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Post by mossie on Oct 27, 2016 13:54:02 GMT
I have been visiting Norwich recently and will post some pictures when Photofucket relents and allows me access. I have several loaded into it but I cannot get to them now. Are they closed down for maintenance or something? Useless shower.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 27, 2016 17:31:08 GMT
Looking forward to you pics Mossie! I use Imageshack...but then I pay a small fee every year.
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Post by mossie on Oct 27, 2016 18:55:04 GMT
At last I have Photouseless again, they must be shutting it down so their 16 year old geeks can play. Anyway, to escape my four walls I decided to make use of my old age railcard, this entitles me to one third off all fares, but I have to pay £30 a year. So make full use of it, Ipswich is on the main London to Norwich line with good trains every half hour, so here goes A few miles before entering the city of Norwich the line passes the site of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum, built to keep watch on the rebellious Iceni Iron Age tribe. Their king cooperated with the Romans, but he died a few years after they arrived and the redoubtable Queen Boadicea led the them. She would not agree to the Romans demands to put make their man king. The Romans tried to subjugate her, they raped her two daughters and publicly flogged Boadicea. In revenge she raised an army from the local tribes and took her opportunity while the main Roman army was attacking the Druids in Wales and marched on the principal Roman town in England of Colchester. She burnt that and massacred many of the inhabitants, and encouraged by her success did the same to London and St Albans. The Romans eventually caught up with her and massacred her army. Here is a corner of the Roman defences of Venta Icenorum snapped from the train The Norfolk archaeologists site has a good description here www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/caistorEntering the city we pass one of my major competitors asphalt plant, now taken over by another company Where are the pictures of Norwich for Pete's sake! Hold you hard, as they say about here. A short bus ride from the station takes us to the Castle in the centre There is also a very nice cathedral, which is best approached by crossing the bridge over the River Wensum directly outside the station, and then walking along the river path until a lane turns off up to the cathedral. Passing the swans along the way and here it is More to come later
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Post by tod2 on Oct 28, 2016 6:03:07 GMT
Great start Mossie - I love that you give us some insight to each photo - make a huge difference in the enjoyment of the Photo Essay. Photos are very good. I am mad about all things Roman so you have captured my interest! We went to Colchester many moons ago but had no time to peruse Roman artifacts during a brief visit. The cathedral in Norwich looks superb - even though it has been blocked slightly by that iron roof....which I presume is covering some Roman diggings?
Looking forward to the next photos.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 10:09:20 GMT
You have piqued my interest, too. Hoping to see more as soon as possible!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 28, 2016 15:12:15 GMT
Mossie, super photos & a great beginning. Can't wait to see more, esp. after I get home to my own full-sized monitor. Gotta say, the picture of the asphalt plant needs to be entered in a competition -- fabulous composition, angle, color, etc.
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Post by mossie on Oct 28, 2016 18:43:27 GMT
Bixa, that plant shot was just snatched as the train ran past at about 40mph and the plant sits right beside the track, so there is no composition. just point the camera in the right direction and squeeze the tit. Tod, that iron roof is in fact the roof to the visitors entrance to the cathedral, the building houses a welcome desk, cafe etc. Visitors enter by the old doorway from a ruined part of earlier buildings on the site. Here it is closer up. One enters the main building to a typical cathedral interior with a very ornate pulpit as befits a bishop He is provided with his own bishops chair, which no one else my sully Many of the cities great and good are buried in the cathedral and have fancy stones over them to ensure there is no escape There is a magnificent organ, and an elaborate font cover on the left Here is the font Looking above one sees the ceiling covering the aperture of the tower The nave roof is also elaborately decorated As is this tomb of another worthy person To really rub it in there is a fancy area of floor into the bargain And especially for htmb, the lecturn is modelled on a pelican, rather than an eagle as conventionally The west end of the nave is closed by a very fine stained glass window I'll give us all a rest now and come back tomorrow. You can take that as a threat or a promise.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 28, 2016 18:50:59 GMT
Magnificent. Wonder who has to keep that font polished to mirror brightness?
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Post by lugg on Oct 28, 2016 19:06:54 GMT
Thanks Mossie - a treat, looking forward to seeing more. PS it appears that the southern railway lines are a bit more up-market to those in the Midlands - Is the castle open to the public ? - it looks very well preserved
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Post by fumobici on Oct 28, 2016 20:02:48 GMT
Excellent. You're a natural, don't be modest. The town looks intriguing and the cathedral is very impressive.
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Post by mich64 on Oct 28, 2016 21:05:40 GMT
Well done Mossie! Very nicely composed photos, beautiful angles.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2016 0:14:40 GMT
That font looks like it would make a good cauldron for stew.
The precision of the arches really makes one understand that the architects and engineers of the time could really teach something to modern day builders... and without a computer to make all of the calculations.
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Post by htmb on Oct 29, 2016 1:43:13 GMT
Nice start, Mossie. Thanks for including photos of the gorgeous ceiling, too.
Interesting fact: "The pelican was believed to pierce its own breast with its beak and feed its young of its blood. It became a symbol of Christ sacrificing himself for man – and because of this was frequently represented in Christian art."
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Post by tod2 on Oct 29, 2016 6:03:03 GMT
Mossie, the 'worthy person' is the tomb of Bishop Goldwell, and the green striped cloth you captured on your photo of the lovely mosaic floor is: " The Founders Tomb - standing before the high altar is the tomb of Bishop Herbert de Losinga (d. 1119), who began the building of the cathedral in 1096. I looked it all up simply as an interest in your photos inside the cathedral". Hope I'm not jumping the gun here.
In Htmb's explanation of the pelican , one can clearly see it is doing what she said. Thanks Htmb!
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Post by mossie on Oct 29, 2016 21:22:12 GMT
Many thanks Tod for the historical research, I had a leaflet which I stuffed in my pocket and subsequently lost, although it was possibly just a plan showing various things. It is possible to have guided tours where all sorts of details are pointed out, but I didn't do that. Just to make you jealous Lugg, our trains are to all be renewed over the next few years, the train I illustrate is a cast off from another region and is the best we get now. Ipswich station is coming to the end of a major upgrade which has seen considerable improvements. I thought the pelican very odd because I wasn't aware of that old superstition. What I really marvel at in these buildings that, in addition to the general standards of workmanship and detail, they were built without modern machinery. Safety was a minor detail in those days and many lives were lost in all the construction of these grand buildings. We have now gone in the opposite direction and are far too risk averse. The workmanship was often only skin deep. This snap shows where the facing on a column has been cut away to reveal the rubble fill. There had been previous religious buildings on site, and stone from them had been reused. It is common to find this in buildings of the general period. I showed earlier the Roman wall at Venta Icenorum, much of the stone in those walls had been robbed out for reuse in later buildings near by. Now one or two details, there are several military bits in common with many churches. Some old graffiti has been preserved, notably this sketch of an old boat. Each choir stall had a plate showing the person whose place it was This column with the spiral decoration predated the main construction. Some of the flags in the aisle floor were showing age. Going outside, this odd looking house had been jammed in against another religious type building looking most incongruous The area a real jumble between the cathedral and the river. On the river bank is this old gateway which must have led to the cathedral close, although most of that is either playing fields or built over. These houses are at least 400 years old by the chimney style This is on the way out of the cathedral via Ethelberts Gate, which leads on to the road quaintly called Tombland, where `i will call another halt.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 29, 2016 21:54:37 GMT
The top of the odd house looks very Dutch (tod will also recognise that from ZA) but that type of Dutch house would never have such a squat bottom.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 30, 2016 6:28:44 GMT
The 'Dutch' style house has what we call a Dutch Gable but it is also known as a Flemish gable. Was originally designed the protect wind blowing the tiles off the roof. Mossie, I notice in your photo there is a blue plastic bag/sheet, with a few bits of white plaster peeping out. I did a quick whip around on Google Streets and see close-up that the plaster is being chipped off revealing a stone pebble-like wall. Maybe the white Dutch house will look more like some of the other brick buildings sooner or later.
I love the chimney stacks! Reminds me of Hampton Court chimneys.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 30, 2016 7:20:50 GMT
That font looks like it would make a good cauldron for stew. I see it was a vat given to Norwich Cathedral from a famous chocolate factory there, and is nick-named "The Chocolate Bowl" font. Only used on special occasions as there is the old original font still in use.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 30, 2016 7:26:21 GMT
Not surprising, Tod, it is very windy in the Netherlands, and in Flanders, by the North Sea.
What an odd thing to think about pelicans; with their handy stash for fish (what they obviously feed the little ones) why on earth would they self-harm?
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Post by mossie on Oct 30, 2016 9:53:46 GMT
I copied this from a Norwich website "In 1565 the City authorities invited Protestant refugees from the Spanish Netherlands to settle in Norwich to boost the City's textile industry." For lunch I seek out handy looking pubs, this one is central and gets packed out with football supporters when Norwich City FC have a home game. Another type of clientele are students from the Univ of East Anglia in the outskirts of the city. At one visit I got talking to a couple of likely looking young ladies, and soon discovered they had previously been to the Kent Uni at Canterbury. As I had been to school there we had quite a chat about that city. Another pub I have tried is this, the name reflects the fact that much of East Anglias wealth was based upon sheep and their wool, from which cloth was made and exported all over the place. and the bar Didn't know the origins of the posh font, but thought it was unusual. You remind me of my old flying days. We were trained to use the radar in a plane called the Bristol Brigand. Originally produced as a dive bomber, they had to be withdrawn because they had problems with wing spars bending. The story went that Bristols had subcontracted the spars to Frys Chocolate who were also in Bristol.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 30, 2016 10:20:31 GMT
Lovely Mossie! But what is Ricky Gervais doing behind the bar?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2016 10:57:23 GMT
Great little architectural details, but I also like the pub shots, which bring life back into the town.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 30, 2016 11:34:37 GMT
Very much enjoying this sacred & profane look at Norwich, which appears to be an exceptionally attractive place. As always, your architectural shots are great. The cathedral is beautiful, with such a lofty delicacy to it. Love the angle of that last interior pub shot.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2016 11:36:13 GMT
I'm just wondering if you showed your student card to get 10% off.
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Post by breeze on Oct 30, 2016 11:55:28 GMT
Norwich is lovely! Lots of architectural gems there. The cathedral is light and bright, and the fan vaulting is magnificent.
The photo of the asphalt plant is something special, mossie. Take bixa's advice.
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Post by mossie on Nov 2, 2016 19:38:49 GMT
Exploring further, here is a fragment of the medieval city wall Seen from the inside showing the defensive positions and quite a section still stands, despite people taking stone from it for later buildings, which was common practice once. Getting bang up to date is Chapelfields shopping centre, containing the usual run of high street shops with some cafes and other things thrown in. It sprung from the site of the now defunct Caley's Chocolate factory Down the road is more street art and one doesn't have to travel half way round the world to get Far Eastern delights Time for lunch, and for Kerouac, three men in a pub with a notice reminding one not to let alcohol loosen the tongue too much I'll leave you with the large and thriving market
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Post by tod2 on Nov 3, 2016 4:49:01 GMT
More delight - thank you Mossie!
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Post by bjd on Nov 3, 2016 6:56:38 GMT
Thanks for all these nice photos, Mossie, and the tour of Norwich. I find the old city walls particularly interesting. One can imagine the amount of work that went into them. When were they built?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2016 11:17:38 GMT
My first thought when I saw the medieval wall was "why is it still there instead of having been totally cannibalised to build other buildings?" But just like in other countries, people seem to lose interest part way through the dismantlement, perhaps because they are not satisfied with the material once they have started using it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 4, 2016 0:30:08 GMT
Hooray for more architectural views and comments from you, Mossie -- always illuminating and entertaining.
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