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Tuesday, September 29, 2009 9:26 AM The weather is being kind to us for this time of year, after the dreadful unsettled summer, and I have been making the most of it while it lasts.
Yesterday I went by bus to Thorpeness and walked from there across the nature reserve to Aldeburgh, and was ready for a rest when I got there two hours later! Today has been a lazy one for me so far, but I must go out now to do some shopping!
Sunday, September 20, 2009 4:00 PM I had a wonderfully nostalgic time yesterday at the North Norfolk Railway's 1940s weekend marking the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war, and talked with many people from that era who remarked on how much happier we were then, in spite of the fear of imminent invasion and the shortage of food, fuel and other essentials of daily life, because everybody pulled together in the common cause, without the selfish demands for "rights" that have made society so miserable in the present comparatively prosperous era. (More pictures posted on the main forum).
It was good to be reminded for a few hours of a time before it was considered 'smart' to quote from the rule books of pressure groups determined to undermine any measures designed for the common good.
Thursday, September 17, 2009 8:43 AM The main forum has carried a disturbing debate this week, about whether people in regular unsupervised close contact with young children should undergo a test of suitability for the task, in view of recent cases of sexual abuse, imprisonment, torture and murder of the innocents.
I am appalled to learn that there is a body of opinion protesting that this would be an infringement of civil liberties which might spread and eventually impact on the right to be considered "innocent until proven guilty" whilst ensuring that the authorities are prevented from discovering whether such proof exists.
Sounds suspiciously as if they have something to hide, but the law wil not allow me to ask them what exactly they fear.
It's a bad, mad, world! Saturday, September 12, 2009 6:47 AM I decided to go to Diss yesterday as I hadn't been into Norfolk for quite some time. I was glad I went because I found a new example of pargeting, which we have been discussing on the forums, and also saw that the graffiti wall on the park shelter has been re-done and the shelter is now being used as an outdoor tea-room, which was very pleasant sitting there by the lake (sorry - The Mere) - and I also bought some cooked meats and cheese from a good local source. Thursday, September 10, 2009 3:52 AM
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Remembering a Saintly King
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I had a trip yesterday to Bury St Edmunds where the king, who died in a spat with the Danes in AD 869 was buried and had a great Abbey built around his remains, but all I saw of that were the ruins left after the dissolution of the monasteries which followed Henry VIII's break with Rome in 1531, when Pope Clement refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and Henry became Supreme Head of the Church of England.
On the same site is the Church of St James, on which construction began in 1503. In 1914 it was elevated to cathedral status and in 2005, a little over half a millennium since work began, they completed a new gothic style lantern tower, which is now seen above the rooftops of the town - and they hope ere long to finish its interior. In the meantime worshippers are protected from falling masonry and workmen by white shrouds above their heads.
As for the saintly king, all that could be seen of him, as his relics were lost during the dissolution, was a 1974 statue by Eizabeth Frink, standing proudly below the tower. |
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 During my visit to St Edmundsbury Cathedral, the Angelus bell sounded at noon precisely - a surviving Catholic tradition signalling all present to stop what they were doing and fall silent while the monks said their prayers. In the 21st century version a member of the clergy says the prayers over a public address system at a respectfully low volume. I found it quite a moving (though static) experience.
The Angelus is mentioned in Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson (1876 - 1947) |
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Although I am not a regular worshipper, I find the history of religion, though often bloody and marked by intolerance, a fascinating subject for research, and make a point of visiting places of worship whenever possible. This visit did not disappoint.
© 2009 Arthur Loosley |
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