Tag Archives: How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Urban Renewal
It’s an urban oasis, a place of peace and relaxation. Hard to imagine the belching smoke and noise that once filled this area. The first time I remember hearing about Dortmund was as a young boy, reading about the Second World War and the Allied bombing of the Nazis’ industrial base. Dortmund was a prime […]
Tinkling The Ivories
I learned to play piano as a child, though using the word “learned” might be stretching things. I wasn’t willing to practice – probably because I didn’t like the music I was being asked to learn. As an adult I understand the importance of the musical tradition, but back then I might have been a […]
Education Museum II
It is located in a former church, which isn’t that surprising. As I have previously noted, when Ypres was rebuilt following the First World War there were a lot of churches that had been destroyed that were rebuilt just as they had been once the conflict started. A century later there is no need for […]
Education Museum I
Sometimes it is the smaller, less advertised museums that can be the most fun. In 2009, when I first visited Ypres, Belgium, I went to the In Flanders Fields Museum (and returned there this year). Included with the admission fee for that museum was admission to a couple of other smaller institutions in Ypres. I […]
Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy
When we visited the Juno Beach Centre I came away with a feeling of not having heard the whole story. Don’t get me wrong – we thoroughly enjoyed the Centre and spent about six hours exploring it and the Beach. But I felt like something was missing. The Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy, […]
York Minster V – Rest In Peace
I have no idea what plans my children have, if any, for my earthly remains. Since I am planning on living forever, or at least a good long time, the subject hasn’t come up. How we deal with the physical shell that is our body post-mortem does vary from culture to culture and time to […]
York Minster IV – The Tour
Like most churches, York Minster depends on volunteers to provide much of the labour that needs to be done. The tasks though for the 500 volunteers can be rather different from what you would find in most churches. I’ve never been asked to give a guided tour of my church, though on occasion I have […]
York Minister III – The Undercroft
Underneath York Minister Cathedral is a wealth of information, an historical museum with information that spans almost two millennia. For me that alone was worth the price of admission to the cathedral – the magnificent architecture and artwork were a bonus. This is a site with a rich history – the cathedral having been constructed […]
York Minster II – Renovations
Our visit to York Minster Cathedral stirred up conflicting emotions, to put it mildly. I still haven’t worked through exactly how I feel about the place. I was impressed by the dedication to worship and Christian witness. But the financial implications of maintaining such a heritage building are staggering. Certainly I recognize its historical significance. […]
York Minster I – Evensong
Sometimes it is the little things that catch your attention. In this case it was a worn step. Stone is a pretty durable substance. I can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of feet it must have taken to leave an impression, to wear down the step in the choir of York Minster Cathedral. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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