2/22/2011

Forum Faces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..
Forum Faces At The Great Hall.
By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Alex Albion.~~~
They came to The Forum of Faiths Debate, 2011,
at The Great Hall to hear such distinguished folkz
as Baroness Susan Kramer of Richmond Park
(pictured above), Dr. John McDade, S.J.,
President of Heythrop College; and United
Reform Church's Rev'd James Mather as
chairman of the debate. In the audience there
was such folkz as Islam's Kari Mah and Anglican's
Rev'd Ginny Thomas of St. Mary The Boltons.
~~~
I myself was there to meet and photograph the
speakers and selected members of the audience
more than to participate in the faith debate that
pitted faith adherents vs. non-faith athiests at the
debate. I have no time for empty atheism or men-
acing Islam as a devout Anglican myself. So my
traditional religious views as a firm and unyielding
English Christian was best put aside at least while
I met and photographed those who may have
strongly disagreed with my personal stand
against avenging atheism and inimical Islam.
~~~
Islam's Kari Mah.
~~~
Here then are a couple of the photos of the
speakers I encountered at The Forum of Faiths.~~~
Inside The Great Hall.


Colliding With 15 Borough Mayors. By Uncle Monty.Before the debate commenced, I happened to collide with 15 London Borough mayors and mayoresses all doled up with their expensive chauffeur (or chauffeuse) driven cars to attend their mayoral social event at Kensington Town Hall. Some of the mayors I had seen before at various other events. But what struck me the most this time was to see, in light of all the Coalition cuts, council service reductions, and public-sector layoffs, such fancy and expensive vehicles all lined up (as seen in the lead photo caption of me above) without a care about the real cost of such. They were being over-pampered beyond their simple status as local council leaders rather than say cabinet level members of the British central government.United Reform Church's Rev'd James Mather was chair,

~~~
Now that I've had my say, take another look at Elizabeth & Piers McCausland, who are the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Wandsworth. London. Piers I'd seen before, but
not Elizabeth. Both of them were quite nice and by chance I asked to photograph them before they got to be chauffeured back to Wandsworth. They obliged, nicely!
~~~
Her Lady Mayorship!


~~~
As for The Forum of Faiths, I have no doubt that whatever religious or non-religious positions folkz came with at the debate were still much the same or even hardened after they left The Great Hall to go back home on what was then the evening of The Common of Saints. And thus, I was so glad to record some of the Forum Faces for you among my growing blog readership from around the world ...
~~~
Down With with Murderous Muammar al-Qaddafi, Uncle Monty.
+Tuesday of Septuagesima, 2011.
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Then moments before The McCauslands, I saw her young lady mayorship of what town I did not know, but she willingly stopped when I spoke to her to get a photoshot of her becoming presence and lovely taste of dress. Hence the photo of her is also shown above. Nor did I get her name like I should have then and there ... Whatever, the photo represents her very well, I think!

If Her Majesty can take a train and if the Mayor of London Boris Johnson can take a bike, why
cannot local mayors and mayoresses drive themselves without chauffeurs and costly cars to their
various functions? I see no reason why they should escape the pain that all of us are, in one way or another, going to experience in the coming years to tackle the utter waste and squander-ing of billions of quids by foul New Labour over the course of its 13 dark years in office that was tantamount, in my opinion, to almost criminal and treacherous conduct by Nu Labour. Its destuctive legacy -- especially its outrageous mass immigration of unwanted millions of immigrants to the UK -- will scar the country forever and coupled with Labour also bankrupting the nation without a care in the world. New Labour was, and is, nothing more than a new brand of socialist tyranny inflicted on the duped British people by such dreadful leftwing political gangsters like odious and sickening Tony Blair and ex-British Labour party moron Gordon Brown.~~~
Elizabeth & Piers McCausland:
Lord Mayor & Lady Mayoress of Wandsworth, London.

As I watched the council leaders come and go, I figured the cost of those mayors and
mayoresses attending their one hour Kensington social gathering cost perhaps as much as £5.000 from their various council coffers. If such is repeated say just 10 times a year, the cost becomes 50,000 quid for such 15 elected council representatives to bask in self-importance and
self-aggrandizement. Local Councils in the UK are now notorious for wicked waste and spending other people's money like water. They are essentially a law unto themselves and they need to be brought back down to earth by stopping them acquiring more powers to rip-off the people. Council chiefs oftentimes earn more than the Prime Minister and council powers to set, for instance, more parking restrictions and outrageous fines also need to be drastically curtailed and
their towing and clamping of residents cars at the drop of a hat should be outlawed by the
central government. The intrusion of councils in the life of today's UK citizens is almost dictatorial in many cases. Along with the CCTV mania inside "Broken Britain," we're now the world's No. 1 "Surveillance Nation" despite all its acclaimed status as an "open and democratic society." There is nothing democratic or open about 8 million CCTV cameras monitoring the every move of a so-called "free citizenry." Oh, and also 8 million parking and traffic tickets were issued by local councils against British motorists just last year ... More than a BILLION quid was callously generated by such entities against the UK citizen in 2010. We are also the world's No. 1 nation of stinking and countless traffic wardens who are oftentimes mere immigrants allowed to bug us with their low tactics to extract on behalf of such councils unfair and unjust traffic and parking tickets year round ... They'll continue to do so until they're stopped by the courts.

2/16/2011

British Honours.





British Honours.
By Lord Leonard Carr, KLO., M.D.
Edited By Uncle Monty.
Writeovers By Alex Albion.
::
Around 20 (British Royal) Investitures are held in
The Ballroom at Buckingham Palace each year. Another
takes place at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh,
and sometimes one more at Cardiff Castle in Wales.
Investitures are also occasionally held overseas, during
a State visit by The Queen or a foreign visit by another
member of the Royal Family.
::
Peers, like Dukes, Marquesses, Earls,Viscounts and
Barons, generally inherit their titles. Alot of hard
work in the name of the country may earn a
person a baronetcy or knighthood/damehood.
::
Wall Mural Discovered At Shoreditch, London.
::
Recipients can bring with them to The Investiture
up to three friends or relations, who are invited to sit
in the audience to witness the occasion. At the start of
the ceremony The Queen enters the room attended
by two Gurkha orderly officers, a tradition begun
by Queen Victoria in 1876.
::
Also on duty are members of The Queen's Body Guard
of the Yeomen of the Guard, which was created by Henry
VII in 1485. Music is provided by either a military band
or an orchestra from the Purcell School of Music. The
Queen, or the member of the Royal Family, holding
the Investiture, remains standing throughout.
Each Investiture takes about an hour.
::
After the National Anthem has been played either the
Lord Chamberlain or the Lord Steward announces the
name of each recipient and the achievement for which
he or she is being honoured. The Queen then places
the decoration on the person concerned before
congratulating them on receiving the award.
::
Those who are to receive a knighthood (and who are
therefore entitled to style themselves Sir), kneel on an
Investiture stool before The Queen. She uses the sword
that belonged to her father, King George VI, to dub the
knight. As well as receiving awards within one of the
Orders of Chivalry, recipients may also attend to re-
ceive a decoration for gallantry such as the George
Cross or The Queen's Gallantry Medal.
::
Occasionally an award for gallantry may be made
posthumously, and in this case The Queen presents
the decoration or medal to the recipient's next of kin
at a private ceremony before the formal Investiture
begins.The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knight-
hood, which is a department of the Lord Chamberlain's
Office, is responsible for the organisation of each In-
vestiture. The Central Chancery also organises the
distribution of British insignia awarded by The
Queen throughout the Commonwealth.
::
"In (the) ceremony of knighting, the knight-elect
kneels on a knighting-stool in front of The Queen,
who then lays the sword blade on the knight's right
and then left shoulder. After he has been dubbed, the
new knight stands up, and The Queen invests the
knight with the insignia of the Order to which he
has been appointed. Contrary to popular belief,
the words 'Arise, Sir ...' are not used."
::
The current system is made up of ten orders of chivalry.
The statutes of each order specify matters such as the
size of the order, the use of post-nominal letters and
insignia design and display. Complete with name
and Ranks / Letters.
("shame upon him who thinks evil of it")
::
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
KT/LT
1687
James VII
Nemo me impune lacessit
("No one provokes me with impunity")
::
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath
GCB, KCB/DCB, CB
18 May 1725
George I
Tria iuncta in uno
("Three joined in one")
::
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
GCMG, KCMG/DCMG, CMG
28 April 1818
George, Prince of Wales
Auspicium melioris ævi
::
For God and The Empire
The British Empire Medal
The Order of the Companions of Honour
CH
June 1917
King George V
In Action Faithful and In Honour Clear.
::
Dormant orders of chivalry:
Orders were created for particular reasons at particular
times. In some cases these reasons have ceased to have
any validity and orders have fallen into abeyance, pri-
marily due to the decline of the British Empire during
the twentieth century. Reforms of the system have some-
times made other changes. For example the British Empire
Medal ceased to be awarded in the UK in 1993, as was the
companion level award of the Imperial Service Order
(although its medal is still used). These changes were
made because it was believed they perpetuated "class"
differences.
::
N.B.
Leonard Carr has been an old friend of Uncle
Monty’s since before 1993 when they both were
expats in America. Lord Carr now lives at Monaco
as a windower and retired physician. He is also a
Knight of the Anglican Order of Archbishop Robert
Leighton (1611-84) along with Uncle Monty.
::
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Patriach ILVA II - Maspindzeli - By Uncle Monty
THEBIGGERISSUE.ORG: Maspindzeli. By Uncle Monty
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By Uncle Monty.
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2/09/2011

Maspindzeli. By Uncle Monty.

____________________.____________________
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Maspindzeli.
By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Alex Albion.
_______._______
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The Georgian Folk Song Concert
In Honour of His Holiness & Beatitude
Patriarch ILIA II of All-Georgia on His
Ecumenical Five-Day London Visit, 2011.
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Suffering from what appears to be mild Parkin-
son's, His Holiness & Beatitude Patriarch ILIA II
arrived with his patriarchal entourage and anointed
bodyguards to attend the Georgian Folk Song
Concert held in his honour on the final day
of his official five-day London visit, 2011,
as the autocephalous head of the Georgia
Orthodox Patriarchate.
.
:: ILIA II's Unofficial Bio ::
.
Arriving with dignified fanfare, some 1,800
orthodox and ecumenical faithful openly
greeted His Holiness with their adoration
and deep respect for him. Bowing and
scraping at every turn to the elderly
patriarch, those gathered at the concert
were honoured to have him present and
his patriarchal clergy, who were all
clerically black-clad from head to toe.
.
When I received the ecumenical invitatiion
to hobnob with His Holiness and to attend
the Maspindzeli concert, I quickly and
happily accepted such with much
personal delight. Such was held last
night at London's Smith Square.
...
Just moments after parking Contessa
Maria's old jalopy (shown above in the
lead photo caption), there was the patriarch
in all his glory standing momentarily in front
of me as his handlers then escorted him
reverentially to his prepared seat among
the people and not cloistered out of sight
from them. I later encountered the
partiarch closely at the close of his
speech in Georgian which was translated
by his personal interpreter into English.
.
The Patriarch's Vicar-General & Ecumenical Envoy. .

None of the folksongs or singing was detected in English save only in the native Georgian idiom, naturally. Anybody who attended the concert expecting to hear such in English was in for a rude awakening. And so, those Georgian folksongs were called Chakrulo, Vagiorko Ma, Satrfialo, Odoia, Rachvelian, Khasanbegura, Shemokmedura, and Chela. Thus in English such songs would be called: Holy God, Hymn of the Cherubims, You Are The Vineyard, Though Thou Didst Descent, and This Is A Holy Day. Those songs came from such regions of Georgia as Kartli-Kakheti, Samegrelo, and Guria. Most of the singing was done without musical instrumentation, except for the occasional native homemade string instrument that I didn't know the correct name for. Abit of Gurian circle dancing was done, too. Over 20 folksongs covered the 2¾-hour long Georgian Folk Song Concert. Those present were a pretty happy lot and I was surprised at how many Georgians now call London their home-sweet-home. This concert also happened to be my first one of this relatively new year 2011.

Maspindzeli Choir. .
Native Georgian Folksingers.
.
Russian Orthodox Very Rev'd Maxim N. Kolsky, 72. .
I got to talk to a number of the patriarchal clergy
including the Very Rev'd Maxim N. Kolsky (shown
above) and Archpriest Michael Popkhadze, 69. I was
told that of the 15 Autocephalous Orthodox jurisdictions
that they tallied together to be the second largest
Christian denomination in the world with the Russian
Orthodox Church alone claiming more than 150
million adherents. Unlike some other Orthodox juris-
dictions and their strict dogmas that prohibit the mix-
ing of the male and female gender inside their churches
and at their religious services, The Georgian
Orthodox Church allows and encourages men and
women to present and to worship together for all
church occasions and services. The exception, of
course, is the sacred priesthood at where women
are barred from the clergy and the episcopate.
Such is true of all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions
around the world. While the Anglican Church is
always in a tizzy with the constant demands now
to consecrate women as bishops like we already
see, for example, in the radical and ultraliberal
ECUSA - The Episcopal Church, USA. Our
Orthodox friends aren't interested or moved
to copy anything to do with such Western
ideology and political correctness, thankfully!!
.
Georgian Folk Quartet.

What I liked so much about the concert was how unusual such was compared to the many others I have seen. This was because it was the one and only concert that I've ever attended at where English was submerged under the weight of some other language and singing. In this case, of course, strictly Georgian! I so enjoyed meeting so many Orthodox Christians there being an avid Anglican like I am. But above all, it was His Holiness & Beatitude Patriarch ILIA II that I so enjoyed encountering for the first, and also probably for the last time, at The Georgian Folk Song Concert that was so rightly held in his gracious honour at the final day of his official 5 day London visit. BRAVO!!! And, do get better my good patriarch!


ine Georgian Folksinger.

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His Holiness & Beatitude Patriarch ILIA II.

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Have a great day, Uncle Monty.

+St. Gertrude, 2011.

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Tsunami of Homeless People.

By Alex Albion.

http://allaboutthebigissue.blogspot.com/2011/02/people.html

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2/02/2011

Game Over.

Game Over, Hosni.
Overthrowing The Mubarak Regime.
By Uncle Monty.
Pyramid Cartoon By Peter
Brookes of The Times.
Other Images From
World Photographers Pool.
***
:: MUBARAK FINALLY OUSTED ::
News Update - Feb. 11th, 2011.
...
:: Egyptian News Updates - Feb. 7, 2011.::
Key opposition group not swayed by talks with
Egypt regime. From correspondents in Cairo.
.
Egypt's talks with opposition are 'extraordinary,' a possible
turning point, John Kerry says. John Kerry, the head of
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is optimistic and
hopeful about concessions by the Cairo government to
protesters' demands -- particularly an agreement to
lift the decades-old emergency law.
By Don Lee. LA Times Staff Writer.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-egypt-us-20110207,0,3137746.story
***
From Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution comes now the
awakening of the oppressed Egyptian people under
the 30-year tyranny of President Hosni Mubarak
and his presidential gang of gangsters at Cairo.
***
Call it a copycat revolution or not, but every -
thing in Egypt now amounts to simply one
thing: "Game Over, Hosni." Just like it was in
Tunisia of two-weeks or so ago: "Game Over"
there, too, for the detested Ben Ali clan!
***
But even more entrenched and brutal is
Hosni compared to Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi
Arabia with his hated wife Leila Trabelsi, who
has been dubbed "The Imelda Marcos of the
Arab World" because of her lavish lifestyle
and love of designer clothes and bags of gold!
***
Yesterday, Mubarak declared he will not step
down and said he would finish out his term in
defiance and arrogance of the people's will
that gathered and amassed also yesterday in
Cairo with the aim of one million sons and
daughters of Egypt demanding the end to
him and his unbashed brutality against his
own people. But Hosni will not win,
whether he stays or not.
***
The domino effect: Tunisia engulfed. Egypt in flames.
Jordan teetering. As the Arab world unravels,
should the West be worried? By John R Bradley.
:: Updated Comments By Uncle Monty ::
The New York Times reports that US officials are
now in talks with Egyptain officials to have Hosni
Mubarak resign immediately with a transistional
government replacing him. But Hosni, the old
stubborn bastard that he is, wants no part of a
any deal that sees him quit. After watching
Sky News live reports from Cairo yesterday
of the pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters filling
the violent streets, I'm fearful that the longer
Hosni stays that greater danger of some kind
of civil war becoming the next stage in the
social and political conflagration that is
Egypt today. Dubbed "The Day of Departure"
by the anti-Mubarak forces, today will also
be a most critical one in determining if Hosni
finally quits or stays to see his country slide
even further into outright bloodshed against
him. The Egyptian army's role on the streets,
and in the corridors of power, will play a pivotal
part in determining whatever outcome
finally emerges at post-Mubarak Egypt.
Yesterday, the army cleared pro-Hosni
paid thugs - seemingly organized by secret
police agents, et al - from off the streets
after such government thugs attacked
peaceful protesters violently. The vice-
president of Egypt publicly apologized
to the pro-Mubarak protesters for what
the paid thugs did. Quite rare, indeed,
for such an apology to be declared.
***
How things play out is anybody's guess
right now. What is certain is that Egypt,
like earlier in Tunisia, will probably inspire
more copycat revolutions in the Middle East
and North Africa especially among disaffected
and young Arab citizens who will eventual-
ly alter the face and fate of the Arab world
for this 21st century. Long after dictators
like Mubarak and Ben Ali are assigned to the
footnotes in history books, what happens in
Cairo this very day will go down in the history
of the Arab peoples no matter what. Whether
what comes afterwards is good or bad must be
determined by the people themselves and not
by Yankee outsiders to the bloody spectacle
and upheaval that is seen right now by the
world looking on in with utter amazement
and strangeness of seeing what's all happen-
ing with their rivetting perplexity and
breathlessness at what they've so far seen.
"Be thou not dismayed," we are scripturally
told. All things come to pass and so there-
fore "be thou not dismayed" of whatever
happens in the world or even in one's own
momentary life ... And so, good luck to
the Arab peoples for a better and brighter
future without those dictators and paid
thugs choking the life from out of them.
Feb. 4th, 2011.
***
Here's an example of what the people really think!
***
The question now is not if, but rather when will
Hosni Mubarak, 83 in May, scurry off in the foot
steps of his fellow dictator Ben Ali to Suadi Arabia?
If not there, then perhaps to England where his
half-Welsh wife Suzanne holds a British passport.
***
Their son Gamel is reported to be already in
London and has been suspected of arms-dealing.
Gamel Mubarak, 47, also runs his own investment
business called Medinvest Associates. His dad Hosni,
is known to have amassed $38 billion for his
family under his iron-fist regime and dictatorship.
***
The Will of the Egyptian People In Full View!

While on the burning streets of Cairo, much like what I saw and personally witnessed at Tunis at the very start of the Jasmine Revolution, the brave protesters were being slaughtered by
plainclothes thugs and government paid agent provocateurs and outright murderers dressed in police uniforms. As with all dictators, they feel they are invincible and the longer they stay in brutal power the more they believe they're even more invincible until the day of reckoning sees the real possibility that they'll be publicly lynched by the people for all the years of their evil tyranny. The raw reality for Hosni Mubarak will take time for it to sink in, but by then he may well find such raw reality as unmerciful as he has been to his own people for the past 30 long years.
And, none of the billions of dollars in US foreign aid will ultimately save him from his final days of fate. It didn't for Tunisia's Ben Ali as the people there finally revolted against him and his wicked and greedy family at the expense of the poor Maghreb people.
***
Arab Revolutions: From Tunisia To Egypt, Is This The Beginning Of A Trend?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/01/egypt-tunisia-arab-revolution_n_816695.html
By Cara Parks.

As Violence Rages in Egypt is the United States a Democracy Hypocrite?
As Violence Rages in Egypt is the United States a Democracy Hypocrite? - National religion & politics Examiner.com

Be careful what you wish for in Arab world. By Anthony Cordesman.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87bd5f98-2a52-11e0-b906-00144feab49a.html#axzz1CqtmkO2e

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Now 24 hours after Mubarak told the Egyptian nation he would hold on until his term expires in September, 2011, there are new and ominous developments inside Egypt that could see a dramatic change on the ground in favour of Hosni Mubarak's continuing to cling to power despite the march of a million protesters at Cairo. It appears the army is now instructing the protesters to disband and basically telling them go back home to where they're from. Up untl now, the army has been, if you will, rather neutral toward the anti-Mubarak protesters. But today, clashes emerged against them by the sudden emergence and arrival of organized pro-Mubarak street supporters. The longer Hosni now stays, the greater is the danger of a massive bloodbath coming into play. If the army decides to end by force the anti-Mubarak protests, then the country could find itself in some kind of civil war that could impact far beyond the borders of Egypt and other copycat revolutions could soon be taking place inside Jordan, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, and even Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, mass evacuations of tourist Brits, Yanks, Loonies, and other foreigners are taking place as Egypt enters a more dangerous phase against Mubarak and his stubborn regime that appears to be digging in at all costs no matter what. But whatever happens from here on out, nothing will be ever be the same either in Egypt or the Middle East as more lives are lost against the powerful forces of those sitting tyrants who have never had it so good until now. Now they aren't so sure if their own people will finally turn against them and seek to overthrow them by open revolution and widespread protests. More power to the good and oppressed people!!

I shall update this story "Game Over, Hosni" has matters develop inside Egypt and/or other parts of the Middle East in the coming days and weeks. All of this seems to have stemmed from Tunisia's impressive Jasmine Revolution. I mention that again simply because much to my surprise my 60+ postcards posted by me at Carthage-Tunis on The Epiphany have now been arriving over the past few days at America, Australia, Italy, Canada, Mexico, UK, etc. I think that may be a good sign that things inside Tunisia are finally on the mend and business is getting back to normal after the end of the Ben Ali regime by the good Maghreb people. I basically kissed goodbye to my Tunisian postcards from ever arriving due the massive uprising in the country. But thankfully I was proved wrong. It's interesting how small things tell us alot about what is really going on inside a country torn by internal revolt - when the mail stops is a clear sign things are unsettled, while when the mail gets delivered it tells us things are much like what we expect ... stability and normalcy is what we think!!

A few parting words for now must include Iran, Belarus, and Libya. What a pity that such tyrants like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus can still thrive and live openly with their evil dictatorships along with others like Col. Maummar al-Gaddafi of Libya, which I visited last month before heading to then Ben Ali's Tunisia. Let us hope the people bring an end to such tyrants whereever and however they are ...

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MOSCOW — The United States and the European Union on Monday imposed sanctions against President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko and scores of other officials in Belarus for a broad crackdown on the opposition after the fraudulent presidential election late last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/world/europe/01belarus.html?_r=1

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

As always, Uncle Monty. +Candlemas - The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 2011.
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