Malcolm and Christine Allsop

Letter from Vienna - November 2017

A rollercoaster month on four suitcases, (one without wheels), since our farewell from Dover Street. From old haunts to pastures new and some still barely known (particularly for Christine who was only briefly here in Vienna before returning to Germany - she should be back for her birthday!).

A few highlights along the way: In the first days – Michaelmas - we experienced an unforgettable, jam-packed, club appearance of a ninety plus, concentration camp survivor who, having read excerpts from her autobiography, was joined by her son on electric bass and a rap singer who together struck up a programme of social-political-critical songs for a better world. A unique and very moving meeting of worlds.

Two weeks in Norway were altogether a highlight - unknown territory with perhaps few parallels; a strong, carved, beautiful landscape, rich but not opulent, mirrored in the people and their culture. Little excess, little flimsiness and between the two a special "inner warmth" seemed thus very real.

The pictures are from the mountain train journey between Oslo and Bergen, a breathtaking journey. First the long haul up into the mountains at 1,200 metres then down through the west coast fjord landscape and the beautiful city of Bergen. Six very special hours on our journey from Jo'burg to Vienna.

A first touchdown in Vienna followed - 104 steps up to our future flat could be described as a highlight? (fourth floor and light-filled rooms where the old parquet flooring is being restored and the walls repainted as I write).

Certainly worth a mention is a globe museum, tucked away behind the bigger tourist attractions. Exhibits from over five hundred years, as the globe was re-discovered. All shapes and sizes - shapes included inflatable and umbrella constructions, sizes ranged from 2cm to almost 2m. Moon and terrestrial globes and the fascinating history from pre-Christian times, as Mankind's awareness for its surroundings expanded. Fascinating - a must when you come and visit!

We whirlwinded back to Germany, partly for the wedding of my god daughter - there was certainly a parental feeling of letting go after twenty eight years accompanying her path.

The highlight throughout proved to be a remarkable Autumn, even by European standards, where the gradual changing of the colours can continue often for a month or more, before the November weather accelerates its decline. This year, said many locals, was extraordinary in its radiance and duration.

Meanwhile snow creeps closer - in Norway we saw it at 1,200m on the train from Oslo to Bergen. In the last days its moved closer and down to 500m....

....and the gift of this transition period draws to a close. (e.g. the monthly Vorstand's meeting this evening - equivalent of the Trustees).

The initial welcome from the Congregation has been very warm, my official induction will be on the 1st Advent. Optimistic into a new chapter!

Christine and Malcolm - taken at the farewell event given in their honour

---

Before Malcolm and Christine left South Africa, Malcolm wrote an article for Perspectives that dealt mainly with Christianity and the role of The Christian Community in South Africa. In the articles titled Three Weeks, Three Years, Thirty Years (Perspectives September-November 2017) two of the paragraphs are biographical and relate to Malcolm's time in South Africa. They are published here below.

Three weeks refers to a visit here in February 1982, to visit a friend living in a Camphill community between Johannesburg and Pretoria. A flat, sandy and dusty, characterless rural area with a scattering of homesteads, and a nearby little drive-through town, fittingly called Halfway House, which boasted a snake park. Not far away was Jan Smut’s house (and car) and the Swiss Club, an evening destination for the young co-workers. In the city centre the Market Theatre already had quite a reputation for mixed actors, mixed audiences and controversial productions. For tourists there was a bus tour of the brighter sides of Soweto (“South West Township”).
​
Here again much later, in 2013, I could this time gather three years of impressions. Halfway House is now Halfway Urban Sprawl, just about marking the end of the steadily encroaching northern suburbs of Johannesburg and the southern expansion of Pretoria from the north, and the snake park has gone. So too the Camphill community. My observations have this time been somewhat limited to the lens of The Christian Community. Of course the extended stay has allowed visits further afield (to Cape Town, Durban, the mountains and the reserves) as well as return visits to Soweto, the Market Theatre (and Jan Smut’s House!). The only visit to Soweto wasn’t in a bus full of tourists but to a theatre production there. It could equally have been to Sophia Town (the Trevor Huddleston community centre) or to more upmarket Rosebank. Culture thrives in the city and is increasingly enjoyed by a cross section of the population.