Pepys Sings Gaze Not Upon Swans 🦢; Three Men and Their Boat; and we ponder the ancient Washing of Feet and Hands 🙌🏻

Listener mail is warmly welcomed 🙋‍♀️A poem by Henry Noel (Elizabethan   Courtier)Gaze not on SwansGaze not on swans in whose soft breastA full hatcht beauty seems to nest,Nor snow which falling from the sky,Hovers in its virginity.Gaze not on roses though new blownGrac’d with a fresh complexion,Nor lilly which no subtle beeHath rob'd by kissing chemistry.Gaze not on that pure milky wayWhere night vies splendour with the day,Nor pearls whose silver walls confineThe riches of an Indian mine.For if my emperesse appearsSwans moultring dy, snow melts to tears,Roses do blush and hang their heads,Pale lillyes shrink into their beds;The milky way rides past to shrowdIts baffled glory in a clowd, And pearls do climb into her eare,To hang themselves for envy there.So have I seene stars big with light,Proud lanthorns to the moone-ey’d night,Which when Sol's rays were once display'd,Sunk in their sockets and decay'd.Henry Noel (courtier to Queen Elizabeth 1)Died:1597 Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached over 80,000 downloads.  Don’t try to listen in order, unless you’re very committed.  Dip in and out, choosing an episode based on the title information.  Whether you are interested in history, literature, poetry or one-to-one chatting, I try to give you something that will interest you.  This is a podcast for the curious, the kind and - possibly - the suffering or lonely.  Historian Tom Holland is the Honorary Patron of this podcast.  Thank you Tom🙏 Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 😬☺️🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Author Nicola Cornick; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela T...