Month: April 2019

Wandering back in time through a real medieval village – Reblog – Alli Templeton

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 12 Comments

Even then, if you had the money, life was not bad! A medieval village!

Writing about Easter in the Middle Ages has got me thinking about village life back then. It’s harder to pin down the lives of ordinary medieval people because they left little of themselves behind. I’ve walked over a fair few settlement earthworks in my time, those spectral lumps and bumps in the land, but the other day I got to wander around a very special place: a living medieval village. So come with me on a wander around the enchanting homes and buildings of a real community from the Middle Ages.

swineherd and tithe.JPGCosmeston Medieval Village

Welcome to Cosmeston Medieval Village in South Wales, the remains of which were discovered in the late 1970s during the construction of the country park in which it now stands. Named after the Costentin family from northern France, this was part of the Anglo-Welsh border lands partitioned out after the Norman Conquest to keep the unruly…

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LIFE AS A DEPUTY ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 39 Comments

I live in a small town. Just under 13,000 people call Uxbridge home. The village, or as we say around here, "downtown," has a classic brick town hall, circa 1879, an elegant old library, and several other historic buildings. Our neighboring town, Millville, makes Uxbridge look like Metropolis. Their town hall is a unit in an … Continue reading LIFE AS A DEPUTY ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER – Marilyn Armstrong

THE MOST NIMBLE OF ALL SQUIRRELS – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 23 Comments

RDP Monday: Nimble This is our squirrel. He shows up in the middle of the day and hangs around, in the most literal sense, for hours. He wraps himself around the feeder like a fur coat, hanging by one paw or two, upside down, or completely twisted into a configuration that's hard to figure out. … Continue reading THE MOST NIMBLE OF ALL SQUIRRELS – Marilyn Armstrong

DO WE WANT TO ELECT ANYONE? – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 34 Comments

I was just glancing through another post on The New Yorker asking whether Joe Biden is electable. I have read similar stories in the Washington Post and other newspaper, online and offline about every potential candidate. It's almost as if we don't want to find a viable candidate because there's something wrong with everyone. I … Continue reading DO WE WANT TO ELECT ANYONE? – Marilyn Armstrong

THE BRIGHTEST DAFFODILS – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 15 Comments

DAFFODILS! I took these the last time we had sunshine, so it must have been Wednesday. Since then, it has been cold and rainy ... but at least I got the daffodils when they were at the finest. There may be some sunshine next week, but I'm beginning to think we are living in a … Continue reading THE BRIGHTEST DAFFODILS – Marilyn Armstrong

A UNIQUE PRODUCTION – BY ELLIN CURLEY

/ Ellin Curley / 9 Comments

I recently had a unique, rich and rewarding experience. I wrote and helped put together a multimedia theatrical production about a horrific pogrom in 1919 that wiped out over half of the 1200 inhabitants of a Ukrainian town called Felshtin. We performed it on April 14, 2019, in New York City to a very appreciative … Continue reading A UNIQUE PRODUCTION – BY ELLIN CURLEY

BUCOLIC CREATURES AND THE FEEDERS ON THE DECK … Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 39 Comments

FOWC with Fandango — Bucolic How much more bucolic can one get than spending hours staring out the window, watching nature nibble its way through our feeders? These days, every time I get up for any reason, the first thing I do is look out the window to see what's on the feeders. Early in the … Continue reading BUCOLIC CREATURES AND THE FEEDERS ON THE DECK … Marilyn Armstrong