Doors, Knockers and Shutters ... Dreaming of France

 

I have a fascination with Doors and Shutters but now

with the Door Knockers too!!

 

I remembered reading  about Doors knockers

a few years ago, funny how some posts stick in your mind.

 

This was on Corey's blog Tongue in Cheek..

A fascinating blog , French orientated of course. Corey is an American

lady who has lived in France a long time, married to French husband.

Hope you go and have a read .  If you love France you will love this blog!!!

 

I have been reading about the history and it seems that it is connected to the Muslims.

 

One story  is that the hand -symbolizing the Hand of Fatima- was not only a talisman to protect a house from evil but also a sign for other Muslims in non-Muslim countries that in a certain house lived people of their faith

 

The ‘Hand of Fatima’ is particularly common on front doors in Morocco and from there spread to France,  then the rest of Europe, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its arrival in France  coincided with the period of Art Nouveau (circa, 1890-1910) and the European castings used for the Lady’s Hand became more sensuous and somewhat more elegant.

 

Hand of Fatima

 

 

 



 



In the picture below you can see the Ghost writing, I think that it is great

that they leave this up , to show us what it used to be.

 



 

Love this , but wonder who went through here, I am sure Diane will know!!

 

Fascinating mural and I love the colour!

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 



It arrived Leslie....Thank you.

Postcards keep coming,

it is so fantastic.

 

Leslie my great friend from Vancouver

told me to look out in the post, but it

was still a surprise as you never know

what the card is of.

 

I like it when cards are of

different things other than Castles,

churches etc ..

 

This  card is of one of the  oldest

stores in the village of Ladner, British Colombia.

I would love a good look in there too Lorne.

I bet there are some interesting items in there,

and ones we most probably have not seen in the UK!!

 

 

 

 

Ladner was created as a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River. .

Many areas around the Fraser River  were  named after  the original Europeans to settle there. It was first called Ladner's Landing,as  the area was settled by Thomas Ellis Ladner(1837-1922) and William Henry Ladner(1826-1907).

Thomas Ellis Ladner is one of British Columbia’s most respected pioneers. He and his brother, William Henry Ladner , founded the village of Ladner’s Landing where a post office was opened on March 1, 1875. Today, Ladner is known for its historic town centre and its scenic waterfront location on the Fraser River Estuary.

 Thomas was born in Trenant Park, Cornwall, England on September 8, 1836. I have tried to find the place , but I believe it is in Looe.

 He travelled from England to the United States with his brother William in 1851. Once gold was discovered in the Fraser River, they moved to BC in 1858. By 1868 they had acquired twelve hundred acres in the lower Fraser River delta and began farming. They were the first permanent European settlers in the region.

The  large family home and acreage in Ladner was named Trenant Park, and stood on the property now occupied by Trenant Park Mall.

Big thank you to my wonderful friend Leslie,

who  also has a very interesting blog , take a look. 

Think you will love it , especially

the ABC posts ♥

 

 

 

Meeting a Blogger Friend ….

Leslie from Vancouver Canada

and I have been

following each others blogs

for about 5 years ..

AND

yesterday we met for the first time

IN PERSON ..

Leslie came to Oxford from London where she

is staying , to have a  tour around by me

her tour guide LOL ..

Leslie took loads of photos , so I am sure

once she is back home and settled, they will be up

on her blog!! She is a great writer, and her photos

are fab!

But in the meantime, we met and went for coffee, in

Cafe Nero (my fav) and then when we left I changed my route

and so glad I did .. I found a new place to look around

and even purchase gifts!!

Oxford Old Fires Station has been turned

into …

Crisis Skylight, offering a Cafe, Art Gallery and a

beautiful gift shop …

Crisis is the National  Charity

for single homeless people.

            

 

Definitely going back for a better  look round,

and to try their coffee!!!

Leslie and I had a fab time and got on sooo well :-)



Another visit to Montreal ...............

Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde

Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
in Montreal.

The statues on top are

of the patron saints from 13 parishes

in Montreal

who donated them.

The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World (French: Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory (also in Montreal) and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City.

The church is located at 1085 Cathedral Street, at the corner of René Lévesque Boulevard and Metcalfe Street, near the Bonaventure metro station and Central Station in downtown Montreal.

If you ever get a chance to visit , I hope that you do .. it wonderful and you can also get a free guide to show you around. I didn't take the offer up, as didn't have much time. But definitely would of done.

Blessed Brother Andre

who founded St Joseph's Oratory in

the previous post , will become a

Saint on 17th October.

Brother Andre will become the

first Canadian-born man to be canonized a

saint in the Catholic Church. The canonization

will take place, during a solemn mass celebrated

by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.

Click on photos to enlarge.

When was the last time you .........

Went out of your comfort zone?

When was the last time

you had to over come your

fear of doing something

you dread?

I would normally just say no,

so that I didn't have to face

the fear.

I remember how I felt

when I went to Paris to

look after a friend's cats

and apartment on my own.

I was very nervous, but I knew

that I had lots of friends around me

to contact.

This time I am going WAY

out of my comfort zone...

Tomorrow

I am flying on my own!!

First time ever

To Canada...

Yep flying to Montreal

for a week,

staying with my cousin and family.

My husband is going too, but

he is going with the Formula 1 team

at a different time.

I hope all my readers

have a brilliant week

lets hope we all have some

wonderful sunshine too!

So while I am away , I would like all of my readers

Old and New to take this award for their blogs.

I have had quite a few new readers

in the past few months.. which is so great.

Welcome and I hope you stick around.

BTW forgot to add...

Only booked the trip last monday!!!

Surprises .......

came from Canada, two wonderful surprises on my mat, so great when you never expect them!

I had a lovely postcard from my friend Barbara, Home in France, who was visiting Montreal and Quebec with her husband Didier. So pleased they had a great time, a well deserved break. They are back in Paris now, with posts up already! So why don't you pop over to her blog and read about their trip, she also has great photos. Thank you Barbara!!

and my other surprise, was from my friend Lucy, who's blog is On my way 2 work and other stuff.... she sent me a little package..inside was a cute little stamp!!

You press the stamp into bread, and when it is toasted it says Bonjour with an outline of the Eiffel tower! I will never forget Paris, great for my toast in the mornings with my French confiture !! Thank you so much Lucy..a great gift!!!

Lucy's blog is brilliant with fabulous photos, Sunsets, Sunrises, and lots about her area in Pickering Ontario. Why not call in and have a read of Lucy's blog , You will not be disappointed.

Hope you have fun reading both blogs. I do!! Lots of fab photos too!!

A Postcard Surprise.....

Another wonderful postcard has been posted through my letterbox ...and a huge surprise it was too!! My card came from Pickering , Ontario, Canada, from a lovely lady called Lucy, who's fabulous blog is On my way 2 work and other stuff.

The picture on the card is Port Perry and if you google it, you will see that on the 9th August, they have a Classic British Motorshow..Called Brits on the Lake..!! I wonder if Lucy knows or knew about this !! Seems like a brilliant day out.

Lucy and I met through a post on her blog, but can I find it...no I can't, so hopefully Lucy will and pass it over to me.. ..

Lucy has friends that own/run Moo-Moo's Milkshake/smoothie bar in the covered market of Oxford.... I know that I commented, and from there, I actually went and gave her friends a message from Lucy, it turned out that her friends computer had broken, and so weren't receiving her emails...

Can you picture the scene..

"Excuse me, erm I have a blog, and somehow your friend Lucy in Canada found my blog or I found hers, and she would like me to give you a message...how cool is that"

Thank you so much Lucy, made my day ..I do hope that some of you call over to visit her!! Lucy is such a fun person, I know you will enjoy her blog. You can also follow her on Twitter!!!