I had the opportunity to Live in Bristol England in 1990 while I was writing my dissertation. During this time I visited many famous and not so famous churches. I'll be sharing some of these with you.
I visited York Minster because it was one of the churches that my Mother definitely wanted to see when she visited me in England. So we journeyed from Bristol to York. Here began 'Tower Climbing', as York Minster and a number of Cathedrals used to allow your to access the crossing towers (or domes in the Case of St Paul's in London). I have no idea whether this practice is still allowed given security concerns.
Fore Altar with Choir Screen and Original Main Altar behind the screen.
Close up of Choir Screen. These traditionally separated the 'common' folk from the important people that were allowed to sit closer to the real Altar. It also adds a bit of mystery to the service, since you hear the voices without actually seeing what transpires.
For Daily Services at most Cathedrals you sit inside the Choir, so the Tourists can still see the rest of the Church. I began synchronizing my visits with midday services so I could participate. These are after all (as with the Missions) functioning Churches that should be treated as such.
Main Altar that is behind the Choir Screen shown above.
Ceiling from one of the Chapels. If I could find my notes I could tell you the precise name. But..........
And now it is time to Soar........Looking up towards the Crossing Tower, which I climbed to the top of........
From the top of the Crossing Tower looking east over the Altar.Through the Middle Ages Churches were traditionally oriented East-West, so that the Faithful were facing the Altar and Jerusalem at the same time. A tradition that has been lost.
Looking to the West from the Tower. In both photos you can see the Old City close by the Cathedral.
You can easily imagine how inspiring these buildings were, as they were the skyscrapers of their day. In many places such as York and Salisbury, these Churches still dominate their surroundings.
It's time to sprinkle in a few images of Fall. These Reeds from Mono Hot Springs (no NOT Mono Lake!). It's a Native word, not sure of the meaning, but common to the Sierra Region. High in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and accessible by a paved one-lane road, it was a favorite spot of Donald's, and where we did some high altitude training for our trip to Patagonia.
I first Met the 'Church of the Holy Ghost' during the Urban Disturbance Workshop. Apparently there were no security personnel around to shoo us away, because there were a dozen of us out there, certainly hard to miss.
I visited York Minster because it was one of the churches that my Mother definitely wanted to see when she visited me in England. So we journeyed from Bristol to York. Here began 'Tower Climbing', as York Minster and a number of Cathedrals used to allow your to access the crossing towers (or domes in the Case of St Paul's in London). I have no idea whether this practice is still allowed given security concerns.
Close up of Choir Screen. These traditionally separated the 'common' folk from the important people that were allowed to sit closer to the real Altar. It also adds a bit of mystery to the service, since you hear the voices without actually seeing what transpires.
The white mineral is Spinel (Left a close-up with the scale bar representing 10 microns; Right the Spinel shown within the crystal matrix, scale bar 100 microns).
I remember my first, last, and only visit to the World Trade Center in the Summer of 1987. I awoke that fateful September Morning in 2001 to news that I could not believe.
The Mission that was nearest to where I lived was San Carlos de Borromeo, better known as Carmel Mission.
And so another Icon of my early life passes on. I have chosen a couple of quiet Ohio Scenes, again from the Hocking Hills, for the memory of Cincinnati Pops Conductor, Eric Kunzel. He founded the Orchestra in 1977, but I remember his beginnings with the Cincinnati Symphony, conducting their Pops concerts since 1965. So I grew up with him too.
