Sky Watch, The Netherlands,

On Tuesday we had an enormous downpour with hailstones like marbles. I was afraid that my windows would be smashed, but fortunately they survived! This video was taken at the end of the rain! So you can understand how it was in the beginning of the hail shower. I was really scared!

Sky Watch is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia
Thank you so much for this great meme, it's always a pleasure to participate, and see all the other skies around the world. If you want to see some other skies please click on the logo in the side bar.

ABC Wednesday X for X-Files

A long time ago we used to watch the X-Files with the agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. We were fascinated by their adventures and wouldn't miss an episode. Some months ago I saw a movie of the X-Files again.


The film opens in North Texas, 35,000 BC. Entering a cave, a Neanderthal man stumbles upon what appears to be a large extraterrestrial lifeform. They fight and the caveman wins, stabbing the creature to death, but is infected by black oil. In 1998 small-town Texas, a young boy (Lucas Black) falls down a hole and finds a human skull. As he picks it up, black oil seeps out from the ground and slithers up his body until it reaches his head, causing his eyes to turn black. Firefighters descend into the hole to rescue him but are not seen again. A team of biohazard-suited men arrive on the scene.

Meanwhile, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been assigned to other projects since the closure of the X-Files. They are helping to investigate a bomb threat against a federal building in Dallas, Texas. Mulder scouts out a building across the street from the believed target and discovers the bomb in a vending machine. Special Agent in Charge Michaud stays behind to disarm the bomb as Mulder and Scully evacuate the building. Unknown to the agents, Michaud makes no effort to disarm the bomb, which ultimately detonates.

Returning to Washington, D.C., Mulder and Scully are chastised because four people were still in the building when it exploded. They are scheduled separate hearings at which their job performances will be evaluated. That evening, Mulder encounters a paranoid doctor, Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), who explains that the four victims were already dead, and that the bomb was allowed to detonate to destroy the evidence of how they died.

Mulder and Scully travel to the crime scene in Texas. On the way they follow a convoy of tanker trucks to a large cornfield surrounding two bright, glowing domes. When they enter the domes, they find them empty, but grates in the floor open up and a thick swarm of bees forces the agents out onto the cornfield. Soon black helicopters appear overhead, chasing them, and the two escape back to Washington.

Upon their return, Mulder unsuccessfully tries to seek help from Kurtzweil, while Scully attends her performance hearing and learns that she is to be transferred to Salt Lake City, Utah. Mulder is devastated to lose Scully as a partner. The two share a tender moment, when Scully is stung by a bee which had lodged itself under her shirt collar. She quickly loses consciousness. Mulder calls for emergency aid but when an ambulance arrives, the driver shoots Mulder in the head and whisks Scully away. Awaking in hospital, Mulder is informed that the bullet only grazed his temple, and leaves with the assistance of the Lone Gunmen. He is accosted by a former adversary, the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville), who gives him Scully's location in Antarctica along with a vaccine to combat the virus that has infected her. The Well-Manicured Man then commits suicide before his betrayal of The Syndicate (a shadow government group working against Mulder and Scully) is discovered.

Mulder travels to Antarctica to save Scully, and discovers a secret underground laboratory run by their enemy the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). Mulder uses the vaccine to revive Scully, disrupting the stable environment of the lab and reviving the cocooned aliens. The lab is destroyed just after Mulder and Scully escape to the surface, when an alien vessel lying dormant beneath it leaves its underground port and launches into the sky. Mulder watches the ship fly directly overhead and disappear into the distance, as Scully regains consciousness.

Some time later, Mulder and Scully attend a hearing where their testimony is ignored, and the evidence covered up. The only remaining proof of their ordeal is the bee that stung Scully, collected by the Lone Gunmen. She hands it over, noting that the FBI does not currently have an investigative unit qualified to pursue the evidence at hand. Later, appalled by the media's cover-up of the incident, Mulder tries to persuade Scully to leave his crusade. She refuses, saying, "If I quit now, they win."

At another crop outpost in Tunisia, the Cigarette Smoking Man hands Strughold a telegram revealing that the X-Files unit has been re-opened

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with X.

Monday Doorways, Chipping Campden

 

One of the many lovely houses and its frontdoors in Chipping Campden, Cotswolds, Great Britain.
As the name suggests ("Chipping" means market or market place from the old English "Ceping"). Chipping Campden was one of the most important of the medieval wool towns and famous throughout Europe. This legacy of fame and prosperity is everything that give the town its character.

Campden was already established in the 7th century and derives its name from the Saxon "Campa-denu" or "Campadene", meaning a valley with fields or enclosures of cultivated land.

Chipping Campden's church, St. James, at the north end of the town, is perhaps, the finest 'wool' church in the Cotswolds, with a magnificent 120ft (36 metre) tower and a very spacious interior. The church is famed for having one of the oldest altar tapestries (pre-reformation) and largest brass in England.





 

Inspired by a post by Eric Tenin of a Parisian doorway, «Louis» began posting on Mondays photos he had taken of doorways in Paris.To participate click on the logo in the sidebar or on
Monday Doorways

 

Detail of the frontdoor.

Weekend Reflections, New Zealand,

 

In January and February 2005 my daughter, her children and I stayed on the South Island of New Zealand. After touring around for a few weeks we arrived in Picton. On the fourth of February we decided to join one of the mail boat cruises. Our destination was Ship Cove, where apart from wonderful birdlife, we saw an interesting monument dedicated to Captain James Cook, who visited this place 5 times. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw this ship lying there as if we were set back in time.

 

 
 

Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

ABC Wednesday,W of Wizard of Christchurch.

When we were in New Zealand in Christchurch in February 2005, we saw this man preaching in front of the cathedral. My daughter told me that he was called The Wizard and a kind of tourist attraction. I looked for information in Wikipedia and found this:

"Ian Brackenbury Channell was born on 4 December 1932 in London. In 1951-53 he served in the Royal Air Force as a pilot-officer navigator and in 1963 he graduated from the University of Leeds with a double honours degree in psychology and sociology. Shortly afterwards he was recruited by the University of Western Australia Adult Education Board to run their community arts programme. In 1967 he joined the teaching staff of the newly opened School of Sociology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney."

"In 1974 the Wizard migrated to Christchurch in New Zealand and began to speak on a ladder in Cathedral Square. The City Council attempted to have him arrested but through ingenious fun revolutionary strategies he out-manoeuvered them and became so popular with locals and tourists that they made the square a public speaking area. Wearing his costume as a false prophet of the Church of England or his wizard's pointy hat, he has been speaking there at lunchtimes in the summer months ever since and soon become a New Zealand icon featured in the guide books." We can find more if we click on

The Wizard of Christchurch

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with W.

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 24

Psalms Chapter 24
1 A Psalm of David.
The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

 

2 For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

 

3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD? and who shall stand in His holy place?

 

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 Such is the generation of them that seek after Him, that seek Thy face, even Jacob.
 

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors;
that the King of glory may come in.

 

8 'Who is the King of glory?'
'The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.'

The verses from Psalm 24 are contributed to Robert's Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

Photo 1: Greece, Mystras
Photo 2: Netherlands, the sea between the Isle of Texel and Noord-Holland.
Photo 3: New Zealand, South Island
Photo 4: Norway,Dale Kyrkje, Luster
Photo 5: England, Peterborough Cathedral

Weekend Reflections, Stratford upon Avon

Canal boats in Stratford upon Avon

Long time ago these narrow boats were used to transport goods on the rivers and canals in the UK. The British canal system was built over 150 years ago. Many families lived on these boats. It was their home and livelihood. It was a hard life as many canal tunnels had no towpath.Therefore the younger members of the family led the horse over the top, while the rest of the family lay on their backs on the roof of the boat and walked the boat through the tunnels.You can still travel from London to Liverpool, and from Hull to Bristol by canal boat.
Now these boats are very popular as holiday accomodations. You can see that from this advertisement:

"Our canal boats are easy to operate and offer a good standard of comfort and equipment on-board.
If you have a free weekend why not hire a canal boat for a short weekend break or a longer midweek break."

Here's a plan of a narrow boat. It's called a narrow boat, because its measurements are: two metres wide and fifteen or sixteen metres long.

Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

ABC Wednesday, V for vegetarian

One of my daughters is a vegetarian. She hates to kill animals and eating them afterwards, although she eats eggs and fish. When she was a child, I often cooked for her a meat free dish. Fortunately she liked mushrooms, nuts, eggs, fish and cheese. So I made several times a dish with pasta and cheese and mushrooms.

 

This is what Wikipedia says about the history of vegetarianism:
"The earliest records of (lacto) vegetarianism come from ancient India and ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animals (called ahimsa in India) and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.

“ Indian emperor Ashoka asserted protection to fauna: "Twenty-six years after my coronation various animals were declared to be protected — parrots, mainas, aruna, ruddy geese, wild ducks, nandimukhas, gelatas, bats, queen ants, terrapins, boneless fish, vedareyaka, gangapuputaka, sankiya fish, tortoises, porcupines, squirrels, deer, bulls, okapinda, wild asses, wild pigeons, domestic pigeons and all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor edible. Those nanny goats, ewes and sows which are with young or giving milk to their young are protected, and so are young ones less than six months old. Cocks are not to be caponized, husks hiding living beings are not to be burnt and forests are not to be burnt either without reason or to kill creatures. One animal is not to be fed to another." —Edicts of Ashoka, Fifth Pillar ”

Following the Christianisation of the Roman Empire in late antiquity, vegetarianism practically disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them eschewed fish. It re-emerged during the Renaissance, becoming more widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1847, the first vegetarian society was founded in the United Kingdom; Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries followed. The International Vegetarian Union, a union of the national societies, was founded in 1908. In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism grew during the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental and economic concerns."

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with V.

Monday Doorways, Great Britain, Oxford II

 

Another building in Oxford in the area of the University buildings. I don't know what the name of this building is. Maybe one of you knows what it is?

Inspired by a post by Eric Tenin of a Parisian doorway, «Louis» began posting on Mondays photos he had taken of doorways in Paris.To participate click on
Monday Doorways

 

Whitsuntide

 

On Sunday, 12th June and Monday, 13th we celebrate Whitsuntide.
Whitsun (also Whitsunday, Whit Sunday or Whit) is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples (Acts of the Apostles chapter 2).
Wikipedia says:
"The name derives from the white garments worn by catechumens, those expecting to be baptised on that Sunday, when infant baptism was still uncommon. Thus it is centuries older than the tradition of the young women of the parish all coming to church or chapel in new white dresses on that day. However, Augustinian canon, John Mirk (c1382 - 1414), of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, had a different interpretation:

Good men and wimmen, this day (Dies Penthecostes) is called Wytsonday by cause the holy ghost bought wytte and wisdom into Crists dyscyples, and so by prechying after in all Cristendom and fylled him full of holy Wytte

Thus, he thought the root of the word was "wit" (formerly spelt "wyt" or "wytte") and Pentecost was so-called to signify the outpouring of the wisdom of the Holy Ghost on Christ's disciples."