Beam me up!

Last week 13th century pews.....this week I bring you a Normal tie beam complete with dog tooth ornamentation. An incredibly rare survival. It's tucked away in a Sussex church and I am beyond thrilled. Things like that make me tingle! More about the visit there tomorrow.

Arilx

Roosters and Flags.

My little brain often swirls and whirls around with questions that are, granted, on a world stage small fry...neither earth shattering nor of any great importance but they niggle away until I remember to find out the answer.

One such wondering that has frequently assailed me is "Why are the weathervanes on churches more often than not depicted with a rooster or less often a flag?" I had devised my own little pet theory about the former but still have no definitive answer for the latter. More of that later

The earliest recorded weathervane was in 48BC on the Tower of Winds in Athens and was dedicated to the Greek god Triton. Viking examples have been discovered and they continue to be popular right up to the present day.

Here is one being attached to the top of Westminster Abbey as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry [if you are ever in Caen it's a fascinating pitstop]

As to the roosters...it seems probable that the Pope decreed in the 9th century that all steeples should bear a cockerel to remind all of Jesus's correct prophecy that the cock would not crow the next morning after the Last Supper until Peter had denied him three times. The flags? The word vane is derived from the Saxon fane meaning flag. The pennants are very reminiscent of the fabric banners that originally adorned the Medieval towers and acted as a reference point for the archers when calculating the wind direction.

It always tickles me when I find a new one as yesterday was a case in point with the horses ploughing. The others have all been spotted whilst out and about on various wanderings over the past few months.

Arilx

Newflash...Hobbit Holes Found In Shoreham-by-Sea

Read all about it, read all about it!

Here's the proof hidden in plain sight. Lurking below the road level and facing towards the river Adur the humans don't notice them. Each door is different. This one has its very own fairy door for the wee folk

And this one a cat flap

All have different door furniture and decorations including fossils.

Here are a just a couple of close ups of some of the details for you to enjoy.

Let's not let the humans into the secret eh!

Arilx

PS Officially these are called the Adur Portals and this is the blurb that goes with them http://www.teresa-martin.co.uk/Teresa_Martin_Sculpture/Public_Works_2.html but we know this to be a cover up don't we!

Eclectic Collection.

Or in layman terms random odds and sods......

Firstly last month I blogged about National Pie Day. This is the Fidget Pie Mr GBT made and mighty fine it was too might I add!

In a bid to make better use of the slow cooker I tried out a recipe for chocolate orange fudge. Have to say it worked a treat and required minimal effort [always a plus in my book]. Not exactly the same texture as the fudge cooked in the conventional way but close enough for my liking. Original link with the recipe here http://www.tinyfootsteps.co.uk/2014/12/chocolate-orange-slow-cooker-fudge.html

The decluttering is continuing and I have actually been pretty restrained and bought very little. Sorting through stuff does also turn up bits I'd forgotten about. I made these felt beads yonks ago and stitched the glass ones on to embellish them. I thought vaguely of making a necklace but didn't get any further with them. Looking at them again I finally sussed it. One brooch with the clip stolen from another one I never wear.

Yesterday with it being Valentines I remembered the bookmark for a simple card I had. I just drew round my biscuit cutter, punched some holes in and then threaded through various oddments of wool I was left with after I finished the rainbow blanket. As ever everything I make is a bit Janet and John but I'm here flying the flag for the crafting challenged!

Over and out!
Arilx

Valentine's Day.

Perhaps by now you might have formed the correct impression that I don't "do" romance thus I don't part with my wonga just because some big company thinks I should...I am far more likely to come home randomly with a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk when I find it on offer in £land for Mr GBT now and again to surprise him. However, I'm not a complete cynic and I do appreciate that we all have different ways of celebrating life so here's one from me hoping you all have a fabulous day whatever your plans.

It's not often I prefer a cover over the original but this is the case in this instance....."It Must Be Love" by Madness featuring the divine Suggs for whom I will always have a massive soft spot!

Arilx

Picture This

This is the latest addition to be hung on the walls at Gnat Bottomed Towers. Mr GBT wantonly flung his wonga around in a local charity shop and returned triumphant with a most disgusting picture. Thankfully it was the frame he was after as the original wouldn't have crossed the threshold otherwise. He's combined a series of seasonal stained glass window shots he took in a local church last year. I am very content to give it house room!

Arilx

Pew News

This is St Mary's, the parish church of Dunsfold, Surrey. According to the village website it was built between 1260 and 1290 and is known as a transitional church as it bridges the gap between Early English and Decorated. It is built to a cruciform plan.

The church itself is built of bargate stone and has seen many additions made over time. The porch still has the faint remains of the original painted floral design showing on the underside.

Up near the altar is the piscina [shallow basin] which was used for washing the communion vessels and a triple sedilia [stone seats] which were used by the presiding priest and his officials during mass.

The church however, is most well known for having some of the oldest surviving pews in the country. Dated to the 13th century the original surviving seats were made of unplaned planks and the holes on the roughly hewn pew ends were for tapers. They have had the seats widened and backs filled in over the centuries but it is still mind blowing to think that some of the botties occupying those pews were from people alive during the Plantagenet dynasty!

Arilx