It was during my five years at Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, PA that the liturgical seasons became burned into my psyche. My favourite is Easter. From the Maundy Thursday service, through Good Friday and Holy Saturday, I literally felt like I was in mourning. I haven't walked through Holy week like that for two years. This year was no different, and I was annoyed with myself for not making more of an effort to make it to Holy Week services. However, we did catch two versions of the passion: one on TV - the Manchester Passion, and one in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. Each version was completely different in style. The Manchester Passion is as it sounds - it is set in modern day Manchester. The Roman guards are heavily armed police and Jesus is a sprightly, good looking young Manchester lad. A crowd waits at Albert Square as a gigantic white, lit up cross makes its way through Manchester to meet the crowd. The passion story is acted out along the way and it's piped to the crowd. In Princes Street Gardens, a group of Scots performed an accurate portrayal of the story. When I say accurate, I mean it. The whole thing lasted over two hour. I have to be honest, I found it, well, comical to hear a Glaswegian centurion and a Scottish Peter - the accents just didn't match the visuals! Add to that the brilliant comentary from the child sitting behind me... "This is the part where he gets whipped".... "That's Pontius Pilate. He's the boss and I don't like him. He whips every body." Hear those words in a broad Scottish accent... fabulous. I am not sure which version I preferred. I found the Manchester Passion, while moving in parts, and creative, a little lazy about the details of the events. On the other hand, I found the Edinburgh Easter play comical because of the Scottish accents... However, the attention to detail was phenomenal, the setting effective, and the acting of good quality. Well anyway, the pictures of the Edinburgh Easter Play are below. Edinburgh has had fabulous weather over the past week and you can see how spectacular the city looks in the sun. We're very grateful!

In other news, Fi has moved slightly further forward in the job search - we'll keep you posted. We also heard that our shipment has arrived, and is in the process of clearing customs. We can expect to receive it anytime between now and the 17th. Good news indeed! Brian is doing well and has had the opportunity to visit a few art galleries already. We are looking forward to an Easter breakfast with our friend Kat tomorrow, after which we'll join her for church.

Enjoy the pictures. Enjoy Easter.