The Aylesbury Font

It is quite a cycle up towards Bledlow Ridge from the noisy B 4009, the Lower Icknield Way, a route claimed to be the oldest road in Britain

We entered the church. There are some 22 'Aylesbury' fonts named after one of the best examples in St. Mary's Church, Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. They are mainly situated in mid-Buckinghamshire and under 8 miles from the Icknield Way with half of them being within a mile! 

Sincere thanks to this scholarly insight. This is written by Ken Goodearl, who lives in Chorley Wood. 

He continues 'The fonts are a cup or chalice-shaped with vertical fluting on the lower part of the bowl. 

The Font at Bledlow

The gold chalices made at St. Alban’s at the same time may have inspired the shape and decoration. Perhaps the craftsmen responsible for the design of these fonts may have been trained at St. Alban’s.'

Our first visit prior to the Font spotting!

Many thanks to Jennifer, Vicar of Bledlow with Saunderton and Horsenden, who gave us access to Holy Trinity   

 http://bit.ly/AylesFont4u4 is the link to Ken's blog

New York: Tragedy of St Sava

St Sava: The view into the church for ten floors up 

I was in New York again, and lucky enough to be working just off Broadway and 26th, on the 10th floor I looked down on a heart-breaking sight: the burnt out church of St Sava.

On May 1 a massive fire occurred at the church, on the day Orthodox Christians were celebrating Easter, destroying most of the building.

The fire started at 6:49 p.m. and was brought under control by 8:30 p.m. by more than 170 firefighters

The stone walls of the cathedral continue to stand and have been judged to be structurally sound and not currently in danger of collapsing.

Now discussion with the City and the Church centres on whether this precious place can rise from the ashes.

I leaned out of my building’s window to make one drawing. Fearful of heights it was not my best.

The next morning early before work I made a street level drawing and was encouraged by several passing local people.

St Sava: Street level

God Bless St Sava!
Saint Sava, known as the Illuminator, he was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law.

Toronto: Watching the sun go down

Toronto - start enjoying

In Toronto, it is entirely appropriate to spend an entire evening watching the sun go down.

The city is purposefully laid back; so sitting looking north-west, in room 1614 of the Hilton was a great way of seeing the light perform on buildings.







Here are some things to like about Toronto

1.    The people
2.    A city that combines new buildings with the Fin de siècle pastiche architecture
3.    Laid out on a grid system so navigation is easy
4.    Districts: the fashion district, the entertainment district
5.    Water, Toronto sits on Lake Ontario, recreation for all

I have been to the city many times, for example,

Sun sets behind the pastiche

Dining out in New York – Beauty & Essex

Beauty & Essex:  Glitzy and Glam 

(Left out from the original round of posts Restuarants à New York) 

It was warm and sunny across the week. The girls had completed their day’s walking tour, the High Line and lunchtime aperitifs at The Standard.

Right next door to The St Marks Hotel is the St Marks Bar and a table right by and looking out onto the street seemed to be ours every evening.

I’d always be up for eating at an NY restaurant with Essex in the title!

You enter the place through a jewellery store. The restaurant is more ‘in’ than ‘on’ -  it is on the list of every visitor to the city. I found the service a little slow and sloppy

Food good, my Beauty & Essex Burger  had finesse. And the place was full and buzzing.

http://beautyandessex.com/home/

146 Essex St, New York, NY 10002

The view from our table at the St Marks Bar

Dining out in New York - L’Apicio

A relaxing Italian experience

During Wednesday the girls had given the food stalls of Chelsea Market a run for their money.

Bron was hankering after an Italian (meal).  

A colleague in New York recommended L’Apicio.

Calmly tucked away, off the sidewalk, the service at L’Apicio was attentive and the pasta, gnocchi and sausage pesto dishes yummy.

Molto bene!   http://www.lapicio.com

St Marks Hotel  A view from my office.

The time difference EST to BST meant that we were up early each morning. On the girls’ last day we again had breakfast together before I was packed off to school. 

They then decided what to do before the evening flight home.  It was a really excellent couple of days and a worthy culinary caper.

13 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003

Dining out in New York – Buddakan

Buddakan - chic Asian 

‘Modern Asian’ in a modish setting, on a Monday: The jeunesse dorée of NYC are familiar with Buddakan and its obliging, thoughtful, far-eastern dishes.

Our menu choices did not drown the delicate Sauvignon Blanc.

The service is warm and professional at Buddakan.

Dress code is ‘downtown chic, fun, hip' declares the website.

St Marks, we grew to love it.

http://www.buddakannyc.com

This was the first night of several planned by daughters Megan and Bronnie. I was over here for work; they were over here for fun, via my Air Miles.

Throughout our time in NY we stayed at the St Marks hotel. An unprepossessing yet friendly boarding house suggested by my client (it was very close to where I was working). After the initial shock,we grew accustomed to the place. It was clean and well situated downtown between 2^nd and 3^rd.

Marvellous Marigolds

Marigolds are hardy, annual plants and are great plants for cheering up any garden. 

Broadly, there are two genuses which are referred to by the common name, Marigolds viz. Tagetes and Celandula. Tagetes includes African Marigolds and French Marigolds. Celandula includes Pot Marigolds.

Our pots of Marigolds are flowering for ever it seems!

The Painted Daisy: The bug blaster

Painted daisy perennials, Tanacetum coccineum or Pyrethrum roseum, repel many bad bugs and browsing animals that are prone to munching on your valuable plants.

Repellant properties are so beneficial that petals of the white variety are dried and used in the organic insecticide Pyrethrum.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Pests And The Painted Daisy Plant: Painted Daisy Growing Tips And Care http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/painted-daisy/painted-daisy-plants.htm