Other Information
Sidcup and District U3A
June 2007
Norwegian Buhund is a member of the Spitz family. It is closely related to the Icelandic Sheepdog and the Swedish Jämthund. In Norwegian, hund means dog and bu refers to both homestead and livestock.
Editor
Aug 2007
Benjamin Franklin was sent to England in 1757 by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family, the proprietors of the colony.
Editor
Aug 2007
“The Rake's Progress” is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings “A Rake's Progress” of William Hogarth which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947 in a Chicago exhibition.
Editor
Sep 2007
Sir John Lubbock’s son, Lord Avebury, was one of the foremost public figures of his day and was responsible for the Open Spaces Act of 1896 which enabled his former estate to be transferred to Bromley Council in 1965 as a Green Belt open space.
Editor
Sep 2007
Sandwich is an historic town; it was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings. Once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea. Sandwich is no stranger to odd events in English history - it was there in the year 1255 that the first captive elephant was landed in England.
Editor
Nov 2007
A team representing the Hearing Dogs charity competed against the “Eggheads” in a programme broadcast by BBC2 on Thursday 1st November.
Editor
Nov 2007
The original Menin Gate Memorial stands to the east of the town of Ypres in Belgium; it marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line during World War I. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and built by the British Government, the Menin Gate Memorial was opened on 24th July 1927 as a monument dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in battles around the Ypres Salient area and who have no known grave.
Editor
Dec 2007
Nonsuch Palace was Henry VIII's last and most fantastic palace. It stood on the west side of Nonsuch Park and is sometimes confused with Nonsuch Mansion on the east side of the park. Work on the Palace began on 22nd April 1538, in the 30th year of Henry's reign, and six months after the birth of his son. It was intended as a triumphal celebration of the power and grandeur of Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty.
Editor
Dec 2007
The original building for Queen Mary’s Hospital was Frognal House. Opened in 1917, the hospital and its associated convalescent hospitals provided over 1,000 beds, and between 1917 and 1921 admitted over 5,000 servicemen.
Editor
Dec 2007
William De Morgan (1839–1917) was the most important and innovative potter of the 19th century, and his distinctive style and glorious lustres are instantly recognisable. He designed stained glass, ceramic tiles and painted furniture between 1863 and 1872. He met William Morris in 1863 and both became central figures in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Desiring more control over the finishing of his work, he built a kiln in the basement of his London home where he used his knowledge of chemistry and his gift as an inventor to develop different lustres and glazes.
Editor
Jan 2008
The Sächsische Staatskapelle (Saxon State Orchestra) based in Dresden, Germany, was founded in 1548 by Moritz, Prince Elector of Saxony. It is one of the world’s oldest orchestras still performing.
Editor
Feb 2008
Saint Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and who, at age 14, was beheaded in AD 303 for proclaiming his faith during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. His name is Greek and literally means “the one that holds everything”. Pope Vitalian sent his relics to England as part of the evangelisation of England so that we would have relics of the Church at large, and to install in the altars of new churches. Saint Augustine of Canterbury dedicated the first church built in England to Saint Pancras, and subsequent churches throughout England are similarly named for him.
Editor
Feb 2008
Strapwork is a decorative motif in flat relief consisting variously of interlaced scrollwork, braiding, shield forms, or cross-hatching, often pierced with circular or oval holes.
Editor
Feb 2008
About 250 coal tax posts forming a rough circle twenty miles from the centre of London were erected in 1851 to mark the points where taxes on coal due to the Corporation of London had to be paid. Coal sold in the City of London had been taxed since mediaeval times, and, as it had all been shipped in to one or two riverside wharfs, the tax collection had been relatively easy. By the nineteenth century, however, as a consequence of increasing trade by canal and rail, Parliament extended the catchment area to a radius of approximately twenty miles from London. The erection of these posts was a last ditch attempt to retain the tax despite growing opposition; however, within twenty years it was abolished. A book published in 1972 lists the position of 219 coal tax posts in varying states of repair still surviving in situ at that time; a survey has recently been commissioned to update this information.
Editor
Mar 2008
Finchcocks is a Georgian baroque manor in Goudhurst, Kent, which houses a collection of historical keyboard instruments: harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, spinets, organs and other musical instruments. It is a music centre of international repute.
Editor
Apr 2008
SELCHP is a major incineration plant located in Deptford. SELCHP is the acronym for the “South East London Combined Heat and Power” energy recovery facility.
Editor
Apr 2008
The human genome is the genetic material of Homo sapiens; it contains all of the biological information needed to build and maintain a living human. It is stored on 24 distinct chromosomes containing around 20,000–25,000 genes. The entire human genome occupies a total of just over three billion DNA base pairs, and has a data size of about 750 Megabytes; this slightly exceeds the capacity of a standard Compact Disc.
Editor
May 2008
The Carthusian Order is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own Rule, called the Statutes, rather than the Rule of St Benedict and it combines eremitical and cenobitic life.
Editor
May 2008
The Great Stink occurred during the hot summer of 1858 when the smell of untreated sewage almost overwhelmed people in central London. Part of the problem was due to the introduction of flush toilets which were replacing the chamber-pots that most Londoners had been using. These dramatically increased the volume of water and waste being deposited into London’s 200,000 cesspits. Costing one shilling to empty, they were frequently allowed to overflow into street drains originally designed only to cope with rainwater. The same drains also had to carry outfalls from factories and slaughterhouses, etc, and they contaminated the city even before emptying into the Thames.
Editor
Jul 2008
Basso continuo is a form of musical accompaniment used mainly in the Baroque period (c. 1600-1750). Basso continuo was played by a keyboard instrument – normally harpsichord – and another bass instrument such as cello, bassoon or violone (an early form of double bass).
Editor
Aug 2008
Two of the most played boule games are pétanque and boule lyonnaise in which the goal is, while standing with the feet together in a small circle, to throw heavy metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet {jack}. It is usually played on dirt or gravel.
Editor
Aug 2008
The Cinque Port of Sandwich, first recorded in AD 664, is one of the best preserved medieval towns in England and two of the town gates still exist. Before the River Stour silted up the river was wide and deep enough for great sailing ships, and, until medieval times, the town was an important Kent and UK port.
Editor
Sep 2008
Sarabande, first mentioned in Central America in 1539, is a dance in triple metre. The 2nd and 3rd beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of ¼ and ½ notes in alternation. The ½ notes are said to have corresponded with dragging steps in the dance. It gained popularity in the Spanish colonies before reaching Spain itself – where it was originally banned in 1583 for its obscenity!
Editor
Sep 2008
Chiswick House, built in 1726–1729, is an octagonal domed Palladian villa inspired by the Villa Capra “La Rotonda” near Vicenza, Italy.
Editor
Oct 2008
The Royal Observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II. At this time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal (initially filled by John Flamsteed), to serve as director of the observatory.
Editor
Nov 2008
The full name of the Drapers’ Company is “The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London”.
Editor
Dec 2008
Baba Yaga is a witch-like character in Slavic folklore who lives in a house on chicken feet, and who flies around on a giant mortar kidnapping small children. In most Slavic folk tales she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom.
Editor
Dec 2008
The Ashes Urn, often wrongly believed to be the trophy of the Ashes series, has never been formally adopted as such. Replicas are often paraded by victorious teams as a symbol of victory, but the original urn has never been presented or displayed as a trophy in this way. Whichever side holds the Ashes, it normally remains in Marylebone Cricket Club’s Museum at Lord’s. The urn dates from the 1882-83 test matches in Australia and is reputed to contain the ashes of an item of cricketing equipment.
Editor
Dec 2008
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday 2nd September to Wednesday 5th September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City authorities. The death toll from the fire is unknown and is traditionally thought to have been small since only a few verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded anywhere.
Editor
Jan 2009
“Les Francs-Juges” is the title of an unfinished opera by Berlioz who abandoned it and destroyed most of the music. The work is set in mediaeval Germany and “free judges” refers to the secret “Vehmic” trials held in Westphalia during the Middle Ages when the holy vehme, founded by Charlemagne in AD772, took jurisdiction over all crimes during this lawless phase.
Editor
Feb 2009
Appreciation of Schubert’s music during his lifetime was limited at best, and, for most of his career, he relied upon the support of friends and family. He made some money from published works, and occasionally gave private musical tuition. He died at the age of 31. The manuscripts of many of his longer works remained hidden in cabinets and file boxes of his family and friends. In 1838 Robert Schumann, on a visit to Vienna, found the manuscript of the C major symphony (the “Great”) and took it back to Leipzig where it was performed by Felix Mendelssohn. The most important step towards the recovery of the neglected works was a journey to Vienna which Sir George Grove and Arthur Sullivan made in 1867. They rescued from oblivion seven symphonies and a vast quantity of other pieces and songs. This led to more widespread public interest in Schubert’s work.
Editor
Apr 2009
The earliest existing reference to the church (St Martin-the-Fields) is a dispute in 1222 between the Abbot ofWestminster and the Bishop of London about who had control over it. Resolved in favour of the Abbot, it was used by the monks of Westminster Abbey. The church was rebuilt by Henry VIII in 1542 to prevent plague victims from the area passing through his Palace of Whitehall (then Europe’s largest palace and the main London residence of English monarchs). At this time it was literally “in the fields” – isolated between the cities of Westminster and London.
Editor
May 2009
A nocturne is a musical composition inspired by, or evocative of, the night. The name was first applied to pieces in the 18th century when it indicated an ensemble piece in several movements, normally played for an evening party.
Editor
May 2009
As early as the 6th century BC, the Ancient Greeks played a game of tossing coins, then flat stones, and, later, stone balls called spheristics, trying to make them go as far as possible. The Romans modified the game by adding a target that had to be approached as closely as possible. This Roman variation was brought to Provence by Roman soldiers and sailors. Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing with the feet together in a small circle, to toss hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (jack). The current form of the game originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, Provence, in southern France. The English and French name pétanque comes from la petanca in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language; this derived from the expression “pès tancats” meaning “feet anchored”.
Editor
Jun 2009
The keyed trumpet is a brass instrument that, contrary to today’s valved trumpet, uses keys. It is rarely seen in modern performances, but it was relatively common up until the introduction of the valved trumpet in the early nineteenth century. The keyed trumpet has holes in the wall of the tube that are closed by keys. The experimental E flat keyed trumpet was not confined to the natural notes, but was chromatic in all registers of the instrument. Before this, the (natural) trumpet was commonly valveless and it could play only a limited range of harmonic notes by alteration of lip pressure. These harmonic notes were clustered in the high registers, which meant that early trumpet concertos could contain melodies only with very high pitches.
Editor
Jun 2009
The word clock is derived ultimately (via Dutch, Northern French, and Medieval Latin) from the Celtic words ‘clagan’ and ‘clocca’ meaning ‘bell’. Few, if any, of the earliest clocks had hands or dials and announced the passage of time audibly. For horologists the word clock continues to mean exclusively a device with a striking mechanism that rings a bell, gong, or chimes.
Editor
Jul 2009
In the Middle Ages the most desirable location for housing the nobility was Strand; this appeared between the City and the village of Charing (then in Middlesex but now the site of Charing Cross) in the 12th century. There a nobleman had a water frontage on the Thames and was free of the stink and social tumult of the City of London to the east with its constant threat of fires. The Savoy was the most magnificent nobleman’s mansion in England and renowned for its owner’s wonderful collection of tapestries, jewels, and ornaments. During the Peasants’ Revolt in June 1381, the rioters, who blamed John of Gaunt for the introduction of the Poll tax that had precipitated their revolt, systematically demolished the Palace and everything in it. What could not be smashed was dumped in the river. Despite this revolt, the name Savoy stuck to the site and the Savoy Theatre now occupies the place it once stood.
Editor
Aug 2009
The Saxon Shore Way starts at Gravesend and traces the coast for 163 miles as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings.
Editor
Aug 2009
The German ambassador who owned the dog was Dr. Leopold von Hoesch (1881–1936) who was a career diplomat. He was not a Nazi and was well liked by most British statesmen. His reputation among the British as a knowledgeable and able statesman helped to enhance Anglo-German relationships during the early 1930s. In 1934 Hoesch began challenging Hitler indirectly, and, by 1936, was becoming a thorn in his side. He distrusted Ribbentrop, whom Hitler had appointed Commissioner of Disarmament Questions, and the relationship between Hoesch and Hitler continued to sour as Ribbentrop gained more power within the German government. When Hitler broke the 1919 Treaty of Versailles by invading the Rhineland on 7 March 1936, Hoesch denounced the act as designed to provoke the French and, ultimately, the British. (His dog was an alsatian called Giro).
Editor
Oct 2009
In May 1857, the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé created an orchestra to perform at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, and the orchestra performed there until October 1857. Hallé then decided to continue work with this orchestra as a formal organisation, and it gave its first concert under those auspices on 30th January 1858. The orchestra’s home for the first part of its history was the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Now the UK’s oldest extant professional symphony orchestra (and the fourth oldest in the world), it supports a choir and a youth orchestra and releases recordings on its own record label.
Editor
Mar 2010
The patriotic song, “Rule, Britannia”, actually originates from a poem of the same name by James Thomson which was set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740; it is often regarded as the UK’s unofficial national anthem. Its debut occurred in “Alfred”, a masque performed at Cliveden House, the country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales. So flattered was Frederick after the first performance that he immediately ordered an encore.
Editor
Mar 2010
Kennington Park was opened in 1854. Previously, (since 1600) the site had been called Kennington Common, a site of public executions between 1678 and 1799, as well as being South London’s venue for public speaking. Two of the most illustrious orators to speak there were Methodist founders George Whitefield and John Wesley, the latter of whom reputedly attracted a crowd of thirty thousand. The common was one of the earliest London cricket venues, and is known to have been used for major cricket matches in 1724, the first of which was London v. Dartford. It is also where the Chartists gathered for their biggest rally on 10 April 1848. Soon after this demonstration the common was enclosed, and, sponsored by the Royals, made into a public park. The first all-night illuminated footpath through a park was installed there in 1899.
Editor
Mar 2010
Execution Dock was used for more than 400 years up to 1830 to hang pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts. Since the Admiralty had jurisdiction only over crimes at sea, the dock was placed within their area of authority just off-shore beyond the low-tide mark.
Editor
May 2010
River Quaggy is 17 km (10½ miles) long and flows through the boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham; it is known as the Kyd Brook in its upper reaches. The river rises from two sources near Farnborough Hospital and is a tributary of the River Ravensbourne into which it flows near Lewisham station. Its name has existed for many years and references to it are found in several works of 19th and 20th century British fiction – for example in E. Nesbit’s “The New Treasure Seekers”. The name probably derived from the words quagmire and quag.
Editor
Aug 2010
Scotney Castle was built between 1378–1380 by Roger Ashburnham. It began life as a roughly rectangular fortified house with towers in each corner. In 1580 the south wing was reconstructed in Elizabethan architectural style, and around 1630 the three storey eastern range was rebuilt in the style of Inigo Jones. The Elizabethan wing remained a bailiff’s residence until 1905, but the eastern range was partially demolished after completion of the new house in 1843, leaving the ruin as a garden feature.
Editor
Aug 2010
Alonso Mudarra (1510–1580) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist of the Renaissance. An innovative composer of instrumental music, he was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar. Vihuela is the name for two different guitar-like instruments – the one from 15th and 16th century Spain usually has 12 paired strings, and the other from 19th century Mexico has five strings and is typically played in Mariachi bands.
Editor
Oct 2010
Rutland is the smallest historic English county for which the motto “Multum In Parvo” {much in little} was adopted by its county council in 1950. Rutland’s only two towns are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham, whose market was granted by Charter in 1281 by Edward I. Rutland Water has a similar surface area to that of Windermere. Rutlanders are proverbially called Raddlemen. A traditional game called Nurdling – which dates back to the Middle Ages – is played there; this involves hurling 13 old pennies into a hole drilled through the seat of an oaken settle.
Editor
Nov 2010
Resusci Anne, also known as Rescue Anne or CPR Annie, is a training mannequin used for teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to both emergency workers and members of the general public.
Editor
Feb 2011
The motto on the coat of arms (of the Vintners Company) reads “Vinum Animum Exhilarat” – wine gladdens the heart. The shield bears 3 tuns which were used for transporting wine. Bunches of grapes adorn the swans’ necks, and a medieval ship known as a caravel symbolises the Vintners’ connection with the French wine producing area of Gascony.
Editor
Mar 2011
Finsbury Park covers 115 acres of the London Borough of Haringey. It was one of the first of the great London parks laid out in the Victorian era on what previously had been part of Hornsey Wood which had been cut back repeatedly for grazing during the Middle Ages. During the first half of the 19th century, following developments in Paris, Londoners began to demand the creation of open spaces and petitioned for a park to alleviate conditions of the poor. Originally to be called Albert Park, the first plans were drawn up in 1850. Renamed Finsbury Park (after the area where the benefactors who created it lived), plans for the park’s creation were ratified by an Act of Parliament in 1857. Despite considerable local opposition, the park was formally opened on Saturday 7 August 1869.
Editor
Apr 2011
Gabriel Kney was born in Speyer-am-Rhein, Germany, in 1929. At the age of 15, he was apprenticed to Paul Sattel of Speyer to become an organ builder, and he concurrently studied organ and composition at the Bishop’s Institute for Church Music in Speyer. He moved to Canada in 1951 to work as a voicer with the Keates Organ Co, and in 1955 he formed the Kney and Bright Organ Co to build tracker organs. He is now a renowned builder of pipe organs based in London, Ontario.
Editor
Apr 2011
Lullingstone Castle is actually an historic manor house set in an estate in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford. The estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book and building commenced on the present structure in 1497. Henry VIII and Queen Anne were regular visitors to the Manor House. The Tudor gatehouse – one of the oldest in England – is believed to be one of the first to be constructed entirely from bricks. The manor has been inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations.
Editor
May 2011
Until the 1870s Burgh House was called Lewis House. At the time of its construction, the Hampstead Wells Spa was flourishing and in 1720 the Spa’s physician, Dr. William Gibbons, moved there and enlarged it. He added the present wrought-iron gate which carries his initials. In 1858 it was occupied by the Royal East Middlesex Militia, and served as the HQ and Officers’ Mess until 1881. During the early 1900s, Gertrude Jekyll designed the garden, but only the terrace now remains. Rudyard Kipling’s daughter lived there from 1933-1937, and his final outing in 1936 was to visit his daughter there. From 1937-1946 Burgh House was disused but reopened as a community centre with a Citizen’s Advice Bureau in its basement.
Editor
May 2011
A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was convened in 1876 to address the need for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge caused by commercial development in the East End. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition and over 50 designs were submitted. Evaluation of the designs caused controversy, and it took until 1884 to approve a design by Sir Horace Jones. Because tall-masted ships needed access to the port facilities in the Pool of London (between London Bridge and the Tower of London), a traditional fixed bridge was not an option; therefore, Jones’s engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry, devised the idea of a bascule bridge with towers built on piers and raised walkways to allow pedestrians access during the bridge’s frequent opening. The piers comprise over 70,000 tons of concrete and support over 11,000 tons of steel that form the framework for the towers and walkways. This is clad with Cornish granite and Portland stone in a Victorian Gothic style to preserve the underlying steelwork, and to give the bridge an appearance that harmonises it with the nearby Tower of London after which it is named. Tower Bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales.
Editor
July 2011
The Docklands museum has its own website: www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands. Admission to the museum is free, and until 30th October it has a temporary exhibition relating to pirates - in particular the Captain Kidd story - although there is a charge to visit this part. In common with other museums, temporary exhibitions such as this vary all the time.
Editor
Aug 2011
Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which began in 1920s Paris. Flourishing internationally up until World War II, the style influenced many areas, including architecture and interior design, fashion, jewellery, paintings, graphic arts and film, and its characteristics are angular geometric shapes and bold colours. Art Deco is short for the French “art décoratif.”
Editor
Sep 2011
Abaris - from Hyperborea (near the Caucasus) - was known to the Ancient Greeks as a legendary sage, healer and priest of Apollo. He is reputed to have acquired these skills in his homeland from which he fled during a plague. Said to have the gift of prophecy, he was held in high esteem because of his Scythian dress, simplicity and honesty. According to Herodotus, he was said to have travelled around the world with an arrow symbolising Apollo, eating no food. Plato classes him amongst the “Thracian physicians” who practice medicine upon the soul as well as the body by means of incantations.
Editor
Oct 2011
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE, (27th March 1927 - 27th April 2007), known to close friends as Slava, was a Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century - if not one of the greatest of all time. In addition to his outstanding interpretations and technique, he was renowned for commissioning new works that expanded the cello’s repertoire more than any other cellist, and he performed the premieres of over 100 pieces. Rostropovich was internationally recognised as a steadfast advocate of human rights, and was granted the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights. He was buried four days after his friend, Boris Yeltsin, in the same cemetery.
Editor
Nov 2011
William Kent designed the Grade II listed building - now called William Kent House - that adjoins The Ritz. Originally known as Wimborne House, it was acquired by the owners of The Ritz in 2005 who restored and lavishly refurbished it to its original Italian Renaissance style décor following guidelines determined by English Heritage.
Editor
Jan 2012
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music. It is reputed that, as she was dying, she sang to God. It is also written that, as the musicians played at her wedding to Valerian, she “sang in her heart to the Lord”. An only child, her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic churches on November 22nd. It was long presumed that she was a noble lady of Rome who, along with her husband, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier called Maximus, suffered martyrdom in about AD 230 under Emperor Alexander Severus. Recent research appears to cast doubt upon this.
Editor
Jan 2012
The traditional Christmas carol, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” was published by William B. Sandys in 1833; its author is unknown. However, in an earlier publication of the carol on broadsheet dated about 1760, it is described as a “new Christmas carol,” suggesting that its origin is actually in the mid-18th century. It is interesting to note that the word “rest” here denotes “keep” or “make”, and that “ye” was originally written as “you”; this alteration appears to have been deliberate and makes the carol look quaintly archaic.
Editor
Mar 2012
Valentines Park lies between Ilford and Gants Hill in the London Borough of Redbridge in which it is the largest green space. It was acquired piecemeal by the Municipal Borough of Ilford with various purchases and gifts of land, including the former estates of Cranbrook and Valentines.
Editor
Apr 2012
To celebrate the London Olympics, U3As of the Herts Network are walking the Hertfordshire Way - a 193-mile collection of footpaths which encircle the county. The Walk has been split into 17 sections, each to be walked on a specified day between now and 19th July under the co-ordination of a different U3A. The Walk began on the splendidly sunny morning of 8th March from the Roman Museum of Verulamium, just outside St Albans. Some 60 walkers set out on the first 11-mile leg, spurred on by encouraging words given by local dignitaries: the Mayor of St. Albans and a representative of the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. Following the first leg co-ordinated by Ver-Colne Valley U3A, future legs will be co-ordinated by the U3As of St Albans, Dacorum, South West Herts, Chorleywood, Potters Bar, Borehamwood, Hertford & District, Broxbourne, Lea Valley, Ware, Buntingford, Stevenage, Cheshunt, Luton and Harpenden. More information is available on this website: www.hertsnetwork.org.uk.
Editor
Norwegian Buhund is a member of the Spitz family. It is closely related to the Icelandic Sheepdog and the Swedish Jämthund. In Norwegian, hund means dog and bu refers to both homestead and livestock.
Editor
Aug 2007
Benjamin Franklin was sent to England in 1757 by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family, the proprietors of the colony.
Editor
Aug 2007
“The Rake's Progress” is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings “A Rake's Progress” of William Hogarth which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947 in a Chicago exhibition.
Editor
Sep 2007
Sir John Lubbock’s son, Lord Avebury, was one of the foremost public figures of his day and was responsible for the Open Spaces Act of 1896 which enabled his former estate to be transferred to Bromley Council in 1965 as a Green Belt open space.
Editor
Sep 2007
Sandwich is an historic town; it was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings. Once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea. Sandwich is no stranger to odd events in English history - it was there in the year 1255 that the first captive elephant was landed in England.
Editor
Nov 2007
A team representing the Hearing Dogs charity competed against the “Eggheads” in a programme broadcast by BBC2 on Thursday 1st November.
Editor
Nov 2007
The original Menin Gate Memorial stands to the east of the town of Ypres in Belgium; it marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line during World War I. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and built by the British Government, the Menin Gate Memorial was opened on 24th July 1927 as a monument dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in battles around the Ypres Salient area and who have no known grave.
Editor
Dec 2007
Nonsuch Palace was Henry VIII's last and most fantastic palace. It stood on the west side of Nonsuch Park and is sometimes confused with Nonsuch Mansion on the east side of the park. Work on the Palace began on 22nd April 1538, in the 30th year of Henry's reign, and six months after the birth of his son. It was intended as a triumphal celebration of the power and grandeur of Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty.
Editor
Dec 2007
The original building for Queen Mary’s Hospital was Frognal House. Opened in 1917, the hospital and its associated convalescent hospitals provided over 1,000 beds, and between 1917 and 1921 admitted over 5,000 servicemen.
Editor
Dec 2007
William De Morgan (1839–1917) was the most important and innovative potter of the 19th century, and his distinctive style and glorious lustres are instantly recognisable. He designed stained glass, ceramic tiles and painted furniture between 1863 and 1872. He met William Morris in 1863 and both became central figures in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Desiring more control over the finishing of his work, he built a kiln in the basement of his London home where he used his knowledge of chemistry and his gift as an inventor to develop different lustres and glazes.
Editor
Jan 2008
The Sächsische Staatskapelle (Saxon State Orchestra) based in Dresden, Germany, was founded in 1548 by Moritz, Prince Elector of Saxony. It is one of the world’s oldest orchestras still performing.
Editor
Feb 2008
Saint Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and who, at age 14, was beheaded in AD 303 for proclaiming his faith during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. His name is Greek and literally means “the one that holds everything”. Pope Vitalian sent his relics to England as part of the evangelisation of England so that we would have relics of the Church at large, and to install in the altars of new churches. Saint Augustine of Canterbury dedicated the first church built in England to Saint Pancras, and subsequent churches throughout England are similarly named for him.
Editor
Feb 2008
Strapwork is a decorative motif in flat relief consisting variously of interlaced scrollwork, braiding, shield forms, or cross-hatching, often pierced with circular or oval holes.
Editor
Feb 2008
About 250 coal tax posts forming a rough circle twenty miles from the centre of London were erected in 1851 to mark the points where taxes on coal due to the Corporation of London had to be paid. Coal sold in the City of London had been taxed since mediaeval times, and, as it had all been shipped in to one or two riverside wharfs, the tax collection had been relatively easy. By the nineteenth century, however, as a consequence of increasing trade by canal and rail, Parliament extended the catchment area to a radius of approximately twenty miles from London. The erection of these posts was a last ditch attempt to retain the tax despite growing opposition; however, within twenty years it was abolished. A book published in 1972 lists the position of 219 coal tax posts in varying states of repair still surviving in situ at that time; a survey has recently been commissioned to update this information.
Editor
Mar 2008
Finchcocks is a Georgian baroque manor in Goudhurst, Kent, which houses a collection of historical keyboard instruments: harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, spinets, organs and other musical instruments. It is a music centre of international repute.
Editor
Apr 2008
SELCHP is a major incineration plant located in Deptford. SELCHP is the acronym for the “South East London Combined Heat and Power” energy recovery facility.
Editor
Apr 2008
The human genome is the genetic material of Homo sapiens; it contains all of the biological information needed to build and maintain a living human. It is stored on 24 distinct chromosomes containing around 20,000–25,000 genes. The entire human genome occupies a total of just over three billion DNA base pairs, and has a data size of about 750 Megabytes; this slightly exceeds the capacity of a standard Compact Disc.
Editor
May 2008
The Carthusian Order is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own Rule, called the Statutes, rather than the Rule of St Benedict and it combines eremitical and cenobitic life.
Editor
May 2008
The Great Stink occurred during the hot summer of 1858 when the smell of untreated sewage almost overwhelmed people in central London. Part of the problem was due to the introduction of flush toilets which were replacing the chamber-pots that most Londoners had been using. These dramatically increased the volume of water and waste being deposited into London’s 200,000 cesspits. Costing one shilling to empty, they were frequently allowed to overflow into street drains originally designed only to cope with rainwater. The same drains also had to carry outfalls from factories and slaughterhouses, etc, and they contaminated the city even before emptying into the Thames.
Editor
Jul 2008
Basso continuo is a form of musical accompaniment used mainly in the Baroque period (c. 1600-1750). Basso continuo was played by a keyboard instrument – normally harpsichord – and another bass instrument such as cello, bassoon or violone (an early form of double bass).
Editor
Aug 2008
Two of the most played boule games are pétanque and boule lyonnaise in which the goal is, while standing with the feet together in a small circle, to throw heavy metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet {jack}. It is usually played on dirt or gravel.
Editor
Aug 2008
The Cinque Port of Sandwich, first recorded in AD 664, is one of the best preserved medieval towns in England and two of the town gates still exist. Before the River Stour silted up the river was wide and deep enough for great sailing ships, and, until medieval times, the town was an important Kent and UK port.
Editor
Sep 2008
Sarabande, first mentioned in Central America in 1539, is a dance in triple metre. The 2nd and 3rd beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of ¼ and ½ notes in alternation. The ½ notes are said to have corresponded with dragging steps in the dance. It gained popularity in the Spanish colonies before reaching Spain itself – where it was originally banned in 1583 for its obscenity!
Editor
Sep 2008
Chiswick House, built in 1726–1729, is an octagonal domed Palladian villa inspired by the Villa Capra “La Rotonda” near Vicenza, Italy.
Editor
Oct 2008
The Royal Observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II. At this time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal (initially filled by John Flamsteed), to serve as director of the observatory.
Editor
Nov 2008
The full name of the Drapers’ Company is “The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London”.
Editor
Dec 2008
Baba Yaga is a witch-like character in Slavic folklore who lives in a house on chicken feet, and who flies around on a giant mortar kidnapping small children. In most Slavic folk tales she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom.
Editor
Dec 2008
The Ashes Urn, often wrongly believed to be the trophy of the Ashes series, has never been formally adopted as such. Replicas are often paraded by victorious teams as a symbol of victory, but the original urn has never been presented or displayed as a trophy in this way. Whichever side holds the Ashes, it normally remains in Marylebone Cricket Club’s Museum at Lord’s. The urn dates from the 1882-83 test matches in Australia and is reputed to contain the ashes of an item of cricketing equipment.
Editor
Dec 2008
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday 2nd September to Wednesday 5th September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, and most of the buildings of the City authorities. The death toll from the fire is unknown and is traditionally thought to have been small since only a few verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded anywhere.
Editor
Jan 2009
“Les Francs-Juges” is the title of an unfinished opera by Berlioz who abandoned it and destroyed most of the music. The work is set in mediaeval Germany and “free judges” refers to the secret “Vehmic” trials held in Westphalia during the Middle Ages when the holy vehme, founded by Charlemagne in AD772, took jurisdiction over all crimes during this lawless phase.
Editor
Feb 2009
Appreciation of Schubert’s music during his lifetime was limited at best, and, for most of his career, he relied upon the support of friends and family. He made some money from published works, and occasionally gave private musical tuition. He died at the age of 31. The manuscripts of many of his longer works remained hidden in cabinets and file boxes of his family and friends. In 1838 Robert Schumann, on a visit to Vienna, found the manuscript of the C major symphony (the “Great”) and took it back to Leipzig where it was performed by Felix Mendelssohn. The most important step towards the recovery of the neglected works was a journey to Vienna which Sir George Grove and Arthur Sullivan made in 1867. They rescued from oblivion seven symphonies and a vast quantity of other pieces and songs. This led to more widespread public interest in Schubert’s work.
Editor
Apr 2009
The earliest existing reference to the church (St Martin-the-Fields) is a dispute in 1222 between the Abbot ofWestminster and the Bishop of London about who had control over it. Resolved in favour of the Abbot, it was used by the monks of Westminster Abbey. The church was rebuilt by Henry VIII in 1542 to prevent plague victims from the area passing through his Palace of Whitehall (then Europe’s largest palace and the main London residence of English monarchs). At this time it was literally “in the fields” – isolated between the cities of Westminster and London.
Editor
May 2009
A nocturne is a musical composition inspired by, or evocative of, the night. The name was first applied to pieces in the 18th century when it indicated an ensemble piece in several movements, normally played for an evening party.
Editor
May 2009
As early as the 6th century BC, the Ancient Greeks played a game of tossing coins, then flat stones, and, later, stone balls called spheristics, trying to make them go as far as possible. The Romans modified the game by adding a target that had to be approached as closely as possible. This Roman variation was brought to Provence by Roman soldiers and sailors. Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing with the feet together in a small circle, to toss hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (jack). The current form of the game originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, Provence, in southern France. The English and French name pétanque comes from la petanca in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language; this derived from the expression “pès tancats” meaning “feet anchored”.
Editor
Jun 2009
The keyed trumpet is a brass instrument that, contrary to today’s valved trumpet, uses keys. It is rarely seen in modern performances, but it was relatively common up until the introduction of the valved trumpet in the early nineteenth century. The keyed trumpet has holes in the wall of the tube that are closed by keys. The experimental E flat keyed trumpet was not confined to the natural notes, but was chromatic in all registers of the instrument. Before this, the (natural) trumpet was commonly valveless and it could play only a limited range of harmonic notes by alteration of lip pressure. These harmonic notes were clustered in the high registers, which meant that early trumpet concertos could contain melodies only with very high pitches.
Editor
Jun 2009
The word clock is derived ultimately (via Dutch, Northern French, and Medieval Latin) from the Celtic words ‘clagan’ and ‘clocca’ meaning ‘bell’. Few, if any, of the earliest clocks had hands or dials and announced the passage of time audibly. For horologists the word clock continues to mean exclusively a device with a striking mechanism that rings a bell, gong, or chimes.
Editor
Jul 2009
In the Middle Ages the most desirable location for housing the nobility was Strand; this appeared between the City and the village of Charing (then in Middlesex but now the site of Charing Cross) in the 12th century. There a nobleman had a water frontage on the Thames and was free of the stink and social tumult of the City of London to the east with its constant threat of fires. The Savoy was the most magnificent nobleman’s mansion in England and renowned for its owner’s wonderful collection of tapestries, jewels, and ornaments. During the Peasants’ Revolt in June 1381, the rioters, who blamed John of Gaunt for the introduction of the Poll tax that had precipitated their revolt, systematically demolished the Palace and everything in it. What could not be smashed was dumped in the river. Despite this revolt, the name Savoy stuck to the site and the Savoy Theatre now occupies the place it once stood.
Editor
Aug 2009
The Saxon Shore Way starts at Gravesend and traces the coast for 163 miles as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings.
Editor
Aug 2009
The German ambassador who owned the dog was Dr. Leopold von Hoesch (1881–1936) who was a career diplomat. He was not a Nazi and was well liked by most British statesmen. His reputation among the British as a knowledgeable and able statesman helped to enhance Anglo-German relationships during the early 1930s. In 1934 Hoesch began challenging Hitler indirectly, and, by 1936, was becoming a thorn in his side. He distrusted Ribbentrop, whom Hitler had appointed Commissioner of Disarmament Questions, and the relationship between Hoesch and Hitler continued to sour as Ribbentrop gained more power within the German government. When Hitler broke the 1919 Treaty of Versailles by invading the Rhineland on 7 March 1936, Hoesch denounced the act as designed to provoke the French and, ultimately, the British. (His dog was an alsatian called Giro).
Editor
Oct 2009
In May 1857, the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé created an orchestra to perform at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, and the orchestra performed there until October 1857. Hallé then decided to continue work with this orchestra as a formal organisation, and it gave its first concert under those auspices on 30th January 1858. The orchestra’s home for the first part of its history was the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Now the UK’s oldest extant professional symphony orchestra (and the fourth oldest in the world), it supports a choir and a youth orchestra and releases recordings on its own record label.
Editor
Mar 2010
The patriotic song, “Rule, Britannia”, actually originates from a poem of the same name by James Thomson which was set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740; it is often regarded as the UK’s unofficial national anthem. Its debut occurred in “Alfred”, a masque performed at Cliveden House, the country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales. So flattered was Frederick after the first performance that he immediately ordered an encore.
Editor
Mar 2010
Kennington Park was opened in 1854. Previously, (since 1600) the site had been called Kennington Common, a site of public executions between 1678 and 1799, as well as being South London’s venue for public speaking. Two of the most illustrious orators to speak there were Methodist founders George Whitefield and John Wesley, the latter of whom reputedly attracted a crowd of thirty thousand. The common was one of the earliest London cricket venues, and is known to have been used for major cricket matches in 1724, the first of which was London v. Dartford. It is also where the Chartists gathered for their biggest rally on 10 April 1848. Soon after this demonstration the common was enclosed, and, sponsored by the Royals, made into a public park. The first all-night illuminated footpath through a park was installed there in 1899.
Editor
Mar 2010
Execution Dock was used for more than 400 years up to 1830 to hang pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts. Since the Admiralty had jurisdiction only over crimes at sea, the dock was placed within their area of authority just off-shore beyond the low-tide mark.
Editor
May 2010
River Quaggy is 17 km (10½ miles) long and flows through the boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham; it is known as the Kyd Brook in its upper reaches. The river rises from two sources near Farnborough Hospital and is a tributary of the River Ravensbourne into which it flows near Lewisham station. Its name has existed for many years and references to it are found in several works of 19th and 20th century British fiction – for example in E. Nesbit’s “The New Treasure Seekers”. The name probably derived from the words quagmire and quag.
Editor
Aug 2010
Scotney Castle was built between 1378–1380 by Roger Ashburnham. It began life as a roughly rectangular fortified house with towers in each corner. In 1580 the south wing was reconstructed in Elizabethan architectural style, and around 1630 the three storey eastern range was rebuilt in the style of Inigo Jones. The Elizabethan wing remained a bailiff’s residence until 1905, but the eastern range was partially demolished after completion of the new house in 1843, leaving the ruin as a garden feature.
Editor
Aug 2010
Alonso Mudarra (1510–1580) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist of the Renaissance. An innovative composer of instrumental music, he was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar. Vihuela is the name for two different guitar-like instruments – the one from 15th and 16th century Spain usually has 12 paired strings, and the other from 19th century Mexico has five strings and is typically played in Mariachi bands.
Editor
Oct 2010
Rutland is the smallest historic English county for which the motto “Multum In Parvo” {much in little} was adopted by its county council in 1950. Rutland’s only two towns are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham, whose market was granted by Charter in 1281 by Edward I. Rutland Water has a similar surface area to that of Windermere. Rutlanders are proverbially called Raddlemen. A traditional game called Nurdling – which dates back to the Middle Ages – is played there; this involves hurling 13 old pennies into a hole drilled through the seat of an oaken settle.
Editor
Nov 2010
Resusci Anne, also known as Rescue Anne or CPR Annie, is a training mannequin used for teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to both emergency workers and members of the general public.
Editor
Feb 2011
The motto on the coat of arms (of the Vintners Company) reads “Vinum Animum Exhilarat” – wine gladdens the heart. The shield bears 3 tuns which were used for transporting wine. Bunches of grapes adorn the swans’ necks, and a medieval ship known as a caravel symbolises the Vintners’ connection with the French wine producing area of Gascony.
Editor
Mar 2011
Finsbury Park covers 115 acres of the London Borough of Haringey. It was one of the first of the great London parks laid out in the Victorian era on what previously had been part of Hornsey Wood which had been cut back repeatedly for grazing during the Middle Ages. During the first half of the 19th century, following developments in Paris, Londoners began to demand the creation of open spaces and petitioned for a park to alleviate conditions of the poor. Originally to be called Albert Park, the first plans were drawn up in 1850. Renamed Finsbury Park (after the area where the benefactors who created it lived), plans for the park’s creation were ratified by an Act of Parliament in 1857. Despite considerable local opposition, the park was formally opened on Saturday 7 August 1869.
Editor
Apr 2011
Gabriel Kney was born in Speyer-am-Rhein, Germany, in 1929. At the age of 15, he was apprenticed to Paul Sattel of Speyer to become an organ builder, and he concurrently studied organ and composition at the Bishop’s Institute for Church Music in Speyer. He moved to Canada in 1951 to work as a voicer with the Keates Organ Co, and in 1955 he formed the Kney and Bright Organ Co to build tracker organs. He is now a renowned builder of pipe organs based in London, Ontario.
Editor
Apr 2011
Lullingstone Castle is actually an historic manor house set in an estate in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford. The estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book and building commenced on the present structure in 1497. Henry VIII and Queen Anne were regular visitors to the Manor House. The Tudor gatehouse – one of the oldest in England – is believed to be one of the first to be constructed entirely from bricks. The manor has been inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations.
Editor
May 2011
Until the 1870s Burgh House was called Lewis House. At the time of its construction, the Hampstead Wells Spa was flourishing and in 1720 the Spa’s physician, Dr. William Gibbons, moved there and enlarged it. He added the present wrought-iron gate which carries his initials. In 1858 it was occupied by the Royal East Middlesex Militia, and served as the HQ and Officers’ Mess until 1881. During the early 1900s, Gertrude Jekyll designed the garden, but only the terrace now remains. Rudyard Kipling’s daughter lived there from 1933-1937, and his final outing in 1936 was to visit his daughter there. From 1937-1946 Burgh House was disused but reopened as a community centre with a Citizen’s Advice Bureau in its basement.
Editor
May 2011
A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was convened in 1876 to address the need for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge caused by commercial development in the East End. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition and over 50 designs were submitted. Evaluation of the designs caused controversy, and it took until 1884 to approve a design by Sir Horace Jones. Because tall-masted ships needed access to the port facilities in the Pool of London (between London Bridge and the Tower of London), a traditional fixed bridge was not an option; therefore, Jones’s engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry, devised the idea of a bascule bridge with towers built on piers and raised walkways to allow pedestrians access during the bridge’s frequent opening. The piers comprise over 70,000 tons of concrete and support over 11,000 tons of steel that form the framework for the towers and walkways. This is clad with Cornish granite and Portland stone in a Victorian Gothic style to preserve the underlying steelwork, and to give the bridge an appearance that harmonises it with the nearby Tower of London after which it is named. Tower Bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales.
Editor
July 2011
The Docklands museum has its own website: www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands. Admission to the museum is free, and until 30th October it has a temporary exhibition relating to pirates - in particular the Captain Kidd story - although there is a charge to visit this part. In common with other museums, temporary exhibitions such as this vary all the time.
Editor
Aug 2011
Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which began in 1920s Paris. Flourishing internationally up until World War II, the style influenced many areas, including architecture and interior design, fashion, jewellery, paintings, graphic arts and film, and its characteristics are angular geometric shapes and bold colours. Art Deco is short for the French “art décoratif.”
Editor
Sep 2011
Abaris - from Hyperborea (near the Caucasus) - was known to the Ancient Greeks as a legendary sage, healer and priest of Apollo. He is reputed to have acquired these skills in his homeland from which he fled during a plague. Said to have the gift of prophecy, he was held in high esteem because of his Scythian dress, simplicity and honesty. According to Herodotus, he was said to have travelled around the world with an arrow symbolising Apollo, eating no food. Plato classes him amongst the “Thracian physicians” who practice medicine upon the soul as well as the body by means of incantations.
Editor
Oct 2011
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE, (27th March 1927 - 27th April 2007), known to close friends as Slava, was a Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century - if not one of the greatest of all time. In addition to his outstanding interpretations and technique, he was renowned for commissioning new works that expanded the cello’s repertoire more than any other cellist, and he performed the premieres of over 100 pieces. Rostropovich was internationally recognised as a steadfast advocate of human rights, and was granted the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights. He was buried four days after his friend, Boris Yeltsin, in the same cemetery.
Editor
Nov 2011
William Kent designed the Grade II listed building - now called William Kent House - that adjoins The Ritz. Originally known as Wimborne House, it was acquired by the owners of The Ritz in 2005 who restored and lavishly refurbished it to its original Italian Renaissance style décor following guidelines determined by English Heritage.
Editor
Jan 2012
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music. It is reputed that, as she was dying, she sang to God. It is also written that, as the musicians played at her wedding to Valerian, she “sang in her heart to the Lord”. An only child, her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic churches on November 22nd. It was long presumed that she was a noble lady of Rome who, along with her husband, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier called Maximus, suffered martyrdom in about AD 230 under Emperor Alexander Severus. Recent research appears to cast doubt upon this.
Editor
Jan 2012
The traditional Christmas carol, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” was published by William B. Sandys in 1833; its author is unknown. However, in an earlier publication of the carol on broadsheet dated about 1760, it is described as a “new Christmas carol,” suggesting that its origin is actually in the mid-18th century. It is interesting to note that the word “rest” here denotes “keep” or “make”, and that “ye” was originally written as “you”; this alteration appears to have been deliberate and makes the carol look quaintly archaic.
Editor
Mar 2012
Valentines Park lies between Ilford and Gants Hill in the London Borough of Redbridge in which it is the largest green space. It was acquired piecemeal by the Municipal Borough of Ilford with various purchases and gifts of land, including the former estates of Cranbrook and Valentines.
Editor
Apr 2012
To celebrate the London Olympics, U3As of the Herts Network are walking the Hertfordshire Way - a 193-mile collection of footpaths which encircle the county. The Walk has been split into 17 sections, each to be walked on a specified day between now and 19th July under the co-ordination of a different U3A. The Walk began on the splendidly sunny morning of 8th March from the Roman Museum of Verulamium, just outside St Albans. Some 60 walkers set out on the first 11-mile leg, spurred on by encouraging words given by local dignitaries: the Mayor of St. Albans and a representative of the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. Following the first leg co-ordinated by Ver-Colne Valley U3A, future legs will be co-ordinated by the U3As of St Albans, Dacorum, South West Herts, Chorleywood, Potters Bar, Borehamwood, Hertford & District, Broxbourne, Lea Valley, Ware, Buntingford, Stevenage, Cheshunt, Luton and Harpenden. More information is available on this website: www.hertsnetwork.org.uk.
Editor
EDITORIALS
BOOKLETS
Programme booklets for the following years are available in PDF format:
Programme booklets for the following years are available in PDF format: