Back in 1977 the villagers of Capel in Surrey decided to celebrate their yew's 1000th birthday by holding a dedicated pageant. Attaining that great age was certainly something to mark, except that when it was reassessed in 1993 its age was recalculated to be 1700 years old! It's thought that originally it was one of six trees forming a sacred grove around a pond [now filled in]. The local legend has it that if you walk around it 100 times at midnight a ghost of some description will appear, but it's a little light on the specifics! While we were there I couldn't stop but stand back and admire the scarlet berries with their waxy coats....how many generations stretching back before me have stood there and done just the same I wonder!
Arilx
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Its hard to get my jead atound the history that has flowed round and over a living thing of that age. Rocks are rocks, in natural formation or stacked into something of human creation, but life is something altogether more amazing, and especially tree life. It will hold a record of every season that has rolled over it.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite mind blowing isn't it!! Arilx
DeleteIt's a special experience to touch a building or object one knows to be centuries old; and an even more ethereal adventure to be in the presence of a living being of that great age. Surely the "stone tape" theory used to explain certain paranormal phenomena would apply here...
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing! You must do the research, walking around it a midnight 100 times and then posting back on the specter or lack there of. Do not go light on the specifics. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! x
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