Luna

 Please meet Loony Luna as my friend WW calls her....a brave little kitten who's not afraid of anything and is currently finely honing her funambulism by teetering along the high up curtain poles. She's gorgeous, but WW is having to adjust to having a little one tearing around again having recently lost her 20 year old cat...she might look cute, but don't be fooled...she was just planning her next escapades!!

She is a Siamese/Tabby mix and quite chatty. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Arilx

Easter Monday

 I've been in a FB walking group for a few months now....it's mainly down to my friend J being a moderator on it and inviting me. Occasionally I've posted a comment, but mainly I've just quietly sat on the sidelines enjoying the photos others have taken and noted anywhere that might be of interest for a future walk. It was J's first group walk she'd organised on Monday and so I joined for a jaunt round our local woods and in doing so met a really friendly group of people. Not much to "see" as such, but good company and every weather from sunshine through to rain and a few flakes of snow.

I know that this American Skunk Cabbage is an invasive species, but I have to say its architectural form is very pleasing on the eye. It's a bit like a grander version of our Lords and Ladies.

The trees are covered in buds now and there are bluebell leaves sprouting forth on the forest floor...in just a few short weeks there will be an explosion of growth and colour. I can hardly wait!

Uneven bridges and wobbly stiles were definitely the order of the day. I really half expected this one to start moving like the bridge in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Thankfully it was surprisingly sturdy!

Don't ask me why....the colours on the sign simply appealed to me and who wouldn't like their school days to have begun with a bright and cheerful welcome such as this. I know I would have done!

Just a lovely few hours. Not quite sure when I might do another one, but hopefully not in the too dim and distant future and who knows maybe even somewhere completely new. Am so looking forward to being able to explore a bit further afield once again.

Arilx

Anemones

 "The earth laughs in flowers."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I just couldn't walk past without admiring this sunny display. Much as I enjoy the variety of Spring bulbs these are my number one....I only wished that they could survive in the clay we have here. I have tried, but am happy to admire those in other people's gardens.

Arilx

On the A272

Living both in Sussex and in Hampshire as a student [with friends and family still there] has meant that I have travelled along the A272 many times. It runs from Heathfield in East Sussex all the way over to Winchester and for large stretches it's a very windy affair that forces you to slow right down as you get stuck behind the inevitable horse boxes or tractors with few passing places. One chap was so taken with it that he even wrote a book in its honour called "An Ode to a Road" by P Boogaart [of course I have a copy...its's fascinating just what you can stop off and see along its route].

Having got through the grunt work quicker than anticipated I floated the idea of our own very mini A272 tour [all of about 5 miles of it] which would get us just beyond the town, let us see something new, but stay local. Mr GBT is a good sport and was happy to have a little Sunday drive in the sunshine.

Now it certainly isn't everyday you encounter a lifesized replica of the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire MK IX in a pub garden, but this is no ordinary pub. The Selsey Arms is next door to the Coolham Airfield [this post is from when I visited http://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2019/10/every-four-days.html and already has a lot of WWII memorabilia. It was taken over relatively recently by new landlords and then we went into the first lockdown fairly shortly afterwards....this is what the landlord did with his spare time! It's incredible and has a 10m wingspan!

This rather splendid fellow has appeared very recently, after a tree came down near the Blue Idol Quaker Meeting House http://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/search?q=blue+idol a few weeks ago. I wish I could attribute the carver, but it's an unknown...so lovely that somebody has already breathed new life into the fallen branches.

Below is my third target....the remains of a Sussex smock mill called Hammond's Mill which has been restored and now sits in the middle of one of the huge housing estates that are springing up all round the edges of a nearby village called Billingshurst. It was built in 1825, but was damaged in 1895 when the apprentice allowed the sails to be tailwinded by gales. For a while it continued to be used as a hen house. Imagine my delight when I found out only yesterday that a windmill specialist is called a molinologist. Talk about perfect timing!

It's simply amazing to be able to go just that little bit further. 

Arilx

When coming home from work...

 It's a great pleasure to be able to stop off to take photos of one of my local post boxes that someone has put a great deal of effort into yarnbombing this week. I really appreciate what they've done and am sure it will bring a smile to many faces. 

One of the plusses of the last year [I know there aren't many] is that people round here have got in the habit of putting stuff outside their houses that you can help yourself to. In my GBT world there's nowt better than free [and yes I ensure I give away lots too to pay the kindness forward] and I just can't resist a quick peek. In my case it's mainly books that come back with me that I then pass on via my book exchange, but going back to the car this called to me. Quite weird really as I'm not a Disney kinda gal, but I did love those cups in "Beauty and the Beast" and we've smashed a couple of mugs recently. I nearly didn't bring it home with me as I noticed it had a big chip out of it, but upon closer inspection I discovered that it was part of the design. Makes sense now I know the character was called Chip!!

Enough of my waffles. Do hope you all a fabulous Easter. I have a few plans up my sleeve. If you have an interest in the UK megaliths etc this film might be of interest.  

Arilx

Just a jolly jape.

 

Obviously the last post was my own take on an April Fool joke. Weirdly it wandered into my head fully formed when I was cleaning a client's shower on Tuesday, I was particularly pleased with the Equus Unicornis which I had claimed as an original only to find that some smart Alec had already beaten me to it!  I'm not a complete fibber though as there was a mummified cat found below the steps in recent times which is now on display in the museum. It's significance lies in the evidence it provides of folk magic practice continuing well into the Victorian era. This is backed up by other examples in my newest book on this very topic. Its a fascinating read and Brian Hoggard set up the related website if you are curious http://www.apotropaios.co.uk/

Arilx

PS As a completely unrelated aside Smart Alec derives from 1840s New York conman Alec Hoag. He and his accomplices ran a set up called the Panel Game which allowed prostitutes and their pimps to rob clients. The rooms out of which the trick was carried out had sliding walls which allowed Hoag to sneak in and steal valuables whilst the victim was asleep.

Equus Unicornis

 I was intrigued to hear of a very unexpected find under the steps of the Natural History museum that came to light following recent renovations. I have heard of mummified cats and other creatures being deliberately concealed to ward off evil spirits, but this one was a completely new one to me and it's certainly got a lot of experts in the field scratching their heads. 

This time it was a complete  horse skull [no body] yet extraordinarily it had a narwhal type tusk attached to its forehead. It will come as no surprise that nothing of this ilk has been found before and thus it's been regarded as an elaborate hoax. However, despite it undergoing rigorous tests nobody has, as yet, been able to find out just how it's been achieved. Until it can be conclusively proven that it is indeed a fake it has been temporarily given the classification of equus unicornis. The only definite is that it couldn't have been placed in the ground until the 1870s when the building was first put up. Sadly due to copyright I can't share a photo of it with you [it'll come up if you google it] so please forgive me for leaving you with this obviously makebelieve unicorn from good old Pixabay. 

Whilst research is still ongoing a little part of me still kind of hopes that they can't solve the mystery...we could all do with a little shot of escapism in our lives now and again!!

Arilx