Eccentric Amblings and Ramblings From Gnat Bottomed Towers

 "Keep it under your hat" is just one of those phrases we trot out without giving it a second thought. I learnt recently that archers used to keep their spare bow strings under their hats to keep them dry. A wet bowstring was of absolutely no use to them. Have a great weekend. Arilx

 If I was one for living in the great outdoors under canvas [which I'm most definitely not] this would undoubtedly be my tent of choice. Its painted decorations are inspired by the Macclesfield Psalter dating from c1330-40. If you'd like to take a peek at the original and slightly bonkers illuminated drawings they're on the link here  https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/illuminated/manuscript/discover/the-macclesfield-psalter/section/theme   I was lucky enough to see this at Michelham Priory last weekend.  Arilx

Please meet one man and his Dog. Now it might look like a Khaki Campbell duck, but I can assure you that its name is Dog. This gentleman has hatched many ducks over the years, but he said this fellow was different right from the start. As soon as he came out of the egg the duckling fixated on him and they've now got a special bond. He said it's never happened before with any of the others that he's bred and it was never his intention to have one as a pet. He's happy to be handled and was completely relaxed perching on his arm as they wandered around the East Sussex Living History event. You never know who you might meet and what tales they have to tell. Arilx

It's been a very busy week here at GBT and somehow time has run away with itself.....she lies, she lies 😄 One has done only what has absolutely needed to be done and beyond that One has been sitting square eyed watching as much of the World Athletic Champs as she can get away with.  Seeing as the upshot of all this is that there has been no work done on any blog posts this week whatsoever let me distract you with something shiny...... This beautiful scarf twinkled at me in the charity shop on Saturday so home it came.  Not a bad purchase for five of my good English pounds! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. Arilx

 [Image from Pixabay]. For any Middle Earth fans out there the Gutenburg Project has Tolkien's 'A Middle Earth Vocubulary' available to read or as a download here  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43737 . Pretty niche I know, but for any bloggers with an interest in language like me I hope it might be of use or interest. Arilx

This couple is Alexander Denton [b 1542] and his wife Anne [nee Willison] who died aged 18 in childbirth on 29th October 1566. It's believed that she had a little girl called Janne and the infant is very tenderly shown wrapped in the folds of red cloth upon which her Mother is laid. It's strange really because before this year I'd never seen such depictions where the Mother and child are shown together on a monument yet I've now encountered three. None in Sussex though as far as I know. There is a similar Tudor tomb in our local church where the recumbent lady is on the tomb, but no baby even though I have read that she died aged 25 in the same circumstances.  However, things are not always what they appear to be because what we're looking at is actually a cenotaph to Alexander as he's not buried here. He went on to marry Mary Martin, a 15 year old and by her had his son Thomas who became his heir. She died in 1574 and he on 8th January 1576. Both are buried in

"Why?" you might well be asking yourself is she showing us a picture of a microwave with a pile of stuff. TYM is moving from his shared house into a furnished flat in another town next month [still renting] and due to the insurance on the property there are a few mobile items with plugs that you have to provide yourself. That in itself really isn't news. He has decided to buy himself a microwave, a toaster and a vacuum cleaner. Although his salary has increased with his recent promotion so have his necessary outgoings so he has to be mindful when spending. Only a couple of weeks ago I found out that there's a local house clearance company who are trying to improve the reputation of the business by not just throwing everything they can't sell into landfill. Instead they offer items within a specified area for free which you can ask for on their FB page. If they select you they then drop it off on your doorstep for free when they're working or travelling en rout

 Sometimes it's just too damn hard to find large dollops of positivity or dig deep enough to unearth the blessings of the day. If you're going through a rough time right now perhaps you might like these words I came across on my FB feed.   "Have you heard about 'glimmers'? They are the opposite of triggers. A glimmer is a tiny micro-moment of happiness, a sign of hope. Once you begin to look for them, they will start to appear everywhere." Deb Dana, psychotherapist specialising in complex trauma. I hope that you find many glimmers today if you need them. The photo is from Pixabay. Arilx

Cue a rather damp Monday afternoon and a wander round the local nature reserve with my friend H. Last time I went a couple of years ago it had recently undergone a radical makeover, but the new borders were still waiting to be planted up   http://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2021/11/as-calm-as-millpond.html   The work is now complete and it's all looking rather gorgeous in the Shelley Wildlife garden even in the rain! Quiet moments spent in the bird hides watching the fledged magpies with their still fluffy heads trying to work out how to extract the seeds from the feeders and the chilled herd of British White cattle taking on their latest project and keeping the undergrowth in check. No doubt they'll be off to another of nature sites in the district shortly to carry on with their good work. I think this Marsh frog with his snazzy lime green stripe was having the best time of all though kicking back on the lily leaves in the pond. We were not so hardy....after an hour or so

A deconsecrated chapel in Horsham was converted into a hairdressers a couple of years ago. It's now sporting these bright painted flowers on its door [by artist Deborah Ann Crago] The entrance gates to the Human Nature garden in the park have recently undergone a fresh paint job too and the details really ping again. At the top of the wooden gatepost there is now a small hole. Curiosity has always got the better of me...just a quick peep I think....wouldn't want to miss anything. Ta-dah my efforts were rewarded. I'm sure that it must be a fairly new addition. I'm too nosy to have missed it!!   Have a great weekend! Arilx

A few short hours spent in London with my sister last week. It's not a sentence I was sure I would ever write as it's been more than nine years since I last saw her. Oversharing personal stuff is not what I do save to say real life can be complicated [this was down to issues not related to me]. Her personal circumstances have recently changed and she is in a different place. It was good to see her and we talked non stop. Striking out from Victoria Station we had a picnic in Lower Grosvenor Gardens [where the shell follies are located] and then had a good nose around Belgravia or the place for the haves and have yachts as somebody recently called it👿 I'm not putting up any explanations....I simply wanted to capture a few memories. Arilx  

Castle Hill, overlooking Newhaven, has been a defensive site since the late Bronze Age and was occupied for at least a thousand years from that time [it had a hillfort upon it]. When Britain feared invasion from the French during the 19th century the site came into play once more. Despite the government's reluctance to heavily invest in a series of forts along the south coast Lord Palmerston got his way. They were built, but the threat never materialised and they remained unused. They became known as the 'Palmerston's follies', but this large example continued to play a defensive role during both World Wars. It isn't a place I might go to of my own volition [it was the second part of Mr GBT's birthday outing], but it approaches the military period of history for which it was active from many different angles. There was much of interest for both of us. I'm reluctant to use the word "enjoy" because it seems very trite when the subject is war. It'