Battlefield

We visited the site of The Battle Of Shrewsbury with Grandma P on Monday. I found it extremely moving and unsettling being there. I wanted to share some of the history:

The Battle of Shrewsbury, fought on July 21st, 1403 between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV and a rebel army led by members of the Percy family from Northumberland, is principally remembered today by many as the climax of Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV part 1. (more)

Battlefield church is a rare surviving example of a common medieval response to mass death in war – it functions solely as a memorial chapel to the dead of the battle of Shrewsbury, its annual service devoted to the memory of those who fought and fell there. Shrewsbury was the first time longbowmen faced eachother in battle – and the result was carnage. Up to 20,000 men fell on the field and many thousands succumbed to their injuries over the ensuing weeks. Many of the bodies were gathered for decent burial by relatives or kinsmen but it is reputed that some 1500 bodies were buried in a mass grave on the site of the chapel.

It felt morbid in the extreme to be walking in that field. I’m glad we visited the pleasant visitor centre, farm shop and cafe beforehand, I don’t think I could’ve stomached it after.

 

Blog Missing In Action!

Where’s The Cottage Smallholder gone?

Apols to anyone trying to follow my links there they seem – temporarily I hope – out of action.

More to the point, where am I going to while away the hours now?

Any news gratefully received…

 

Holidays and Treasure

We’re off to see Grandad in Cornwall tomorrow so t’will be quiet round these parts for a few days. It’s such a long car journey from here that I’ve decided to try the train for a change. Wish me luck for the 8.5 hour haul with toddler. Should be fun! J – you’re a trooper taking the 2 boys to europe by train, here’s me twitching about making it to cornwall!

Thought I’d share pics of some “treasure” we found in the garden the other week:

 

Sisters…

I’m liking this new website. Thought I’d spread the word.

It calls itself “pop culture content for women, covered sassily and intelligently, for everyone to enjoy. They’ve got some well-known writers on board, from legendary pop writers Sylvia Patterson and Miranda Sawyer, to The Guardian’s Laura Barton and Leonie Cooper, to the Erotic Review’s Susanna Forrest. They’re also encouraging young, budding writers to join their crusade.”

Yep blokees are welcome too of course, it’s just made with ladies in mind. Mind you, that never used to stop my brother from reading my Jackie magazines. (I’m really winging it here, hoping he’s not reading this, else he might sit on me til I say “surrender” or throw another dart in my foot. Ahh fond memories…)

 

A Trip To Strawberry Land

I thought R and I could do with a proper walk today. I made it sound more interesting by saying we were going to “Strawberry Land”. She had just been watching a very schmaltzy programme about a girl called Strawberry Shortcake so I thought it would appeal. Mr. P made a good joke about her friend being called “Raspberry Flan” and so we set off to see if we could find where they lived. Down the lane, across the road and then down a steep hill to a magic place with a fast flowing steam, wild garlic and an old mill. R was getting irritated by me stopping to take pics every few mins as it was “boring”. Oh dear. What is she going to be calling me when she’s a teenager? At one point she lay face down in the mud in protest. I was getting into using the “sport” setting on the camera to snap the river flowing. I also managed a good one of R splashing in the puddles.After we’d struggled back up the big hill and narrowly missed getting run down by our friendly farmer in a ridiculous sized tractor carrying an old gate on it’s forklift (that gate has been cluttering up the farmyard for yonks though), what should I see en route to the back door? Yes! My little lambs boinging all over the place. Really chuffed that I managed to get my “mid-boing” shot. Wasn’t quite the country idyll shot I would have liked seeing as the lamb has silly placcy mac on and is slathered in indigo dye but you can’t have everything. And what better drink to refresh ourselves with on our return from Strawberry Land than Strawberry Milk? As R would say “the perfect end to the perfect day”. Yes probably some schmaltzy phrase repeated from the schmaltzy tv programme.