The monastery is deceptive. Follow me. The entrance. Grandly impressive in this rustic part of the world far removed from the splendour of great cities and governments. The symbols of the cruxificion, the mother and child, and the great white old man emphatically displayed as articles of faith. More than this the common folk will never see. Further in, the meeting hall. A rectangular vaulted room. The ceiling sloping up from each wall. Terraced seating. The width and rise of each step forming a comfortable couch extending the width and length of the room. Stone a dark polished grey, during assemblies vivid with ornamental rugs. The door heavy and wooden, steps descend to lowest terrace and the fire. The fires we have in this room are wonders to behold. red and orange light licking across the square opening black and cold now this summer afternoon. You can imagine. The walls and ceiling covered with a parquet of natural cork, the untreated bark. Giving the appearance of protection. A corridor leads to the individual rooms. We exit here beside the fire by a small doorway, drawing back a thick brocaded curtain. A twisting eccentric passage often in the wall or floor the hillside’s rocks simply built around. Too heavy to move. The rooms are small likewise incorporating elements of intransigent boulders. Each room a door as if a baby door. Such discomfort impresses the authorities as evidence of our orthodoxy. A branching passage leads down steps to the washroom. A cavern like room dominated by large outcrops of rock indicating the source of the water, a creviced outflow of a cool subterranean stream. Rectangular stone trough glistens with translucence brimming to its edge. That’s the bath. The wash tub. This place echos. Now imagine noise at bath time. Tub tricks. The water naturally cold in this room invigorating. That’s the toilet. At first the authorities frowned on it until we explained to them with most serious faces that to defecate in the presence of others likewise defecating was a penance humiliating in the extreme. So then they approved our plank with five round holes spaced along it. Experience has shown that five is sufficient though sometimes only just. But as you can see we haven’t really room to expand. One longish window high up gives the room its glowing light. I will not show you the secret rooms where we work on images nor the rooms where we store our equipment. I doubt you will be able to find them unaided. The only other room is the kitchen where you can imagine we cook and eat. You’ll find it through there if you are interested.