Insulting

If somebody's got on your wick today please feel free to draw from the list below and come up with a unique insult to inflict upon them...perhaps wisest not to tell them😈

Have a good weekend.

Arilx

The Scream

I rather think of this image as being akin to Edvard Munch's "The Scream" only in castle form. It's the  shot many visitors, including us, take of Pevensey Castle, but it is rather dramatic. The other images below show a much more standard view of this medieval castle. It started out as a late Roman fort and the remains can still be seen in the outer wall and it has continued to be used for defending our shores throughout the ensuing centuries. It was built by the Normans and then rebuilt during the 13th century in the form we see today.

Despite periods when it has been allowed to fall into a ruinous state it was repaired during WWII  as a viable base for defending the country against coastal invasion and repaired so that the soldiers could live in the towers. Many of the war related alterations were later removed leaving no trace, but the locals petitioned for some of the features like the pillboxes to be kept in memory of those who'd fought. The pillboxes [no photos as they're currently under scaffolding] were built to blend in and blend in they do. They are covered in stone and flint and if it wasn't for the gun slits you wouldn't notice them! 

As is oft the case at the moment not everywhere was open to us, but there was plenty to keep me happy. This is the remains of the chapel. Apparently castles would normally have a room set aside for this purpose, so having a separate building especially with associated burials is quite unusual. I would imagine that it's the broken font you can see in the middle.

Meanwhile this innocuous looking thing looked all the world to me like a well. Sadly it has a far darker history. It's a type of dungeon which could only be accessed from a hole in the roof and was known as an oubliette. My rusty school girl French remembered oublier as a verb meaning to forget and chillingly it met its brief. Once incarcerated down there you could be abandoned and left to die. 

Please forgive me for inflicting a photo of me scowling at the camera, but I was included to give an idea of the scale. These are trebuchet stones which were found in the moat. One of those could do a lot of damage!

Having thoroughly enjoyed our visit we spent the afternoon admiring the views out across to the Seven Sisters and then a very pleasant walk out along the Cuckmere Haven. I am embarrassed to admit that despite living in Sussex since I was young this is the first time I've spent any time round here. See what I've been missing! It was one of the last really warm afternoons we enjoyed last month.

This was the last bar one of our "holi"days. One final visit to write about will feature next week and then I will have to start scheming again. Hmmmm.......

Arilx

Raindrops

Well we've certainly had some longed for rain these past few days haven't we. The local duck pond had completely dried up over the summer, but it's now reached about half full again thankfully. We might curse getting wet sometimes, but it does make foliage look very beautiful after a shower. I just have a few images from my birthday to offer today. Sometimes explanations aren't needed.

Tonight we are having our first Mythago practice. As you might imagine and rightly so there are lots of new rules we have to follow to keep everyone safe, but the government has confirmed to the Morris governing bodies that we can dance so long as we adhere to them. Much as I would like it to be like it normally is frankly I'll happily take it in any form these days. We've had many false starts, but maybe just maybe [she whispers not wanting to tempt fate] this might be the first tentative step back!

Arilx 

Off the page.

From this.....a page in a second hand book bought for a couple of quid two years ago.....

To this...... You know how sometimes when you've wanted to see something with your own eyes for a while and when you do it's somehow diminished and less impressive that you had imagined. This was the complete opposite. I was expecting something high up on the wall ahead of me....I wasn't expecting 

something 17' x 11' starting at hip height on the back wall nose to nose with me. Those devils are about 3' high! This extraordinary mural claims to be the oldest doomscreen in England and was painted in red and yellow ochre approximately 1170-1200. It was whitewashed over and rediscovered in 1860. If you double click it you should be able to see more of the detail, but some of the highlights are the tree of life, the bridge of spikes over which all those naughty tradesmen are being led to their fate, the seven deadly sins depicted in various forms and the ladder of souls. 

Actually the whole church is fabulous. It's very possibly built on a pagan site [many were] and was built in pre Norman times [it has retained some original Saxon features].

Hidden away up an isolated little country track I found it hard to believe that we were a stone's throw away from Coulsdon yet it has somehow managed to retain an ancient charm and an undercurrent of not following the mainstream way of doing things combined successfully with a modern outlook. As soon as it could this little church was back to being open 10-4 for private prayer [we made sure the church was empty before going in] and holding outdoor services. The yew is bedecked with ribbons and wooden discs with prayers, hopes and current day issues like Black Lives Matter. In the corner they have this moving cairn highlighting man's impact upon other species.

The charming window fragments are early and the intriguing solar faced detail on a Renaissance tablet from 1562. It's made from the local stone quarried at nearby Merstham.

Finally this one I took as we were moving on. I wasn't even sure if I had bothered in the end, but I'm glad I did as I now understand this to be a bedhead memorial. The information would have been painted on and they would have once been a common sight in graveyards in certain parts of the country. I've learnt that there's a cluster around Croydon, so finding one nearby makes more sense. They were cheaper than stone, but for the same reason this is why most haven't survived out in the elements.

SS Peter & Paul in Chaldon has been added to my very modest list of all time favourite churches.  We popped a four mile walk on afterwards in Hope Valley which is really close to make a day of it and get the most out of the fuel used.

Arilx

Fully booked up.

Another birthday came and went last week and my lovely family and friends spoilt me rotten again. A beautiful blue hare has joined my hippy table along with more reading matter which should keep me out of mischief. I have never read any Terry Pratchett before, but I am curious and this one was suggested to me. 

 

In the middle are the instructions for the moth trap my parents bought me which I am blown away by. I have always been fascinated by what I might find [they will all be released unharmed!] and actually looked into getting one this year, but its price was more than I could justify and much as I like the idea of making one in my head in reality we've already got plenty to do. If the weather dries up I might just give it a whirl one evening, although I suspect it's probably too cold now. It's something exciting to look forwards to next year though!

Arilx

Domestic Trivia

 

Buying a radio shaped like a red stiletto is definitely one thing I won't be doing this weekend [seen at the Amberley Chalks Pits museum]. Hope you have a good weekend. I have nothing thrilling planned...just a bit of voluntary work, altering a free skirt I was given, more pizzas and if I am in the mood I might start listening to "The British History Podcast" by Jamie Jeffers.

Arilx

Battling On

I promised last week to share a few photos from our recent trip to Battle...best get on with it then eh!

You'll know from earlier posts that I am overly fond of an imaginative roundabout filler. It was tricky to get a photo of the whole thing, but it is in memory of all those human and animal lives lost in 1066 and all subsequent wars. It's the work of sculptor Guy Portelli and was put up in 2015. It definitely makes a striking entry into the town.

Please don't take my word for it, but I am rather hoping that this pole is a stench pipe or stink pipe as they're also known. If it is [it might be a redundant lamp post for all I know] they were made from cast iron and deliberately left hollow to vent all the noxious gases which come up from the sewers below. There are lots of examples in London which are still in use. 

This is the former bullring and the site of the bonfire. We're in true Bonfire Society territory here in East Sussex with Lewes just a few miles further back along the road. If you squint you can see my chaps sitting on the bench enjoying warmth of the sunshine.

This highly original garment is the artwork of a local student which is currently on display in one of the shop windows. So delicate.

Never could resist a bit of yarnbombing and rainbows. Fortunately for me my luck was in on that particular day! 

Just a quick flit. We've done some more gadding about since then and there's more to share about our September shenanigans coming up soon!

Arilx