Day 11 - The Wheel of Fortune

Hello. My name is Philip Talboys. I've been asked to do a guest blog by The Dean.

Here is a photo of the well-known wall painting in the Choir of the "Wheel of Fortune", or "Rota Fortunae" (as Boris Johnson would say). Like many familiar symbols, it has an interesting past, I learn.

Wheel of Fortune

 The origins of the Wheel of Fortune metaphor are ancient. It goes back to Ancient India, the Greeks and the Romans - well before the eponymous television programme, in other words -
and ties in with contemporary understanding of the structure of the universe. In the Middle Ages, however, philosophers and divines took it up, and it became a symbol of, not only the
capriciousness of life, but of the fate awaiting those who get too full of themselves.

A Cathedral brochure describes the men as having 'climbed' to their respective positions. This rather misses the point, dare I say it?  Instead, it is the spinning of the wheel by the Goddess,
or Empress, of Fortune (often shown blindfolded) which is responsible for where the men find themselves. Where we end up is outside our control.

If I've got too full of myself, no doubt the Wheel will be spinning tonight! (I will recognise the hand of Mark Beach...)

Day 10 Closure of the South Door

Preparations for closing access  

Builders at work 

We are now approaching the end  the 2^nd working week. The preliminary  work needed prior to the start of the main works is coming along nicely.  Today we saw the closure of access through our South Door entrance of the Cathedral to all members of the public. There is  also no disabled access to our Quire. This access will remain closed whilst the work to the crypt and library is being undertaken. This is another big step in our project and we look forward to the time when we can see the new lift that will be installed, allowing access to all levels of the cathedral.

Colin -swiftly moving on!

Colin, our Head Verger is taking it all in his stride.  He is making sure that the Cathedral runs smoothly and that he maintains contact with the builders on a day to day basis. As you can see he is getting really adept at moving swiftly on should an extra pair of hands be called upon!

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Day 9 Keeping the Organist Happy.

Nave Organists Telly

As Work Progresses we will be using a state of the Art Electric Organ in the Nave for Services, in order to preserve the Cathedral organ from sucking in Builders dust and the Like.

Darren Bramley, who is always up for a challenge, spent the day deep inside the Organ running cables so that the Organist will still be able to see various parts of the Cathedral using miniature CCTV cameras pointing at the Nave and Choir during services. This allows the Organist to maintain Eye Contact with the Clergy and the Choir Master for cues during the service.

 

It’s a bit of a squeeze and it was very hot , but now the Organist will have a grandstand view, albeit from the Cathedral Floor. 

In the Organ

Day 8 - Creating a Vestry

It may have struck those of you who know the Cathedral well that without the Library for the next year we are also without a Vestry - They double up! Another case of small but perfectly formed!

So we are creating a temporary Vestry in the South Quire Transept which will occupy most of that space.

Interestingly this area was the focus of the last major bit of work to be done on the building, back in the 1870's. The Cathedral had started to list very badly and some major underpinning was needed. You can see the effect of this in the photo here where one of the pillars in the background is definitely the Leaning Pillar of Rochester....

Also in the crypt some major brick supports were placed under the arches. We are told now that this is typical Victorian Over-Engineering ... lets hopes so because a good few of them are being removed over the next few months.

Anyway, back to the Vestry. I first discovered that this was today's work when I met three men building wooden boxes outside my garden! These are to be the supports for the "walls" of the new Vestry. Two of the boxes have been brought inside and filled with bags of sand to ballast them... I guess there will be more progress tomorrow....

Day 6 Extra

The Cathedral Tea Rooms, purveyors of fine foods are a little under siege from the builders at the moment, so I thought I would add this photo as a little subliminal messaging.....

Storage Issues - Day 6

One of our big problems at the Cathedral is a lack of storage space. We are small but perfectly formed until it comes to packing things away...

Now we have two new storage areas:

The first is a very ingenious Cube behind the High Altar; completely invisible from the Quire but a very useful and cleverly designed space. The photo on the right shows the space where Altar Frontals will be stored which concertinas into a very small area. It has been designed by our Architects, Carden and Godfrey and built by Workhaus who will do all the exhibition fit out. as an indication of the quality of their work, we are very pleased!

 The second are is what we used to call the Chair Store. This is a late addition to the Nave by the North Transept. It has been transformed into a series of lockable areas for each department of the Cathedral Here is the Flower Arrangers area. From here they produce the most wonderful arrangements that adorn the Cathedral for much of the year.

 This one isn't so good but shows the general area.

Getting ourselves ready - Day 5

There is so much stuff .... and all of it needs to be moved!

The Library was emptied of book ages ago, when we thought that the work would start in the early part of the year.University of Kent.
They are all stored safely in the Archive at Maidstone and very soon will begin the process of cataloging at the



However, you would not believe how much other stuff there was in there....all of this came out and has to be found a temporary home. Goodness knows where, but thankfully that is the Vergers department!







Then there is all the stuff that used to live in various bits of the Crypt. All that has to be disposed of or found a storage space.

Fortunately there is a big container in the back yard of the Deanery garden, lots of the stuff will go there.




Have you spotted the technical term I have been using? STUFF .... ecclesiastical clobber... not sure what else to call it really but it all has been found a home. Some of it is for sale, so if you spot an item that you fancy, let me know!