcard. At this time of year, the Wolds themselves look exactly like this (as portrayed by David Hockney). A much-needed restful weekend, and delightful catch-up with friends.

Work continues mad on all fronts, but one front only has about a fortnight to go, which is something.

*Insert rant about CofE mismanagement of its money here. Friend in the Wolds had to buy insurance when purchasing her house against the possibilty of chancel repair liability.

Comments

[tree_and_leaf]

The official guidance from the C of E encourages PCCs not to enforce the chancel liability, but I quite agree it's a system that would be far better abolished.

I also object to charging for admission to cathedrals - though if you think £9 is bad, avoid Westminster Abbey (£18!) Durham, I am pleased to note, is free, as are Liverpool and St Albans. So is Norwich, although they do push the suggested donation pretty hard (still within the bounds of politeness, though).

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

It just seems one of those things that you can't possibly justify these days - the liabilities themselves are so archaic, it can be next to impossible for people to know if they might be charged, and ultimately, potentially causing people to lose their homes is not good publicity! Nor, from a different perspective, does it help the upkeep of churches that don't have those rights, but might have major financial needs. There have to be better ways (actually, Friend and her husband do pay a small subscription towards their village church costs, though she is RC and he's an atheist and they've never been to a service, because it is a historic building in the village that they like to see kept up).

£18 is a lot of money! Well done Durham, which can't be cheap to keep up.

[tree_and_leaf]

I don't quite know how Durham do it, but I take my hat off to them.

I can't imagine any circumstances where applying the chancel liability wouldn't be both grossly unfair and, for that matter, against the best mid-to-long term interests of the parish in questions.

ETA: at St Albans, I believe the chapter reckoned that not only was charging wrong, it would also be counterproductive, as the costs associated with ticketing wouldn't make up for the shortfall caused by a drop in visitor numbers and therefore donations. But the maths will work differently if you're York Minster, which is a much more significant and well known building. Not, of course, that that changes the moral case.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because Durham didn't *make* you pay, Hubby and I gave quite generously to the donation box. And I think they do charge for the museum don't they?

Whereas the whole fiasco at the entrance to York just made me feel like all the entire place was just set up to wring as much money out of tourists as they could manage :(