Religion and Faith – Page 2

The five heads of John the Baptist

In my last post I mentioned in jest about there were several ‘heads of John the Baptist’ and I thought I might try and see how many I could quickly find. It should be noted that there are some photos of 2,000 year old dried out skulls below so if it’s not your thing then… Continue reading The five heads of John the Baptist

The Holy Thorn Reliquary

If you go in the big long gallery on the right of the ground floor of the British Museum, most people will flock to the legendary Rosetta Stone which these days rather politically correctly is a duplicate of the original. I was there recently and it is a marvellous object though the crowd of Spanish… Continue reading The Holy Thorn Reliquary

The wonderful staircase of St Bartholomew’s hospital

A hospital staircase might not be the first place that comes into your head when you think about great works of art, least of all in a National Health Service hospital where famously all money goes into patient care rather than particularly beautified buildings and landscapes. What happens though when the hospital is celebrating its… Continue reading The wonderful staircase of St Bartholomew’s hospital

Remembering Ælfric the Grammarian

Walk around London or indeed any large British city or town and you might come across round circular blue plaques on the side of buildings. They are a way of honouring a person from history who has made a positive contribution to British culture in any number of fields. Normally one has to wait about… Continue reading Remembering Ælfric the Grammarian

A look inside an Anchorite Squint

Whilst I was poking around a church recently I came across one of these (see photo below). It is an Anchorite Squint. Pious and and Holy people from faiths around the world have long sought solitude to get closer to God. usually this would take the form of living on top of a mountain or… Continue reading A look inside an Anchorite Squint

Putting the well into Clerkenwell

I always like finding what’s beneath the surface in London, whether it is getting locked in with Roman ruins, snooping around for an ancient friary Finding the ruins of Whitefriars beneath the streets of London, getting up close and personal with the underground tomb of General Wolfe… it happens surprisingly often. One of the places I’ve… Continue reading Putting the well into Clerkenwell

Ernest Shackleton and the Third Man (an Angel)

Not long after after starting my blog, I once wrote on The Angel of Mons an event dating back to WW1 which often captures the imagination of those who know if it. A very contemporary event to this happened to Ernest Shackleton who I have written about last week, South Georgia might not seem a very… Continue reading Ernest Shackleton and the Third Man (an Angel)

Personal thoughts on the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I was saddened to hear a few hours ago about the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Not because at 90 years of age he could be said to be short-changed on that account but because there are so few people in prominent positions who espouse his ideals on the world stage. I’ve often said I… Continue reading Personal thoughts on the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Fenstanton Man – A Victim of Roman Crucifixion in Cambridgeshire

Last week a rather interesting bit of news caught my eye relating to an archeological dig from 2017 but for reasons relating to Covid, the findings which have only just been released. As I’ve mentioned previously from time to time, it is common practice for archaeological work to be carried out in the UK before… Continue reading Fenstanton Man – A Victim of Roman Crucifixion in Cambridgeshire

Snooping around a Charnel House (House of the dead) in Spitalfields, London.

Whilst I was out looking for my beigel a few weeks ago in Spitalfields, I decided to do a bit of a detour to look for an old ruin which if not quite in plain sight then is at least walked over by thousands of people every day without their ever really knowing. I’ve written… Continue reading Snooping around a Charnel House (House of the dead) in Spitalfields, London.