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Martha Osowski's avatar

Wow Sabrina, so many amazing aspects today! I love them all - the gorgeous reassembling of the broken glass pieces, the whales, the tiles, spring appearing, the truly heavenly sounding choir, and the very fun song forgotten until you reminded us! I will go and listen to the Petula Clark version now….thank you for a wonderful historical trip freshly intermingled with today. I’ve never been to Winchester Cathedral but now I’d love to! And a no thanks for me to mutton chops.

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Sabrina Simpson's avatar

Ha ha, those mutton chops! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the songs and stories. There were so many I could have gone on for ages...It's a wonderful town and I think you should certainly put it on your next visit itinerary. Especially in spring with all the flowers! Thanks for letting me know your thoughts!

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prue batten's avatar

What a magnificent cathedral. Medieval times immediately spring to mind. I haven't been to Winchester but it is mentioned often in my reading, being a hist.fict fan. The tiles were so wonderful and the choir... goodness!

You describe the town and church so well and I can already hear a lighter tone in your 'voice'. Maybe you are a snowdrop or a daffodil - blooming with brightness as spring arrives.

Cheers and here's to all the joy spring brings. PS: try and visit some of the wonderful open gardens in spring. They're to die for!

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Sabrina Simpson's avatar

Such a good idea about the Open Gardens! Thank you for reminding me! They should be just getting going when we get back in early April.

And thank you for the kind words. I am certainly a warm weather and sunshine lover, so I am at my nadir right now of exposure to both. But the world is turning, slowly, and the brightness in the morning and the one or two blossoms have cheered me immensely. 🌺

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prue batten's avatar

I've got an Australian friend touring Wales currently and honestly, every day the weather has been stunning! I can just imagine that spring freshness.

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Jayne Marshall's avatar

Lovely post, Sabrina! I got to do a bit of travelling from my sofa 😊 And I'm completed fascinated and entranced by that stained-glass window of broken shards... Such a thing of beauty on multiple levels.

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Andrea Eschen's avatar

Well, for someone who doesn't get at all excited about history, you sure gave us a hefty dose of it. It was fascinating. I love the story about the breaking the stained glass windows using the bones of the royals and the painstaking and loving way the townspeople put it back together again. William Walker's work was also one of commitment and probably risking his life to save this sacred space. All of it says a lot about the human spirit and the will to find beauty. And probably faith.

As an avid tile lover, I appreciated seeing so many beautiful patterns. They look just like so many I oggled over yesterday in a tile shop.

It sounds like you had a wonderful adventure topped off by Pete's PR. Congratulations to him.

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Sabrina Simpson's avatar

I'll pass along your congrats to Pete, thank you! And thank you also for helping me learn to appreciate and make sense of history by your wonderful weekly examples! It gave me courage to think I could try to write a smidgeon about what we learned.

I was thinking of you as I took those tile photos knowing we share a love of ceramic tiles. There were so many I finally had to stop. And goodness, the number of interesting stories that weave through that cathedral and it's very long history. I cold have gone on for hours listening to our guide and then exploring on our own. You have transformed me into a history-interested person now!

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Andrea Eschen's avatar

You have plenty of that history stuff ahead of you when we go to Andalucia. But I promise you will enjoy it. I'm honored that you thought of me as you admired the tiles. Plenty of those here too!!

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