Tit Bits - a page of items of interest and curiosities.

This report was made in July 2012 by Lorna Jeffery

Have you imagined what it is like to swing a THURIBLE?

Managing a thurible is no mean feat and you certainly need to stand well out of the way when Neil rotates it in vertical circles! A spectacular thurible is used at the Cathedral in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. This is where pilgrims arrive after a long tiring journey, and it is thought that covering the congregation in great clouds of incense was a practical way of masking various unpleasant odours. Apparently the thurible once flew off its chains and smashed through a window, but luckily no-one was killed! It is called a "Botafumiero", which is the Galician for "smoke expeller".

You can see it here.

The Botafumeiro is suspended from a pulley mechanism in the dome on the roof of the church . The current pulley mechanism was installed in 1604.

The present Botafumeiro is made of an alloy of brass and bronze and is plated by a very thin 20 micrometre layer of silver. The current Botafumeiro was created by the gold and silversmith José Losada in 1851. It has a golden sheen.

The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is one of the largest censers in the world, weighing 80 kg and measuring 1.60 m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious occasions it is brought to the floor of the cathedral and attached to ropes hung from the pulley mechanism.

There is another large thurible used in the other masses carried out in the cathedral, called "La Alcachofa" (literally, "The Artichoke") or "La Repollo" (literally, "The Cabbage"). La Alcachofa is a silver-colored metal censer. It was created in 1971 by the sacred art artisans working under the craftsman Luis Molina Acedo.

The ropes typically last about 20 years before they have to be replaced. However, recently a thicker rope than usual was used, and the extra rubbing produced premature wear of the rope. Therefore, this thicker rope had to be replaced sooner than had been expected, in 2004. Before 2004, the ropes were woven from hemp, or a type of grass called esparto, and made in Vigo, Spain. Since 2004, a rope made of synthetic material has been used.

Shovels are used to fill the Botafumeiro, or the Alcachofa, with about 40 kg of charcoal and incense. The thurible is tied to the rope with elaborate knots. The censer is pushed initially to start its motion. Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes, producing increasingly large oscillations of the censer. The turible's swings almost reach the ceiling of the transept. The incensory can reach speeds of 68 km/h as it dispenses thick clouds of incense.

At the top of the swing, the Botafumeiro reaches heights of 21 meters. It swings in a 65 meter arc between the Azabachería and Praterias doorways at the ends of the transept. The maximum angle achieved is about 82°. The maximum can be reached after about 17 cycles, and requires about 80 seconds of swinging.

It costs about 250€ for each thurible "performance" at the cathedral. Although this is expensive, the swinging of the thurible is very popular with pilgrims, tourists and visitors.

The Botafumeiro produces large volumes of smoke. This is in accord with the well-known saying in religious circles, "More incense, less nonsense."[

Pope Benedict enjoyed seeing it on a recent visit to Spain. Click here.

Lorna Jeffery, June 2012

HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW ? A report made in April 2012 by Dot Graham

Well we certainly aren't in the silver bells and cockle shells category. Far from it.

Over the last three years the grounds outside the Church have been transformed into an oasis of delight thanks to the hard work of a number of parishioners who have given up their time to plant hundreds of bulbs . Come the Springtime swathes of daffodils and crocus appear and are followed by bluebells and other flowers.

We owe a great debt to Carol Vance, a keen gardener, who has spent much time transforming the area near the fence on Holmfield Road into a woodland walk complete with cowslips,bluebells and other woodland planting. Only the other Sunday, as the writer left church it was noticeable that the bird feeders which have been hung in the trees were being frequented by sparrows and goldfinches, which could be heard squabbling as their meal was interrupted by a mere human.