During the medieval period the Cotswold area underwent a startling transition from small scale agriculture to large scale wool production. This shift, most noticeable by the 15th century, enabled wool merchants to realize tremendous profits with the aid of the “Golden Fleece” produced by Cotswold sheep.

The “gold” in this case refers not to the colour of the fleece itself but the tremendous economic value it possessed. The prosperous wool merchants put back some of the money they earned into their local communities, often by building manors for themselves, but just as frequently by endowing their parish churches.

The “wool churches” of the Cotswolds are among the most elaborate and architecturally attractive in the entire country due to the largesse of successful wool merchants. Many of these magnificent buildings are like mini-cathedrals, complete with fanciful carvings, elaborate ornamentation and funereal monuments inside the church. Taken as a whole, the parish churches of the Cotswold area constitute a superb collection of architecturally important historic buildings. And to those who enjoy medieval architecture, the Cotswold churches offer an unparalleled experience.

It is perhaps dangerous to single out just a few Cotswold wool churches for special mention, as so many deserve a leisurely visit, but mention should be made of a few personal favourites. The church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Northleach is one of the finest wool churches in England, with the lavishly carved south porch worthy of special note.

As with most wool churches the magnificence of Northleach can be traced to the endowments of a few wealthy patrons. In this case the donors were Thomas Fortey (d. 1447 ) and his son John (d. 1458). With its decorated parapets and soaring pinnacles Northleach is reminiscent of a fairy tale castle as much as a parish church.

Another personal favourite would have to be St. Peter at Winchcombe. Not as fanciful or striking as Northleach, Winchcombe is of slightly later date and has suffered at the hands of Victorian restorers. Yet despite this, the church has a peculiar charm, due in part to the survival of a profusion of gargoyles populating the parapets. These gargoyles, both in human and animal form, provide a wonderfully whimsical touch amid the architectural beauty wrought by generations of craftsmen.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention St. Mary's at Fairford. The first glimpse of the church rising above low pasture land to the west is likely to make unsuspecting visitors stop in their tracks and stare (as I did). The ornamentation of the tower is reminiscent of lace, so extravagant is the stonework.

The magnificence of the carving may seem out of place in this quiet market town, but it gives a fascinating glimpse at what life must have been like when the “Golden Fleece” brought prosperity to this region. Fairford is unique in that it possesses the most complete set of pre-Reformation stained glass in the country. As a final, whimsical, touch, look for the carven effigy of a pet cat just outside the main entry.

For more on the Cotswold region and its magnificent wool churches visit: http://www.the-cotswolds.org/top/english/intro.html

Source: Britainexpress.com

The planet has 6.157 billion people, of whom, 4.5% are in the US, and 1% in the UK.

• 30% of the world’s population is less than 15 years old, but in the US this is 21% and 19% in the UK.
• The world’s birth rate of 21 per 1,000 people is higher than the US rate of 14 and the UK’s 12.
• 7% of the world’s population is at least 65 years old, compared to
• 13% in the US and 16% in the UK
• Life expectancy at birth is 64 years, compared to 77 in the US and 78 in the UK.
• Of the 407 million internet users, 36% are in the US and 5% are in the UK. (Don’t forget, the US has c.250 m people, compared to 64m in the UK.)

Source: Simon Briscoe, The Financial Times, 27/7/02

Spotted by our eagle-eyed Webmaster: The only way a pilot can apply for a job at Ryanair is via the internet. The recruitment data contains credit card information because Ryanair refuses to consider applications unless a £50 fee is paid.

Sensitive personal information, such as credit card details, health records and career history, is collected by the unsecured site and sent in unencrypted email to the company's back office.

Ryanair admits that its online recruitment website has a serious security flaw which exposes job seekers' details to the eyes of crackers and unencrypted emails could breach Data Protection Act.

Phil Robinson, managing consultant at Information Risk Management, pointed out that the inclusion of credit card details made the vulnerability “very serious”. Unlike personal data, credit card details can easily be turned into money.

Embarrassingly for the airline, this vulnerability is easy and cheap to avoid. Secure socket layer (SSL) security, the encryption feature in the software, should be switched on and the company then has only to spend a few hundred pounds on a digital certificate to ensure that data is sent to the correct party instead of to a rogue server.

Ryanair's recruitment site states explicitly that applicants' information will remain confidential. “That is clearly incorrect,” said Robinson. “The way the data is submitted is totally unconfidential.”
Source: By Liesbeth Evers, Network News [31-10-2001]

Richard was a volunteer working in Mikindani, Tanzania for a charity, Trade aid.

My first impressions of Mikindani were what an improvement it was on my initial reaction to Dar-es-Salaam, [probably influenced by jet lag and the uncomfortable heat]. After the long journey it was a relief to get into Mikindani, and all I really wanted to do was sleep, however we had to prepare for the long awaited home stay. It was initially a shock, and various words were running through my head, which I shall not repeat. I found my home stay family to be extremely helpful and tolerant towards my bad Swahili, and repeatedly getting the wrong end of the stick.

Home stay was initially difficult, but once you have settled in you learn to ignore the screaming kids “watoto”, and you get on with things. However there is one thing I never got used to, Ugali (Cornmeal Porridge). It’s foul, and each meal was a bit of a trial, with Mama Asha encouraging me to eat more, and me desperately and as politely as possible trying to convey the message that “as much as a like Ugali I’m really actually very ill”.

So it was with some relief that I left my home stay and settled into the base house. I do still go back to my home stay family, just never at meal times.

It was now time to start on the project [bee keeping], and things seemed to get rolling pretty quickly with the help of Mr Thomas and Fabian, the ex-government beekeeper from Mtwara. It took some time to actually get the hive built and it is only now complete, all we need now are the bees. The bees will either come from a feral colony behind the Boma [a natural colony], or they will come from Mtwara. If we get them from behind the Boma we will wait for the bees to naturally colonise the hive, which is baited with bees wax [very much the lazy mans option]. If we use the bait hive then we are going to use some strange and mysterious Tanzanian method of catching bees, which Fabian has yet to reveal to me, should be interesting.

Teaching is something else that I have started since home stay. Teaching the staff has been particularly successful and enjoyable. Computer lessons, swimming lessons and English lessons seem to be the order of the day, and several of the staff seem to be making good ground in some of these areas. However, different things can be said about teaching at the schools. I have come to the conclusion that to get yourself, a head teacher, children, a classroom together at the same time requires an act of divine intervention, to be fair there are usually good excuses, however it is still infuriating.

I have found that a laid back attitude is required when working out here, and that flexitime is essential i.e. “so what time tomorrow morning?” “In the morning” “yes but when?” “Sometime”.

I know that when I get back to the England it is going to be difficult not being famous anymore, it’s quite strange when you walk around Mikindani and several thousand people all know your name. It really would be too easy to get delusions of grandeur.

It has been quite entertaining to watch some of the guests who have never been to Africa before, let alone Mikindani. In a place that feels, not exactly like home, but somewhere that I have got used to, the sight of a large group of Europeans clustered together and meekly discussing how different everything is, seems quite odd. But then I think back to my first reaction to Tanzania and Mikindani, and I realise I was the same.

It has been strange in the way that Africa seems to bend time, the pace of life is extremely slow, and for some reason it doesn’t seem like I’ve been here six weeks.

For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and their work, please visit their website www.mikindani.com or e-mail Sherie on tradeaid@netcomuk.co.uk