Conradicus Walks
This morning I was soon on the Tarmac version of Ermine Street. For my non UK followers Ermine Street is the still existing Roman road running from London to Lincoln and then York. Part of it is surfaced and used as a modern road, but other parts remain as they were in Roman times.
Walking along a straight road can be boring, but not so today. My imagination was stimulated with the Roman connection, and even more so when the surfaced road turned into Roman track. I was marching south and pictured myself as a legionnaire, perhaps heading home for some leave and greeting others going north on their way to garrisoning Hardknott Fort in a remote part of the Lake District ( a bleak prospect), or heading even further north to help build Hadrian's Wall.
This was Sunday morning and I could hear distant church bells making me think of the later period of medieval Britain and the predominance of tight knit village communities which continued into relatively modern times, but even though such communities still exist modern communication has eliminated the isolation, but the latter part of this trip has had me walking on the ancient footpaths connecting these places.
My several mile trip down Ermine Street ended at Bryard's Leap, a sort of pivotal crossroads with the rare event in this walk of a café - tea and almond tart. The name relates to a very long and boring legend about a witch; Google if you wish; I switched off after the first few lines
To say the Viking Way is a significant long distance path in England and today is weekend Sunday I have only met four or five dog walkers. The paths have been more overgrown on this section, but they are obviously regularly trampled - when do these mysterious walkers appear?
I arrived at The Thorgood Arms at Marston which thankfully does B and B. They don't usually do evening meals on a Sunday but the lady offered to do me a roast dinner which was excellent! They have also converted part of the pub into a shop specialising in local produce. One sister, Kim runs the pub and the other runs the shop. That is good news and let's hope there is more of this enterprising diversification to come - nearer home we have the Witherslack Community Shop and Storth Post Office/community shop.
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ignoring the profundity of my classical education at BGS (labor omnia vincit - or was it Hoc Age ?), I am tempted to suggest that that might well be
ReplyDeleteConradicus ambulance
but probably it should be
Conradicus ambulandum
as 'walks' may be an accusative gerund, but, depending on whether the word is being used as a verb describing a present continuous activity, or as a noun describing completed past activities (the word Conradicus could also be possessive whilst the Conrad in Conrad Walks definitely does not imply Conrad's Walks, in which case the phrase would be
Conradicus Ambulandi or even Conradivus
Ambulandi), it would be better to say
Conradivarius Ambulat sum.
Chemistry was much simpler.
Well! After reading Gimmer's response, I'm almost too embarrassed to ask what might be an obvious question to the rest of the world (not that that has ever stopped me before): what is a roast dinner?
ReplyDeleteAs for the road upon which thee is traveling: how cool is that to walk in Romans footsteps, so many centuries later?! In the mountains not too far from my home is an old Indian trail, worn indelibly into the native granite by a similar number of centuries' walkers. I've been on that path only twice, but both times, when I let my mind wander, I've had the eeriest sensation I wasn't alone.
Gimmer - They were both a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteNobody ever seemed to be able to give a satisfactory translation for hoc age. I was given to understand it meant " do this" which seems a pretty meaningless motto. The other one was Bradford's council motto as far as I remember and I have no idea what it means. John Cunningham was better at teaching English than Latin.
The Crow - it is an English tradition to have a Sunday roast dinner, prepared by the wife whilst the men are at the pub and eaten early afternoon. Many pubs put this meal on as a Sunday special, so nowadays a lot of people go out to partake instead of having all the toil at home.It consists of an oven roast nearly always of beef, but could be pork or lamb. It is accompanied by roasted potatoes preferably done using beef dripping (fat), mashed potatoes and several different vegetables and brown gravy using the roasting juices as a base. There is usually also Yorkshire pudding which is made with a milk/egg/plain flour batter baked in the oven at high heat, either as a flat, but risen sheet, or in individual bun tins. Some people prefer to eat the YPs as a preliminary course dosed with the gravy. When I am back home I reckon I can find a descriptive photo for you.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember much about it except that Labienus had a thing for retiring to winter quarters and that pederasty was the norm.
ReplyDeleteI once got 21/20 for a translation from english to greek: that blew all my cylinders - I gave it up as soon as they'd let me after that.
I am wholly with you about marching across the ages - Hadrian's Wall at Houseteads does it for me the most, I think. And Iona, as I've commented 'afore !
Strangely enough, not on the tops of mountains. Too tired or frightened, perhaps. Maybe one would on Everest . . . if one could be there alone !
Sounds as though you are enjoying it again.
Okay. Your roast dinner is much the same as here, though I don't recall YP on the menu except at Christmas (rarely). These roasted meat meals, with all the fixings, came to be called Sunday dinners, because that's the day of the week most cooks had time for the longer cooking these wonderful meals required.
ReplyDeleteIf one was invited to Sunday dinner on a weekday, it was understood the meal would be the full-blown feast.
(I thought this might be the case when I asked, but wanted to be certain.)
Are we moving on from Indian names to Roman ones Dad? Conradiuos???
ReplyDeleteHigh Horse (Quadruped Aerus) - I think we have got Gimmer over excited about this. Better back off.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Tasmanian
ReplyDeleteI have just met and chatted with 'Sir Hugh' at Woolsthorpe by Belvoir just ouside the shop.For those that know this gentleman he looks fit and well except for a 'crook' knee--the one yet to be operated on! Sorry to hear less than satisfactory night at pub in Woolsthorpe, next time try the 'Dirty Duck' next to Grantham canal. Otherwise called 'Rutland Arms'. Beautiful day today, can only envy todays walking!!