the old ways

fionabeth13

The Wheel Turns

White plum blossom on our allotment tree – photo by Fiona Beth

This morning I went to the allotment and the plum blossom was out, bubbling over the bare, grey branches, shocking against a rain streaked sky.

Like the blossom I feel I am emerging from a long winter. Somewhere in 2023 I put myself back in a box I had long been trying to leave behind. It felt comfortable, safe, played to my strengths. And it helped me find my feet, in a new part of the country. Sometimes too much new is overwhelming and that comfy, old shirt that is really past its best is the only thing that will do.

Living with chronic health needs is always an evolution. Eventually, despite loving the people and the knowledge that there was still a lot of work there I could help with, I had to listen to the body’s wisdom. Last week I worked my final day as a primary school teacher. It was a day of gifts. We made a hole in a piece of paper big enough for a teacher to climb through (with many yells of excitement and disbelief), we had a battle to create the longest ever paperchain from a single sheet of A4 (and the kids beat the teacher, more jubilation), and they created supersonic paper planes and helicopters that fell with speed and style.

In between the sunlight and sleet showers, the kind words and goodbye hugs, the knot began to untie. I was crawling under the tables retrieving felt tip pens and stray scraps of paper, when I felt it loosen.

And here I am. Starting a new chapter. The journey so far has been plotted at every step, I have always known what I am going to next, a goodbye was the prelude to new horizons. This time the path is not mapped, as I try a different way to shape life’s pattern. The old one leads to burn out, sickness, limping around with a stick and bed rest on sunny days when I want to be out in the wild.

This one? I know there will be days on the plot, setting seeds and tending crops, and moments of wonder watching the birds and garden wildlife at home. I know there will be walks in the woods to count bees or pick litter. I hope there will be plenty of space for reading, freshly brewed tea and long conversations with kindred spirits.

Beyond that, the path will unfold, in its own time, as I seek to listen to a wilder wisdom.

fionabeth13

Faversham Stone Chapel

I love exploring ancient sites. Since reconnecting with the old ways six years ago I’ve felt a greater affinity with these ancestral places. Maybe its a romantic imagination, I love to picture the people who were here before, their daily lives, the thoughts which inspired them to create their sacred spaces.

The path runs through farmland close to the London Road

We parked in Four Oaks Road and took a short walk back to the main road and then followed the signpost across a wheat field to the site. Today is the start of our next heatwave so we arrived around half seven in the morning.

Into the trees

The site was shaded by a small grove of trees. Sheep called from a nearby field and the wheat whispered its harvest song.

The Chapel incorporates an earlier Roman Mausoleum, the only known site to do this in the country. You can tell which part of the building this is by the red brick tiles in the walls. It is a uniform square section, with the Saxon and medieval additions clear from differences in the wall’s construction.

Part of the mausoleum wall.

The site is managed by English Heritage and free to access. Sensible footwear is advisable and as with all ancient sites be aware of uneven ground and leave as you find.

Definitely worth a look if you are passing by.