Frescoes...

[endlessrarities]

And now some great news...  Squinty the blackbird has been seen with not one, but TWO babies.  So well done her!!!

I'm also pleased to report that this week's exercise target has been successfully achieved.  I managed my 15 mile bike/train commute twice this week, interspersed with half an hour's horse riding.  Which started off intensely enough, until Diva mysteriously went unsound in the back end.  The last ten minutes were then sent trying to figure out which leg was causing the problem...

The poor girl was doing so well, too...

Now it's time for the cathedral at Ravello.  An atmospheric view of one of the aisles, now, with some elegant Corinthian capitals:-

This view makes you realise that this is, at heart, a medieval structure.  But here and there, evidence of a different kind has been revealed beneath the whitewash:-

 

 

But even these lovely little medieval escapees are still not the reason why I made this my Number One Monument of the holiday!!

And on an entirely unrelated note...  Well done to Thomas Voeckler, who put up such a spirited defence of his maillot jaune today.  But I'm still rooting for Johnny Hoogerland, who's still plodding on regardless.  Will he keep his King of the Mountains jersey after today's stage?  I guess I'll be finding out in five minutes or so!!

Comments

[clairehawthorn.livejournal.com]

Well done indeed Squinty! Have you thought of names for her two babies yet?

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

They haven't quite developed sufficient distinguishing features to be named as yet. 'Kate' and 'Aerial' are obvious contenders, but we're usually really unimaginative when it comes to bird names. So far, I've had Dumpy, Scruff, Scruff II, Cresty, Fruity McNibble, and Squinty. They'd probably much rather be called something epic, like 'She who Challenges Magpies', or 'He who Dominates His Territory Through Song'.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Awww! Well done Squinty! :o)

Those fragments make me want to take a hammer to the rest of the whitewash- I wonder just how much of the original scheme survives under it all?

Btw, did you see the archaelogical prog from Norwich last night? Given my family background, that one made me shiver. Our old pal Miri Rubin was one of the talking heads. :o)

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

It's bizarre how certain elements have been retained as artistic curiosities against a bland white ground...

I did see History Cold Case. I didn't enjoy this one as much - the presentation kind of left me cold. It was the 'ooh! This is such a mystery! What we need is three cutting edge forensic experts to solve the problem for the poor confused archaeologists'. Then they spent 50 minutes preparing us for the horrible surprise that the unfortunate Jews of Norwich were being terrorised and butchered in the middle ages.

I guessed the scenario immediately: 1) urban excavation in core of city (therefore medieval); 2) mass burial in unconsecrated ground, combined with a large number of bodies, representing various sexes and ages, disposed of very informally (though contemptuously would be a better, though rather emotive, description)- sounds pretty much like an indescriminate massacre to me. And the only likely contenders at this time for mob wrath would have to be Jewish. Add similar contemporaneous events at York and Lincoln, and there you have it. You don't have to be a Professor or a world-renowned telly celebrity to work that one out!!

Unfortunately, it didn't shock or surprise me. It just left me feeling overwhelmingly depressed because similar things are still taking place today, and that almost a thousand years down the line, the human race still can't overcome its pathetic animal instincts and get along.

But as I bewailed and lamented over the appalling nature of humanity, J pointed out that the Norwich incident probably began with something as trivial and pathetic as someone's favourite clematis being cut down by their neighbour without their permission...

A sobering thought indeed, and one which we all ignore at our peril.