Jane at Levant: Out and about on Sunday

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Out and about on Sunday

Out and about on Sunday - yes we decided we would go out for a drive - so two of us and the dog headed off towards the Wrekin - we have never climbed to the summit yet and so this was an option - but B cried off on that one - saying is back might not be up to it - so we turned off the other side of Atcham - past Wroxeter - another place to visit with its history and onto Ironbridge - fully intent on making a stop there - but anyway due to circumstances - parking etc - I was driving! we came through on the other side and found we were heading towards Much Wenlock.
We have never been to the Abbey - so that is what we did - we parked up and off we went - the Abbey belongs to English Heritage so in we went audiotapes at the ready - it was a bright sunny day so ideal for a few pics.

The abbey according to the records was founded in the seventh century and its first abbess was St Milburga - daughter of King Mercia - it is very impressive - in the summer plays are held in the grounds - that must be magical - we spent quite a long time listening to the tapes and imagining what it must have been like in those times - we looked at the Lavabo - this is where the monks washed - out in the cold - it must have frozen their bits off in the winter!
The plants in the grounds were beginning to come alive and the catkins and snowdrops gave a promise of Spring

On the way to the Abbey we passed the Church of the Holy Trinity - walking through the grounds - we gazed up and saw the owl on the roof - I couldnt resist a pic of that one - well it was the rspb bird count weekend - i somehow think he will be there next year for the bird count!

In the grounds there was a remembrance plaque for Mary Webb - presented by the Mary Webb Society at the Millenium - I came home and searched in my books for the connection - Mary Webb lived locally at Leighton as a child and was confirmed in Holy Trinity Church at Much Wenlock
As a child she was taken out by her father a retired teacher to many places of note - one of them being Wenlock Edge nearby - legend tells of a spot on the Edge called the Majors Leap - where many years ago Major Thomas Smallman was being chased by Cromwells men on horseback he came to the Edge and jumped his horse over - the horse was killed but he managed to grab a bush and was saved - it is said that this story so influenced the young Mary - that the ending in her novel Gone to Earth epitomises this story - I am going to try a link - it probably will go wrong so I will apologise now -
The link should be http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/etexts/E000284.HTM#X36

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Much Wenlock has many old buildings and much history including the Olympic Trail - many book shops and coffee shops - we shall return another day to explore further - we then started home - we stopped off at Venus Pool - a nature reserve just out side Crosshouses - a lovely spot and well worth a visit -

2 comments:

Molly3 February 2011 at 11:46
Hiya J & B - you taken some gorgeous pictures. We went to Wroxeter years ago and visited the Roman ruins - was good. Never been to the abbey, but it looks a nice day out. Hope B's back is better. xx
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Posie4 February 2011 at 03:41
Oh Jane that brought a tear to my eye, I walked along that street past the old black and white town hall so many times as a child. I was once at charter day fair in the old abbey ruins dressed as a Victorian girl. I was only 8. Last time I walked through those streets was at my Grandma's funeral...not many years ago. My grandparents lived there throughout my childhood years xx
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FAIRY -LED

The fairy people flouted me,
Mocked me ,shouted me
They chased me down the dreamy hill and beat me with a wand
Within the wood they found me ,put spells on me and bound me
And left me at the edge of day in John the miller's pond
Beneath the eerie starlight;
Their hair shone curd -white
Their bodies were all twisted like a lichened apple tree
Feather -light and swift they moved,
And never one they loved,
For all were full of dreams and dark designs on me.

With noise of leafy singing
And white wands swinging
They marched away amid the grass that swayed to let them through.
Between the the yellow tansies
Their eyes,like purple pansies,
Peered back on me before they passed all trackless in the dew.

Mary Webb - from the Spring of Joy

Three softly curved white sepals veined with light,

Three green-lined petals,guarding frugal gold,

And all so strong to fold or to unfold!

Snow thunders from the bending pines.How slight

This frail,sheathed stem! Yet all unbent it springs,

So swift in stoopings and recoverings.

In the pale sunshine,with frail wings unfurled,

Comes to the bending snowdrop the first bee.

She gives her winter honey prudently;

And faint with travel in a bitter world,

The bee makes music, tentative and low,

And spring awakes and laughs across the snow.

Mary Webb

Found on the Web Part One

Short Jokes of the day

Dress Code.

It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

Sick Days

We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days

Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

Found on the web !! Part 2

Toilet Use
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offence, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders category". Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sanctioned under the company's mental health policy.
Lunch Break
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.
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