Cell

 

 

"In 14th century Norwich a young woman fell under a life-threatening illness, during which she experienced a series of extraordinary visions. These revelations transformed her life, and after a miraculous recovery she took vows to live as an anchoress, locking herself away in a small cell attached to a church in Norwich" -- The Julian Shrine

Chapel

 

 

St. Julian's Chapel in Norwich is open each day of the week for worshippers and visitors as a place of prayer. The Mass is held on Sunday mornings.

 

 

St. Julian's

 

"St Julian's is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Norwich, England. It is part of the Diocese of Norwich. During the Middle Ages, when the city was prosperous and possibly the second largest city in medieval England, the anchoress Julian of Norwich lived in a cell attached to the church. The cell was demolished during the 1530s.

Due to a lack of funds, the church slowly became dilapidated during the 18th century. It underwent a restoration after one side of the building collapsed in 1845. The tower, also in danger of collapsing, was repaired in 1934. In June 1942, St Julian's received a direct hit during the Norwich Blitz. The only one of the four churches destroyed in Norwich during World War II that was rebuilt, it reopened in 1953." -- Wikipedia

Cloister

 

 In the days of the Benedictine Priory at Norwich Cathedral, the vaulted walkways of the cloister linked the church, chapter house and the original library, hostry (lodging house) and refectory. Today they connect the 900-year-old cathedral with the modern-day refectory, hostry and library.

Mechanical Hand

So one of the unique features of the organ at Norwich Cathedral, historically, is that there was no direct means of communication between the organist and choir director. So a mechanical hand was installed to let the director know at what tempo the organist would be playing a particular piece. The hand is still there, but, of course, the organist now can at least see the director by way of a video screen.

Harrison & Harrison Organ

"Norwich Cathedral has one of the largest pipe organs in the country, with the organ featuring an incredible 5,767 pipes that range from 32 feet to just an inch long.

 

In November 2023, the organ was reinaugurated after a complete rebuild by Harrison and Harrison of Durham and is now considered one of the finest instruments of its kind in the country." -- Norwich Cathedral

Treasury

Wandering around the cathedral, I stumbled upon this inviting staircase (above). Note the use of a rope rather than handrails. A nice medieval touch, if maybe not up to current building codes. :-)

Upstairs were cases of "church plate" from churches around Norwich. 

Going down was actually a bit more challenging than coming up, especially for people with big feet like mine. :-)

Sunny Skies

I did actually get to spend some time outdoors in Norwich, even though most of my time was spent inside the cathedral (above) either rehearsing or performing evensong. The weather was quite pleasant--at least for that region of England and for the short time I was there :-)

 

Once again joining Skywatch Friday.

Low Altar

Norwich Cathedral

Art Glass

 

 

Among the first things to catch my eye at Norwich Cathedral were these windows. Interesting contrast in styles and subjects, don't you think?

 

"The medieval stained glass windows in the cathedral, which was largely destroyed during the English Reformation, sustained further damage during the English Civil War. The glass in the west window [shown below] was designed by George Hedgeland, and was installed in 1854." -- Wikipedia

Norwich Cathedral

Back now in the States after my choir tour of England. First singing engagement was evensong at Norwich Cathedral. Found the map above to be helpful in navigating my way around the place. I first entered the complex through that gate shown at the bottom and in the center just left of the tower.

Brake Light

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A friend was kind enough to point out how one of the brake lights on my car was not working. So I spent part of yesterday afternoon hunting down a replacement bulb and fixing it. All of which made me wonder how long that bulb had lasted. The car itself is some fifteen years old. And I can't remember ever replacing but maybe one bulb on this car since. That's an amazing performance record, don't you think? 

Anyway, I came away from yesterday's fix with an even deeper appreciation for at least some of our technological advances. My hat's off to those engineers who worked on these parts!

Citizenship

I was fortunate to have been born in the U.S. Had I been born a month later, I would have been born in the Philippines. Which would have been fine. Maybe then I wouldn't have struggled so hard to learn Spanish. :-) Later, my family moved to England. 

So while I can legitimately claim birthright citizenship in the U. S., the fact remains that I have more often seen myself in much broader terms as a citizen of the world.  Indeed, one of the first hymns I remember learning as a child is "This is My Song, O God of All the Nations" with words by Lloyd Stone and set to a tune composed by Jan Sibelius. 

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is,

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating,

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. 

So when I am asked where I am from, I will most often reply by saying something like, "Well, I was born in California" but then quickly follow that up by explaining to folks how I didn't actually grow up there and that I'm actually "from" many places, so as to maybe forestall any awkward conversations about a place in the states that I actually know very little about.

All of which is to say that I think we sometimes place too much emphasis upon where people are from rather than to recognize how we are all actually citizens of a much wider world and--this is important!--to act accordingly. Perhaps then, maybe, just maybe, we would be in a better position from which to tackle the really great issues affecting all of us, namely climate change, disease, poverty, and so forth.

"Be Merciful"

Yesterday's event in Washington, D.C. reminded me of this image I captured in front of St. John's Episcopal Church back in 2017. It was at yesterday's service that Rev. Budde reminded Trump of his obligation to "be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land."

Petitions

Lots of folks turned out this morning to sign petitions for Democratic candidates running for various local and statewide offices this year, including Abigail Spanberger who is running for governor of Virginia. Gaining enough signatures to get your name on the ballot is step number one. 

According to the Legislative Information System:  The minimum number of signatures of qualified voters required for candidate petitions shall be as follows:

1. For a candidate for the United States Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, 10,000 signatures, including the signatures of at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district in the Commonwealth;

2. For a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, 1,000 signatures;

3. For a candidate for the Senate of Virginia, 250 signatures;

4. For a candidate for the House of Delegates or for a constitutional office, 125 signatures;

5. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school board of any county or city, 125 signatures; or if from an election district not at large containing 1,000 or fewer registered voters, 50 signatures;

6. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school board of any town that has more than 3,500 registered voters, 125 signatures; or if from a ward or other district not at large, 25 signatures;

7. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school board of any town that has at least 1,500 but not more than 3,500 registered voters, 50 signatures; or if from a ward or other district not at large, 25 signatures;

8. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school board of any town that has fewer than 1,500 registered voters, no petition shall be required;

9. For a candidate for director of a soil and water conservation district created pursuant to Article 3 (§ 10.1-506 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 10.1, 25 signatures; and

10. For any other candidate, 50 signatures.

Phone Box?

I don't know if this is actually the case or not, but a visitor to the historic building where I volunteer thought this might be an old telephone box like the one she had in her late 19th century home. Oddly enough, if that is the case, it still serves that purpose, as there is a security phone inside that is used to make contact with various people. The visitor also remembered a fold-down seat that was part of the setup in her home.

Hydroelectricity or Recreation?

Bill, yesterday, asked why the hydroelectric plant on Belle Isle was abandoned. Here's Wikipedia's scoop on the matter as well as another excellent question to ponder:

"Silt in river water wore down turbine blades, bearings and bushings. Logs and debris damaged the entrance gates of the mill race and mud had to be cleaned up after floods. Power production varied with river flow and was always low in summer.

In the mid 1950’s the price of oil was so low that petroleum products became the fuel of choice (local gasoline was .25 a gallon). Had anyone foreseen the great increase in costs after the Arab Oil Embargo in 1967, this plant might have remained competitive. Question: would power production have been as valuable as the recreational benefits we now have from a free flowing river?"

Palace Greens

Governor's Palace

Colonial Williamsburg

Linking again today with Skywatch Friday.

Paramount

Charlottesville, Virginia

House of Music

Main Street, Charlottesville