It has been a slightly weird week, the comings and goings. Andrew stopped over for a few days to work. He loves to walk, so I got asked did I need anything from the shops several times which was sweet of him.
Lillie is back. On the kitchen table is at least an 20" inch pizza box, with a pizza inside it must have come back from the Hippodrome party last night, they always over order at the theatre. She went to two parties yesterday and today is taking us to Hebden Bridge for breakfast at her old workplace.
I was supposed to roast the chicken for tea last night but was also out to a meeting, more of that later. So we had to have a takeaway, my choice is a curry Sag Aloo, a mild spinach and potato curry, which easily makes two meals, also I have managed to note it down for future reference!
The meeting was about James 1st - Witch Hunter. The case against witches had devolved from the Catholic faith's hatred of the worship of the devil or daemonology - Satanism. James mother was Queen Mary, and James was to inherit the kingship of England as James 1st though he had been King in Scotland as James
Superstitious nonsense to us, but in a more simpler time when the storm raged, or a cow fell sick, it was easy enough to blame local women. Also easy enough, with the use of torture to extract a confession. The Catholic church has a lot of blame for those centuries of cruelty. It was in medieval Europe that the wretched Inquisitor came into being and the auto de feu whereby people were burnt at the stake.
Off topic: I quite like the fact that Phillip Pullman in his classic 'Dark Materials' also imagined a daemon but this time the daemons were animals, a representation of our inner souls. So that in the film everyone has an animal attached to him, but if you kill that animal the person dies.
One thing to note when attending meetings round here. Hebden Bridge is an 'up and coming' place to live. So there are what I call plenty of long haired middle-aged hippies around, female equivalent of course being long skirts. Now I would have thought that such a cult would have died out by now. I enjoy the odd lecture at the Folk Centre but there again the subject matters are odd and even encompasses the word WEIRD but which is a delight to my soul ;)
Also of course as the clocks have fallen back I have an odd hour to fill.
James 1st and V1 dates 1566- 1625
He was king of Scotland as James V1 from the year after his birth 1567 and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1603 after Elizabeth's 1st death.
Hebden Bridge must be a fascinating to place to live - you have everything with the hills and canal and old and new and main road and railway , no wonder it's a popular place for people to move to
ReplyDeleteA good description Sue, a narrow valley with a lot going through it. My daughter says there are a lot of journalists down here, Guardian probably. Of course the price of property has gone up, and Todmorden is supposed to follow in HB's footsteps. The train service is vital as narrow roads lead to a lot of congestion and don't ask about cycle paths;)
ReplyDeleteHebden Bridge was full of "flower people gone to seed" when I was there years ago; these must be yet another generation, rather like the aquilegia that kept flowering in my grandmother's garden for years after she died and into times when it was quite unfashionable.
ReplyDeleteI remember looking up one morning at work and realising that my younger colleagues were getting longer-haired and their clothes were becoming looser and more colourful - suddenly I felt like I was back in the 1970s
"flower people gone to seed" That made me chuckle John. When we came home on the bus, there were several fairly old males with long white hair as well, so it must be the style. I also loved the story of your grandmother's aquilegias. It is so true they drop their seeds each year and produce more and of a different colour.
DeleteAs I was brought up as Catholic I have absolutely no interest nowadays in superstitious nonsense especially involving pain or suffering. Let others dwell on that if they choose - I have had my fill. Do you ever spot Horatio Clare who lives in Hebden Bridge while out and about Thelma. We have the Petworth Literary Festival going on at the moment and Judi Dench was in town to promote her book and walked past the secondhand bookshop where I was working yesterday on her way to church. My bookshop is at the bottom of cobbled Lombard Street which leads from the market square (farmer’s market yesterday too - I bought sea bream from the Selsey fisherman, lamb from the young sheep farmer, loose tea and soap) and it’s fun to watch folk negotiate the cobbles! Quiet day today as I recover from a post-holiday-caught-on-the-plane cold and as it’s my birthday next week I am going to treat myself to wool from John Arbon and knit the Kerti 3-colour sweater, pattern by a stylish French knitwear designer called Orlane Sucche. That will blow away the November blues! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteNo we have never seen Horatio Claire whilst in HB Sarah but it was full up today with everyone strolling around with their children and dogs and the cafe was full as well. I love John Arbon's wool, slightly on the expensive side but beautiful colours, especially what I call the Autumn colours. It sounds as if you have good fresh food from the market, I let the vegetarian side down badly today and had a bacon bap, because they seemed always to be eating one on crime dramas. It was good.
DeleteThe shocking witch business extended way too late for many women. Times were tough for many people back then, but just an accusation could lead to a witch conviction, after a confession under torture.
ReplyDeleteAny crime right into the 19th century Andrew. Whether stealing a loaf of bread whilst hungry or taking firewood from the lord's land there was often terrible punishments.
DeleteJames 1st of England was the great, great grandson of Henry V11 and cousin of Elizabeth 1st. His mother was not the Mary who was Elizabeth's half sister. Five years of having Tudor history drummed into me for O level history has finally paid off !!
ReplyDeleteHomework done, I did so hate the dates of kings and I might still be wrong but I have altered what I see as wrong and added some dates, so homework marked! Though I might still argue that my James mother was Mary, Queen of Scotland.
ReplyDelete