The Five Sisters
On our way home from the Harry Potter tour, we stopped for an afternoon in York. I wanted my son to see the Shambles – one of those little winding higgledy piggledy shopping streets that must surely have been the inspiration for Diagon Alley. The Lanes in Brighton has similar features, and there are little spots in every old town in England – Stratford, Durham, Oxford, London, and right here in Cambridge – that could be a little bit of Diagon Alley. Anyway, we went to York. Becuase it was on the way home from Durham of course.
While there we stopped in to look at the Five Sisters – an amazing and enormous set of 13th century grisaille windows in the North Transept of York Minster, and quite the most beautiful thing in the Minster. It was a fine, bright, sunny afternoon, and the little bits of colour in the principally monochrome windows shone like jewels set in pewter. Gorgeous.
4 Responses to “The Five Sisters”
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
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This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
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Hugh and I love the Shambles. We haven’t been there for years though – we gave York a miss last summer, prefering to go to cathedrals we hadn’t previously visited. There’s something very indulgent and relaxing about taking your time and having a good old mooch! You simply can’t rush in place like that or the Lanes. Perhaps it’s a little bit of shopping that’s good for you!
it was excellent shopping, Helen – we enjoyed the atmosphere and didn’t buy anything except ice-cream! That’s my idea of a good shopping trip…
Huh! Having been to both I can share something of this stage of the journey – nice to have reason to remember…
glad you could do this maggi