A Pillar of Cloud by Day
I parked by Buckenham Station in the depth of winter. You could come by train! The potholed road leads south across the marshes to the River Yare. Birds are everywhere ! On either side of the road thousand upon thousands of widgeon. Some grazing, others overhead, filled the air with their whistling cries. Like shoals of fish on a reef, they swooped, wheeled, parted and merged - an intricate, carefully choreographed dance. I‘d come on St. Nicholas’ day – 6th December – not just to see the Widgeon, nor the rare Bean Geese, nor yet the wildlife spectacular when tens of thousands of Rooks and Jackdaws gather at twilight before roosting in the trees. I’d come to pray. I find it easier to be mindful of the Creator in the midst of the Creation. Perhaps it was a coincidence that the church I could glimpse through the trees belonged to St. Nicholas, Buckenham. St. Nicholas is patron saint of sailors, churches bearing his name often doubled as navigation marks. In days go