We were in Tournon in the Rhone Valley. The town was packed for a fete. Outside the Eglise Collegiale, one could not move for people or for stalls selling every kind of goods. People were tucking in to vast meals. The church door was open and I went in. The vast church was completely empty not a soul. I sat down for a bit.

As is the custom in French churches some gentle music was playing. There was an enormous crucifix on the wall of the nave. If – as I hope – Jesus is still alive, what would he think of being completely ignored like that by the thousands milling about for whom he has died? Eventually, a couple of people did come in and I left. There was a rota left out for those who helped to look after the church. The spaces were mainly blank.

Later, we drove through the Drome countryside past the River Rhone. As I looked out from the hills across this region of amazing beauty, I wondered why worry about money or position when there is such simple elegance to admire in nature.