Three Kings....

But not the ones with the gifts! In a mediaeval tale, three kings are out hunting. They encounter the skeletons of three dead kings as a reminder of their mortality.

I found this fresco in Castel Parish Church in Guernsey today. It is "les trois rois morts et les trois rois vifs", and dates from the early thirteenth century. Yes, that is more than 800 years old. Nothing compared to the figure of grandmother that stands in the graveyard - 4,500 years old!

Postscript: I was moved to read in the church letter a letter from the Vicar. I had known a little of him from previous visits. He is a year younger than I am at 63. And he is telling his people that he has just been diagnosed with a terminal cancer and has months to live. His letter is entirely without self-pity. Please think of him in whatever way is appropriate to your belief.