'THE KINGS ENGLISH - 100 PHRASES IN 3 MINUTES'

I'd give credit if I remembered how I found the video, but...alas....

"TINY CHURCH FINDS ORIGINAL KING JAMES BIBLE"

From CNN Belief Blog:

Hilmarton, England (CNN) - A little English village church has just made a remarkable discovery.

The ornate old Bible that had been sitting in plain view on a table near the last row of pews for longer than anyone could remember is an original King James Bible - one of perhaps 200 surviving 400-year-old original editions of arguably the most important book ever printed in English.

In fact, the Bible at St. Laurence Church in Hilmarton, England, was sitting right under a hand-lettered sign saying it was an original.

The sign said it had been found in "the parish chest" in 1857, that the cover had been added, and that it was the second of the two impressions published in 1611 - the year of first publication.
....

The people of St. Laurence Church are now trying to raise money to build a special case so they can keep their Bible in use and on regular display.

That would make the church more or less unique so far as Goff knows, although she speculated that there just might be a few village churches still using their 400-year-old Bibles.

"It's possible there are one or two churches that have gone on doing it and they just haven't thought to say," she said.

"People are now beginning to realize the value of this particular edition. This is the 400th anniversary and there is a lot more emphasis on it," she said.

"They value it. They want to keep it and they want to use it."

I love stories like this one from St Lawrence, of treasures hidden in plain sight in very ordinary places.

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

"THE STORY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE"

The King James, or Authorised, Version of the Bible remains the most widely published text in the English language. It has been called the "noblest monument of English prose" and has been recognised for centuries as both a religious and literary classic.

In the first of three programmes marking the 400th anniversary of its publication, James Naughtie tells the story of how and why King James VI of Scotland and I of England decided on a new translation of the Bible.

The programme is recorded at Hampton Court Palace.

In the beginning of the program, Naughtie says that the ideal way to approach Hampton Court Palace is from the Thames River, and that's exactly what Grandpère and I did during our romantic first visit to England in 1982.

The first episode of the program is excellent. For the next 6 days, you can listen to the program at BBC Radio 4. Don't miss it.

H/T to Suem at Significant Truths via Lapin.

Image from Wikipedia.

UPDATE: Here's the link to access all three parts of the BBC 4 series on the King James Bible.