I WOULD just like to clarify some points brought up in Mr Watson?s letter last week about the effectiveness of ?dalles de verre? (tiles of glass) stained glass windows.

This is the style used in the World Peace Stained Glass Window, which our school plans to install in a south-facing window of the school building, subject to the success of our revised application for Listed Building consent.

These windows glow and sparkle when lit by daylight in a way that artificial ?back lighting? cannot quite match. The chunks of glass are specially chipped on one surface in order to refract the light passing through the window. That is why dalles de verre windows work so well.

To demonstrate this we have taken a photograph of the window held up in the proposed site on a dull February day. Even in such overcast conditions the window glows with colour (see picture, back page). When the sun shines the effect is dramatic since the glass refracts the sunlight sending shafts of light out in all directions.

The ?demonstration? Peace Window on display in the pannier market is not backlit by powerful spotlights but simply by four low energy bulbs. Even in these conditions it has been having a tremendous impact on people viewing it for the first time.

The dalles de verre style was chosen by ?Flight of the Phoenix? for the World Peace Stained Glass Window Project not only for its vibrant colour, but also because it is extremely robust, specifically designed for external use and can suit old or new buildings. The window is designed to be viewed from the interior, but this is also true of traditional leaded stained glass.

As a bonus, however, the window will shine out to passers-by on days and evenings when the lights are on in the school.

May I thank Mr. Watson for raising these points, so that the qualities of this style of window can be explained. I would also like to thank the local community for their continued support. For latest news please visit our new website on http://www.miltonabbotpeacewindow.com">www.miltonabbotpeacewindow.com

Peter Jones

Headteacher

Milton Abbot

Primary School

CONGRATULATIONS and thanks to the staff of Milton Abbot School for using the medium of art in a traditional way to teach our children, present and future, the beauty and value of peace.

What amazes me is the amount of refracted light that issues from the concussion fractures shaping the individual glass fragments by the four low energy lights behind the window and how this pierces the dingy grey of the pannier market.

When placed in the school window, the changing kaleidoscope patterns of light caused by the changing angle of the sun?s rays will surely be inspiration to all that stop and look!

How much damage is the planning committee?s decision doing to the children and staff of Milton Abbot School. The trouble is we only find out with hindsight.

Margaret Allen

The Old Chapel

Chilsworthy