Colours ~ In hoc signo vinces

Heh, it's been another one of those days!

Finally got the new tyre fitted to the car but unfortunately the groaning noise and vibration from the steering that I thought was caused by the flat, was in fact not So the car is booked into the garage tomorrow morning for a more extensive investigation. Looks like the castle blip's are over for this holiday!

As you can (hopefully) see, my gel filters finally arrived too (although to be more accurate, I collected them from the sorting office where they'd been lying for a few days).

I have a book, 365 Your Date With History. It's a fascinating sift into events through the ages for each day of the year. I might find myself delving more into this book for smoky inspiration through the dark days ahead!

October 27, AD312. One of the true turning points in history took place over the river Tiber at Milvian Bridge, near Rome.

Rome was in turmoil. The Emperor Diocletian had stepped down in 305, leaving behind a power vacuum between members of the ruling families with which he had shared power during his reign. By 312, there were two contenders remaining. Maxentius, who had seized power in 306 and his brother-in-law Constantine.

As the armies prepared for battle, it is said that Constantine observed a burning cross inscribed with the phrase In hoc signo vinces (In this sign, you shall conquer). Seeing this as a sign from God, Constantine had his troops paint Chi-Rho symbols (look like a "P" with intersecting "X") on their shields. The next day, he lead his army to victory. The death by drowning of Maxentius in the battle lead to Constantine's eventual rise to become sole ruler of the Roman Empire.