ABC Wednesday, P for Palmtrees

Palmtrees at the holiday park Cascades

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

 

 

Being in the Botanic Gardens of Cooktown we saw a lot of Palmtrees. Some of them are really very beautiful and colourful. Like the Foxtail Palm.

 This Foxtail Palm was only found in a very small part of Australia on the boulder strewn, exposed gravel hills of Cape Melville Range on Cape York Peninsula. That is not far from where my daughter lives. Now it is one of the most popular palms in the world and grown in many places outside Australia.

Fruit of the Foxtail Palm

Millaa Millaa Falls

Malanda Falls

The Lakes Resort

The Lakes Resort

 Millaa Millaa  Falls

 

In 20012, the day before taking leave of each other,

 we stayed at the Lakes Resort in Cairns 

 

Our World Tuesday,ABC Wednesday, P of Psalms

Psalm 121New King James Version (NKJV)

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

² My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

⁸ The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Wikipedia
The Book of Psalms, Tehillim in Hebrew (תְּהִלִּים or תהילים meaning "Praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third section of the Hebrew Bible. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music." The book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of King David, although his authorship is not accepted by modern Bible scholars.

Why have I chosen Psalms for P this week.?
Well, as you all know my mum and her three children were prisoners in a Japanese concentrationcamp. It was a time of despair, fear and sadness. But my mum looked always up to the high mountains, which we could see rising up in the distance. This comforted her and she trusted that one day we would be able to live again in freedom. She was a brave woman and tried to keep us alive, which was a difficult thing.

Later when I read the bible myself my favourite psalm became "The Lord is my shepherd..."Psalm 23.

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thank you Team of O. W. T.!

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

ABC Wednesday, P for Philippi

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

This is supposed to be the place where Lydia was baptized

Paul in Philippi
Philippi apparently had only a small number of Jewish inhabitants and no synagogue. Consequently Shabbat worship was held outside the city on the Gangitis River.  Here Paul met a group of women to whom he preached the gospel.  Lydia, a merchant trading purple cloth, believed Paul's message and was baptized with members of her household.  Subsequently Paul went and lived at her home.

Philippi is a mixure of many cultures : The Greek and the  Roman cultures are the most important Founded in the 4th c. B.C. and renamed after King Philip of Macedon, Philippi was an important outpost on the Egnation Way.

Excavations Archaeological work  has revealed a large  and well-preserved  forum, a theater,  the alleged jail  of Paul and several  Byzantine churches,  including one of the  earliest churches  known in Greece.   The number of  churches  in the city in the  Byzantine period  indicate Philippi's  importance to   Christians at this  time.  A series of  earthquakes  apparently destroyed  many of the  buildings  and probably  contributed to  the city's decline.

Egnatian Way The Via Egnatia was built beginning in 145 BC and at its greatest extent connected Byzantium with the Adriatic ports.  This route was Rome's primary artery to the east and Philippi was an important outpost along the road.  The Egnatian Way made it easier for Rome to move troops throughout the empire and it was the route that Paul traveled on from Neapolis to Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica.

Philippian Jail This traditional place of Paul and Silas's  imprisonment is of  dubious authenticity,  but it remembers the  attack on these men  and their subsequent  flogging and  imprisonment.  In the  course of the night,  a violent earthquake  shook the prison and  the jailer feared that  all might have escaped.   After learning that  none had fled,  the Philippian jailer put  his faith in Christ and  was baptized with his  family.

Latrines Public bathrooms were not uncommon in ancient Roman cities, but this one is a good illustration for Paul's reference to scubalon, or human waste.

Roman latrines

Related Websites

Philippi (Hellenic Ministry of Culture) Highlights the site's history, excavations, and important monuments. Hosted by the government of Greece. Mission in Philippi (The Unbound Bible) Briefly recounts the history of Philippi  and the biblical events that happened there in Acts 16. Philippi (Christian Travel Study Programs) Summarizes the city's history,  biblical significance, and excavations. The Battle of Philippi: The Battle that Changed the Course of Western Civilization  (Life and Land Seminars) Gordon Franz details the battle in which Mark Antony  and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius.

 

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, P for Pancakes

Every year in October our choir of senior citizens organizes a Pancake Party. We have to  go by car to the neighbouring village of Bergambacht. The Pancake restaurant is situated next to a windmill. It is open on Tuesdays till Saturdays from 10.00 till 21.00. On weekdays mentally retarded people work here with great enthusiasm and skill. They are supervised by the permanent staff. It is a great success.

There were three different kind of pancakes: naturel, pancakes with bacon and pancakes with cheese.

Further more we could have a salad , a meat dish, apples and raisins compote and a spicy sauce.

A meal is important but more important is the social side of  meeting  people of our age. We talked a lot, which we cannot do during choir practice.

Pancakes with bacon

A dish of minced meat

Apples and raisins

Salad of fresh vegetables

A fruit compote of red berries, strawberries  

One of our sopranos

One of our altos

The restaurant is called "Onder de Molen", which means : "Under the Mill".

This mill houses a souvenirshop, and of course we wanted to see what we could buy there.

This is what I bought:

Bergambacht is the name of the village. It 's a typically Dutch place.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with P

 

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thank you Team of O. W. T.!

ABC Wednesday, P for Possum

 

Hiding in a shed in Gympie

A wellknown Australian animal is the Possum. It's an endangered species in Australia, in New Zealand however it is a pest and wrongfully introduced.

In its native land the possum is up against dingoes, bush fires and less palatable vegetation. In New Zealand there are no predators and lots of very palatable vegetation. As a result, possums have a huge impact on New Zealand ecosystems.

Photo by Steve Parish

Wikipedia.

A possum  is any of about 70 small to medium-sized  marsupial species, living in trees native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China).

Possums are quadrupedal marsupials with two well developed front teeth and with long thick tails. The smallest possum, indeed the smallest diprotodont marsupial, is the Tasmanian pygmy possum, with an adult head-body length of 70 mm and a weight of 10 g. The largest is the bear cuscus that may exceed 7 kg.

 Possums are typically nocturnal and at least partly living in trees.. The various species inhabit most vegetated habitats, and several species have adjusted well to urban settings.

 Diets range from generalist herbivores or omnivores (the common brushtail possum) to specialist browsers of eucalyptus (greater glider), insectivores (mountain pygmy possum) and nectar-feeders (honey possum).


 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt , who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

ABC Wednesday, P for Poster Plaswijck Park

The lighting of bonfires by the ancient Celts may have influenced the lighting of bonfires on All Hallows' Eve

Wikipedia says:
"Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which have pagan roots, and others which may be rooted in Celtic Christianity.
Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain", which comes from the Old Irish for "summer's end" Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in) was the first and most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic calendar and was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.It was held on or about October 31 – November 1 and kindred festivals were held at the same time of year by the Brittonic Celts; for example Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany). Samhain and Calan Gaeaf are mentioned in some of the earliest Irish and Welsh literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century, and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween."

Interesting, isn't it? I don't understand why  "Halloween" is not really very popular in the Netherlands.The poster shows an invitation to join a Halloween party in a park in Rotterdam. It should be attractive to children, I think. On the poster it says "Griezelavonden"(=Blood-curdling evenings) on Wednesday. And it says:" Iedere dag extra enge activiteiten", meaning:"Every day extra weird activities."

Happy Halloween

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar.

 This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

 

Words in this post beginning with P: Poster, Plaswijckpark, Pagan, Pomona, Parentalia.