Fritillaries …

 

Frittering away … well enjoying some time-space … with a nodding head as the Winter and early Spring disappear before an easier Summer, one (I do) hope/s, at least on the nature side, arrives …

Snake's-head Fritillary

Diddle away dissipate fribble away … words, words, words … aren't we lucky to have so many expressions to illustrate our ideas …

I'm on slow-go time … lots to do, and no doubt will get there … so in the meantime … some wonderful plants from a by-gone era …

Nodding Meleagris
in the meadow

Fritillaries first recognised in Europe in the late 1500s … characterised by nodding flower heads … probably brought over from the Middle East ...

Cultivated (Dutch) Fritillaries

... in Oxford there's a wild meadow, which hasn't been cultivated for centuries, as it's annually flooded …

... once the fritillaries in Iffley Meadows have finished their flowering, the deer herd is moved in for the summer and autumn …

Meadow Fritillary - underside of the female

Shakespeare in his narrative poem Venus and Adonis, Adonis metamorphoses into a purple flower checked with white:

By this, the boy that by her side lay kill’d

Was melted like a vapour from her sight,

And in his blood that on the ground lay spill’d,

A purple flower sprung up, chequer’d with white.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl in Namibia

The Latin specific epithet 'meleagris' means “spotted like a guineafowl” …

Then I came across the 'Fritillary' an academic term's magazine of the Oxford Women's Colleges … published between 1894 and 1931 …

Fritillary
Summer term
1927 magazine

... which I'd noted in the book Joanne Faries had reviewed last December … titled “The Eights” …

... and came about from Joanne Faries at her Word Splash blog in December last year when she reviewed “The Eights” - about four women in 1920 starting at Oxford University … which took me back to my school days in Oxford, and brought some history to life …

... and then oh yes! - in the book Joanne recommended … 'The Hilary Term' … which has just finished. I'm more than delighted today … I'm cheered at the coincidences!!

So here's to hope – I do fall on the side of optimism … and relate to my name derived from the Latin 'hilarius' – cheerful merry...

Section or Semester heading

Joanne Faries - Word Splash blog 'The Eights'

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

World Book Day … and International Women's Day …

 

The aspect of reading and its benefits are being encouraged for all … be it for the little ones, or for those older, perhaps even silver ones, who've not explored what's out in the written world …

Oracy is a word I hadn't come across … meaning the oral equivalent of literacy and numeracy … numbers can defeat many too!!

The National Literacy Trust empowers people to achieve literacy skills that'll be needed to succeed in life.

One book to start with (I've more … I'm back!) … I've just read Julia Gray's 'I, Ada' about Ada Lovelace, Byron's daughter.

Julia Gray writes as though she's Ada … bringing her story to life, yet sensibly adding snippets to bring the story more to our attention … as we know relatively little about Ada …

Ada - portrait by Margaret
Sarah Carpenter (1836)

... at the end in the author's note Gray talks about 'imagine out' from what is known or can be found on a subject … then round out those notes … which Gray describes as some kind of middle plane between fiction and non-fiction where books like I, Ada must sit...

... Gray goes on to say that whatever topic she's been researching there will always be questions that can only be answered by imagining out as to what might have happened … enlightening the reader a little more about the subject to hand …

I found this imagining aspect really quite insightful … and, oh yes!, it's a great read … about the mathematician, who envisaged the analytical engine … Ada Lovelace is often considered the first computer programmer.

Illustration from Sydney Padua's
graphic novel

2015 celebrated Ada's bicentenary … when I'm sure I came across Sydney Padua's webcomic and graphic novel 'The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage' abbreviated in a newspaper … bemused and hooked me …

I believe I'm on the way to being back … and am feeling distinctly easier … so here's to the future. Books galore and Women galore on the way to you in the coming months …

Ada - the computer programming language is named for her ... all two hundred years later ...

Ada (programming language) ... 

Literacy Trust organisation ... World Book Day ... and skills ... 

Not Your Typical Role Model from the 18th century - an overview on Sydney Padua's graphic artist's take on Ada Lovelace ... an overview by Dr Hannah Fry - who is Cambridge University's Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics ... utterly fascinating (only 1.15 clip's viewing) ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Balance of Nature ... Jacqui's book launch ...

 

Apologies one and all … life has caught up with me – Jacqui booked her 'date' with me back in December tying into the launch phase …

Jacqui's book ... without
the extra title would help -
but ... so be it

... times were free then – but, as happens, life and people caught on … and here we are in the New Year – with too much happening in February …

Hospital today, but that's another story, a new appointment booked for next Friday … so life can go on and I can finish this week, then my talk, I'm giving, on Mrs Beeton, to our History group, on Monday – which I wasn't expecting to be asked to do in February – ah well!!

Daylight is getting longer … bliss … and I'm sure my mojo will properly return soon – but for now, my Balance of Nature is there … but pretty static …

Jacqui's 'handle' for us all to use ... 

Minor adjustments to the 'see-saw' and this week will have passed off happily … I'll be back properly soon …

For now – Jacqui deserves all the kudos we give her … I've loved the earlier books in the series, and this one I need to order and read – then I'll do a post anon … my choice was 'Book Review' … firstly: Do what you committed to do!! Failed in this case …

Crocuses (or Crocii) 
Spring is in the air

Congratulations to Jacqui for this launch – amazing achievement … and she's given us much to think about along our ancestral eras …

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/im-over-at-hilarys-today/ 

Thanks for thoughts re hospital - just an outpatient visit, similarly next week - no emergency ... thank goodness.  I'll be pleased when this is all resolved!!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Grumpy Hilary … or Fed Up lady …

 

Fed up most likely … I have hot water … now my landlady is flying in from Kenya to see what's happened … so I guess everything will be tipped upside down again … I am fractious … stressed out with the irritations and inroads into my life …

Wonderful scented roses

Friends and family have been saying for goodness sake get your health sorted out – but frankly with the flat scenario I haven't felt able to do both …

I buried my head in all five Kingsbridge series books – covering the dark ages of England 997 AD to ten years after Battle of Waterloo in 1824 … which gave an insight into life through the ages.

Four of his novels, the fifth was
recently published

I think it probably helped otherwise I'd have been fretting more than usual … and I have various references to use when our History subject changes in 2026 … we're doing the Medieval period now – but I'm not sure what our 'leader' and her humble subjects (us – the members) will select/choose next.

I was happy that AJ Sterkel (Read all the Things! Blog) chose Follett's masterpiece 'The Pillars of the Earth' … as one of her books to pull you out of a reading slump.

AJ Sterkel's header for her blog

Life as it continues has different perspectives on who one is in life … being single, as are my brothers, so no reason to be overly enthusiastic about family life ahead – yes, and yea, for other friends and family … but for me – I just do my thing.

Wiki's logo

I'm happy – I've had an interesting life … and am not on my way out yet (I don't think!) … so I'll stick where I am and doing what I enjoy and can do … getting out and about as much as possible – and reading rather more than I've done over my lifetime, so far.

Carstian Luyckx - art work of 1650

Personal historiography, as well as academic knowledge in the public domain via whatever tools were available to that era of life, which now is much broader than it used to be … and as I'm older (perhaps wiser too) more of life's history starts to fall into place …

So this little brain is full of jigsaw pieces of life through the ages … and grateful that essentially I'm just getting older – not mentally deteriorating, thankfully.

AJ Sterkel's image ...
'How to Reignite Your
Love of Reading'

I hope I can be left in peace to get on with my life … but as the year progresses we'll see … for now – my head is above water, screaming silently, and just wishing this period was away …

AJ Sterkel's link to her latest post ... I also suggest you read the previous one on the saddest books ... I really enjoy her lists ... 

Cheers to you all and thanks for your comments and thoughts …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Publishing … success, delays, or not …

 

With commercial success in 1978, followed by ten years writing more thrillers … the time came for a change …

English - first edition

... a historical novel … set in Medieval England … who would read – would his publishers be interested … ??

This was Ken Follett's idea … referenced in my recent talk about Cathedrals; his route to acceptance patently wasn't at all easy.

He wanted to write about Cathedrals and enjoyed the learning process about the Middle Ages … so he set to … ten years after his commercial success The Pillars of the Earth was ready to be taken up and published (1989).

Salisbury Cathedral - west end

Enthusiasm … not much … the British and Americans duly published, without much success – but some. Apparently the Italians accepted it … seemingly the Italians have been kind to him … here in the UK, in paperback, it was number one for one week: thrilling success?!?!

However his German editor, Walter Fritzche at Gustav Luebbe, had longed to publish a novel about building a cathedral. Understandably the Germans hadn't been too happy with Follett's thrillers – there's usually a German baddy involved … so to have a publisher from Germany who was excited about cathedrals – was a bonus.

Luebbe's logo

Luebbe duly published a German version … they hired Achim Kiel to do the cover … painter, graphic artist and sculptor … who took on the creative project … giving the German people something very special. Both had paid off … the German publishers, and the creative artist …

Then Pillars began to create a stir among other publishing nations … and as we know today is hugely successful.

As I read it I did notice a few anomalies … which in Wiki they've highlighted … squirrels don't hibernate (ours in the Medieval era would have been the red ones … we had some in our childhood Surrey garden); sugar would only have been available in courtly circles … until later in the 1300s; similarly hops would have been much later; then the idea of breakfast as a meal … we're not sure if that was eaten as such … but all in all – it gave us a view of life in the 1100s … certainly my talk got a nod of approval – though I didn't bring in those items … being a vaguely wise old owl!

German edition -
using Achim Kiel's 
cover art

I do recognise a few of the authors promoted by the Luebbe group... as linked below … where you can find more information. Apparently they have thirteen publishing brands, several thousand titles – fiction, non-fiction, children's and youth books, novels, audio and ebooks.

Their concept is stated on the Company's 'the why' they are what they are … it starts;

"The importance of narrative lies in its impact on and relationship with the people who experience it. This can be a thrilling adventure, an intimate dialogue, a diverting conversation, a yearning experience, and much more.”

Follett includes the Luebbe information in his Introduction – where he goes into how he wrote the book (nearly 8 pages of it) … I used some of it in my talk … these extras for me give that little bit more.

This seemed an appropriate post for August's IWSG – I'm a member … but don't participate – I enjoy seeing others' thoughts arising out of the question – this month: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's entries over on your IWSG posts …

Bastei Luebbe company information …

Wine and Cheese – arising from my Cathedral post …

Addendum: I obviously hadn't made it clear that the reason I wrote this post - was because it was the German publisher who took it up ... and from there it became the huge success it is today ... it's the German aspect for a British author was the main point of the post.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Girdles … what hangs from them … bats ?

 

No – in today's age don't answer that … I'm going back a few hundred years to Medieval times … 

Saint Catherine of Alexandra
holding a girdle book

How about a book, a pocket calendar, or a smart phone … crazy times we live in – well these were all invented in the 1,000 years between the 5^th to 15^th century in European history I'd better add, even earlier in previous eras ...

... a girdle was to be found upon the loins of Greek and Roman men … enabling their tunic to be confined, which could hold a purse, as pockets were unknown … the women wore their girdles under the bosom.

A 15th century Medieval Almanac being
unfolded to reveal astrological charts
and a 'Zodiac Man', linking the body to
signs of the horoscope.
c/o Ian Visits post 

Then the ingeniousness of creative imagination gave us the concertina-fold almanacs, known as girdle-books … which have become known as 'medieval smartphones' … also calendars ...

We are so fortunate that so much of our history has been preserved and can still be seen – perhaps only in specific exhibitions – but at least we can consider how earlier generations lived.

The upper cover and edge of a closed concertina-fold
almanac, showing its distinctive folds

As it's August … and as usual I'm off the path … this 'be short' … thank goodness it's summertime, also not much change here … but so be it!

Latin 7478 is a medieval
manuscript: 25 September, 1456

As of today … we have come far, yet seem to be going backwards …

Exhibition – Unfolding Time: The Medieval Pocket Calendar (c 1383 - 1400) was at the Lambeth Palace Library … sorry - it closed in May 2025. But there is a short YouTube video to view … 4 minutes worth of fascinating medieval life … together with various posts.

Wikipedia Girdle Books ... 

Wikipedia Latin 7478 Medieval Manuscript Here you can find a description about "bat-books" ... essentially they hang upside down!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Wine and Cheese brought about by my Cathedral talk research ...

 

Honestly … let's have a change … my health is still with challenges, the leak still not resolved … and my mental thoughts aren't very polite!!

Winchester Cathedral - longest medieval
church in the world

So now let's go towards Cathedrals … I did my talk on Cathedrals in the Medieval era (I based it around the 1100s AD) … not on the actual style of building etc … but from the workers point of view – how were they built etc etc …

Different – but I don't do what's expected of me – exactly … however it seems to have rung bells for many. I'd come across the Ken Follett book 'Pillars of the Earth' – the story of building a cathedral, and of those closely connected with its construction …

It is what it is - !

Ken Follett in his introduction explains how he wanted to write about Cathedrals, but 'knew nothing' about how to build, or the way of life back in the 1100s – he looked to Nikolaus Pevsner's An Outline of European Architecture, and then two by a French man Jean Gimpel – The Cathedral Builders, and The Medieval Machine.

Pevsner's Guide showing
interior of Chichester
Cathedral

Follett is an author of thrillers, of which actually I'm not sure I've read any?! … but I bought Pillars of the Earth (over 1000 pages!) … and drafted my talk mainly from it – I had to fill in odds and ends from elsewhere.

Jean Gimpel's book
on The Cathedral Builders

Medieval England in the 12^th century was a turbulent place – civil war, famine, religious strife and battles over royal succession … all of which tore lives and families apart …

Jean Gimpel's book
on The Medieval Machine

Building a cathedral back then would have taken over 30 years, and in some instances over 500 years (Winchester Cathedral) … the stones revealing the construction history – the stops and starts, the damage and reconstruction, extensions in times of prosperity, repairs when disaster struck … and ultimately the incremental improvements – as an example when stained glass started to be added … to tell the stories of the time …

Henry II and Thomas a Becket
(early 14th C representation of them)

But when I'm 'researching' and putting ideas to paper … I often come across titbits that amuse me and I think – ah ha for you all reading this blog … so here's a couple for you …

Henry's claims over lands in France
(at their peak in red) 1150s

I was looking at the year 1141 AD – when The Anarchy, a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153 was ongoing … at that stage 'we' owned a fair amount of western France – well that's another story …

Ricasoli vineyard today - in the
mountainous region of Chianti - 
Tuscany

... but I spotted that the Italian winemaking company Ricasoli was founded … I had to look didn't I? They've even got a Chianti – Viticultori in Chianti Classico: Ricasoli 1141, named after that year.

Cheddar - so delicious

Oh – we need cheese don't we …? Another date I 'interrogated' was 1170 AD – when it is recorded in a pipe roll (financial records) Henry II apparently purchased 10,240 lbs (over 4.5 kgs) of Somerset cheddar … only available at court!

What's not to like after giving a talk on Cathedrals … but some wine and cheese – which in fact I didn't have … had some lunch though.

Live and learn – and that I certainly do … more tennis this week, when we have the counties down here competing in their Championships – excellent tennis to spend some time watching with a cousin who comes down to help with the admin of the tournament.

See you all soon – and thanks for visiting …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Savage Land ... Jacqui's latest book in her magnificent series ...

 

What's more important to life … water, shelter, or food … or …. looking after all of Nature …

Jacqui - very happy with life

The lands our early ancestors explored … needed to escape from … stretched far into the distance … further than their eyes could see … what lay ahead – and how could they take care of their wandering communities.

An area known as "Moonscape" in
the Namib Desert

I can see little reason to not believe that the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa live much as the ancestors Jacqui writes about would not have similarly existed ... so this post will be in this direction ... 

Swakop River - flooding through,
opening up into the Atlantic Ocean,
having been in ephemeral state

Depending on the season our ancestors would reach out across the physical features of earth … following ephemeral river systems … being there when the rains would let lose their life giving waters …

Female Welwitschia plant - showing the cones,
which are ripe and can be eaten raw or cooked

… they knew they had to be near a water source, while they could manage without food for one to two months at a time – the moon cycles – they'd know they needed to find some meat, fish, plants and fruits … and which suited the human system – to keep the clan alive ... 

Mopane Tree

Shelter was essential too – if the area was wind-driven, they'd need to hide away at times, keeping out of the sun … and making sure they were protected in winter …

Mopane Worm on a twig

Those early indigenous peoples would know which parts of plants were edible, where to find them, which season they would appear … and if there were insects living around the plant … they could possibly be harvested … as mopane worms are to this day.

Tamarix, Acacia, Camelthorn, Mopane trees … also provide shelter and firewood – once the indigenous peoples had learnt about fire – these particular trees are known for their hardwood.

Birds would snuggle into the 
lichen hiding their young and eggs

Over millennia our ancestors would have noticed nesting birds, which birds would nest in scrapes, and how useful finding and building shelters would be ... also to access these birds for extra food - eggs and meat ... 

A Welwitschia plant - which can live
over 1,000 years - fibrous trails

Papyrus sedge has been used for millennia, as fossil records have noted, for fastenings … many stringy or fibrous plants … Welwitschia, Papyrus, reed strands would be put to a good many uses …

Dune Spinach - edible

Over time man has grown wily – now our brains are relatively large, with an enormous amount of power … to control the various areas of our life as we progress …      ?? ever forward.

We've managed to use and subdue most things … have we thought about life itself … we in the 21^st century may never know what the future holds for the sophisticated animal that is today's man … but by encountering and mastering Savage Land … we've learnt … or have we …

as Jacqui says in her strap line to Savage Land

Nature Almost Wins …

Man v Nature - Jacqui's series - on how man survived critical events on our evolution ... 

My earlier post in January 2025 ... 

Jacqui's introduction to my delayed posting - apologies to one and all - tis here now ... 

Thanks for visiting ... and do buy/read Jacqui's books - they're very readable and enjoyable ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories