Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance

Huguenot Church, Church St., Charleston, S.C.

It has been a rainy and dreary day in the lowcountry but I walked enough yesterday to make up for a lazy day today. Today's church photo in lieu of attendance is the beautiful and often photographed French Huguenot Church at Church and Queen St. It used to be white but the pinkish color it was repainted in really showed up on this overcast day. The church has an interesting history and still holds one service a year in French.

History of the Huguenot Church: In April of 1680 the ship Richmond arrived in Charleston with 45 French Protestants (Huguenots) aboard. More refugees followed, and in 1687, a church was built on what is now the corner of Church St. and Queen St. in downtown Charleston. About four hundred and fifty Huguenots had settled in the Low Country of South Carolina by 1700.

The original church was destroyed in 1796 in an attempt to stop the spread of a fire, which had burned much of the surrounding area. The replacement for the original building was completed in 1800 and dismantled in 1844 to make way for the present Gothic Revival edifice, designed by Edward Brickell White and dedicated in 1845. The church was damaged by shellfire during the long bombardment of downtown in the War Between the States and was nearly demolished in the severe earthquake of 1886. 

Edit to add this postcard from 1946. The church had been painted white for many years but apparently it is closer to the original color now. 

 Short work week ahead, kids so something to be thankful already! 

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - French Huguenot Church

French Huguenot Church, Charleston, S.C.

Hello - something is different here. The beautiful French Huguenot Church used to be a brilliant white and now it is pink. Apparently it was damaged enough during the restoration of the Dock St. Theater across the street that is went through an entire renovation and while they were at it they went back to match the original shade of pink. I was not consulted.

Restoration in Progress: The current restoration project began due to damage caused to the church by other construction done in the area, namely from the Dock Street Theatre, which underwent a multi-million dollar renovation, completed in 2010. While work has been going on for quite some time now, a major change just took place. The color of the exterior stucco, which as most of you will remember, used to be white, has been reverted back to its original pale pink.

Tea Time

French Huguenot Church, Queen St., Charleston. S.C.

The French Huguenot Church is one of the most beautiful churches in Charleston. Even the roof looks like an elaborate wedding cake. I feel like I should take a pictures every time I go by, so I almost do.

Long day. After work I was invited to tea - a proper British Tea hosted by the tiniest little Scottish lady who cracks me up every time she opens her mouth. It was absolutely perfect. We had cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and mincemeat tarts. It was BRILLIANT.

I mentioned that when I was a kid, an aunt in Scotland used to send us the "Oor Wullie" cartoons and she pulled one of the annuals off her bookshelf. Wow....talk about a trip down memory lane. Oor Wullie is the Scottish version of Denise the Menace and the cartoon dialect is in Scottish.

Wullie's adventures consist mostly of unrealistic get-rich-quick schemes that lead to mischief, to the despair of his parents Ma and Pa (Dave), and the local policeman, P.C. Joe Murdoch. Wullie's friends are Fat Boab (Eng: Fat Bob), Wee Eck (Eng: Little Alec), and Soapy Soutar, and he is the leader of their gang, a position which is frequently disputed by the others. He used to have another friend called Ezzy, who stopped appearing in the strips, along with Wullie's little brother. He owns a pet mouse named Jeemy and a pet hedgehog named Hamish, and in later years has gained a Highland Terrier named Harry and a "sometime-girlfriend", Primrose Patterson. Characters from The Broons occasionally feature, particularly Granpaw and the seductive Maggie Broon. Noticeably, in the change of artist, Wullie likes Primrose more and Harry and Jeemy are rarely seen. Wullie is nine years old, and his height has been specified at four feet, six inches tall. His catchphrases consist of "Jings", "Crivvens","braw"and "Help ma Boab".

 Anyone else familiar with the series?