Category: Iotd

Mosaics underfoot

Walking through the Corinium Museum is not just a walk through history; it is a pilgrimage into the very nature of human experience. These mosaics remind me that we are connected to the past not just by shared geography, but by shared themes of life, art, and the simple beauty of the world around us.

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Image of the day – 177

What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.

Walking in Cirencester

Orpheus

Almost every day, I walk over history in Cirencester. My feet tread on pavements, asphalt, and concrete, a modern tapestry built over layers of forgotten lives. But in Cirencester, the past isn’t merely buried beneath; it is visible to view, laid out in small, colourful cubes of stone or painted wall plaster. At the Corinium Museum, the mosaics of Roman Corinium offer more than just archaeological wonder; they invite a journey into the heart and mind of a world long gone.

Corinium

The Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum was one of the most important settlements in Britain, second only to Londinium. This prosperity is captured in the magnificent mosaic floors that once adorned the villas and townhouses of its elite. As I stand before them, they cease to be mere objects of a museum. Instead, they become stories frozen in time, each tiny tessera a word in a sentence, each panel a vibrant, geometric chapter.

Sometimes we see things indirectly, and our brains are capable of retrieving far more information than you might at first think. It’s true of all our senses – hearing, touch, taste, smell and all the rest. The senses provide information but the brain makes much more of it all.

The hare

The hare

There is the famous Hare mosaic, found in Beeches Road and now a quiet emblem of our town. The artistry captivates the mind: a small hare caught in a moment of simple, vulnerable life, feeding amongst the foliage. When I look at it, I feel a curious resonance. We are so used to seeing animals in art as symbols of strength or the spoils of the hunt. Yet here is a humble creature, a snapshot of everyday nature from the fourth century. It reminds me that even in a grand Roman villa, the small, quiet moments of life were still observed and valued. It’s a message that travels two millennia, from one human heart to another.

The seasons

The Seasons mosaic presents another journey entirely. Here, Greek myth and a Roman love of the seasons mingle in intricate detail. But what strikes me is the continuity of it all. The cycle of winter pruning, spring planting, summer harvesting, and autumn gathering was as central to life then as the changing seasons are to us today. The mosaic is a reminder that some rhythms of existence are eternal, transcending the rise and fall of empires. It connects us to a shared human experience of time, of labour, and of nature’s relentless, beautiful cycle.

Orpheus

Perhaps the most poignant is the Orpheus mosaic (image at the top of the article), which once decorated a grand house just outside the town. In the centre, Orpheus charms wild animals with his music. This isn’t a scene of violent conquest, but of tranquil harmony, of nature tamed by art. In our own divided and turbulent world, the image speaks to a timeless desire for unity and peace. The mosaic suggests that art has the power to bring disparate parts of the world together, if only for a moment.

Walking through the Corinium Museum is not just a walk through history; it is a pilgrimage into the very nature of human experience. These mosaics remind me that we are connected to the past not just by shared geography, but by shared themes of life, art, and the simple beauty of the world around us. And as I step back out onto the modern pavement of Cirencester, I can imagine the ancient tesserae still underfoot, a solid reminder of the stories that lie beneath.

I didn’t write this article

OK, it’s confession time. I asked Google’s AI to write this article for me. I’ve made a few minor tweaks and edits, but that’s all. The prompt I provided wasn’t complex either. Here it is:

Write an article for ‘Journeys of Heart and Mind’ on Corinium mosaics. Follow the style and structure of existing articles.

Those twenty words resulted in this article. All you need to do is visit gemini.google.com and write a request like that, and the AI will write an answer for you. You don’t have to install anything or pay for anything, just type the request and press ‘Enter’. Give it a try! Type in ‘Write ten verses in the style of Wordsworth about laptops’ and see what comes out.

In some ways I think the AI did a better job than I would have done, but if I’d written it, it would have been me – and this isn’t! Where AI can help is to do some of the necessary research and perhaps create a first draft. But beyond that, my advice is to keep it human.

See also:

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Image of the day – 64
A conversation with ChatGPT

Cloud reflection

Just from this image the brain understands there are ripples on the surface of the water and from past experience will also know that these ripples will be moving.

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Image of the day – 176

What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.

Click to enlarge

Sometimes we see things indirectly, and our brains are capable of retrieving far more information than you might at first think. It’s true of all our senses – hearing, touch, taste, smell and all the rest. The senses provide information but the brain makes much more of it all.

What do we see in this image? It’s just a pattern of coloured patches reflected from a water surface. That’s what the eye sees. But the brain tells us there are clouds in the sky above and there are ripples on the water. Then the brain compares this basic information with what it recalls from past experience and it can construct two narratives, one for the clouds and another for the water.

The clouds

There is a dark cloud and it’s the closest one to us, it threatens a shower of rain. A second image taken a few seconds later would be enough for the brain to decide the direction of movement of the cloud and predict whether the rain might fall here or somewhere else. Paler clouds, white clouds and blue sky suggest there’s some sunshine around as well so although there might be a brief shower, it won’t turn into ongoing steady rain. All of that from from a few colour patches.

The water

Because of the way the cloud reflections are distorted, the brain can infer the water is neither heavily disturbed not completely calm. Just from this image the brain understands there are ripples on the surface of the water and from past experience will also know that these ripples will be moving. The same brain will realise that there are two likely causes; either there is a light breeze blowing or perhaps a boat has passed recently. Once again, past knowledge in memory is necessary to arrive at these conclusions. There are some large ripples and, near the top of the image, some much smaller ones too. There was a small disturbance in the water further away as these small ripples seem to form an expanding circle of which we see only a small part.

Here and there things are floating on the water, small leaves, perhaps? If so, there must be trees nearby, perhaps with branches overhead. What a lot the brain can reconstruct on the basis of prior knowledge! And all of these conclusions come from some patches of colour in a still image. And what about the little sticks emerging from the water on the left-hand side? It’s the remains of vegetation of some kind. Was there a plant growing in the water? Did a strong wind break twigs off an overhead tree branch?

And one last point – it was not raining at the moment the photo was taken. The water would have been covered with dozens of circular disturbances if rain was falling. That’s a lot of information that your eyes and brain can glean from a single fragment of time trapped by my camera!

We are, as the Bible expresses it, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

See also:

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

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Churn flooding
Season’s Greetings 2023
Reflections from way back when

Latest news on the Lion

I was able to put the puzzle together during a recent holiday in the Lake District. A jigsaw is a family tradition for us every year, we usually do a 1000-piece, commercial cardboard puzzle but I’d say the lion was rather more difficult.

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Image of the day – 175

What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.

Click to enlarge

My Sister, Rachael decided she wanted to learn to make traditional wooden jigsaws and bought a power scroll saw to learn the skills and processes involved. Having mastered the process she asked me for a clear photo of the lion picture I made in 1969. I had to take the picture out of the frame to avoid reflections in the image. I also had to adjust the image shape in GIMP to correct the geometry, and I increased the contrast to bring the black and white parts of the image closer to the way they originally appeared. Rachael used my image file to get the lion picture printed on plywood ready for cutting. She didn’t tell me she was making the jigsaw as a gift for me, so it was a lovely surprise when she handed the pieces over in a decorative container. I’m so impressed that Rachael has learned to design and cut jigsaws. She is also restoring old jigsaws, cutting replacement pieces if they are missing and lost. She even paints the new pieces to match the rest of the puzzle when necessary. So clever!

With the help of my wife, daughters and grandchildren, I was able to put the puzzle together during a recent holiday in the Lake District. A jigsaw is a family tradition for us every year, we usually do a 1000-piece, commercial cardboard puzzle but I’d say the lion was rather more difficult. Today’s image shows the completed jigsaw.

The jigsaw of life

Life is sometimes a bit like doing a jigsaw. Nothing seems to fit at first, but once you have some pieces in place it begins to get easier as you recognise more pieces with just that shade of colour or a similar texture. It takes a long time, but you get there in the end. Perseverance is necessary to complete a jigsaw, that’s another thing that’s true in life, you have to persevere; giving up is not an option. Attention to detail is crucial for a successful outcome.

Can you think of other parallels between jigsaw building and life? If so, drop me a line in the comments section below.

Two short videos about cutting the jigsaw

The two videos below show my very clever sister, Rachael, working on the jigsaw. In the first one she talks briefly about the cutouts and little lion shapes (or ‘whimsies’ to use the proper jigsaw terminology). You can see these clearly if you look at the photo at the top of the article. The second video shows a small extract of the cutting process.

Techie video

A techie maths video all about jigsaws and the number of pieces in each, picture shape ratios, piece shape ratios, probably far more than you want to know. None of it applies to the Lion jigsaw as that’s hand cut, each piece is unique and there are no rows or columns.

See also:

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If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

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The lion roars

Smallest Police station?

However, a quick Google search turned up an even smaller one in Trafalgar Square, London. So Watchet has already lost its brief claim to fame!

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Image of the day – 174

Click to enlarge

At Watchet Harbour on the north coast of Somerset stands possibly the smallest Police Station in the world. Certainly I’ve never seen one this tiny before. It’s just a door and a small window wide and has the grand title ‘Watchet Harbour Police Post’. If you know of a smaller police building anywhere in the world, please let me know in the comments section below.

However, a quick Google search turned up an even smaller one in Trafalgar Square, London. So Watchet has already lost its brief claim to fame! Read more about the Trafalgar Square example. However, the London claimant is no longer used by the Police, so Watchet might still claim to have the smallest working police station in the UK.

International claimants

Florida also has a claim to the smallest working police station and it’s certainly much smaller than the police post in Watchet. Like the London version, Florida’s is sheltered by a tree.

I suppose it’s possible there’s a smaller one somewhere else in the world, but if so it must be so tiny that you’d need a smaller than average police officer to occupy it.

Toy versions

For something even tinier, try one of these.

The smallest church?

This is a bit different. You can’t measure a church in terms of how wide or long it is. Churches are measured in terms of how many people are meeting. Jesus once said, ‘Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I’ll be there with them’. So the smallest church must be a meeting of two people (three if you include Jesus). That’s because church is not a building at all (although we often call a place where followers of Jesus meet ‘a church’. Is it still a church if the people have all gone home? No. Why? Because church is a community, not a building. Two people is the smallest possible community. We don’t always think of church as a community, but we should. If it’s not a community can it really be church at all?

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

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The world’s smallest
A bird called Jenny
Lichens
Church as a network – INDEX

The Lake District

We cannot know exactly what this area would have been like when it was full of active volcanoes, but we can get a rough idea from modern subduction regions on Earth today. Under the Mediterranean, for example, the African plate is being subducted underneath the plate carrying Europe.

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Image of the day – 173

A force on Stock Ghyll

This is one of the waterfalls along Stock Ghyll just north-east of Ambleside, Cumbria in the English Lake District. It’s beautiful countryside, and the nearby Force Cafe and Terrace served us a wonderful ‘Full Force’ breakfast. In the local dialect, a waterfall is known as a ‘force’, and there’s a whole string of them along this stretch of Stock Ghyll. A ghyll or gill is a narrow, deep, wooded ravine with a stream running though it. The term can also be used for the stream itself. Donna and I made our way carefully along this muddy, stony footpath, and it was well worth the effort.

Stock Ghyll runs right down into the town of Ambleside where it once powered a series of watermills, and finally flows into the nearby lake of Windermere.

Bobbin mills

Bobbin mills were common in Ambleside in the 19th century. Coppiced timber was cut to length and shaped on a lathe, then wooden discs were attached to both ends and the completed bobbins sold to the textile spinning and weaving businesses in the industrial cities south of the Lake District where they were used to store thread after spinning and before weaving. They contributed to the rapid growth of spinning and weaving factories in northern England. Wooden bobbin manufacturing died out with the 20th century introduction of plastics.

Formation of the Lake District

Skiddaw in the distance

The granite structures of the fells and mountains of the Lake District erupted from volcanoes during the Ordovician period some 460 million years ago.

Much more recently, repeated glaciations ground out U-shaped valleys arranged more or less radially and when the glaciers melted during warmer periods, lakes remained in the valley bottoms. Rivers flowing into the lakes or sometimes from one lake to another, have silted up some of the lakes at one end, and these flat, silted zones are now rich areas of pasture and crop land as well as places where urban construction has become possible. The photo above shows the mountain of Skiddaw in the distance and farmland in the foreground. The town of Keswick, out of the frame to the right, is also built on this flatter land laid down as sediment in the northern part of Derwent Water.

What else can we learn

One thing is very clear, what happens in one time period may be changed drastically at another, later time.

We cannot know exactly what this area would have been like when it was full of active volcanoes, but we can get a rough idea from modern subduction regions on Earth today. Under the Mediterranean, for example, the African plate is being subducted underneath the plate carrying Europe. The Alps and the Pyrenees have risen as a result, and volcanoes like Etna and Vesuvius are still actively pumping out magma or ash. The Mediterranean region is also prone to earthquakes. Now imagine (if you can) a mile or more depth of ice resting on top of the Alps grinding down the rocks to form U-shaped valleys as they slide due to gravity across the rock surface far below.

In Roman times, the areas of river sediment like that in the photo above would have been smaller than they are today and the lakes would have been correspondingly longer.

It’s very much a dynamic process. It’s a bit like the life of a person, we start as a new born infant and learn to talk and walk, then run. We learn to eat, and we learn to reason. at school we learn a lot more about the world we live in, politics, science, other languages, geography, history; we fall in love, we marry and raise a family; we have a career and learn how to manage the work environment, run a business, serve customers, manage bank accounts and so forth. The world is our playground, we travel on business or just for fun, we become grandparents as we grow older and retire from work. There are many beginnings and endings along the rich tapestry that is a human life. And lives intertwine in so many ways – friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours. Just like the Lake District, at any point it’s impossible to know what the future might hold.

Life is the same. What happened in my life when I was young is very different from what is happening in my life today. Change and unpredictabilty are the only things that are consistent throughout. If the ice hadn’t melted when it did, the Lake District would be far different from the place we know and love.

How do we deal with this built-in uncertainty? One way that many have found is faith, following a guide that we trust in ways that stretch us and help to shape our characters. Faith can be like an anchor in a choppy sea or even a full-blown storm, holding us safely in the right place until calmer conditions return. I recommend having an anchor in this experience we call life. But if you choose an anchor, choose carefully, there are some pointers elsewhere on this website. Hunt around and see if there’s anything here that you find attractive or compelling.

I’m always fascinated by links and similarities between one thing and another, life is full of them and sometimes they help to broaden our vision and understanding in ways that are quite unexpected.

See also:

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

You might also like:

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