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  • Swanton Abbott – Name Origin

    Swanton Abbott – Name Origin

    Back to The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames to look up the origins of the village name Swanton Abbott. There has been some variance on spelling this village name, some spell it as Swanton Abbot, but I’m in favour of the Swanton Abbott spelling as is on the signs.

    Swanton Abbott, Norfolk. Swaneton in 1044, Suanetuna in Domesday Book, Abbot Swanton in 1451. Old English for Tun of the (swine) herds. Swanton Abbott belonged to Holme Abbey.

    ‘Tun’ is a farm or village, so it’s the farm or village of the swine herds, which explains the Swanton bit, and Abbott is solely because of its religious owner.

  • Walking – Swanton Abbott and Lamas

    Walking – Swanton Abbott and Lamas

    Just photos from tonight’s walk, an area I knew quite well in parts. We also visited the exterior of three churches, so more on those in later posts. The walk was 12.3 miles, walked in just over 4 hours, and it was nice to finish later into the evening and it was still light. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from here with regards to that for the rest of the year.

    Fortunately, despite the sign, we didn’t see any of the adders.

     

  • LDWA 100 – Q & As with Simon Hodgin

    LDWA 100 – Q & As with Simon Hodgin

    This page is all part of my effort to walk the 2021 LDWA 100.

    My latest series of posts is asking some more professional walkers who have actually completed the walk about how they have got on. And today’s journalistic triumph of writing is Simon Hodgin, a member from Norfolk & Suffolk who makes walking these things look just a bit too easy. Although, he’s also sponsoring a large shipment of craft beer to me if I can complete the 100 next year, which is a quite marvellous idea.

    Simon, inspired by Jane who has helped with his training, seems to positively enjoy the 100s and I think his competitive instinct from being a footballer has helped with this. There’s more about Simon here, which is another page on this web-site about walking the 100, not some Google link to help stalk him.

    Q. When was your first 100?

    2018. I’m a relative newcomer to the LDWA and 100s

    Q. When you finished your first 100, did you think you’d do another?

    Yes. I was ‘hooked’!

    Q. What would you pick at a checkpoint, two sausage rolls, one chicken bake or one steak bake?

    One steak bake

    Q. How important are the marshals to you at checkpoints on longer challenge events?

    A. Very important. I’ve witnessed them play a key part in encouraging a colleague of mine not to give in during a 100 and help get him back ‘in the zone’ to continue. I have always been impressed with the support of the marshals in every LDWA event I have done over the last five years.

    Q. Your dog has become the unofficial Norfolk & Suffolk group mascot for his bravery, single-mindedness and courage. How proud has this made you?

    He is also obsessed by food, so with those ‘qualities’ we are thinking of changing his name from Bailey to Julian….

    Q. Have you hallucinated towards the end of a walk?

    I have, very slightly. I have seen small images in the road looking back at me. The fact that it is expected makes the experience amusing.

    Q. You’ve told me that I shouldn’t over-train for the 100. Is this advice because you’re worried that I’ll become such a honed athlete I’ll get a faster time than you? And what is your training schedule for the next 100?

    Funnily enough, no. To become a honed athlete you would need to give up Greggs and craft beer, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. Like most LDWA members we walk all year, so we are constantly ‘in training’. You need to rest as well as participate! My ‘focus’ for the 100 starts in early January, with the Stansted Stagger

    Q. Other than your current area of Norfolk & Suffolk, where would you most like to walk a 100 event in the UK?

    There are many places I would like to experience a 100, but I guess The Peak District is my personal favourite.

    Q. Are you more reliant on the route description or the GPX file?

    The LDWA route description with GPX as a back-up.

    Q. What are your top tips for footcare on the 100?

    Footcare is a personal choice. Walking a lot toughens the feet, but for longer events, I use micro tape on my smaller toes and change into fresh, dry socks regularly (every 25 miles on a 100). Above all else, wear comfortable and ‘tried and tested’ walking shoes!

    Q. You have a reputation for teamwork and helping others through whilst always remaining positive. How do you maintain this when at 70 miles and feeling tired?

    I’ve been lucky to walk with great people on the 100. It’s easy to stay positive when you are also being supported by likeminded people. The 100 isn’t just about fitness and physical stamina, it is also about mental stamina. The more you embrace it, the less pain & tiredness you feel.

    Q. Have you been scared of a sheep / cow / snake / pig / seagull or similar on a challenge walk?

    No.

    Q. To those people who are thinking about taking part in their first challenge event, maybe just 18 miles, what advice would you give them?

    Give it a go. Whether it’s for the physical fitness, fresh air, great countryside or even greater company & support, you’ll get something positive from it!

  • South Walsham – Church of St. Lawrence

    South Walsham – Church of St. Lawrence

    South Walsham only has three listed buildings, although that’s still a fair number, but all three are located in this one churchyard. The first is the Church of St. Lawrence (in the front of the above photo), the second is the collapsed tower of St. Lawrence (just visible in the middle of the above photo) and the other is the larger Church of St. Mary (at the rear of the above photo).

    The church was originally built in the fourteenth century, likely on the same site as an earlier religious building. The idea of having two churches next to each other seems slightly illogical today, although if you’ve got two different parishes and one particularly decent piece of land, then it does make some sense to have two different buildings at the same site. And, this worked well enough until the fire that destroyed most of the church in 1827.

    The above photo is of the north side of the church, with the central window being bricked up.

    The doors to the church give the appearance of having fire damage to their base, which would be a permanent reminder of 1827. The locals didn’t though merge the churches even when faced with the problem that one of them was burnt out, instead rebuilding much of the former chancel and re-opening in 1832. The two churches then continued separately until 1890, when their congregations were merged.

    This meant that St. Lawrence’s church was left to become derelict, seemingly forever destined to fall under the shadow of St. Mary’s. But, a recent restoration of the building has returned it to use as an arts centre, with photos on their web-site with the scale of the challenge they had.

    The churchyard is well-kept, all very neat.

    This is what is left of the tower of St. Lawrence, badly damaged by fire in 1827 and then what remained collapsed in 1971 (George Plunkett’s archive has a photo of the tower in 1937 as it looked before the collapse). Today, the area is used as the Sacristan’s Garden and contains medicinal herbs and plants and reflects what may have been grown in the medieval period.

    The Sacristan’s Garden, looking towards the main part of St. Lawrence’s Church.

    The flushwork design is still present at the base of the tower.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Ninety-Five

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Ninety-Five

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Crowdy

    Francis Grose, the author of this dictionary was a London man, albeit well-travelled, but that might show through with the definition of this word, which is “oatmeal and water, or milk; a mess much eaten in the north”. A mess sounds fairly accurate, although the word ‘north’ here is really primarily referring to Scotland, which is where Grose did spend some time whilst researching other books.

    No modern dictionary seems to give the word origin here, but crowdie is a Scottish cheese and so the word origin is likely the same. Likely deriving from ‘crud’ and ‘ie’ which has the same origins as curd, so simply curdy, which could mean lumpy and thick.

  • Random Posts – Tigh na Leigh and Four in a Bed

    Random Posts – Tigh na Leigh and Four in a Bed

    I don’t watch much television, as I’m normally stuck walking in some field or have accidentally diverted to some pub, but I remain surprised why some couples go on programmes as Four in a Bed with such a hugely risky strategy of marking everyone else down. This week’s debacle involved the owners of Tigh na Leigh managing to savagely underpay their rivals and led to everyone else storming out. It makes for good television, and I like a drama, but it can’t be pleasant to now have to live through that for years.

    An otherwise seemingly perfectly run B&B with excellent reviews, an impeccable web-site and no now social media as they’ve had to delete it given the debacle. And although TripAdvisor and the like have removed the hotel’s fake negative reviews, the programme will be broadcast again in the future, and it’ll all happen again. I don’t envy the owners…

  • Hemblington – All Saints Church (George Weston and Godfrey Weston War Graves)

    Hemblington – All Saints Church (George Weston and Godfrey Weston War Graves)

    It’s not that common to see Commonwealth War Graves at remote Norfolk churches, but All Saints at Hemblington have two war dead, both marked on one grave. They are the graves of Squadron Leader George Ernest Weston, who died at the age of 23, and Flight Sergeant Godfrey Randal Weston, who died at the age of 22.

    The men were brothers, sons of George and Frances Lesley Weston, of Nelson City, New Zealand and they were buried together, but died in separate air crashes, with George dying on 1 October 1942 and Godfrey dying on 20 April 1944. There’s a photo of Godfrey at https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C22286.

  • Hemblington – All Saints Church

    Hemblington – All Saints Church

    The real highlights of this rural church are inside, a medieval wall painting, rood stairs and a spectacular font, so I’ll have to return when they’re able to open internally.

    The church are busy praying for lots of people, seems like a pro-active congregation.

    The round tower is the oldest part of the church, constructed in the twelfth century.

    The bulk of the rest of the church was built in the early fourteenth century, although some dates from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. There was a sensitive restoration that took place to the church in 1904 and a piscina and niche were discovered, although the wall paintings weren’t noticed until later on in the twentieth century.

    The porchway which was added to the church in the early part of the sixteenth century.

    Part of the churchyard has been turned into a wildlife garden. I’m looking forwards to going back when I can see the interior, this is a beautiful and remote church.

  • South Walsham and Burlingham Green Walk Photos

    South Walsham and Burlingham Green Walk Photos

    No photo description available.

    Rob and me decided to go for a short meander this afternoon to an area where I’ve walked near to, but I haven’t been to South Walsham and Burlingham Green for some years. It started off hot in the Norfolk sun, before fortunately cooling down a little. Four churches visited today, or at least the exterior of them, photos of those in separate posts.

       

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Ninety-Four

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Ninety-Four

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Cropsick

    The dictionary defines this as “sickness in the stomach, arising from drunkenness” and is still in some dictionaries today and means something more akin to ‘a surfeit of food and drink’. The word ‘crop’ used to more commonly mean ‘the top of something’, so I’m going with the idea that this phrase evolved from something like headsick, although that’s likely to be a guess which is wrong.

    The word has slowly gone out of usage over the last two centuries, but I’m not sure why, it’s quite a ring to it.