Palms and their uses - I'm sure some will surprise you .. part 1/2

Dear Mr Postman .. how welcome you are at the moment and another informative letter is a great pleasure to receive ..

A multitude of palms were strewn marking Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem thus establishing the name as Palm Sunday. However in England in medieval times the 'palms' were made from willow, box or yew branches ... as palms would not grow so far north. Palms today are saved in many churches to be burned the following year as the source of the ashes used in Ash Wednesday services, the first day of Lent.

Palms have been around on earth for aeons .. they have been found in the fossil record around 80 million years ago, while the first of the modern species we have today appeared 69 - 70 million years ago, confirmed by fossil pollen. The Wikipedia entry on palms states that they "appear to have undergone an early period of adaptive radiation".

Humans could not have expanded their exploration without the use of the date palm - which had become established before human civilisation itself. Date wood, pits for storing dates and other remains have been found in Mesopotamian sites (modern day Iraq) - confirming that the palm offered so much more to humans in those far off ancient times: concentrated energy food as they journeyed the deserts, an amenable habitat by providing shade and protection from the desert winds. In addition almost all parts of the date palm had a useful purpose ..

The importance of Palms in ancient times is that they are mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible and at least 22 times in the Quran .. reflecting their symbolism. Palms, in many historical cultures were symbols of victory, peace and fertility. The Romans rewarded champions of the gladiatorial combat as well as celebrating military successes with palm branches.

Palms are one of the most well-known and extensively cultivated plant families offering so much to so many through the centuries ...

Thank you Mr Postman .. oh good, tomorrow's letter will give us some more insights into palm uses ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters

Do you know why Easter is called "Easter"?

Dear Mr Postman .. another letter how lovely - thank you .. my mother will enjoy these stories ..

Do you know why Easter is called 'Easter', why the date is flexible and where the various traditions came from? There are so many symbols and customs that have become established over the years as the different civilisations in the northern hemisphere have gained a hold.

The first for my mother must be the annual Christian festival of Easter in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, after yesterday's Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. The lay reader from the Chaplaincy came yesterday to spend a little time, say a couple of prayers and give the Blessing with my mother, which she was grateful for.

There is always so much to learn and appreciate in how we, as the present civilisation, utilise the customs and traditions of times past and how our own present day identities will be etched into these centuries for future historians to interpret. We have so much information available to us .. it is quite extraordinary that I, as just a normal daughter, can find (as I wish to - granted!) snippets of information going back eons ... and highlight to you the ones that amuse my mother and I - and appeal, I hope, to lots of you as you read these positive letters and this blog.

The First Council of Nicea convened by Roman Emporer Constantine 1 in 325 AD was historically significant as the first effort to attain consensus in the Church, when it was laid down that Easter Sunday cannot be earlier than March 22nd or later than April 25th: ie the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon following the vernal (Spring) equinox.

The English name 'Easter' was adopted by the Venerable Bede (672 - 735 AD) from a heathen festival held in honour of the Teutonic goddess of dawn, called Eostre, which occurred at much the same time as the Spring Equinox and had been linked with the Old English Christian Paschal festival.

Pasch, Paschal, I've always associated as a Jewish name or description, however I've been surprised to learn that it is established in a large number of languages .. as above an archaic name for Easter or Passover; Pascha is also found in Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, in Hebrew from pesach (to pass over), in Old French (pasque) and modern French (paque); The PassOver; the feast of Easter.

Then we get Pasch Eggs, Paschal Lamb .. and Hot X Buns, Maundy money .. so much, so many more snippets to follow up on ..

Thank you Mr Postman for reminding us of our history .. the letter will generate many more ideas from readers as they celebrate their Easters ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters

Palm Sunday, Strokes, Reminiscences

Dear Mr Postman .. again you come on a Sunday - thank you so much .. my mother will enjoy these snippets - especially as it is Palm Sunday ..

Palms survive in all sorts of warmer climates .. and surprisingly are to be found as far north as Cornwall, eg in Morrab Gardens, in Penzance - which has a sub-tropical climate regulated by the Gulf Stream (now at the forefront of the global warming debate) - and is where my mother comes from.

Today is a special day for my mother .. as it is now her 3rd Palm Sunday in a hospital; three years ago she was in the Acute Brain Injury Unit in London, where the nurses very kindly made sure she could get down stairs to the Chapel within Queen Charlotte's Hospital (the original name of the old building) to attend the service. In fact the Chaplains were wonderful - as my mother was so late .. as she needed a lot of attention to be put into her wheelchair .. that they actually started the service again - making it shorter.

They also gave her a Palm Cross .. which I kept and mounted on black paper -so that when she came down to Eastbourne, I was able to put it in her eyeline on the wall at the end of her bed.

At present she is in the local hospital and I sincerely hope they sort her treatment out a.s.a.p. so we can get back to the Nursing Centre, where I can visit whenever I want, rather than at the hospital from 2.00 pm onwards. I just like to keep an eye on her and know what she wants and needs - and know she feels reassured when I'm around - in the morning as well as the afternoon.

It's been an interesting experience down at the hospital .. there's always something to learn .. even if the outcome is so unsettled. The other patients seem to have taken to her ... and have realised from the conversations she has - often with herself!!!! - that she's going through her life .. somethings (across her 88 years of time frame) being weaved together - but that it is still pretty intelligible.

It's been quite interesting explaining to people that strokes can affect patients in so many different ways .. but I think my mother must be almost unique .. she can span all of her life - yes, she now forgets somethings, but if I prompt her - she'll remember. I posted two other snippets back in January on "She's gone Cuckoo" and "Emanuensis", which emphasises how well her brain is working .. yesterday when I was with her .. she suddenly came up with two words 'delinquent' and 'decadence' .. so I asked why! "I was thinking of words beginning with 'D' ".. so I said 'delicate' ... no - "too easy" says my Ma!!?? Well - you please tell me what's wrong here? .. her left side may be stroked .. but not her brain.

These positive letters, Hilary's snippets or tales are stories she would like to hear and she said to me "you're having fun doing these?" - yes I am!! It's a difficult time .. but my mother has been an exemplar as a patient .. and quite extraordinary in her mental capacity to overcome the tribulations she has faced - with acceptance, working out for herself the best way to deal with things and hardly ever worrying me - and positive letters are a release for me ... and generate lots of response from family and friends, and now from you too kind readers.

We wish you a blessed Easter week 2009.

Thank you Mr Postman for reminding me of our times together .. and I know you'll have more interesting tales for us tomorrow ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters

The "Beast" who cannot sit on the sewers?!

Dear Mr Postman - the "Beast" .. now what is that? .. and what on earth does it have to do with sewage? I know you'll tell us ..

The car market is not dead .... well some cars have been made recently!! ... General Motors' Cadillac One is one of 25 that have been built for the Obama administration. Caddy One has been nicknamed "the Beast". It has some interesting features .. the body is sheathed in 8" military-grade armour, each door weighs as much as a cabin door on a Boeing 747. The windows are ballistic glass and said to be 5" thick. Obviously there's lots more to these cars ... however it is ....

.. the weight of "the Beast" that is the point of this post. It is estimated to weigh between seven and eight tons and this is what could cause a problem to London's sewage system, the infra structure, the underground & the war bunkers dug beneath the streets ... and why the British security forces have been reluctant to let "the Beasts", past and present, pull right up to the entrances in some places - due to the possibility of collapse ..

There's a fun 1 min 30 sec BBC shot of "the Beast" doing a three point turn outside Downing Street .. (& an American anchor woman getting herself ready for her report) - go here to watch! While blog-wired.com/cars/ has a very good article on the Armoured Cadillac.

A brief note on the sewage system .. London had numerous crypts, dungeons, hidey holes, etc but its underground infra structure was only developed from the 1850s - the continuation of the railway from the six terminii bringing the trains to the edge of London expedited the tunnelling expertise allowing "the tube" to be built.

At much the same time the "Great Stink" occurred in London in 1858 .. determining that something had to be done about it! The appointed engineer Joseph Bazalgette had incredible foresight in planning the sewage network .. and due to the sewer diameters used .. it still serves its purpose today .. he'd even allowed for the unforeseen - the 1960s tower blocks increasing the population of London upwards.

The mileage of sewers is quite extraordinary .. the six interceptor sewers totalling nearly 90 miles, were fed by 450 miles of main sewers, which were supplied by another 13,000 miles of smaller local sewers. Construction of the interceptor system required 318 million bricks .. creating an amazing brick vaulted system under London -

Personally I can see why the authorities are somewhat wary of having 'the Beast' using the streets of London ... I'm not sure a President of the United States would be too happy slowly sinking into the sewer system of London! Great thought ...??? a few laughs though .. - my mother and I always laugh when we talk about the time my younger brother aged 2 or 3 fell in our cess pit at home .. silly tales of youth .. but they amuse and keep us laughing ..

My friend Pete Baca is a car enthusiast and is always willing to provide information on new cars, old cars and the car market - or stories from our past .. so please check out his site ...

Thank you Mr Postman for another interesting positive letter .. we can have some laughs with these fun stories .. what's it going to be tomorrow, I wonder? ....

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters

A Flutter, Colours (Silks) and Lawyers ...

Dear Mr Postman - thank you for bringing us your latest positive letter .. we're looking forward to hearing some fun snippets about our annual Grand National horse race, that attracts so much attention ...

This is the time throughout England when people who wouldn't normally be seen dead having a flutter take part in office, pub, club etc sweepstakes on the outcome of the Grand National. Small amounts of money are put into the coffer (the same amount for everyone) and you draw a horse from a hat .. that's it .. until you're all together again and can see who won the pot .. or there are those who wouldn't normally be seen dead in a betting shop scuttling into these establishments and placing the family bets .. or more dangerously those placing bets via the internet - I'm sure you've participated in one of these .. or popped down to the local bookmakers.

The Grand National has become part of England's required viewing or listening - a once a year special .. everyone caught up in the history and duration of this great race. The colours, excitement, the fashion, the punters all out or watching to see how many fallers, who wins, who lasts the course ..

The horses race round two circuits of Aintree's National Course - over a distance of 4 1/2 miles; during the race they jump 30 high fences, including the Water-Jump, which is the only fence not covered with woven branches of spruce fir, The Chair and Becher's Brook - the other two most challenging fences - and are only jumped once.

There's so much press build up to the race .. once the 40 top Runners out of 150 have been selected .. with the odds constantly changing as the pundits take up their positions .. evaluating the horse, the trainer, the owner and the jockey placing their bets up to the last possible minute .. the race is off and the 40 Runners and Riders are distinguishable by their colours - their silks - as they race round the circuit ... however fewer than ten may finish!

The jockey's "silks" are the registered "colours" of the owner or trainer who employs them and may stem from medieval times when jousts were held between knights; the multifarious patterns of today may have been influenced by medieval traditions in Italy of street racing.

However the taking of "silk" is a rite of passage when a jockey is first able to don silken pants and colours in their first race ride, and it has a parallel in how lawyers are spoken of as "taking silk" .... another story for another day ...

Thank you Mr Postman .. again an interesting letter and like so many others, as a family we've always taken an interest in this annual race .. I wonder who will win this year ... have you any idea? ...

Notting Hill, The Grand National and the British Grand Prix ..

Dear Mr Postman - it is good to see you again and isn't it wonderful that the days are sunny and warmer - you must be enjoying your rounds without the snow?! We are pleased to have your positive letter and my mother will be reminded of my days in London as well as two more British dates on the sporting calendar while she's still in hospital.

Aintree just outside Liverpool in the north west of England is where the Grand National is run. Similarly to the Boat Race, the 1830s were the start of this annual British racing fixture. As with the Boat Race it has developed over the years ... land was purchased, the course was set and a grandstand was built - this was organised by the owner of Liverpool's Waterloo Hotel working with a syndicate. When the foundation stone was laid a bottle full of sovereigns was placed in the footings .. so the land has an extra added value to it! One sovereign today has a value of £150.

The first fixtures were flat races over one and a quarter miles. Jump races were added to the fixture list in 1835 and at that stage was named the Grand Liverpool Steeple Chase; the horses had to jump a stone wall, cross a stretch of ploughed land and finish over two hurdles! In 1843 as one of the syndicate, Mr Topham, a respected handicapper, began to exert a greater influence - he turned the National into a handicap race. Topham initally took over the lease of the land before buying it outright and his family were still involved with the Grand National 120 years later.

In the 1930s the forward thinking Mrs Mirabel Topham, who had been an actress of some repute, built a new course within the established Grand National one, which opened in 1953 - the year of the Queen's Coronation. However Mrs Topham also set in the motion the construction of a motor racing circuit which encircles the Race Course, and this hosted a European Grand Prix and five British Grand Prix - Stirling Moss won three British Grand Prix there.

The Grand National is a three day fixture starting today 2nd April 2009 - however the famous handicap race takes place on Saturday 4th April 2009 at 4.15 pm British time (8.15 am PST) and I will give you some more information in tomorrow's post.

Surprisingly at much the same time as Aintree outside Liverpool was being developed as a race course in the 1830s, the Notting Dales (now the dales or hills running down and north from Notting Hill, west London) were turned into the Hippodrome Racecourse. A certain amount of speculation took place in the building boom of the early 1820s in the Notting Hill Gate area (the Gate in question being the toll-gate on the main road from London to Oxford), but in 1825 the boom collapsed - Notting Hill being thought too far west for successful large scale speculative residential building!! Even then .. they had booms, collapses, recession et??!!

During the interval before the revival of building activity in the late 1840s the area was turned into the Hippodrome Racecourse, and was laid out for steeple chasing and flat racing with the first meeting taking place on 3rd June 1837 - Victoria became Queen on 20th June 1837!

Surprisingly the old Racecourse only survived a few years and the planning of the Ladbroke Estate took place amongst much speculative boom and bust building operations. Fortunately the original plans of housing round wooded gardens and squares were adhered to and the Notting Dales were turned into magnificent Victorian dwellings for the middle classes - I lived on one of the roads, which by the 1970s were being converted into flats!

The Industrial Revolution during 1860s to the 1830s allowed a large middle class to develop and a larger number of factory, pottery, mine or manufacturing workers to have a regular income with better working conditions, including a day off - which meant a day at the races could be afforded and enjoyed by all. Horse racing would have been a new spectacle and the large grounds afforded plenty of room for spectators - to enjoy the racing, place a few bets and try out the side shows ... all probably new to the populace.

Thank you Mr Postman .. you do manage to tie interesting subjects together .. it is such fun and I know we will enjoy talking about them .. we look forward to hearing more about the Grand National tomorrow and I suspect you'll have a few other ideas to bring us later on from this positive letter .. have you any tips for us? 'Til tomorrow then ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters

Mouse hole and Mean Sea Level

Dear Mr Postman - thank you for coming today .. my mother will enjoy her letter in due course, at the moment she's still in the hospital and I have to hope they'll hurry up and let her get back to her Kestrel House Nursing Centre .. this is not an easy time .. she will love some more snippets of days gone by ...

Cornwall is a county with a wonderful history, so names would spring out, .. folklore would kick in, a magical place for families having a holiday .. so much to do, so many coves, tiny beaches, windy outcrops, cliff paths for coastal or moorland walking - the north coast fresh and invigorating, while the south coast extremely equable and mild .. the Cornish claim that their county is the first, the last and the best county in England!!

Penzance which has a splendid position on Mount's Bay - looking out across the sea to St Michael's Mount and the Lizard - became known as the capital of the Cornish Riviera once the London mainline railway terminated here. Passengers (and trade) were able to make use of the line from 1867 to travel to or from London - once the guages of the various railways had been standardised!

The Penzance climate is so temperate that the Morrab and other gardens contain numerous examples of sub-tropical vegetation and are filled with colour all through the year, particularly in Spring when the great bushes of camellias and magnolias are in full bloom.

The next westerly village along the coast towards Lands End is Newlyn .. which has some interesting statistics .. as well as being the village where my mother had her Care Home .. perched up above the harbour, looking east towards Penzance, St Michael's Mount and on to the Lizard peninsula. Surprisingly a few years ago Newlyn was the largest fishing port by turnover (>£18 million in 2004) in England .. and the village with its humpbacked, one car width, bridge on a lefthand bend was a bit overwhelmed by the continental lorries that swarmed into the village to pick up their loads of fish!!

The other piece of recorded fact is that the Ordnance Datum or Surveying Benchmark in the British Isles is based on the mean sea level at Newlyn .. so most measurements recorded on maps, or sea levels in the 20th century were based on those occurring at Newlyn - until computerisation took over. (Up until 1915 Victoria Dock in Liverpool had been the Observatory's original home).

The Newlyn School of Artists was established in the 1880s - 1890s and the village along with Mousehole remain very popular with the painting community. St Ives across the peninsula on the north coast is probably better known for its artists colony, sculptors, artisan crafts etc and now The Tate St Ives.

Mousehole, or "Mowzal" as the Cornish call it with their dialect, is a typical Cornish fishing village set in nooks and corners overlooking St Michael's Mount bay - and with Marazion was until the late 1500s one of the principal ports of the Bay. The last person to speak Cornish died in the village in 1777, although the Cornish language has not died out completely and is somewhat being revived. Mousehole has been immortalized in the book "The Mousehole Cat" by Antonia Barber and so is a tourist attraction for cat lovers, as well as being an excellent starting point for the coastal cliff path, passing Lamorna Cove, the Minack Theatre - hewn out of the cliffs, looking out over the moonlit seas and on to the end of the land: Lands End.

Thank you Mr Postman - those snippets in our Positive Letter .. will bring back memories for my mother and we can 'travel' to the other villages another time .. you are clever to spread your knowledge out - as I know there's so much history here in Cornwall going back thousands of years that would be interesting to hear about too ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters