Gwennap Pit

This was a mining depression covered by vegetation. After it had been cleared by local people and miners the Methodist John Wesley preached here in 1762, he came back 18 times, the final foray was in 1789 when he was 86 years old. In 1806 a mine Captain and a group of miners decided to remodel the pit as a memorial to Wesley, the wall they built and the twelve regular rows of seats remain today.
This natural amphitheater can seat 1500 people, to walk the circumference of each level then reverse the process to the top level is one mile. The pillars are the remains of the lectern position from which Wesley and many others preached. I was brought up a Methodist but have lost all religious ties; there still remains in my sytem a sense of history standing in the same place as Wesley and seeing this very austere construction which he would recognize.
Services are still held here every Whit Monday or Spring Bank Holiday and a few times in July and August. An electrical supply has been installed, presumably so a Public Address system may be used. I'm a bit old fashioned in that respect. I believe if you are going to bash a pulpit do it in a stentorian manner and get your message across. None of this lisping through a few hand written homilies, a la Beardy.


Grandsonisms.

The other day the lad came out with the following as we bumbled along in the woods.
"My dad is bigger than you." "Oh."
"My Dad is stronger than you." "Oh."
"My dad is??.." at which point his feet left the ground, Grandpa had picked him up in the same way he did to his Mum 36 years previously, "Listen sprog?..I am bigger and uglier than you, you will lose, understand?" So I put him down gently. He looked up at me?..
"My dad is uglier than you!"