Mildly Interesting - People

[AndyD]

It's an astronomy observatory, built around 1750 by Thomas Wright, who was first to describe the Milky Way as many galaxies.

Now surrounded by the small village of Westeron.
Thomas Wright attended the same school as me (as did the young Stan Laurel for a year or two).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wright_(astronomer)

[Daniel]

Fascinating, Andy!

(And I wish I could have an observatory, it sounds like heaven, but if I could, Florida has too much light pollution to star gaze, most everywhere in the state now.)

[AndyD]

'How do I love Thee? Let me count the ways.'

So after taking my sister to a chiropractor yesterday, she suggests "Shall we go see that pretty church in Kelloe on the way back?"

The gate was open,we drive in to find a van, church door open, and workman standing on a large window sill repairing the lead stained glass windows!

It is picturesque
https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/13544/

So lucky to find it open during the week; St. Helens has a truly beautiful victorian chancel

The organ is from 1820

There are two bells from the 1200's in the old Bell tower.
The knave from where I took the photos, is a rather plain rectangle and is much older being saxon, pre 1100, and the building now grade 1 listed.

Of more interest by the alter is

a rare carved 12 century cross, (cracked & buried) found by the victorians, showing St Helen
.

And then we saw a simple plaque.
'Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, baptised in this church 1809'.
Just 5 miles from where we now live!
She was pipped to the post as our national poet laureate by Tennyson, but was incredibly popular both here & in the US. Like a handful of other poets known for a particular first line.
(Eg.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
or
The boy stood on the burning deck)
EBB is known for the line 'How do I love Thee...'

We had no idea she was a local. Her original home, nearby Coxhoe Hall is now demolished.
I got home & found my 1938 edition (from NYC Heritage Press) of 'Sonnets from the Portuguese'

[CHAS]

Interesting. I went to the little museum in Fairplay in Southpark. They had artifacts from the 1920s.
Colorado got going a bit later than Westeron.

[AndyD]

That's a really interesting museum. Love the train.
We have a similar outdoor museum at Beamish. My mums old grocery store, the Coop, was moved there.

[Steve Miller]

It’s beautiful!

[Daniel]

@andyd Does living in a country with all that history and its architecture, including interiors, gardens, and cultural artifacts ever "get" to you? I mean encountering it must be constant so does it ever feel like "a lot" or is it just normal to you?

I went on a standard 14 day student tour to London and its surrounding attractions.

I remember the Tower and Crown Jewels. I can see the crown jewels in my mind's eye any time I want by letting myself have memories that I can "re-play" at will.

But that's because I like jewels.

I like architecture too (clearly) but everything was ancient and at 14 it almost completely overwhelmed me.

They took us on a bus tour to Oxford University. All I could see were these beautiful, ancient buildings. It kind of phased me to the point that after it was over I had to remind myself we had just visited a school.

[AdagioM]

@AndyD Thanks for the tour. That’s beautiful.

[AndyD]

It only gets to me in the best of ways, even when overwhelming trying to take it all in like at The Alhambra or Durham Cathedral.
We are all a part of history, from looking at the stars to the tiny two year old running in front of my Tesco trolley.
It is the unexpected, unusual, constant learning that I love, even though I've lived in this area for decades.
A tiny church hardly anyone will ever visit was so interesting. And people you meet, the chap working there... apparently they'd re-roofed the whole building in lovely slate a few years ago. It's grade 1 listed, ought to be stone. What to do

[Daniel]

Interesting! Thanks!