Farewell Lin

We drove down to Trowbridge in Wiltshire yesterday for the funeral of another BCF member, Lin Atwill. The cemetery chapel was packed - the volume of the singing was tremendous. At the end of the service some of us were invited to lay a rose on Lin's coffin; Jan laid one on behalf of the BCF. After the committal we joined a service of thanksgiving for Lin's life in Holy Trinity Church in the centre of Trowbridge. This was another celebration, an acknowledgement that Lin and we believe that she is now with Jesus.

The funeral was attended by most members of the Canal Ministries team, which Lin was part of. (Canal Ministries is more overtly evangelistic than the BCF, although all members of Canal Ministries are also members of the BCF.) During the service there was an opportunity for anybody who wished to give their own tribute to do so. Peter, Lin's husband, spoke movingly of one of Lin's last acts: giving a £10 note to a needy person in the street. Above all, though, Lin's faith and trust in Jesus shone through.

On a much more mundane level we walked around the town afterwards, spotting some unusual buildings. The Blind House is said to be where the drunks of the area were incarcerated until they had sobered up.

And the strikingly perforated Handle House was built for the drying of teazles used in the woollen cloth industry.

We stayed overnight with our good friends Andy and Sue, enjoyed breakfast with them in their "office" (the local Wetherspoon's), did some more looking round charity shops and drove back to Thrupp.