The Last Service

Although intended as fantasy, this story deals with some of the difficulties that will arise if and when, as Philip Larkin puts it:

            … churches fall completely out of use
What we shall turn them into, if we shall keep
A few cathedrals chronically on show …

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There weren’t many worshippers coming out of the Cathedral that Easter morning, even though it had been an important service. Several grouped themselves under umbrellas on the wet stone steps, waiting for the courage to dash across the street to the tram stop and the station opposite. High above them the three crocketed spires soared heavenwards until the tips were lost in the drizzle. The rumble of an organ recessional competed with the traffic.

“It’s like the end of a way of life,” said one elderly lady. “Where on earth will I go now?”

“Home, I should think, if we don’t drown first,” said an umbrellaless lady, holding a service sheet inadequately across her…