Musings

One thing I hoped we could do on this trip was walk out from Stonehenge, and today I got my wish. It was kinda sunny and pretty darned windy. The ground was damp and no more—not squishy at all. That horizontal grey scar “before” Stonehenge is a employee service center that was under construction last year. Most people who just walk to the stones will not notice it; however, from here: pretty obvious.

We walked a loop that took us to the Cursus barrow group, then down the Cursus, along the Avenue (very indistinct), into the King barrow group, then back, with a chance to look from the Avenue into Stonehenge (to see that alignment). We walked with the sheep. (And didn’t do that jog to the east in the “yellow” field—shown was the plan, not what we actually did.)

Along the old road next to the King barrows, we admired these gnarly trees. We’ve been admiring gnarly trees this trip, beginning in the grounds around Windsor Castle.

Then we visited the land of the miniatures, aka a model train show.

And the Guru found a “silly” tucked in this field of dairy cattle.

Serendipity can lead to amusing moments like this…we followed a back road that my “nose” thought…unlikely, but GooMaps indicated we could drive through…nope, only foot traffic could cross the river…look what we did find!

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

We were slow this morning, jet-lag slow. On the other hand, we did pretty well after we got going. We returned to downtown, parking above the Boston Tea Party mentioned yesterday, and went straight to the Salisbury Museum. The ambitious crew there has been updating the displays and presentation of the institution, and they are doing a fantastic job. We met two fellows from here last year, and so the SM was tops on our list for this trip. Unfortunately, our friend is away on leave, but he kindly left our names at Reception, so we breezed in. People can be so nice! I loved their new-as-of-2014 Wessex Gallery (of archaeology), and the Guru admired their handling of type and general museum-ing.

This photo is of some fine-quality beakers. Beakers are a vessel form with relatively straight/vertical sides, and often a slightly everted rim. (I think.) The earliest beaker-users in this area also kept domesticated animals, including cattle. This meant they had to do the whole pasture thing, and keep the cattle safe from human and animal marauders, a significant undertaking for the few individuals an extended family or residents of a hamlet. They also grew crops, and used wild foods.

There is another class of artifacts dating back to ancient times, also Bronze Age like the beakers, which I have seen called “precious cups.” They are precious because they are made of very special (meaning unusual/rare) materials, including amber, gold, silver, and these of shale. There are very few precious cups known, and the shape may relate to a general tendency towards what some have characterized as a “drinking culture.”

I didn’t know shale could be worked like this. Note the decorative details inscribed into the surface and handle. Such craftsmanship!

Here’s a detail of a very large vessel, a burial urn (held cremated human remains) with a bi-conical shape. The widest part is the ridge near the bottom of this shot. The size of this ceramic vessel meant its maker(s) knew how to handle clay and firing.

The above all date to the Bronze Age, which obviously was a time of people who used bronze, but they were also adept at crafting, building, wood-working, and making stone tools. Let’s jump forward in time….

There’s a huge and distinctive flat-topped conical landform a few miles north of Salisbury. It had an Iron Age fort atop it, which was supplanted by Romans both atop and around the foot, living in a community they called Sorviodunum…. They had several roads that met near this human-modified landform, so it was an important place. Later peoples added the tippy-top area, making what became in William the Conqueror’s time the king’s castle. This model shows the tower/keep that was the most fortified place within this already fortified place was to the right in the upper, central area. The main entrance was from the left. Residents of the lower tier even built a cathedral-sized cathedral (consecrated in 1092), that huge building what was a typical church/abbey complex in the lower right quarter of this view. It is difficult to gauge the scale of this fortification with just the eye; however, it wasn’t big enough (or something), and movers and shakers set about re-locating the community so that their new cathedral was consecrated in 1220, and the old cathedral dissolved in 1226. Sometimes I mention the abandonment of former important macro-regional centers of political economy—the story of Old Sarum fits neatly into this topic.

Here’s the view from the King’s Castle keep, looking across the flattened remains of the cathedral. Most of the building stone was left at Old Sarum into the 1500s, when official permission was given to take it. Only some foundation stones remain in the upper castle, with upper approximations of the walls made of mortared flint cobbles that had been in the wall-fill, and too small to be of interest to the long-ago stone-takers. The cathedral and buildings of the lower terrace were easier to get to, and they are mostly gone. The outline is only partly existing foundation stubs; the rest have been added in modern times. This area is happily used by dogs and dog-owners; we saw dozens playing and running/walking (dogs/people) as we overlooked the terrace from the remains of the king’s apartments.

Here’s the modern wooden footbridge that crosses the ditch (and what a ditch!) from the east, providing access to the inner, upper castle area. Note how the weather is changing…the bright sky of the previous shot shows grey clouds accumulating. We got back to the car just as the raindrops arrived. The rain didn’t last long, and we had plenty of sun until darkness set in about 8pm. (And there’s now a crescent moon.)

Info on beakers and beaker-making people from the Ashmolean. Details on similar from a Somerset source—Somerset is the next county to the WNW.

Posted at 3:30 PM | Comments Off on Ancient and merely old (Wiltshire version)

We are in Merry Old England!

And it turns out you can take a tourist cruise on a fake paddlewheeler on the Thames past the meadows at Runnymede, ignored by mallards and a rogue corvid. (Gone are the tensions of King John’s day when this was a less contentious place to meet to decide major matters of state….)

Or drive by this 1887 statue of Queen Vic, seeming more like an especially tall, strangely clothed, traffic policeman than a royal gazing across her territory. And, yes, that’s Windsor Castle in the background, and this is exactly how close we got. Windsor was originally a fortification built under William the Conqueror, one of a ring of forts to protect London; only later did it become a royal residence. Its architectural history is the usual mix of improvements and deterioration. By Vic’s time, it was substantially the way we see it today, although most of the electrification happened after her death in 1901, as she preferred candle-light. Under the present queen, the castle in general and the private rooms specifically have been updated and repaired. At 13 acres, the castle is huge, and today has a staff of about 500 to keep it functioning.

Or find one of a modest chain of restaurants with what strikes me as a name at odds with their intentions. Their marketing people seem to know all the jargon (based on their website; e.g., “We will not compromise on quality or ethics.” Plus be very British….). Anyway, how does the name of a ragtag bunch of colonial upstarts fit this?

And, of course, also gaze at Great Britain’s deep religious history encapsulated architecturally in a massive gothic stone building with the UK’s tallest spire—that is, the Cathedral at Salisbury (consecrated 1258). The wide lawn that now surrounds the structure helps it seem even taller. At least part of that area was a cemetery, now gravestone-less and thus even more mute.

Exiting the cathedral area to the north, you pass through this gate in the Medieval wall. The pasty-white dude, now grey with age and the consequences of air pollution, is King Edward VII (d. 1910). We saw two head-pigeons and one foot-pigeon keeping him company.

Anyway, Great Britain…land of inconsistency? Big dreams?

Posted at 6:12 PM | Comments Off on Where are we?

Salient points from my last two nights, plus one.

Two nights ago I awakened in the dark hours prompted by a stupendous muscle cramp in my left calf. Ooowwwwwwww! I got it to taper off, but, wow. And when I got up, my-o-my was it sore.

Then, last night we had a major line of thunder-and-lightning storm come through right about midnight. We went downstairs for about half an hour until it tapered off. More tapering.

Tonight, well, we’re going for that “natural” Greek-alphabet high Atlanta’s known for.

Cramp fallout almost totally dissipated; walking normally again….

Posted at 4:44 PM | Comments Off on Three nights

Had some typical once-a-year paperwork to get taken care of downtown. Only a mediocre view of that fancy capital dome from this traffic light, with that elevated hobbit-trail blocking the building supporting the gleaming dome.

Elsewhere, many trees heavy with fancy cherry blossoms gussying up residential areas, many shedding petals that were blowing in the streets, and this wisteria, pronounced with “stair” in the middle by some in these parts.

Posted at 7:47 PM | Comments Off on Out, about

I found out that the first wall in early Paris (not called Paris), was around a fort on the Île de la Cité. The next wall encompassed the north bank and the island…. The next one got both banks and the Île Saint-Louis.

And so it went.

Also, the Guru pointed me toward the “OldLondon” tag in that app I don’t use. Selfie pre-stick….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

I named this photo hot pink azalea cascade, and that is exactly what it is.

We did porch-pizza tonight. Although that’s the short name, mostly we laughed and talked. Very good times. Thanks, all.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Names vs reality

Looks like the fennel did very well at self-seeding this year. [Deliberately not commenting on the gosh golly gol-dern weeds.]

Posted at 9:53 PM | Comments Off on Spring sprouts

Felt slightly strange all day, like my feet were floating above the ground. Pollen allergies?

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Pollen primavera

Last night’s storms were…not too bad. For storms. You know how jumpy we are. I slept through the post-midnight line, but the early morning wave woke me…and I listened and drowsed after that….

As a result of all the rain, the fresh-petals of the azaleas got loaded, and they’re drooping to the ground on their flexible branchlets.

This shrub has sturdier, woodier limblets, and tinier blossoms, and it seems unscathed.

Posted at 9:06 PM | Comments Off on Petal variability