Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

07 November, 2026

“We Will Remember Them”. The Union Jack Club And The Military Wives Choirs Pay Their Own Tributes To The Fallen.



Armistice Day.

Every year, The Union Jack Club has its own Act of Remembrance to The Fallen. Keep an eye on The Union Jack Club’s Web-Site to find out what’s happening and when.

The Web-Site can be accessed

We Shall Remember Them.

Plus, with Remembrance Day approaching,
 The Military Wives Choirs pay their own 
special tribute to our Armed Forces.

The Military Wives Choirs 
are something very, very, special.
Listen to them here:


“Wherever You Are”.
Sung By: The Military Wives Choirs.
Available On YouTube

and


“Abide With Me”.
Sung By: The Military Wives Choirs.
Available On YouTube

“We Will Remember Them”. The Union Jack Club Pays Tribute To The Fallen. Plus, The Military Wives Choirs.



Armistice Day.

On Saturday, 11 November 2023, The Union Jack Club’s own Act of Remembrance took place and you can now watch on the LINK (see, below) to see the eighty-metre-high animations, 
in all their jaw-dropping glory !

We thank the Military Wives Choirs for their kind permission to use the accompanying music, so please make sure your sound is on to enjoy the full effect.


To see this beautiful video, please click on the link HERE

“Cherish”. Sung By: Kool & The Gang.



“Cherish”.
Sung By: Kool & The Gang.
Available on YouTube

Pope Urban VII. Shortest Papal Reign In History.




English: Illustration of Pope Urban VII.
Italiano: Papa Urbano VII.
Date: 1590.
Source: BWEB
Author: Roman Painter.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Pope Urban VII (Latin: Urbanus VII; who lived 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of The Catholic Church, and Ruler of The Papal States from 15 September 1590 to 27 September 1590. His thirteen-day Papacy is the shortest in history.

Giovanni Battista Castagna was born in Rome in 1521 to a noble family as the son of Cosimo Castagna of Genoa and Costanza Ricci Giacobazzi of Rome.[1]

Castagna studied in universities all across Italy and obtained a Doctorate in Civil Law and Canon Law when he finished his studies at The University of Bologna. Soon after, he became Auditor of his uncle, Cardinal Girolamo Verallo, whom he accompanied as Datary on a Papal Legation to France.[1]



He served as a Constitutional Lawyer and entered the 
Roman Curia during the Pontificate of Pope Julius III as the Referendary of The Apostolic Signatura. Castagna was chosen to be the new Archbishop of Rossano on 1 March 1553, and he would quickly receive all the Minor and Major Orders culminating in his Ordination to the Priesthood on 30 March 1553 in Rome. He then received Episcopal Consecration, a month after, at the home of Cardinal Verallo.

He served as the Governor of Fano from 1555 to 1559 and 
later served as the Governor of Perugia and Umbria from 
1559 to 1560. During the Reign of Pope Pius IV, he settled satisfactorily a long-standing boundary dispute between the inhabitants of Terni and Spoleto.[1] Castagna would later participate in The Council of Trent from 1562 to 1563 and served as the President of several Conciliar Congregations.

He was appointed as The Apostolic Nuncio to Spain in 1565 and served there until 1572, resigning his Post from his Archdiocese a year later. He also served as The Governor of Bologna from 1576 to 1577. Among other positions, he was The Apostolic Nuncio to Venice from 1573 to 1577 and served also as The Papal Legate to Flanders and Cologne from 1578 to 1580.

Pope Gregory XIII elevated him to the Cardinalate on 
12 December 1583 and he was appointed as The Cardinal-Priest of San Marcello.


After the death of Pope Sixtus V, a Conclave was convoked to elect a successor. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had been appointed a Cardinal at the age of fourteen, but was never Ordained to The Priesthood.

At the age of thirty-eight, he resigned the Cardinalate upon the death of his older brother, Francesco, in 1587, in order to succeed to the Title. (There were suspicions that Francesco and his wife died of arsenic poisoning after having dined at Fernando’s Villa Medici, although one story has Fernando as the intended target of his sister-in-law.)

Ferdinando’s foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination. He was consequently opposed to the election of any candidate supported by Spain. He persuaded Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto, grand-nephew of Pope Sixtus V to switch his support from Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna, which brought the support of the younger Cardinals appointed by the Late-Sixtus.[2]

Castagna, a seasoned diplomat of moderation and proven rectitude, was elected as Pope on 15 September 1590 and selected the Pontifical name of “Urban VII”.[2]


Pope Urban VII’s short passage in Office gave rise to the world's first-known public smoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who “took tobacco in the Porchway of, or inside, a Church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe, or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose”.[3]

Pope Urban VII was known for his charity to the poor. He subsidised Roman bakers, so they could sell bread under cost, and restricted the spending on luxury items for Members of his Court. He also subsidised Public Works projects throughout The Papal States. Urban VII was strictly against nepotism and he forbade it within The Roman Curia.[4]

Urban VII died in Rome on 27 September 1590, shortly before midnight, of malaria. He had reigned for thirteen days. He was buried in The Vatican. The funeral oration was delivered by Pompeo Ugonio. His remains were later Transferred to the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, on 21 September 1606.

His estate, valued at 30,000 scudi, was bequeathed to the Archconfraternity of The Annunciation, for use as dowries for poor young girls.





English: Pope Urban VII's Coat-of-Arms.
Français: Armoiries du pape Urbain VII : bandé de gueules et d'argent, au chef de gueules, chargé d'une feuille de châtaignier d'or, et soutenu d'une divise d’or
Source du blasonnement :
Date: 9 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Odejea
(Wikimedia Commons)

“The Train Now Arriving At Platform 2 Has Limited Seat Availability. All Aboard, Please. Tickets, Please”.



“The Train now arriving at Platform 2 has limited seat availability. All aboard, please”. 
“Tickets, Please”.
Photo source : funny-pictures.vidzshare.
Illustration: TOPITO

06 November, 2026

Hereford Cathedral (Cathedral Of Saint Mary The Virgin And Saint Ethelbert The King). (Part Seven).

 


English: Arabesque-like “Diapering” (decorative lines) 
(see mention, below) on the Field of the Shield of 
The See of Worcester, in the Chapel of The Holy Cross, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
Deutsch: Buntfenster-Wappen mit Damaszierung der Anglikanischen Diözese von Worcester.
Heraldic Description:
“Argent, ten Torteaux, four, three, two, and one.”
Photo: 20 June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Oosoom
(Wikimedia Commons)


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.


At the Northern entrance, is a Porch and decorated Doorway. There is a modern Rood Screen, a lofty Central Lantern, and a Reredos with a carved Spandrel. 

The Lady Chapel has Lancet Windows, Foliated Ornaments and a Groined Roof. The tomb of Charles Booth, Bishop and builder of the Porch, is in the sixth Bay of the Nave on the North Side, guarded by the only ancient ironwork left in the Cathedral. On the South Side of the Nave is the Norman Font, 
a circular bowl large enough to allow of the immersion of children.

The North Transept, rebuilt by Aquablanca in the Decorated Period, and restored by Scott, is noted for the diapering (see, above) of the Triforium Arcade, and for the form of the Pointed Arches and Windows, which have so slight a curvature as to resemble two straight lines meeting at an angle. 


The Choir, Hereford Cathedral.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution:
Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)


The North Window is filled with Stained-Glass by Hardman as a Memorial of Archdeacon Lane-Freer, who died in 1863. In this Transept is the tomb or sub-structure of the Shrine of Thomas de Cantilupe, Early-Decorated Work which has been restored.

Of Purbeck Marble, it is built in two stages, of which the lower stage contains fourteen figures of Knights Templars in Chainmail Armour, occupying Cinquefoiled Niches.

Between the North Choir Aisle and the Eastern Aisle of the Transept is the tomb of Peter Aquablanca, the most ancient of the Episcopal Monuments in the Church.

The effigy is an example of a Bishop in full Vestments; the Canopy is supported by slender Shafts. The South Transept is thought by some authorities to be the oldest part of the Cathedral, and it exhibits some Norman Work, notably the Eastern Wall with its Arcades.


“The Psalter”, or “Psalms of David”,
from the 1843 Illustrated Book of Common Prayer 
published by H. W. Hewet. At the top, the Cathedrals of Hereford and Llandaff; in the centre, the Cathedrals of Norwich and Lichfield; at the bottom, the Abbey of St Alban's and the Cathedral of Carlisle.
Date: 1843.
Source: 
Author: H. W. Hewet
(Wikimedia Commons)


Until its removal in the 1960s, there was a Wrought Iron Choir-Screen, painted and gilt. Designed by Scott, it was executed by Messrs. Skidmore, of Coventry, from whose works also came the earlier metal Screen at Lichfield. After being kept in storage for many years, the Screen was completely restored in the Late-1990s and re-erected at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.


The Chained Library,
Hereford Cathedral.
Available on YouTube


The Choir, consisting of three Norman Bays of three Stages, is full of objects of beauty and interest. The Reredos, designed by the younger Cottingham, consists of five Canopied compartments, with elaborate sculpture representing Our Lord’s Passion. Behind it is a Pier, from which spring two Pointed Arches; the Spandrel thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, representing Christ in his majesty, with Angels and the four Evangelists; below is a figure of King Ethelbert. 

Against the most Easterly point on the South Side of the Choir is to be seen a small effigy of this King, which was dug up at the entrance to The Lady Chapel about 1700. 

The Bishop’s Throne and the Stalls, of 14th-Century Work and restored, and the modern Book Desks and figures of Angels on the Upper Stalls, deserve attention. There is also a very curious ancient Episcopal Chair.

PART EIGHT FOLLOWS.

The Sanctoral Cycle.







Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Pope Saint Pius X, in his Bull “Divino Afflatu”, promulgated
1 November 1911, points out the order to be observed in The Celebration of The Feasts of Saints, which, in the course of the year, come in among those of The Cycle of The Mysteries of Our Lord’s Life [Editor: “The Temporal Cycle”].

The first place in the order is given to The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Then come The Holy Angels.

Next, according to the greater or lesser share they have in The Plan of The Incarnation:


Saint John the Baptist, the Precursor of The Messias;

Saint Joseph;

Saint Peter and Saint Paul and the other Apostles, whose Feasts have always been Celebrated with special Solemnity;

The Feasts of National Saints, Patrons of Dioceses and Parishes, come in The First Rank because of special gratitude due to them;

Next, come Feasts of Dedication of Churches;


Martyrs;

Pontiffs, i.e., Popes or Bishops;

Doctors of The Church, i.e., Fathers of The Church, the authorised interpreters of The Word of God;

Confessors, i.e., those, who, by their life or doctrine, have Confessed Christ;

Virgins and other Holy Women.



The most important and the most numerous Solemnities of this Cycle, especially those of The Time After Pentecost, bring into full light The Cycle of Christ, for it is by Him that the World must be renewed: “Instaurare omnia in Christo” [Editor: “Restore All Things In Christ”]

Resting one upon the other, these two Cycles [Editor: The Sanctoral Cycle and The Temporal Cycle] form, as it were, an immense Monstrance, set with Precious Stones. In the centre, is The Host, or, “The Mass of The Faithful”, with the three parts which constitute it: The Offertory; The Consecration; The Communion.


Around it, is “The Mass of The Catechumens”, which varies every day, whereby, at The Altar, as with Luminous Rays, we are shown the different Mysteries on each Sunday and Solemnity of The Proper of The Time. Then, in the intervals left free, like lesser Rays, shine The Feasts in honour of The Saints.

The Church carries this Divine Sun through the World in all times, raises it daily towards Heaven in her Liturgical Worship, that, by it, we may offer to God an ever-renewed homage of our gratitude, and receive, from it, the treasures of Grace and Holiness.

Two Ordo Or Not Two Ordo ? That Is The Question. Whether ’Tis Nobler In The Mind To Suffer The Slings And Arrows Of Outrageous “Missalettes” !!! The Ordo MMXXVII. Order From The Saint Lawrence Press Ltd.



Illustration is of the 2016 Edition of The ORDO.

Two Ordo, or not Two Ordo: That is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous “Missalettes”,
Or, to give arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them. To know what Feast it is.
And have a damn good read.

Shakespeare.
Hamlet.
(With Apologies)

The 2027 Edition will be available soon !!!




Illustration is of the 2016 Edition of The ORDO.

The ORDO 2027
for The Extraordinary Form of The Mass.

ORDO 2027 will be available for despatch very soon.

Please watch this space on THE SAINT LAWRENCE PRESS LTD


A new Cart for ORDO 2027 will be set up when it is available.
It would be much appreciated if people did not order the 2026 Edition, hoping to get the ORDO 2027.

It is gratifying and pleasing to see so many enquiries already about the 2027 Edition.


ORDO 2026 sold very well, with many new customers from around the World, as a new generation starts to understand the richness of the Roman Liturgy and to follow the Praxis of previous generations, now gone to The LORD.

November is a most suitable time to remember them.


Illustration is of the 2016 Edition of The ORDO.

Two Ordo, or not Two Ordo: That is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous “Missalettes”,
Or, to give arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them. To know what Feast it is.
And have a damn good read.

Shakespeare.
Hamlet.
(With Apologies)

The Sixth Day Within The Octave Of All Saints’ Day. 6 November. White Vestments.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

The Sixth Day Within The Octave Of All Saints' Day.
   6 November.

White Vestments.


The Church Triumphant.
The Church Militant.
The Church Suffering.

Illustration from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
who reproduce Text and Illustrations from
The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
1952 Edition,
with the kind permission of
Artist: René de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.

Mass: As on the Day of the Feast (Gaudeámus omnes).
Creed: Is said.

“Warrior’s Lament”. “Warrior’s Elegy”.

 


“Warrior’s Lament”.

Jacqueline Hurley’s On-Line Shop is


“Warrior’s Elegy”.

Jacqueline Hurley’s On-Line Shop is

A Little Levity To Lighten Your Day . . .


05 November, 2026

Copenhagen, Denmark.



Copenhagen, Denmark.
Illustration: BING

Great Western Railways’ 4-6-0 “King” Class Locomotives.



“Night Stop”.
Painting by Don Breckon.
Illustration: COURTENAY’S FINE ART
Great Western Railways 4-6-0 
“King” Class Locomotive 
“King Richard III”, No. 6015.



On a cold, Wintry morning, Great Western Railway’s 
“King” Class 4-6-0 Locomotive No. 6024 “King Edward I” storms up Horfield Bank, Bristol, with the “Shropshire Monarch” Train bound for Shrewsbury.
Photo: 27 November 2010.
Source: 6024.
Uploaded by Oxyman.
This File is licensed under the 
Author: Hugh Llewelyn.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class, or King Class, is a Class of 4-6-0 Steam Locomotives designed for Express Passenger work and introduced in 1927. 

They were the largest Locomotives built by the GWR, apart from the unique Pacific (The Great Bear).


Great Western Railways 4-6-0
“King” Class Locomotive
“King Edward I”, No. 6024.
Didcot Railway Centre, June 1994,
presumably being run by a Railway
Enthusiasts and Preservation Society.
Date: 4 May 2020.
Source: FLICKR
This File is licensed under the
Author: The Basingstoker.


This Class of Locomotive was named after Kings of the United Kingdom and of England, beginning with the then reigning Monarch, George V, and going back through history.[a] 

They handled the principal GWR Expresses on the Main Line from London to the West of England and on the Chiltern Line to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, until 1962 when the Class was withdrawn.[2][3]
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