Saint Andrew’s Church Stainfield in West Lindsey Lincolnshire, was reputedly designed by Sir Christopher Wren – yes, he of Saint Paul’s Cathedral fame.
Built in 1711, the church boasts many interesting features, and is made of red brick with stone quoins, apart from the stone eastern wall; this may be a remnant of the former medieval priory.
Notable feature above the entrance.
The visit was part of our short tour of the West Lindsey Church Festival, which takes place over two weekends every May. More on this fascinating church to follow.
Apley’s church of Saint Andrew really is a little gem.
When we arrived there we were astonished to see just how small it was. There were cars outside, but was there really anyone inside? I mean, how many could you get in there?
Well, it turns out that, on occasion, there are up to 15 worshippers, and there are often christenings too. So as far as the Apley community and ourselves are concerned, small is beautiful.
Apley is a small hamlet between Lincoln and Horncastle, nestled in the gently rolling hills of north-central Lincolnshire, the historic riding of Lindsey that used to be a kingdom in its own right about thirteen hundred years ago.
That said, it was not too easy for us to find, but it’s well worth a visit. The church, for such a limited space, could boast many items of interest, see photographs.
And once more, we were treated royally by our hosts!
Gemini, ‘The Twins’, is the third sign of the zodiac, the first of the air sign triplicity and the first mutable sign.
The symbol or glyph of the sign appears to represent two columns, or perhaps the Roman number for 2, II.
Here we also see relation symbolised, the third mundane house of relations, the mind and local environment, also associated naturally with Gemini.
The glyph may simply represent duality; we have two hands, arms and lungs, all traditionally said to be ruled by Gemini.
Dexterity
And then there’s the ruling planet of Gemini, Mercury, the Ancient Greek Hermes, the fleet footed messenger of the gods in myth.
Here we see the essentially communicative nature of the sign. Gemini is of course very often a great talker, versatile, perhaps a ‘jack of all trades’ – but does that mean he or she is really a master of none?
What is more, we also find with Gemini the comic, the comedian, or at least the ready wit, and the mimic, the ability to act and play roles.
In other words, Gemini is capable of being dexterous mentality and physically, quite often both.
‘Bad Press’
Nevertheless, I don’t think Gemini deserves the ‘bad press’ for being a ‘bit shallow’. Except in more extreme cases, where the other mutable signs may also be involved, or a very prominent Mercury, I don’t think this is true.
We just have to understand the function the predominantly Geminian type person carries out. Just as Mercury is the messenger, Gemini’s can bind together the local community in which he lives. He or she can be the happy face who’s always available. That’s good, isn’t it.
He is often out and about, yes, probably doing a variety of things, tasks, jobs, often involving a variety of skills, but this is needed a lot of the time. He will see and know a lot of people and this is what community is all about, isn’t it?
We need Gemini. It’s not so much about duality but being of service. So don’t criticise the messenger too much.
