Piper

I travelled to Hertfordshire this afternoon to deliver a spare freezer from our garage to my daughter's flat. A half hour detour enabled me to call in at the church of St Giles in Tottenhoe (Bedfordshire) to see a stained glass window that's been on my list for a while. The church was locked but then I found a note saying that a key could be obtained from a nearby farm. Having come all this way I wasn't turning back now. I don't think they were expecting someone to ask for it so late in the afternoon but eventually I got into the church just before the last of the daylight. Its another of John Piper's 'Tree of Life' windows made in collaboration with Patrick Reyntiens and installed in the early 1970s. I like the combination of the rich blue background with the bold yellow branches and red fruit. These are, of course, pomegranates a symbol of eternal life. Symbols of the resurrection - fire, phoenix, butterflies - appear in the tracery above the main window. Well worth the detour and the trudge across a field.

I don't know how many windows featuring the tree of life were designed by Piper but I've now photographed at least six. I feel a photo collage coming on.