Coventry for the Day

Hello, and a warm welcome to this small corner. Thank you for visiting here. 

We are still waiting for Spring to arrive, but in the meantime, hubby and I took advantage of a sunny Saturday this weekend to visit Coventry. We have visited the Cathedral before but felt it was time for a return visit. 

We began our day at the old Cathedral ruins and reflected on what we saw. On 14 November 1940, enemy forces subjected Coventry to a sustained and violent air raid attack, which destroyed many parts of the city and the Cathedral. Only the shell of Coventry Cathedral remained. From the wreckage of this building, a new hope was born. 

The new Cathedral, designed by the Scottish architect Basil Spence and opened in 1962, stands next to these ruins and symbolically links the past and present. 

Perhaps the most prominent part of the ruins is the charred cross and Altar of Reconciliation, constructed from two oak roof beams salvaged from the rubble. The inscription ' Father Forgive' was added in 1948. 

The original cross can be found inside the Cathedral.

Within the ruins of the old Cathedral are several statues and memorials of significance.

This is the ' Choir of Survivors ' given by the city of Dresden and represents new life rising from destruction. 

Another memorial is this one, which remembers all those who volunteered in the war effort, such as the Home Guard and the Women's Land Army.

This one is called the Statue of Reconciliation and speaks for itself. Identical versions can be found in Hiroshima, Belfast and Berlin.

Before we entered the new Cathedral, we enjoyed some nostalgia in a small exhibition of 1940s homelife and the war effort, which featured many artefacts donated by local people. 

The approach to the Cathedral entrance is impressive, with the stunning bronze statue depicting St. Michael defeating the Devil and the incredible glass entrance wall etched with a host of angels. 

This is just one of the angels.

This is part of the Baptistery Window, which is beautiful and much brighter than seen here. At the base stands the font, a huge sandstone rock from Bethlehem.

Another beautiful feature is the 'Tapestry of Christ in Glory, ' designed by Graham Sutherland and woven by hand in one piece on a loom in France.

One of the more recent pieces of art added is this one by Charlotte Mayer. The plaque says, "Roses and thorns are never far apart in life, but it is the beauty of the rose we remember." - those words touched my heart.

The Cathedral today is a place of hope and reconciliation, forgiveness and peace, and a lasting message to our world, and we enjoyed our visit very much.

Meanwhile, not forgetting D - she made some delicious cookies this week called funfetti cookies. They have sprinkles and white chocolate inside. Thank you, D. 😊

We wish you all a week when the sun comes out to play, if only for a while, and life is good for you.

B and D

With Love From Both Of Us

 

Hello everyone. 

Yes, we know it's Friday and early for our usual post, but as it is Valentine's Day here in the UK, Beverley and D wanted to wish you all lots of love today and thank you for your support as our blogging and visiting friends.

St Valentine's Day is celebrated by those who wish to celebrate it on 14th February each year. The day chosen to celebrate Valentine's Day in the Eastern Orthodox church falls on the 6th July.

Valentine was a priest who lived in 3rd-century Rome and was martyred during the rule of Claudius II. Many stories and legends concerning Valentine exist, one of which suggests that before his execution, Valentine wrote a letter to the daughter of his jailor, whom he had converted to Christianity, signing it 'Your Valentine'.

The celebration of love on St Valentine's Day has evolved over the centuries into the cultural, religious and commercial activity it is today.

If you are celebrating, we hope you have a wonderful day. If it is just another day, may it also have been a happy day for you.

We looked around the house to find a few heart-felt items and found these.

Cards we made in a crafting session.

Cross stitch ' Heart of the Home'

This was a garland of crochet hearts and flowers placed all around the ceiling of Bev's craft room. Although each heart is stuffed, inside each one are the names of family and loved ones.

Finally, here is a delicious cheesecake we made for someone we love very much.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone, and enjoy what you do.

Beverley and D

XX

Night Skies

Hello everyone. 

After I posted here last week and snuggled down on the sofa, Hubby stirred me from my slumber to look at the moon. February, sees a planetary alignment of the moon and Venus. Venus was visible in the night sky, shining brightly on Saturday night. Here are a few photos that we took from our front door.

This one looks more like a crochet hexagon!

In my last post, I shared a few pictures of St Albans Cathedral, which we visited, and promised to share a few more with you.

Alban lived in the Roman town of Verulamium, not far from where the cathedral now stands on the hill. Christianity was illegal then, but Alban sheltered a Christian priest and became a believer himself. Refusing to give up the priest and his new faith led to his execution and martyrdom. The earliest church on the site was probably a simple structure over Alban's grave.  

The Victorians discovered this wall painting, painted about 1400AD under whitewash paint, and carefully restored it in the nineteenth century. It depicts the story of Doubting Thomas in the Bible.

This is the shrine of St Alban. 

The cathedral had so much more to see, and our guide was very knowledgeable. It was a shame we couldn't stay longer, but a return visit is necessary.  

Back home, my new crochet blanket is growing beautifully and can almost keep my knees warm while I work. The colours are so bright and cheerful - almost like having a lap full of pretty jewels. There are 18 colours, just as Lucy from Attic24 used on her granny stripe blanket, but some colours are different due to my yarn stash. 

D decided to leave the kitchen this week and visited a local coffee shop. She even ordered a warmed chocolote orange brownie with a dollop of ice cream! It looked very delicious.

Meanwhile, it was my turn to play in the kitchen, so I borrowed D's favourite cookery books and made some Carrot cake blondies. I had some shredded carrots left over from a meal earlier in the week and wanted to know what to do with the excess carrots. 

They are proving to be just as popular as some of D's baking. Does she have a challenger to her crown? Probably not. However, my success is encouraging me to try out a few other interesting-looking recipes in the near future.

That's all for today. Whatever your plans are for the coming week, D and I wish you good health and hope things go well. Take care.

B and D xx

I'm Back Again!!

Hello to you all. 

Thank you for joining me here today. I am so grateful to D for looking after the blog while I was battling the germ bugs that were still hanging around. I feel much better now, although I still have a cough. 

So, what have I been up to this week? 

The crochet blanket gets brighter by the day, and I enjoy the gentle rhythm of the stitches while watching 'Midsomer Murders' on television. I still have a long way to go, but there is no rush to finish. 

Wednesday was a beautiful day here, so I ventured into the garden to clear my lungs and start some gentle tidying in the woodland part of our garden. I cleared a small area where the Hellebore and Hazel are planted, along with the twisted Hazel. I have removed some weeds and left the self-planted ivy to scrabble across the ground. The soggy fern leaves have been cut back, leaving just enough to protect the new fronds emerging this year. I also replanted a holly that had been a free seedling from the birds a few years ago. 

Since then, hubby and I have made a short trip to Essex to visit family, stopping overnight near St Albans. While there, we visited the Verulamium Roman Museum. There were many exhibits of everyday Roman life and some historical background to the area. I enjoyed seeing all the mosaics and wall paintings - all those tiny pieces fitting together to make wonderful pictures. Seeing a group of schoolchildren enjoying visiting the museum was also lovely. They were so excited but well-behaved.

I was also happy to be classed as a 60+ concession, as our entrance tickets were nearly half the regular price. Well worth the visit! 

😊

We also managed to visit St Albans Cathedral, but I will show more of these pictures next time.

D has returned to baking in the kitchen this week and made 'Cookie Dough Bars', another recipe from Jane's Patisserie. It is cookie dough covered in a chocolate ganache and absolutely delicious. However, we can only manage a small piece at a time, which is not bad! It just means it lasts much longer!

After a rather up-and-down week, I'm looking forward to a more settled new week. I hope you all have a great week, whatever you have planned.

B x