Tuesday, 20 November 2012
A saunter along the Stanegate in Summer
I hope the pictures say it all as I haven't got time to tell you all about it. Another time perhaps. The Romans built a road which is now known by its medieval name, Stanegate = Stone Road. It runs, so they say, from Corbridge to Carlisle.
Sadly I missed a conference this last weekend at http://www.arbeiasociety.org.uk/Arbeia, South Shields, organised by the Society where one of the speakers, John Poulter, was talking in depth about it. Luckily Tyne and Wear Museums and its associated Archaeological unit will be running community-led projects in 2013. One of its projects is to look at where the Stanegate may/may not have been.
Bits of the Stanegate are still in use. This bit (as above) runs through two villages near Hexham - Newbrough and Fourstones. We were there this summer on a crackingly hot day (I think that day was our Summer end of!!!) and went to a pub, The Red Lion Pub, for a very wonderful Sunday lunch.
It was very yummy.
(Thanks, Mark, author of 'Views from The Bike Shed' - using a different browser did vanquish the pesky firewall. Cheers for the tip!)
Monday, 19 November 2012
Burning Beacons Birdoswald-Connecting Light Walltown on Hadrian's Wall
A walk to Gilsland ending with Birdoswald Roman Fort. More walks can be downloaded from the Hadrian's Wall Trust/National Trail website here.
Thought it might be interesting to contrast some photos taken at the Beacons for the Diamond Jubilee (where I helped out and have blogged about) earlier this year at Birdoswald with some photos of ConnectingLight art installation at Walltown (where I helped out) later on this year. (Will definitely blog about this at some point.)
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Black Jake takes on The Border Reivers
Am currently grappling with the delights of technology. I'm convinced that a firewall is not allowing me to access my computer to download photos to my blog so am using another computer for the moment...hence my range of 'photies' or images is a tad limited. I really do hope to try and get it solved today otherwise I will have to try and get round it somehow.
I think we have tracked down the pirate 'Black Jake' Fly. He's right before us as created by splendid son 'R'.
And that's right....Black Jake does go 'aarrrggghhhh' in good old pirate mode!
And talking of pirates...we had our own pirates up here pretty much from the 10th century onwards (and maybe even before). I bought this book a little while back and have been dipping in and out of it. I don't know enough about the 'Reivers' or Borderland Pirates so it's a good start. Am a great believer in reading slim books or children's books as a way of getting my head into a subject. (It's less daunting that way and if I can read a book inside of an hour I feel as if I have achieved something.)
Will be talking more about these Anglo-Scottish Border Raiders or Reivers in due course! Watch this space!
(It is commonly perceived that they gave us "blackmail" and "Bereived" or "bereaved" as well.)
@Geraint_Smith via Twitter has just kindly pointed out to me that 'bereaved' and 'Reivers' come from Old English (be) rēafian - to rob. Many thanks Geraint!
"Steill Bonnett, Jak and Hobbler" (p.26) of Reivers by Keith Durham and Angus McBride (Montlight Publications):
"Boldness, cunning and speed were the reiver's strengths, and his capacity to hit without warning and vanish without trace was largely due to his choice of weapons, armour and steed."
Saturday, 17 November 2012
William Woodhave and his marvellous invention
Here are some more photos from the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg. We had a lot of fun there - looking, playing and exploring.
I do feel a huge affinity with the sea having grown up in a seaside town - South Shields. Most of the time it frightens the life out of me but I still get drawn to it. (The more I look into my family history I find that the maternal side of the family has always been in the fishing/shipping industry in and around South Shields.)
I remember years ago when we were are a safari trip out in the Red Sea with a Dutch group some scuba equipment fell overboard. My husband, Nigel, and some others went out looking for it. It was quite a stormy night. They had on their scuba gear and it must have been pitch black. They would have taken their powerful torches with them but still I had visions of them getting caught in the propellers of the boat and never coming back!
People who earn their living from and by the sea - have generally always done it the hard way! This was an extremely good museum showing what life was like for people in times gone by. Maybe we should try and do the same thing some day down in South Shields.
After all it was where the lifeboat built in 1789 by the boatbuilder, Henry Greathead, was invented. And what I did not realise until I clicked on the BBC link (click on the word lifeboat above) that there was controversy over who did invent the first lifeboat.
William Woodhave (excellent name!) also from South Shields came second in the 1789-lifeboat-inventing competition and he invented the first self-righting lifeboat. And as such, is seen as the REAL inventor of the lifeboat.
William's boat sticks in my mind because my great grandfather made a miniature copy of it in brass. Not sure if it is still in the family though which is a shame.
Labels:
1789,
competition,
controversy,
Denmark,
Dutch group,
Esbjerg,
Fisheries and Maritime Museum,
Henry Greathead,
lifeboat,
Red Sea,
self-righting lifeboat,
South Shields,
The Original,
William Woodhave
Thursday, 15 November 2012
The ropery - I love the sound of that word!
This is a ropery at the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg, Denmark. For a map of the museum layout click here. It is an extremely worthwhile place to visit: an aquarium, museum of fishing, good places for the children to play outside and a dry harbour/museum outside too!
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Ahoy there!
I spy pirates on the horizon at Legoland Denmark!
(October 2012 Visit courtesy of DFDS shipping line)
This was a good ride. The sound effects were very good
and there were some pretty scary looking pirates and their mates too!
This was a good ride. The sound effects were very good
and there were some pretty scary looking pirates and their mates too!
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
An image a day
Yep folk!s.....It's official I can't keep up with my life!!!!!
I do feel like this LegoWitch being pushed along.....too much to do and so little time.
Since I last posted back in August I've been involved with:
plus various visits to banks, business advisers, schools and so on and so forth etc. etc. etc.
moved in and out of houses several times this year....possessions here there and everywhere
but hey ho! we are together once again as a family and really enjoying being back together again.
It is all super duper.
Really, really, really working hard getting www.hands-on-latin.com up and running finally.
got lots of support for it; networking like mad, tweeting like mad and should also be blogging like mad
but something has got to give....
....
so have decided to try for an image a day with short phrase beside it....we shall see.....
Love you all...you are very much neglected my blogger friends. please forgive me! You ARE wonderful.
Hope you are all well.
Toodle pip. valete! Hadriana/Catherine xx xx
PS and this is especially for Fly ....thinking a lot about The Reivers...have not forgotten them / you.
Abrazos, hugs. Cxx
PPS Please follow me on Twitter, if you can. I tweet A LOT!!!! @hadrianasblog
I do feel like this LegoWitch being pushed along.....too much to do and so little time.
Since I last posted back in August I've been involved with:
- ConnectingLight along Hadrian's Wall - which was a lot of fun and involved lots of running up and down hills with various bits of equipment...up hill and down dale. Tra la la!
- Doing guiding work at Vallum Tea Rooms and Cafe alongside a real life Roman Soldier
- Guiding - using my Italian at Housesteads and Vindolanda
- Teaching Minimus Latin at the local first schools
- Attending Stan Beckinsall's 80th birthday conference day celebrations at Hexham - Rock Art Rocks!
- Hadrian's Wall Archaeological Forum - Queen's Hall, Hexham
- Primary Latin Project meeting in Bristol...Am chairperson of sub-committee to help create
- and interactive Minimus mouse
- Heart of Hadrian's Wall meeting at Twice Brewed Inn
- Visit to Denmark to Legoland (we went by ferry via Harwich)
- Visit to Colchester - saw lots of Roman things at Colchester Castle Museum
- Walby Farm Park birthday party - organised
- Bonfire Night at Hexham organised by Hexham Rotary Society
- 3rd Hadrian's Wall Trust Conference at Wetheral
- School meetings as Governor (lots! going on in that sector...locally....)
- Riproaring Ceilidh organised by Town Twinning Association
- Teaching Spanish and French locally.....
- Hope (and already am teaching!!) to teach/do Latin/Italian/French/Spanish/Touring/Guiding through www.hands-on-latin.com
plus various visits to banks, business advisers, schools and so on and so forth etc. etc. etc.
moved in and out of houses several times this year....possessions here there and everywhere
but hey ho! we are together once again as a family and really enjoying being back together again.
It is all super duper.
Really, really, really working hard getting www.hands-on-latin.com up and running finally.
got lots of support for it; networking like mad, tweeting like mad and should also be blogging like mad
but something has got to give....
....
so have decided to try for an image a day with short phrase beside it....we shall see.....
Love you all...you are very much neglected my blogger friends. please forgive me! You ARE wonderful.
Hope you are all well.
Toodle pip. valete! Hadriana/Catherine xx xx
PS and this is especially for Fly ....thinking a lot about The Reivers...have not forgotten them / you.
Abrazos, hugs. Cxx
PPS Please follow me on Twitter, if you can. I tweet A LOT!!!! @hadrianasblog
Labels:
Colchester,
ConnectingLight,
guiding,
Hexham,
legoland,
minimus,
PLP,
Vallum Farm,
Walby
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