Grey day on the water

The causeway over Blithfield Reservoir is as bleak a place as you'll find on a squally, rainy-damp day like today. Somehow water is the quickest thing to reflect the weather's mood - bright and blue and glinting on a sunny day, but grey, unwelcoming and sombre on a sunless one.

Yet the drive over the causeway is always a thrill (well, a small one!). Like flying... slightly.

Sited near Abbots Bromley, the lake is also a nature reserve.

Goat-style helmet

Following on from my last post, about the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, I thought I'd publish this photo.

All around Abbots Bromley you'll see the figure of a goat.  This is because the local lords of the manor, the Bagot Family, has overseen the development of a special breed of goat (now called the Bagot Goat) for over 600 years (true!).  
The family, which lives at nearby Blithfeld Hall, adopted the symbol of the goat as part of their coat-of-arms and crest in medieval times.

Apparently, the helmet in this photo (taken in Blithfield Church) actually belonged to the 14th century holder of the estate.  Well, maybe. 
It looks rather sinister to me - but perhaps that's the point...

Blithfield opens up

"Something there is that doesn't love a wall..." is the wonderful rhythmic first line of Robert Frost's poem, Mending Wall.  The poem discusses the merits of walls...
I wonder if you can apply the same feeling from that poem to gateways - which I happen to like a lot.  Them, and bridges, I am very partial to.

This gateway is the entrance to Blithfield Hall.

War damage still with us

Talking of the past being in the present (see previous post), I had assumed that the blank window in Blithfield Church was either where the church ran out of money to build the twin-piece or some irreparable vandalism.

Actually, it was the latter... in a sense.   The blank window is where the original window was blown out by the blasts from enemy bombs landing many miles away. 
It stands, unreplaced, as a reminder that even quiet communities far from the front line can still live in terror in war.

Castle... at Blithfield

Blithfield Hall is often described as one of the "oldest castles in England" though it's clearly been restored and built upon many times.  The turreted towers do contribute to the castle description.

It is one of the stops on the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, when the dancers travel from site to site during the course of one day.

Spring's green man

This Green Man figure is to be found on the archway into Blithfield Hall.  He is a symbol of the natural world, and of Spring.

It is curious how popular the green-man is - and how often it appears in statuary.

Eccentric annual event

The 'Abbots Bromley Horn Dance' is Staffordshire's own eccentric annual event.  Every Wakes Day in September, a chosen group of villagers dress up and dance at various locations in and around the village.
The 'horns' - which are in fact sets of antlers - are carried by the main dancers, who are joined by a set of characters who depict a Hobby-Horse, a boy-archer, a Fool and Maid Marion.  It's supposed to be a form of fertility dance, with its roots going back to the 13th century.
I guess it's a form of morris-dancing.

To be honest, it's more interesting to read about than to see, as the dance is rather basic, and the villagers are not skilled dancers (though, of course, they are not supposed to be...).

I saw them this year as they danced on the lawn at Blithfield Hall.