The SPIRE

Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England . . . Pen & Wash : WHB – 2015

THE SPIRE

This work of man
Exultant spire
Sings to the world’s
Celestial choir.

Man’s needle point
It pricks the clouds
Defies the lightning
Lures the crowds.

Commands the heavens
Upholds the sky
Tells the world
Don’t fear to die.

This vibrant sky
These bright moonbeams
Define our souls
Colour our dreams.

This work of man
Exultant spire
Sings to the world’s
Celestial choir.

Salisbury Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.  The main body of the cathedral was completed in 1258.  Two men filmed themselves climbing 404ft (123m) to the capstone of the Cathedral’s spire to replace a faulty weather meter.    I add below a link to this video giving the spectacular view captured by these conservators working at the top of this, Britain’s tallest spire  . . .

CLIMB to the top of the SPIRE

The footage shows the breathtaking views only usually experienced by the Cathedral’s peregrine falcons.

Murder In The Cathedral – Two-Word Tale #14

‘The Cathedral’ (detail): WHB – Pen & Wash

Murder In The Cathedral

Agog
With awe
And gripped
With fright
How can
I last
For one
More night

My awe
My fear
Hold me
In thrall
A lasting
Longing
Curtain call

I sleep
I dream
I know
My place
‘Tis full
Of pain
With-out
God’s grace

For all
My sins
I can’t
A-tone
I’m lost
I’m gone
I am
Mere bone

Des-pair
And dread
Are my
Mill-stone
Worn as
Penance
On my
Head-stone

——–

To you
Who now
Will hear
My story
I pray
You will
My fate
Be-moan 

——–

---

 

History generally lays the blame for the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his former close friend, King Henry II, who, in 1174, did penance at Becket’s tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. 

---

 

Cadiz

 [ Photo Gallery # 93 ]

Cadiz – Spain

Cádiz is a city and port in south-western Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.  In my Photo Gallery today I include just a selection of the photographs which I took whilst wandering around the city on a visit there in 2006.

There are narrow streets, beautiful tree-lined plazas, a magnificent seafront promenade adorned with wonderful fountains, paved with colourful majolica tiles, and surrounded by a variety of trees and flowers.  Alameda Apodaca is a beautiful spot in the city of Cadiz, ideal for a stroll and to cool down on hot summer days.  It is a broad avenue with cobbled streets, and a variety of cobblestones and majolica tiles forming geometrical designs.

 

View of the city from the sea with Cadiz Cathedral dominating the skyline

Monument of the Spanish Constitution (approved in 1812)

Blossoming Jacaranda tree

Arbol del Mora, giant Moreton Bay Fig Trees (Ficus macrophylla) planted around 1900

Fountain and tiled majolica paving in the Alameda Apodaca

In Park Genoves

In the amazing Park Genoves, a botanical wonderland filled with over 100 species of trees and shrubs

 On one of Cadiz beaches, below the statue bust of Paco Alba, composer and creator of the  Carnival comparsa of Cádiz.

A Cadiz Roofscape

Cadiz street entertainment

Gotland, Sweden

[ Photo Gallery # 82 }

Gotland is Sweden’s largest island.  It is (approximately) 176 km (109 miles) by 52 km (32 miles), with a coastline of c. 800 km (500 miles) and a population of round about 58,003,  over 23,000 of whom live in Visby, the island’s main town.  The island has had a long and colourful history, due in large measure to its strategic position in the Baltic Sea.  Gotland’s main activities today centre around agriculture, food processing, tourism, and information technology services.  There is a small amount of heavy industry, particularly associated with concrete production from limestone which is mined on the island.

My photographs below were taken on a visit to the island in 2004.

Gotland’s position on the Baltic Sea

View across the roofs of Visby towards the Baltic Sea, with the ruins of the Saint Catherine church on the left. 

View towards the Cathedral in Visby

Visby Cathedral, now known as St. Mary’s Church

View of Visby Cathedral’s towers from outside the city wall

On the Baltic shore near Visby

Interior of a reconstructed Viking Longhouse on Gotland

Further view of the Interior of a reconstructed Viking Longhouse on Gotland

Västerhejde Church on Gotland

The Iron Age Stone Ship burial place at Gnisvärd.   Such stone ships are burial places for the chieftain of a village, built of many large stones, placed in the shape of a ship. The persons remains are cremated in a large bonfire and then placed in a vessel in the centre of the stone ship.  This one at Gnisvärd is Gotland’s second largest ship at 45 metres in length

Another view of the Iron Age Stone Ship burial place at Gnisvärd. 

 

Houses of God

FAITH

Stowe, Buckinghamshire

Strength in stone,
Hope in height,
Testament in time
Prove its lasting might.

Selworthy, Somerset

To those with faith,
Those who believe,
Those who rejoice,
And those who grieve.

St Just’s Church, St. Just in Roseland, Cornwall

Here present hope
And future need,
Through prayer and praise
Help fears recede.

Lastingham, North Yorkshire

Church and chapel
Hold their place
In loving hearts,
With God’s good grace.

Cathedral, Chichester, West Sussex

Cathedral cloisters,
Calm retreat,
Where stress and pain
With courage meet.

St.Colman’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Cobh, Eire

Houses of God,
Built for prayer,
For those with faith,
Somehow, somewhere.

Arundel Castle, West Sussex, U.K.

Arundel is an ancient town situated on the River Arun in West Sussex, England.  Its castle, massive and dominant in the landscape, dates from the 11th Century, although considerably altered and added to since that time.

Arundel Castle has undergone many restorations and extensions since it was first built in the year following the Norman Invasion of England in 1066.  It was officially  established by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067.   By the grace of William the Conqueror, he was the first to hold the earldom of Arundel.   The castle has remained in the possession of his descendants ever since and is now the home of the Duke of Norfolk, who is the Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England.  The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk.

My photographs, featured below, are amongst those I took on a recent visit there in October 2017.

Arundel, showing its position just a few miles inland from the English Channel and about 65 miles from London.

Showing how the castle position dominates the town and the surrounding area

 

Looking up to the massive southern wall of the castle

The Castle’s Western Gateway

Part of the extensive castle gardens, looking towards Arundel’s Roman Catholic Cathedral

The more private part of the castle where the present Duke of Norfolk lives

Further view of the gardens

The Root Garden, planted with the upturned roots of trees lost in the great 1987 Storm

It was pumpkin time in the castle vegetable gardens, and Halloween was approaching

A medieval montage within the castle keep

An important 12th Century visitor to the Castle

A re-enactment of 12th Century knights in battle

More Norman knights

A view of the River Arun and its bridge at Arundel after several days of rain

 

Dublin, City of a Thousand Welcomes

Dublin has many such beautiful doorways dating from the Georgian period

This one photo is from Pinterest – the others are all my own

Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland, is a beautiful city.  It is an absolute delight to wander around the lush green parks and open spaces, especially on a sunny afternoon.  My first visit, many years ago, was in torrential rain.  A lorry driver who generously gave a lift, southwards from the city, to two itinerant hitch-hikers, welcomed us with the comment, “Ireland is beautiful – just needs a bloody great umbrella over it”.  My second and third visits were in delightful sunshine which showed off the city’s exquisite Georgian architecture and its many monuments and statues to great advantage.  I add below a gallery of photographs taken during my last visit in 2010 …

Sea approach to Dublin Harbour

The Aviva Stadium – formerly Landsdowne Road Stadium – venue for major rugby and football matches

St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Church Of Ireland.   Founded in 1191, its 43 metres high spire makes it the tallest church in Ireland.

Ivy covered Georgian Terrace houses

Georgian-style Bay Windows

Front façade of St.Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre

Memorial Stone in St.Stephen’s Green Park, to Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa,  (1831-1915) a former Fenian Leader.

Statue in St. Stephen’s Green Park, to Wolfe Tone a leading figure of the Irish Independence Movement

The Papal Cross in Phoenix Park commemorates the Pope’s visit to Dublin in 1979  

The Wellington Testimonial Obelisk in Phoenix Park.  Arthur Wellesley, ‘The Iron Duke’, general and politician, was born in Ireland.

St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Isles of Orkney

St.Magnus Cathedral, Kirlwall, Orkney Isles … Photo – WHB, 2010

 

 

 

The northernmost cathedral in the British Isles is dedicated to St. Magnus.  It holds a dominant position overlooking the Orkney capital of Kirkwall.   The building of this magnificent cathedral, was commenced in 1137 at a time when Orkney was ruled by the Vikings.  Masons who had helped build Durham Cathedral came north to build the magnificently stout Norman pillars and arches which remain today.  Originally under Norwegian jurisdiction, the cathedral became a possession of the people of Orkney, not of the church, following a decree of King James III of Scotland in 1486.

 

The building of the cathedral continued for approximately 300 years from 1137.  It is built largely of yellow and red sandstone.  It was dedicated to Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney who, as a result of greed and jealousy engendered by his cousin, Haakon, was  martyred on the island of Egilsay in 1117.   Magnus was later canonised and his remains brought to Kirkwall from Birsay and interred in a column of the cathedral now dedicated to him.

Map of Scotland – Orkney Isles & Kirkwall at the top

I publish below just a few of my photographs taken in the cathedral when I visited in 2010.  They are in the form of a slide show, the picture changing every few seconds.

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Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England . . . Pen & Wash … WHB – 2015

THE SPIRE

This work of man
Exultant spire
Sings to the world’s
Celestial choir

Man’s needle point
It pricks the clouds
Defies the lightning
Lures the crowds

Commands the heavens
Upholds the sky
Tells the world
Don’t fear to die

This vibrant sky
These bright moonbeams
Define our souls
Colour our dreams

This work of man
Exultant spire
Sings to the world’s
Celestial choir

Salisbury Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.  The main body of the cathedral was completed in 1258.  Two men filmed themselves climbing 404ft (123m) to the capstone of the Cathedral’s spire to replace a faulty weather meter.    I add below a link to this video giving the spectacular view captured by these conservators working at the top of this, Britain’s tallest spire  . . .

CLIMB to the top of the SPIRE

The footage shows the breathtaking views only usually experienced by the Cathedral’s peregrine falcons.

On The Waterfront

Six of my Pen & Wash paintings – all of European coastal towns . . . 

Hydra, Greece, one of the Saronic Islands in the Aegean Sea  …   WHB

Blackpool, Lancashire, England  …   WHB.

Le Touquet, Normandy Coast, France  …  WHB

Oporto on the River Douro, Portugal  …  WHB.

Cobh and St.Colman’s Cathedral, nr. Cork, Eire  …  WHB

Yachting in the Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean  …  WHB