Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[Dschal]

What do you think folks, should I continue to abstain, or 'make merry' while I can, since I don't know what state I, or the world, will be in by my birthday?

I’d say stick to your project for another week, but stock up on the booze now!

 

[JohnDF]

Let me know what you think, I'm a dogged type by nature, and reluctant to give up on a commitment, however irrational, and however much circumstances have changed

Your call, Jack.
Far be it for me to tell people how to run their lives.
Just keep keep a positive attitude... this will blow over soon enough.

Ha! Great film!

I've been carrying my ironwood for the past week as I rarely do for some reason, but also because everything else I put in storage as I went away to Winchester for a bit. The reason was to visit Winchester Cathedral and also the Winchester beer festival, which as it turned out, was the last beer festival of the year so far.
Winchester Cathedral (The church of the Holy Trinity, St' Peter and St' Paul) is a Norman Gothic cathedral located in Winchester in the county of Hampshire in south west England. There's been a church on this site since AD645 but the present church was begun by the Norman Bishop Walkelin in 1079 to replace the earlier Anglo-Saxon cathedral. It was completed within 20 years but was then altered and refined over the following 500 years. It's one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and the longest in Britain.

The 13th century East End.

Excellent tour, I really enjoyed it.

(no Sunday Sausage Sandwich today unfortunately )

That's way worse than not having booze or cake!!!

 

[JohnDF]

Good Morning Guardians
Seems my Rosewood Lambsfoot has taken up permanent residence in my pocket...

 

[Onebigbill]

Ha! Great film!

I've been carrying my ironwood for the past week as I rarely do for some reason, but also because everything else I put in storage as I went away to Winchester for a bit. The reason was to visit Winchester Cathedral and also the Winchester beer festival, which as it turned out, was the last beer festival of the year so far.
Winchester Cathedral (The church of the Holy Trinity, St' Peter and St' Paul) is a Norman Gothic cathedral located in Winchester in the county of Hampshire in south west England. There's been a church on this site since AD645 but the present church was begun by the Norman Bishop Walkelin in 1079 to replace the earlier Anglo-Saxon cathedral. It was completed within 20 years but was then altered and refined over the following 500 years. It's one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and the longest in Britain.

The 13th century East End.

The Transepts, Tower and Crypt are all that remains of the Norman. Here you can see the classic Norman (Romanesque) arches and pillar in one of the Transepts.

And along the Triforium (the middle level) the reused Roman pillars.

In comparison to the later 14th (Perpendicular) Nave.

(oh that's a poor picture of a lambsfoot isn't it ).

Within the Nave is the original Norman Font made from Tournai marble (from modern day Belgium) and gifted to the cathedral from Bishop Henry of Blois, William the Conqueror's grandson and brother of King Stephen in the 12th century. Many of our kings and their heirs were baptised in this font.

It originally sat by the Norman west end but when that was demolished in the 1300's and the Nave shortened by about 70 feet they moved it to it's current position in the arcades of north aisle. And in over 700 years they've never got round to moving it back.

Looking up to the roof of the crossing you'll see the vaulted ceiling is made from wood. This was because in 1107 the original tower collapsed. It was blamed on the burial of William II (William the Conquerors son) who was a bit of a nasty sod and who was probably assassinated by his brother in 1100. It was more likely because most of the cathedral is built on a flood plain and so when rebuilt it was built in wood to alleviate weight.

Looking along the Quire towards the Sanctuary and the Great West Screen, considered to be one of the finest of the age.

This is Norman but the figures you see are later replacements, the originals smashed in 1642 during our civil war.

Now Winchester is the traditional burial place of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Along each side of the Sanctuary are Mortuary Chests placed in their current position in 1520. They contain the bones of the Kings Cenwealh, Althelred, Cnut, Emma (the queen of both those kings) Hathacanute and the Norman king William II. In 1642 the Parliamentarians stormed the cathedral, pulled the chests down and scattered the bones. There is a project by a team from Bristol University to DNA test and carbon date the bones to sort them all out and they have already identified the remains of Queen Emma.

Behind the screen in the retrochoir is the site of St' Swithin's shrine. St' Swithin was a 9th century Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester who was elevated to sainthood and which the last Anglo-Saxon cathedral was dedicated to. Contrary to popular belief William the Conqueror didn't completely suppress the Anglo-Saxon saints. The Normans were often happy to let the Anglo-Saxons continue with their saints.

The shrine, like virtually all shrines in England no longer exists. Destroyed during the Reformation on the orders of Henry VIII.

So I'll end on a modern story. Late in the 19th century it was discovered that the east end of the Retrochoir was in danger of collapse. When they investigated they found that when it was constructed in the 13th century it was built on a peat bog (the flood plain of the River Itchen). What they had done was constructed a raft of beech trees which they then used as foundations. It was found that after 600 odd years these beech logs had rotted away.
The solution they came up with was to excavate down, remove the peat, and replace with concrete.
This bust is of William Walker, a diver who for 5 years between 1906 and 1911 worked (usually single handed) in absolute darkness under the wall of the cathedral cutting away the peat and replacing it with bags of cement.

Here's his Wiki page which tells it better than I can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(diver)

If you look closely on this photo you can see the sag in the external south wall of the Retrochoir. Well 'Diver Bill' is the one who stopped that turning into a catastrophic collapse.

Just a few more. Looking towards the west end. The great west window was smashed in 1642.

The roof space above the vault of the Nave. Hundreds of oak trees were used. They story was Bishop Walkelin approached William II and asked him for some oak trees from the royal forest. William II sneered at him and replied you can have as many trees as can be cut down in a single day. So the bishop got every monk, nun, layman and townsman in Winchester into the forest and between sunrise and sunset they felled the entire forest of oak trees. When William II found out he went nuts but Walkelin placated him by planting 'The New Forest', which even today is I think the largest forest in Britain.

Any the bell chamber.

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little tour; I did it mainly cos I think like me many of us are stuck at home, or at least can't do anything more exciting than walk round the block. I can do a little more of Winchester if you want.
Oh I better put some more lambsfoot content in this hadn't I.

Great history lesson and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Onebigbill]

Morning Guardians, I hope everyone is surviving out there, aided by your trusty Lambsfoot knives of course I'm giving some serious thought to ending my booze-fast today. I decided to give up drinking, and sugar, until my birthday at the end of the month, primarily to lose some weight. Since I'm now virtually confined to barracks, with the pubs closed indefinitely, and the possibility of getting dragged off into confinement for coughing in the street, and having already lost 10lb, I'm thinking I might need all the fat-content I can in the months to come, and tea is beginning to lose its appeal. What do you think folks, should I continue to abstain, or 'make merry' while I can, since I don't know what state I, or the world, will be in by my birthday? Let me know what you think, I'm a dogged type by nature, and reluctant to give up on a commitment, however irrational, and however much circumstances have changed

The days don't seem to mean a great deal at the moment, but it's Sunday, and I hope you all have a good one

Stay well Jack. Making merry isn't a bad thing as long as it is in moderation.

 

[r8shell]

Morning Guardians, I hope everyone is surviving out there, aided by your trusty Lambsfoot knives of course I'm giving some serious thought to ending my booze-fast today. I decided to give up drinking, and sugar, until my birthday at the end of the month, primarily to lose some weight. Since I'm now virtually confined to barracks, with the pubs closed indefinitely, and the possibility of getting dragged off into confinement for coughing in the street, and having already lost 10lb, I'm thinking I might need all the fat-content I can in the months to come, and tea is beginning to lose its appeal. What do you think folks, should I continue to abstain, or 'make merry' while I can, since I don't know what state I, or the world, will be in by my birthday? Let me know what you think, I'm a dogged type by nature, and reluctant to give up on a commitment, however irrational, and however much circumstances have changed

The days don't seem to mean a great deal at the moment, but it's Sunday, and I hope you all have a good one

How long do you have left? 'Cos if it's a week then you may as well carry on. If it's a month then if the worlds going to end I'm sure you won't go to hell having a bit of enjoyment first.

Perhaps in moderation, for medicinal reasons; a little something might calm your cough. Only you can decide. Would you have more regrets from ending the fast too early, or too late?

We are not yet under a strict lockdown, but they seem to like to add restrictions gradually, day by day. Of course this means I've been out more than I might otherwise, trying to get things done before everything's shuttered.
In the meantime I have lost a pound, just from cooking at home rather than eating in restaurants.

Lambsfoot content:
I am not usually a fan of large slipjoints, but if I had to rank my preference, (by size, not taking other factors such as handle material or build qulity) I'd say:
Big'un
Li'l-un
Reg'lar

Of course, that could change at any time.

 

[WhittlinAway]

I am not usually a fan of large slipjoints, but if I had to rank my preference, (by size, not taking other factors such as handle material or build qulity) I'd say:
Big'un
Li'l-un
Reg'lar

Fascinating! It’s the opposite of Goldilocks. “This one’s just-right big, this one’s just-right small, this one’s too in-between.”

Do you have any explanation for why? The way they fit in your hand, maybe? Or, is it just one of those preference things that are hard to articulate?

 

[CelloDan]

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little tour; I did it mainly cos I think like me many of us are stuck at home, or at least can't do anything more exciting than walk round the block. I can do a little more of Winchester if you want.
Oh I better put some more lambsfoot content in this hadn't I.

Fascinating David !, I loved it! TY
Your posts usually prompt me into searching and learning more about the topics presented , and these day I have plenty of time at home for this.
I worked for a few years in the ICU at the hospital in the small town of Winchester, about 45 min from where I live ... and never though to learn about where the original name had come from.
Cheers

 

[JTB_5]

Morning Guardians, I hope everyone is surviving out there, aided by your trusty Lambsfoot knives of course I'm giving some serious thought to ending my booze-fast today. I decided to give up drinking, and sugar, until my birthday at the end of the month, primarily to lose some weight. Since I'm now virtually confined to barracks, with the pubs closed indefinitely, and the possibility of getting dragged off into confinement for coughing in the street, and having already lost 10lb, I'm thinking I might need all the fat-content I can in the months to come, and tea is beginning to lose its appeal. What do you think folks, should I continue to abstain, or 'make merry' while I can, since I don't know what state I, or the world, will be in by my birthday? Let me know what you think, I'm a dogged type by nature, and reluctant to give up on a commitment, however irrational, and however much circumstances have changed

The days don't seem to mean a great deal at the moment, but it's Sunday, and I hope you all have a good one

All things being equal, I’d stick it out, but you know better than anybody here what circumstances are like, so if the window is closing you might want to call it “good” and enjoy what you can while staying safe, and before things get worse (if they do).

Ha! Great film!

I've been carrying my ironwood for the past week as I rarely do for some reason, but also because everything else I put in storage as I went away to Winchester for a bit. The reason was to visit Winchester Cathedral and also the Winchester beer festival, which as it turned out, was the last beer festival of the year so far.
Winchester Cathedral (The church of the Holy Trinity, St' Peter and St' Paul) is a Norman Gothic cathedral located in Winchester in the county of Hampshire in south west England. There's been a church on this site since AD645 but the present church was begun by the Norman Bishop Walkelin in 1079 to replace the earlier Anglo-Saxon cathedral. It was completed within 20 years but was then altered and refined over the following 500 years. It's one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and the longest in Britain.

The 13th century East End.

The Transepts, Tower and Crypt are all that remains of the Norman. Here you can see the classic Norman (Romanesque) arches and pillar in one of the Transepts.

And along the Triforium (the middle level) the reused Roman pillars.

In comparison to the later 14th (Perpendicular) Nave.

(oh that's a poor picture of a lambsfoot isn't it ).

Within the Nave is the original Norman Font made from Tournai marble (from modern day Belgium) and gifted to the cathedral from Bishop Henry of Blois, William the Conqueror's grandson and brother of King Stephen in the 12th century. Many of our kings and their heirs were baptised in this font.

It originally sat by the Norman west end but when that was demolished in the 1300's and the Nave shortened by about 70 feet they moved it to it's current position in the arcades of north aisle. And in over 700 years they've never got round to moving it back.

Looking up to the roof of the crossing you'll see the vaulted ceiling is made from wood. This was because in 1107 the original tower collapsed. It was blamed on the burial of William II (William the Conquerors son) who was a bit of a nasty sod and who was probably assassinated by his brother in 1100. It was more likely because most of the cathedral is built on a flood plain and so when rebuilt it was built in wood to alleviate weight.

Looking along the Quire towards the Sanctuary and the Great West Screen, considered to be one of the finest of the age.

This is Norman but the figures you see are later replacements, the originals smashed in 1642 during our civil war.

Now Winchester is the traditional burial place of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Along each side of the Sanctuary are Mortuary Chests placed in their current position in 1520. They contain the bones of the Kings Cenwealh, Althelred, Cnut, Emma (the queen of both those kings) Hathacanute and the Norman king William II. In 1642 the Parliamentarians stormed the cathedral, pulled the chests down and scattered the bones. There is a project by a team from Bristol University to DNA test and carbon date the bones to sort them all out and they have already identified the remains of Queen Emma.

Behind the screen in the retrochoir is the site of St' Swithin's shrine. St' Swithin was a 9th century Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester who was elevated to sainthood and which the last Anglo-Saxon cathedral was dedicated to. Contrary to popular belief William the Conqueror didn't completely suppress the Anglo-Saxon saints. The Normans were often happy to let the Anglo-Saxons continue with their saints.

The shrine, like virtually all shrines in England no longer exists. Destroyed during the Reformation on the orders of Henry VIII.

So I'll end on a modern story. Late in the 19th century it was discovered that the east end of the Retrochoir was in danger of collapse. When they investigated they found that when it was constructed in the 13th century it was built on a peat bog (the flood plain of the River Itchen). What they had done was constructed a raft of beech trees which they then used as foundations. It was found that after 600 odd years these beech logs had rotted away.
The solution they came up with was to excavate down, remove the peat, and replace with concrete.
This bust is of William Walker, a diver who for 5 years between 1906 and 1911 worked (usually single handed) in absolute darkness under the wall of the cathedral cutting away the peat and replacing it with bags of cement.

Here's his Wiki page which tells it better than I can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(diver)

If you look closely on this photo you can see the sag in the external south wall of the Retrochoir. Well 'Diver Bill' is the one who stopped that turning into a catastrophic collapse.

Just a few more. Looking towards the west end. The great west window was smashed in 1642.

The roof space above the vault of the Nave. Hundreds of oak trees were used. They story was Bishop Walkelin approached William II and asked him for some oak trees from the royal forest. William II sneered at him and replied you can have as many trees as can be cut down in a single day. So the bishop got every monk, nun, layman and townsman in Winchester into the forest and between sunrise and sunset they felled the entire forest of oak trees. When William II found out he went nuts but Walkelin placated him by planting 'The New Forest', which even today is I think the largest forest in Britain.

Any the bell chamber.

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little tour; I did it mainly cos I think like me many of us are stuck at home, or at least can't do anything more exciting than walk round the block. I can do a little more of Winchester if you want.
Oh I better put some more lambsfoot content in this hadn't I.

What a feast! Thanks for sharing this! As an Floridian the best we can come by is Spanish forts from the age of exploration. A far cry from the glory of the Medieval renaissance.

I’m toting my AC today for what may be our last non-streamed Church service first awhile.

 

[Jack Black]

Great photo of your Hartshead Jack! From a personal standpoint I say base your decision on your own personal health and well-being!

Go ahead and drink.
Try to keep it moderate, though. I'm mad at myself for making my depression an excuse for drinking too much the past few days.

I’d say stick to your project for another week, but stock up on the booze now!

Your call, Jack.
Far be it for me to tell people how to run their lives.
Just keep keep a positive attitude... this will blow over soon enough.

...

That's way worse than not having booze or cake!!!

Stay well Jack. Making merry isn't a bad thing as long as it is in moderation.

Perhaps in moderation, for medicinal reasons; a little something might calm your cough. Only you can decide. Would you have more regrets from ending the fast too early, or too late?

We are not yet under a strict lockdown, but they seem to like to add restrictions gradually, day by day. Of course this means I've been out more than I might otherwise, trying to get things done before everything's shuttered.
In the meantime I have lost a pound, just from cooking at home rather than eating in restaurants.

Lambsfoot content:
I am not usually a fan of large slipjoints, but if I had to rank my preference, (by size, not taking other factors such as handle material or build qulity) I'd say:
Big'un
Li'l-un
Reg'lar

Of course, that could change at any time.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts, opinions, and advice folks, all of which are much appreciated Apart from my cough, and the usual aches and pains, my health is fine, though I'm beginning to feel a little skinny, even though I'm very far from that! I never drink to excess, though I probably drink more often than I should. My main concern, apart from getting a little tired of drinking tea, is that I'm making the isolation harder, and missing out on something I enjoy when a lot of the other stuff I enjoy has been taken away. I always keep a positive attitude though, and thankfully, I have no problems with depression or anxiety. I've certainly been through a LOT worse than this, not least having been an International Red Cross worker for 2 years during the Lebanese Civil War, when I was just a teenager, and I survived my mother's cooking! I did miss my sausage sandwich, but I made do with some beans on toast

That's a very interesting Lambsfoot perspective Rachel, and a very respectable collection you have there

Good Morning Guardians
Seems my Rosewood Lambsfoot has taken up permanent residence in my pocket...

Funny how that can happen John, after several years of sheer knife floozery, my Hartshead Barlow has certainly taken over my pocket. A nice knife for sure, but I have lots of nice knives, and my attachment to it does surprise me

 

[Jack Black]

Fascinating David !, I loved it! TY
Your posts usually prompt me into searching and learning more about the topics presented , and these day I have plenty of time at home for this.
I worked for a few years in the ICU at the hospital in the small town of Winchester, about 45 min from where I live ... and never though to learn about where the original name had come from.
Cheers

When I first started writing professionally, and needed to earn money and chase work, I had this idea that I might write twin articles about places in the US and Britain with the same names, and sell them to their respective local papers. Fortunately, I didn't have to chase work for long, so it never happened

All things being equal, I’d stick it out, but you know better than anybody here what circumstances are like, so if the window is closing you might want to call it “good” and enjoy what you can while staying safe, and before things get worse (if they do).



What a feast! Thanks for sharing this! As an Floridian the best we can come by is Spanish forts from the age of exploration. A far cry from the glory of the Medieval renaissance.

I’m toting my AC today for what may be our last non-streamed Church service first awhile.

View attachment 1306956

Thanks for your thoughts Joshua Circumstances are not ideal, but I don't feel driven to drink - yet! I do expect the overall situation to get worse though. The police here now have the right to detain people they suspect of being infected, and I'm worried that my heavy cough will be misinterpreted Nice to see your AC

I might go for an exciting walk to the bottle bank at the end of the street, might give it a sniff while I'm there!

 

[JohnDF]

Funny how that can happen John, after several years of sheer knife floozery, my Hartshead Barlow has certainly taken over my pocket. A nice knife for sure, but I have lots of nice knives, and my attachment to it does surprise me

I'm not too surprised by my Regular African Rosewood taking over my pocket, it's been headed that way for a while now.
I think there are several factors that have led to my attachment to this knife. First, it was my first Lambsfoot knife and my first connection to this great community. It was a generous gift from you and that makes me smile. Also, there are not a lot of African Rosewood Lambs running around, so that makes it kind of unique. The fact that it's already in a "used" state makes me not afraid to use it hard or on messy chores. Lastly, it's a great user with all the things that make a Regular Lambsfoot the perfect Pocket Pal.

 

[r8shell]

Fascinating! It’s the opposite of Goldilocks. “This one’s just-right big, this one’s just-right small, this one’s too in-between.”

Do you have any explanation for why? The way they fit in your hand, maybe? Or, is it just one of those preference things that are hard to articulate?

Mostly the way they fit in my hand. The end of the small one tucks into the middle of my palm, and the large one pretty much goes past the heel of my hand. The middle size isn't uncomfortable, though. Out of that size, the Hartshead fits my hand better than the swaybacks.

Also, the longer frames look more elegant, and the little one is adorable.

That's a very interesting Lambsfoot perspective Rachel, and a very respectable collection you have there

Thank you, Jack. All but the big rosewood, (thanks, nal0n) they are all your SFOs.

 

[K33ncutter]

Well, today I start my first day of solitary confinement. My wife is driving over to another state to babysit her oldest daughters son while school is canceled. I am a bit of an introvert so things won’t be too much different than usual except it will be a little quieter and I will have to do my own cooking. I will endeavor to persevere.

 

[CelloDan]

@donn
Oh David, one more thing !
A selfie , holding a lambsfoot in front of the cathedral would have been the " cherry on top" your fantastic post

 

[CelloDan]

Well, today I start my first day of solitary confinement. My wife is driving over to another state to babysit her oldest daughters son while school is canceled. I am a bit of an introvert so things won’t be too much different than usual except it will be a little quieter and I will have to do my own cooking. I will endeavor to persevere.

Great shot Les !
Cheers from Ontario, Canada

 

[JohnDF]

I'm liking all the pictures of our Guardians being posted.

 

[CelloDan]

Lambsfoot content:
I am not usually a fan of large slipjoints, but if I had to rank my preference, (by size, not taking other factors such as handle material or build qulity) I'd say:
Big'un
Li'l-un
Reg'lar

Oh I was not aware there is a small lambsfoot .
I have my ebony, an african rosewood and my Hartshead ( all same sized blade) .... they are all medium size right ?
Is the blade on the small lamb smaller as well or just the handle ?
TY

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Oh, Dan... I might have to send my Li'l One for a visit to meet the chickadees.

 

[CelloDan]

Oh, Dan... I might have to send my Li'l One for a visit to meet the chickadees.

Oh wow my friend ... I am very sure they would be absolutely thrilled about it