Wonderful piece, Frank, I loved it. What are you using for brain fuel? This is positively gymnastic. So glad you had a wonderful time at Cadhay. Half your luck.
"People of Thebes, my countrymen, look on Oedipus. He solved the famous riddle with his brilliance, he rose to power, a man beyond all power. Who could behold his greatness without envy? Now what a black sea of terror has overwhelmed him. Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last." they had figured it all out. Beneath a Mediterranean sun. If I had a time machine- or if you did- Would you prefer the future or the past? Choose wisely.
It is with some sadness I have to admit I am a nowhere person. My parents were from near Darlington and Blackburn, yet I was born and raised in Cambridgeshire. I speak like neither my parents or the people around me. I find myself approaching 50 with no roots, no ties and no purpose. I remember what Britain used to be like: village fetes, the tombola, garden parties, plays at the village hall performed by locals. All of that is gone though, I suspect for good. Thank you Frank for reminding me that there are still nuggets of the past that persist.
That was a good read (speaking as a "somewhere" person, and one who also sounds like one). The first series of Wolf Hall is indeed excellent. The second series is also good, but was spoiled somewhat by the "colourblind" casting choices, which detracted slightly from the "somewhere-ness" of the production. Indeed, one might say that it was an attack on somewhere-ness.
It (Wolf Hall) was the last series I ever watched of the BBC. I won't pay for propaganda and that is all they (the BBC) do nowadays. I have been tantalising myself with the DVD box set for well over a year. Mainly because of my conviction that it (series 2) could not possibly equal the first. But partly deferred gratification, remember that!
After reading your comment Paul I think I will let it (Series 2 box set) ferment another few months.
With apologies for the Mantel brackets pastiche, that was part of what made her great trilogy such a pleasure.
I still enjoyed the series, but the preposterousness of casting a black woman to play Jane Seymour's sister (for one example) made me very aware that I was watching a 21st century TV show, and not events from Tudor England. It kind of spoiled the immersion, as if a character had started using a mobile phone or driven away in a car.
These factors are also the reason why I have studiously avoided watching the Armando Iannucci version of David Copperfield, even though I am a fan of both the story and his other work.
Love it Frank. Susceptible myself to gratitude for roots, though not 'identity', which I mistrust. Important to recognise those feelings, exceptional to articulate, but still a transient perspective. Often think that if Thomas Gray had just stopped at
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
the poem would have been the better for it (though I concede that we would have lost "Far from the madding crowd", so perhaps let it be).
As someone whose only physical contact w England was a 1973 (I was ten.) in-plane layover in London Heathrow on the way from Philadelphia to Frankfurt, my interior image of England was, at first, through the elegance depicted Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, but devolving through modern media into a hellscape that needed Putin's 400 meter tsunami to scour it to its chalk bedrock.
You, my friend, have changed that for me, and it is deeply heartening that Our Lady's Dowry has not died!
That said, what areas in Britain do you recommend visiting in order to get a true impression of your homeland?
Did you regret flying out of PHL? Next time in Philly- Let me know what you need. We got you covered. Tomatoes? Potatoes? Broccoli sprouts? Specie is preferred. But if you are a trained pilot- we make deals.
Loved this. Sadly I'm a nowhere person, due to misfortune of father's job. Lots of moving about, uprooted for many, many years. Finally settling into the valley where my family has been from for centuries. Trying desperately to be from somewhere again, but the accent makes me hard to pin down.
Built in 1550? Not by any chance with wealth and property robbed from Catholic monasteries? According to Duck AI:
“John Haydon was a successful lawyer, and he built his fortune partly by investing in (and/or profiting from) the post–Dissolution disposal of monastic lands.“ Source: cadhay.org.uk
And:”there’s direct evidence that John Haydon’s wealth-building was tied to buying and trading monastic property in the Dissolution aftermath.
A University of Exeter item summarizing research by legal historian Anthony Musson states that the post-Dissolution “flood of property” created opportunities for lawyers, and specifically that “Ready money enabled Haydon … to act as property agents, buying and selling monastic lands”; it also says that John Haydon “built a house at Cadhay … using materials from the former college at Ottery St Mary.” Source: exeter.ac.uk
I remember the song Old England from The Waterboys. From the great album “This is the sea”. Old England was dying back in 1985. Maybe it should die first, before it can rise again.
What a beauty and ode to yesterday Cadhay is. Just imagine what has transpired in those rooms. To follow your ancestry back to the 16th century, my oh my. To be long attached to such a place that fills one's Soul is beyond description. That sentiment lives in the very heart of this family.
Thank you for sharing your time there Frank and for the lovely pictures. It is indeed how most Americans picture England along with the Yorkshire Dales of All Creatures Great and Small fame.
I shall read that again: it made me think. I hope I am a somewhere person. Disclosure: I am an ex-pat Englishman and miss dreadfully the England I was born into.
That little memory you wrote, is the reason I am here, exactly that…
I even had the naivety to think I could live such a life.
But the emotion you wrote, love, is why I stayed, it’s not the money, especially now in these times, it’s because of places like that, and people like both you, and Rupert, I love this place.
Wonderful piece, Frank, I loved it. What are you using for brain fuel? This is positively gymnastic. So glad you had a wonderful time at Cadhay. Half your luck.
Meant to say, familiar with the Mary Reiby story as part of Australian folklore.
After seven days
He was quite tired so God said:
“Let there be a day
Just for picnics, with wine and bread”
He gathered up some people he had made
Created blankets and laid back in the shade
The people sipped their wine
And what with God there, they asked him questions
Like: “Do you have to eat?
Or get your hair cut in Heaven?
And if your eye got poked out in this life
Would it be waiting up in Heaven with your wife?”
[Chorus]
God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him
I do like the 'Very Subtle' Joke part.
Although that may be verse 2.
But the song remains the same, as does the chorus.
"Count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last."
"People of Thebes, my countrymen, look on Oedipus. He solved the famous riddle with his brilliance, he rose to power, a man beyond all power. Who could behold his greatness without envy? Now what a black sea of terror has overwhelmed him. Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last." they had figured it all out. Beneath a Mediterranean sun. If I had a time machine- or if you did- Would you prefer the future or the past? Choose wisely.
It is with some sadness I have to admit I am a nowhere person. My parents were from near Darlington and Blackburn, yet I was born and raised in Cambridgeshire. I speak like neither my parents or the people around me. I find myself approaching 50 with no roots, no ties and no purpose. I remember what Britain used to be like: village fetes, the tombola, garden parties, plays at the village hall performed by locals. All of that is gone though, I suspect for good. Thank you Frank for reminding me that there are still nuggets of the past that persist.
Thanks, that has put me in the mood for a holiday.
That was a good read (speaking as a "somewhere" person, and one who also sounds like one). The first series of Wolf Hall is indeed excellent. The second series is also good, but was spoiled somewhat by the "colourblind" casting choices, which detracted slightly from the "somewhere-ness" of the production. Indeed, one might say that it was an attack on somewhere-ness.
It (Wolf Hall) was the last series I ever watched of the BBC. I won't pay for propaganda and that is all they (the BBC) do nowadays. I have been tantalising myself with the DVD box set for well over a year. Mainly because of my conviction that it (series 2) could not possibly equal the first. But partly deferred gratification, remember that!
After reading your comment Paul I think I will let it (Series 2 box set) ferment another few months.
With apologies for the Mantel brackets pastiche, that was part of what made her great trilogy such a pleasure.
I still enjoyed the series, but the preposterousness of casting a black woman to play Jane Seymour's sister (for one example) made me very aware that I was watching a 21st century TV show, and not events from Tudor England. It kind of spoiled the immersion, as if a character had started using a mobile phone or driven away in a car.
Yes. I wrote this before the second series came out and it was a tremendous disappointment to see that S O C I O E C O N O M I C F A C T O R S
had been factored in.
These factors are also the reason why I have studiously avoided watching the Armando Iannucci version of David Copperfield, even though I am a fan of both the story and his other work.
Love it Frank. Susceptible myself to gratitude for roots, though not 'identity', which I mistrust. Important to recognise those feelings, exceptional to articulate, but still a transient perspective. Often think that if Thomas Gray had just stopped at
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
the poem would have been the better for it (though I concede that we would have lost "Far from the madding crowd", so perhaps let it be).
No false nostalgia for churlish stock;
Nor envy for the Squire,
Whose heritage is burden,
Serfdom by other name.
God, save England.
Glory to Jesus Christ, Frank!
As someone whose only physical contact w England was a 1973 (I was ten.) in-plane layover in London Heathrow on the way from Philadelphia to Frankfurt, my interior image of England was, at first, through the elegance depicted Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, but devolving through modern media into a hellscape that needed Putin's 400 meter tsunami to scour it to its chalk bedrock.
You, my friend, have changed that for me, and it is deeply heartening that Our Lady's Dowry has not died!
That said, what areas in Britain do you recommend visiting in order to get a true impression of your homeland?
Our Lady of Walsingham restore your land!
Did you regret flying out of PHL? Next time in Philly- Let me know what you need. We got you covered. Tomatoes? Potatoes? Broccoli sprouts? Specie is preferred. But if you are a trained pilot- we make deals.
Loved this. Sadly I'm a nowhere person, due to misfortune of father's job. Lots of moving about, uprooted for many, many years. Finally settling into the valley where my family has been from for centuries. Trying desperately to be from somewhere again, but the accent makes me hard to pin down.
Built in 1550? Not by any chance with wealth and property robbed from Catholic monasteries? According to Duck AI:
“John Haydon was a successful lawyer, and he built his fortune partly by investing in (and/or profiting from) the post–Dissolution disposal of monastic lands.“ Source: cadhay.org.uk
And:”there’s direct evidence that John Haydon’s wealth-building was tied to buying and trading monastic property in the Dissolution aftermath.
A University of Exeter item summarizing research by legal historian Anthony Musson states that the post-Dissolution “flood of property” created opportunities for lawyers, and specifically that “Ready money enabled Haydon … to act as property agents, buying and selling monastic lands”; it also says that John Haydon “built a house at Cadhay … using materials from the former college at Ottery St Mary.” Source: exeter.ac.uk
I remember the song Old England from The Waterboys. From the great album “This is the sea”. Old England was dying back in 1985. Maybe it should die first, before it can rise again.
From a somewhere man from old Holland.
(Sorry to spoil your nostalgia).
What a beauty and ode to yesterday Cadhay is. Just imagine what has transpired in those rooms. To follow your ancestry back to the 16th century, my oh my. To be long attached to such a place that fills one's Soul is beyond description. That sentiment lives in the very heart of this family.
Thank you for sharing your time there Frank and for the lovely pictures. It is indeed how most Americans picture England along with the Yorkshire Dales of All Creatures Great and Small fame.
Enjoy your time and relish the surroundings!
I shall read that again: it made me think. I hope I am a somewhere person. Disclosure: I am an ex-pat Englishman and miss dreadfully the England I was born into.
Same here, but “New English…”
Oh do not stay silent…
That little memory you wrote, is the reason I am here, exactly that…
I even had the naivety to think I could live such a life.
But the emotion you wrote, love, is why I stayed, it’s not the money, especially now in these times, it’s because of places like that, and people like both you, and Rupert, I love this place.
And that is why I care.
We always chase those memories, Frank.
Be well my man, first round is on me.
M
Beautiful. Thank you.
Beautiful. Thank you.
Moon In Virgo by James Lee Jobe:
YOU are not beaten. The simple music rises up,
children's voices in the air, sound floating out
across the land and on to the river beyond,
over the valley's floor. No, you cannot go back
for those things you lost, the parts of yourself
that were taken, often by force. Like an animal
in the forest you must weep it all away at once,
violently, and then simply live on. The music here
is Bach, Vivaldi; a chorale of children, a piano,
a violin. Together, they have a certain spirit
that is light, that lets in light, joyful, ecstatic.
"Forgive," said The Christ, and why not? Every day
that you still breathe has all the joy
and murderous possibilities of your bravest dream.
Forgive. Breathe. Live. The moon has entered Virgo,
the wind shifts, blows up from the Delta, cools this valley,
and you are not beaten; the children sing, it is Bach,
and you are brave, alive, and human.