Call me old-fashioned, but I just loved watching Living with the Amish on Channel 4 on Thursday night. It was a delight to peer into the simple life of the Pennsylvania Dutch as it is today. Visually charming, brightly coloured but plain long dresses; strong men working together to raise the timber barn surrounded by leafy woodland; the contented smiles of a community at peace with itself and harmonious hymn-singing.
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| Barn-raising, Amish style |
The British girls visiting the Amish community this week had some difficulty with the very different role of their American counterparts. Amish women look after the home and raise their families. They cook, wash, sew, clean, polish and home-school their children. All day, every day. But all the women are doing the same thing, and their doors are open, so they are able to share these tasks with felllowship and probably banish the tedium that seemed to worry the teen guests.
The Amish live a life apart. They are a humble, ordered people who put their own community at the hearty of everything they do and try to avoid glorifying the individual. There are four more episodes to come, Thursdays 9pm on Channel 4. My Thursday night treat!
