A Soldiers Grave

While being at St. Kenelm and right after the walk and discovery of the legend of Kenelm, our walk continued in the cemetery itself.  I was busy snapping a few shots at some horses in a pasture across the barb wire fence where it ran beside the church grounds...... Andy strolled silently through the grave markers reading stones which fascinates him..... and he mindfully calculates dates and he even figures age ratio's for whatever century.  Math bores me so I don't pay much attention to such things.
 Unfortunately he found a new grave which always brings you home from looking at historical place marks and into the 'now' of things.  He spent a good amount of time on the rise of the hill that held the mound of fresh flowers and I eventually made my way towards it and when I got in hearing range,   ''This is a soldier'' he said.  Too new to have a headstone placed and so he was reading the temporary paper placard.  
I'm usually the one that fires up the computer first thing in the door from an outing.... finding out the history while it's fresh in my mind of any particular place.  But he was interested in the soldier's story and found his name in the news.  This has really stayed with him as he said yesterday that he couldn't get it out of his mind, maybe because of being at the grave site itself......seeing this persons finality and following it up with his story... Kind of brings the matter closer to you. 

Is it morbid to be walking in cemetery's?  We probably need to expand our hobby away from the solemnity a little.

*A link to the news story*
http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/local/8323404.Halesowen_comes_to_a_standstill_as_local_hero_is_buried_with_full_military_honours/

St. Kenelm

I seem to be a habitual church/cemetary goer......... and not as in, sitting in a pew for the Sunday service kind.  We are strapped for money and if my fascination wasn't enough before, it seems one can go for a nice outing to these places..... have a peaceful walk without much disturbance from others and do it for nothing.  Most often I end up learning something along the way of some of England's oldest and well preserved landmarks of time.

We stumbled upon the church of St. Kenelm one night with our windows rolled down in the car and heard the call of something bird like probably..... I'm not sure if it was an owl but could have been.  We stopped and listened and adjusting my eyes to the dark trying to see anything making the strange call while having no idea what was on the other side other than an awesome night sky with the top of the church forefront of view and of the city lights below the Clent hills behind....... we decided that it was a must to come back in daylight and so the other day, we did.

Walking around this church and grounds gave off feelings....the ones I get when around such history and/or activity.......not sure which or if both but it's a vibe of sorts.  Having no idea of St. Kenelms history, I thought it was just going to be a 'walk around' with a few shots of an old church but after starting the walk down a path adjacent to the church it felt like something more.  Could have been these strange markers or the air itself, I don't know.

The path started down a slight hill and then a set of land timbered steps down further and I realized there was water running..... but the steps came after finding this plaque that gave a hint of what this was about...

After getting to the bottom of the hill and steps this tree full of offerings and incense that usually come from a paganistic ritual explains a lot of why I was feeling as I was......  usually the energy of the activity itself leaves an essence and a vibe and I possibly was tuning into that.

It doesn't have to be pagan of course that someone would want to  leave a marker as in the ribbons above, it's just that it is usually best represented as pagan people tend to celebrate or honor in just these ways.  The wooden carved markers, I have no idea and can't find how they came to be rather the church, the Trust or a group.
I still however was unsure the significance of this and the plaque other than he was a Saint and he died probably near the spring.  Until I came upon a second marker.

 Okay, so this told me, not just died but murdered.  ''Wow'', is what I believe I said.  Wasn't until I got home where I was able to look up this history and this saint to find he was just a boy, or so legend has it and that he was a prince heir to be king.

Now, take St Kenelm's life which I've been reading;
He was Kenulph's son, the nobel king
Of Mercia. Now St Kenelm dreamt a thing
Shortly before they murdered him one day.
He saw his murder in a dream, I say . . .

                                                         
                                                       Chaucer The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Legend

The small church of St Kenelm stands with a handful of houses in the village of Romsley, nestling in the Clent Hills in Worcestershire. The church was built in the 1400s on the site of an earlier religious settlement.

According to legend, following the death of the Mercian king Kenulph in c.819, his young son Kenelm became king at the age of seven. He was put under the watchful eye of his sister Quendryh and foster-father Askebert. But they were both plotting to kill the boy king. One attempt at poisoning him had failed, so it was agreed to take him hunting in the Clent Hills where he would meet some 'accident'.

The night before they left on their hunting trip Kenelm had a dream in which he climbed a large tree decorated with flowers and lanterns. From this high vantage point he could see the four quaters of his kingdom. Three bowed down before him but the fourth began to chop away at the tree until it fell. Kenelm transformed into a white bird and flew away to saftey. On waking the young king related his dream to his nanny, a wise old woman called Wlwen from Winchcombe, gifted in interpreting dreams. She wept, for she knew that the boy was destined to die.

Kenelm resigns himself to his fate and follows Askbert to the Clent Hills. It is here, while kneeling in prayer one evening, that the boy king is beheaded by Askbert and his body hidden under a thorn tree. Kenelm's spirit rises in the form of a dove carrying a scroll and flies away to Rome where it drops the scroll at the feet of the Pope. The message on the scroll reads: 'Low in a mead of kine under a thorn, of head bereaft, lieth poor Kenelm king-born'.

Missionaries are dispatched to England where they miraculously discover the body of Kenelm. On the slopes of the Clent Hills they encounter an old woman who tends a herd of cattle. One of her herd strays from the rest and stands guard by a thorn bush. Even though it does not eat or drink it never goes hungry. Taking this as a sign, the missionaries begin to dig and discover the boy's body. From this site a spring begins to flow. This is the legend of St Kenelm.  

Empty

I'm pretty dried up when it comes to creating a post or writing of any kind..... Seems I don't have any thoughts other than the upcoming MRI for my neck and then hopefully a ticket home.  I'm ready to go but just not ready to face the heat once I get there.  It has been a record breaking summer for extreme temps.  Coming from a summer spent just wishing for sunlight and running the heater...... I think I would just drop over like a dead fly once I hit the humidity that Georgia has to offer.  

It also seems that everyone has either forgot their blogger page or like me, has nothing to really post about.  Hopefully we'll all continue to write something and have one another to give feedback occasionally.   I think I'm going to selectively recruit some other people and maybe give it a push start into a little more interaction.    Maybe I'll have something more to say to help keep this thing alive...... I don't know.

Moon Search

I went last night in search of Luna.... I had a bone to pick with her.  Always when coming into full phase, seems I have to go through a rough patch.  I want to know why. Seriously though, did go looking for the full moon and seems she wasn't brilliant enough to show through the thick cloud cover.

Most people go out to pubs, clubs and theaters...... I on the other hand find old churches to go romping in.  This is a cemetary of an 15th century church in Frankley.  Luna trying to peak over the landscape and giving somewhat of a haunted glow over this celtic cross.
The view was awesome, my photos however are not. Instead of trashing them, decided to play and put a few effects on some otherwise useless pictures.

July ~ Buck moon

Bucks (moose & deer) grow their first antlers during this month, thus the name buck moon. This is a very masculine moon, so it's a good time to work on the physical things in your life. Either physical in body, or things that need some physical attention.

Grandfather

My English grandfather a skilled carpenter, from Birmingham, sailed from Liverpool to Ellis Island and became an American citizen. He was an adventurous man traveling west from Alabama to take part in the gold rush in the Klondike. Handwritten journals he kept of his journey are housed at the Jefferson County Library archives in Birmingham, Alabama. His name is mentioned in Jack London's book 'The Call Of The Wild'. A fascinating man and I wish I could have known him.

Before leaving England he had served for both the Royal Army and the Royal Navy and it is said he was part of the Queen's guard all before the age of 22.  A letter was discovered from a relative that he had written Washington DC with his take on how to proceed in a particular advancement within the Civil war. A reply letter did in fact come thanking him but pretty much assuring Mr. Biddle that all was under control. I find it humorous but really in keeping with a a particular kind of personality handed down to his sons, one of them, my father. My father was an older man when I was born. Born in 1909 and my grandfather who lived an amazing full life but he died when my father was only 11 years old, from a fall off of a lodge he was building. Many structures remain in the town of Mentone, Alabama that he was responsible for.

                    (Another photo Joseph Biddle with my grandmother, Besse Cook)

Time to Lighten Up

In more ways than one, I need to lighten up.  Negativity has closed in on me and I can't stand myself.  This is not me.  Coming here, surrounded with good people has been a start.  My blogs may not be headline news but it's helpful for me.  Gemini the communicator.  Sitting idle all this while is driving me nuts!  Lack of correspondence from people I thought gave a shit, has put me in a funk to say the least.  But after talking with a very good friend she informed me she missed the old Karla, the one that sticks her finger up to the world, dusts the scum off her sandals and moves on to bigger and better and I'll add, brighter things.  So the crow may need to go, well maybe not, but I'm changing this dark, dank background into something cheery.  I come on here and it feels like death or something.  I like dark because it's helpful on the eyes....... but damn!

Quote by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us.
And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

Heavy contrast of thought both for showing this photo with this post and while sitting within the walls of Canterbury Cathedral on a beautiful day five years ago.

I love this quote, even though I don't use the God word often myself, I do believe of that higher power within us.  I usually avoid any read with the over usage of God in its text, to be honest.  I don't understand when written as a person outside ourselves.  

This quote is about fear of self. 

Today

Woke up in a seriously pissy mood this morning.  All I knew is I want to go home.  Rocking on 5 months and that's usually my limitation.  I know what will start up once I've reached it too... more pissy moods and nothing will be good enough or able to compare to home.  Gosh, I'm such a bitch about it too.  It's terrible.  I get very tired of being alone.  Everyday the guilt sets in that I'm selfish and I should be home with my family doing grandmother things, instead of here doing nothing, basically.  Andy has to work ALL the time because that's what he does.  And because I don't work here, I'm left with too much time to over think plenty.  My new found feelings about a few friends has become so intense I don't trust it.  I don't trust my thinking right now because I'm not busy.  By that I mean..... I'm too idle in my life. If I was busier I wouldn't have time to think beyond the surface.  Doesn't matter... don't think I'll be changing my mind much on that subject anyway.  Just a random post of what the day has been like..   My ass hurts from sitting on it.  Going to walk across the room now...   Four walls and boredom, damn.  I may get really resourceful and walk upstairs in a minute.  And where the hell is the sun?? 

Pussy Cats

Binks and Poppet, the two hobbit like cats... 

Ah yes, they look all innocent right now... give it a minute, a plant will become a carnival ride and potting soil no longer for the pots but for the potty.  

Funny little beasts though.  Binks the monster size moggy all smug and snobbish with his attitude and Mary Poppet, petite tab with switch blades..

Time

 

 

"Time is priceless, yet it costs us nothing. You can do anything you want with it, but you can't own it. You can spend it, but you can't keep it. And once you've lost it, there is no getting it back. It's just gone."

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

Dance

How can I tell you out loud

As I look out into those woods at
Every possibility and equal mystery.

About sounds that speak only to me.
How can I tell you with all the pretense like you,
That it speaks to me

Dance

Smoke circles coming from fire lit pasts,
Only in my mind. Resting just above treetops
And the glow lighting my path
Telling me

Dance

You see me there staring
In the distance and then we speak
Something trivial- I answer but how can I say I don't hear you
Really
Music is playing just for me

Dance

You are so smart with your retained words and notions
Still so clueless
Your life wrapped up in a solitary world with
Orbital motions of no description. What defines you is
The mystery….you know the names but lost to its meaning
Unenlightened to the

Dance

I knew

Yes, I knew it but
seems I chose to ignore it,
hope upon hope I was wrong.

Yes, I've been down this road
So familiar in port
steady with plan
twas almost a comfort.
I've seen you before and I swear it true
All manner and form foretold and due.

Yes, so predictable I honestly claim,
Tarot and candle on the table despite
the faces have changed
either by shadow or light
all still is exactly the same.

Yes I foreseen but
Shelter I sought and I've
no other to blame,
despite goodness or laugh or banter now lost
the outcome is always the same.

Can't share your secrets
Untruths reside
Mistook my trust
an hoped I'd abide.
I warned you to listen, take heed
and be sure, paths would be different ,
the journey untried.

The act of believing
and with unwaivering faith
seems only to end in pain.
Someone will be wrong in the end
The stars predict it my bane.

Is it written somewhere
A predestined fate,
As I look to the gods
Their counsel laid great...

Yes, integrity only gets you so far
while you watch all the world at play,
I sit alone a room thick with beliefs
as candlelights flicker and sway
and now no one is left in my way.

KBH

Tawny Owl

St. Weonard's Church

Tawny Owl perched in a old Yew Tree inside the church yard, cemetery.... This guy allowed us to see him. I was so excited but hesitant too... with ill omen's attached to seeing owls... and having experience with that... I wasn't sure that was a good thing or not. But he/she was very beautiful.
Location: Heredfordshire, England