Liz Williams's Blog, page 58

Flag Fen

We have been in Lincolnshire for a day or so, at a party, and this morning came back via Flag Fen: the Bronze Age centre. It's a fascinating place, the site of an ancient kilometre-long causeway through the fen, where lots of offerings were made - swords and axes and all manner of things, thrown into the water. Some volunteers were building another roundhouse when we turned up and we spent an hour wandering around the museum - quite a feat in itself, as they are preserving some of the causeway,

Robin Williamson

As related on witchcraft_shop, we went to see Robin Williamson in concert at the Assembly Rooms last night. The support was someone who won the local Bardic Gorsedd this year, and two young men named Will and Ed, who walk from place to place collecting folk songs. They've walked here from Canterbury. They did a great rendition of Sovay, but unfortunately were heckled from the audience. This being Glastonbury, and therefore Not Life As We Know It, the hecklers were a group of elderly women, who w

Bear

We have buried her under the chestnut tree, with her ball.

Saturday

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for all your kind words about Bear. The other thing that did not make yesterday any easier was that Sid had by then been AWOL for about 24 hours, and did not appear yesterday evening. We went to see nomadrush for the Now That's Weird radio show and when we got back, there was Sid. (I strongly suspect that he took out a contract on Bear - hell, he was probably driving the car).

Bear will be buried today under our chestnut tree, in the company of Po

Bear

Bear got out onto the road about half an hour ago, so sneakily that we did not realise she was missing - I had gone into the house to put some toast on the grill. She was struck by a car. She died a few minutes later, just as the vet arrived. Two kind motorists were with her, and one of the people in the subsequent queue of traffic was a veterinary nurse. The vet says she would not have suffered.

She lived fast and she died young and I doubt she's even realised she's gone.

Booktastic

I have just had a delivery of the paperback edition of WINTERSTRIKE. I gather that PRECIOUS DRAGON is also about to come out in paperback, and SHADOW PAVILION is at the printers. I know a lot of people have asked about the latter, so this is my latest update on it.

In the positive news department

Both the dormouse and the water-vole have turned the corner in terms of species numbers and are making a comeback. We saw a dormouse recently in a hedge, so they are definitely around.

Gurkhas

I am very pleased that they have now won the right to live here (go, Purdey!). My father fought with a Gurkha regiment in the Second World War (he was with the 4th Indian Division, IIRC, but will check). They were apparently formidable, which will come as news to no one, and occasionally had to be stopped from taking out annoying but not actually enemy individuals. Dad liked them a lot - still does. I do consider it a disgrace that anyone should think that you should be permitted to die for a c

Evening

The days really are drawing out now. This evening, we took the dogs onto the peat moors: the oak and ash is fully out now, oak changing from that curious green-yellow to a bright light green. We disturbed a flock of white egrets, which are now familiar visitors to the Levels, and a heron. Lots of swans, too, gliding amongst the submerged trunks of willow and alder.

A ghost story for you

Just came across this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1184422/Ghost-attic-Figure-18th-century-servant-spotted-home-vaccine-inventor-Edward-Jenner.html

I have no idea whether it's a ghost or not, but I ought to pay the museum a visit - Dr Jenner is a distant relative of mine.