A little 'catch up': Our horrendously wet Sunday, 29th April, was brightened by having Val's parents Eileen and Harry with us for most of the day. Harry conducted the Service at John's Church - the main reason for their visit - but we always enjoy their company.
On Monday we actually saw a lot of sunshine and no rain, but Tuesday was wet again, and as John was at a meeting I put the ducks to bed at night and had a nasty fall after slipping in the wet. I managed Luncheon Club duties yesterday, even did a little bit of gardening in the afternoon making my bruised leg feel worse - so I shan't be going on the monthly walk with Moira today, John will go on his own.
I'm still puzzling about why our ducks pick certain places to dob down for a sleep, often right in the middle of a path, which of them decides on a spot and why they all follow.
These two photos are from wet Sunday, the grass is growing fast!
And these three pictures top and right are from sunny Monday, it was obviously warm enough in the sunshine for them to seek out the shade of the old Christmas tree ....... shame that weather didn't continue into Tuesday and yesterday -
We received copies of some old maps of our area [to help us with the research on our heritage coal book] and were thrilled to see that the place is marked on them where once stood the water mill we'd been told about. Walking in that area now all you can see are some stones left from those days.
I've put an orange 3 against where the mill once stood. The area beyond our ditch, which I've always called the "water meadows" when the ducks had escaped into it, is shown as having once had a large pond.
The orange 2 marks where our house now stands, and the 1 points out a large building which our Post Office neighbour Gladys remembers as being a large barn. It used to stand on what is now the garden of our neighbours on the other side.
Another thing that surprised me was that it was not just our little lane/footpath was called Rotten Row, but what is now our field and a piece across the road was called Rotten Row as well as a pit further up the road!
Another thing that surprised me was that it was not just our little lane/footpath was called Rotten Row, but what is now our field and a piece across the road was called Rotten Row as well as a pit further up the road!
"Rotten Row" is used in at least 15 places in England and Scotland, such as in Lewes, East Sussex and Elie, Fife. It describes a place where there was once a row of tumbledown cottages infested with rats (raton) and goes back to the 14th century or earlier, predating the London derivation.[5] Other historians have speculated the name might be a corruption of rotteran (to muster),[6] Ratten Row (roundabout way), or rotten (the soft material with which the road is covered).[7]
ReplyDeleteI must admit I vaguely remember it being something to do with not being allowed to vote .....?
I never thought to research it, thank you Annie! I quite like the idea of 'rotteran', to muster [troops?] Should investigate myself, but have fallen behind with writing up what coal research I've done ...
ReplyDeleteX Mutti