Bills Posts

I’ve barely been out this week. All last week I struggled to walk in the morning, going out I had a very sharp pain just below my left knee, and then towards the end of the week my left thigh started giving me problems, it was agony to lift my leg to tie my shoes. By the end of the week I’d had enough. I decided that I was going to have a resting week.

So, at the end of the resting week, the pain in my thigh seems to have gone, and I only get the occasional twinge below my knee, so once I get this weekend sorted, I will be out walking as normal.

Now, that will be good. As I am digging around for photos to use, and I know people are missing my morning Facebook posts, but this week I have been saving my self for this blog. I’v also today finished reading Real Dorset by Jon Woollcott. It’s been a delightful book to read, stuffed with information about different parts of the county, and written with that quiet humour which I love, making it a delight to read, and yet at the same time frustrating me, because that is the way I would love to be able to write. I know I need to have my own style, but there are things I would copy.

I liked the way Jon has clearly researched his topic, and I find that inspiring me to do the same about things I’ve see on my walk. So I am hoping next week to possibly try a couple of things out.so I am once again looking forward to being on the road, even if it is only three miles in the morning, and two at lunchtime – when I’m able to.

The last couple of nights, I have been writing about connecting with the past, and trying to get a sense of what that means. Over the last few weeks. I have been playing with the artificial intelligence tool chatGPT. It is rather good. What I like about it rather than a search engine, is that when you ask it a question it tried to give you an answer rather than just presenting you with a load of different websites.

Now what I will say is that I will never use chatGPT to write blog post where I don’t tell you I am doing that. Now you can believe me or not when I say that, I can’t prove it to you, but the thing is I know. To do that really would be cheating, so I will always tell you when I’ve used the tool. Like, for example tonight. I think this nicely follows on from the minor struggle I’ve had over the last couple of days. Tonight I asked chatGPT;

What do people mean when they say they are connecting with the past? This is it’s response;

When people say they are “connecting with the past,” they typically refer to a sense of engagement or resonance with historical events, people, cultures, or traditions from earlier times. It implies a desire to bridge the temporal gap and develop an understanding, appreciation, or emotional connection with aspects of history.

Here are a few common ways people may express connecting with the past:

1. Historical Knowledge: People might connect with the past by acquiring knowledge about historical events, individuals, or periods. They may study history books, research primary sources, visit museums, or engage in scholarly discussions to gain a deeper understanding of the past.
2. Cultural Exploration: Connecting with the past can involve exploring and immersing oneself in the cultural heritage of previous generations. This could include learning traditional crafts, participating in cultural festivals, or engaging in activities that preserve and celebrate historical customs.
3. Ancestral and Genealogical Connections: Many individuals feel a desire to connect with their own ancestral roots and understand their family history. This often involves researching family trees, visiting ancestral homelands, or discovering personal stories and traditions passed down through generations.
4. Emotional Resonance: Sometimes, connecting with the past is an emotional experience. It can involve feeling a deep sense of empathy, compassion, or identification with historical figures or events. This emotional connection can be sparked by personal experiences, shared values, or a sense of collective memory.
5. Preservation and Conservation: Engaging in activities related to historical preservation and conservation is another way people connect with the past. This can include restoring historic buildings, supporting archaeological excavations, or advocating for the protection of cultural heritage sites.

Overall, connecting with the past is a multi-faceted experience that can manifest in various forms, including intellectual pursuits, cultural engagement, personal introspection, or active involvement in preserving historical legacies. It helps individuals develop a sense of continuity, learn from the lessons of the past, and appreciate the diverse tapestry of human history.

R

Last night I wrote about it feeling good that there were people who could stand at an historically spot and wonder what does even mean to connect with the past?

I have to be honest, and say that obviously you can’t connect with the past. Especially as in this context I can’t define what connect means. Just as the lockdowns were starting to relax, I went on a RAYNET exercise, it was the New Forest Marathon. But it was being run on a site at Wimborne St Giles. As I was approaching my deployment site, I drove past what I didn’t know at the time was Knowlton Henge. The oddity of a Norman church built in the middle of a Neolithic site, how old I’m not sure, but probably at least four thousand years.

After the RAYNET event, I made a point of going back to the site. I parked up, and walked in to the site. Why was it amazing to be there? At the time, I didn’t know anything about it at all, but now, through the books I am reading about Dorset I seeing many references to the site. Knowing about it gives me a greater appreciation of the place, the time and the people. What little we can know about them at all.

I very much want to visit many parts of Dorset, to experience these places, to know something of the history, and through the history, the people. And I think that is my definition of connecting with the past.

The header picture doesn’t have anything to do with Neolithic times. But it is near Gosport’s Mott & Bailey. This is the site of the Apple Dumpling Bridge.

I wrote a post a while ago about my interest in Neolithic sites and asking how to connect with people who built Stone Henge or Avebury, but what does connect even mean? I have no idea, which means it’s a pointless objective.

There’s a YouTube channel called the prehistory guys. They’ve made a bunch of videos about various sites and aspects. I watched this one today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kylfkoharGA Revealing the secrets of a stone circle in Shropshire.

It’s last few minutes of this video, where the presenter is stood on top of Corndon Hill, apparently it’s an important place in Stone Age terms. He was as befuddled about his feelings as I sometimes get. I found that strangely comforting, that someone with their knowledge felt like that.

The iPhone camera is perfectly adequate for vlogging. I’ve now recorded several videos on it. For the most part, I have everything I need to do vlogging. what I don’t have is the practice or the stories. Both of those are down to me.

One problem I do have is the external microphone – mine is broken, so I need to find another one. Of course, I bought the cheapest one I could find. I’ll give them their due, the model I bought did work well. But then I went for a few weeks without using the mic. It was after that (obviously, making sure it was correctly charged) that it didn’t work again.

Here then, comes my dilemma; I would buy a more expensive microphone, but how much am I going to use it? Well, of course I will, but that’s the question.

This is not a Neolithic site, it’s the garden at Holme for Gardens, which is a place to take a very pleasant stroll, have a browse in the garden centre, there’s some lovely cakes in the shop, and the food in the cafe is delicious. Well worth a visit. And, disappointingly, this is one of the few pictures of anywhere in Dorset that I have.

There are so many places in the county that I want to both re-visit and visit anew, but I want to make those visits worthwhile. I read in article in B&W Photography where the photographer didn’t just take pictures, he liked to write about what or who he photographs. Which strikes me as entirely reasonable.

I have been going on a lot, over the course of this blog about mega and Neolithic sites, without understanding why I have a minor obsession with them, but why? Thing is I don’t really know. Associated with theses sites are ley lines. Perhaps subconsciously I am feeling the energy? Now, I have to be very careful here, as I don’t want to get labelled as, well, slightly mad. Let’s just say that I like the idea of ley lines, and I like the idea that ley lines might be energy paths, and these paths focus on things like Neolithic sites. I like the idea of it. Like I like the idea of faster than light travel. Let’s just leave it at that shall we?

The thing is when I do get around to visiting the sights and sites of Dorset, I may try a bit of creative writing. What do you think?

Even though I’ve put today’s date in the title of today’s entry – there is nothing really special to report about today. We had a nice breakfast of pancakes and whiled away a bit of time watching the starlings on the bird table, and the pigeons trying to get on to the table. You don’t need to worry about the pigeons.

That’s because the starlings are such untidy eaters, that portion of the food always ends up on the ground, some of which the pigeons devour.

All done for breakfast, we got ready to go out. Not far, barely a five minute walk to the Methodist church hall, where the Cats Protection League were holding a 2nd hand book sale. They had their entire stock of books out, I’m not sure, possibly 10 – 15 trays of books? I spent a good bit of time browsing them. No Science Fiction as far as I could see, with the exception of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. I bought Mort, I recall it being one of the funniest books I had read in a while the first time round.

I also bought Bill Bryson’s Life and time of the Thunderbolt Kid, which I think may be a biography, but I’m not sure. I like his work, I find him quite funny. I’ve not read Thunderbolt Kid before, so am looking forward to that. We also had a cup of tea and a piece of cake, it all helps to fill their coffers, and the CPL in Gosport do a very good job.

Beyond that, I went and had a browse around the emporium on Stoke Road. I do like places like that. I didn’t buy anything, but you never know what you are going to find there, so I often have a look though the window, but this was the first time I had been in side.

Getting home, I settled down for what I can only describe as a very lazy afternoon. Reading and trying not to fall asleep, and occasionally failing in that. I think I’m going to a bit busier tomorrow to make up for that. Plus, if I have time I may try and get out for a walk – which I didn’t do today. Like I said, lazy!

I know I can’t feed all birds everywhere, I would see no one, or nothing starve. I can’t even feed all of the local wildlife all of the time. But I do what I can. What that means is that some of local birds and the odd squirrel get a rather nice breakfast of ground up fat ball (which the buggers are refusing to eat when whole but devour with gusto when powdery), ground up peanuts and mealworms.

It seems to work the table is mostly cleared by early evening. There’s usually a residue, but I had cleared old residue, so it was barren.

This time of year we get baby starlings. There were 2 this evening trying to eke out food. I reloaded the table. It’s strange isn’t it? I feel guilty at deriving pleasure & particularly entertainment from something that is just hungry and needs food. Earlier today I was watching the table. There were birds perched on all four sides, and one in the centre with the food. It was defending its store, and attacking anything that attempted to grab a bite. In the end they kind of just piled in and overwhelmed the defender of food.

Anyhow back to this evening there were two baby starlings, both fighting over the now replenished table. They were going at each other so hard that at one point they just fell off the table. Such is nature!

Who is Dave Ford you may well ask? If you don’t use YouTube at all, Dave is one of those people who makes it worthwhile to do so.

Dave has done quite a few videos of his walks, mostly around Dorset, but some around Hampshire as well. He’s out with Logan his whippet usually doing a roughly 5 mile walk around an area of interest.

His videos are well made, well edited, and interesting as he includes a little bit of history. I think I would like to do the same kind of thing but in a slightly different way by adding a bit of drama to my historical descriptions, you know, a bit of arm waving and prancing around – yes, I’d quite like that. Really, there should be plenty of opportunities to practice that here. I really should have a go.

I think what I need to do is identify an interesting area in town, or nearby (plenty of those) do a little bit of research. Haven’t we been here before? Oh good.

Folks I apologise about last nights post. Hopefully, this one is a little better.

I have been distracted and nearly forgot to do my blog. Unforgivable. It’s going to be a dreadful posti am really sorry,