Eye - 18 November 2011

From edible churchscapes to little soldiers

Edible churchscapes

Are there moths in your Meeting house grounds?

The Churches Conservation Trust, a national charity protecting historic churches at risk, is piloting a new scheme to help manage the bio-diversity of churchyards.

It is called ‘Edible Churchscapes’. Eye, in the wake of a recent gathering to consider the imaginative use of Quaker Meeting houses in London and the prompting at Canterbury for Friends to think and act more ‘sustainably’, wonders if there is a Quaker perspective on this?

The scheme was launched on National Apple Day on 29 October at the historic church of St Martin’s at Preston Gubbals in Shropshire. Activities held there on the day included cider making and a fungi survey. The event also highlighted the fact that the churchyard was home to a wide variety of plants and animals – especially birds, moths and butterflies.

Eye is curious to know: what species survive and thrive in the quiet of Quaker ‘habitats’ around Britain?

West country hospitality

News of the ‘travelling man’ is spreading fast (Eye 28 October).

Bob Lovett, clerk to the arrangements committee of Devon and Cornwall gatherings, tells us that Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, is booked to talk to Friends in St Austell on 11 February. Bob, in the tradition of hospitality associated with the south-west, also writes: ‘All are invited, and it may be that Friends from outside the area might be tempted to take advantage of a weekend break to meet with Friends from Devon and Cornwall and explore the delights of the area.’

Little soldiers

Marketing is a combination of art and craft. It can also be a ‘crafty art’. Alan Pugh prompted Eye to look at how the Imperial War Museum markets the military world to young people. He kindly sent in a brochure from the museum. There is a section devoted to young people with a text for their parents. It is revealing to read: ‘Your little soldiers will be able to climb, crawl and slide through tough terrain, wrestle through woodland and build their own den in our new adventurous climbing frames and soft play areas’.

Is it too ‘politically correct’ to be concerned about such language? Is this harmless fun or sinister conditioning? Perhaps the Bradford Peace Museum should take note: children, according to the Imperial War Museum, are not just children any more. The brochure adds: ‘Are you a drummer boy, an infantryman or a cavalry officer? Find out in the Museum’s Victorian Soldier Action Zone’.

… or a pacifist?

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