Datchet Days

This is definitely off topic. I've been trying today to get trackback figured out. It boggles my mind. I managed to get it set up via Haloscan, but am not 100% sure of all the semantics of making it work. I'm going to try to track back to our not really up and running family blog, where I posted a couple of days ago about the trouble I'm having figuring out WordPress. Not sure if it will work or not, but here goes.....
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Heard this on the news on Friday but didn't see the online story until today. I especially liked the quote from the Tesco spokesperson at the end of the article.

Friday January 28, 03:03 PM Shetland pony goes shopping

[Press Association] Shoppers at a 24-hour supermarket told how they discovered a Shetland pony browsing in the aisles. The pony walked through the main entrance of the Pengam Green Tesco store in Cardiff. It trotted around the shop before neighing loudly and then leaving of its own accord.

Shopper Luke Hart, 25, from Newport, told the South Wales Echo: "It gave everyone a shock, and I think it was pretty scared itself. I had picked a few items of food and a Valentine's card and was queuing at the checkouts to wait to pay for them. Suddenly, a loud shriek came from behind me and I turned round and saw a Shetland pony had gone through the main door, past the barriers, into the main store and had begun to look around. It whinnied three times quite loudly and everyone seemed stunned - although it quickly turned to bemusement. Nobody could work out what it was doing there."

Wild horses are known to live on Pengam Moors, a few hundred yards from the Tesco store.

A Tesco spokesperson said: "Looks like our great value carrots have attracted more than the average shopper into Tesco this week."

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sur-plice
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English surplis, from Old French surpliz, from Medieval Latin superpellicium, from super- + pellicium coat of skins, from Latin, neuter of pellicius made of skins, from pellis skin
1: a loose white outer ecclesiastical vestment usually of knee length with large open sleeves

Cara completed her probationer's training for the choir and is now allowed to wear the surplice over her choir cassock. Two other girls, Amy and Tina also put on the surplice for the first time today.

At the beginning of today's church service there was a short induction ceremony. It went like this:

The Head Chorister, Andrew led the probationers to the Altar Step, followed by the Choirmaster, Janet and they all stood facing Caryll, the Curate.

Andrew: "I present to you Amy, Cara and Tina."

Caryll: "Have they completed their probationer's training?"

Janet: "They have."

Caryll: "Amy, Cara and Tina, the choir helps people worship God, so it is very important. Will you serve God by doing your very best in it?"

Amy, Cara & Tina: "I will, with God's help."

Caryll (taking Cara's hand) "Cara, I now admit you as a chorister. In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Janet then placed the surplice on the new chorister.

This was repeated for all the girls, first Amy, then Cara, then Tina. After which they all three knelt at the altar rail.

Caryll: "God bless you in our choir, and make you happy and useful in it. May God strengthen you to love and serve him now and all your life. Amen."

They all returned to the choir stall the service continued on from there. It was fun to watch the girls trying to get used to the baggy sleeves.


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Several months ago amazon.co.uk started offering DVD rentals by mail. We had not been renting movies here, in part because of the requirements Blockbuster had for getting a rental card. In the US it's usually bring in a major credit card so we can charge you if you don't bring it back. Here they wanted to see a copy of our rental agreement. (I think to confirm our address, but added with the fact that the shop is too far away was too much.) But, I'm digressing.

Last month I signed up to rent movies from amazon.co.uk. To receive 6 DVD's a month costs £9.99. That includes the postage, and a 10% discount if we decide to buy a DVD. They are posted from amazon's facility that is just up the M-25 from us, so they usually arrive the day after they are dispatched. So far it is working out very well for us.

So, just out of curiosity I looked at amazon.com today to see what DVD rental deal they offer. They don't!
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Can't beat a hot cup of tea and a biscuit or two on a cold afternoon.
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It's likely that I had completely blocked a part of the pantomime from my memory yesterday when I was describing the evening. But, this morning it will not stay blocked. It has stuck in my head in the form of the children's song Wind the Bobbin Up. At a couple of different times during the pantomime a group of about ten kids came out and sang a song and did the accompanying hand motions. Here are the words to one of them: Wind the Bobbin Up:

Wind the bobbin up
Wind the bobbin up
Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap.

Wind it back again
Wind it back again
Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap.

Point to the ceiling
Point to the floor
Point to the window
Point to the door.

Clap your hands together
One two three
Put your hands down on your knees.

There are hand motions as well, but thankfully I've been able to resist doing them!

This is not a nursery song that I've ever heard before. Not sure if it's a strictly British song or if it's just come on the scene since my kids got too old for songs like this. It does definitely have that annoying tendency of songs like that to stay stuck in your head. Be thankful you can't hear the tune as well!
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Click here to view a very short movie clip from the Pantomime.
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Pronunciation: 'pan-t&-"mIm
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin pantomimus, from pant- + mimus mime

2 a : an ancient Roman dramatic performance featuring a solo dancer and a narrative chorus
b : any of various dramatic or dancing performances in which a story is told by expressive bodily or facial movements of the performers
c : a British theatrical entertainment of the Christmas season based on a nursery tale and featuring topical songs, tableaux, and dances

Saturday evening we attended our first British Pantomime. Well, no, we didn't all attend. Cara and I attended. Steve, John and Philip participated. Originally Steve was to be the only participant, with a minor part singing with the chorus. As he went to practices it became apparent to him that he would be better put to use as stage crew. Then it didn't take long for him to recruit the boys as well. All this last week they were down at the Village Hall working on the sets, the lighting and practicing moving props on and off the stage during rehearsals.

This years pantomime was based on the story Aladdin. There were plenty of silly songs. Men dressed as women, women dressed as men, men in tights, men in tutu's, women in big ugly wigs. Puns about British politics and Datchet village life got snuck into the script. The actors frequently burst into song. The audience participated by booing when the bad guy came on the stage, shouting advise to the characters and singing along. It was quite good fun.

The evening lasted from 7:30 until 10PM. There was an intermission, during which the crowd flocked to the bar, then returned to their seats for the raffle drawing. Both Philip and John went around selling the tickets prior to the drawing. (£1 each) Philip did a brisk business in his tam-o-sham cap with a glued in red wig. (At one point he also had a small flock of girls standing around him, telling him how silly he looked.)

The guys were a big hit with the Panto crew. Apparently the actors usually do the set changes and so on and they were thrilled with the help. The guys have been told that if we aren't here next year, the Pantomime is going on the road to find us in America.

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'One church a week' faces closure

[BBC News] 45% of Grade 1 listed buildings in England and Wales are churches. More than one church a week could close to worshippers in the next few years, while the UK stands to lose priceless heritage, a preservation body claims. Unless new and imaginative uses can be found for the Church of England buildings, 60 could shut down every year, says the Ecclesiological Society. Currently, between 25 to 35 churches are made "redundant" each year. The society's Trevor Cooper said there was a huge range of churches vulnerable to abandonment.

Listed

"The reason it matters is that three-quarters of these churches are listed buildings and the key point here is these buildings are being looked after by small voluntary groups, which effectively is what congregations are," he said. "There are 12,000 listed churches which need £50 million of funding a year to keep them going.

Church closure 'painful'

"One of the big problems is rural churches because a large number of rural churches are in tiny villages and when congregations shrink it becomes very hard to keep the church going." Fewer church-goers, vandalism and a fluctuating population are all blamed for the crisis. A total of 800 parishes now have 10 or fewer adults in their regular Sunday congregations - although, more positively, there are 2,500 churches which get regular congregations of more than 100 adults.

Crispin Truman, chief executive of the Churches Conservation Trust said the crisis was compacted because heritage funding was being frozen in favour of the arts and sport.

"Churches are an important part of the landscape - it's part of what England is to many of us," he said. "We have lost more than 15,000 parish churches. They are very historic, important buildings, but a huge number of which depend on dwindling congregations." He said the way forward was by using churches more as a community space - they had a huge range of potential from concerts and art exhibitions to cafes. One example was an 18th century church in St Paul's, in Bristol, which the trust had recently restored after it was "almost lost through vandalism and neglect." A total of £3m was spent renovating it, which will now be used by a nearby school for performing and training.

Community centres

"It is going back to what medieval churches were like, where the main nave would be used for a whole range of activities during the week," he said. "If we did this it would bring a whole lot more people who would be committed to the building. It would bring more people into the building who could then seen the benefits of the building."

According to the Church of England the number of closures is set to remain steady, while other places of worship are opening in their place. In 2003, 34 of the Church of England's 16,000 church buildings were made redundant. But in the same year, 18 new buildings were established or approved for use as churches, together with a greater number of dedicated multi-purpose and other buildings. "For several years now, the annual number of redundancies has remained stable in the 25-35 range. The Church of England has no evidence suggesting that number is about to rise," said a spokesman. "One reason that church buildings close is that the local population may have moved over time, and the church building finds itself no longer in the centre of its community. "In cases like this the building may close, and reopen closer to the people it serves."
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From Historic Datchet: A Guide to the Village Centre

The Manor Hotel was extended and re-fronted in the 1880's, but there is a timber framed core which is related to the other Manor House buildings. It was owned by the Lord of the Manor and is known to have been an alehouse since at least the 1750's, when its name was the Half Moon. It was later changed to The Horse and Groom and then to the Manor Hotel.

I've walked past this hotel over and over but have never been inside. It looks like it would be a nice place to stay.
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There's a big to-do right now because Prince Harry wore a Nazi costume to a party this week. The news is reporting that Prince Charles is insisting that Harry go visit Auschwitz so that he'll have a better idea of what he was portraying himself as. Prince William is to go along since he was with Harry when the decision to hire the costume was made.

Here's what I am wondering: why don't they send the person from the costume rental shop along as well?
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Today I picked up a copy of Historic Datchet: A Guide to the Village Centre published by the Datchet Village Society. This booklet includes some history of Datchet along with a map for a circular walk that points out landmarks in the history of the village. I thought perhaps I'd post some information from this booklet about the village history. Then in the coming days, some photos and info about some of the specific landmarks.

The name 'Datchet' is of Celtic origin and there has been a settlement here from prehistoric times. It became a significant place because of its river crossing point opposite Windsor Castle. By the 13th century there was a direct ferry route across the Thames to the castle through the Home Park on the far side of the river. A bridge replaced the ferry in 1706, rebuilt in 1770 and 1811. The High Street was the approach to the ferry and bridge and contains some of the oldest houses to survive in Datchet. Three of these were inns at various times, catering for the passing trade.

The oldest surviving houses date from the 1500's though they have all been much altered. These are timber framed buildings, the supporting timbers built as framework and the spaces between filled with wattle and daub.

(from Historic Datchet: A Guide to the Village Centre. Written by Janet Kennish.)

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Our littlest one is named Cara. We pronounce it "Care-ah". Here in the UK they would pronounce it "Car-ah". Over the holidays many of her fellow choir members gave her Christmas cards. Several of them had spelled her name Keira. I guess to them, that is what it sounds like we are saying.
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Over a year ago I was lamenting the ice cube situation here in the UK. (Ice, anyone?) I feared that as the winter months came on I would be forced back to the little ice making bags. I'd like to report that for the most part, Tesco has had ice in stock pretty much continuously. Happy days!
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The Brits accuse Americans of being overly obsessed with straight, white, teeth. Perhaps this is so. Here they seem to be completely the opposite. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people here with clean relatively straight teeth. It does not bother me for people's teeth to be crooked. Mine certainly are. What has surprised me the most is the number of adults with stained, fuzzy looking teeth. Teeth than seriously need to be cleaned - and even look like a good brushing would do wonders. Not only are these teeth dirty, but they are often terribly terribly crooked and sometimes outright missing. These are not beggars on the street corners, but people who live in the same neighborhood as we do (the one that people say "oh, the posh part of town" when they hear where we live). It's as if they haven't been to a dentist in years, maybe never.

In thinking about it, I can only really come up with a hand full of people I've seen here in Datchet with teeth like that. But, when I try to remember anyone I've seen like that in the US, I can't come up with anyone I see on a regular basis.
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