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

escaped

@ Daddima A little tip, the videos on YouTube from French outlets won't have so much Trump. Some of the parts are broken down with explanations and visits to include places all over France. Also France24 is good.

Thank you. That’s this evening’s viewing sorted.

RosiesMaw2

^I noticed no hugging or kissing from Prince William, but the Donald got right in there after telling M. Macron she was looking lovely^

Telling Monsieur Macron who was looking lovely?
Or Mme?

😂😂😂😂 Mme! Sorry, I need my dinner!

Oreo

It’s not in the British nature to proudly shout about anything British (mores the pity.)

Actually you are right about this. I get very fed up when a friend from New Zealand constantly runs down everything British. I think it’s because we ourselves do it. New Zealanders call their own country Godzone.

@ Daddima A little tip, the videos on YouTube from French outlets won't have so much Trump. Some of the parts are broken down with explanations and visits to include places all over France. Also France24 is good.

I noticed no hugging or kissing from Prince William, but the Donald got right in there after telling M. Macron she was looking lovely

Telling Monsieur Macron who was looking lovely?
Or Mme?

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Brigette Macron is tiny. Her husband not much bigger. Heels have probably become an essential to her over the years. My next door neighbour is a similar height and wears heels all the time when going out. She’s 84. 😁

I do wonder whether Brigette Macron wears a wig? Possibly.

I thought she was 5ft 6, is that tiny?

I started watching on You Tube from NBC, but there was too much Trump for me at the beginning! Would Biden have asked him to go, as he’s not taken up office yet? I noticed no hugging or kissing from Prince William, but the Donald got right in there after telling M. Macron she was looking lovely!
I’m going to try to find another video later, so I can see the ceremony.

Shinamae

Jaberwok

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!

Very well said JaberW And I couldn’t agree more …

It's unbelievably sad Shinmae.. we are very different from the French.. I'm half and half and love both wonderful countries

Jaberwok

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!

Very well said JaberW And I couldn’t agree more …

I think what stands out apropos of this discussion is, that Notre-Dame de Paris could have been restored in a modern way, but the architects deliberately chose to go back to the original construction, even down to including various imperfections.
It's meaningful and moving that the old traditions of these artisans have been preserved for the future.

Michael Portillo was discussing this on GB News this morning and really brought it to life for me.

Brigette Macron is tiny. Her husband not much bigger. Heels have probably become an essential to her over the years. My next door neighbour is a similar height and wears heels all the time when going out. She’s 84. 😁

I do wonder whether Brigette Macron wears a wig? Possibly.

The beautiful Sans Saëns Symphony Number 3 on the restored organ! 😲 👌

faringdon59

I am always delighted to see how glamorous Brigette Macron looks.
At the opening ceremony yesterday she was wearing very high heels......at age 71!
Good for her I say.

she always looks gorgeous and I suspect always has done.. some women remain lovely regardless of age

I am always delighted to see how glamorous Brigette Macron looks.
At the opening ceremony yesterday she was wearing very high heels......at age 71!
Good for her I say.

Let’s not ignore our home grown contribution by British craftsmen to the restoration of Notre Dame.
Mike Dennis a skilled and expert craftsman was making a list of capable British hewers. “The list was 10 people long,” he says. “I was on that list, and I don’t live [in the UK] anymore .”
Dennis, who has lived in France since 2016, in a medieval house he is slowly restoring, was one of a small number of carpenters in the world with the skill and expertise to tackle Notre-Dame . The Office National des Forȇts was to find the wood, while a workshop based in Normandy specialising in heritage projects was instructed to run the job. The group Charpentiers sans Frontières (Carpenters without Borders) – which brings together experts to work on historical construction sites – was tasked with sourcing the manpower
The UK has “a very good reputation for traditional timber framing,” says Dennis, who recalls the French were at one point “looking to see how many people in the UK could possibly come over and help. “

She was indeed, at a time when the Earl of Shrewsbury had custody of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary nearly bankrupted the Earl who had to pay for her keep!

Bess of Hardwicke was mistress of Chatsworth house too I think. Very canny lady.

Indeed, France was waaayyy behind.

Hardwick is my “local” stately pile, Fleurpepper; just down the road a bit. In love it. She was quite a gal, Bess of Hardwick - richer, so it’s said, than Queen Elizabeth. Build Hardwick for herself - it was her vanity project. “Hardwick Hall - more window than wall”. It’s a beautiful house; very true to its time.

Allira

Fleurpepper

Sorry for obvious typo. Yes, I realise some were from earlier- but few remain. Could you give me examples?

I will always remember visiting Brixworth, near Northampton, astill a pure Anglo-Saxon 'barn' Church. But which Cathedrals remain of that period, or before?

Canterbury and others - but were added to by the Normans and subsequently.

Someone once complained to me that our very old Norman church had been 'ruined' by the Victorians, who built on to it.
However, they were restoring it and it had in fact been wrecked by Henry VIII, along with many other sacred buildings.

Canterbury was indeed the oldest, 6C- but my point is very is little, and perhaps nothing, left of the original Church. But we digress.

England (and the other UK nations, but I know them less well)- have a fabulous architectural heritage- and I do believe British people are very proud of it, no less than the French. Some were true 'firsts' in the world, like Hardwick Hall (more glass than stone) and Iron Bridge, etc.

The Gaudi Cathedral, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has had restorers and workpeople on it for absolutely years.. and they are wonderful craftspeople too..

Greyduster

Well I for one am proud as punch of our heritage and tickled pink when I enter even our small parish church that has been standing since 1100 AD and still has its Norman doorways, and our great cathedrals, such as Durham that wraps its history around you like a comfortable old coat. We should be embracing our history not holding our noses and apologising for it. (Dons tin helmet and waits for incoming!).

I agree wholeheartedly*Greyduster*.

It seems a peculiarly British thing to knock what we should be proud of. We have so much wonderful heritage and many, many skilled conservers, stonemasons, architects, etc, etc, of which we should be absolutely proud.

Certainly, things have happened in the past which are not things to celebrate and be proud of now, but that is not unique to Britain.

Winchester Cathedral is lovely Jaxjacky. Jane Austen buried there if I remember rightly?
Yes, dull weather can play havoc with the light on stained glass and beyond into the building. Usually when DH is singing in cathedrals, we get 2 or 3 days, so at least one of them is usually bright enough to enjoy the full effect. In Reims the blue Chagall glass windows are stunning. Chartres with its medieval windows is up there with the best.

Fleurpepper

Sorry for obvious typo. Yes, I realise some were from earlier- but few remain. Could you give me examples?

I will always remember visiting Brixworth, near Northampton, astill a pure Anglo-Saxon 'barn' Church. But which Cathedrals remain of that period, or before?

Canterbury and others - but were added to by the Normans and subsequently.

Someone once complained to me that our very old Norman church had been 'ruined' by the Victorians, who built on to it.
However, they were restoring it and it had in fact been wrecked by Henry VIII, along with many other sacred buildings.