Kilsyth minister returns to Paris

Happy wanderer Reverend James Patrick from Kilsyth is more commonly associated with his adopted homeland of South Africa.

Yet the venturesome Church of Scotland minister who emigrated to Cape Town in the 1970s has been back on his travels - and has been getting to know Europe that bit better !

He is currently working in Paris at The Scots Kirk for what is the second time - in a roundabout route back to the City of Light.

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Mr Patrick who is unmarried explained: “ I was in Paris in November then I went on to do the same at Fuengirola on the Costa del So in December.

“I went back to Cape Town for a couple of months then to Lisbon for three months, April to June, as locum at St. Andrew’s Church there.

“And now I’m back in Paris at the Scots Kirk again!’’

It’s been wonderful to have these opportunities of not just visiting places as a tourist but staying in them as part of the community.”

The Kirk’s session clerk Dorothy Muir said: “ Everyone was delighted to know that James was making a return visit, as his first time with us last November was much appreciated.”

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Founded in 1858, the Scots Kirk is located in historic Rue Bayard near the Champs-Elysées.

It is commonly associated with the ‘Tartan Pimpernel’ - Scots minister Donald Caskie who denounced the Nazis from the pulpit - then went on to save the lives of than 2,000 allied service personnel during the Second World War.