This week I have had the pleasure of having my friend Amy staying. I met her four years ago when I was in Melbourne and she's come to England to spend some time studying. Yesterday we went to Stonehenge and other various little villages in Salisbury with names like Tytherington. We had a picnic by the side of the road, wrapped up good and proper - the rays of the summer sun were just so hardcore that we felt the need to wear more rather than less clothes. Pah. If only. Where is the sun??????????On Thursday we tired ourselves out thoroughly with a cycle ride to Bath, followed by some punting on the River Avon and a homemade cream tea - I baked some maple syrup scones before we left and took along a pot of clotted cream and some jam. We ate our scones while on the boat to the boating station where we got dropped off to pick up our punting boat.
During Amy's stay I realised that there are a lot of things that I really should know about but don't. For instance, 'what is a minster?' 'What is the difference between an Abbey and a Church?' What are those things that look like chestnuts but are not? What exactly is clotted cream? My general knowledge is somewhat lacking. All in all, we had fun and ate lots.
Well, Wikipedia will always help you out:
ReplyDeleteIn Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorised by a church or religious organisation to perform clergy functions such as teaching of beliefs; performing services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community.
In Protestant churches, "minister" generally refers to a member of the ordained clergy.
A church is a building used for Christian worship (I made this one up).
An abbey is a Christian monastery or convent, under the government of an Abbot or an Abbess.
I don't know what those things that look like chestnuts are :S
Clotted cream is a thick yellow cream made by heating unpasteurised cow's milk and then leaving it in shallow pans for several hours. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms 'clots'.
Anyway, judging by the photos it looks like you had a ball... It's lovely to meet up with people you've not seen for some time :D
Haha... I am a spoon... thanks Joe for pointing out that my brain inserts vowels where there aren't any.
ReplyDeleteMinster: The word derives from the Old English "mynster", meaning "monastery", "nunnery", "mother church" or "cathedral", itself derived from the Latin "monasterium", meaning a group of clergy living a communal life. Thus, "minster" could apply to any church whose clergy followed a formal rule: as for example a monastery or a chapter; or simply to a church served by a less formal group of clergy living communally.