Fun Facts 20: The Railway Poster The 1850's brought rivalry between the many competing private railway companies and improvements in printing technology resulting in greater use of advertising to promote their new, cheaper and more convenient services. Few survive from this early period. Early posters were predominantly about special trains with factual information rather than images, and were often poorly composed. 1905 brought the first works by graphic artist Norman Wilkinson commissioned by the LNWR to produce artwork for posters incorporating landscape painting. Other companies were soon to follow. The GWR posters magnificently combined image and text. The everlasting set Skegness is So Bracing' by John Hassall, first appeared in 1908 featuring the 'Jolly Fisherman' skipping along the beach and has became one of the most revered among collectors. Originals of the great era now change hands for £1,000's dependant on condition, individual graphic artist and image portrayed. (Posted 09.02.08) Quiz 64 : Name the artist 2? Can you identify these artist for each of these works? The illustration is only part of the whole canvas. Pass mouse curser over each of the images to disclose the answer. (Posted 05.07.08) 2008 Surrey Cricket Festival Guildford Cricket Club, Woodbridge Road 16th to 20th July Guildford’s Festival of Cricket is the perfect outing for family and friends: offering a limited-overs and a four-day cricket match, excellent hospitality and real atmosphere. Surrey County Cricket Club’s Natwest Pro40 match against Yorkshire CCC and the Club’s Liverpool Victoria Championship game against Durham CCC. For full details visit www.surreycricket.com/events/guildford-festival. (Posted 05.07.08) Guildford Steam Rally and Model Exhibition Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July The Guildford Model Engineering Society annual event takes place in their grounds on Stoke Park A fun time for the whole family. Ample free parking. For more information visit: www.gmes.org.uk. (Posted 28.06.08) Bygone Sayings 26: Family Spare the rod and spoil the child. Children should be seen and not heard. Children and fools tell the truth Don't judge folks by their relatives. My son is my son till he gets him a wife; but my daughter's my daughter all the days of her life. Govern a family as you would cook a small fish - very gently. One good mother is worth a hundred school masters. Accidents will happen in the best regulated families Like father, like son, like mother, like daughter. The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot. The Devil's children have the Devil's luck. Clergymen's sons always turn out badly. (Posted 28.06.08) Rotary On Postage Stamps : 1980 Liberia This fine set of six stamps were issued in 1980 to commemorate Rotary International's 75th anniversary. (Posted 28.06.08) 2008 Guildford Town Centre Cycle Races Wednesday 9th July Top riders are lining-up, promising an evening of thrills and spills on the High Street cobbles, organised by the Charlotteville Cycling Club. To visit Charlotteville Cycling Club website use this direct link: www.charlottevillecc.co.uk. (Posted 21.06.08) Astrology 22nd June - 23rd July : Cancerians The stars of Cancer neither form a crab nor because of their dim nature are easy to view. The missing rear claw was originally there but it exploded in a super nova, as recorded by the Chinese 1000 years past, to form the Crab Nebular (a huge cloud of gas and dust). On philosophy Plato said: ", No greater good was or will be given by the gods to mortal man." The thought has persisted since early time that the celestial movement of stars in some way governs our lives. Love it or hate it, your choice. So to help make up your mind herewith some attributes of a Cancerian. Marriage, family ties, children and home life are very important and therefore are strongly defended and kept private. Suspicious of and defensive with strangers. Tough business negotiators in which they can be ruthless, many running their own businesses. To friends and family they are kind, unassuming and loyal. Generally deeply religious and critical of the permissive society. They are seen by their partners as practical, persevering, determined and personally opinionated. They grow attached to everything, refusing to part with anything. The male Cancerian takes interest in their family line and enjoys reminiscing on the past. The female cancerian is entirely guided by their feelings with a frightening ability of sixth sense. The Cancerian child is deeply attached to their parents, staying at home far longer than their piers and not in the main academically inclined. The moon is the ruler of this sign, a trigger to romance but causing mood swings in sympathy with the cyclic phases. Lovers of the beach, boating and swimming. True to their water sign they are content in the rain. (Posted 21.06.08) Figure Of Speech 4: On The Wild Side? As blind as a bat.As brave as a lion. As sly as a fox.As strong as an ox. As nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. As wise as the owl. As mad as a March hare. As poor as a church mouse. As slow as a snail. As proud as a peacock. Clumsy as a bull in a china shop. As the crow flies. As weak as a kitten. Artful as a barrow load of monkeys. (Posted 21.06.08) Hubble 1: The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is is a dying star throwing off shells of glowing gas, a planetary nebula in the constellation of Draco (three thousand light-years distant). Structurally, it is one of the most complex nebulae known. The high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observation reveals remarkable structures such as knots, jets and sinewy arc-like features. These features are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system. In a binary star system, each star of the pair follows an elliptical orbital path. Mutual gravity causes the stellar companions to glide around their orbits as if tied to the ends of an elastic string passing through a balance point between them. The balance point is the system's 'center of mass'. (Posted 21.06.08) Guildford’s Summer Festival 2008 This year’s Guildford’s Summer Festival starts on the 20th June and continues through until the 2nd August. It incorporates a cornucopia of events to meet all tastes and age groups. A Festival brochure can be obtained from Tourist Information points around the Borough or by visiting: www.guildfordsummerfestival.co.uk. (Posted 16.06.08) The 2008 Guildford Boat Festival Weekend of 5/6th July Many narrow boats, from waterways across the UK, moor on the Wey Navigation Canal at Guildford, to take part in the special activities. (Posted 16.06.08) Summer Solstice The longest day of the year is Saturday 21st June. The Church Authorities in the mid 1700's considered the 23rd June and the day following, the 24th June, to be the shortest night and longest day and designated such as The Feast of St John The Baptist. A local custom in Surrey was St John's Vigil. Francis Kerry, Curate of Puttenham in 1869 describes the custom as it observed a century earlier; "On the night of St John's Eve, anyone who sat up fasting all night in the church porch would see the spirits of those who were to die in the parish during the ensuing twelve months. Any who fell asleep during this vigil met the unfortunate consequence of joining those about to die." Modern calendars suggest that summer begins on the summer solstice however in ancient country calendars, summer began on May Day and ended on Lammas (August 1st). Midway between the two, summer solstice, marked mid-summer which makes more logical sense. (Posted 07.06.08) The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit Guildford Cathedral was consecrated on 17th May 1961, thirty one years after Sir Edward Maufe's design was chosen from 183 entries. In 1933 a cross of timbers from the 19th century sailing ship HMS Ganges was erected on Stag Hill to mark the new cathedral site. 1936 saw the foundation stone ceremony with work progressing up to the outbreak of war in 1939. At wars end in 1945 building works were restricted nationally to housing needs and were not lifted until 1952. Building costs by 1952 had escalated and the original budget was woefully inadequate. Sponsor a brick for 2/6 was conceived and vigorous fundraising was to continue for a further 16 years before full building costs had been meet. Unfortunately maintenance costs are now a major burden, at some £2,250 per day, requiring never ending fundraising. To bring in revenue there is a bookshop, gift shop and refectory. The Cathedral is open seven days a week with a programme of prayer and music. A chaplin is always available for private consultation. Discover the peace of this special place, sit down for a few moments or enjoy a walk around the building following the route indicated in the free visitors information leaflet. To visit the Cathedral website use this direct link: www.guildford-cathedral.org (Posted 31.05.08) Link To Return To The Master Index Page