Temple

A day of highlights. Morning worship on Pentecost Sunday at St Mary Redcliffe was also their annual Rush Sunday service, when the floor of the church was covered in rushes, a tradition going back about 500 years to the days when it was otherwise just an earthen floor. It's a service attended by the Lord Mayor and many civic dignitaries, but I managed to get a non-ticketed seat near the back.

Spent the afternoon visiting the SS Great Britain, designed by IK Brunel, and it was an astonishing exhibition. Easy to see why it's Bristol's No.1 tourist attraction.

In the evening, I had a most enjoyable 'tapas-style' Indian meal in town. The food was described as 'Indian street food' and was absolutely delicious.

At some point in-between, I visited the ruins of the Temple Church (pictured above). Came across it quite by accident, but apparently the original church on this site was built by the Knights Templar in the early 12th century and the current building, destroyed during WWII, was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The area of Bristol known as Temple derives from the presence of the original Templar church, while Temple Meads (as in the railway station) were the meads, or meadows, nearby. Don't say Blipfoto isn't educational! It's been one of those days for me.