http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/feed.phpThe latest news from the website of Henry Lincolnhttp://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=250...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a250http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=249 A LOST YEAR 2011 has almost passed without an entry on this Blog nbspnbsp Cause for yet another apology.nbspnbsp But this has been a more than usually busy season.nbspnbspnbsp I seem tonbsphave spent most of my time attempting to show our visitors the amazing simplicity which lies behind the fantastical imaginings which some of them insist on bringing to this magical place.nbsp nbsp SENSE amp SIMPLICITY I realise that, when writing of RennesleCh...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a249http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=243 ... is now over.nbspnbsp At least, so I thought ... but today, on very New Year's Eve, as I write these words, I have before me this morning's local newspaper. The world, it seems, is indeed taking leave of its senses. RennesleChteau is used to its quota of dotty visitors ... but the mayor of a village, not ten miles away, is reported to be considering a request for military protection from an expected influx of loonies who are expecting an imminent End of the World.nbspnbspnb...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a243http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=242Will he update this blog? How should I know... Well it says..."Happy something or other".....http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a242http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=241The lunacy of August is over. This year, we have had the usual throngs of travellers from the three quarters of the globe (haven't spotted any Chinese yet ) To universal joy, the Disneyland train has been derailed until next year. I acknowledge that twoyearolds love it ... but they are a minority among our visitors and somehow neither Disney' nor train' seem to contribute a great deal to the ambiance of RennesleChteau.I had hoped that the picture below would have included...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a241http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=238 Another long silence ... for which I apologise. I have been struggling with this entry for far too long. You039ll realise why if you read to the end. * * * * * BERENGER039S SHADE RennesleChteau changes with each year. In many ways it grows less and less like the village which Brenger knew. Less, too, like the village as I first knew it, when Elise039s cows still ambled to the cattletrough by the chteau for their evening drink. The cows are now long gone ....http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a238http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=237 At RennesleChteau, I fear, change has become inevitable. But some changes, it seems, are beginning to spread confusion. I have, for instance, often been asked for directions to the Devil's Armchair. My response is now frequently met with: But I thought that was the Seat of Isis ... (And vice versa.) Well ... yes This seems to be one of the unlookedfor effects of the Da Vinci Code. The goddesses seem to be taking over. So ... Isis now sits in the Devil's Armchair ...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a237http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=236 I have promised to say a little more about Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Here then, are some nottooserious observations: Both novel and notverysuccessful film were entertaining rubbish, but I found it slightly irritating that Mr Brown seemed to be implying that he has based his story upon accurate facts. I can't comment on his ideas about Leonardo, or Opus Dei ... but, for Pierre Plantard the Priory of Sion Jesus Mary Magdalene and so on, I can only say:...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a236http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=235 I have received a number of requests for an explanation of why I did not join with Baigent and Leigh in the case for plagiarism which they brought against Dan Brown. I will confess that this is a subject which I have been reluctant to approach, as it touches upon matter which I find extremely distasteful and which, in large part, has been the cause of my previous years of silence. It is, however, a subject which has been hovering in the background for too long and which I have been aware...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a235http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php?e=234 My apologies for another untoward pause, this time occasioned by work (yes, I am still working) and also the slow sifting through my library and archive, which have been buried in boxes following my departure from the Cotswolds. And extraordinary treasures are coming to light not all of them serious ... as, for example: Those of you who have read Key to the Sacred Pattern may remember my account (pp 161162) of the mad moment whe...http://www.henrylincoln.co.uk/blog.php#a234