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It is here, at the edge of the village of Bridgham, on a bend in the River Thet where half mature trees reach for the sky on the opposite bank, you will find a grove of newly planted oaks through which you walk to discover a shelter facing south so that the sun rises on the left and sets on the right, which looks, for all the world, as if it might have grown out of the dark earth. The shelter is open to the wind but shaded from the noon day sun and protected from the rain that feeds the living river; but what, you may ask, is it? A bandstand perhaps, a pagoda or even a pavilion? No, it is the ”Bridgham World Peace Centre” to which all are welcome to visit in order to reflect; meditate; contemplate; pray or just sit in peace for a while; all in the context of the great cycles of the natural world. It is all very Psalm 104. In my experience the effect of just being there is immediate. All tension is released, rushing out like a great sigh, to be replaced by a calm elemental energy which flows around in which one can rest and breathe. Come on your own, with a close friend or friends or even the coach-load. The Bridgham World Peace Centre is the creation of sculptor and filmmaker William Fairbank and is part of the Small Pilgrim Places Network which is open to “seekers” and people of all faiths who will guard and value its quiet sanctity and pray for the Peace of the World. The peace of the world, in this sense, means not only the harmony, healing and uniting the world’s peoples, but the whole of creation where global warming, over consumption and pollution threaten the world’s very existence. Psalm 104 - God the creator and sustainer Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honour and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. William asks that people contact him before visiting, so that he knows who is coming and when. An e-mail, or a phone call will do. The Bridgham World Peace Centre can be found at:- Whitegate, 76 The Street, Bridgham, Norfolk. NR16 2AB Tel: 44(0)1953 718114; Fax: 44(0)1953 718611; http://www.williamfairbank.com