Dr Butler Went to Worcester

[steepholm]

A PhD progression viva took me to Worcester today. Though it's only just over an hour away I'd never visited before, so I took the opportunity to go to Claines, the hamlet to the north of the city where the Butlers lived until the early 18th century (and before that at least from the early 16th). I suppose I'd been hoping that they might have a grave or something of the kind remaining, but the outside graves from that era were all sandstone and illegible, and there were no Butler plaques on the inside. I guess they weren't quite big enough in the wig department to warrant one at that time.



Still, I was pleased to have seen the place that gave my brother his middle name. The day was beautiful, there was a nice view of the Malvern Hills (I think?) from the village, and the church - though unspectacular - was fun to explore.



What charmed me more though is the fact that it's the only churchyard in England to have a pub inside it, and one moreover with the strange property that the closer you look at the upstairs window the more dogs appear to be sitting in it....







If you're wondering about the TV equipment, it's there because when I arrived the local news was making a feature about the Grand National winner, who it turns out was trained in Claines. Very few people visit who aren't locals, however, and when the reporter realised I wasn't from those parts she tried to interview me about how hard it was to find Claines, and oughtn't it to be better signposted or at least to have a sign saying "Welcome to Claines"? Apparently Satnavs believe that it's somewhere else entirely and are liable to land you in a ditch. I however had boringly used a map and found it with no problem, so I don't think I'll have been on Midlands Today after all.

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

"It's put Claines on the map——Well, it's already on it, but even more so."

"After you get off the roundabout, where is it?"

There'll always be an England, if some dangerous clown doesn't go and sink it.

Nine

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Well well, that's the very reporter! Thank you for the link.

I was walking past that first interviewee as she talked about how "it" had put Claines on the map (I'm just out of shot). Not being a follower of racing I had no idea what she was talking about at the time.

[owlfish]

An excellent anecdote about the merits of map-using!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, so lovely!

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Not that I mind your local mug´s outnumbering the dogs in other people´s houses but why does that girl have three legs? She is clearly standing on one of them at scratching her toes on the second wile the third leg keeps walking...strange taste in LP-handbags, too.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but I notice she changed her jacket for the news report!

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

As well she should! I bet, she´s got no less arms than legs. And a bag full of cats (if noses are not available, used up for Lynch films), probably. This off course immediately reminds me of my OTTO (school fanzine at Kungsholmens Gymnasium 1978-80) story "The Girl With The Wooden Finger". Turned out kind of stiff, I recall. Only one pun a story and no more goats.