travel – Page 9 – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

Lovely Ketton - Perhaps We We Were an Episode of the "Prisoner"!

UK: Dialectically Walking Through the Quaint Village of Ketton (Northants)! (5.8.2025)

05/08/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Recently, I spent a week in the Northants countryside. Fresh air, good food, wide open spaces, a garden, things to do, and everybody saying “hello” – and “good morning” – and meaning it! Coming from a London suburb, the general rule of thumb is “silence” – when meeting people you do not know just in case they want to rob or rape you. There is also the ever-present threat of someone you don’t know asking for “money” or “food”, etc, all things that are not allowed within cities. My children are taught to remain well-behaved by the school when meeting others – to be “quiet” so as not to attract the unwanted attention of others. Walking through the picturesque village of Ketton last Saturday (1.8.2025) was interesting, as well-meaning groups of old ladies loudly greeted us like they knew us – all ready to help at a moment’s notice – we were even invited to a Church Service within ten minutes of arriving!

UK: Homeless Carpenter Moves “Mysteriously” Around South London! (2.8.2025)

02/08/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

A new study by homelessness charity Crisis found that among older low-income earners, one in five feared homelessness in their retirement, and many say they cannot afford to stop working.

“A generation once thought to be safe from our housing crisis is now increasingly being swept up in it and at real risk of homelessness,” it concludes.

Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at Crisis, told Sky News: “Most people are thinking they will go into later life with savings and security, and actually the cost of housing alongside lower wages is meaning that for lots more people that just isn’t an option.”

‘You don’t change the person you are’

Daniel has a bag system. A carrier for dirty laundry, a rucksack for clean, and a small essentials bag on top.

We pass Croydon College, where he obtained his City & Guilds carpentry qualifications, and go to the public library where Daniel charges his phone and uses computers to apply for work.

Northants: Kirby Hall – [1570] Elizabethan Home of Nobility! (1.8.2025)

01/08/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

This building reminded us in structure of Hampton Court (not far from where we live in London) – and Berry Pomeroy in Totnes, South Devon (not far from where my parents live). This is not surprising, as I believe from reading the available “English Heritage” literature that the same architects and engineers were used by the Court of Queen Elizabeth I and the nobility that served her. The front of the Hall faces North – with the back of house facing South (built on a North-South orientation). Local serfs (landless or homeless peasants) and peasants (land-occupying peasants) were employed by the nobility when large-scale building projects were initiated. Indeed, with the development of Guilds (primitive unions) – certain groups of peasants became highly skilled in specific construction and maintenance skills. Whether any such labour was employed from nearly Kirby Village, (situated to the South-West of what became the ornate rear garden of the complex), is open to debate.

Ancient Document - 1060 CE - St Peter's Church - Deene

Deene & Deenethorpe: St Peter’s Church [c. 1060 CE] Historically Significant Building! (31.7.2025)

31/07/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Even a committed atheist will be at one with the deepest aspects of the mind and nature whilst sat quietly in these hallowed halls. On the way out, whilst walking back to the car, we met a man with a dog who used to live in Leicester – and even in Barclay Street, where my father and his parents lived! He has relatives in St Helena – and although an English gentleman – we got the impression that his White relatives had mixed with the Black population (former slaves) who lived on that famous British colonial island that once housed the Great Emperor Napoleon during one of his exiles!

Master Yin Le - the New Head Monk of the Shaolin Temple!

China: Shaolin Temple [少林寺] Quickly Appoints New Head Monk! (30.7.2025)

30/07/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Years ago, when I first accessed the internet, I used to argue with young Americans (and some UK and EU people) that the gongfu they were learning for vast amounts of money in China and the West – was not real and product of youth-orientated (Western-derived) gymnastics. They were so brain-washed they thought the lay-men who taught them in robes were real Shaolin monks! Furthermore, they said that our gongfu was “old fashioned” and “out of date”! Many of the ethnic Chinese “teachers” were greedy and money-orientated – seeing spirituality as “weak”. I stopped arguing as I did not want to be seen as attacking the CPC – which I would never do. In return, I was asked to appear on Chinese TV and explain my connection to China – but I politely refused. The last thing I wanted was further exposure and hundreds of people asking for instruction. It is important to live humbly and simply – and not for show. It is best to disappear and not be seen. If in doubt, keep out of sight.

Rutland: Visiting Rockingham Castle! (29.7.2025)

30/07/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Despite visiting Duddington (in Northants) regularly since 2009, we had never seen any signs for “Rockingham” – and wondered where this place was. Furthermore, whereas King Henry VIII used to frequent “Nonsuch” (in Sutton and Cheam – where we live) – I am told that King John (1166-1216) of Magna Carta fame, used to spend his leisure time staying at Rockingham Castle – which is near Rockingham village. He used to hunt in the local woods. Apparently, Henry VIII granted the castle (the Norman version of which is currently over 950-years old) to the Watson family (it was leased to Edward Watson in 1544). Prior to this, the general area the castle is now constructed upon possessed a Roman (a coin production industry) – and then a Saxon (Lord Bovi) – presence. The locale of Rockingham (probably the nearby village) is mentioned in the 1066 Doomsday Book – with the castle proper being built between 1066-1071.

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