Lillys Arm out of a cast

Poor Miss Lilly has had a bit of rough spin with her broken wrist. The bones in the wrist were pointing the wrong way all together,so there were fears that she needed to get surgery to right it.

When we went in to get it checked a few weeks ago, the doctor was still of the opinion that she needed this to be done, but was letting it set for a few more weeks to see if it would right itself. 

Although they didn't take an xray, the doctor who looked at it was confident that it had set properly and all she now needed was flexibility and strengthening exercises to bring the muscle tone back.

The  major bummer about all of this was that the plaster technician at the Andover Hospital no longer works there, and we had to drive to Winchester to get this done and sorted.  Probably just as well we had nothing planned. 

The great outcome of it all is that we don't need to go back for another three months.

Battle Abbey

You know, I'm going to stop whining about the weather and how dreadfully cold it is.. My photos as I post them on to my blog and instagram show blue sky and sunshine - and no-one is going to beleive for a second how cold it really is.. or how rainy and blustery the winds are. ( straight from the Bunyas.. in joke with Alexanders and Rowes...)

The Abbey was established almost immediately after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, with buildings added, fortified and strengthen over the next few centuries.

This is a photo of the gatehouse leading into the Abbey at Battle. It was built int he 1300s to keep those nasty French out during the 100 years war.  I don't think the French got this far, but the Abbey was fortified and prepared for defence just in case.

The High Alter and cloisters are all gone now, but it is believed that where King Harold fell is sacred ground so the church was built directly on top of it.  All we have as reminders are markings on the ground where the footings were and this slab to commemorate the event.

It doens't seem possible that over eight thousand soldiers fitted onto this field and stood against each other, fighting to the death all day long.

The peaceful meadow is a little eerie. By all accounts it ran rivers of blood on the day with the dead littered so high, none of the grass could be seen.

The Abbey was very successful in the middle ages, and built accommodation houses for the hundreds of monks who came to study and pray here. I love the arched columns and the work put in to the brickworks for this simple storehouse.

Being mid term, the kids had the opportunity to do some hands on activities, including dress ups ( the armour and weapons are a bit of a mish mash of crusades, Roman and viking.. but don't let that stop a bit of fun.

The kids painted shields and made viking boats with insignia sails.

I am loving how each visit to a particular spot is building their knowledge of history, and they are now able to identify certain kings, queens and specific events which changed the way the world operated.

The Long Man of Wilmington

The long man of Wilmington is a 70 feet long figure marked out on the side of a hill. Its been there for centuries. Historians are still baffled as to how old it is, as until 200 years ago, it was marked out with grass and some chalk - rather than what is very obvious today ( chalk outlines) There is some evidence that it was around when the Romans occupied the UK - so it dates to at least the 2nd century.

Its purpose too has a few different camps of thought. I'd always believed it was a symbol of fertility as there are some texts which point to certain ceremonies being held in particular spots to ensure a couples chance of becoming pregnant.. I'll leave it up to your imagination what and where those ceremonies may have entailed.  However, there is some belief that it shows a warrior character.

Regardless of what it might represent, its an incredible feat of artwork in a difficult environment with few tools.

We parked at the official car park and started the walk to the feet of the man. We didn't make it as it got muddier and deeper as we went. 

I'm hoping my photos give you some sort of scale of the figure. Its an incredible sight.