Author Archives

    Stephen Byrne

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    Announcing Stained Glass Painting Competition No. 1 from Williams & Byrne

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    Stained glass design - final version - for Hereford Crematorium

    “Why has it taken so long to finish me?”

    Careful readers will see that “The Hereford Saga” has been silent for some months.

    Yes, our work on completing the full-sized design was mysteriously stopped by some factor (or factors) beyond and outside of our control!

    But readers will be glad to know that we have recently been able to re-start our work.

    And right now, the full-sized water-coloured design is nearly complete.

    That means we will soon be able to make the cut-lines and then start cutting and painting the glass itself.

    At last!

    So to celebrate – here, therefore, is the first-ever Williams & Byrne Competition …

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    10 Years On

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    Late night revellers at the Williams & Byrne stained glass studio

    “Let’s party!”

    Yes, a “year” simply measures the time it takes for a planet to orbit the Sun.

    So, if the period of three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days isn’t emotionally significant in itself, then nothing significant can be created just by multiplying this period by 10.

    And yet …

    Anniversaries are important.

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    Does Old Glass Sag At The Bottom?

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    Or: “The Tale of the Stained Glass Designer and the Naked Scientist”

    "Not the BBC again!?!"

    “Not the BBC again!?!”

    Here’s what happened …

    David and I were working away, minding our own business, and finishing off the fourth set of brand-new windows that we’ve been making for a mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva, when the phone rang.

    It was the BBC.

    A radio producer wanted to know if old glass was thicker at the bottom.

    The reason is, glass has a name for being a “super-cooled liquid” (just as Williams & Byrne has a reputation for being a super-cool stained glass design studio.)

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    The Broken Stained Glass Crest Part 1: D.O.A.

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    The man’s voice was husky on the telephone:

    “Williams & Byrne? The Williams & Byrne? I need your help! Now! Pronto!”

    I opened my top drawer and reached deftly for my badger. During these days of extra-curricula financial mayhem, it doesn’t do to venture far without one.