Fun with Friends - Farleigh Hungerford and Wells

 I had visitors last weekend, which was lovely, and also the first non-family guests I have had for a while.

We were lucky with the weather, so went out to be proper tourists . We started with a trip to Farleigh Hungerford Castle, which is quite nearby, and met up there with another local friend.

Gatehouse, Farleigh Hungerford Castle

There's been a castle on the site since the 14th C. Walter Hungerford, who fought at Agincourt,  and became a Very Important Person, extended it , andalso ordered wall paintings for the Chapel - these were completed in about 1440 and have survived (Although damaged by some unfortunate attempts at renovation in the 1930s) 

Medieval wall painting of St George

Sadly, St George's dragon seems to have been lost, but there are other paintings, of the coat of arms, for instance, as well as some rather nice (and naked) cherubs painted on the beams.

So far as I can gather, the fortunes of the Hugerfords peaked with Walter  - a few of them picked the wrong side during the Wars of the Roses and lost their heads and the castle, but then another Walter sucked up to Henry VII and got it back. 

THen there were a few murders - one Lady Hungerford was executed for having murdered her first husband (I suspect her error may have been getting the servants to help burn his body), but she survived for a quite a long time and did not get 'caught' until her second husband (the HUngerford of the day) died and she had less power. 

Another Lady Hungerford was imprisoned and starved by her husband, in one of the towers, surviving through the help of village women passing food to her through the windows. She wrote to Thomas Cromwell about it (He did nothing, but the letter survived as a record of her claims)  Her husband wound up being executed by Henry VIII for treason, witchcraft,  homosexuality and, probably, being too closely associated with Cromwell. He was the first and only man to be executed for homosexulaity in the Tudor period, and was executed with Cromwell, so it seems likely that his being Cromwell's agent and associate may have had more to do with his fall than his sexuality.

Yet another Walter bought back the castle and improved it again, in the 1550s, then a little later, two Hungerford half-brothers picked opposite sides in the Civil War (and their fight over it resulted in the only military action associated with the Castle, since presumably Farleigh Hungerford is devoid of any real military or strategic importance)

Edward 'the Spendthrift' Hungerford sold the castle to pay his debts in 1686, so after nearly 4 centuries, the family left, and the castle went downhill.

THe tower fell down after Victorian teen tearaways set fire to the ivy covering it, which, it turned out, was all that was holding it up.

It's now a nice site to visit, there are lovely views, and we enjoyed it a lot. 

After sustaining ourselves with ice cream, ands buying some English Heritage wine to take home, we headed across to Wells, as it's a cathedral my friend hasn't visited  before.

It's my home town, of course, and so familiar to me, but we dis more touristy stuff, ate lunch outside the Bishop's PAlace, admired this season's new cygnets on the moat (and one of last year's cygnets, near the path, channelling Hot Fuzz)

Swan

Then we went round the cathedral, admired the clock and the Doctor Who locations, (There  was a rehearsal going on for a concert at the time)

And of course also admired the Anthony Gormley statue and  Vicar's Close

A very nice day out , I thought!

Paterson Joseph at the Bath Festival

 Five years ago, I went to Wilton's Music Hall in London, to see a one-man play, Sancho, an Act of Remembrance, written and performed by Paterson Joseph and learned for the first time about an extra ordinary man named Charles Ignatius Sancho, born enslaved in around 1729, who , after being brought to the UK eventually ran away, and, with the help of the Duke of Montagu, an abolitionist, learned to read, was employed by the Duke (eventually as butler) before starting his own business, owning property and therefore,  entitled to vote,  becoming the first (known) Black Briton to vote in an English General Election. He was also active in the abolitionist movement, a musician, composer, and writer. His portrait was painted by Gainsborough.

2 years after his death in 1780, a selection of his letters was published, making his the first published collection of letters by a Black British writer.

I Enjoyed the play, and was fascinated by his story, so went out and bought a copy of the letters, which were interesting.

Paterson Joseph has now written a novel,  The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho

He came to Bath, as part of the Bath Festival, so I went along.

It was an excellent evening - given that Paterson Joseph is a professional actor, it's no surprise that his readings were excellent, and the conversation, including a Q&A, very interesting. He explained that he'd become interested in Sancho partly because he wanted to be in a period drama and kept getting told that "there were no black people in England then", so started looking for a real person who it might be possible to use, which led to his one-man paly about Sancho, and on a more serious level, wanted an answer to the question he, and other black britons get all the time 'but where are you really from?', and to be able to look at  history in England, and how black people fit in, and have always fitted in. 

It was very interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading the novel (although I hope that he isn't planning to give up acting!), and I enjoyed getting to say hello when I got my copy signed! 

Man in Hat sits on Chair - Charles is Officially Blinged

I have mixed feelings about this Coronation marlarkey. 

I'm not a Royalist, and the fuss and public expense of the thing, (which has apparently cost us around £100M)  at a time when record numbers of people are relying on foodbanks, the NHS is on its knees,  and with all the other issues we have,  grates somewhat, as does the sycophantic approach of the media and the assumption that this is something we are all excited about or united by. 

I happened to be on London the weekend before the coronation, and the displays seems a bit excessive and slightly embarrassing.

View from Piccadilly Circus along Piccadilly

That said, my tolerance for small, locally sourced events is rather higher.  Partly, I think, because it mostly (At least where I live) to be small scale and to be things which local people have organised, rather than anything imposed from outside, and they have a slightly endearing amateur flavour. 

I like that it is giving people the opportunity to make their own art and celebrations - we have a group in the village who make knitted / crocheted  displays for the bridge over the stream, and while I liked the little crocheted chicks they did at easter best, they have clearly enjoyed themselves with their coronation display!

Cardboard and crochet fence decoration

Equally, I don't begrudge the fact that the Parish Council has spent a little money on some bunting (and hideous banners featuring poor choices of font and and a more-than-usually unflattering photograph of the king) - there seem to be a fair number of people who want to go to the coronation picnic, even if they would probably be equally happy to go to a non-coronation picnic with bouncy castles and cream teas. I don't have the slightest desire to join in, but I don't mind others doing so! 

Not excessive at all, obviously...

I was visiting my parents, and we did watch most of the ceremony.  I have to admit, the sheer ridiculous theatricality of the actual ceremony, and the history of it, is quite interesting. It hadn't occurred to me that he would actually sign the coronation oath, for instance, and the solemn presentation and return of things such as the spurs, the swords and so on was quite bizarre. (Apparently no one knows, any longer, what the origin of the armills (bracelets) is, and although they were remade for Charles II's coronation as (like most of the regalia, the originals were lost after the civil war) they weren't actually used then, or at any further coronations until now, although they are apparently mentioned in the traditional service!) 

It's all totally bonkers.

Man in hat sits on chair

 My parents continue to be active bellringers, and I do it for special events like family weddings. As with the Queen's funeral, there was an intention to have as many churches as possible have ringing for the Coronation, and as, unlike the funeral, there was time to plan, the Central Council of Church Bellringers ran a campaign 'Ring for the King' to try to attract new ringers for the event, so lots of people have been learning to ring for the first time. 

In my parents village, the ringing was scheduled to be at 3 p.m., partly as the church had been set up with a big screen so that those who wanted could watch the coronation there, with refreshments, and partly as at least one of the regular ringers wanted to join in but had to work. Which worked out quite well, as it meant that we had plenty of time to watch the show, have lunch and then amble down to the church. 

Decorations outside the church

The church and church hall had been decorated (I think there was going to be street party, and the regular pop-up pub, on the Sunday, hence all the bunting) - I particularly liked the efforts made in the church by the flower arrangers!

Flowery crown!

We rang Rounds and Call Changes - including the 'Coronation Peal'  (Not an actual peal, but a specific set of calls designed for the coronation) 

Which went pretty well.

After which , we went back home and, a little later, enjoyed some home made scones and cream, purely on the basis that a member of the family commented on FB that they'd done so, and it seemed like a good idea!

My parents, both of whom are old enough to have been around for the last coronation (and had comments to make about the commentators wittering on about 'once in a lifetime' events) did have a few comments to make about their memories - both were pretty young - my dad remembers going to a neighbour's house to watch it on television, (And the television, rather than the event, being the exciting part!) and then being taken to the cinema to watch it in colour a few weeks later.  He also did rather well on the souvenir front, being bought a die-cast model of the coach and horses (it apparently came in different sizes and prices, depending on how deep the pockets of your friends or family were - his was the smallest size, and is now rather battered, having been played with over the years!)  and also a souvenir commemorative coin, with a rather less flattering portrait than the one on the real currency! 

My mother was given a souvenir bible, although whether these were given to all children, or if it was through her local church or Sunday School, isn't entirely clear. It was  certainly presented, rather than being bought as a souvenir like the things my dad has, as it's definitely not  the kind of thing which my grandparents would have bought for her!

All together, a rather odd day, to say the least!

A small personal milestone!

 I have been donating blood fairly regularly since I was about 18, starting when I was a student and the lure of free chocolate biscuits was the biggest appeal, and while I've had a few small gaps, i've managed to keep it up pretty well.  

And this week,I reached a personal milestone, giving my 75th donation.  Apparently,the average woman has about 9 pints of blood, so 75 is over 8 whole bodies worth. Just as well they don't try to take it all at once! 

Me with my 75th pint

So, here I am, feeling quite pleased with myself, and looking forward to my free Club biscuit!

And, if you happen to be eligible do consider signing up to donate - here - (you can check if you are eligible here - who-can-give-blood )

The Motive and the Cue - National Theatre

I enjoy Mark Gatiss's  work, so when I saw that he was appearing at the National Theatre in a new play by Jack Thorne, I  immediately suggested to a couple of my theatre-going friends that we go to see it.   

We went on Saturday, a week after the first performance, so still in previews.

The play, The Motive and the Cue is about the 1964 production, on Broadway, of Hamlet, starring RIchard Burton and directed by SIr John Gielgud - it's set mainly in the rehearsal room (with some scenes in Burton and Taylor's  or Gielgud's rooms) and explores the relationship between them, and their attempts to overcome the differences in their styles and approach to the play.

Neither of the protagonists is immediately likeable, but the performances are excellent - Gatiss is superb, his Gielgud is a poignant figure, anxious about his career and ongoing relevance, struggling to cope with Burton's volatility and challenging behaviour, and at times, very vulnerable (there's a scene with him meeting a sex worker that's beautifully done, pointing up his loneliness and vulnerability)

There's a big cast, many of whom don't get a lot to do or say, and I'm not sure that Tuppence Middleton really manages a full on ELizabeth Taylor, but I thoroughly enjoyed the play, and Gatiss in particular. I would love to see him in some Shakespeare - perhaps Hamlet , or perhaps Henry IV .

The title comes from Hamlet's 'Rogue and Peasant Slave soliloquy: - 

"What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,

That he should weep for her? What would he do,

Had he the motive and the cue for passion

That I have? He would drown the stage with tears

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,

Make mad the guilty and appal the free,

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed

The very faculties of eyes and ears."

The play is at the National until 15th July,and definitely well worth seeing if you have the opportunity.