Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
Ailsa at wheres my backpack has posted rhythm as her challenge theme this week and here is my interpretation. Are they singing a rhythmic gospel song or something more baroque? you decide!
Maybe the lady with her trainers peeping out is a clue? I took the photo at Chichester cathedral.
Jake over at http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ has created a new Sunday Post and the theme is Sunrise. Much as I would like to see the sunrise in summer here I would have to be up at 4.30 at this time of the year. A couple of years ago I took this one in August at 6 am in the New Forest.
This weekend a lovely Australian friend came to stay and as it was her first time in Devon we tried to pick some nice spots to take her. First off we hit the city centre, planning to go to the cathedral, remember I posted about it a few weeks ago? A service was about to start so we thought we would come back later. Meanwhile the Cathedral school were holding their summer fete on the green and this is some of what we saw.
We headed through Ship Lane, passing Sir Francis Drakes favourite port of call.
to High street with its carefully restored Tudor buildings
We spent an hour in the welcome air conditioned museum, http://www.rammuseum.org.uk/ recently re-opened after a major refurbishment. At the moment there’s an exhibition of the late James Ravilious, one of my favourite photographers. Coming back to Gandy Street, we were so hot we just had to sit outside Coolings for a half pint of cider! 
there were a few cackling witches hanging around the back alley!
Some surviving parts of the castle
and city wall 
Back down the road we watched some street dance
The cathedral was closed when we got back, but we had a look around the nearby ruins of St Catherine’s Chapel, which date from the mid 15th century and were all but destroyed in the Blitz. 
Our day didn’t end there, we went on to the coast, walked on Cockle sands where the tide was out and had fish and chips on the seafront. Finally we pootled around Topsham for an hour, along Hannaford’s quay to the Goat walk. A super day, glorious sunshine and the lovely Australian had a fab time.
As I have included shots of Exeter’s ancient walls and St Catherine’s here is a few lines from the 8th century Exeter book, the poem ‘Ruin’.
Wrætlic is þes wealstan, wyrde gebræcon;
burgstede burston, brosnað enta geweorc.
Hrofas sind gehrorene, hreorge torras,
hrungeat berofen, hrim on lime,
scearde scurbeorge scorene, gedrorene,
ældo undereotone. Eorðgrap hafað
waldend wyrhtan forweorone, geleorene,
heardgripe hrusan, oþ hund cnea
werþeoda gewitan. Oft þæs wag gebad
ræghar ond readfah rice æfter oþrum,
ofstonden under stormum; steap geap gedreas.
Wonað giet se …num geheapen,
fel on
grimme gegrunden
or if modern English is more your style,
Wondrous is this wall-stead, wasted by fate.
Battlements broken, giant’s work shattered.
Roofs are in ruin, towers destroyed,
Broken the barred gate, rime on the plaster,
walls gape, torn up, destroyed,
consumed by age. Earth-grip holds
the proud builders, departed, long lost,
and the hard grasp of the grave, until a hundred generations
of people have passed. Often this wall outlasted,
hoary with lichen, red-stained, withstanding the storm,
one reign after another; the high arch has now fallen.
The wall-stone still stands, hacked by weapons,
by grim-ground files.
Summer means long hot walks on Dartmoor and a very happy dog who has found a mud wallow to play hippos in!
Porchester castle is on the complex coast around the edge of Hampshire. Built around the 11th century on a site that earlier housed a Roman fort. I visited with my daughter and we couldn’t help wondering about the lives of the many people who had lived there. It had a definite feel, a loud whispering of voices in the total silence. Click on an image for a larger view.
Totnes is a little town in the South Hams where a friend, alluding to it’s alternative population, once said you can see the haze of the wacky baccy floating above as you approach. The name sign on the road from Dartington says it’s twinned with Narnia. Totnes is packed with little hippy shops, second hand bookshops, wholefoods, and cafes to suit everyone, it’s a super place for a pootle. Every alternative therapy known to man can be sampled, needless to say it’s on a ley line.
Before leaving the town centre I had a chat with a lady who runs a geisha house http://www.sarasvati-arts.co.uk/hachisu/index.html she was dressed in a beautiful kimono. One of the alternative therapies on offer is ‘gonging’, where you sit close to one of these and you are immersed in its sound. Excuse the reflections on this photo, but I had to share it, click to open and read about a Pastor offering an unusual service!
Walking down the town we reached the River Dart and had a short walk on the Access for all ‘ path. We met a couple in their 80’s you were having trip down memory lane. They had grown up in Totnes and said that as children their parents had warned them away from the river because they would drown. Needless to say that didn’t stop them from jumping in and swimming around the weir. They weren’t swimming this time, or walking – they had cycled, only around eight miles, not their usual distance of up to thirty!
Further along I took these photos of a canoeist who looked like he was having a great time. On the walk back we found him on the river bank with his canoe deflated. He had parked in Totnes, caught the steam train up to Buckfastleigh, about seven miles, boat in backpack and then paddled downstream. We envied him, it sounds idyllic, but no doubt I, if not friend, would have drowned. I hope you like the sound of Totnes, for further posts about the area click on Dartington in my category cloud and if you click on the first photo a slide show will appear!
My friend at work came in today and said she had seen the scarecrows! It’s becoming a modern tradition in the countryside to have scarecrows not just in fields but in hedges, gateways and front gardens. D had seen them in the village of Newton St Cyres, a few miles outside Exeter and this evening I was heading through there anyway.
These are a few of my finds!
I’m afraid it was getting dark and that’s my excuse for grainy photos!
I know that scarecrows are found all over the world, but usually just in fields? These were for a competition, to raise funds for charity and the winner has the prize of, um, well knowing they have the most interesting and goofy creation! Maybe you know about competitions like this somewhere else in the world? Let me know if you do!
Thanks to D for telling they were there 🙂 and visit Margekatherine who is hosting a week of happy posts.
http://margekatherine.com/2012/05/09/happiness-care-to-share/
I like this! The excuse to use some photos that don’t make the grade.
First of all the city centre by night
Some ghostly Dartmoor ponies
and I don’t know how I made this mess, I was on a footbridge with windows, the red is reflected from behind and a bit of my reflection is in there too!
The building I was trying to photograph is the Royal Albert Memorial museum.
The word cathedra means seat of a Bishop and the building of Exeter’s began in 1112 on ground that had been used by a religious community since the 7th century. These are the organ pipes, the biggest is 11 metres tall.
The Exeter Astronomical Clock dates from the 15th century and always fascinated me as a child. 
With its complicated workings. 
With angels watching over them, a monument to the 2nd Earl and Countess of Devon, from the 14th century.
A section of tapestry on a bench
and another tomb, this one 19th century, the Macdonalds from the isle of Skye.
An 18th century clergyman
Some little details that I like
This stone screen or pulpitum was built between 1317 and 1325
and the view through is of the Quire.
Above the Quire is the organ in a 17th century case
My favourite part of the cathedral has always been the lady Chapel but today I couldn’t take photos because of a service so this one is courtesy of © Copyright Neil Kennedy and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
A view of the pulpit with the organ in the background
and the detail of the pulpit
Looking high
Some ceiling bosses
The West Front Window
and I saved the best until last, the vault was created as a vision of heaven in the Tierceron style. St Peters has the longest continuous medieval vault in the world, around 96 metres.
So what do you think of Exeter’s glorious cathedral?
I’m adding this photo for http://beeblu.wordpress.com/category/home/ sorry its not very good but you can read a little more about the clock!
Now, I know that at least two of my blogging friends are Red Hat Society ladies, you know who you are over in Oregon, but at the weekend I met a real live one myself. Carol, whose Hatter name is Countess Caroline, had a table displaying her gorgeous handmade fascinators, many of which she has created for mellow hatters (I just invented mellow because fellow sounded too masculine for Hatty ladies). Once Carol told me she was involved in this craziness I just had to learn more.
She began by telling me that they are all show offs! ‘You almost have to be’ she said, ‘and I’ve always been a showy off person myself’, I don’t know about that, but she is certainly a very attractive and outgoing lady who loves to chat. As well as the red hats they wear purple clothes when they meet up in their ‘Chapters’. Most of them are middlies but you can still join in your forties, then you are a Pinkie with lilac clothes and pink hats. At fifty you are invested with scarlet sparkles or a wand. Carol is one of the one hundred members of the Riviera Royals, whose leader is Princess Cockington.
When the ladies meet up they go on a ‘Hoot’, days out, concerts, shows and balls, and men are never allowed. Occasionally other chapters are invited to a soiree, to which they often travel using their bus passes, fully hatted and gowned. They have big conventions and she has been known to attend as a St Trinians girl.
During a ladies birthday month, they dress in reverse, red clothes and purple hats. There’s a whole world of red hatters out there with dedicated internet shopping sites. Some hatters have appeared on the Vanessa show, I would imagine Ms Feltz would be in her element.
Carol told me that she went on her own to her very first meeting and that from the start she felt welcome. ‘I’ve found that women can be bitchy, but never felt that in the Red Hatters. I think it’s because of our age, there are no grudges, it’s a sisterhood. No one minds disgraceful behaviour. Even out for coffee we wear our hats. It’s supportive as well as fun, caring for each other through bereavement, watching out for each other’s well being and remembering little details.’
For last year’s Royal Wedding they celebrated at a lovely local restaurant. They watched together, all dressed to the nines waving flags, as if they were actually there. Carol has immaculately painted nails and not a hair out of place. Last year the chapter went to Ladies day at Ascot, what a sight they must have been, but as it was £3-400, this year they will be going to Newton Abbot. I have no doubt they will look wonderful.
They have a ‘Mother of the Bride’ evening planned shortly. This will be held at the Grosvenor Hotel, Torquay, as featured on a recent Channel Four TV series. This will be a major event for which Carol will be making a sash to wear and the high heels will be out in force – manageable because it will be ‘Car to bar’.
Carol said ‘I can’t promote the Red Hatters enough, it’s given me a new lease of life and I wouldn’t be making fascinators without the society.’ She taught herself to make these exquisite little numbers. I tried one on and looked incredibly silly, but she has made lots for her chapter.
Carol is a glamorous lady and even on holiday her style is maintained. She is ecstatic if she can sit in the sea, watching the sun glinting on her red glittery finger and toe nails. I am grateful to this fabulous lady for sharing her Red Hat experiences with me and maybe one day I might just join. Or not, because I’m too much of a scruff bag!
As well as the unnamed Oregon ladies, I’m sure there are more of you out there around the world, would you like to share some of the fun you have had? I would love to learn what you get up to around the globe!
Lucid Gypsy 