There has been a lot of talk about how things have changed in 75 years. One thing that has struck me is the few people wearing spectacles 75 years ago.
The above photograph shows a sole wearer of spectacles in a BBC article VE Day: 'I drove general to WW2 unconditional surrender' . Accompanying Newsreel footage similarly shows an almost complete absence of Specs compared with today.
Take a look at the congregation in Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol to see the difference.
You have to laugh.
To be fair, the uniformed ladies in the archive photo seem all to be under 40, although the fuzzy quality makes it hard to be certain. I had a look at the broadcast of 'Dechrau Canu' to which you gave a link: the majority of those packing the various places of worship were past 70, some well past. I expect by the time they got to that age most of the wartime drivers wore glasses, for reading if not for distance as well. (I was prescribed glasses for reading at age 11 and for distance as well at age 12; I am now 72 and have to wear varifocals. I wouldn't like to think how dangerous I would have been to myself and other road users if when I started driving I'd tried to do so with unaugmented vision.) To reinforce the point: I remember quite 50 years ago a colleague drawing my attention to his observation that on any Sunday the majority of participants in 'Songs of Praise' were likely to be bespectacled -- of course, they were also Of a Certain Age, although as we were both then well short of it we may not have made the connection.
ReplyDeleteCould be because they couldn't afford them; or that you didn't get into the army if, certainly not driving, if you were short sighted, or as another commenter said, it's because they are young gals.
ReplyDeletePre-NHS. So you had to pay the market rate, for the test and then for the specs.
ReplyDeleteEnough to put off people without much to spare after they'd budgeted for basic living costs.
They simply took them off to have their photograph taken!
ReplyDeleteCompletely unconnected. Yet again, the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson thingy appears on Snogs of Praise. I can't help thinking she is being groomed for the next Primatial vacancy! Probably wrong though as I predicted - Twerp Glocester for Ebor 😅
ReplyDeleteI confess that I was disappointed by her sermon - admittedly partly because I'm fed up of hearing about VE Day!
ReplyDeleteI have long regarded Ms Hudson Thingy as little more than an example of mischief making by John Bercow on a bad day Merthyr.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteAncient Briton - has the Church in Wales updated its advice re when churches may (or more likely not) reopen. In England the bishop of London has been calling the shots for the past week. Her long term plan from mid July to end of December is way over the top. If churches are permitted to reopen in mid July, clergy will still (according to bishop of London) have to maintain two metre rule, same with the congregation. No notice sheets, no orders of service, no hymns, attendance by invitation only, everyone to sit two metres apart, celebrant and his/her household to have communion, everyone else excluded, as the celebrant cannot distribute from a distance of two metres. For the congregation there will be no difference between current situation (watching celebrant and household on Facebook) and watching in church, by invitation only. Oh, no cash collections will be permitted. How many clergy, I wonder, will say enough, we are not content to take holy communion for months on end, without also distributing to the laity.
ReplyDeleteWill the rules be the same in Wales? Also what has happened about ordinations?
Cymraes yn Lloegr
I am not aware of any change following the Church in Wales notice that "All church buildings remain closed until further notice. This means churches must not be
Deleteopen for public worship or solitary prayer".
https://churchinwales.contentfiles.net/media/documents/Covid_19_Guidance_for_the_care_and_use_of_church_buildings.pdf
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DeleteLast by La Sophia
DeleteUm. Did that make sense to anyone?
DeleteLast La Sophia No sense at all, not even to me as the target of that troll.
DeleteHe/she/it - I have no idea who Dynas yn Lleger is! You write 'I suspect' more than once and you are wrong. You do not know anything about me other than the fact that I am native to Wales and live in England, and yet you have a strange urge to denigrate me. Pity you can find nothing better to do than belittle a middle aged woman. How do you know that I seem to delight in division. Complete nonsense. AB is anything but ignorant (or ingnorant according to your spelling). How do you know that I do not spend my days proclaiming the Good News of the gospel? Hmm? You don't know what my profession is do you? I am perfectly entitled to express my dismay about being excluded from both church and the sacraments. I am not alone. In excess of 800 clergy, PCC members and churchwardens signed a petition, started in the Letters page of the Times, asking for clergy in England to be allowed into their churches, according to government guidance on 23rd March. The petition was closed when the House of Bishops showed some signs of listening. Welby issued an edict instructing all clergy to lock their churches and keep out under pain of disciplinary action. I, and thousands others, have been militant in trying to reverse Welby's edict. If you have a problem with that, then that says much about your hostility towards devout communicants who feel broken and bereft. You may not care about being locked out but you are in a tiny minority according to the Times and many other reliable sources. Carry on wailing at the moon, no-one's interested.
Cymraes yn Lloegr
As for ordinations, in three diocese in Wales, they might as well do it remotely with the candidates kneeling in front of the TV at home. It shall have equal validity.
ReplyDeletePP. Is their any reason why with good planing ordinations cannot take place in Cathedrals with small groups: the ordinand, bishop, and 10 or so family, friends etc. Perhaps doing 15/20 minutes ordinations, with appropriate time gaps (a bit like the crem funeral system) Odd I know but at least ordination take place. With live streaming for those unable to be physically present.
ReplyDeleteI know some will say the laying on of hands is a health and safety issue, but we believers know it is the power of the Holy Spirit that empowers in the laying of hands.
Would this be a risk? No! As we the Church would be showing God's power and love is greater than this current travail. Planned well what a witness this would be, faith in action - it might even bring fruitfulness back.
Basically, the Church needs to "grow a pair" and lead in faith. What better place to start than at Peter tide.
In keeping with the title "They didn't have Specsavers!", what has happened to the C in W's slogan, "2020 Vision"? With churches shut, is it still appropriate to have signage saying "Gentlemen, please remove your spectacles when entering this establishment"? Not too sure where that leaves PP's suggestion to "grow a pair" [of spectacles (?)]! Ted.
ReplyDeleteAh, slogans! Let's get 2020 done! Be alert!! Merge two diocese (na, we won't see that one)
ReplyDelete