St Peter and Paul, Clare

Back to normal with today's blog after yesterdays bit of fun! I certainly didn't have to go off in a strop because of lack of comments and I'm glad it made a few people smile.


When DiL, Willow and I were in Clare to visit son on his dig we popped into town to the church because it's in my book.

Clare is another small town/large village with a big church

 Many of the churches in this part of Suffolk are big, built or refurbished in the medieval period on the money made from wool.

The porch - not as wide inside as it is outside

The sun-dial instructing people to Go About Your Business/ Get On With Their Work! (or maybe it said this because lots of business like tax collecting would have taken place in the church porch) - it was almost telling the right time apart from being in British Summertime.

Bell Ringers Gallery in the tower

Another very old chest which would once have held all the churches wealth and documents.

This is why the porch looks bigger outside than inside because half of it has this stairs leading up to a gallery. Thought to have been built by Sir Thomas Barnadiston the owner of Clare Priory in Jacobean times it is known as the Priory Pew

This large beer jug, called a gotch,  is the reason that this church gets a mention in the 100 treasures book. It was presented to the bell-ringers by the vicar in 1729 and holds 32 pints. It's inscribed' Clare Ringers 1729' and  campana sonant canore' which translates to 'the bells ring in harmony'. The vicar Revd Matthew Bell owned The Six Bells pub which was in the corner of the churchyard and his family owned The Crown Inn also in the town

When we were there a man was polishing all these beautiful brass candlesticks from the choir stalls. He said it took several hours each month, a  labour of love I think

View down the nave - (should have moved Willows pushchair out of the photo!)

 More HERE on the Suffolk Churches website


Back Tomorrow
Sue

Hints for Happy Blogging

 

• Try not to worry about Trolls......... they have problems, not you
• Do publish nasty comments so everyone can see them and work out who's being nasty but then delete and ignore them
• Delete computer generated comments from other countries without mentioning anything about them
• Be polite - unless you have comments from idiots
• Don't go off in a huff if you don't get many comments, people are probably busy with real life
• Don't believe everything you read in a blog
• Ignore anyone who gives you hints for happy blogging!!

Back Tomorrow.....probably................ unless I get no comments and go off in a huff!
Sue

October Country Days

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  

L.M. Montgomery

 I had a brainwave for another book to use for photos of the months of the year.

So from Tasha Tudor's lovely children's book 'A Time to Keep'

The October pages

(Tasha Tudor was a very well known children's writer and illustrator in the USA and worldwide, through much of the C20)

 October was originally the eighth month of the Roman calendar. The Anglo Saxons called it Wynmonath - the wine making month or Winterfylleth meaning the full moon heralding winter.

There is often a short period of stormy weather in the first half of the month, followed by St Luke's little summer -  dry days around the 18th and heavy rain at the end of the month  around  St Simon's and St Jude's day  on the 28th (according to one of my books)

In the past villagers relied on pannage - the law allowing them access to the woods for their pig - to enable it to fatten on acorns and beech mast before it was killed at the end of the month

A good October and a good blast

Will blow the hog his acorn and mast.

There are so  many weather sayings this month......... mostly predictions for the prospects for the coming winter.

Much rain in October, much wind in December

For every fog in October there will be a snowfall in winter 

Warm October, cold February.

A full moon without frost in October and there will be no frost until the full moon in November


This is how John Clare starts his long poem about October  written nearly 200 years ago

The Shepherd's Calendar - October 

Nature now spreads around in dreary hue
A pall to cover all that summer knew
Yet in the poets solitary way
Some pleasing objects for his praise delay
Something that makes him pause and turn again
As every trifle will his eye detain

It's the colours of October that detain my eyes............ The Sumac is gloriously red and orange again and there are red hips and haws everywhere

Back Tomorrow

Sue