Huguenot Jo

Egg hunt: seven Imperial Fabergé Eggs are missing

Huguenot Jo — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 18:53:05 +0000

Russian master goldsmith Carl Fabergé (1846 – 1920) became a household name through his exquisite Easter eggs made of precious metals and opulent jewels.

Fabergé was descended from Huguenots on his father’s side, and exemplified the Huguenot contribution to craftmanship …

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How can I keep from singing?

Huguenot Jo — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 18:38:11 +0000

Why they called me Joy I don’t know.

When the midwife asked my mother for my name, she thought she heard the reply “Joey”. If only. They needed a boy, to inherit the family butcher business. I was the last …

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“My two lovely girls”

Huguenot Jo — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 18:07:29 +0000

February 22 is never a good day for me – it’s the anniversary of my mum’s death, and I ignore it at my peril.

Better to acknowledge it than have things go wrong all day as the subconscious wreaks havoc.…

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Sanctuary – an ancient promise

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 18:29:40 +0000

Canterbury Cathedral is clearing its nave for a special contemplation of the meaning of Sanctuary.

Such an event seldom happens in Canterbury Cathedral. Churches and cathedrals have always been places of sanctuary, but it’s a particularly pertinent theme in Canterbury, …

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Chasing the algorithm – cults, incels and digital culture

Huguenot Jo — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 20:03:41 +0000

A chilling Radio 4 series “The New Gurus” tumbled into my lap during holiday downtime, and is appallingly relevant today.

Presenter Helen Lewis is a journalist I’ve long admired for her staunchly down-to-earth reporting. She’s often heard on Radio 4, …

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“Was the earth made to preserve a few covetous, proud men to live at ease…?”

Huguenot Jo — Sat, 17 Dec 2022 15:06:51 +0000

“…Or was it made to preserve all her children?” – Gerrard Winstanley, Founder of the True Levellers (the "Diggers"), 1649.

As gifts, tea towels from the Radical Tea Towel Company are hard to beat for politicos. Apart from the blatantly …

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Hooray! It’s Bedfordshire Day!

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 12:27:59 +0000

Bedfordshire, where I grew up, is a dull county of no note in the middle of England.

It probably does deserve its own day to give it a boost, especially since Northamptonshire – another dull county in the middle …

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Huguenot Jo — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 18:31:53 +0000

Huguenot Jo warmly wishes you a joyous celebration of the Pilgrim Fathers.

…

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Treason season: people, power and plot

Huguenot Jo — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 09:59:03 +0000

A new exhibition at the National Archives in Kew, Treason: People, Power & Plot, opens today.

It explores how the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, the establishment of the Church of England, the creation of the United States …

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Huguenots – the very first refugees

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 11:08:50 +0000

On World Refugee Day – 20 June - it’s worth remembering that the word “refugee” was coined to describe the Huguenots in their flight from religious persecution in France.

The countries to which they fled offered them refuge and thus …

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The Essex Serpent – streaming on Apple TV+

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 15 May 2022 15:41:12 +0000

Clare Danes and Tom Hiddleston star in the TV adaptation of Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent.

It’s getting good write-ups..

Read a review of the book here and more information about Sarah Perry here

The Essex Serpent TV Mini …

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A chance to manage the Huguenot Museum in Rochester, Kent

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 14:41:27 +0000

A rare opportunity to re-launch and manage a museum is open to applicants until 24 April 2022.

The Huguenot Museum was temporarily mothballed during the pandemic, and now needs an entrepreneurial manager to lead its re-opening. This is the first …

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Too posh for the likes of us: the Great and the Good

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 14:46:24 +0000

We chose a fine, sunny Saturday to visit Canterbury Cathedral, although I am over-awed by the Church of England in all its forms so I was not in the best of moods. Most Anglican clergy are too posh by far …

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Off to Canterbury, in pursuit of a French Chapel

Huguenot Jo — Sat, 19 Mar 2022 13:53:58 +0000

The French Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral caught me by surprise - as the door was unlocked, I felt a surge of emotion.

A full account follows shortly, but here’s a photographic taster of the Cathedral and the Chapel within.

…

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When I consider how my light is spent: a terrier’s life

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 14:58:32 +0000

Poor old John Milton (1608-1674) was probably only in his late forties when he went blind, having had a tumultuous life up until then.

He was a Puritan and a propagandist both for Oliver Cromwell’s Republic and the regicides, using …

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The Buddha and a calming colouring book

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 15:12:01 +0000

A new Buddhist temple has recently opened near our house, and free meditation classes are always on offer. It’s a pleasant way to spend half an hour, and following a guided fantasy led by one of the orange-robed monks is …

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Thanksgiving Thursday: starting a New World Order

Huguenot Jo — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:29:25 +0000

Thanksgiving in America celebrates the first arrival of a band of Puritans in the New World in 1620, having survived an arduous sea passage from England in a vessel called The Mayflower.

These Pilgrim Fathers had a distinct ambition of …

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End of an era for The Huguenots of Spitalfields

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 18:02:58 +0000

The Huguenots of Spitalfields, a charity set up by the boundlessly energetic Charlie de Wet, has announced its closure.

I have files and files of notes I took on Huguenots of Spitalfields outings. I reckon the first one I went …

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Huguenot Heroes: Zoom Lecture on 23 November from 7.00pm to 8.00pm

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 14:12:09 +0000

The Huguenots of Spitalfields have organised an art event which promises to be unique.

It’s a look at some of the famous Huguenots whose portraits now hang in the National Portrait Gallery. “From Calvin to Churchill, Garrick to Garland, the …

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Too many men – Women of Bedford protest

Huguenot Jo — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 14:14:06 +0000

There are eleven statues in the town of Bedford, and not one of them is of a woman. A vigorous local campaign has grown up to put that right.

The campaign group Women of Bedford wants to erect the first …

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