Yesterday morning was spent partly in St John's Church, Barnet, looking at my neighbour Keith West's paintings of scenes from the Battle of Barnet. He has frequently painted scenes from the Battle and this small exhibition was part of the commemorations of the anniversary of the battle. Notably, Keith paints soldiers from a variety of different cultures in his work and by doing so, inserts truth into a historical narrative that is all too often whitewashed.
Unfortunately our local MP, the Conservative Theresa Villiers, was in attendance and it wasn't possible to stay long. She is an entitled person, a Brexiter. I can not bring myself to be in the vicinity of a Tory MP, especially not in my home town, and even more especially in a church. I always assumed Christianity to be about compassion, and the Tories do not possess this. Their ceaseless plundering of poor people in order to enrich themselves is against the revolutionary nature of its principles; every religion is hijacked for the purposes of power over vulnerable people, and I find this utterly depressing. To see this so blatantly manifested by the hovering form of Theresa in her habitual bright blue dress spoiled the morning. I will continue to enjoy Keith's work in other locations. Sorry for the rant, but the cruelty of the Tories tips me over the edge sometimes.
I did photograph some of the kneeling cushions, though, which I thought were beautiful.
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