Seemingly trivial things that cheer you up

rjsterry

Church building has already undergone one decline and revival in the 18th and 19th centuries. We're not building as many now, but not true to say that we lack the skills. Here's one completed recently.

http://www.niallmclaughlin.com/projects/bishop-edward-king-chapel-oxford/

briantrumpet

rjsterry said:

Church building has already undergone one decline and revival in the 18th and 19th centuries. We're not building as many now, but not true to say that we lack the skills. Here's one completed recently.

http://www.niallmclaughlin.com/projects/bishop-edward-king-chapel-oxford/

They are alse being built for other religions.

That said, whilst they are often impressive structures, I doubt if many/any have the amount of workmanship/detail of the old buildings: every corner of Exeter Cathedral is full of intricate stone carving, yet the impressive yet relatively recent Buckfast Abbey is plain in comparison.

My French correspondents are astounded by English church towers - there's little like that in France, in comparison - but the vast bulk date from just two hundred years (1350-1550), and reflect the wealth created by farming at that time. The next era of church building and rebuilding was as a result of the wealth created by the industrial revolution and the British Empire.

pblakeney

What Brian said.
My point wasn't church building, it was time and money spent of frivolous intricacies.
Any new build today may be impressive but it will be constructed with practicalities at the forefront, and to meet a budget.

rjsterry

pblakeney said:

What Brian said.
My point wasn't church building, it was time and money spent of frivolous intricacies.
Any new build today may be impressive but it will be constructed with practicalities at the forefront, and to meet a budget.

You think that roof has practicalities at the forefront? Well it's a view, I suppose. They're also not frivolous the decoration you see in a medieval church is there for a reason, just as the bare white walls and plain furnishings of a Lutheran church are there for a reason. All building work has a budget. Sometimes that budget is exceeded and the building is left unfinished.

pblakeney

rjsterry said:

pblakeney said:

What Brian said.
My point wasn't church building, it was time and money spent of frivolous intricacies.
Any new build today may be impressive but it will be constructed with practicalities at the forefront, and to meet a budget.

You think that roof has practicalities at the forefront? Well it's a view, I suppose. They're also not frivolous the decoration you see in a medieval church is there for a reason, just as the bare white walls and plain furnishings of a Lutheran church are there for a reason. All building work has a budget. Sometimes that budget is exceeded and the building is left unfinished.

Boils down to opinions I suppose, but compare and contrast this for intricacies.

rjsterry

pblakeney said:

rjsterry said:

pblakeney said:

What Brian said.
My point wasn't church building, it was time and money spent of frivolous intricacies.
Any new build today may be impressive but it will be constructed with practicalities at the forefront, and to meet a budget.

You think that roof has practicalities at the forefront? Well it's a view, I suppose. They're also not frivolous the decoration you see in a medieval church is there for a reason, just as the bare white walls and plain furnishings of a Lutheran church are there for a reason. All building work has a budget. Sometimes that budget is exceeded and the building is left unfinished.

Boils down to opinions I suppose, but compare and contrast this for intricacies.

It's different sorts of intricacy. One is applied to the surface of a fairly simple structure. The other uses an elaborate structure in place of surface decoration. More info on the Saint Edward King Chapel here.

https://issuu.com/bartlettarchucl/docs/mclaughlin_03_chapel_s05_update

pblakeney

As I said, boils down to personal preference.
Concrete v stone masons? I know my preference. As long as I am not paying. 😉

rick_chasey

pblakeney said:

As I said, boils down to personal preference.
Concrete v stone masons? I know my preference. As long as I am not paying. 😉

The Sagrada Famiglia is able to create that otherworldly vibe because of modern construction techniques.

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

As I said, boils down to personal preference.
Concrete v stone masons? I know my preference. As long as I am not paying. 😉

The Sagrada Famiglia is able to create that otherworldly vibe because of modern construction techniques.

Personal preference. It isn't to my taste. Neither is any of the Gaudi stuff.

rick_chasey

Fair enough.

I thought I’d stepped into a different world in the Sagrada. Really remarkable.

Not a fan of the outside but the inside is unlike any other building I’ve ever been in.

pinno

That exterior is horrible BTW.

rjsterry

pblakeney said:

As I said, boils down to personal preference.
Concrete v stone masons? I know my preference. As long as I am not paying. 😉

I mean that chapel is clad entirely in ashlar so there were definitely stone masons involved. The internal structure is timber. There might be some concrete in the foundations. I think the original claim was that not as much craftsmanship goes into modern buildings, which just isn't true. Whether you like medieval churches or modern ones or both is as you say, purely a matter of taste.

rjsterry

pinno said:

That exterior is horrible BTW.

There's quite a bit of controversy over how true to Gaudi's original intentions the completion work is. Personally I think most of his other work is more interesting.

pinno

rjsterry said:

pinno said:

That exterior is horrible BTW.

There's quite a bit of controversy over how true to Gaudi's original intentions the completion work is. Personally I think most of his other work is more interesting.

I saw a lot of Gaudi's stuff in Barcelona.
The Parc Güell was a bit odd and a space underneath an over hang with far too many pillars but the Casa Batio and Sagrada Familia are stunning.

rjsterry

pinno said:

rjsterry said:

pinno said:

That exterior is horrible BTW.

There's quite a bit of controversy over how true to Gaudi's original intentions the completion work is. Personally I think most of his other work is more interesting.

I saw a lot of Gaudi's stuff in Barcelona.
The Parc Güell was a bit odd and a space underneath an over hang with far too many pillars but the Casa Batio and Sagrada Familia are stunning.

Nice understatement 😁. Casa Batllo is supposed to be be based on the story of St George and the dragon, I think. I think my favourite is the loft space of Casa Mila, though.

pblakeney

This story cheered me up on multiple levels.
Yes, it is true. Well, according to Wikipedia at least. And yes, that Jack Black.

briantrumpet

First decent one I've seen at Topsham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zglbs5S-yOM

mr_eddy

mrb123 said:

mr_eddy said:

Buying a KitKat (because it seems healthier?!) and discovering that one of the fingers is all chocolate. Bonus

You mean to say that you've found the million pound prize winning solid chocolate KitKat finger??

Hang on, you haven't eaten it have you?

Ah damn never mind!

webboo

Letter arrived to tell me I will get £200 fuel allowance this year. New shorts, gillet, tyres or a down jacket I can’t decide what to go for.

veronese68

webboo said:

Letter arrived to tell me I will get £200 fuel allowance this year. New shorts, gillet, tyres or a down jacket I can’t decide what to go for.

If it's fuel allowance shouldn't you spend it on cake?

webboo

Sadly cakes are off the menu this week as I need to shift a few pounds.

mrb123

webboo said:

Sadly cakes are off the menu this week as I need to shift a few pounds.

Two hundred of them?!

webboo

I did mention it to the missus, so it might already have been shifted.

mrb123

webboo said:

I did mention it to the missus, so it might already have been shifted.

Fatal mistake. I rashly told Mrs B about a tidy lump sum incoming from work and she had new windows ordered before it hit my account.

webboo

At the end of the day I changed my mind about the jacket. It was supposedly half price on the sports pursuit web site. Made by Fjern Norwegian company gets good reviews however they seem to be owned by SP and the down is taken from live kittens who are only fed once a year or something to that effect.
I bought some theraband twist bars to try and fix my elbows instead.

Pross

Finally got to watch Book of Mormon last night, postponed from last November and it must be over 2 years since I bought the tickets. Crying with laughter whilst wearing a facemask and ending up with your nose running isn't great but hasa diga eebowai as they say!

rjsterry

That Mike Graham clip doing the rounds.

briantrumpet

rjsterry said:

That Mike Graham clip doing the rounds.

I like the way the interviewee doesn't try to rebut the suggestion that you can "grow concrete", and just lets the silence do the work.

Pross

Got contacted by a headhunter yesterday. He ran through the role he was looking to fill and at the end asked if it would be of interest and, to avoid any issues down the line, what my salary expectation would be for the role described. When I gave him a figure he said he was surprised and that I might want to reconsider upwards as the role was offering more. Maybe it shouldn't cheer me up as it suggests I'm currently being underpaid but it is certainly better than the reaction I used get when asked the same question whilst actively looking for a new job a few years ago!

rjsterry

briantrumpet said:

rjsterry said:

That Mike Graham clip doing the rounds.

I like the way the interviewee doesn't try to rebut the suggestion that you can "grow concrete", and just lets the silence do the work.

He then went on Jeremy Kyle to dig the hole deeper.