Tuesday 31 August 2010

The Gallery - One Day in August


This week's Gallery prompt was to go out and take pictures on Sunday 29th August, which is the day that Josie, Sian and Eva left on their trip to Bangladesh to help raise awareness of the work that Save the Children do with mothers and children there and to help put pressure on Nick Clegg and other world leaders to recommit to the Millennium Development Goals. You can follow their progress on any of their blogs or you can check out #Blogladesh on Twitter.

Sunday was an odd day for me. I spent most of it alone. Monkey and Missy Woo went away on Saturday with Granny and Grandad to a caravan out in the Ribble Valley. Missy Woo comes back for a while on Wednesday (as she needs to be here for a home visit from her new teacher) and then Monkey comes home that night, to start back at school on Thursday. Anyway, enough of my family life. They're not here, so no gratuitous proud mummy pics of cute blonde children.

I was on my own also because husband was on a night shift so got to bed at 7.30am. I spent most of the day getting the house clean and tidy so that it would stay that way for more than one day, doing a workout and watching the Belgian Grand Prix. None of which is particularly noteworthy, exciting, or even photogenic. (You seriously don't want pix of me doing a workout!)

Once the house was clean and I was clean too, I had to pop out for groceries and to deliver newsletters to various NCT members in some of the outlying villages, something I do every few months. On my way, I considered stopping and taking a shot of the canal near us, but there was nowhere to stop safely and I was short of time. I went through a couple of villages and nothing struck me. I headed down to another part, and saw my shot. I just had to hope I could still do it when I came back having dropped off the last 3 newsletters and some things at my friend's house.

Well, I took it. I'm not sure it's as good as what was in my head for a picture - the light was probably better 5 minutes earlier. Here goes:



The building is the Preston Mormon Temple. It is one of only two temples in the UK and the largest in Europe. A temple was built here because Preston has the oldest continuous branch of the church, having been established by missionaries in 1837 who headed to Preston after arriving in Liverpool.

We can see the temple from our house; it's even lit up at night. Everyone who's ever travelled north on the M61 will have seen it because it is right next to the motorway and I use it as a point of reference regularly. I know I'm nearly home when I see the spire peaking out from above the trees from a distance. I've never been inside because you have to be a member of the church to enter. Before it was dedicated in 1998, they allowed public tours and I believe it's fantastic inside. The figure on the top that you can just make out is, apparently, Moroni, an ancient prophet who delivered a record that became the book of Mormon. It's traditional to have this figure blowing a trumpet on all temples and although the local rumour is that he is solid gold, he's apparently made of glass fibre covered with gold leaf. Around it is a family history centre, a training facility and accommodation for missionaries. You'd think we'd be bothered with missionaries all the time living this close to them but they've come to the door 3 times in 10 years. They are exceptionally polite and when you say "No thanks", they thank you and leave.

This is a place brought about by missionaries, who came to spread their word. It struck me that this is what Josie, Sian and Eva are doing, albeit in slightly different circumstances. They left on Sunday on an arduous and possibly emotional journey to see what Save the Children do in Bangladesh. They may not be there to convert the locals, but in blogging what they see, they are spreading the word. Except their blogs can reach around the world, raising awareness of the issues, convincing others of the need for change and asking those in power to do something about it.

So, my picture is a record of one day in August, and a parallel.

24 comments:

  1. My Brother was trained as a missonary there. In fact he had only been gone a week when my dad died over 10 years ago, so it holds a special place for him. He was going to the US, but they made him do his mission in scotland - he never got over it!!

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  2. Your photo delivered a shock of recognition, together with a wave of nostalgia. The other Mormon Temple in the UK is just down the road from where my Nana lived, on the road to Lingfield in Surrey, and the design is almost identical (except the one down our way is not on a hill and surrounded by trees) and it too always looks immaculate and is lit up at night.

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  3. Really touching post Kate! What an amazing building. Can you go inside?

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  4. It's a heck of a building. I've spotted it lots of times from the M61 but didn't know what it was until you tweeted about it. Great picture. It really dominates the skyline and surrounding woodland, doesn't it? I like the parallel you draw too. Nice post, lady.

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  5. I love the way it seems to float on the trees, great photo:) jen

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  6. Hi Mandi. Yes, I had heard the other was in Surrey. I can recognise one of their churches/meeting houses too a mile off; they definitely have a style.

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  7. Nope, once it's dedicated, only "worthy" members of the church are allowed in and even then, they apparently have strict regulations about what they wear etc.

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  8. Thank you, mister. ;) Next time you drive past, you'll know you're coming past my house as well so you'll have to wave. ;) (I'd offer a cuppa but yanno, they'd all want one... ;) )

    I actually think it's less dominating than it was as the trees have matured around it. From the other side, (along the A6) you can't really see it as clearly tho you kind of get a better view of Moroni. I do like the rumour it was solid gold. Can you imagine how much that would weigh? It's9 feet tall!

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  9. Thanks Jen. It's hovering above the motorway, for sure. ;)

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  10. Such an interesting post - I've learned something new today.

    Reading about you delivering NCT newsletters reminds me when I was in the NCT and I put the local newsletter together - a steep learning curve that was harder than bringing up a baby!

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  11. That's pretty cool and a lovely post. The most impressive Mormon Temple I've ever seen is the one in San Diego......it's so huge it almost doesn't look real! You should Google it if you get chance!! Enjoy having Missy Woo home :-)

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  12. I used to use the M61 regularly on my journeys to Manchester and back. It seemed that temple appeared over night, like magic. It does look amazing when lit up at night but (IMHO) it is a bit of a blot on the landscape.

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  13. We drove past here a few weeks ago, I didn't realise what it was but did think it was impressive and tried to get a picture myself but missed the opportunity! A lovely, really interesting post :)

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  14. Wow, I've never seen that before. I will look out for it on the next Lancashire run.

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  15. Well, you learn something new every day! Great photo by the way -- love the sky.

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  16. Thanks Trish. I like to be informative. :)

    NCT newsletters are definitely steep learning curves! I'm proud of ours - we have a fab editor who combines 4 children, work, college and horses with producing the newsletter. I nominated her for an NCT award last year and she won Publication of the Year for it. I don't know how she does it. I was a treasurer for 4 years which is easy in comparison. :)

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  17. Thanks so much, lovely. Just looked it up and yep, that's huge. :) They all look pretty similar - they seem to have a signature style.

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  18. Ooh, can't say how quickly it was built as it was before my time and my trips to Preston beforehand were always up the M6 so never passed it. I think it's better now the surrounding trees have matured so it's not quite so dominant. Thanks for your comment.

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  19. Thanks so much! It is definitely out to make a statement and in a place where you cannot miss it, though the trees have softened it over the years. Next time you pass, you can sound all knowledgeable about it. :)

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  20. Hi there. I guess it depends where you head for in Lancs. If you just go up and down the M6, you might never see it - unless you know where to look, as I think it's possible to *just* see the top of it at one point.

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  21. Why thank you, ma'am. :) I wish I was a better photographer to get the contrast better. Mind you, timing might have played a part as the contrast was greater when I drove down the road five mins earlier.

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  22. I've tried to pretend I know what the NCT is, but alas I do not! Great picture! I totally get what you were going for and that happens to me all the time! I have the greatest of ideas in my head and miss 'em by seconds, either the camera's not ready or the light changes, etc. Great job!

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  23. Ah, Kirsty. The NCT is the UK's leading parent support charity. http://www.nct.org.uk - I volunteer for them. A lot!

    And thanks for your comment. :)

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  24. Hi Jen, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I guess you'd only be able to look at the outside and I must admit I still only drive past it!

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