The Re-Arranged Family Shrine - 2026

UK: The Family Shrine Re-Arranged for the Passing of My Father! (18.6.2026)

Even if no member of a Chinese family has not trained in a formal spiritual order – incense will be regularly lit, and fresh flowers and fruit will be added every so many days. Of course, some shrines are kept-up at a greater degree than others – but this does not matter in the end. A family shrine is a door-way between one plane and another. It is a two-way structure that permits a solemn respect to traverse from the material realm into the immaterial realm – and allows a positive spiritual reality to emanate from the immaterial plane to the material realm. Today, I talked to my deceased father – and I did this via a photograph that my mother took and printed-out for me probably around 2010. The photograph was taken in the front garden of our old home at 2 Torbay Road, Torquay Road, Torquay, Devon (the shyster landlord took over a hundred thousand pounds in rent between 2002-2018 before applying a no-fault eviction because we requested a repair be made). As this was 16-years ago – my father would have been around 68-years old at the time. I suppose my father was at the peak of his power as an elderly person! Tomorrow we will collectively lit incense. It is the next stage of respectful mourning.

The charity plans to make the site accessible to the public

UK: Heighington Station [1827] – First Train Platform in World! (19.1.2026)

Last year Heighington Station, which dates to back to 1827 and was part of the first passenger railway to use steam trains in the world, was bought by the charity Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The group’s chair Niall Hammond said the excavation of a small train platform located near the site was planned.

He said it was presumed it was the “original for the building” because it looked the right size and shape.

He said plans were still in the early stages, but that the group hoped to attract lots of volunteers to the dig over the summer.

Hammond said the platform, which is next to the station, was “tiny” and had cobbles.

He said ideally the team would find a “Georgian penny” at the bottom of the platform during the dig which would confirm its age.

Main Street - Forest Hill (Oxford) - OX33 1EB

Oxford: John Milton’s “Mounting Stone” – Forest Hill! (29.8.2024)

As to “why” Oxford Council resorted to this tactic is a matter of conjecture considering how overgrown the bank and stone is – and how difficult it is to actually locate the stone (there is virtually no signage). Perhaps a flat stone was becoming easily obscured by dirt, leaves and over debris – and an upright position rendered it better protected. John Milton (1608-1674) was a literary genius and esteemed poet who lived across the road from this stone and was a supporter of Parliament (and Oliver Cromwell) during the English Republic (1649-1660). His thinking was both progressive and Revolutionary! He (and his wife) were wealthy landowners in the area of the stone – owning property either side of St Nicholas Church in Forest Hill.