Freyalyn's Thoughts

The wicker man at Butser on Saturday afternoon.  I wasn't the only one traumatised to see Timmy held firmly in the Shepherd's hand. (the barrel to the left is labelled 'mint sauce'.)  Penny and I arrived early afternoon to see Fergus, who'd taken over the organisation recently due to a personnel crisis, utterly fraught.  We spent the afternoon in the site office (a small hut), with me furiously producing signs (Toilet, parking, tickets, food prices and ingredients, even the programme timing) on the laptop and Penny stuffing them through the laminator.  I then spent at least two hours taking entry money in the car park.  All sorts of people turned up.


I felt that a green garland would be appropriate for the occasion.  This was our short wander round as we'd finished work.  We managed to catch the morris men, but missed nearly all the other entertainment.


The Shepherd burning against the wooded hilside and the half moon.


The following morning, after a night of little sleep but much singing and drinking in the large roundhouse, Penny and I helped with the clearing up until lunchtime. This is one of the resident gamecocks - the one who hasn't had his tail removed by an errant hound.


The small roundhouse.


Over the bank holiday weekend there was a huge heavy horse show on Southsea common.  Peter and Penny (and Spike and Trey) took me down and I had a lovely time.  Heavy horses always make me cry, but I took some great photos.


Bosham Church, which we visited on Monday morning.  Ancient and Saxon, there is a tiny grave there believed to be that of Canute/Knut's eight year old daughter, drowned in the brook.  Also, a headless body of a large man could, perhaps, be that of Harold Godwinsson himself!  Later Penny and I visited Fishbourne Roman Palace, which is really an excellent independent museum.  (I do wish Tony Robinson wasn't quite so ubiquitous - he narrated the video).

Spike and Trey leaping out of the sea at Southsea.  Lovely dogs, mainly whippet, but I did miss Lunil and Bil.  They aren't letting me out of their sight at the moment.

 

We had a lovely morning yesterday.  Off to Harlow Carr yesterday morning, pottered around the gardens, had tea and cake in Betty's (extravagant but very very nice) and bought a sheepy Easter Egg in their shop.  Then we stopped at the reservoir just above Otley on the way home for the pupz.  Mark did take photos of me but no matter how often I explain to him, he's incapable of taking a photograph in focus.  So there are just ones of him and the pupz.

There was a bitter wind, but out of the wind and in the sun it was lovely.  The horrors got hideously muddy on the way up to the water, rinsed themselves off vigorously, and we managed to prevent to much mud accumulation on the way back to the car.


I was taking photographs but Mark just kept walking.  These woods look much deeper and darker than they really are.  There's a wonderful rambling old house where this track comes out on to Cinder Lane.  I covet it.  The owners have concerts and bands in the field behind during the summer, and lots of dogs too.

As a result of all the excitement, all quadupeds and Mark snoozed all afternoon.  I shall remind Lunil and Leia of this photo when they are pretending to hate each other.



The oven was on to roast a chicken last night, so I seized the opportunity to bake some bread too.  This was done before the chicken - ordinary unbleached strong white with a handful or two of wholemeal, stuffed and rolled with a chopped half onion that was lurking in the fridge, a dried up end of cheddar, grated, and lots of black pepper.  Very yummy.  I also made a barley-blend cobb loaf that went in when the chicken came out - unknown to me, Mark switched the oven off as he wasn't paying attention.  Unfortunately the residual heat was enough to set the crust without cooking the dough, and it was too late to rescue it when I discovered what had happened.  Buggrit.

And movies - we actually watched two movies, together, on Saturday night without falling out about preferences.  Stardust, which Mark had previously avoided because he thought it would be pink and fluffy and didn't believe me about Robert de Niro as a gay cross-dressing flying pirate, and Mystery Alaska.  Both recommended by my lovely friend Sarah - thanks, sweetie.