TWO altitudinous ears face forwards. Then, they swivel sideways to better absorb the melodious rendering of The First Noel by 200 voices. Eyes the colour of coffee observe the scene: the wool-wrapped congregation, exhaled-breath clouds that linger on the cold December air, the coal-black backdrop, the flickering star-like tealights and the straw on the stone floor.
Biblical scenes such as this one play out throughout the Christian world in the weeks before Christmas. Although St Matthew and St Luke didn’t mention the sheep, the ox and the ass in their Gospels on the birth of Jesus Christ, history-filled in the animal gap. Now, a small number of Britain’s 30,000 donkeys (some 20,000 of which are in private hands, with the rest in sanctuaries) assist in recreating the Christmas story in barns, churches, and cathedrals during Advent.
Equally, the presence of the allegedly intractable, curious, characterful and cuddly creatures—master mimickers with ponylike bodies, cow-like tails, stand-up, zebra-like manes and some of the biggest ears, relatively speaking, in the animal kingdom (developed for cooling the body in the desert) —enhances many a Palm Sunday procession and pet service, as well as lending a traditional feel to glitz-and-glamour public displays, such as London’s New Year’s Day Parade.
Petal, the donkey with the swiveling ears —akin to errant wings, according to G. K. Chesterton in his poem The Donkey—is taking part in a Biblical tableau in a stable in Rudgeway, Gloucestershire, one of 14 sell-out services organized by kindly and welcoming Jean Fooks, a former primary-school teacher and clergyman’s wife.
Denne historien er fra December 11-18, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 11-18, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds