NOTRE DAME [title edited by GNHQ at OP's request]

NOTRE DAME ⛪

Typo.

There’s no need to ask our French friends to fix it. We have wonderful craftsmen and structural engineers in this country more than equal to the task, as evidenced by the restorations carried out on both York Minster and Windsor Castle, both of which suffered catastrophic fires.
What a glory Notre Dame is. DD was in there two days before the fire. She wept buckets when it happened.

I went to Notre Dame High School so I know how to spell it ,my laptop however doesnt agree .3 times typing it to get it the right way !

I agree paddyann. I was thinking just that. So depressing the state of the Art College. Such incompetence.
Notre Dame looks just magnificent. A real tribute to the craftsmen restoring it and those who originally built it.

It's simply amazing isn't it, in just 5 years.

Aveline

I agree paddyann. I was thinking just that. So depressing the state of the Art College. Such incompetence.
Notre Dame looks just magnificent. A real tribute to the craftsmen restoring it and those who originally built it.

I'm glad I went round The Glasgow School of Art,, it was amazing.. apparently it was agreed in 2021 that a faithful restoration should be made.. but they are not planning to re-open until 2030..

Greyduster

There’s no need to ask our French friends to fix it. We have wonderful craftsmen and structural engineers in this country more than equal to the task, as evidenced by the restorations carried out on both York Minster and Windsor Castle, both of which suffered catastrophic fires.
What a glory Notre Dame is. DD was in there two days before the fire. She wept buckets when it happened.

In 1986 the King's Apartments at Hampton Court Palace were damaged by fire.

I was privileged to work (on a temporary basis) for the team that were put together to find the craftsmen, upholsterers, carpenters, etc, needed to restore the apartments to their original 17th century state.

An unoccupied grace-and-favour apartment in the grounds of the Palace was used as an office for this task. My job was to simply type-up all the letters to the various craftsmen and engineers - and they most certainly do - or did - exist.

Interestingly, it was discovered that one of the ceilings contained hundreds and thousands of shells, which no-one knew about until the fire - it was assumed they were used for either sound-proofing or heat conservation. The shells were sent off for identification as to their origins, but I wasn't engaged long enough to find out where they came from.

Once the letters had all been sent out and the replies received, that was the end of my booking as a 'temp' shorthand typist for the project.

... it was to date the most interesting temp-placement I'd ever had.

That’s fascinating Dickens. There was an amazing exhibition at York Minster recently timelining the restoration and what was involved. I’m in awe of these craftspeople and the work they do.

The Glasgow school of art was restored but caught fire again and ended up in a worse state than before. Just awful.

We visited the Glasgow S of A in 1970. We were shown around and went into a room piled high with CRM's furniture and chest full of his water colours plus those of the MacDonald sisters and other of their artist friends. We were, and still are, great fans of his work.

Macron said that the restoration of the cathedral would be completed in 5 years and it was. There are some things that the French are quicker/better at completing and I guess that is why we payer higher taxes and social charges than the UK.

I think the Notre Dame fire was so shocking it caught the hearts of so many, not just in France but across Europe.

The restoration, from what I have seen on the television, is a magnificent triumph.

It's sad if those buildings you mention are neglected now, paddyann.
We do have the craftsmen and expertise in this country as can be seen in restoration projects by such groups as the NT, HHT, EH, all charities, of course.

Restoration is beautiful, stunning.

Notre Dame in Paris belongs to the state, and the speed of the restoration was down to Macron's mobilisation of craftsmen. I believe trades like stone carving have seen a big increase in apprenticeships as a result of all the publicity. In France, most skilled trades are passed down in families through the generations, and there is a real sense of national pride. I'm sure we have similar experts who could do the job here, but we seem to lack the passion and commitment.

I suppose if you have the state throwing money and resources a project then anything can be achieved very quickly and that is very laudable. Thinking of our major cathedrals and public buildings, maintenance and renewal is a constant endeavour. Most have resident stonemasons and other experts such as glaziers, woodworkers and structural surveyors at work behind the scenes year round and much of the cost of this comes not from the state but from visitors and fund raising projects. There is no lack of passion or commitment. What there is is lack of funds.

That's a bit unfair to say we have no craftsmen in this country. I am sure France have had their fair share of naff restorations. The extensive work carried out on the restorations to Big Ben were done by experienced professionals.

I would add that it costs around £30,000 per day to run and maintain York Minster, and no doubt our other major places of worship around the country have similar costs.

By passion, Greyduster, I think I meant that masonry isn't exactly a topic we British would sit and discuss round the dinner table! The French do, animatedly.
I was blown away by the tribute to Notre-Dame in the choreographed performance during the Olympic Games opening ceremony. We saw music and dance mixed with the sound of construction tools, all as a tribute to the amazing artisans and craftsmen involved in the restoration of the cathedral. It was lasting image of national pride for the whole world to admire, and uniquely French.

Ok. At this point, I give up trying to make a point🙄.

No, Greyduster, no making points intended! Just pondering in my posts about that inherent sense of orgueil that our French friends have displayed over the centuries, and which manifests itself as an art form. Sometimes I look beyond just the basics.
But as you were .......

Yes, many people do have pride in their work in this country.

This is an example not of stone masonry, carpentry, stained glass windows but pride in making a beautiful garden then drying all the flowers. On my FB page this morning, a photograph of The Cotehele Garland, made each year from the flowers grown from seed at Cotehele House, dried and displayed in the Great Hall. Thirty thousand flowers, sixty feet in length, nineteen stone in weight:

My goodness that’s amazing and what a lovely setting!

The French are still proud of their nation. We as a country are not. For years now we've had it dinned into us what an awful nation we are and that our past is something to be abjectly ashamed of to the point that we should be hanging out heads and constantly apologising , and regretting that we still exist. Of course we have wonderful craftspeople perfectly able to restore our heritage, but at the same time we have to apologise for heritage being there in the first place!