Mayfest

Yesterday was Mayfest in Winchester, a celebration of traditional and contemporary music, dance and song. In the High Street they had a couple of Morris Dancing groups. I think of it as a very traditional English dance, although it's not something I've ever done, nor anyone I know of! There were some other Morris Dancers I featured on the blog back in December 2010. As you can see from the sky it's been glorious weather here most of the week!

Twenty Seven and a Half

Boot scraper

An old fashioned boot scraper seen outside a house in Hyde. Sorry for lack of postings I have been away last week with work & at other times just downright lazy!

Quirky window

When I walk to my piano lessons I pass by this house which has this unusual sculpture in the bedroom window! Well the sculpture is not unusual in itself but its location is!

Chesil Theatre

The Chesil Theatre was open as part of the Heritage Days event and we paid a visit. Behind the bar was this stone head. It's believed to be from the late 12th century made from limestone from the Isle of Wight. It's not certain whether the stone head was part of St Peter's Church (where the Chesil Theatre resides) but as St Peter's Church was certainly in existence in the 12th century.

Walk this way

On the outside of the cathedral next to the walkway that leads to the Cathedral Close is a Latin inscription carved into the stone. Here is a close up



There are 2 hands pointing in opposite directions, the top one pointing to the Cathedral entrance and the bottom hand to the passageway into the Close. The Latin words are curiously written in the form of a puzzle which you have to read up and down, but they roughly translate as:

"Walk that way if you want to pray, walk this way if you want to go through"

Until the 17th century there was no passageway here into the Close and people used the cathedral as a thoroughfare. During the mid 1600s the passageway known as the Slype was opened up with the Latin inscription as a polite reminder!

Furry thing

I saw this furry thing in the High Street today. Not exactly sure what it was all about as there was no-one else there with it and it didn't seem to be advertising anything anything at the time - maybe just out for a walk...!

Hampshire Hog

Due to Hampshire's long association with pigs and boars, natives of the county have been given the nickname of Hampshire hogs since the 18th century. This particular Hog is outside of the Hampshire County Council offices which are situated here in Winchester.

Bench with dog

In the Dean Garnier Garden at the Cathedral I spotted this stone bench with a little stone dog underneath.

** I am on holiday now for a week so I have scheduled some photos whilst away - sorry if I don't respond to any comments straightaway - thanks for stopping by **

Sarsen stone

What are the oldest things in Winchester? Not the Cathedral, ruins nor Roman mosaics, it is these Sarsen Stones. Sometimes known as druid stones, these are natural Sandstone blocks left after the last Ice Age. There are a number of these stones scattered around Winchester which most people pass by without even noticing, this one is in the car park of the Leisure Centre.

These stones were much sought after as markers, bollards and foundation stones. Because of their usefulness, it is reasonably certain that not many of them remain in the same position as when they were deposited from the ice. Sarsen stone is not native to the Winchester area and was often used as the stone of choice by the stone circle builders, Stonehenge is made of similar Sarsen stone.

G is for Graffiti

At what point does graffiti become something historic? Here on a pillar in the cathedral we see someone has carved their initials IE and the year 1722 into the stone. This is an interesting piece of history and shows how old the building is (although it is much older than 1722). To the left some 244 years later we see someone has also carved their initials SB 1966, blatant vandalism, defacing this beautiful ancient pillar with anything so modern as the 60's!

For more 'G' themed posts see ABC Wednesday

Post Box

Near to Winchester College is this Victorian post box is set into a shop window