It was time for Pat to then pick me up and we went to a willow weaving place where I saw some of the productions of the weavers, as well as getting a little of an understanding of what it was all about. Really all an interesting and different experience for me!
Then we headed for Cerne Abbas. This is made famous for the massive chalk (rock?) outline of a naked man. Herewith a pic of said giant man.
I think you get something of an indication of the size of this if you look towards the top right near his arm you can see a person looking very diminutive.
There are a variety of theories as to the reason for his being or how he came about in terms of the actual "construction" (as with the crop circles and other such things that are all inexplicable), and I have brought back a book with at least one of the theories that is explored, which Mum will certainly read, and I will make an effort on that count, and if I get there I will try and share this with you all. In the mean time the pic from a site, and if you would like to find out a little more in terms of this, try this link: http://www.listzblog.com/top_ten_bizarre_landmarks_list.html
It was actually interesting. We had travelled to the giant. Pat pointed him out and we were running a little late in terms of lunch, and so she initially suggested that maybe it would be an idea for me to take my pic when we came back - just as well we did not await this, as we returned in comparative darkness as a result of the very short days and the overcast nature of the whole day in any event.
We then proceeded to the actual village, where we found a lovely pub and had a chance to have a lunch before the kitchen closed for the afternoon and we were left a little stranded. Once again, I think as a result of it being "that" time of the year, much of what was in Cerne Abbas was closed and much being renovated for the usual tourist season, I would imagine.
We found a lovely pub - "The Royal Oak" (http://www.royaloakcerneabbas.co.uk/) which was founded in 1540! With the weather being a little miz, we sat inside and enjoyed a pleasant meal in warm surroundings. The rooms (as with so many of the UK pubs) were decked out with various thematic aspects to them. The one in which we had lunch was all cups which were hanging from the wooden beams that ran along the ceiling. (If I recall correctly!)
Here is a somewhat more atmospheric pic taken when we returned to the car after visiting the one church and then taking a bit of a walk around Cerne Abbas.
I found the Cerne Abbas Church we visited lovely in the sense that it was a plain and simple church. Don't get me wrong - as you will know the other churches that I visited, as well as those of you who know me, will know that I LOVE the majesty of stained glass windows and the beauty of those magnificent vaulted ceilings and such like. But, for once, while it does look a somewhat imposing church from the outside, as you can see in the pic below; the inside was far simpler. The ceilings are high and travel to the tops of what you can see in the stonework. The beams that stabilise (I gather) the structure are all simply of stone, and the inside lacks all the pomp and ceremony that is so common in so many of the churches. (I think I have the correct link now: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/cerne-abbas-church.htm).
This intrigued me, outside the Church, as you can see below and mid-bottom-centre of the pic above, a set of stocks. I think the concept of something so holy, associated with something so cruel as stocks, was something that I had not really considered - not that I for one moment do think that the Church (no matter which one turns to in terms of faith systems) cannot and has not been cruel either at some stage of its existence - it was just that juxtaposition there so literally for me to see I think.
I have just "Wikipediaed" "Cerne Abbas" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerne_Abbas) and discover that this village was built around the Cerne Abbas Abbey - founded in 984 or thereabouts, and then destroyed to a large extent following Henry the Eighth's torrid relationship with the Catholic Church. Pat and I walked up the road that the church fronted onto, and having now looked at the notes in Wikipedia I discover that the road that we walked up and the house that I took the second pic below of is in actual fact what was rebuilt of the Abbey in later years in an effort to retain something of what the Abbey was all about.
It was then back to the car to begin the journey home, but I could not resist this pic of a part of Cerne Abbas - which is a real "mood" pic of the village. The houses of the village in the centre of it all front onto the roads, so this was nothing unusual in terms of the way in which things "work" in so many of the villages that I visited. I just love the way in which nightfall is encroaching and lights are being switched on bringing some small warmth to the otherwise cold, wet and grey landscape.
That evening I was kindly hosted by Pat, and so we travelled all the way to her home, where she is trying desperately to sort out the various pieces that she has inherited from her mother, Aunt Nanceye, who passed away during the course of the year having made it past her 100th birthday! Pat is also trying to sort out quite a bit of the paperwork that was associated with things, as she had inherited that side of things mainly by default, over the years, and it just continued that way.
We took a walk down the road from Pat's home to her local pub where we enjoyed a wonderful evening near a roaring fire nattering about all sorts of things. I was amused when Pat suddenly broke into rather Anglicised Afrikaans when the proprietor appeared to stoke the fire and add more wood, asking after his health. I then discovered that he hailed from the Cape and had been living in the UK a good number of years - and it was now both his home and place where he made his livelihood.
That evening, it was off to bed, when I spotted the "Visitor's Book" that was originally from Cutsey House - where my maternal grandmother grew up. The book dated back to when Aunt Nanceye and Uncle Bill must have married - as it went back to 1939! I knew that Dad had gone there on a visit when he was training on the first ever computers for NCR over the period that I was born (and so, during that time Mum stayed in Zimbabwe with her parents and gave birth to me in Bulawayo then - quite convinced that there were quite a number of nursing, etc staff who believed that she had had this child out of wedlock!).
Needless to say, it was something I could not resist - looking for Dad's entry - and there it was! It raised all sorts of emotions in me - part because here was physical evidence of my Dad again, but also because in a day or so, I too would be going to visit Cutsey and walk the corridors and spaces walked by both Dad and my Gran!
All rather surreal - as so many things on this trip were!
It was then the end of yet another interesting, educational and all round weird day. The next would see Pat and I travelling to meet with Cousin John Clatworthy and his lovely wife, Shirley, where I would spend time until Saturday of that week when we would all meet at a local pub that Rosie loved and the Johnsons would collect me and all my baggage before we all then headed off for what was to be a surprise visit for Uncle Dave to Cutsey House. Not feeling my brightest, this part of the journey may get a little muddled, but I just hope that with the assistance of the photos taken at the time I might be able to piece together some of the family bits that made this part of this trip so relevant and special!
All for the time being. Mum has decided to have a snooze, and while I am feeling like I could well do so as well, I also am agitating to try and finish my one cross stitch where I have all the final finishing touches that always seem to take an age - I think because I have spent so long getting to this point, I kind of feel as though the piece should be finished "NOW", and it is not. Patience - something time is sure teaching me that I need to develop!!!
Well peeps, all for the time being. All my love - and hope that you are enjoying the ramblings.
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