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12 Dear All, CHRIST CHURCH I am writing this month to let you know about a number of events happening soon at Christ Church to which you are warmly invited. Firstly on Sunday 14th November, as you can read elsewhere, it is our annual Remembrance Day service. The service starts at 10.30 am, and we will be welcoming many guests, including HM Ambassador to Brasilia and HM Consul General to <strong>Rio</strong> de Janeiro. There will also be representatives from other nations, and a Brazilian military band to play the National Anthems. The service will also IS YOUR “REMEMBERING HEAD” ON? DAVID WELLER include the playing of the Trumpet for the Last Post and Reveille. At the very heart of our service there will be the two minutes of silence as we remember and give thanks for those whose sacrifice enables us over sixty years on to live in peace. Thank God that the sacrifice of others enables our freedom of worship, and for services like this to happen. The following month on Sunday 12th December is our annual Community Carol Service at 7pm, our theme this year is a Changing Community. I’m delighted to announce that once again we will have the superb trumpet playing, traditional carols, a presentation from the younger members of the Community and the lighting of the Nativity candle by one of the youngest of all. A magnificent traditional Christmas cake and drinks will be available to enjoy in the Hall afterwards. As a final thought, some words from my daughter when she had just turned four “I’ve got my remembering head on today”, as something she had seen months earlier was recalled in perfect detail. On Remembrance Sunday let’s all put our remembering heads on, and then look forward to playing our part in ensuring it’s a better future for all. As Christians we can look to Jesus Christ who not only shows us how to live our lives, but offers us all a new life and a new start. Now that’s also worth remembering! Yours ever, Rev. David Christmas at Christ Church 2010 Sunday 12th December 7.00 p.m. Community Carol Service with Candlelight Our theme this year is the Changing Community Friday 24th December 7.00 p.m. CHRISTMAS EVE Crib Service Saturday 25th December 10.30 a.m. CHRISTMAS DAY Family Holy Communion Sunday 26th December 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion 10.30 a.m. Family Holy Communion and Wellers Farewell Service You are all welcome to come and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and receive by faith his life changing gift of eternal life.
It’s just a short crossing to Suriname from French Guiana. You’ve left Europe behind and you’re back in Latin America. Wrong! The road to Paramaribo, capital of Suriname, starts out looking more like the Middle East – mosques, women in typical Muslim dress, some wearing the veil, men wearing long shirts down to their knees, roadside halal butchers, the call to prayer blaring out from loudspeakers. Another 50km along the road and you could be in India. with Hindu temples and women wearing very colourful saris. Roll on another 50km and churches of all denominations start appearing and all the kids coming out of school are in uniform. All this with a backdrop of rice paddies and sugar plantations. Rolling into town you see Buddhist shrines. Welcome to Suriname! Let’s Go Dutch It’s only in Paramaribo that you remember that it was a Dutch colony for centuries. The old historic centre of town is just like being in Holland several centuries ago, even though most of it dates back to the 19th century – many original buildings from the 17th & 18th centuries were destroyed in a huge fire in 1821. It’s nonetheless a UNESCO World Heritage site and rightly so. Beautiful private and public buildings, well preserved or restored, are still in use and a complete contrast to the rest of the town. Walk 500m and you discover what made and still makes Suriname unique. First, the towering Roman Catholic St Peter and St Paul Cathedral, in need of repair but still the biggest wooden building in the Americas. A block up the road, looking like the White House, is the mid-19th century Central Synagogue. Right next door is the most important Mosque in the country. And all 3 are in active use, not relics of the past! Where else in the world can you see this? Quite a Treat(y) Did you know that Suriname was originally settled by the British in 1630 to plant tobac- OFF THE BEATEN TRACK THE AMAZON THAT SPEAKS DUTCH HENRY ADLER co? All the colonial powers had a presence in Latin America except the Dutch, who’d just been ejected from NE Brazil. In 1667 the Brits and the Dutch celebrated the Treaty of Breda; the Dutch got Suriname, Britain got a remote corner of the NE coast of America. Bad deal? Not so – today it’s called New York… The Dutch got their foothold and started to develop it. To join the native Amerindians in the interior and the slaves from Africa brought by the British, they brought negroes from the Caribbean and Europeans from many countries – thanks to the Dutch liberalism on religious matters – to set up and run the commerce, trading and ports, plus Jews to manage the plantations. You can still visit one of the old plantation settlements at “Joden Savanne” a couple of hours up river from Paramaribo. The remains of the synagogue and a large cemetery are mouldering away very atmospherically in the jungle. Tombstones have Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, English and many Portuguese names. Did they come direct from Portugal to escape persecution or from NE Brazil, where the Dutch were being expelled by the Portuguese? Later on came indentured Hindu, Moslem and Chinese workers from their East Indian colonies. Today Suriname is an incredible melting pot where racial, ethnic and religious harmony seem to prevail – an example for the world. It also makes for great food. You could be in any English High Street with Indian and Chinese takeaways, plus Creole and Indonesian additions. The steam train to Brownsberg National Park is, alas, no more. Our 4WD went slowly up a slippery track through pristine rainforest overlooking a huge reservoir which fills the valley, but still has the trunks of many trees above the waterline. At sunrise, the morning mist clearing, it looks like something out of a Chinese print. On top, 500m above the lake, it’s cool and wet. We slung hammocks under a shelter to sleep. Luckily there was a bar next to the Park HQ. We hiked various trails for views and to visit streams and waterfalls, seeing a wide range of birds and lots of brightly coloured frogs and toads. We then headed out on the only road (for want of a better word) across the interior through hilly, forested country, with access to other National Parks. There appear to be just 2 industries – timber and bauxite. The only traffic was huge trucks, which explained why the dirt road was in such a poor state. You see lots of birds, small mammals and a few snakes on or near the road. Our aim was to stay in an old lodge right near the Blanche Marie Falls down a side track, just 10km off the main track. It took us 1½ hours! Imagine a never-ending series of ponds with muddy banks, then you’ll have a good idea of the track. The lodge was “closed for repairs” i.e. falling to pieces! We did see the very attractive Falls and hiked the forest before another 90 minutes of “fun” to get out. The rest of Suriname heading west to Brazil is virgin Amazon jungle; the only access is by light plane. No roads – rivers can’t be navigated upstream because of frequent falls and rapids. Curry and Rice-Beer We headed for Apura, a mining village on the Corentijn River, with Guyana on the other bank. Here you can organize a boat down river to Nickerie where the river meets the sea. We stayed with our boatman and his family in a beautiful spot on the river, full of birds morning and evening. We heard a lot about how Suriname had fallen on hard times with the recession closing mines and reducing trade. Even the Chinese had stopped investing and the road they were building to Nickerie had been abandoned. It took 6 hours to get to Nickerie by river with very few signs of life – human or animal – on either side of the river. It is a bustling town. Nearby Bigi-Pan reserve is a great place for birds among the mangroves on the river banks. We also spotted some huge, reddish-brown howler monkeys. Spotted, not heard! Time for one last curry, a cold Paramaribo beer made from rice and a look at the cricket before heading back across the river to Guyana. Paramaribo: mosque and synagogue, cozy neighbours Nickerie Cricket Club 13
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