I’ve said many times that I am a committed atheist so my turning up on these pages with a religious shot may seem more than a little strange.

Strangely though, I love religious buildings of all types. Churches, Mosques and Temples of all types are things that I treasure in an odd, secular way. Despite this, I rarely set foot inside a church, although when I’m with my parents (who don’t share my atheism) then I’m quite happy to wander into and around any church of their choosing.

This one was stumbled upon because we were early getting to the place we’d chosen to visit for the day. As it was not yet open, we drove into a nearby village (St Germains) and mooched around.

The church was built in the 12th century – so basically it’s very, very old. Unfortunately despite its great age, it’s not been cherished over its lifetime by anyone with money because bits of it have fallen down and the state of repair now is not what you’d call great.

Tragedy oozes out of the stonework where decay and neglect are apparent. It’s not the fault of the local congregation – the church has a small congregation in a tiny village. It’s simply one of those sad facts that no-one with the financial clout to do anything to arrest the decay is involved with it.

I have a special love of stained glass though I prefer non-religious subject matter, however you can’t help admire the dedication and devotion of the folks who built this. It is (in my view) lovely.

For those interested in the state of our kitchen, DM was chained to the kitchen sink today and told to “fix it before we get home”…….not really – he stayed behind voluntarily but he did finally get the sink in and working. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. He’s my hero.