Angel of the north

We might have the angel of the north, but I read this afternoon that the Poles of Świebodzin, a town half way between Berlin and Poznan, politically, if not ethnically, German until 1918 or 1945, there having been major adjustments in the whole area after both world wars, have built themselves the largest statue of Christ in the world.

A statue which at 33m high (not including the plinth) is taller but not as wide as our angel of the north, but otherwise seems to be a similar blot on the landscape. One metre of blot for each year of the age of our Lord when he died.

A town which looks entirely normal to the casual glance in Google Street View, from where the illustration is taken. A small town which could, in most respects, be almost anywhere in Europe.

A factlet acquired in the course of reading a rather depressing article about Poland in the latest number of the NYRB.

Another item of interest was a piece about wild fires, hung on a trio of books about same. It seems that the frequency and size of these fires is increasing, not just in California but more or less across the world, not least in the artic wastes of Canada and Russia. That there is much controversy about how best to deal with them. And we have the paradox that carbon sinks are also carbon fuel dumps in the making. All in all, not good news either.

Reference 1: Jesus Rex Poloniae - Timothy Garton Ash - 2018.

Reference 2: California Burning - William Finnegan - 2018.