Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Time Passages


The other day we went for a leafy Autumnal walk around a nearby village where I used to live when I first came to Norfolk. This is the cottage I once rented:

and this is the view from its front door:


Some of the incumbents of the Churchyard had been born 300 odd years ago which makes my 40 years in this area seem quite short.

1972 seemed such a different time. It was as close to the Battle of Britain as to the Twin Tower attacks in New York. Edward Heath was Prime Minister and having ineffectual strife with the Miners and the Dockers. Ziggy Stardust was released and we were all still coming to terms with the loss of the half crown and shilling. Margaret Rutherford, Edward VII and Cecil Day Lewis passed away and Liam Gallagher and Geri Halliwell came into the world to replace them. The pace of change seemed faster than ever.

And yet when I look round this village it has hardly changed at all. Yes the egg packing station is now houses. So is the little cafe that used to close for lunch. The overall look and feel of the place is much the same as it would have been to the churchyard occupants. It has seen off Disraeli, Gladstone, Heath and Thatcher and gone about its business. Apart from egg packing and cafe lunches of course.

This doesn't get the use it once did:


  But the remarkable thing is that this has only gained 2 hours in 3 Centuries:


10 comments:

Tim said...

Edward VII?

Rog said...

Yes Tim. He led the Pedant's Revolt but was disowned by the House of Windsor over apostophes.

Z said...

Evocative as always, Rog. And I love the thought of a cafe that closed for lunch.

Richard WalkL said...

That looks remarkably like Kenninghall, the village where my niece lives - East Church Street. Only been there once but very nice.

Rog said...

Z: I can't believe it now either Z - but it did close down! I wish I'd taken a picture of their opening time card.

Richard: You must have super human powers of geo-spacial memory to have got that from one visit and a picture of a single cottage. You should have gone into surveying or something like that. I bet you can tell me if the tide is in or out.

Tim said...

Rog, my bro certainly has superhuman powers, but don't overestimate them. Over the weekend I had to explain to him that you don't plug an electric guitar directly into the mains.

Richard WalkL said...

Chartered Surveyors, some of whom do indeed have des pouvoirs surhumains, don't normally play guitars.
And at 9:50 tonight your local tide will "peak" at a miserly 2.4 metres.
Nicky lives about 6 houses from your former charming-looking cottage.

savannah said...

this is what i'd like to see when i cross the pond again! london is lovely, but there is so muh more to see outside of the city! xoxo

Zig said...

mmmm just lovely Rog, and what a fantastic idea for a cafe! I bet it saved on washing up.

mig bardsley said...

I love the leafy picture.
I'm now trying to work out how a sundial could gain hours. It must be that the hours have got lost, surely?