A selection of writings, speeches, photographs and events as well as some of my favourite literary passages.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
The Curse of Road Noise
Looking south on the M3 at Winchester on an uncharacteristically quiet morning. It normally carries some 130,000 vehicles a day. |
Nevertheless some towns and cities are blighted by almost constant road noise from busy main roads and motorways. For example the noise from the M3 motorway intrudes over much of the lovely city of Winchester and dominates villages bordering it, such as Shawford - hardly surprising considering that it carries some 130,000 vehicles a day.
The gash cut though the back of St Catherine's Hill in 1995, which still hasn't been 'healed' by plant growth almost twenty years later. |
road surface that is much quieter - and that road runs through farmland and woodland with the town some distance away.
PS: In February 2015, the Highways Agency and/ or the Hampshire County Council have finally resurfaced the M3 around Winchester, with the result that the noise from the motorway obtrudes far less on the City and the surrounding villages. What took them so long?
Friday, 10 August 2012
Old Swan House Garden - 2012
The garden on 1st viewing in 2012. Note the huge leylandii hedge round the drive |
The old kitchen and scullery |
The end of the garden showing the disused vegetable area and the summerhouse. |
The round lawn with a loquat in the middle. |
Behind was a raised terrace with rhododendrons in wooden barrels and a dark-leafed cherry The garden was already fully planted up and was even somewhat overgrown, but the design was from the 70s - 'Geoffrey Smith' - although the effect was still delightful and felt secret and enclosed. How the changes were effected can be seen in Making the Garden at Old Swan House |
Monday, 6 August 2012
Rediscovering Coventry's Medieval Stained Glass
Dr Heather Gilderdale Scott of Lincoln University, the authority on medieval stained glass and Dr Jonathan Foyle of the World Monuments Fund at the Paul Mellon Lecture in Coventry on 19th June 2012 |
The World Monuments Fund as just begun a project to restore and display the old stained glass, which is thought to have been the work of John Thornton, who also created the great stained glass of York Minster.
Click here for a BBC report on the project.
Click here for details of the World Monuments Fund's programme, which includes work to stabilise the ruins of the old Cathedral. And here for their fundraising site.
Click here for a link to the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Consecration of the new Cathedral
St Michael’s Glass on show in the Soane Museum
This Summer’s conservation work, by Crick-Smith, of more than 7,000 fragments of stained glass
from St Michael’s, Coventry (the largest collection of loose medieval glass in the Britain), has now
been completed. Several fine examples of the salvaged glass have pride of place in the current
World Monument Fund Britain exhibition in the Sir John Soane’s Museum, Lincoln’s Inn Fields,
London WC2A. The Exhibition runs until 26 January 2013 (Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 17.00
hours).
If you are unable to visit the exhibition, here’s link to a 12 minute film featuring Kevin McCloud’s
‘take’ on the Coventry glass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPnsJqt7DDA&feature=youtu.be
Saturday, 4 August 2012
The Battle Proms at Highclere Castle
The Battle Proms have been held at castles and stately homes across Southern England for the last 15 years and have become extremely popular. Over 9000 people came to the event at Highclere Castle on 4th August to hear classical pieces like Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with live cannon fire, inspired by Napoleon's famous retreat from Moscow, and the celebratory piece of music that gives the Battle Proms its name: Beethoven’s 'Wellington’s Victory', more commonly known as the ‘Battle Symphony’, performed with 193 cannons, musket fire and fireworks. Click here for a rather quieter Irish air.
Friday, 6 July 2012
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Coventry Cathedral - the Sutherland Tapestry
Graham Sutherland's great tapestry, Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph, is full of imagery taken from Revelations. The Archbishop of Canterbury based his marvellous sermon at the Golden Jubilee of the Consecration of the Cathedral on the meaning of the tapestry.
The main theme of the tapestry is taken from the lines:
'And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And he that sat to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald....
And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne, were four beasts...
and the first beast was like a lion,
and the second beast like a calf,
and the third beast had the face as a man,
and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.'
Revelations IV, vs. 2,3,6 and 7
The dragon in the chalice under Christ's feet is referenced here:
'Then another sign became visible in the sky and I saw that it was a huge red dragon...Now they have conquered him though the blood of the Lamb.'
Revelations XII, vs 3 and 10
St Michael hurling down the Devil is referred to here:
'Then war broke out in Heaven, Michael and his angels battled with the Dragon...so that the huge Dragon, the serpent of ancient times, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down upon the earth.'
Revelations XII, vs 7,8 and 9
Location: London
Coventry, West Midlands, UK
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Golden Jubilee of the Consecration of Coventry Cathedral
The Golden Jubilee of the Consecration of Coventry Cathedral was held on 25th May 2012, exactly 50 years after the original service which was attended by the Queen. On this occasion, a glorious sunny day, the service was taken by the Dean, the Very Reverend John Irving, before the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, and the Princess Royal. The service began with a beautiful Lord's Prayer sung in Aramaic. The Archbishop of Canterbury preached a marvellous sermon drawing on the imagery of Graham Sutherland's great tapestry.
A video of the procession at the end of the service can be seen here
Following the service, a reception was held for the Princess Royal in St Mary's Hall
Click here for some photos from the event
A very good BBC programme about the Cathedral can be heard here
Thursday, 24 May 2012
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