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"Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home."
- Luke 1:46-56, which is the Gospel for today, 22 December.
Detail of stained glass by Sir Ninian Comper in the Lady Chapel of Downside Abbey church in Somerset.
A photograph of Charles Littlewood that hangs beneath a brass memorial to him in Holy Trinity church, Ingham, Norfolk.
Charles William Stephen Littlewood was born in 1898, the only son of William and Kathleen Mary Littlewood, nee Sinnott, of Cairo, Egypt and Ingham, Norfolk.
A keen sportsman and a good all round athlete, Charles had attended Downside School, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Radstock, Somerset where he had also been a member of its Officer Training Corp. In the summer of 1915 he attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, London and in February the following year he received his commission in the Royal Engineers. In autumn 1916 he went to the Western Front as a Second Lieutenant with 7th. Field Company, RE, the divisional engineers for the 50th. (Northumbrian) Division.
When the Germans evacuated the villages of Wancourt and Héninel on the 12th. April they did so out of necessity but one of the key positions they retained was the Wancourt Tower. It sat on Wancourt Hill, otherwise known as Hill 92, and from its dominating position it commanded superb views over the surrounding area. Although the tower’s original structure now lay in ruins, the Germans had reinforced it by constructing a concrete observation and machine-gun post inside its core. Not surprisingly, the tower, and the hill upon which it sat, was heavily disputed. Between the 13th. and the 17th. April the position changed hands several times. On the 13th. April, at around 7 p.m, an attempt to capture the position by the 3rd. Division ended in failure.
The following day, the 50th. (Northumbrian) Division stepped in to provide a defensive flank for the 56th. (London) Division as the latter made its assault on Chérisy, a village that lay tucked away south-east of the Wancourt Tower in the Sensée Valley. After two days of fighting the 50th. Division’s line was a mere fifty yards to the west of the Wancourt Tower. On the morning of the 15th., as the Germans launched their counter-attack several miles to the south at Lagnicourt, a platoon from the 6th. Northumberland Fusiliers bombed its way forward and seized the ruined tower. The enemy, however, made four separate attempts that night to retake it, a clear indication of how important this position was to the Germans. The next day, the 16th. April, at around 10 p.m, as the 7th. Northumberland Fusiliers were in the process of relieving the regiment’s 6th. Battalion, the Germans launched a heavy counter-attack, this time regaining the crown of the hill and with it the tower. Not to be outdone, the 50th. Division attacked the following day, at which point the enemy abandoned the position, although they did attempt to recover the hill a week later.
The crest of the hill, where the tower stood, was of great tactical importance to both sides. The existence of the machine-gun post inside the tower was perhaps an added reason for the enemy’s reluctance to give it up and it was becoming increasingly likely that the Germans would make further efforts to regain the position. It seemed unwise to leave the post intact. With that in mind, Brigadier-General Rees, commanding the division’s 149th. Brigade, approached the Royal Engineers regarding the feasibility of destroying the tower and the all-important concrete emplacement within it.
At around 2 p.m. 16th. April 1917, 2nd Lt. Charles Littlewood calmly made his way to the tower to carry out his assessment, even though the infantry claimed it was impossible to approach the position in daylight. The short journey took him across completely open ground. The enemy’s main positions were little more than a hundred yards from the structure, though some German posts, especially those nearest the tower, were believed to be even closer. Undaunted, Littlewood walked straight up the hill to the tower where he completed his assessment. He then walked casually back to British lines, later returning to the tower with a small party of sappers from No. 3 Section. Again, he and his men strolled up to the position carrying their explosives and other pieces of kit with them. They then lit the guncotton charge, but this time nobody hung around, in fact everyone ran back down the hill as fast as their legs would carry them. Despite all this activity, the Germans failed to respond, apparently oblivious to all that was happening. The tower’s remaining structure was completely demolished and the post inside it was damaged beyond further use. Neither Littlewood, nor any of his party of eight, were armed during the operation, in fact rifles, bayonets, etc. were left behind in favour of carrying explosives and other necessary equipment.
In 1917 Charles won the Military Cross Medal (MC), awarded to commissioned officers of Captain and below, as well Warrant Officers, for valour during active operations. The citation surprisingly makes no reference to the tower’s demolition. It reads as follows:
“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty carrying out work to strengthen a brick bridge under a hostile barrage. His coolness and example ensured the work was completed without cessation, despite casualties".
Charles Littlewood was killed on the 10th. July 1917 at Monchy-le-Preux, near Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France whilst engaged in night operations. He was hit in the head by a shell fragment after a shell burst close to him. It was reported that his death was instantaneous. At the time he was supervising the construction of two bridges across trenches between the British front line and a position to the rear. The work took place under heavy fire from enemy artillery and trench mortars. It was said that he moved about alone amongst his men supervising them and encouraging them by his own disregard of danger. The work in question was also carried out in the open with little or no cover.
2nd. Lt. Littlewood was originally buried in Wancourt Road cemetery, however, the cemetery was later destroyed by shell fire and his grave was lost. He is now commemorated on Panel 1, No.2 Memorial, Wancourt Road Cemetery, Neuville-Vitasse, France. He was aged 19 when he died.
Charles was awarded the Military Cross (MC).
He was entitled to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
His next of kin were sent the Memorial Death Plaque of WW1 after the war.
"He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: “Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord.”"
- From a sermon by Saint Bernardine of Siena
19 March is the Solemnity of St Joseph, and this detail of the saint is by Sir Ninian Comper, from the Lady Chapel of Downside Abbey.
A front light - from a very old Motorcycle. Not sure how it worked... but it made everything look upside down.
The only real downside to this very interesting photo trip in Spain was that, after almost three weeks on the road, we were just as shot as the churches we visited! Of course, we had planned in advance so as to not have to re-pack and move to a different hotel every single day, but that had not always been possible, and Spain is a large country: even though we only went through a part of it and the accommodations were, most of the time, top-notch (we will always remember our two-night stay at a “pilgrims’ inn” on the Path to Compostela, the wholesome, heartwarming food and the awfully nice people), we had driven around quite a lot, unpacked and re-packed quite a lot, shot a lot as well (and that does require some concentration!), and we were a bit tired.
Therefore, and as a gesture of self-congratulation, I booked us for three nights into the best ocean-view room of the nicest hotel in a small coastal resort in the Pays Basque, about two dozen kilometers from the French border. There, we recovered from the fatigue of the trip, ate local fish, slept late and drove around for the absolute minimum distances required to see the surrounding sights. Knowing me, you know I had to take a few photos, and here they are.
I hope you enjoy this “Goodbye to Spain!” series.
Living a retiree’s life at the terrace of a bar in Lequeito.
The Downside entrance from Fieldside to the ex-North Eastern Railway station at Thorne North, looking south. The NER iron lattice footbridge is seen better in this view. It dates from the opening of this railway line between Thorne Junction on the ex-Great Central/MSLR route to Grimsby & Goole in 1869.
My great-grandfather was a porter at Thorne North for many years at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Today there are no porters of course and the ticket office closes at 14.00.
Downside Resource Centre was a care centre for the elderly and people with long-term health conditions. Sadly it has now been closed by the council and stands empty and derelict so I thought it was about time to get some photos. It is just around the corner from me but it was not that easy ! The whole place is fenced off with one gate that was padlocked but after scouting around the back I found a way in through someone elses property ( sorry folks ).
There is a small seating area in the gardens, sheltered from the wind, but now the seats have been taken over by the vegetation and the sound of voices is replaced by the rustling of dead leaves.
Downside Abbey.
The Abbey of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is the Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Alumni of the school are known as Old Gregorians.
Both the abbey and the school are located at Stratton-on-the-Fosse between Westfield and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, South West England.
Downside Abbey has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described the Abbey as "the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England"
Foundation and development.
The community was founded in 1605 at Douai in Flanders, then part the Spanish Netherlands, under the patronage of St Gregory the Great, (who had sent the monk, St Augustine of Canterbury, as head of a mission to England in 597). The founder was St John Roberts, who became the first prior and established the new community with other English monks who had entered various monasteries within the Spanish Benedictine Congregation, notably the principal monastery at Valladolid. In 1611 Dom Philippe de Caverel, abbot of St. Vaast's Abbey at Arras, built and endowed a monastery for the community.
The Priory of St. Gregory was therefore the first English Benedictine house to renew conventual life after the Reformation. For nearly 200 years the monastery trained monks for the English mission and six of these men were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929. Two of them, Saints John Roberts and Ambrose Barlow, were among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.
French troops invaded Flanders during the French Revolution. The monastic community was expelled by them, after a period of imprisonment, and in March 1795 the community was permitted to proceed to England. They settled for some 20 years as guests of Sir Edward Smythe at Acton Burnell, Shropshire, before finally settling at Mount Pleasant, Downside, in Somerset, in 1814.
The monastery was completed in 1876 and the abbey church in 1925, being raised to the rank of a minor basilica in 1935 by Pope Pius XI.
The building of Downside abbey church was begun in the 19th century, and ended with completion of the nave after World War I. The church houses the relics of St. Oliver Plunkett, archbishop of Armagh, Irish martyr, executed at Tyburn in 1681, who entrusted the disposal of his body to the care of a Benedictine monk of the English Benedictine Congregation. The church is one of only three in the United Kingdom to be designated a minor basilica by the Roman Catholic Church, the others being St. Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham and Corpus Christi Priory, Manchester.
The church is built in the Gothic Revival style, and is designed to rival in size the medieval cathedrals of England that were lost to the Catholic Church through the Reformation. The earliest part is the decorated transepts by Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom, dating from 1882.[10] The choir is the work of Thomas Garner (who is buried there), dedicated in 1905. The nave by Giles Gilbert Scott (c. 1923-25) remains unfinished, with its western wall in crude Lias stone standing bare and undecorated.
The Lady chapel is acknowledged as one of the most complete and successful schemes of Sir Ninian Comper, with a reredos and altar furnishings incorporating medieval fragments and a reliquary containing the skull of St Thomas de Cantilupe. The tower, completed in 1938, at 166 feet (55 m), is the second highest in Somerset. The choir stalls are modeled on the stalls in Chester Cathedral.
The Abbey Cemetery, primarily a burial ground for the community, also contains two war graves of World War II, a Lieutenant of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and a Sub-Lieutenant of the Royal New Zealand Navy.
"This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do."
- Matthew 1:16,18-21,24, which is the Gospel for today's Solemnity of Saint Joseph.
This window of the nuptials of St Joseph and Our Lady is in Downside Abbey church.
December 27 is the feast of St John the Evangelist, also called 'the Beloved Disciple', and by tradition, the youngest of the apostles of Jesus Christ. He holds the chalice because Christ promised St John and his brother, St James, that they would drink from His chalice, and so have a share in his sufferings and glory.
This splendid stained glass window is by Sir Ninian Comper and is in the Lady chapel of Downside Abbey church.
This is the window at the top of the stairway in our house, plugged with a styrofoam sheet and vinyl. While it works well to stop heat loss, it also stops light coming in, making upstairs very dark.
Downside up
Upside down
Take my weight off the ground
Falling deep in the sky
Slipping into the unknown
Peter Gabriel
a private Catholic school. The closest school to my home, though I did not go there, partly because I am not religious, but mostly because an education there costs £100,000.
The only downside to wearing long fingernails is that they restrict my using a credit card in a gas pump - at least, not without assistance.
I found myself blushing a lot the other day. It had been a couple weeks since I put gas in the car, and it needed gas. My credit card was in the pump, but my nails had grown enough that they prevented my fingers from providing enough grip to remove it and begin the fill.
How embarrassed I was! I tried unsuccessfully several more times, but finally had to ask the girl on the other side of the pump (who incidentally had short, unpolished nails) if she'd be willing to help me operate the pump, because of my long nails.
She reached down, picked up both my hands, and closely examined my fingers. "They're beautiful!" Then she smiled knowingly and said, "I’ll be glad to help you, sweetie.” She pulled my card out of the reader, then reinserted it and removed it again. She asked me if I was from town, the answer to which gave her my zip code to use in the machine. She set up the charge for me, punching the keys with her fingertips (I have to use my knuckles because of my nails.) Then she handed my card back to me, inserted the nozzle in the filler, and offered to finish the fill for me, which I graciously declined. But I thanked her profusely for her assistance.
She told me I’m one very lucky girl to be able to enjoy such long, feminine nails, and that I’ll just have to get used to their limitations (which she reminded me will also include ATM's...) Then she suggested that I put on a thin vinyl exam glove to let me be able to retrieve my own credit card, as well as keep any gasoline smell off my hand. I subsequently tried it, and it works…now there’s one in each car! And it should work till my nails grow another 3/8”or so!
Perhaps Judy will trim them before then. But the girl at the gas station hopes that by the next time we meet, "your pretty talons will have grown another inch, and you (or your manicurist) are painting them bright red - that's a good color for you!" I sure hope she doesn't know Judy!
Copyright© 2011 Child of the King Photography
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***PLEASE...NO GROUP INVITES! I just don't have the time. THANKS!!!!***
The downside to relying on another railroad for track is that they move you when they feel like it. For the Wheeling & Lake Erie, a train waiting to get onto CSX at New London, Ohio, to go to the CSX yard in Willard, Ohio, may have a long wait before being allowed onto the Greenwich Sub. A westbound W&LE manifest freight cools its heels just east of Chenango Road waiting for the OK to get onto CSX at Hiles in New London.
I may have mentioned that I love the Edinburgh Fringe?
Each year...it's just filled with a glorious array of possibilities.
One can encounter old friends from Fringes past...or meet interesting new people..such as these members of Circus Trick Tease from Australia.
On Tuesday I took a stroll along the Royal Mile at lunchtime...and met two of this group (not in costume) putting up posters for their show...took a couple of photos...and started chatting with them.
So today I ran into them again...and in Fringe terms...we're now old friends! They are lots of fun...and I think I'll be heading along to see the show.
The show is on at E4 Cowbarn (Reid Concert Hall) in Bristo Square. It's on at 17:55 from now until August 30th (except 16th and 23rd). You can buy tickets here: