Saturday, January 14

Cornish 15th Century Chapel & Holy Well


It was a dull, damp day but I decided to walk to Menacuddle, where there is a small chapel and  holy well. When I arrived at my destination all was quiet, with no one else about - perfect!


I snapped a few quick photos as I walked. The White River and the waterfall always fascinate me. The whiteness comes from the local china clay.


Looking back over the waterfall, to the right of the next photo, a chair can be seen. This is full size and is made of granite. It is known as the Druids Chair and sometimes even as King Arthur's seat.


The next two photos show the small 'chapel'. Visitors have left flowers.




The Chapel dates back to the 15th century and is now a Grade II listed building.  It is aligned east-west with the east wall built against the natural rock face. 




I followed the White River, there was a dampness in the air.


Water ahead but ...


... be careful as the water can be quite deep.


I took a different route on the way back but the river came with me.




Green topped water.


As the rain was determined to continue I was soon looking down on the waterfall once more.


The old bridge on the way out of Menacuddle.


Below is a newish part of Menacuddle, quite pleasant but a little too neat and organised for my taste. 


The rain started getting heavier so I made my way homeward bound.


As I walked I did stop when there were glimpses of the White River making it's way to the sea.



This post taken from my other blog : 

Sunday, April 4

The Old French Postcard Coincidence From 1900

1900 Paris Postcard

Strange isn't it? One 1900 Paris Postcard, showing the Tribunal de Commerce and the Palais de Justice, comes along - and then, like London buses, another follows straight away behind.

Paris France 1900 Postcard

But what is stranger still is that the second postcard was sent on the 10th of April 1900 to a Henry Arondel and by 'coincidence' the French painter Henry Arondel just happened to die on the very same date.

And I found an up to date photo of the identical scene as the postcards taken from the very same spot. The only difference appears to be that there were many more people on the bridge back in 1900.



Monday, March 29

Many Say that the Evil That Men Do Lives After Them

Shakespeare The evil that men do lives after them

Karin and I walked to a car boot sale and got talking about someone we know. As we entered the car park, where the sale was being held, I said, "The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones."

The Shakespeare Secret
I know, I know, a little pretentious but it seemed to fit what we were talking about - and I was once a bit of a Shakespearean actor. Okay, the last bit is a fib. The only time I've actually been on stage was during my school days. I remember my last role well as I was the Gay Youth. This was at a time when 'gay' only meant being carefree and happy! My friend played the part of the Sombre Youth - deep stuff. We were massive hits - all right, second fib.

I digress.

There wasn't much to interest me at the sale but I bought a paperback, titled The Shakespeare Secret, for 20p. As it was likened to the Da Vinci Code on the cover I thought it might be an easy holiday read.

As I opened the book I saw that on a page prior to the first chapter was the same quote I had said to Karin - see below. This was another reason why I bought the book, the synchronicity bell sounded.


Shakespeare quote The evil that men do lives after them

When I got home I absentmindedly opened the book and there on page 436 was the very same quote again.

Shakespeare quote

So I guess there must be something relevant for me in these words. Though I'm not sure what. In fact I feel that sometimes it's the bad that is interred, rather than the good.

It's still mentioned, for instance, how Jimmy Savile (remember him!) raised millions - up to $56 million - for charity and was knighted by the Queen; but let's hope it's never forgotten that he was also a rampant paedophile who molested hundreds of children. This only came to light after his death.

The Shakespeare quote is from Julius Caesar, I remember the speech as I had to learn it for English Literature exams when at school. 

What I didn't know was that Julius Caesar was performed at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York in 1864. Mark Antony was played by John Wilkes Booth and his brother, Edwin Booth, played Brutus, and their brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr was Cassius. The coincidence about this is that a few months later John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln, supposedly with the cry, "Sic semper tyrannis" (thus always to tyrants). This was also attributed to Brutus at Caesar's assassination.

William Oxberry wrote similar words to Shakespeare: "Because it is a truth and a melancholy truth that the good things which men do are often buried in the ground while their evil deeds are stripped naked, and exposed to the world."


William Oxberry quote

Personally, when I look back on the lives of people close to me who have died all I remember is the good. Some things no doubt are best forgotten.

Saturday, March 13

A Short, Snappy Coincidence From Karen.

Two clip art women

A short, snappy coincidence from Karen.

My biggest coincidence is from about 20 years ago. My name is Karen and I live in Michigan (USA), and I met another Karen who lived about a block away from us.

We got to talking, and over a few weeks time we realized that we had both lived in the same house while growing up in Minnesota (about 600 miles away).

Her family lived there before our family did.

Not sure that it really meant anything, but it was very interesting!
~ Karen


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Saturday, February 20

A Wrong Righted By A Coincidence

Old books

A coincidence sent to me by Paul which illustrates how wrongs sometimes can be righted - with the helping hand of a coincidence.

"I had a girlfriend, Lisa, during the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year in college. I went back to college, then returned for Thanksgiving and had one more date with her. Then I broke up with her via a letter in December (a huge mistake, but that's another story).

I was back in St. Louis 12 years later. I visited a book store in a mall about six miles from my parents' home. I visited the book store perhaps once every five years. When I went to stand in line to pay, there was Lisa, right in front of me! I asked her how often she visited the book store, which was even further from her home. She said that she had never been there before. We had dinner that evening and I apologized for breaking up with her so impersonally."

~ Paul


Wednesday, February 17

Messages From The Dead Via White Doves, White Feathers And Butterflies

White dove

Following on from all of those other posts about white feathers, white doves and butterflies as witnessed following a loved one departing this world, here are two more readers experiences. Both wish to remain anonymous.

"I lost my mum in 2007, I was with her when she passed away.

A few days later there was a gorgeous white feather on my doorstep. Unsure, I asked my neighbour what this could mean. She told me I had been visited by an angel. The feather is still in my Bible to this day. It's not a seagull feather, nor any other known bird in this area. It's a beautiful white downy fluffy feather and I still have it! xx"

"A few years ago my life changed forever. My husband showed up at my office with tears streaming down his face telling me my brother passed away. I remember him driving me home. We sat outside taking it all in, and waiting on phone calls from other family members to make driving/flying arrangements to his town (10 hours away).

I was beyond devastation when a beautiful butterfly flew directly in between us. It hovered for probably a whole minute, circled around my head and then circled around my husband's head and then flew away.

We were actually crying and laughing, as this was clearly miraculous.

On our very long drive to the funeral I took with me my books on Angels and connecting with loved ones who have passed away.

While engrossed in my book, a few hours into the trip, I was startled by the loudest sound I've ever heard. Something slammed into the windshield - we were travelling at 70 miles an hour.

I asked my husband, "What was that?"

He said (as we were pulling off the highway into a gas station), "A white dove came out of nowhere and hit our windshield!"

The craziest part is it left no blood, no feathers, just this white powder that made the most beautiful image of a perfect angel wing. It was as fine as flour, dusted lightly on our windshield. I actually took my finger and touched it in amazement.

Has anyone else ever been hit by a dove? I'd like to think the dove didn't die but, at 70 mph, how could it not."

Saturday, February 13

The Coincidence That The House He Bought Was Built By His Ancestor

I think today's coincidence or synchronicity story is quite remarkable and on several layers. See what you think.

Douglas Hunter lived in Australia but his family had been in New Zealand for at least five generations. He met and fell in love with Ros, a girl from England. They became partners and consequently had two children.

When Ros was pregnant, with their third child, the couple decided they would move to England. They agreed to settle somewhere in Suffolk, near to where Ros's parents lived.

Ros went on ahead to look for somewhere they could call home. One of the places she saw was an old disused chapel. It was for sale and was ripe for conversion into a family home. The chapel was in Rendham near to Aldeburgh in their chosen county of Suffolk.

Ros said, "I was pregnant and jet lagged but I thought it was wonderful. I loved the pillars inside and managed to ignore the problems."

The deal was done to buy the property and Douglas duly arrived from Australia to see what she had bought. He viewed the enormous dilapidated building with holes in the roof, broken windows and rows of pews. He looked at Ros and said one word, "Why?"

Then came what Douglas describes as a spooky surprise.

His mother came over from New Zealand for a visit and was looking through some of the very old documents that had been left in the chapel and made an amazing discovery. She found that the chapel was built with money from one of their ancestors!

As Douglas emphasised, "I didn't know any family connection with Suffolk."

Isaac Watts
His ancestor a Dr Isaac Watts was a wealthy man who was a prolific hymn writer including 'Joy To The World' and ' Our God Our Help In Ages Past'.

The chapel was built back in 1750s from a donation made by Dr Watts and has quite a history. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, made visits in the 18th century. The building was finally deconsecrated in 1979 as the congregation gradually diminished in size.

Douglas and Ros converted the chapel into a wonderful five bedroom family home in which to bring up their children.

How strange that Douglas should meet Ros, a girl from Suffolk - where there just happened to be a link to his ancestors. Some links appear never to be broken.