Looking Into Jordan

This is a stencil, copying the style of Margaret Preston (at least in my dreams) a Christmas Eve Pleasure Project for me. Started and finished it today. Sore fingers and the odd scapal nick from cutting out the template. This was the view into Jordan, across the 'mighty' Jordan River from an incision from Israel to the bank of the river where there is a baptismal site. It's literally a lane way which opens up into a car park filled with tourist coaches and hordes of happy clappers going down to the river to get baptised amongst the bullrushes. It was a frightfully hot day - even white doves hanging out there were getting under the buses seeking shade. What a bleak place.

I was tempted to become a 'born-again' and leap in for a dip however some zealot might have tried to dunk me in the name of The Lord! However the baptismal site is said to be one of the sites that St. John the Baptist did his stuff at and it was close to where the Australian Light Horse (the largest mounted column since Alexander the Great's expeditions) crossed the Jordan River, so biblically and historically it is quite interesting. And of course the Jordanians don't let the Christians forget this is also the Muslim world. And any thoughts of swimming to Jordan should not be encouraged. Even though it would only be about 3 freestyle strokes across the river the safety conscious Jordanians have erected land mine warnings on the opposite bank.