Green Day

Transition Chester are holding a Green Day at the Town Hall on Saturday 1st June 2013. The aim is to 'promote sustainable living and to help Chester prepare for sustainable living in a low carbon future'. You can find our more about them at http://transitionchester.org.uk

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Stone Coffin

This sandstone coffin was discovered in the cathedral cloisters, and may be that of Richard of Bec. He came to England from France in 1092 as clerk to St Anselm, and in 1093 was appointed the first Abbot of the new monastery. He died in 1116. The coffin is very large - over 2 metres tall internally - which suggests the Abbot Richard may have been unusually tall for his day. However, no body was found in the coffin, only a few unrelated fragments of bone.

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Carnival Of Giants 2013

This years Carnival Of Giants takes place next Sunday, and has the theme Bugs Royale, to highlight the plight of the humble bumblebee.

 

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Morris Dancers

It being an uncharacteristically warm and sunny May bank holiday, there were plenty of morris dancers out and about. These photos were taken outside the Lord Binning pub in Kelsall.

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Faces

One of the things that I love about Living History events are the faces - sometimes you just can't believe that these people are contemporary, they look so firmly rooted in the period they are portraying. See what I mean in the photos below:

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Medieval Stone Monuments

There was a recent workshop, held in St John's church, on Runes, Monuments and Memorial Carvings. The keynote lecture, entitled Captivating and Captive Audiences, has been made available by Chester University, and is online here:
http://vimeo.com/64725297

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A Bumper Weekend

Next weekend promises a plethora of things to do round Chester. Thursday is the Ship Inn's fourth birthday, with four different bands providing live music. Friday sees the start of Chester Folk Festival, and Saturday is, of course, Roman Day at the race course. Sunday brings festivals in both the Northgate Quarter and Brook Street.
https://www.facebook.com/TheShipInnChester www.thenorthgatequarter.co.uk and www.brookstreetcarnival.co.uk for further information

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Roman Inscribed Brick

The brick below is in the Grosvenor Museum. It was found in Holt in 1991, and was used as a notepad before it was fired in the kiln. The letters read:

sumtu

iuniu

x iiii

maternu

sumtuaria

belletus

which translates as: 'expenses, Junius 4 denarii, Maternus, expenses....Belletus'.
The names Junius, Maternus and Belletus are in different handwriting, so three workmen were signing for expenses they received from a superior.

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Hugh Lupus

Hugh Lupus was the first Earl of Chester, and he established the Benedictine monastery that later became the Cathedral. During his lifetime he was nicknamed 'Hugh le Gros' (Hugh the Fat). His symbol was the wolf's head, but the memorial to him in the Cathedral shows him surrounded by talbot hunting dogs.

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Chester Home Guard

Chester Home Guard were recruiting at the Living History Fair. Full details below - it looks like it could be fun, seemed to involve a lot of tea-drinking and biscuit-eating...

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Cheshire Open Studios

Once a year, artists in Cheshire throw open their studios for you to go and take a look. It is a chance to meet artists, to discover how and where they produce their work, and to buy directly from them. Different areas of Cheshire have different dates for their openings, so that you can visit all of them, if you want to. Chester's are the 8th and 9th June. More information here: cheshireopenstudios.org.uk

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Living History Fair - Animals

There were plenty of animals at the Living History Fair, from a mediaeval lady with her greyhound to the horses that dragged cannon into place. They were all very well-behaved and friendly, and obviously loved meeting their adoring public.

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Moorhens Revisited

Remember the nest that was full of eggs, here:



Well, now it looks like this:

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Living History Outdoor Cooking

At the Living History Fair, many of the groups were cooking outdoors on whatever was appropriate for the group they were re-enacting. The most interesting thing was how similar it all was - very little alteration in nearly 2000 years - from Roman to Home Guard.

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Living History Fair 2013

St John's Church has once again hosted a Living History Fair, which this time had increased still further, encroaching on the Grosvenor Park. An interesting addition was a Russian Field Hospital, though unfortunately I neglected to check which period it was from.

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Chester Half Marathon 2013

Chester Half Marathon 2013 took place on Sunday, with a record entry, of whom nearly 4,000 runners completed the race. Below you can see them at the beginning, and at the end. The full list of results is here: http://www.tdl.ltd.uk/race-results.php?event=1322

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Ranulf Higden

Ranulf Higden (or Ranulph, or Higdon) (c. 1280 – March 12, 1364) was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk of the monastery of St. Werburgh, now the Cathedral. He took his vows in Chester in 1299.

Higden was the author of the Polychronicon, a long chronicle, one of several such works of universal history and theology. It was based on a plan taken from Scripture, and written for the amusement and instruction of his society.  The work is divided into seven books, in humble imitation of the seven days of Genesis, and, with exception of the last book, is a summary of general history, a compilation made with considerable style and taste. Written in Latin, it was translated into English by John of Trevisa (1387), and printed by Caxton (1480), and by others. For two centuries it was an approved work. You can find out more about his work here: http://www.ranulfhigden.org.uk/

He is also credited with being the author of the Mystery Plays, although there is no real evidence for this other than the abscence of other contenders. There are two stained glass windows commemmorating him in the Cathedral, which show different-looking men.

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Chester Cup

Today was Chester Cup day at the races, and all human life was there.  In particular there was a large posse of photographers with enormous telephoto lenses, all hoping for a glimpse of Sir Alex Ferguson on the day that he announced his retirement. A no-show from him, but one of his horses did manage to come in second.

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Upton Golf Club

Upton Golf Club began as a 9-hole course in 1934, and used plant pots as holes and garden canes as flags. It has improved and extended to 18 holes since then. It prides itself on being a family friendly club, where beginners can learn to play. For local motorists, there is a road running through the course, and golfers crossing it are a frequent hazard. http://www.uptongolf.co.uk/

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Sam Ryley

I went off to Funky Aardvark on Saturday, for a photography course run by Sam Ryley, and very interesting it was too. We were playing with the manual settings on cameras, and you can see some of the results below. Find out more about him here: www.samryley.co.uk

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Upton Cross

Upton has a historic crossroads. When the War Memorial was being constructed in 1919 a sandstone block was unearthed, which has now been identified as the base of an early mediaeval cross.

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Upton-by-Chester

Upton is the part of Chester which contains the Zoo. It used to be the Manor of Upton, and there is a leaflet available from community venues around Upton which shows the lanes and trackways which once connected the original village centre with the medieval Upton Cross and the inhabitants of Upton Heath. 'Optone' is recorded in the Domeday Book 1086. The name Up (higher up) Tun (anglo saxon for enclosure or farmstead) suggests an existence before the end of the 8th century.

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Squirrels In Grosvenor Park

There is a new sign up at the entrance to Grosvenor Park, and it reads:

Friend or foe? The non-native Grey squirrel is a very common sight in the park and provides a lot of entertainment for children and their families with their antics.

Squirrels are naturally timid creatures but you may have noticed that the ones in the park are becoming less so and approaching people often for food.

Whilst it may be fun to feed the squirrels, this is actually a very big problem. Hand-fed squirrels become increasingly confident and stop waiting to be given food. Increasingly they start to climb into pushchairs, prams and bags to take food for themselves as thay recognise humans as being providers of food and of no threat to them.

Whilst this is not an 'attack' it can be very scary for the young child and they are at risk of being scratched by sharp claws. Additionally, it does not provide squirrels with a healthy natural diet. Ans don't forget, leftover food from feeding squirrels attracts rats which the squirrels come into contact with being able to carry some of the same diseases, therefore we advise the following...

Do not feed the squirrels. There is plenty in the park to provide them with a healthy and blanced diet.

 

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Blue Moon Cafe

The Blue Moon Cafe is down on the river, popular with rowers and locals. They have a jukebox, and the food is very good. Currently they seem to be having some building work done at the back and side of the cafe. I wonder what it is?

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