This old house...

[Narnia]

Mick Mac Wrote:

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> daizie Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Ha ha very funny. Infact that is very funny :))

>

> very unusual for declan I agree.

There are times when you can be too agreeable.

[karter]

Narnia- very funny, joke of the month i think. We have an ancient old farmhouse in the sticks in Italy. Can't imagine how many people had been shot and buried there.>:D

[Scribe]

131 Underhill Road, East Dulwich, 1870.

Obadiah has returned home from a gruelling, fourteen hour shift of strangling cattle. He's enscornced in his favourite chair, sipping his end-of-week glass of stout whilst casually browsing the Dulwich Gazette. He slowly drifts into a gentle slumber, the echoing thud of horse and cannon beckons him back to the mud and slaughter of the Sevastopol. A war in which he proudly served his queen. Suddenly he's disturbed from his fading memories by his daughters' excited glee. 'Papa, papa, come and see. Hattie and I have been washing lace in the village and we got half a crown.' Obadiah proudly ruffles their hair, and asks his wife, Prudence, if there was any post. 'Your brother writes us from Canada, I've left the letter in your draw upstairs.' 'Oh mama, can we read it now', the daughters chimed in unison. 'No, we'll read it after dinner.' Obadiah settles back into his chair, and takes another deep draft of stout, content in the world.

131 Underhill Road, East Dulwich, 2011.

'Mummy. Mummy, my iphone's broken. I need you to check the warranty and get it replaced. Otherwise you and daddy are going to have to get me another one. 'Not now, darling. Can't you see that I'm booking you a place in an ethnic story telling workshop. And besides, it's your first day at school. Are you ready?' 'I'm not starting primary school until you've replaced my iphone!' 'Babushka, take her to school will you. I need a lie down.' 'Yiz, highness.'

Oh tempora o mores!

[Ladymuck]

> Mick Mac Wrote:

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> very unusual for declan I agree.

> Declan Wrote:

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> There are times when you can be too agreeable.

I don't suppose you have any examples Declan?;-)

[legalbeagle]

My lovely boyfriend bought me a gold locket recently. It's victorian, and inside are two tiny pictures one man, one little girl, that must have been put in when the locket was new. I was planning on putting pictures of my kids in the locket but I can't bear to remove the originals. Often wonder who they are!

[Annette Curtain]

legalbeagle Wrote:

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> My lovely boyfriend bought me a gold locket

> recently. It's victorian, and inside are two tiny

> pictures one man, one little girl, that must have

> been put in when the locket was new. I was

> planning on putting pictures of my kids in the

> locket but I can't bear to remove the originals.

> Often wonder who they are!

It's HIS grandpa silly !

Nette.:)

[legalbeagle]

:))

His grandpa wasn't in the services, this chap and his splendid moustache very much were.......

[Mick Mac]

legalbeagle Wrote:

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> My lovely boyfriend .........

I stopped reading at that point. What do you take us for?

[legalbeagle]

You dissing my bloke?

[Mick Mac]

He's good for a lift.

In a car that is....

[legalbeagle]

Well he's a fireman so actually he does a couple of good lifts. And you won't be getting another one, of either type, at this rate!

[Mick Mac]

Eeek. :(

[legalbeagle]

Yeah eek indeed. I'm telling.

[Scribe]

I've been fascinated by ancient and medieval history since I was little, and some of my most prized possessions are two Roman coins that my uncle and I found on his land in Kent with a metal detector he borrowed. One of the coins was from the time of Claudius (the emperor who sucessfully conquered Britain in AD 43), but the second one is unique in that on one side it has an image of Constantine, the first openly Christian emperor. But the really interesting aspect is on the reverse is an image/likeness of a pagan god. This confirms that the religious transition in the western empire wasn't as smooth as some would like, in that open contempt was being circulated. And in the process, mocking a Christain leader with a pagan deity on the other side of the coin that bares his likeness.

And yes, they've both been authenticated.

[brum]

legalbeagle Wrote:

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> Yeah eek indeed. I'm telling.

...and she has.

So, watch it! Or I'll get my big chopper out....

[karter]

Nice one Scribe.

Mick, If you extra behave we'll give you a lift, giving the fireman a well deserved rest.

[katie1997]

karter Wrote:

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> Nice one Scribe.

>

> Mick, If you extra behave we'll give you a lift,

> giving the fireman a well deserved rest.

huh!! as long as he's relegated to the back seat I hope! sniff....(I mean Mick, not the fireman)

[brum]

Scribe Wrote:

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> I've been fascinated by ancient and medieval

> history since I was little, and some of my most

> prized possessions are two Roman coins that my

> uncle and I found on his land in Kent with a metal

> detector he borrowed. One of the coins was from

> the time of Claudius (the emperor who sucessfully

> conquered Britain in AD 43), but the second one is

> unique in that on one side it has an image of

> Constantine, the first openly Christian emperor.

> But the really interesting aspect is on the

> reverse is an image/likeness of a pagan god. This

> confirms that the religious transition in the

> western empire wasn't as smooth as some would

> like, in that open contempt was being circulated.

> And in the process, mocking a Christain leader

> with a pagan deity on the other side of the coin

> that bares his likeness.

>

> And yes, they've both been authenticated.

Before Christianity, the Romans would take local pagan gods and merge them with their own gods, to encourage Romanisation (e.g., Celt Sun Goddess Sulis and Roman Goddess Minerva at Aquae Sulis, now known as Bath)....perhaps something similar happened with the introduction of Christianity and your coin is an example of that? Just a thought....

A fantastic find, though!

Edited to clarify my example.

[karter]

Brum, can you recite a poem for us please?

[Scribe]

Indeed they are, Brum. I know that the Constantine coin is a rare and subsequently valuable collector's item amongst the traders and collectors of antiquity, but I don't know if I could ever bring myself to sell it. And they both project an undeniable sense of intrigue, and I like to hold them when I read novels about Rome. Sometimes, often when I'm drunk, I stare at them for ages, wondering at their history, and dreaming-up images of the circumstances in which they would have changed hands.

And yes, the Romans did integrate barbarian Gods into their own, equally superstitious pagan religion. But this display of respect and tolerance wasn't tolerated during the 4th and 5th centuries, when Rome converted to Christianity.

[brum]

karter Wrote:

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> Brum, can you recite a poem for us please?

Ok...seeing as its you, karter... you may recognise this from 2009 (albeit amended slightly)

*clears throat*

Green and Blue

We met in Green and Blue

On a rainy day in June

She wanted a nice red

To go with pasta, she said

"That's odd, so am I," I lied -

Just to stand by her side

"Maybe a Massaya from Lebanon,

Or a Chateau-Haut-Goujon..?"

We stared at the racks of red

In silence as we read,

Vaguely concious of the rain

Running softly down the pane.

And so, as grapes on the vine

Must be picked at the right time,

I knew my moment had come

To ask the question...

'We could share....the bottle...I mean..'

(God, suddenly I felt fifteen)

Her eyes fixed ahead she smiled then said,

"Let's take the Lebanon."

[easytiger]

El Grano is a house fave too though.;-)

[Annette Curtain]

brum Wrote:

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> karter Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Brum, can you recite a poem for us please?

>

>

> Ok...seeing as its you, karter... you may

> recognise this from 2009 (albeit amended

> slightly)

>

> *clears throat*

>

> Green and Blue

>

> We met in Green and Blue

> On a rainy day in June

> She wanted a nice red

> To go with pasta, she said

>

> "That's odd, so am I," I lied -

> Just to stand by her side

> "Maybe a Massaya from Lebanon,

> Or a Chateau-Haut-Goujon..?"

>

> We stared at the racks of red

> In silence as we read,

> Vaguely concious of the rain

> Running softly down the pane.

>

> And so, as grapes on the vine

> Must be picked at the right time,

> I knew my moment had come

> To ask the question...

>

> 'We could share....the bottle...I mean..'

> (God, suddenly I felt fifteen)

> Her eyes fixed ahead she smiled then said,

> "Let's take the Lebanon."

Brum, do you fancy a threesome ?

* fans self *

:-$

[brum]

Sorry Nette, but there are only 2 glasses with this fruity little number...

[karter]

Thanks for the poem Brum, splendid stuff, and so is that wine. :)