A Local Country Walk in North Warwickshire

 

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas.

Today we went a walk in the North Warwickshire countryside and it was cold enough to blow away the cobwebs!

We had initially decided on a walk round Shustoke Reservoir but the 2 mile path is high on a ridge and the wind was bitingly cold so that plan got abandoned after a few hundred yards!

So instead we went for a walk along the lanes round the Shawbury and Maxstoke area.

This is the door of a cottage at the little hamlet of Maxstoke.  I've mentioned before this house was on the market last year and you can imagine how much these days I wish we had bought it!!

This is the church of St Michael and All Angels, Maxstoke. It it is Grade 2 listed and dates back to the C14th with 18th and 19th century additions.  It was founded by  William de Clinton who was born in Maxstoke and later became Earl Huntingdon.  The church may have been founded as a chantry chapel rather than the church for the nearby Priory.

The church is usually locked but we did visit some years ago for a Christmas Tree Festival so if you would like to see inside please see St Michael's Maxstoke

Victorian Wall Letter Box in the wall of the 14th century Maxstoke Priory. 

The Priory of Augustinian Canons at Maxstoke was also founded by William de Clinton in 1336/37.  It was dissolved in 1536 during the Dissolution.  The site today is surrounded by a surviving sandstone precint wall.

Below is the gatehouse but the rest of the ruins are on the land of a working farm and in I think the grounds of the Old Rectory so are not accessible. Many years ago when I was a teenager I was walking in the area with friends and the farmer did allow us to view them briefly but today there are "keep out" signs!!

It wasn't a long walk but it was good to get some fresh air out in the countryside.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Wishing everyone a Very Happy Christmas and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2023.

Birthday and Christmas Preparations

 

I had one of those dreaded "big birthdays" a few weeks ago. To be honest I can't believe I am 70. Physically, I may feel it sometimes but mentally I feel about 25!

I told everyone not to spend a fortune on a "special" cake as I much prefer homemade so they made me my favourite Carrot Cake :)

D bought me a bat detector which I have wanted for years and made me some Christmas Fudge.  Fudge is definitely worth making at home as it is much nicer and cheaper than bought although it is time consuming and you do need a sugar thermometer or thermapen.

Emily bought me lots of things including the latest Mary Berry cookbook and a book of lists - ideal for me who is always making them!

My main present from B was a painting we had seen in an art gallery in Leominster.

I do enjoy preparing for Christmas - in fact I sometimes think I find the preparations more fun than the actual event!

Holly wreath for the front door bought from a florist's in Coleshill.

The mistletoe bunch from Tenbury Wells.

I always make a canon ball Christmas Pudding although I have to admit only D and I actually like it!

Christmas cake having its last "feed" of brandy!

I am very behind with preparations this year mainly due to the two trips to Herefordshire but I finally made the mincemeat.

Most Christmas recipes I use are by Mary Berry or from BBC Good Food but these cheese savouries which I freeze are from a Delia recipe.

Today I'll make  the stained glass window biscuits - some to eat now and some to freeze which just leaves the Mincemeat Macaroons and Mince Pies to make later in the week plus the veggie main and starter.  B always cooks the actual Christmas dinner and we re-heat the vegetarian main. D saw a good recipe on Mary Berry's Christmas Programme for Cranberry and Stilton Scones so I'll make those on Christmas Eve for the vegetarian starter.  

The Christmas Tree and decorations have now gone up.

This is an Advent Calendar with a difference. Its called The Night Before Christmas and you add a piece each day. I must admit it was a faff to put the house together and some of the pieces are a bit fiddly to add but its something different.

Building wise the news is not good - after an absence of 3 weeks (one of them got married!). They are back with a vengeance. Scaffolding now up on our patio :( They didn't screen it so we have gone somewhat ballistic and told them they can't access it until they do!). Worst yesterday was when two half house bricks came down the chimney and landed on the hearth in the front room together with tons of rubble all over Christmas decorations! B got straight onto owner and later party wall surveyor.  A row with the former ensued!  Apparently builders in loft used a power tool (which they are not supposed to do on party wall) against a chimney breast which they thought was double walled - it wasn't it was a single wall which anyone can see and came straight into our chimney breast. The surveyor is coming to inspect today to see what happened. Could do without all this with Christmas to get ready for.  Plus I am not sleeping hardly at all!  I fear the builders are totally incompetent :(

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone ever wishes to use one or one of my son's I would be grateful for an email first thanks).

December Visit to Herefordshire - Part 2: Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival

 

Thankfully, although it was very cold the fog had lifted by the Saturday - the day of Tenbury Mistletoe Festival. I've been keen to go to this for years and when D heard about it he wanted to go too.

Tenbury Wells has been linked to the sale of mistletoe at Christmas time for over 100 years.  Although all of Herefordshire and Worcestershire were once involved in the trade Tenbury was the only town to hold mistletoe auctions.  The auction used to he held at the cattle market in Tenbury but once that closed it is now held at nearby Little Hereford.  

I don't think there has been a Festival for the last few years but this year it returned.

I spotted these relevant symbols on a car in the car park.

There were bundles of mistletoe hanging from most buildings in the town.

Mistletoe was revered by the Druids and used on their altars and in ceremonies. People originally hung mistletoe in their homes to give protection from injury, fire etc and to drive away evil spirits.  It was used in cowsheds to encourage the livestock to be healthy. Apparently it is never seen inside a church.

The stalls were in 3 different areas - the Pumprooms, the Buttercross and in the market place by Tesco. We couldn't see the stalls very easily in the pumprooms as  there was a group singing.

Plants for sale outside the farmshop.

There were stalls inside and outside the Buttercross. There were some lovely Christmas wreaths which I was tempted to buy for the front door but I decided in the end it wouldn't be that easy to bring home and I didn't fancy walking round the Festival carrying it!

I was hoping there might be a Christmas Tree Festival in the church but I couldn't see any signs of one and there was no mention of it on their website.

I liked this horseshoe reindeer at one of the stalls by Tesco.

More of those horrid sprayed little trees - this time being sold by Tesco :(  

Teme House by the river and near Tesco had various mistletoe bunches for sale so we did buy one of these.

We then realised we had about 90 minutes to wait before the Morris Dancing display and it was freezing cold. Oh for the days before covid when we would just have gone for a pub lunch. We did have a look round some shops and D bought several items for Christmas. We bought a pasty and coffee and ate these outside a shop.

Finally the time passed and we returned to the market square where the town crier announced the morris dancers.

I am not sure who the lady represents - a Holly Queen?? but oh look great excitement to see the Mari Lwyd.  The grey mare or Grey Mary is connected with the tradition of wassailing especially in Wales.  The tradition involves a hobby horse made from a horse skull mounted on a pole and carried by a person hidden under a sackcloth.

The Mari Lwyd/Wassailing ceremony is very similar to Engish mumming and it is believed it originated from pagan rites which welcomed the sun's return after the winter solstice.  The horse became connected to wassailing in the Middle Ages and the church may possibly have adoped it to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary.

After the Morris Dancing there was a Mistletoe Ceremony involving a modern druid and other characters. Sorry the photos aren't brilliant but I couldn't get close as there were too many people trying to do the same.

This was followed by a procession which we didn't go on as for me it was too peopley and by now we were all feeling very cold.

The mistletoe we bought is now hanging in the porch at home.

There were other events in the morning which we missed such as the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen.

We came home on the Sunday and then, as mentioned previously, B and I rushed back on Tuesday to stay just one night and close down the caravan for the winter.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.  D's photos were better but instead of copying them onto a hard drive he cut and pasted them so I haven't been able to access them. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first  - thanks).

Reference: Reader's Digest book on Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain