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Female (late 20s / early 30s?) appearing at Dos Gardenias on the first Sunday of 2015.

http://youtu.be/M5iA6VXVwBE

In a former Anglican church, now used as a museum, the cover over the wooden altar has a symbol, which I want to decipher. Within a shield, in Gothic script, are the letters M and S. The M is much larger, and similar to a McDonald's M with 2 arches, but there is a solid horizontal line making its base. Around the central vertical, which separates the two arches is an S, very like the Superman symbol, and completely contained within the larger M. The shield is shown as part of a lily plant, with the stem and some lateral leaves below, and flowers emerging to the right, left and above. This emblem is duplicated, being on either side of the central IHS Christogram.

I'd like to know what M and S represent, and, if it is possible, the relevance of lilies.

In a former Anglican church, now a museum, there is a lockable box, mounted into the north wall of the chancel. What was this used for?

Here's a pic:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwingereza/5866227012...

This wader was filmed in mid-March, in a small stream in south-west England. It seems to have plumage which is mainly grey (below) and brown above, with white lateral flashes, yellow legs, yellow beak, with dark neck immediately below, short regularly twitching tail which has some white streaks, a steady gait, with some sudden spurts. I'd like it to be identifed, by its common and/or scientific name, please.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/58181832...

Asylum here means the huge lunatic asylums (later called psychiatric hospitals) built in the 1800s. Many of them had a separate church in the grounds, in order to attend to the spiritual needs of the inmates (later called patients!). I am researching the built environment of one of them. I discovered an online photograph of the tiles of a different asylum church, and the similarities are evident. Is there something to this, or are they merely typical floor tiles of a late Victorian church?

Cane Hill Hospital, Coulsdon, Croydon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverstealth/2227057...

Glenside Hospital, Fishponds, Bristol

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/57723010...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/57728411...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/57728407...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/57728403...

I am referring to the layout of a church, of course. Some sources suggest that the chancel is part of the sanctuary near to the altar, whereas other sources seem to use the word chancel to describe the entire (raised) eastern end of a cruciform church. I suspect that the larger area, commencing (in the building to which I refer) at the wrought iron railings with a gate, is the sanctuary, and that the chancel is the defined area close to the altar with a smaller wooden topped rail. It's for a leaflet about the architecture of a former church, now used as an unrelated specialist museum. Can anyone advise me, please?

There are three walls in my town that concern me most.

1. There is a dry stone wall, about 1.25m in height, that has partly collapsed, owing to uncontrolled growth of vegetation. The wall fell away from the owner's land (a historic lane) into a public recreation ground, owned by the town council. The town council claimed that, as it was not the owner of the wall, it could not repair it, or even remove the fallen stones. My concern was about the danger that the rubble posed to the public, especially small children. Surely a local authority (either the same town council or the unitary authority) has enforcement rights to get the vegetation cleared and the wall repaired? The wall is shown in the following video [from 00:07 to 02:17].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK9hFGiv06E

Eventually the town council pushed some of the wall the other way, and fenced off the area, exactly as it claimed it would in a reply to a Freedom of Information request that I made.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/34140/respon...

To me, that does not seem like a sensible answer. Instead of making the town's park safer, the council has reduced the amount of land available to the public.

2. In another part of the same recreation ground, there is a much higher wall that is slowly disintegrating, with stones falling into the park. It is shown in the same video [from 03:12 to 04:44]. Some of the fallen rubble has been removed, and the area, which was a small copse, has had some trees removed, in order to make the danger area more visible from outside the copse. Again, I believe there must be some enforcement right, and that the town council should have an interest in getting the wall made safe, because of the risk to the public, and the need to grant access to the area for works to be carried out.

3. The third stone wall, maybe about 70cm high, is in another part of town entirely. A section of the top of the wall has come loose and has fallen (or been pushed) around, so that one end lies on the ground and the other end lies over the rest of the wall. I suspect that responsibility for the wall lies with the unitary authority, as there is a tarmaced footpath at one side of the wall and a street at the other side. Again it is shown in the video [from 09:10 to 10:28]. I would have thought that the unitary authority was obliged to make this safe, but I welcome informed opinion.

I intend to produce an update video shortly - the filming has already been made. Credit and thanks will be given to anyone, whose reply is used in the video. So there's a bonus - a chance for (very limited) fame!

In our house we have a digital TV purchased well before the switchover, which has already happened now. Whilst our location is borderline West / Wales / Midlands (and with the analogue signal, the TV could pick up all three regional versions of BBC and ITV), the appropriate region is West, because of the closeness to, and communication links with, Bristol. The auto installation of the TV originally selected the West options (Channel 1 - BBC1 West, Channel 2 - BBC2 West, Channel 3 - ITV1 West and so on). However, every so often the TV suddenly switches to Wales options, with the West versions switched to a high value channel number. Another thing that happens occasionally is that there is no TV, just a "database empty" error message on the screen. Applying the auto installation resolves this, of course, but sometimes it sets up the Wales versions in Channels 1, 2 etc. I can manually resolve this, but it is becoming irritating. Is this related to the type of aerial, or its position, or is it just changing atmospheric conditions which will always cause this no matter what?

It's a bathroom door with lever handles on both sides, which operate the latch. This mechanism has failed, and so when the lever handles are lowered (on either side), the latch doesn't retract sufficiently to allow the door to open. About 1½ inches below the handle is the locking device, which is a thumb turn on the inside, and a large screw head on the outside. Each handle is secured by 4 screws on either side, which come out just fine. The side escutcheon has 2 screws, but it is also attached to the inner lock, so doesn't come away. The handles do not come off either, as they seem to be held to the door by the locking device. Is there any way to remove all this?

Inner handle http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/49744902...

Outer handle http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/49744915...

Side escutcheon plate http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/49738782...

In the High Street of the small UK town, where I live, there are several black posts, most are numbered (7A, 11A, 20A etc.), and they are roughly 2 feet tall. One of the unnumbered posts has a black-on-yellow electricity warning sign. I'd like to know what they are called and what their function is.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/

I'd like to know by what name they are conventionally known, and what, briefly, their function is.

Each one is securely fenced off, just like an electricity distribution substation (of the "outdoors" type), and consists of a very large green cabinet, with padlocked double doors. Each has a notice affixed to it which reads "Gas Installation - Important Notice", advising of the utilities company's need to be informed of any work to be carried out within 10 metres of the site. They also have what looks like a 5-pronged aerial at the rear. There are two that I know of, in my small town of 12,000 people (though there may be others, of which I am unaware). I can find no information on the website of the relevant utilities company.

Here are photographs of the two installations.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/49013307...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42513145@N08/49013306...

The second installation was the site of a gasworks, according to a local history website - but that's all I know.

http://stjohnstreet.thornburyroots.co.uk/Gas%20The...

I would like to know the name of this tune, and, if possible, the style of dance (village of origin).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcX3S7_N68Q

The song title & original artist are the details I want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XFfDYQRzI4

Many thanks!

Is it really true that we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home, and, if so, is there any way that we can impede Johnny's homeward bound progress, because I don't particularly wish to feel gay?

It would also be useful if you could include the botanical name also, for the avoidance of doubt. Here is the tree:

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/2...

I think most people agree that it is no longer acceptable for white people to black up as racial caricatures (as the Black and White Minstrels did).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38223000/jpg/_3...

I have just seen this pic on the website of the Trinidadian High Commission in London - is it not equally unacceptable?

http://www.tthighcommission.co.uk/images/parang.jp...

I can't get access the internet radio website www.live365.com right now (18:10 GMT Feb 05). Does anyone know if there is a problem with this website?

I want to produce some video blogs that are part of a local campaign for social justice. They will go on YouTube, but I want them to appear professional. There will be two of us working on the project - me talking to camera, and one other with the camera. Some work will be inside, some at outside locations, and there will be interviews of a third person. I would expect to be paying at least £800, but ideally not much more than £1,200. I hope there is something in that price band that would serve the purpose.

I think that the camera would need to work with other accessories (not included in the above budget), like an external microphone and headphones (to ensure and control audio quality), and a tripod. Any advice here would be welcomed.

Please assume I know nothing. I know that I have a lot to learn, but the project will go ahead, in any case.

I need some enlightenment here. I am a secularist, so I don't have the knowledge to understand a particular situation ....

In a certain small town in England, the local CofE church seems to have a very good relationship with two other local religious institutions;-

1. an independent Baptist church (it is NOT in the Baptist Union of Great Britain)

2. a youth-orientated music & mission organisation.

Both the church and the organisation are members of the Evangelical Alliance. The Anglican church has a link to the Evangelical Alliance on its website.

Those three bodies (Anglican church, Baptist church and music/mission organisation) have had, and continue to have, significant involvement in the local community radio station. This participation seems to be co-ordinated by the vicar. However the other local churches (Roman Catholic, Methodist, United Reform, Friends/Quakers) appear to have been sidelined.

My concern is about what I suspect is undue influence over the (supposedly secular) radio station, but I don't understand the evangelical link here. I have heard that CofE churches can be evangelical - does that mean that they have some degree of autonomy within the Church of England? Is it possible that a local Anglican church can prefer to associate with local evangelical churches, even though (theroretically) it works in partnershiup with all the churches in the community? Does all this make sense, or do I just sound like a paranoid, imagining conspiracies all around me?

Any serious advice will be appreciated.

[Evangelical Alliance http://www.eauk.org/ ]

What specific legislation in Trinidad & Tobago covers matters of employment for foreigners, and rules about acquiring residence for foreigners married to Trinidadian nationals? I ask for two main reasons (1) many government job advertisements specify that applicants must be nationals, but does this have any legal basis (my experience is with UK public sector)? (2) I was originally told that, as a UK citizen marrying a Trini, I would get residence automatically, but this then became a wait for an interview in August (since January), with a need for me to produce police records in T&T and UK, and have a health check - is this right?