The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The PSNS (parasympathetic nervous system) is part of the autonomic nervous system that promotes "rest-and-digest" activities, calming the body and supporting energy conservation and internal homeostasis. It promotes glandular secretion including insulin production for glucose metabolism. By contrast, the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for stress and rapid action.

Field Lane

Field Lane was the southern end of Saffron Hill, now demolished, where Dickens based Fagin's den in Oliver Twist (1838).

The Tornado of 1091

The tornado of 1091 destroyed the church of St Mary le Bow when it was being built.

The Rhone River and "La Venoge"

The Rhône River is a major river in France and Switzerland, which flows from the Rhône Glacier in Switzerland (in the Canton of Valais in the Swiss Alps) down through Lake Geneva and out to the Mediterranean sea. 

The river's name comes from the Latin word Rhodanus and reflects the fact that this was an important waterway in the time of the Greek and Roman empires.  

In 1948 the French started construction of dams and diversion canals along the Rhône.

The river has many tributaries (a stream or river flowing into a larger one) such as:

• The Venoge (subject of the poem "La Venoge" (1954) by Jean Villard) 
• The Aubonne (which gives its name to the Aubonne municipality and Aubonne Castle) 

Both  of the above can be found around Lake Geneva. A translation of the poem "La Venoge" can be found here. It begins beautifully "On a un bien joli canton, des veaux, des vaches, des moutons" - "we have a lovely canton, it's got cows, calves, sheep".

Djed Pillar

The djed is a symbol in ancient Egyptian religion.  It is a pillar-like symbol representing stability. It is commonly understood to represent the spine of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife. It is speculated that it is modelled on the sacrum of a bull's spine.