Last summer, my friend from Ahmad Tea gave me two free tickets to visit Buckingham Palace on its preview day.
It was the day before the palace summer opening of the State Rooms. I took my son with me for such a privileged visit as VIPs for a day. Yes, I touched the grand staircase at Buckingham Palace designed by John Nash. That was a happy day. [Read more…] about St. George’s Day: Fascinating Dragons
At St. Boniface Church this morning, a large wooden cross decked out with daffodils was brought in to the church. It was a beautiful scene.
As the music director Hugh Benham explained in this post, during Lent at the parish church, a large wooden cross is on display, and on Good Friday the altar is bare. Symbols of the Passion are laid at the foot of this cross [Read more…] about Easter Day – from Tragedy to Triumph
On Saturday 12th April 2014 Chandler’s Ford born and bred Rowan Esther Catherine Cameron wed Robbie Stewart Weir at Weetwood Hall in Leeds. With names Cameron and Weir it was no surprise to see guests turning up in highland dress with kilts, black barathea jackets with silver buttons, sporrans and ghillies on the feet.
Modern political correctness meant that the sgian-dubh was not worn but [Read more…] about Wedding of Chandler’s Ford Girl
English spelling at times seems completely random, but it is sometimes systematic, even if there seems no good reason for the system, and if exceptions can still be found!
Take the use of single L and double L at the end of a word for example. [Read more…] about English Spelling
If you haven’t seen The Crossroad, musical drama at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church, I would suggest you grasp the chance to see it.
There are two more shows: Friday and Saturday (11th and 12th of April) at 7.30pm.
I watched The Crossroad with my son this evening. The story was thought-provoking. [Read more…] about The Crossroad: Brilliant Performance
I’ve given up sweets, cakes and biscuits for Lent. Possibly a bad choice, and each year I get to about the halfway point and think that maybe next year I’ll give up something I don’t like as much.
But that’s not really the point. In fact, giving up things per se isn’t really the point. It’s more to do with doing some self-reflection and assessing your spiritual life, [Read more…] about What Is Lent All About?
Just a few yards off The Circus in Bath is the Museum of East Asian Art in a beautiful Georgian house on Bennett Street.
The contents were collected by Brian McElney OBE, a British scholar of sinology who worked as a lawyer in Hong Kong. After retirement he tried to present his collection to other museums of Chinese art but eventually set this one up himself. [Read more…] about China In Bath
This site has now been renamed: Chandler’s Ford Today. When the site was set up in March 2013, the domain name was Eastleighnet.
Please note that this site will use the spelling Chandler’s Ford consistently. Chandler is a singular noun, so it has to be followed by an apostrophe plus s to show possession. [Read more…] about Welcome To Chandler’s Ford Today
This post John Tavener was written by Dr. Hugh Benham, writer, composer, and choir director of St. Boniface church in Chandler’s Ford.
I interviewed Dr. Hugh Benham last year in this post: Concert, Life And Passion.
Hugh celebrated the life of the brilliant composer Sir John Tavener with us. [Read more…] about John Tavener
Have you heard of the Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift in 1914?
It was the World War One Princess Mary Brass Gift Tin.
I had a rare opportunity to hold this special brass tin last week.
Thousands of brass tins [Read more…] about Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift 1914
One of the traditional sounds of Christmas is that of church bells.
I’m not sure why it is a traditional sound of Christmas, as church bells are rung through the year – most Sundays, as well as other celebratory events such as weddings and christenings.
But as you hear the peal of bells drifting [Read more…] about The Art Of Bell Ringing
Something that guidebooks to Eastleigh tell you is that the design of the town’s war memorial is “very unusual”.
What provides this distinction is the figure of the Angel of Mons on the top.
However, as far as I know, none of the guidebooks explain why Eastleigh does have an angel [Read more…] about Eastleigh War Memorials
I’ve picked up a few books about Chandler’s Ford from the library and you may find them interesting.
1) Capt. A.A.J. Fortune: Chandlers Ford, 1859 – 1969. The book cover reads, “An account of the growth of Chandlers Ford from a hamlet to a village by 1897, now the largest residential area in the Borough of Eastleigh.”
Price for the book was 10/6. [Read more…] about Fascinating Books About Chandler’s Ford
![Sir John Tavener features in Word Made Flesh: By Devlin crow (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Sir_John_Tavener_features_in_Word_Made_Flesh-220x220.jpg)
