The Treasury at Chichester Cathedral is full of fascinating items, but I love this one: A pardon for an early bishop, though it makes no mention of what he had done. This is from the information provided: Papal pardon to Godfrey, 2nd bishop of Chichester (1088, consecrated in January and died in September) found in … Continue reading
Here’s some rather wonderful images from Winchester Cathedral. Many old churches have lovely carved tombs to dead crusaders, but this one, remembering the Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor, from about 1307 is rather special. Despite their wealth they left instructions to be buried together without pomp. She has her legs crossed, like … Continue reading
Here’s great piece of clunky machinery that doesn’t really save us any effort so is not really functional, but it shows the wonder of what can be achieved by technology, the ultimate form of which is to imitate the human form. Cheers! http://www.openculture.com/2017/01/the-corkscrew.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
St Kilda is one of the most isolated places in the British Isles, an archipelago in the Outer Hebrides whose final human inhabitants left in 1930. It is now home to 600,000 nesting birds each year. This is from the i paper of 29 December: A 250-year-old census has revealed that islanders on St Kilda… … Continue reading
This is from the i paper, 29 December: Revellers dressed in mock military garb take part in the Enfarinats battle in the south eastern Spanish town of Ibi yesterday. During this 200-year-old festival participants, known as Els Enfarinats (those covered in flour) dress in military clothes and stage a mock coup d’etat using flour, eggs … Continue reading
Here’s an ad for a range of diet noodles etc that seem to be on sale everywhere. Obesity is a huge problem, and anything that helps should be a good thing, but I don’t understand what this food product is. It claims to have no sugar, fat, gluten or carbohydrate, so what does it contain? … Continue reading
This is from the i of 28 December by Nick Spencer. It’s a great article as it fits with anecdotal stuff I’ve heard, of homeless people being able to stay a few nights in a church, of various events being held for the poor who are not necessarily Christians. But also, beyond this article, sometimes … Continue reading
This is from Wednesday’s i paper and is a fantastic example of the value of so-called amateurs, and how much can be achieved by local communities. It was a medieval mystery that baffled experts for decades. Now a history fan has finally unearthed the priceless remains of a lost city- thanks to a colony of … Continue reading
Our Prime Minister has announced help for sufferers of Mental Health, possibly in response to the revelation that the late MP Jo Cox was seriously concerned about loneliness in her constituency, which is often a factor in this. Bravo Theresa, but no cigar, because the commonest form of mental illness is depression, and a major … Continue reading
Not the most famous European artists, but I fell in love with his skeletons warming themselves by a fire a long time ago. Fantastically varied and always strange, even in his self portraits. Knowing he was inspired by his grandmother’s curiosity shop makes so much sense. When Einstein was leaving Europe he stopped off to … Continue reading
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