Wellingborough Carnival

The streets of Wellingborough were transformed into a riot of colour, music and dance when the Carnival came to town on Saturday 4th July. This year was Wellingborough Carnival's 107th parade, as schools, businesses, pubs, community groups and more dress up to bring carnival celebrations to Wellingborough. The colourful parade started at Broad Green at 1pm and wound its way through the town centre to Croyland Park. The official carnival theme was 'Anything Goes' so that narrowed it down a bit ... At Teamwork we decided rather late to put in an entry and loosely had a wild west theme. Well at least that was my interpretation although I seemed to be the only one dressed as a cowboy, the others all seemed to have a different take on the theme. The trusty Teamwork van underwent quite a transformation largely thanks to some hard work by Gordon. As well as the 'Stars n Stripes' and 'Confederate' flags, balloons and bunting there was a mobile sound system and light show. Apparently it was probably the best carnival turn out ever, certainly helped by the sunny weather! We collected about £50 in our buckets which wasn't too bad. Unfortunately the float next to us from 'Glamis Hall' took all the attention with their 'Granny on a scooter' who was very good and not unlike 'Mrs Brown off the t.v. The main thing was for the Teamwork members to have a bit of fun as well as promoting the charity by giving out 'goody bags' and stickers to the kiddies.

Holy Trinity Church Rothwell - Bone Crypt

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Deep under the floor of the church, near the south door exists Holy Trinity’s crypt or Charnel House or even an ossuary if you prefer? This 13th century crypt lies beneath the south aisle and the nave and measures 9 metres by 4.5 meters and 2.5 metres high. It is believed to have been discovered around 1700. Local legend suggests that little was known about its existence until the day a hapless gravedigger fell into the crypt whilst working in the church many years ago.Falling some twelve feet through pitch darkness into a mass of bones was too much for the individual to bear, and it is reputed that he lost his mind through the incident, remaining that way until the day he died. More latterly, the crypt has been reorganised such that the skulls are now displayed on shelves around the walls, and the thigh bones displayed in two large square piles in the centre. The 13th century crypt contains the remains of around 1500 individuals.It is thought some were first buried in the churchyard and then moved at a later date.A second burial within the crypt possibly took place around 1580 when the adjacent Jesus Hospital was built on what was perhaps an old burial ground.

There are several theories made about the origins of the bones including;
 

• They are from Danes slain in battle by the Saxons.
•  Bones of men slain at Naseby battlefield in 1645 (eight miles away).
• Bones of men slain at Bosworth battlefield 1485 (thirty miles away).
• Remains of a monastic burial place.
• Victims of a plague epidemic.

Pretty much all of these theories have been debunked by historians and researchers. The skulls do not show any injuries from the battlefield. Also in times of poverty and hardship who would spend money transporting dead bodies from the battlefield. Also there are know sites of mass burials at the battles mentioned above. Nobody with any sense would move plague victims bones from a lime pit into a Church crypt. Anyway the quantity looks much to large for a monastic burial even over several centuries.

Whatever the explanation and I very much doubt it is a sinister one, they do provide an extremely interesting experience.

Florence Trip - Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza Della Signoria it is one of the most significant public places in Italy. In 1299, the commune and people of Florence decided to build a palace, worthy of the city's importance and giving greater security, in times of turbulence, to the magistrates. Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect of the Duomo and the Santa Croce church, began constructing it upon the ruins of Palazzo dei Fanti and Palazzo dell'Esecutore di Giustizia, once owned by the Uberti family. Giovanni Villani wrote that Arnolfo di Cambio incorporated the ancient tower of the Foraboschi family (the tower then known as "La Vacca" or "The Cow") as the substructure of the tower into its facade;[2] this is why the rectangular tower (height 94 m) is not directly centered in the building. The Neptune Fountain was commissioned for the wedding of Francesco I de’ Medici and Grand Duchess Johanna of Austria in 1565. The sea-horses are supposed to be drawing Neptune’s chariot (a giant seashell on a pedestal decorated with the chained figures of Scylla and Charybdis). When the statue was completed in 1565, the Florentines did not like it much. Michelangelo said: “What a fine piece of marble you have ruined.” The Florentines then started to wash their clothes in the fountain.

Florence Trip - Pitti Palace & The Boboli Gardens

The Pitti Palace or Palazzo Pitti if you prefer is a huge renaissance Palace over the the Ponte Vecchio on the south side of the river. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The building was commissioned in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, a principal supporter and friend of Cosimo de' Medici. Land on the Boboli hill at the rear of the palazzo was acquired in order to create a large formal park and gardens, today known as the Boboli Gardens. There are some wonderful views across the Cypress lined Tuscan hills as you walk uphill to the Boboli Gardens. The Gardens are some of the first and most familiar formal 16th-century Italian gardens.The openness of the garden, with an expansive view of the city, was unconventional for its time. The gardens were very lavish, considering no access was allowed outside the immediate Medici family, and no entertainment or parties ever took place in the gardens. The gardens have passed through several stages of enlargement and restructuring work. They were enlarged in the 17th century to their present extent of 45,000 meters² (111 acres). The Boboli Gardens have come to form an outdoor museum of garden sculpture that includes Roman antiquities as well as 16th and 17th century works.

Florence Trip - Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi buiding was created in 1560 for the Florentine magistrates and completed in 1581. The narrow courtyard between the palace's two wings creates the effect of a short, idealized street; view toward the River Arno. Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence. The one painting and probably the one that every visitor wants to see is the stunning 'Birth of Venus' by Sandro Boticelli in the mid 148o's. Essentially it is the Goddess Venus arriving from the sea as an adult to the sea shore. Another world renowned Boticelli is 'Primavera' also known as 'Allegory of Spring'. Much interpreted there are many theories as to what is going on. The painting features six female figures and two male, along with a blindfolded chubby male chid (putto), in an orange grove. To the right of the painting, a flower-crowned female figure stands in a floral-patterned dress scattering flowers, collected in the folds of her gown. there are 500 identified plant species depicted in the painting, with about 190 different flowers. The Holy Family or 'Doni Tondo' or even 'Doni Madonna' if you prefer, is the only finished panel painting by the mature Michelangelo to survive. The Virgin Mary is the most prominent figure in the composition, taking up much of the center of the image. Mary sits directly on the ground without a cushion between herself and the ground, to better communicate the theme of her relationship to the earth.

We met a lovely couple from Chicago while queuing for the Duomo and bumped into them again at the cafe at the Uffizi.

Florence Trip - Ponte Vecchio and Santa Croce

'The Old Bridge' for those without a bit of basic Italian and scans the River Arno. Initially occupied by Butcher shops but now almost entirely made up of high class jewellers. Originally constructed in Roman times but I did hear a story that it was built by the Devil himself. According to the legend the Devil promised the good people of Florence a new bridge on one condition ! He could claim the soul of the first to cross over... The people however had a cunning plan and upon completion sent across the bridge a pig much to the disgust of the Devil. The Basilica of Santa Croce was built in 1294 by the Franciscan Order and is the final resting place for the great and good. Think of it as being the equivalent of Westminster Abbey if you will. They are all here, The Medici's, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Marconi & Galileo.

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The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The tombs inside are mostly massive and impressive as you will see from some of the pictures taken.

Florence Trip - Florence Cathedral The Duomo

 The Duomo is probably the city's most iconic landmark. Capped by Filippo Brunelleschi's red-tiled cupola , it's a staggering construction whose breathtaking pink, white and green marble facade and graceful campanile (bell tower) dominate the medieval cityscape. It's always good to get to the highest point when somewhere different, although Marina may not agree with this...




Work began in 1296, but construction took almost 150 years and it wasn't consecrated until 1436. It needs a climb of some 436 interior steps to reach the top and to fully appreciate what a feat of engineering it really is. Apparently over 4 million bricks were used in the construction, and no I didn't count them!

 

The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.Its almost impossible to describe just how impressive the Basilica is let alone the stunning views witnessed from the viewing balcony.