The picture shows a bike that is stood under the waterfall at Mother Shipton’s well. It looks rather an ugly thing compared with the nature around it, or the stream running into this well.

Jesus came and according to the prophecy in Isaiah, it seems to suggest that he would not known for his looks. There is no beauty that we should desire Him. Despite all the hollywood films and others showing Jesus as having long blond hair and blue eyes, there is no real evidence about what he looked like. I say there is no real evidence, there are writing about his appearance ( www.thenazareneway.com ) but these seem very dubious and must be regarded as possible folklore rather than truth – they could possibly be true but who can know. Biblically here is what Isaiah says.

Isaiah 53:2-3

Back to Mother Shipton’s well! People came to bathe in and to drink from, thinking it had magical powers. There is a wishing well that many dip their hands into and make a wish. Some wishes may have come true and others may not. There is certainly no magical power here but there may be power of the mind. If you believe you will get better it may help – a positive attitude is always to be recommended. But there is more to this well than meets the eye. It is a well that is a natural spring fed by a lake many hundreds of feet underground, not affected by the conditions of the weather. It has been purified by the natural process and has many nutrients within it as well as calcite sediment which when this washes over anything over a long period ( a few months) will cover that item in calcite thus making it look like it has turned to stone, and there we have the magical folklore that has been built up.

Nature has a knack of turning our ugly crude creations into wonder places of nature, gradually over time. Just look at shipwrecks that are now wonderful havens for coral, plants and sea life. Eventually this bike will become a wonderful haven for life if left (and not taken out and displayed as a wonderful creation of the magical well!)