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After Bradwell, we went to see Great Hucklow's well dressings, which are fresher, having only been put up 3 days ago, instead of a week.

The main well dressing was celebrating 200 years since the first passenger steam train journey - which I'm told really was open-top, like the picture.

And I loved how the whole town got in on the train theme! People had put up train-related displays in their gardens all over the village! I've never seen anything like this before, but it was delightful!

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Bradwell has 4 well dressings on display this year - here are the other two. The children's well dressing was quite good for a children's one, and I loved the little individual dressings, making it easier for more hands to help create the display.

Hubby couldn't believe that Thomas the Tank Engine is 80, so I looked it up. Apparently Thomas the Tank Engine comes from "The Railway Series," a book series, which debuted in 1945, though Thomas didn't join the cast until 1946. It seems like Thomas didn't get much action from then to 1979 when he was made into a tv show -- I suspect it's this version that hubby was thinking of, so no, it's not really 80 years old.

Regardless, a really well-made well dressing - and it's survived its week remarkably well.

A beautiful day to go hunting Well Dressings. A tradition peculiar to Derbyshire, England (and copied in one or two other places), we press natural materials into clay to make pictures, and display them for a week next to wells, in gratitude for clean water. (Traditionally, anyway; now there are fewer wells, so they are often placed in other locations.) It's said the custom stems from more ancient Pagan traditions.

I've helped with making these a couple of times - it's back-breaking work - and I've admired them for many years now.

These were in Bradwell today - they've been up a week already, so they don't look their best, though they look much better than many we've seen on the last day.

Hunting them - finding the wee village, then finding the well dressings - is always great fun, and an enjoyable way to spend a spring, summer, or early autumn afternoon. I do recommend it!

There's also welldressing.com/ to help you find them.

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@txt_file The best option I found is to literally just download the video with #ytdlp and be done with that!

#YouTube's #AutoDubbing is not only an insult to the #NativeSpeakers that actually understand the language that got #dubbed into but it's also a disgrace to multilingual YouTubers that put in effort and the entire #Dubbing #Community that put their blood, sweat and tears into making decent #dubs that actually fit both time and are lipsync'd if not got minor edits to make them lipsync'd.

MastodonSteve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith@mastodon.social)So much respect for multilingual YouTubers who re-record all their A-roll in multiple languages without dubbing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dGVd_l3ago & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyKQV6OFCII for example. (Make sure to turn off YouTube's auto-dubbing, of course)

Today is the 5th Anniversary of the formal opening of Hitchin Hackspace in our own building on the 10th August 2019. It took us 7 years from the first meeting and the formation of Hitchin Hackspace to find and fit out a place of our own. During that time we held weekly meetings at the premises of another local community group which we rented for one night a week.

If you are thinking of starting a Hackspace in your own community stick at it, even if you don't have somewhere of your own to start with, a Hackspace is built on the people who form the Hackspace. You can achieve huge amounts without a physical space.

Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are my hope and strength. I worship You and praise You.

Jesus, guide my steps today on the path of Your peace and prosperity. Please strengthen my heart to walk in the light of Your commandments today. May the Holy Spirit remove all darkness from my way. May its light illuminate the shadows of temptation so that I may follow Your truth. Be merciful to me when my foot strays from the right path.

Do not leave me today, Lord, under the influence of sin. Today, I choose Your glory, Your victory, and Your power. You are the Lord of my life. Amen. #community #prayer

Anti-Authoritarian Communities - Cherán

In 2011, the P'urhépecha town of Cherán (in Mexico) kicked out police, politicians, cartels, and unauthorized loggers. Since then, residents have horizontally self-governed while protecting their community and forest based on the principle of kuájpekurhikua, meaning "taking care of the territory."

anarwiki.org/wiki/Cherán

AnarWiki · Cherán - AnarWikiIn 2011, the P'urhépecha town of Cherán (in Mexico) kicked out police, politicians, cartels, and unauthorized loggers. Since then, residents have horizontally self...