Day 98 - alive and well, still in Fazeley.

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0 locks, 411 in total.







We had plenty of cloud for much of the day which gave me a chance to explore a little. I gave Hattie a good walk and swim first thing, fed her and then headed into Tamworth. There's a new shopping centre which I didn't visit – seen one, seen all of them – but the pedestrianised areas had a large range of individual shops as well as a few High Street staples that presumably didn't want to move to the new area. I didn't go into the castle as there seemed to be several large tourist groups swarming over the place. It was King Offa of Mercia's stronghold and palace and was also the stronghold of Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. The Danes completely devastated Tamworth twice in two of their many invasions. The present castle is of Norman origin, built shortly after the invasion.







The parish church is dedicated to St Editha, the young sister of King Athelstan; she was raised by nuns and had dedicated her life to God. In 925, Athelstan decided that lasting peace with the Danes could perhaps be achieved by Editha marrying the Danish King Sigthrigg, 'a battle-scarred warrior, coarse and bulky, one-eyed and belligerent' – sounds delightful. Editha agreed provided Sigthrigg became a Christian but he changed his mind about this at the altar and stormed off. Editha returned to the convent and became famous for her many good deeds . She also founded nearby Polesworth Abbey. The Danes meanwhile kept attacking and peace was finally achieved in the reign of Athelstan's son Edgar.







You may have noticed a little antipathy on my part towards some of the Canal & River Trust workmen – well today my satisfaction level has dipped even further. On Hattie's first walk of the day I noticed a huge amount of large brambles, reeds and nettles in the canal – left there when the men had strimmed along one side of the canal, it had now drifted and covered the whole canal and was impossible to avoid. Then I saw the men emerge from the pillbox and..... - well, let's just say that they eventually saw reason and started raking it all out! On Hattie's afternoon walk, going a different way, one of the CR&T work boats was only attached at one end and the other was drifting across the canal, heading towards a moored boat. I got on the workboat to take hold of the bow line and the other boat owner pushed me back to the towpath with her boathook. If they can't even moor a boat successfully then I despair.







On a lighter note, I've been reading about one man's travels on his narrowboat and I quote:- There were far too many low bridges obstructing our navigation; some are lift bridges, some are swing bridge, and all are b*****ds'.



Photos not uploading tonight so will try loading them tomorrow.

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Photos

Herringbone curtain wall....
...laying the bricks diagonally made the structure stronger and less prone to slipping.

The Town Hall - 1701
This was funded by Thomas Guy (of hospital fame) and extended subsequently (out of camera shot).

St. Editha's Tower.
There is an unusual double-helix staircase inside - more steps going up than coming down, which seems like a design flaw!

Almshouses, funded by Thomas Guy in 1678.
Originally for poor women, men were only accommodated later. It was rebuilt about 100 years ago to the original design.

A leter addition to the building....
.....after a disagreement, Guy made this restriction on the occupants, which is still in place today. 'Hamleteers' - what a wonderful word.