Winchester choir stalls and other fancies

[ladyofastolat]

We had a day trip to Winchester on the first day of the long Jubilee weekend. Our first trip was to the museum where, it being half term, activities were happening. As we approached, a family with a small child were talking to the Roman soldier who was stationed outside. As we queued, the small girl charged in, bypassed the short queue, and declaimed in a VERY loud voice, "we're coming in! We're going upstairs to make a crown and do some lovely activities." She repeated this many, many times - it was always "some lovely activities" - and earnestly told the staff that these "lovely activities" were upstairs. "And then we're buying a wooden sword," she said, many, many times. Pellinor and I were highly amused, and when our turn came to be served, we let her family go first, saying that we couldn't be so cruel as to delay by even a minute her "lovely activities." All was all in her delivery, really. We both found the whole thing hilarious.

Later, we were having lunch at a very good pizza place just opposite the museum, and saw her come out, complete with crown and wooden sword. The Roman soldier got attacked. (Mind you, I think he deserved it. We'd just witnessed him taking advantage of a quiet moment to write "romanes eunt domus" on the ground, clearly trying to frame the People's Front of Venta Bulgarum.)

Anyway, after lunch we went to the cathedral, which offered up no comical lions, but a very comical unicorn and many other comic delights.



There were many comical delights on and around the choir stalls.

Green men, on the under seats, over seat, and at the end of seat.







I'm not sure what's going on here. Actually, maybe I lied when I said no comical lions. Maybe this IS a comical lion, busy fighting a dragon. It looks very unliony, but it does at least have a mane.



A knight:



There were faces absolutely everywhere. I was slow to notice just how many faces there were, having dismissed these tiny decorations as flowers or even just blobs. But every single one was a little face.



I liked the cathedral lighting:







A nice ceiling:



In my Devon post, I said that I always tend to see eagle statues as being more than a little drunk - either staggering drunk, or pugnacious. Yes, yes, I know there is absolutely nothing about this eagle that SHOULD shout "drunk!" to me, but it's all I see now, in all eagles. This one is definitely pugnacious drunk, not staggering.



And finally... a comical unicorn! I think this might have been in an area I wasn't supposed to take photos in, but I couldn't resist, so did a very furtive snap when nobody was looking. I'm a law-abiding person, but really couldn't pass up the chance to record the wonder that was this unicorn's teeth. It reminds me of the Extra Slice programme that follows the Bake Off, when viewers send in pictures of their hilarious cake disasters. Dreadful unicorns feature frequently, almost invariably involving a massive set of sugar teeth. Maybe they're more right than they think..

Comments

[bunn]

SHOCKING behaviour by that roman soldier. CLEARLY a setup!

I think you have infected me with the need to see eagles as drunken, too: that one definitely looks like he's about to raise a wing and say in a slightly garbled voice: "And AnOTHer thING!"

[chainmailmaiden]

It definitely does :D and I think that eagle might actually be my spirit animal, it certainly encompasses how I feel after a certain number of beverages and someone mentions a topic I feel strongly about :D

[chainmailmaiden]

Oooh, I don't remember the lighting being like that the last time we went there, which must have been 2019, it does look good. I love Winchester, there's always so much to do and see there.