Lest We Forget

This Sunday the 11th November is Armistice Day when this year we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.  During this weekend we also remember all those who have lost their lives as well as those who have been affected as a consequence of wars and conflicts up until the present day. 

A particularly poignant reminder of the 1914-1918 was the public installation in 2014 at the Tower of London which consisted of 888,246 handmade ceramic poppies each one representing someone killed in WWI.  The installation was called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red and the title was taken from the line of a poem by an unknown WWI soldier from Derbyshire who joined up in the early days of the war and died at the Front. The poem was contained in the soldier's unsigned will and found by the ceramic artist Paul Cummins among old records in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.  The artwork was created by Cummins and the designer Tom Piper. At around sunset each day between the 1st September and the 10th November the names of service personnel were read aloud by a Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London or a guest reader followed by the Last Post bugle call.  I was unable to go to London, but a friend sent me photos and gave me a picture (above) which hangs above the desk in our living room and means a lot to me. 

Since then, between 2015 and 2018, sections of the installation called Wave and Weeping Window have been installed at significant buildings around England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

One of the nearest sites was The Silk Mill, Derby.  Again I was unable to go to Derby, but my DiL took photographs for me. Poppies: Weeping Window was a cascade of several thousand of the handmade ceramic poppies.  During WWI Derby Silk Mill was divided into two businesses, one grinding corn and the other making medical supplies, both integral to the war effort and scarce by 1916. 

(A similar tribute Beyond the Deepening Shadow, in which 10,000 flames have been lit at the Tower of London each evening this year, 2018, ending tomorrow (Armistice Day) has been installed to mark the centenary of the end of the war).

Nearer to home we were able to visit High Bradfield, which is the next village to our own. At St. Nicholas' Church poppy images were projected onto the building in the evenings before the 11th November. School children researched their own family history and made tiles which were placed in the churchyard.  It's so important that the younger generations continue to learn about the past and about the consequences of conflict.

St Nicholas' Church, High Bradfield

Over the weekend we'll watch the television broadcasts as the Queen leads the nation in acts of remembrance and tomorrow we shall be at a Remembrance Day service at our parish church. I will think of my Great Uncle Arthur, a casualty of the Somme, who died aged 20 and whose name is included on the Thiepval Memorial, France a section of which is for those who have no known grave. Also for my grandfather, Thomas Henry, who's buried in Le Cateau Military Cemetery, France cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  He died of his wounds on the 17th December 1917 aged 35 leaving two daughters and a pregnant wife.  My father was born on the 27th November 1917. Official news of both men, as was common, was not given until many months later in 1918.  I treasure the letters that previously my grandfather had sent to his wife and his sisters and the card with embroidered flowers on it that was sent to his sister, my maternal grandmother, Lauretta ('Ettie') by Great Uncle Arthur. 

Our time in Italy October 2018: the garden

Regular readers of my blog will know that each time we go over to the house in Italy we find plenty of work to keep us busy! We were there in April/May and indoors was just as we left it, of course, but you can imagine that's not true of the land around the house.  The grass was once more a meadow and the trees and bushes were in need of drastic pruning.  There's never enough time to do it all so the usual round of garden jobs continue.

The first thing to do was to call the man with the tractor and cutting machine to come and cut the grass.  Fortunately he was able to come during the first few days of our stay.  Despite the long grass I was keen to go out and collect the apples, walnuts and hazelnuts that were ready for gathering.  We have two walnut trees and one hazelnut tree and there were plenty of nuts that had recently fallen to the ground.  

A brother-in-law comes and looks after the grape vines on the pergola, but he's now experiencing serious health problems and has a lot to do keeping up with his own work on the land so we don't expect him to do anything except come when he can with my sister-in-law, keep an eye on the property and gather the grapes to put with his own to make some wine.  This season some members of the family came to gather the grapes, but only gathered some of them because they found hornets had got there first.  Also a section of the pergola on which the vines grow had collapsed.  The time had come for us to make a decision about the vines especially as Mr P got stung by a hornet.  Thankfully he quickly applied antihistamine cream on the sting, but he said it was very painful for days.  Hornets can be very dangerous if you're allergic to their sting so they were a real worry. We decided to dismantle the pergola where it had fallen down and completely cut down the vines leaving only two or three table grape plants, including the strawberry grape vines, that have sentimental meaning for us, being the first vines planted when we were living permanently in the house.

Here are some photos of progress during the month's stay:-

Our organic Golden Delicious type apples - we had enough for our short time at the house and gave the rest to a niece who made apple pies with them. The windfalls were passed on to her father for the sheep.

The strawberry grapes were beginning to dry out and would have turned into raisins if left in the sun.

They were a tasty addition to my breakfast cereal of a few rice krispies along with some golden raisins and the walnuts that I gathered, cleaned and cracked open.

some of the walnuts and table grapes

The weather was perfect for airing linen, drying washing on the balcony whilst the neighbour with the tractor and cutter was able to mow the grass.  From this angle on the balcony you can see how wild the oleander bushes and grape vines growing on the pergola had become since May when Mr P had done some pruning.  It only takes some sun and rain for everything to become a jungle once more.

Taking down the pergola where it had collapsed, clearing the vine branches before cutting down the plants.

  

We had several bonfires after trimming the bay trees, front garden hedges and other green branches and that was actually good fun.  After pruning the dry vine stems, fruit tree branches etc. they were stored for use in the wood burner. We didn't need to light fires, but we did so a couple of times just to make sure the central heating system was working and the chimneys were clear. 

upstairs living room

There's an open fire facility in the downstairs kitchen which we don't usually light as the rooms here are for Summer use only. It throws out a lot of heat. You can just see the triangular trivet hanging on the brick wall in the fireplace. It's only an ornament now, but one like this would have been placed on the embers with a large pot for cooking stews or for cooking pasta.  

I love the smell of wood smoke from indoor fires and bonfires during the early days of Autumn in Italy. 

the pergola and flower bed finally cleared and tidy

Lago di Posta Fibreno Nature Reserve

One of the benefits of being in Italy for several weeks is that we can take a break from the many household and garden maintenance chores and spend a day out at one of the beautiful nature reserves in the area. Not far from our Italian home is one of these protected areas with a lake basin surrounded by reed beds where many species of wildlife can be seen.  Water flows into the lake from streams and rivers that have their source in the snow-capped mountains. There are also natural springs and the waters of the lake have a constant temperature throughout the year of 10 degrees C. The cold and well-oxygenated environment is ideal for fish species such as the trout and carp.

The River Fibreno joins our local River Liri in the Liri Valley

and from there it flows into Lake Posta Fibreno.

In the past our children and grandchildren have enjoyed going out on the lake when they've been with us on holiday so it was on my wish list to return there.

When we arrived at the lake we sat and had a drink in the garden of a restaurant overlooking the lake.

The town of Posta Fibreno could be seen through the forest high up on the hill above the lake. We could hear the bells ringing in the church tower and it was peaceful sitting there in the garden.

Suddenly a group of swimmers with their snorkels and wet suits walked down to the edge of the water to begin their swim across the lake. I just had time to take a photo of them before they disappeared across the water.

Apparently there's a submerged steel and platinum cross in the lake located near one of the little villages and on a day in August there's a festival when the swimmers dive down and bring it to the surface accompanied by other swimming groups, boats and canoes.  There's a torchlight procession and a religious ceremony on the shore before the cross is returned to its original location in the deep waters of the lake.

To the right of this photo there's a floating island which developed many centuries ago called La Rota because of its round, wheel shape. It moves due to the fact that the current underneath the vegetation is strong as the water is deep where the lake bottom has formed into a cone-shaped pit. Mosses grow in the peaty mud.

a mosaic of coloured stones on one of the stone walls by the picnic area.

There are several examples of the typical boat used in the past. It's entirely made of wood, with a flat bottom and the shape is symmetrical with the bow and the stern raised in the same way.  The origins of the boat date back to ancient times.  The ones seen on the banks among the reeds  were made using oak boards, nailed and glued together with a special mixture of moss and flour. A long oar was used to move the boat through the water. Another paddle-shaped tool was used to empty water that might get into the boat whilst fishing. Farmers as well as fishermen would use this means of transport to get through the water channels in the area.  Aquatic herbs would be collected in this way as well as reeds.  The reeds were gathered to make mats and containers whilst willow branches were also woven into useful items. 

A wooden walkway has been created that winds through the reed beds allowing visitors to observe more closely the floating island, the wildlife and plants that make up the area around the lake. It was a thrill to see the blue flash of two kingfishers as they took refuge is one of the old, uninhabited houses. Herons nest in the reeds although I didn't spot any this time.

a fluffy young duckling

One of the wildlife observation hides

The water is crystal clear which makes it possible to see the different types of aquatic plants

growing there.

After a walk along the trail we decided to have lunch in the restaurant.

The outside tables were taken by other visitors as it's a popular spot for interest groups to meet up.

We had a leisurely lunch and then decided to return home

as the sky was beginning to darken.

We stopped by the mill to take photos before driving away from the lake. 

The mill is currently used by the nature reserve staff and was built in 1810 near a waterfall. At the beginning of the 20th century hydroelectric turbines could produce enough energy necessary to create some street lighting in the locality 

the mill pond

Along the road back to the town of Sora is the entrance to an old villa and estate.  This rural area is being developed as a place where visitors can stay and experience the life on a large agricultural estate.

By the time we got back to town rain was threatening and there was a heavy downpour. We were glad to get back home before going out again to spend the evening with relatives.  Thankfully the rain did not last for long.