11th April 2025 - I love sinking into obscurity

 Going Gently says he loves writing and it gives me the moment to say I love writing as well.  Though what to write is often a mystery.  But for instance I managed Wordle in three today, and yesterday in two.  I normally use one of two words sweat or swear.  They both have the common e and a, also s and r.  Of course when the Wordle represents another word with completely different letters. I may be stuck but somehow 6 tries is just enough to reveal a couple of letters.

Turning to the history of religion, Ironpolis has been visiting the 'Rood - Ruthwell Cross. An Anglo-Saxon cross from the 8th century it tells the story from the gallows side of the hanging of Christ.  But in 1640 there was a Scottish Reformation and all pagan symbolism was destroyed.  The Ruthwell Cross escaped and was buried by the priest at Ruthwell in the ground and then rescued in the 19th century.

There is an Anglo-Saxon poem called 'The Dream of the Rood' you can find it here.  A/S poetry is a favourite of mine, the richness of the language always stops me in my tracks....  Here a parable about the sparrow that flew through the hall....

It seems to me thus, dearest king, that this present life of men on earth, in comparison to the time that is unknown to us, [is] as if you were sitting at your dinner tables with your noblemen, warmed in the hall, and it rained and it snowed and it hailed and one sparrow came from outside and quickly flew through the hall and it came in through one door and went out through the other. Lo! During the time that he was inside, he was not touched by the storm of the winter. But that is the blink of an eye and the least amount of time, but he immediately comes from winter into winter again. So then this life of men appears for a short amount of time; what came before or what follows after, we do not know. Therefore, if this new lore brings anything more certain and more wise, it is worthy of that that we follow it.’

The South door of  Kilpeck Church. Taken from Wikipedia

The other thing that caught my eye was the above beautiful medieval doorway.  The church has many carvings. eighty-one gargoyles outside, dragons inside.  The carvings are put down to a school of craftsmen.  Never visited, and probably never will. Also of course a Sheela-na-Gig, which if you don't know is a rather nasty carving of a naked female exposing her private parts.  Sheela-na-gigs appear quite frequently on old churches, their symbolism has no explanation, except as a warning about wicked women, nuff said about the wicked men though! but..... there used to be a male figure, Anglo/Saxon stone.  It had been used in the church high up the back wall at Abson Church a couple of miles from Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire.  The land belonged to the abbots and there is a story about Pucklechurch to be found here .  

Our friends lived at Pucklechurch and I shall always remember the story of when they were invited to the manor house for an evening meal and smoked 'pot'.

On the home front, daughter and Andrew off to Italy for a couple of weeks, think they are ending up in Naples, we will see.  I shall be going to a meeting tomorrow about the stories of Weaving, spinsters, goddesses.  All a bit fey but whatever.

Also my Singapore readers have disappeared thank goodness.  I reckon they have learnt the words of 'Hands of Canada' and get totally bored by my other writing.  Which is perhaps where I started from at the beginning of this blog.