Worcester Cathedral is a fine sight from many different directions.
I love the way it comes into sight as you drive or walk down the London Road into Sidbury, and how it rides the horizon as the train moves round between Shrub Hill and Foregate Street.
And then there are the famous views from the bridge and the cricket ground.
And the distant view from the top of the Worcestershire Beacon.
The cathedral is also a magnificent sight floodlit.
But on two days this month we are switching off the floodlights, and the cathedral will disappear into darkness.
The cathedral is joining the nationwide – indeed worldwide – campaign call the Big Switch Off. The campaign started last year in Australia. In June this year, some of London’s most famous buildings, including Buckingham Palace, switched off their floodlighting for a night.
It is a way of drawing attention to the crisis of global warning – and saving just a little electricity at the same time.
We all know we just cannot go on using up so much power.
Of course there are other things we need to do, which are more important than just doing without some floodlighting.
Keeping TVs, computers, printers, and mobile phone chargers on standby uses up 10 per cent of our residential electricity consumption.
Switching off, instead of switching to standby, would make a real difference. So turning off the floodlights is no more than a gesture, and a reminder.
Most of the time you will still see your cathedral lit up at night.
After all, floodlighting helps to make the city a safer place.
But whether you see the cathedral lit up or whether you just see a black hole where you expected the cathedral to be – remember the need to save electricity.
That will have to do for now – I’m going to switch off my computer.