Category: Nature

November – Fantasticks

Fantasticks

by Nicholas Breton

(c1554-1626)

The Second in a series  from a long forgotten book.   November just to cheer you.

Breton’s words chronicle the change of seasons

November

It is now November, and according to the old Proverbe, Let the Thresher take his flayle, and the ship no more sayle: for the high winds and the rough seas will try the ribs of the Shippe, and the hearts of the Sailers.  Now come the Countrey people all wet to the Market, and the toyling Carriers are pittifully moyled.  The young Herne and the Shoulerd are now fat for the great Feast, & the Woodcocke begins to make toward the Cockeshoot.  The Warriners now begin to plie their harvest, and the Butcher, after a good bargaine drinks a health to the Grasier.  The Cooke and the Comfitmaker make ready for Christmas, & the Minstrels in the Countrey beat their boyes for false fingring.  Schollers before breakfast have a cold stomacke to their bookes, and a Master without Art is fit for an A.B.C.  A red herring and a cup of Sacke, make warre in a weake stomacke, and the poore mans fast is better than the Gluttons surfet.  Trenchers and dishes are now necessary servants, and a locke to the Cupboord keepes a bit for a neede.  Now beginnes the Goshauke to weede the wood of the Phesant, and the Mallard loves not to heare the belles of the Faulcon: the Winds now are cold, and the Ayre chill, and the poore die through want of Charitie.  Butter and Cheese beginne to rayse their prices, and Kitchen stuffe is a commoditie, that every man is not acquainted with.  In summe, with a conceit of the chilling cold of it, I thus conclude in it:  I hold it the discomfort of Nature, and Reason patience.

Farewell.

 

Not so Bad, so Far.

Front end of Sandy has blown out of the creek, the storm is still about 1500 miles wide so the back end will not arrive until later. (tomorrow maybe?)

The storm went right overhead a cat 1 hurricane merging with a big low pressure trough.

About ten inches of rain according to my rain gauge and no power since early Monday pm.

Continue reading “Not so Bad, so Far.”

One way traffic

Is it just a British thing or is authority a dirty word everywhere? I mean, a politician swears at the cops for enforcing some no-go rules in Downing Street (did he say plebs or plods?); and now a football referee is accused of verbal retaliation after an ill-tempered match in which both sides harrassed him constantly over his decisions. More generally, school teachers are verbally abused every day but would be sacked for answering in kind. Is this the price every ‘authority’ figure pays for their job? Is respect only to be accorded to self-selected groups of misfits defined by celebrity, wealth, social disfunction, ethnic origin, sexual proclivity and religious bent?

Sandy’s Antipodean Connection

HMS Bounty, a replica of Breadfruit Bligh’s ship was abandoned powerless and sinking off the Carolina coast early today.  The ship had been in Chestertown,  Maryland over the weekend for our annual Downrigging Weekend, cut short this year by Sandy.  The crew were heading South to Florida and probably thought themselves fairly safe as Sandy was already well North of their course.  The ship was built for the Brando film “Mutiny on the Bounty” but has appeared in several of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.

Story is here:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14775512-helicopter-sent-to-rescue-17-people-who-abandoned-hms-bounty-off-nc-coast?lite
Here’s a shot of the Bounty in better days passing by the head of the creek that I took this July just after the 1812 celebrations in Baltimore.

She was a fine and happy ship, unlike the original,  and the crew always welcoming and pleasant, I wish them all safe.

Fantasticks

A few moments ago while writing a comment on Mrs. Osbornes Antidote post I was struck by how much my words sounded like something I had read some time in the far past.   Digging back in my various messy archives I found the source, I take no credit for the writing, or the spelling.

Fantasticks

by Nicholas Breton

(c1554-1626)

Milton elsewhere used fantastic as a noun too, meaning “someone given to showy dress”. But as a noun it could also mean “a fanciful composition”, and Fantasticks was the title chosen by Nicholas Breton (c1554-1626) for his curiously pleasing series of sketches, of hours, season and months.

It is long out of print, and several years ago Chistopher Howse  of the Telegraph took the trouble to transcribe it over the period of a year.  I thought it delightful and still do.  Here is October, complete with its fanciful spelling.

OCTOBER

It is now October, and the lofty windes make bare the trees of their leaves, while the hogs in the Woods grow fat with the falne Acorns: the forward Deere begin to goe to rut, and the barren Doe groweth good meat: the Basket-makers now gather their rods, and the fishers lay their leapes in the deepe: the loade horses goe apace to the Mill, and the Meal-market is seldome without people: the Hare on the hill makes the Grey-hound a faire course, & the Foxe in the wood cals the Hounds to full cry: the multitude of people raiseth the price of wares, and the smoothe tongue will sell much: the Sayler now bestirreth his stumps, while the Merchant liveth in feare of the weather: the great feasts are now at hand for the City, but the poore must not beg for feare of the stockes: a fire and a paire of Cards keepe the ghests in the Ordinary, and Tobacco is held very precious for the Rhewme: The Coaches now begin to rattle in the street but the cry of the poore is unpleasing to the rich: Muffes and Cuffes are now in request, and the shuttle-Cocke with the Battel-Doore is a pretty house-exercise: Tennis and  Baloune are sports of some charge, and a quicke bandy is Court-keepers commodity: dancing and fencing are now in some use, and kind hearts and true Lovers lye close, to keepe off cold: the Titmouse now keepes in the hollow tree, and the black bird sits close in the bottom of a hedge: In briefe, for the little pleasure I find in it I thus conclude of it: I hold it a Messenger of ill newes, and a second service to a cold dinner.

Farewell.