Dress rehearsals start for nativity

Sir John Betjeman reads his poem "Christmas". Scroll to 3min 25sec to hear the verse below.

When A Child Is Born, from Coleshill Town Band's 2009 Christmas Brass CD.

And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A Baby in an ox's stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?

Spruced up, with a fresh wardrobe and ready for her close up, Mary gazes wistfully at the empty manger, focused on the imminent birth of the baby who changed the world for ever.

She is one of a set of old and tired plaster and wire models making up the nativity which have been sympathetically repaired.

The nativity has always been placed on the floor in front of the nave altar, so few noticed their deterioration or saw the fine detail in them - or that behind them in the east window is a premonition about how the still to be born Holy Child’s earthly life will end.