19 September 2020

Friday

Gargoyle on the porch of the parish church at Wrangle

Where land and sea merge and apparently the sun always shines brightly from a sky blue coloured firmament. We are leaving the east coast of Lincolnshire in a few hours. It is just after midnight now and as usual I am up  late with the owls, the badgers and bats and all other creatures of the night.

Around four o'clock yesterday, I drove a couple of miles to the village of Wrangle for another walk on the sea banks. Shirley opted to stay back at Curlew Cottage reading and  knitting so it was pretty much the first time we had been apart in seven days.

Earlier we had been back in Boston itself - walking out to the port area. Then we paid historic Fydell House a visit. Built in the early eighteenth century by a wealthy wine merchant, the house was frequently visited by the famous botanist Sir Joseph Banks whose family home was at Revesby Abbey - some twelve miles away.

Another visitor was Joe Kennedy - father of JFK and Bobby and Ted. Joe became the US ambassador to Great Britain in 1938 and  his first official visit away from London was to Boston - the town that gave his home city in Massachusetts its name. 

Fydell House, Boston

We were shown around by a guide called Martyn who seemed unaware that the elastic loops on his face mask were making his ears look deformed and comical. But he was a nice guy, a born and bred proud Bostonian and passionate about the old house where he is a regular volunteer guide.

in "The American Room" he showed us a photograph of Joe Kennedy speaking to invited guests. If World War II had not happened, Joe Kennedy might have won the Democrat ticket prior to the presidential election of 1940 - won by Franklin Roosevelt in a veritable landslide.

I will stop rabbiting on now and pick a few photographs to accompany this blogpost.

World War II pillbox on the sea bank

Young cattle at Freiston Shore wetland
__________________________________________________________________
R.I.P. Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died in the last few hours. 
A true champion of justice.

22 comments:

  1. So there is a relationship between Boston , Mass and your boston.
    Boston...

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    1. Yes. Our Boston is the daddy (or mummy) and Boston Massachusetts is the child.

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  2. The news about Ruth Bader Ginsberg has gutted me. Just devastating.

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    1. Already Trump will be plotting to lever in a right winger like the odious Brett Kavanaugh. She was small but she was a giant.

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  3. Oh to be a gargoyle. So ugly they are beautiful. I have a whole book full of photos of them - should I ever feel need to either amuse or frighten myself. My study's main desk runs along a window (top floor) where, when looking out, I find myself eye to eye with a couple of those strange carvings on the building opposite. They don't quite qualify as a GARGOYLEs as they are looking quite benign, but still.

    Have only just woken up to be greeted by the Ginsburg news, and her death's possible implications, knock-on effect. As someone (one of his supporters) said: "Trump is a lucky bastard". Actually he used another expression but as yours is a family friendly blog I won't quote him verbatim.

    Thanks for taking your readers on your travels; they are fun (and an education).

    U

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Good morning Ursula. You have woken up in a good mood. I think that carving on Wrangle church is perhaps a cat with a snake clamped between its teeth but as you are a qualified gargoylist you might know different.

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  4. The loss of Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a great one.

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    1. And at such a moment. Shame she couldn't hang on till November.

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  5. Thank you for your lovely post and pictures. I have enjoyed your holiday from afar. May you both have a safe journey home.

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  6. Another good day for both yourself and Shirley. Is she knitting baby things?
    Call me completely ignorant, but I have no idea who Ruth Bader Ginsburg/berg was. Must look her up since you all seem to be so shaken by her death. I have not watched or listened to any news in more than a week.

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    1. She was a champion of women's rights and of the rights of the downtrodden, fiercely using her position as a Supreme Court judge to press for justice and change.

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  7. The only time we visited Lincoln was for eldest son's passing out parade in the Air Force 1982. We did spend time looking around Lincoln Cathedral and I still have my little Lincoln Imp that I purchased all those years ago.
    Looks like the weather is being kind to you both.
    Briony
    x

    ReplyDelete
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    1. We are back home in Sheffield now and it is still sunny! What a lovely week. Why did your son pass out in 1982? Was he poorly? (Questions by The Yorkshire Imp!)

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  8. I'm honestly glad FDR won the ticket, because he was a phenomenal president. I sympathize with Martyn and his mask-straps. My masks often bend my ears forward and over time it gives me quite a headache! Love the gargoyle.

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    1. Yes. Franklin Roosevelt was a great president. Compared with him the current president seems like a worm - with apologies to any earthworms who feel insulted by this remark.

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  9. It all looks so peaceful there, so green and beautiful. I'm glad you two got to get away and spend some time together in that peace and beauty.

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    1. That is what I will remember of Boston - the peace and the simple beauty - as well as the massive cabbages!

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  10. Weren't pills massive during WW2? That's an incredible pill box😀. I know what is was really used for YP.

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    Replies
    1. Ha-ha! Keep taking the pills Dave! Or should I say Pils?

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  11. His ears might be like that all the time.

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    Replies
    1. At one point he adjusted his mask and the ears sprang back into a normal position.

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