Eternal Refuge

Since I was run over the day before my 21st, and then taken to Bart's Hospital, I had wanted to see St Bartholomew-the-Great ... which is one of 2 Churches that were founded in 1123. They were founded along with the hospital & an Augustinian Priory. Rahere was a courtier of King Henry I and caught a fever on a pilgrimage to Rome. On recovery he had a vision of the Apostle Bartholomew ... and hence the Churches were founded.












St Bartholomew, by Damien Hirst (he was martyred by being skinned alive)

Prior Rahere's Tomb



Font 1405

Cloisters (now a coffee shop)

The Lady Chapel - supposed to be where the Virgin Mary visited the Bishop in the 12th Century



For 3 of the 4 years I was at college, I walked across Trafalgar Square every day ... and if I had an hour spare I would have a wander round The National Gallery ... and a visit never gets boring.


van Dyck - Equatrian portarit of Charles I, 1638

Rembrandt - Frederick Rihel on horseback, 1663

van Dyck - Lord John Stuart and his brother Lord Bernard Stuart, 1638 ... Both died for the Royalist cause

Bartolone Esteban Murillo - Self portarit, 1670

Constable (attributed) - east Bergholt Singers, 1800

Constable - Cloud Study, 1821

Constable - Sketchbook, 1814

Vincent van Gogh - Snowy Landscape with Arles in the background, 1888

George Seurat - Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp, 1885

Monet - The Thames below Westminster, 1871



Gainsborough - Mr and Mrs Andrews, 1750

Constable - Stratford Mill, 1820

Canaletto - Venice The Grand Canal with St Simeone Piccolo, 1740

These are 2 of the earliest paintings of the collection -

Master of Saint Francis - Crucifix, 1265

Margarito d'Arezzo - The Virgin and Child, 1263

The reason I was in London last weekend was to go to The Cenotaph for the Remembrance Service .... here are a few of the photos ....



Tim sent me this photo!!


I didn't even realise on the day I had actually got a phot of The King ... as it is part of a photo I took -




( Enjoy the morning )

One of the places I went to was The British Museum.  I do love that museum ... and there is always something to see ... something to share with you all ...



200BC .... Ptolomy I

200AD .... Zeus.  That hair is stunning.

100BC ... terracotta group of 2 seated ladies

( And more ... to save your feed )

Our middle day of the trip was coming to an end, and on our way back we drove past Henencourt Chateau, where British officers were billeted.  The men were in the village, but from the coach it was impossible to get a photo!



On our way back to our hotel we made a final stop at Thiepval Memorial ... the memorial to the missing of the Somme. Granddad was there, but sadly we weren't there long enough for me to find his regimental memorial, as he would have known some of those names, I am sure.



( The Memorial )

And so we are on the last day of the trip, and our first stop was Bailleul Cemetery, which is near where one of the RFC airfields were. One grave we went specifically to see was that of Thomas Mottershead received the only V.C. ever awarded to a non-commissioned RFC officer during the First World War

As there was also a hospital there, many of the graves are doubles and as you can see it was started as part of the local Churchyard.




( A stroll through the cemetery )


Our final stop of the morning was at Godewaersvelde Cemetery.... or, as the soldiers called the town "God Wears Velvet".

We went there to see one of the nursing sisters who was killed in a bombing of the hospital areas. And, ironically, we ended up having to call the Belgian health services, as the lady collapsed again. They were very speedy.


E M Kent - nursing sister

( Another stroll )

We stopped for luunch at Etaples ... and it was market day.  We saw the bridge where there had been a stand-off of the British Army when they were complaining about archaic training methods.  I also went to the Church

















We then went to St Pol which is where the Unknown Warrior was chosen ... one out of 4 unknown remains, that then started his journey to Westminster Abbey.








And then we went to Mont St Eloi which has the remains of an Abbey, and also a great look-out over the battlefields.

Despite being a Sunday I missed Church ... so we had a leisurely breakfast before heading out to their "local" National trust property -
Ickworth House

Sadly the part of the house where the family "lived" is now an hotel ... this is the extension that was built to entertain ...







Close-up of the fresco above the first layer of windows


( Lets have a walk round )

And, I suppose I should post these 2 ... in front of the statue of The Fury of Athamas





After we had walked through the rooms, we also enjoyed a walk through part of the grounds ... an area that you could spend ages exploring ...

( And the walk was enjoyable )

As I said it was a really lovely long weekend, although I was sad that I didn't manage to catch up with my friend D while there.

On day one we were late leaving as the weather wasn't great but we went to Angelsey Abbey and then went to Bury St Edmuns so I could see the cathedral & Abbey ruins.

Anglesey Abbey is a beautiful building with some lovely works of art. My friend Liz, who I was staying with, is an artist, so even more interesting to see some of the artwork from her eyes ...













( And now a walk inside )

Bury St Edmunds is the town that my friends live on the edge of (although technically in a village). I do love the Abbey Gardens, so neat and tidy ... yet with 1,000 + years of history ...





( Inside the Cathedral )

Boer War Memorial







More to come - next week

On our last full day we went to Karnak Temple and this is one of the places that I could go to again, and still feel that I haven't seen all there was to see ... a stunning complex.

( Trying to capture Karnak )

The 2 temples are literally a few miles apart, and between the two is The Avenue of Sphynxes
(This is taken from Karnak Temple)







And, yes, we also went to Luxor Temple ... This is where there is the only statue of Tutankhamun and his wife

( Yet more history )


Tutankhamun and his wife




In actual fact, although I have really spammed you I have only posted a percentage of the photos that I actually took.

I had planned for my trip to Egypt to be a one-off and we certainly visited a lot of places, but I can honestly say I would go back ... it is a fascinating country and in the end, although I saw a lot, I still only touched part of what there is to see.

We had some lovely hotels, and this is the view out of the bedroom of the one in Luxor -








When we were visiting assorted places we got to see some of the local scenery -






Working with alibaster

Nice to see shades for some of the horse-taxis

There are a lot of police, everywhere, and this was a typical view-place







We stopped at the Colossi of Memnon



One of the places I had wanted to see was Hatshepsut's Temple ... but will admit it was the one place I wouldn't have bothered going to if I had known. Amazing size, but much has been damaged over the years. However, still pleased I went







It never  ceased to amaze me how 3,000+ years on the paintings are still coloured

Before I went to Egypt there were a couple of things that I wanted to see and the Temple, Abu Simbel was one of these locations.

It is actually 2 Temples, and has had to be moved due to the dam that was built at Aswan. I was surprised that when we got there (and it hadn't been moved far) I was only about 30 miles from the border with Sudan.

There are a lot of photos, but really these only are a portion of this amazing site ...

( Enjoy )