I've been taking photographs

A day of treasures…

September 8, 2009 By Cari

The Goblin was off work today so we decided to chase the sunshine. Last night the weather report suggested the most likely area to be sunny all day was southwest of London so I mentioned that the ancient yew tree at Runnymede (not far from Old Windsor) was down there and that I really wanted to see it. The word Runnymede should ring a bell…the name John should be coming to mind. Oh yes, him again! Apparently the signing of the original Magna Carta took place under an ancient yew tree that’s now well over two thousand years old. From a nearby flood plain next to the river Thames on a clear day you can see Windsor Castle in the distance, though in 1215 it would have been mainly a roundish looking tower surrounded by fortified walls. My Goblin informs me that Runnymede is AngloSaxon for Meadow of the Runes. This is a magical place…in more ways than one.

It wasn’t easy to find. On the “Welcome to Runnymede” pamphlet at the sight referred to as Runnymede there was no mention of the tree at all, infact the whole sight celebrated as the place where the Magna Carta was signed is on the wrong side of the river…almost opposite where the tree stands. The yew tree is on a piece of land called Ankerwycke, hence its name Ankerwycke Yew…it’s all rather confusing. [Read more…] about A day of treasures…

At the beach…

June 27, 2009 By Cari

We woke up to find most of England, or at least the part I inhabit, covered in a thick blanket of clouds. By nine it was hot and muggy so we decided to go to the beach where it would be more bearable with a breeze coming in off the English Channel. We went to Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. I was looking forward to taking pictures with my new phone (chosen for its camera). Half way through the day I finally figured out how to use the zoom, but I’m really happy with the picture quality. I have to share some of my pictures of my day at the beach. As we sat on the beach, late in the afternoon the sun started to burn off the thick cloud. It was a really lovely day. [Read more…] about At the beach…

Calke Abbey…the spell is unbroken…

June 23, 2009 By Cari

Whenever I visit a stately home I inevitably end up with an emotional summary of my adventure. Sometimes, like at Byron’s Newstead Abbey, I feel strangely elated and happy. Sometimes I feel sad or creeped out. Sometimes, like on Saturday when I visted Calke Abbey, I feel depressed. “Calke Abbey,” as the National Trust brochure reads, “is a Baroque house built on the site of a former priory and completed in 1704 for Sir John Harpur. The family name changed to Crewe and then to Harpur Crewe and the family wealth was accumulated through clever marriage and the proceeds of land ownership. Throughout the generations the family displayed a range of eccentric characteristics from being strangely reclusive to fanatical collectors. The National Trust has decided to show Calke, as far as possible, as we found it in 1984 as a graphic example of the decline of the great country house that occured during the early to mid 20th century.” What the brochure doesn’t mention is that this decline has been heavily influenced by the sucession of crippling inheritance taxes that has brought most of these families financially to their knees and their houses and lands into the Trust’s posession in lieu of taxes they can’t afford to pay. (The trust is a seperate body of government design – call me a cynic but I’m sure that’s no coincidence). [Read more…] about Calke Abbey…the spell is unbroken…

Where would I want to be buried? Bitchfield!

May 26, 2009 By Cari

Cari outside Boothby Pagnell church — Me outside Boothby Pagnell church

Today was a Bank Holliday so the Goblin was off work. It was supposed to rain all day and Goblins hate rain so we weren’t going to go out, but around four the sun came out and he suggested we drive back to Boothby Pagnell to take pictures of the church. On our way there I was disconcerted to realise that the village I was really enchanted by was Bitchfield, the next village on. I somehow blurred them in my brain. Bitchfield is beyond charming, it’s Miss Marple, it’s magical! But we first went to Boothby Pagnell to photograph the church. Of course half way there we drove out of the sunshine and ended up under thick cloud, but at least it didn’t rain. [Read more…] about Where would I want to be buried? Bitchfield!

Clipsham yew tree lane…

May 21, 2009 By Cari

A couple weeks ago we went out for an evening drive (it’s light until about 9:30) and on our way home we drove through Clipsham village for the first time. When I saw a sign that said ‘Yew Tree Lane’ I assumed it was another example of the English giving a small road an evocative name to taunt people like me. As we came trundling around the corner I saw a tiny Georgian house almost hidden by this strange clump of clipped yew trees. The sculptor in me loves shaped trees and hedges; the crazy woman in me loves yew trees…they’re poisonous and there are yew trees alive today that are well over a thousand years old. Magic! I craned my neck farther as the Goblin obliviously drove past a grass lane lined with clipped yew trees. I turned and said, ‘Did you see those yew trees? They’re clipped! I must go back!’ Of course I’d hoped he’d immediately turn back, but he merely said something like, “We’ll come back…it’s going to rain.’ and drove on. English goblins hate rain.

The following evening I reminded him I wanted to go back and see the clipped yew trees and he’d already forgotten them. How can anyone forget a lane of clipped yew trees? I made sure he wasn’t able to forget again so he drove me back this past Saturday afternoon. [Read more…] about Clipsham yew tree lane…

Fotheringhay is too beautiful for the dead…

April 30, 2009 By Cari

One of the lions from Fotheringhay Castle

While I was in Aldeburgh last Saturday I found a book called The Haunted South, by Joan Forman. In it the author drives around the South of England through all sorts of little villages and notes any documented cases of ghostly encounters. In the book the author mentioned in passing the church at Fotheringhay, Northhamptonshire and that it “…carries echoes of the fourteenth century in the sound of drums and trumpets from within the building.” Fotheringhay isn’t very far from where I live. I visited the village last year with my sister, though we didn’t go into the church. It started to snow as we crawled into the car to thaw out and neither of us felt like getting out again to see a freezing church. My desire to visit was renewed!

I mentioned to the Goblin that the church was supposedly haunted with ghostly music and hinted we could go take pictures and see the church. [Read more…] about Fotheringhay is too beautiful for the dead…