The Joy of Six 1391

“The Jesus Army, or JA, seemed to own everything, like a religious multinational corporation, with money and investments everywhere. Big Victorian houses scattered across the area, from Kingsley to Kingsthorpe, Semilong to St James and villages beyond were home to followers. All of whom, we were told, had given up everything, their houses, their salaries, even ownership of their cars and bank accounts, to this huge cult-like organisation.” Hilary Scott lived in Northampton alongside the cult of Noel Stanton for 25 years.

Steve Darling, as the Local Government Association explains, used his lived experience as a disabled person to change the culture of Torbay Council. He raised awareness and worked with other disabled colleagues to reduce barriers for both staff and councillors.

Rowan Moore on the battle over Liverpool Street station.

“Most of the inhabitants of these remote regions were not, he suggests, truly pagan;'s instead, they practised creolised religions that combined Christian elements with traditional rituals. Many had been baptised, and some attended church. But the depth of their faith was (often justifiably) doubted by outsiders, whose views were heavily influenced by lurid tales of human sacrifice, sexual deviance, and snake worship.” Katherine Harvey reviews Francis Young's The Silence of the Gods, a study of religion in North-Eastern Europe between the Middle Ages and the 19th century.

Nation Cymru reports on moves to restore the Swansea and Tennant Canals: “New waterways will be constructed to link the River Tawe to historic canals at Port Tennant and at Clydach, to create a 35-mile boat trip across Swansea Bay. Avenues of trees will shade the canal paths from climate change and provide a haven for wildlife.”

“If Kubrick invokes Hogarth in the service of cynicism, the way he uses setting and landscape is no less cutting – at least, on the surface. He frequently uses long zoom-outs to make his characters seem dwarfed by their surroundings, suggesting the transience of Barry’s actions, and the pettiness of his woes, against a seemingly timeless backdrop.” Arjun Sajip looks at the use Stanley Kubrick made of 18th-century art in his 1975 film Barry Lyndon.