i went for one of my walks up the old church on tuesday~the 11th day of the 11th month and as usual went right to the top of the hill to where the ancient yew stands within what was once an area encircled by an earth rampart~an ancient sacred site? i certainly think so. the night before had been a really wild one here in the forest and there were leaves and small branches everywhere. when i reached the yew i stood there under its huge branches and looked down at my feet~there was one solitary sprig laying on the bare ground beneath it~after the high winds i would have expected plenty to be laying there, but no, just this one, which i thanked the yew for and brought home with me.
~the yew is a tree for protection, a means of connecting to your ancestors, a bringer of dreams and otherworld journeys~
on this day i had gone up to the site (i wont say church as to me it does not feel like one) to think of johney, then in the evening made the discovery that another of my ancestors, john betteridge, who was actually johneys brother-in -law, had died, age 21, just a month later than johney, in a prisoner of war camp and is buried in rouen.
this solved a long puzzle as my nan had always said that johney was buried in rouen, when i discovered he was actually buried near calais we just thought my nan was mistaken. i now think someone told her about her uncle john being buried in rouen and she mistook it to be her dad, john.
*i really think that little sprig of yew was meant for me*
i woke up in the early hours as my joints and muscles were really aching, so after some tossing and turning and a drink of water i gave up trying to find sleep and not wanting to disturb swampy decided to get up and have some hot milk.
in the kitchen i looked at the clock and saw it was only just after four~it is now 7am and i have been wasting time on the internet searching out an alternative heat source for our living room (the central heating bugs me when i am in bed and so we want something for our living room), playing on facebook, checking out new posts from my blogging family and posting on the stonewylde forum.
it is now light enough for me to see the world beyond my window now and it looks as if it is going to be a grey day or rather a mirkwood kind of day, as a fellow stonewylde fan describes it!
*i think its time to go and put the kettle on*