We were entertained by two very good speakers at the Church Rooms in December and January. Denis Dodd who was part of the team involved locally in renovating the Grand Western Canal boat lift, presented the history of the Canal during a period of great industrial advances. The proposed route from Bridgwater to Exeter would have saved cargo ships the hazardous route round Lands End. The completed section did allow welsh coal unloaded at Bridgwater to fuel the factories in Taunton, Wellington and Tiverton. The added complication of having to lift boats up and over the illustrious tree lined carriageway to the front door of the Sanfords estate at Nynhead did not help the budget.
James Bradnock, an English and Theology teacher gave a fascinating discourse on the creation of one of the greatest books in the English language, the King James Bible. Created by a team of learned men over a period of 7 years when Shakespeare was the popular entertainment of the day, it has given us many memorable phrases.
The language of the previous Bishop’s Bible translated in 1602 includes the following verses with the King James version for comparison:
God is my shepherd
therefore I can lack nothing.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He will cause me to repose myself in pasture full of grass
and he will lead me unto calm waters.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; He leadeth me beside the still waters.
Truly felicitie and mercie shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of God for a long time.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
The next two speakers on February 11th and March 10th will be Peter Fisher on a Hemyock man who served in the Great War and Colin Spackman on the visit of the Duke of Wellington to this area in 1919.
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