Friday, July 20, 2007

Away Down South

Sunday 15 July

An amazing day. Went up to THE University of THE South at Sewanee, and happened upon the closing day of The 57th Sewanee Church Music Conference, with a chorus of 150 Anglican church musicians, specially composed anthems, and an organist literally pulling out all the stops (including trumpets) in the All Saints Chapel - which is like the University Church at Oxford plunked down in on a hill in Tennessee, but with a window dedicated to the ordination of women! Enough smells and bells to make the Pope sorry he had ever seceded with all his minions from the Church of England. And we got to see colorfully-surpliced choristers playing frisbee before lining up.

Afterwards we had a good solid cafeteria lunch (turkey and dressing and whatever else you wanted) in the amazing McClurg Dining Hall, the sort of thing that Gothic revivalists could only dream of (and no one could budget for).

Then on to the moving and elegant Chapel of the Apostles, which should be seen to be believed.

And just for fun, we drove off-campus to see the grandiose Templeton Library, founded by Sir John Marks Templeton. It's a giant Palladian villa, and was supposed to hold his papers, but now it seems to have been been turned into condominiums. Quite the view off the back porch (the whole expanse of the Sewanee valley), and in the front is the funniest fountain ever built, with a Disney-esque statue of the financier holding his very own book, The Humble Approach. Humble, indeed.

Oh, and then there was dinner. We went back to JoDee and David's for a summer meal of fresh corn, tomatoes that tasted like tomatoes, and chicken quesadillas that tasted like quesadillas.

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