Look - the golden stone of the 14th century church Of Saint Andrew in the village of Great Rollright in Oxfordshire, England. The mediaeval tower & church porch with its jolly carved face corbels gazing down outside, upon those who enter within.
Over the South door, the beautiful and intricate Romanesque arch and tympanum, ornamented with strange, beaked, birdlike creatures and dogtooth chevrons… the little (Georgian?) cottage by the church gate, and just a mile or two away, the Neolithic Rollright stone circle.
Thousands of years of human-inhabited history sit easily upon the land here.
It's a quintessential scene that can still be found all over this country, hidden away down green and flowery country lanes, sometimes with thriving communities (though in the Cotswolds, those communities are very often now composed of incomers - commuters on fast trains into London, rather than the agricultural workers of 100 years ago). In the church, another sign of change - every clergy and lay officer of this parish is at present (very pleasingly!) a woman.
Things change… things stay the same; the permutations vary through time. In my own time over 35 years at Autumn Cottage, I have noticed many changes – particularly in the amount of traffic, both on the ground and up above - the elegant form of Concorde, which used to pass by overhead has been replaced by the mosquito drones of light aircraft, personal helicopters, Army Chinooks and Apaches. Other things are different - for the first time in almost all the years that we have been here, we are without feline company and now we weigh up the pros and cons of ever having another cat. Circumstances change and things that seemed stable and certain in my future when I was young, nowadays seem unstable and unsure.
I think all we can do is holdfast to that which is true and important – which may vary from person to person. For me, it means the valuing of family and friends, of taking from the past that which helps me to live in the present; I think for many of us, this means carrying forward the lessons we learned from our own ancestors. Do as you would be done by, try to tell the truth, and look out for others less fortunate than ourselves. I don't always live up to my good intentions, but I try as hard as I can.
I'm privileged to live in Autumn Cottage, because I also have the touchstone of 400 years of other lives passing through; their story is part of mine, and I have become part of the story of the cottage here as well. In those 400 years, though there have been many additions - the core of the house, its literal (wooden) framework, infilled with handmade bricks, has stayed pretty much the same.
Good people, and my sense of place, past and present, together ground me, when all around can feel like shifting sand. To me, that is a thing of stability and value, and I will hold fast to it for as long as I can.
Journal prompt
What do you hold fast to, that is true for you? What lessons did your ancestors leave that you have carried forward in your own life, that keep your feet on the ground? Do you feel that you have yet become part of the story of your place? What have you done there, what changes have you made to leave your own mark on the land? In the time that you have lived in your home, what changes to the human and physical landscapes and ways of life around you have you experienced? Which of those have been good?…which ones not so much?
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