petrified lace

Some friends from LA who are in the UK for a while visited us toady.  We took them to Ely Cathedral.  I’ve been there once before, albeit about 35 years ago, while it turned out that one of our visitors had been there a fortnight ago!  Nevermind, it’s spectacular, and there’s plenty to see.

Ely cathedral, in sunlight

The famous central Octagonal Tower

The decorated ceiling of the nave.  The lines across it are Christmas lights!

The view back down the aisle

Sunlight through stained glass

Co-opted pagan symbolism

Looking up into the Octagonal Tower

Superb stained glass: we need a camera with better dynamic range to do it justice.

"Seated one day at the organ, ..."

Bishop Peter Gunning looking very relaxed.

An explosion of fractal lacework in stone.

And that’s just a small sample: there’s the wonderful wood carving in the choir, the bright and airy Lady Chapel, the wrought iron staircase up to the pulpit, and more.

We also visited the Stained Glass Museum (no photography allowed), which had lots of interesting exhibits and history.

Well worth a visit.

other Grays

While writing about The Puppet of Dorian Gray my thoughts turned to alien grays (as you do).

These are all over the place around here.  There's the signpost on the A14 to Hemingford Grey (maybe the resting place of a famous historical alien?)  Locally, Greys of Ely are so well assimilated into the community that they run a transport business.

But what got me worried recently was seeing a van with a logo warning of Grays Surfacing.  I didn't even know they lived underwater!