Crypt

Some oddities about Ripon Cathedral. I took this photo in the crypt below. Here's how one website describes it:

"Built in 672 by Saint Wilfrid, Ripon Cathedral’s Crypt predates England itself by 255 years, and it’s still accepting pilgrims and visitors today.

Accessed by steep and narrow steps, a claustrophobic and gloomy passageway winds underneath a medieval cathedral. This cramped tunnel leads to a white painted void, believed by its creators to be a faithful representation of Jesus’s modest tomb.

With an arched ceiling, a simple altar, and a 14th-century alabaster carving of the resurrection, the otherwise chilly emptiness of this simple whitewashed crypt disguises its rich historical significance.

Ripon's crypt, and the long-vanished basilica it was originally built beneath, were the first of their kind to be built in the Kingdom of Northumbria, a territory that once covered most of Northern England and part of Southern Scotland."

Ripon

Another reason to eat lunch at the Royal Oak is that it is literally around the corner from the cathedral where I was headed next for rehearsal. We had so many rehearsals because the choir sang different music for each performance. In fact, most of us traveled with separate bags for the sole purpose of carrying our music and choir robes. Also, each cathedral or chapel had its own unique acoustics and physical space, requiring us to quickly settle in and adjust to the new circumstances.

The Royal Oak

So the story behind I found myself eating at The Royal Oak in Ripon begins with the dinner I enjoyed the night before in Harrogate. There the waiter, learning that I was to sing the next day at Ripon Cathedral, heartily recommended that I grab lunch here. He was right. It was a great place to eat. Plus I was welcomed there by a very cordial and, I must say, quite accommodating canine maître d'. :-)

Meat Pies

 

 

Appleton's in Ripon. Reminded me of the "meat pies" I ate as a kid living in England not far from here.

Ripon

First look at Ripon Cathedral, where we sang evensong and the next morning's Eucharist.

"The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, it was refounded as a Benedictine monastery by St Wilfrid in 672. The church became collegiate in the tenth century, and acted as a mother church within the large Diocese of York for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The present church is the fourth, and was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. In 1836 the church became the cathedral for the Diocese of Ripon." -- Wikipedia

The Crown

After rehearsing in Stamford, our choir traveled to the Crown Hotel in Harrogate (shown abpve) where we arrived just in time to take our bags to our rooms and head out to find something to eat for a late supper.

Here's how The Crown describes itself: "This glorious Victorian exercise of Italian Renaissance in sandstone has a long and distinguished history that reaches back to the early 1600s when visitors first began to drink the waters of the world's strongest known Sulphur Well The name Crown may have been adopted around the time of Charles II's restoration of the monarchy in 1660, when a much smaller inn overlooked the Sulphur Well to the west. Since then, the Crown thrived, reaching 'gigantic proportions,' by the time Lord Byron and his 'string of horses, dogs and mistresses' were guests in 1806 . . . . When Elgar stayed at the Crown, it was probably at the peak of its Edwardian perfection. After being sequestered by the government in 1939, the Crown reopened to visitors in 1958."

Rehearsal

Rehearsal in St. Mary's chancel, Stamford.

St. Mary's

Arrived at St. Mary's just in time for rehearsal. By pre-arrangements months before, the church agreed to host our rehearsal while we were in Stamford on our way to Harrogate. According to Wikipedia, the church was built in the 12th century, the tower in the 13th century, and the spire in the 14th century. The tower is 78 feet high, topped by a spire of 90 feet, giving a total height of 168 feet.

Wall Art

Last two images from St. John the Baptist's Church before I had to leave for rehearsal a few minutes later at St. Mary's.

Judith

 

 

St. John the Baptist's Church, Stamford

Pipe Organ

 

 

 St. John the Baptist's Church late 19th century pipe organ

 

St. John's Pulpit

 

 

Again, according to Wikipedia, the pulpit in St. John the Baptist's Church in Stamford "dates from 1953, and was donated by the restorers of the church at that time."

Ceiling

Only a small amount of St. John the Baptist's Church 12th-century fabric remains. According to Wikipedia, most of the interior of the church and the fittings are from the 15th century. "The roof of the nave is finely carved, including angels on the bosses."

Passiontide

 

 

St. John the Baptist's Church, Stamford, England

Door

So while still on my way to rehearsal in Stamford, I stopped by to visit St. John Church. Here I just admired one of the church's heavy wooden doors.

Spanish Food

Spotted this vendor at work in Stamford on my way from lunch to rehearsal. 

Tobie's

Had a quick bite to eat at Tobie Norris' (highly recommended!) in Stamford before trundling off to rehearsal at St. Mary's.

Caesar Salad

It seems like an odd thing to record what you ate on a trip, I know, but I've learned through hard experience how important maintaining a decent diet can be on a choir tour. So it was that I chose this Caesar salad with chicken at the Winepress Restaurant in the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich after singing evensong at the cathedral and before getting a good night's sleep (no pub crawling!) before the next day's bus trip to Harrogate by way of a rehearsal stop in Stamford.

Nave

 

 

Photo taken by a friend at Norwich Cathedral while I was rehearsing with the choir for evensong.

Rehearsal

Some fellow choristers at rehearsal in Norwich.

 

Maids Head

 

 

The Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, although tricky to navigate because of its mishmash of floors and stairs, was by far and away my favorite place to stay on our tour. Great staff!

 

Norwich

Didn't have time to visit much of Norwich Castle. Had to rush back to the cathedral for choir rehearsal and evensong. I did, though, stop just long enough to enjoy these views of Norwich from atop the castle hill. Lovely little town.

Ethelbert Gate

 

 

Ah, but now back to Norwich where I happened to explore one of the main gates to the cathedral close after returning from visiting the Julian Shrine. Fascinating bit of history took place here. Seems as if tensions could sometimes run rather high between the townsfolk and the cathedral's monks. So much so that the Ethelbert Gate was ordered to be built by King Henry III and completed around and about 1325. 

Caution

I was cautious while attending this past Saturday's "Hands Off" rally. After having read about so many accounts of people ramming their cars into crowds, I gave wide berth to any approaching vehicles and privately hoped others would do the same. As it happened, no cars or trucks strayed from their appointed routes and, to my surprise, most passers-by seemed to approve of the demonstration, with only one totally-to-be-expected exception of a driver who nonetheless felt obliged to express his objection to the gathering with a universally recognizable gesture of his hand.

"Hands Off!"

 

 

I live in a small, mostly "red" college town. Public demonstrations here tend to be few and very far between, and mostly attended by a handful of what I would call die-hard liberals. So when I finished my stint as a historical interpreter yesterday afternoon and drove through a still growing crowd of what looked like hundreds and hundreds of vocal activists in front of our local courthouse, I knew I would have to return and join in just as soon as I could park my car and grab my camera.

 

Now, people will say (and I have been among them) that protests like this don't count for much. Sure, they allow people to vent and to show their support for various causes and beliefs. But, in the end, they accomplish very little. True enough.

 

But some strange things happened yesterday that have given me some pause. 

 

First, a man came rushing up to me to shake my hand who identified himself as simply "that guy at the gym." Yes, I'd seen him there as well as elsewhere several times. I had even exchanged a few casual and very brief conversations with him before. But this time was different. He greeted my as if I was somehow his long lost friend and comrade in arms, leaving me with the distinct feeling that our relationship had just undergone a significant change.

 

Also, I had an even more unusual encounter only minutes after leaving yesterday's rally. I was taking a long and somewhat unfamiliar route back home when I stopped to ask someone on the trail for directions. She seemed pleasant enough. We explained how we both lived in essentially the same neighborhood, talked about the nature of the trail we were on, and about how we had both just come from the same rally. But then, with a smile and quick laugh, she suddenly and unexpectedly sought to excuse herself from the conversation by admitting that she was "pro-Trump" and had only attended the rally out of curiosity. 

What do you make of all that? I know that it's got me to thinking that there actually may have been just a little bit more to yesterday's rallies than people might suppose. People met. Relationships changed. Ideas were exchanged, and important questions raised. Will this change the world? Will it alter the course of history? Who knows? But what if yesterday's rallies had NOT taken place? I wonder . . .

 

The Blitz

This quite knowledgeable gentleman explained how Norwich came to be on Germany's hit list during the Blitz of 1942 and how the Julian chapel suffered almost complete destruction as a result.

Holy Mother of Wisdom

Holy Mother of Wisdom by Caroline Mackenzie in the Julian Shrine's gift shop and information center.

Cloth of Kindness

I think many of us could use a cloth of kindness today.

Bird Feeder?

This one most certainly puzzled me. Attached to a wall near the Julian Shrine, I can only imagine the cylinders are used to old various kinds of bird seed. But that still leaves me to question the purpose of that vertical slit.

All Shall Be Well

 

 

The Julian Shrine 

Norwich, England