October 25, 2020 Latimer, Chenies & Chess Valley, Buckinghamshire.

The fun facts of history make an era come alive!   Yesterday we took a train and went about an hour outside of London (very last station on a tube line) and we hiked about 7 miles.  It was an easy walk, remember there are no mountains.  Makes me wonder if the “hike” part comes from the difficulty I came to expect on a hike and therefore I shouldn't use the word here in England?  Or if a “hike” is merely a walk for enjoyment.  Regardless, it was blue skies, crisp air and we see only the occasional passerby equally enjoying nature. I could not help wondering if this would be our last gorgeous fall day this year, to do such a hike/walk.  I hope not, it felt invigorating.

About halfway was the perfect stopping point, libations poured freely.  I expect it might have been the case for the last few hundred years, and so we too, drank with enthusiasm.  (I did regret this impulsive decision once I needed to relieve myself and there seemed to be only open fields)  The Sarrett Church, and its large cemetery, was across the street from the Cock Inn.  

 The Church was built in 1190.  William I insisted that any village that had a population of at least 100 people was to have a church built, but it was unclear if the village of Sarrett had 100 people. ”That such a comparatively large church should be built for the small community is unremarkable: agriculture had prospered during the 12th century and God was a dominant influence in people`s lives” But what WAS interesting was that there was a tunnel built between the church and the Pub/Inn.  Our server told the story that during the plague there were so many deaths that the church could not handle all the bodies – or could not bury them fast enough.  They would use the tunnel to bring the bodies and stack them up in the pub and bury them in the fields in unmarked graves.  It is where the parking lot is today.  The thought was unbelievable until I realized we are not that much different from 1348.  The difference is in 2020 we use refrigerated trucks to keep the bodies until we can tend to them.  “The need to find a cure for the plague also prompted people to engage in research and studies using scientific methods. Many experts believed that this helped change people’s thinking and started the momentum toward innovation and scientific research, leading to the Renaissance.”  Maybe once Covid is in our past, we, too, can go back to believing in science?

The other thing that made me reflect a bit was passing William Liberty’s grave, 1777 - 52 years old.  He was young, but that wasn’t so surprising, we all understand how hard life was in the day. But that having an estate that would be handed down from family member to family member.  Having your grave and history stay with the estate for, well, for as long as they could imagine.  Today we have nothing like it. More specifically, an ordinary person has nothing like it.  David was more shocked that a brickmaker could afford such an estate.  Then again, most things were made from bricks so clearly it was lucrative employment.

The walk was glorious.  Weather could not have been more beautiful.  The trail was a bit difficult to follow, the least helpful clues.  A tree might have three directional arrows but with no explanation to where they end up.  We’d cross over a stream with a current they’d mark as a "river".  We even played Pooh Sticks from the bridge over the “river”.  

​We only had one hiccup – between the three of us we were unaware that it was daylight savings.  It meant that it got dark an hour earlier than we were expecting.  It allowed us to view the most peaceful time of day: when the daylight is exchanged for the moonlight.  Again, I am reminded how attached I am to our electronics.  We did not have an analog clock between us.

Where to begin?  How about somewhere totally mundane like the signage in front of our house.   Just to clear up any confusion before starting, we live on Chepstow Place.  Now in Mid-August, we notice the road crews came by and placed these seriously significant signs on all four corners of our street that say:

ROAD CLOSED FOR PLAY STREET UNTIL SEPT 2020
 
Yup… they were very visible, and we had no idea what they meant.  Our road had plenty of traffic and clearly was not closed to cars.  We walked around freely as well as did all the parents and nannies with their children in tow.  We expected to “see” something in September that would clear up the big question, “what does the sign mean?” 

The obvious, was that the Road would close for the month of September, but no. Then it was clear come September that all the families would come out and play on the street, we were really looking forward to this! Maybe this is similar to a block party in the states? But no. I began to daydream about all the neighbors I would meet. But no. September came and went.  And no official closures of any kind.  No play.  Nothing changed that we could tell. 
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It was clear the city could not reuse this sign, it had Sept 2020 on it.  So, I asked some official looking person if I could have the sign when October came! Afterall, what is more cool than to have a memory of such a ludicrous no closure that was supposed to happen in front of our house?  But, nobody I spoke with had the authority to give permission, I had to call the City.  Of course, I considered just taking it on the last day of September… who would care or would know?  If you are unaware, there are CCTV  (AKA video surveillance everywhere!)  “THEY” would know,  I was not about to just “take” the sign.  So, I find out who made the sign and called them.  They gave me the council # who paid for the sign and I proceed to call them to ask for permission.  I should have known better.  Nobody is going to take the time to reply to some lunatic who wants a sign that makes no sense!  But WHY can’t I have it?  It cannot be used again.  So today, Oct 1, I am in luck.  I am sitting at the computer and the city’s road maintenance truck is in front of my house collecting the signs.  I dart out of the door and up my stairs, my immediacy received some attention because by the time I landed in front of his truck, he was ready to listen with wide eyes as to what could be so important …. The speed in which I tell him all the reasons he should let me have the signs he is picking up made his head spin.  I explain they can’t reuse the sign (due to the past date) and that I called the council but I couldn’t get a hold of anyone with any authority, and that there were so many signs nobody would miss one… etc… I was rambling so fast and furious that once I shut up and allowed him to speak, he couldn’t see why either.  He was curious WHY I wanted it, and what I planned to do with it, but other than that he was happily searching through the signs to find the sign with the least wear and tear.  I’m going to go as far as to say he was amused. 

Play Street

​I might need to eat a chill pill.  I was volunteering today at my favorite charity – plug for London’s book project, and I brought up how poorly this sign was worded, and they all laughed at me.  They said that “Street Play” was a THING.  And it was not easy to get your street designated as a Street Play, so I should be grateful.  I came home and looked it up.  Yup, it is a thing.  Maybe COVID had something to do with it this year because it was not anything like the video, just saying.  But I am happy to think that the effort it took to make my street a PLAY STREET gives me joy.  Maybe next year, we'll see kids playing with one another outdoors?