And now 40 years later, almost to the hour, I am still here. What a voyage in between, something very ordinary, just a chunk of life, but something very extraordinary because everyone's life is uniquely different. But this is a record of what my life was like at that time. How different now. www.flickr.com/photos/pentlandpirate/1436299943/in/photol...
How amazing it would be if we could step back in time.
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Woke up this mornin' feelin like I was floatin on the waves....must have been Southern Ocean....but I was dreamin.
It was dark but somehow I knew I should have got up really early and gone somewhere before work. The moon had been almost full, so bright, when I went to bed last night. It was late and I had been kept up by a good book I couldn't put down, and a little Darcy May dog who loved a game of tug-of-war and hide-and-seek I managed to play with her while I read. I knew I should have got off to bed early so that I could be up with the dawn. I knew it.
The alarm had to wake me from my floating dream and by the time I was leaving home the sun was up and shining strongly, that beautiful low, piercing November light that is so magical for photography. But I was already late and five minutes spent trying to shift the ice off my car windscreen put me even further behind my daily schedule.
As I made my way along the country roads and lanes I use on my commute to the airport I was smitten by the beauty of the world around me. There was mist in the shallow valley and my route was illuminated by trees lit by the horizontal shafts of light in brilliant golds and yellows. Frustratingly there wasn't time for me to stop (although I swerved off the A34 briefly to grab this one). I passed 'picture' after 'picture' where the view just shouted out to be captured. But each was a fleeting glimpse of beauty lost for ever in a flash. But my frustration was soothed when I pushed a CD into the slot. Chris Rea, "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder". Wow, I'd never heard it before, but it was perfect for that drive. It lifted my soul so high, I was in love with Life! So good was the feeling, I was on the fourth replay when I arrived at work,the volume having been stepped up each time I hit the replay button. Get the feelin here www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND1Zmh1fedQ
My enthusiasm for the day lasted, well, at least five minutes, and then it was back to same old, same old. Boy do I wanna get outa here!
The tower emerging from the clouds is Sutton Common BT Tower sitting atop Croker Hill on the western fringe of the Peak District National Park. It is one of the few communication towers in the United Kingdom built of reinforced concrete. It is notable because it was originally conceived as part of the 1950s 'Backbone' chain designed to provide the UK and NATO with survivable communications during nuclear war.
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It won't be long before the leaves change colour and perhaps the grey of Dinorwic slate quarry will be brightened by the orange autumn leaves we saw last year. There's just one coniferous tree, a "Christmas tree", high on the quarry face. It's on a ledge I've never been able to get to. But if I had the means, I would love to be able to decorate it for Christmas. Big baubles of course. And solar powered lights too.
Can you spot the four slate buildings in the shot?
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I made it back to the car just as the first drops of rain, followed by hail, turned the ground white. The sky was incredibly dark over Manchester, only lit by the odd flash of lightning. It left The Cage at Lyme park nicely highlighted. This was taken at about 2.30pm. The city of Manchester lies in the darkness down to the left of shot. See www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-n...
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A reflection of the day. If I could have seen so clearly ahead of me to all the great walks I remember on those hills I might have prevented the sky falling into a hole before me. The sky scowled in anger, moody clouds in the wings, and me just the wrong side of where I wanted to be, mourning my regret.
I didn't write this but I confess it is mighty similar to some of the nonsense I produce:
Hidden away on a bleak edge of the south west part of the Staffordshire Peak District is Blake Meer, or Black Mere Pool, sometimes known as Blackmere Pond, which, according to local legend has its very own mermaid. It was believed to be a bottomless pool though in more modern times it has been proved otherwise. According to local legend Blake Mere is reputed to be linked to nearby Doxey Pool by a "U" shaped tunnel. Both are a similar height above sea level and maintain similar water levels but one has been shown to be higher than the other and the local geology is not thought to uphold the notion of a tunnel.
Landlocked Blake Mere Pool
What is a mermaid doing in Staffordshire, a landlocked county in England with Blake Mere Pool many miles from the nearest sea? There are legends of other pools with mermaids inhabiting them in the Peak District and other parts of England also miles distant from the sea. Some are said to be linked to the sea by a tunnel which the mermaid traverses at certain times of the year such as Easter. Blake Mere Pool has two very different explanations concerning the origin of its mermaid.
For the love of a sailor!
One account tells how a sailor from Thorncliffe, a nearby town, fell in love with a mermaid he met on one of his voyages and brought her to the pool so that they could both live close together. However he was a mortal and she was an immortal being and the sailor eventually died leaving her in the pool all alone.
She is said to have wept bitterly at his death and pined and pined over many long years for her love. She longed to leave the small, land-locked lake which now seemed like a prison to her and yearned to return to the freedom of the open sea but could not do so because it was so far away. Eventually she grew bitter and angry towards humans and haunted the lake, luring people to their death.
The condemned girl
The other account is more violent and brutal and tells of how a beautiful local girl refused the affections of Joshua Linnet, a local man. Linnet, furious at being spurned falsely accused the girl of witchcraft. She was tried and sentenced to death by drowning in Blake Mere Pool.
As she drowned, with her dying breath she is said to have cursed Linnet. His body was found three days after at the side of the pool with his face bloodied and rent by claw marks. Local legend says that animals will not drink from the pool, or birds fly over, or settle on it, because the girl’s spirit turned into a mermaid and haunts the pool.
Sightings
Many people have claimed to have seen the mermaid. In the 19th century local people tried to drain the pool to see if it was indeed bottomless. They commenced digging a ditch from the southern banks of the lake. Evidence of this can still be seen.
As they were digging the Mermaid is said to have rose menacingly from the lake and frightened them into stopping the work. She warned them she would drown the local towns of Leekfrith and Leek unless they ceased immediately. Terrified they obeyed and returned home.
"Mere-maid" or mermaid?
In the second explanation it may be the spirit is a "mere-maid" rather than a mermaid. It may refer to the girl who was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death by drowning.
What ever the original explanation it does seem extraordinary that mermaids are reputed to inhabit such pools of water so far from the sea. There are two other pools in the Peak District reputed to be the homes of mermaids, the Mermaid’s Pool, Kinder Scout and Doxey Pool. Like Black Mere Pool they are also said to be connected to the Atlantic Ocean. These are two common traits that are held by other pools in Britain that are reputedly the home of mermaids.
The Mermaid Inn
Nearby the pool is the 17th century Mermaid Inn is a Grade II listed 17th Century Coach Inn that has great traditional and modern facilities with marvellous views of the area. It is about 500 metres or a 10 minute walk to Blake Mere Pool from the inn.
Credit: zteve t evan
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