cathedrals | Mama Cormier

….thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/02/11/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-old/

Getting old is not just a number but it’s a state of mind and declining physical abilities. We need to work at staying in shape and it becomes harder as we get older but the benefits outweigh the aches and pains that may come with it. Not caring how you look is not embracing old age or aging gracefully. Even though my husband is suffering with pain and discomfort he would never think about going out, even to a doctor’s appointment without showering first and putting on clean clothes.

26-EE9-D4-D-A763-4360-93-AC-1348-B59-E14-A3 — *Knight’s Armour*

DC82-E5-E5-E399-41-AA-93-C2-24845-EE5908-E — *Kevin’s 70th birthday*

670-D8-CF4-6-D18-4-A99-9538-CD6-DCA435753 — *My 70th birthday with friends and our grandkids*

As plants get older they wither and dry up. Our pets get grey around the muzzle and they slow down and sleep more. My grandmother was very wrinkled but she stayed active right up to her last three years of her life. She walked everywhere, rode her bike and travelled. My father was the same. He was less wrinkled but he walked every day, worked on his crosswords and at 90 he made one last trip overseas to visit his younger brother. He wasn’t without his faults and as he got older he said things that could be hurtful but in his mind he was just being ‘honest’. He passed at 94.

4-E333769-1-A98-491-C-9337-A494-D4-D8-F7-D3 — *Frances at 14 1/2 years old*

C1514090-F200-488-A-96-C8-E05312-A2-DF98 — *Dad doing this civic duty right to the end*

DEB25152-F04-C-4-D4-F-A865-945-F8969-C222 — *Dad on his 93rd birthday*

Furniture and paintings fade as they get older if they aren’t properly cared for. Books and papers yellow and can get musty and brittle. Old things in museums are stored in carefully crafted atmospheres to slow down the aging process and skilled hands can bring masterpieces back to life for future generations to experience and enjoy.

27-FD72-CE-0-C75-418-C-B2-DF-ACB2-EA6-B0-A04-1-201-a — *Degas’s Ballerina*

1-F774-B12-602-A-4399-A36-A-F161923-FCCFB — *The Mona Lisa*

EF57934-A-D5-BE-43-D2-B1-AD-99-DF0-DFCE14-F — *A Cathedral in Paris*

40590-A42-FFD3-4-EF4-9-F85-3944-B2-D21-DCB — *The Medieval section of Tours, France*

BCB13-F05-3-CFD-473-E-894-F-79549800-E442 — *The Cathedral in Tours, France*

2-E98-AFD1-7-F2-C-4-B0-A-B9-CE-6-E0-C8228-CB0-D — *The Chateau Amboise in France*

589-EA76-B-87-A8-4-A95-8457-663043244409 — *Furniture in the Chateau*

….there certainly is no scarcity of either structure in Ireland

Ireland offers a myriad of church buildings and statues honouring city founders and heroes. One evening and then again the next day, while waiting for a bus I walked up and down the boulevard on O’Connell Street and took photos of the statues that one sees when coming into the city centre.

The churches in Ireland are old and predominately Catholic but one of the most famous churches in downtown Dublin is Anglican; St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous well where tradition has it Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin.

The parish church of Saint Patrick on this site was granted collegiate status in 1191, and raised to cathedral status in 1224. The present building dates from 1220. The Cathedral is today the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (a church of the Anglican communion) and also serves as a popular tourist attraction in Ireland.

I don’t have any photos of the interior. This was the second church today that charged to walk through the doors. The cost to see both churches would have been 18 Euro for each of us or about $25.00. I understand needing the money for renovations but we found the prices were prohibitive, especially when there were three of us. I would have been happy to make a donation but that wasn’t an option. If you check out the website above you can see some interior shots and get some more history about this magnificent building.

The first church we stopped at was the Christ Church Cathedral. It is the oldest medieval church in Dublin and was founded in 1028 by the Norse King, Sitriuc Silkenbeard and associated with many important figures in Irish History, including the infamous Strongbow (Richard de Clare) and Dublin’s own Patron Saint, Laurence O’Toole.