#Pubs in Sussex

[theiconicmeghanmarkle]

The Invictus Community got together to wish Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, the Founding Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation & entire Invictus Games movement, a Happy 40th Birthday.

[stargoose-photo]

Ypres Castle Inn, Rye, East Sussex, England, September 2024.

[cd1984]

Brighton Pubs

Down to Brighton today to tick off some pubs

Brighton Bierhaus (Pub 59)

A quirky welcoming pub with a good cask ale selection and a nice character. The keg selection was very impressive but I went for a low abv session omb by Downlands brewery which was also a new check-in.

Basketmakers Arms (Pub 60)

What a classic pub. A wide range of cask ales and a fabulous atmosphere. My beer was quite pricey but hard to care when a pub is this good.

Lord Nelson (Pub 61)

A pleasant enough pub near the station which served a range of Harvey's ales. I had the Nelson IPA which was fine.

Battle of Trafalgar (Pub 62)

An old school pub that had a relatively relaxed atmosphere and was noticeably less crowded than other pubs I'd been to. The pint of butcombe rare breed I had was good, also a shout out for the excellent music choice.

Evening Star (Pub 63)

I couldn't miss out the Evening Star although I have been here a few times before. The beer selection was excellent as usual and the collaboration stout I had was fantastic. This is a superb pub and a real credit to Brighton.

[124daisies]

The Crow & Gate, Poundgate

[whats-in-a-sentence]

The Brown Bread Act, commonly known by sceptical housewives as 'the Poison Act', banned millers from making anything but wholemeal flour in 1800. In Horsham, Sussex, a women's riot went to the windmill:

A number of women proceeded to Gosden wind-mill where, abusing the Miller for having served them with brown flour they seized on the cloth with which he was then dressing meal, according to the directions of the Bread Act, and cut it into a thousand pieces; threatening at the same time to serve all similar utensils he might in future attempt to use in the same manner. The Amazonian leader of this petticoated cavalcade afterwards regaled her associates with a Guinea's worth of liquor at the Crab Tree public house.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[justrainandcoffee]

The sun always rises again (Farrier x fem!oc) Part I

Dunkirk

Farrier Masterlist

Summary: Farrier is in Sussex visiting his grandmother who is sadly dying. In a local pub, he and his best friend, Collins, met Marguerite in not the best circumstances. What started as a nice gesture quickly became in an inevitable attraction. || Collins plays his best cards trying to persuade his best friend to do something about the girl that he clearly likes and, maybe, he succeeds.

Warnings: Misogyny, sexual harassment. Mentions of war. Fluff. || Collins is the MVP.

Words: 3k.

1932

Marguerite Sarah Lewis was born in 1910 in London but when she was four years old, her mother and older brother moved to Sussex. Although French, her mother met her husband there and for the woman it was a special place.

1914 meant the beginning of one of the greatest wars that Earth faced until that point of the history and Mr. Lewis answered the called. And that's why Elise Lewis, the wife, took her kids and went there. The sea, the view, allowed the woman to imagine that one day soon she was going to see him back.

But that day never came. Nor in 1914 nor the next four years. In 1918, Marguerite was eight years already and his brother twelve. Both of them old enough to understand that their father was never coming back. Yet, Mrs. Lewis stayed there waiting for a ship that didn't exist.

Theodore Lewis jr, her brother, moved again to London when he was old enough to do it but she remained there in Sussex where she was still studying.

Her mother died when she was 19, in 1929. Maggie always knew that the poor woman never accepted her husband's fate. And now that she was older understood a bit better what she was feeling. Probably if Mr. Lewis had survived the war, then his wife wouldn't have died at the age of 43. But that was something that the Lewis siblings will never know.

The only thing that Maggie knew now was that she was the owner of her own destiny and needed to live in that world called adulthood.

She found a job in a local library first, where she worked for two years until she started to work as waitress in a new pub. The salary was higher and the tips were all for her.

In 1932, when she was 22, her life changed completely when she met him.

The pub was crowded as always. Men going there to relax after work was something that happened every day. It was full of loud men, laughing, chatting and making jokes while they were drinking beer.

Among them, two friends were having a conversation too. Their blue uniforms indicated that they were soldiers probably out of duty for a while. One had blond hair and the other brown shorter than the first one.

"Hope your grandmother can get well soon, Farrier."

"I don't think so. Until this point we're expecting the inevitable, but at least I'm here to be with her. Thanks for coming with me, by the way."

The blond, Collins, smiled "That's what friends do, Will."

Farrier nodded raising his pint of beer. "How's Sally?"

"It didn't work. But there's plenty of women in this world."

"And if men keep creating unnecessary wars soon the planet will be just populated by women. And humanity will be doom."

"Humanity is already doomed. But, if that's the case, then better I hurry up to get one before my death. And you should do the same."

Farrier shook his head "I don't have time for that. I always promised myself to be a good husband and father, not like my old man. If I get a girl, then it has to be for life."

"Sometimes you took life too seriously, William. Go Farrier, fuck some girls and you'll be fine."

William Farrier just hummed.

Collins decided to changed the subject and both men started talking about the new pilots that both of them were training. Young but smart men, ready to fight if the country needed it. Although both of them really hoped that it would never be necessary.

Maggie was praying in silence for the end of her shift. Sadly, she was used to men being rude and sometimes puting their hands on her body, but this time one in particular was crossing the line and she was quite uncomfortable. His friends were more drunk than he was and the only thing they managed to do was to encourage him to be nastier.

"Hey, doll, bring your pretty ass here, sweetheart! My mates and me want more beer. And unbutton your dress a bit more, love! Those two precious tits of yours want to know me."

The four of them of laughed so hard that Farrier and Collins that until that moment weren't paying attention at all, looked at them and both exchanged glances then.

Maggie looked at her both co-workers and friends, who same as her knew the consequences of working in that kind of jobs. They were young women in 1930s there wasn't much they could do there. Maggie just breathe and walked to them carrying a new tray and left it on the table but she wasn't quick enough and the man grabbed her by the waist and sit them on his lap, against her will.

"I have to go," she said trying to get up "I have work to do."

"Pretty sure your friends can cover you, love."

"No, they can't."

"Come on, sweetheart. I saw you looking at me. Let's have fun."

"I said no."

"She said no," mocked him, smirking at his friends who laughed again. "The little bitch, said no."

"She said no."

This time it was a deeper voice and the man in question turned around to see both pilots behind him. His friends looked down and pretended to be drinking their beers. The man let her go.

"We're just having fun."

"Get your ass out of here. Now."

He thought for a moment about starting a fight with them. He and his friends were four and the strangers were just two, but something in them make him reconsider his options. The blond was taller than him and the other seemed to be stronger. Not to mention that they were trained men. The group just recoiled and without further words, they left the place.

"Are you okay?" Farrier asked to Maggie.

"Yes. Thanks, sir. And you too," she said looking at Collins as well. "Usually I know people here, but those were new."

"Probably they won't come back."

"I hope not. You're new too."

"Temporary living here," Farrier commented. "My grandmother is sick and I'm just saying goodbye."

"That's sad, I'm sorry."

"Thanks, miss…"

"Marguerite Lewis."

"William Farrier, miss Lewis," the man said kissing her hand.

At their side, Collins was smiling and was waiting for the perfect to start teasing his best friend.

The days that followed, Farrier visited the pub every night. Sometimes with his friend, sometimes alone.

There was something in Marguerite that Farrier found fascinating. She had a pretty smile and his brown eyes and dark red hair made her even prettier. He had the chance to speak to her and discovered a good young woman. Maggie loved to read same way she loved yo bake. Once, she offered him one of her cookies and Farrier could testify that they were indded delicious. And even without knowing everything about him, she sent flowers to his grandmother's funeral when she knew about the sad news. Something that Farrier took as signal that she was really a good person.

They even spent a morning in the beach, talking and walking by the seashore. Her reddish hair shone in the sun and William wondered if the hair was really as soft as it looked. Or if her lips were.

"I used to play here a lot when I was a kid," she said unaware of his thoughts, "despite everything, I had a good childhood."

"Despite everything?"

"My father died in the Great War. I don't really remember him, I just know him because of the photo my mother kept."

"I'm sorry, Marguerite. That sounds sad."

"It was for my mother and maybe my older, he remembers him a bit more. You can't really miss someone you don't remember, right?"

"I guess. But still is a sad situation. No kid should grow up without a father."

"And yet…" Maggie looked at him and smiled softly "but it doesn't matter. That was long ago."

Not long ago for Farrier's liking. He was also a kid back then, but he remembered his mother talking about the mutilated soldiers she saw in the hospital were she worked as nurse. And the sadness in her eyes when years later her son told her that he was now part of the air force. But she never opposed to his decision.

"Do you like the sea, Mr. Farrier? I guess watching it from the skies is quite an experience."

"I do like the sea, yes. And it is, it's big and infinite. Indescribable."

Maggie looked at him for a moment and saw him lost in the memories of an experience she was never going to feel.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked. So he told her about the sky, the clouds, the cold air in his face. The feeling of parachute jumping.

His life, Maggie thought, it was extraordinary and there was no way that a man like him could find interesting the life of a town girl whose more fascinating experience of the week was to find a pound in the street. Or that beautiful ring that found one day walking through the beach. And yet, Farrier was ready to hear about her same way she was about him.

.

"You like her," Collins finally said at the end of their second week there, "I highly recommend you to do something because someone else can take advantage of your slowness."

"Like you?"

"I'd never do that to you. I know I'm more handsome but she's with you. I heard that there's a place where you can eat and dance nearby, invite her to go with you, William. I don't think she refuses the invitation considering how she looks at you."

Collins was right.

Maggie couldn't deny that she was captivated by the pilot from almost the beginning. He was handsome, attentive and a gentleman. William was the kind of man that her mother said she needed to find but that until the moment she knew him, she thought didn't exist.

Danny, one of her co-workers and friends, borrowed her one her dresses. Danielle's sister worked in a textile mill and she usually gave her sister clothes that the factory rejected despite their impeccable condition. The dark green dress that Maggie was wearing that night

So of course she said yes.

.

Danny, one of her co-workers and friends, borrowed Maggie one her dresses. Danielle's sister worked in a textile mill and she usually gave her sister clothes that the factory rejected despite their impeccable condition. The dark green dress that Maggie was wearing that night was one of those. Marguerite also allowed her friend to do her makeup.

"He's so handsome," Danny commented, smiling at her "and you're very lucky, Mags."

"Do you think I have a chance? I really like him."

"I think, you are the luckiest girl in whole Sussex."

Marguerite smiled. Never before a man paid attention to her the way Farrier did those days there. Sure she flirted innocently with some of young men in town, and kissed some of them years ago, but never did more than that. Never felt confident enough to do it because all those boys didn't seem to be looking for a serious relationship. But William wasn't a boy, he was a man and he acted like one.

Maggie looked at her in the mirror, when Danny finished her job, and smiled. The final result was better than she imagined.

Collins didn't tell Farrier who was the owner of the car that was parked in front of the house that belonged to William's grandmother, but somehow his friend managed to get one so he could go with Maggie to their date.

"Are you going to get in trouble for this?"

Collins snorted "please, have a bit of faith in me."

Farrier raised an eyebrow, suspiciously, but after looking at him several seconds let it go. "Okay then. Give me the car keys."

"Have fun, Romeo," Collins said throwing the keys at him.

.

Maggie didn't expect to have a good night like that one, although she dreamt about it. Feeling a happiness that didn't know it was possible to feel and her heart pounding by just looking at him. For a moment she felt stupid smiling at him almost all the time but she couldn't help it. Dinner was delicious and they spent the time to know each other a bit more. She even let him take her hands in his.

Maggie knew French because her mother used to talk in her native tongue in the house. Farrier asked her to taught him the language, if she wanted, because in his own words "you will never know when you're going to need it."

"But for that, you need to stay here, William, I can't teach you from the distance."

"Maybe I found a reason to stay," he answered. And for someone who, as his best friend claimed, took life too seriously felt as a personal achievement that flirty but also true line.

Dancing with William was lovely. Several other couples were doing the same with their partners while a singer sang and the orchestra accompanied her beautiful voice.

Maggie had her head resting on his shoulder and his hand was on her waist. Farrier could feel her perfume invading his nostrils. It was sweet with a delicate aroma of roses.

Your slowness.

Collins' words resounded in Farrier head. Fucking Collins. Who was he calling slow? His hand left her waist carresed her cheek. Both pair of eyes stared at each other before he leaned towards her a press his lips against hers.

Maggie put her hands on his chest and let him guide her. Despite his appearance, at least with her in that moment, Farrier it was gentle. When they pulled apart, he caressed her hair.

"I like you," Farrier confessed.

"I like you, too, Will."

And to confirm those words, they kissed again.

.

Farrier had only two weeks left before returning to work and he spent every moment with her. Even if she was working, William was there. He became part of the landscape of that pub and everyone there, even the owner, know who he was now. And when she wasn't working, they were in the beach or in her house.

The last night, she let him enter in her bed for the first time. He was her first time and Farrier, if that was possible, fall in love with her even more.

"I'll be back soon," he promised her while she was in his arms and she was holding her against his body.

"I'll be waiting for you."

William kissed her again and Maggie knew, no matter what would happen in the future, that he was the most correct decision she ever took in her whole life.

The months they spent separated, they communicate through letters and some calls when they had the chance to use a phone. Collins attributed his friend's new behaviour to him and in part, he was right.

Of course William returned to Sussex, this time alone, and he did with a ring in his pocket. The same night they saw eachother again, he asked her to be his wife and feeling a happiness that it was hard to describe, Maggie accepted his proposal.

Farrier sold her grandmother's house and the one his own old flat and moved to Sussex with her.

Marguerite Lewis became Marguerite Farrier just weeks later. The wedding in the church in that town was a celebration for the people living there, her brother that went from London to there and, of course, Collins.

His life those first years there were the happiest that Farrier could remember. His wife gave him two beautiful kids that he swore to protect with his life, same as her.

"One day I'm going to be a pilot like you, papa," his firstborn called Edward, said.

"Will you?"

"Yeah. Flying the skies in my own plane!" the boy exclaimed opening his arms and running around him simulating he was indeed flying. William caught his son and lifted him in the air and Edward started to laugh, still with his arms wide open like plane.

From the kitchen window where she was cooking, Maggie couldn't help but smile looking at them with pure love. Once, Farrier commented her that he always promised himself to be a good husband and father and it was clear now that he was fulfilling that promise.

While Ed stayed outside playing with his toys and their little girl, Clara, was sleeping on the couch, William went to where his wife was.

Marguerite smiled when she felt his strong arms around her and his lips on her neck.

"It smells delicious, Maggie."

"Thanks, honey. It will be ready in no time."

William placed a new kiss on her skin before opening the cupboard to search the plates and cutlery.

Life was good for the Farriers in that little corner of the world.

Sadly, it was already 1938.

_

PART 2

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

But one thing for certain - the story of William being spotted popping into a local pub for a beer with Carole really poked a lot of holes into Harry's claims that the UK isn't safe. If The Prince of Wales can go out for a beer with a friend and no one bothers them, his irrelevant little brother can certainly go out for a church service.

He doesn't care, neither does the world poke holes in his stupid claims, haven't you seen the photos from polo where they're flanked by security? they just love to show off

Oh, no, Harry cares. He cares a lot. He cares only about which makes him look important and equal to William, especially as the Americans perceive it. That's why he's surrounded by security all the time; because it makes him look important and it makes him look equal to William, who's very protected and rarely without security in the photos/images that get published here in the US.

What Harry and Meghan are trying to do is gaslight Americans into thinking they're as important as the Prince and Princess of Wales so that we'll fight for them when the BRF strikes back.

Which is why it's so damaging when stories like William going to the pub for a drink or Kate popping out to a music festival for spicy margaritas or the two of them grocery shopping together get out and start circulating around the US. It contradicts Harry's messaging that being the son of The King is so dangerous that he can't do ordinary everyday things despite all of his PR claiming he's just like us.

So when this does happen, when William does show that Harry's security concerns about the UK are overblown, Harry reverts back to his military "I fought the Taliban" self which he thinks will get him bonus points in the US because we love our military and we love our veterans...right?

Wrong. Let me show you a little perspective. In 2010, the National Academy of Sciences published a study conducted in April 2009 that determined 1.9 million US military members deployed at least 3 times to Afghanistan and Iraq for at least 30 days each deployment. Of the 1.9 million, 582,733 of those people were active-duty US Army soldiers; another 125,595 soldiers were Army Reserve; and another 295,336 soldiers were Army National Guard. That's a total of 947,664 US Army soldiers deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq at least three times between 2001 - 2009.

In 2010, the British Army was 142,000 people: 113,000 active-duty soldiers and 29,000 reserve soldiers.

Let me louder for the people in the back. The entire British Army, in which Harry served and deployed to the War on Terror with, is FIVE TIMES SMALLER than the number of US Army soldiers that had deployed three times to the War on Terror by 2009.

Here in the US, Harry is not the special apple he thinks he is. He wants a ticker tape parade here in the US for his military record but what exactly has he done that's worth it? We don't care that he was the some other country's head of state's grandson when he deployed. But he doesn't get that, the same way he doesn't get that we don't like a foreign immigrant trying to become our military's ambassador. He thinks the work he did and the status he held in the UK is automatically transferrable to us over here here in the US.

It's not. He thinks it is, and Meghan thinks it is, but it's not. Which is going back to your original point, Harry does care. He cares a lot about optics and making sure that if he's not seen as equal to William, he's seen as better than William. So when William does these very normal, very average, very everyday things and gets praise for it, it's discombobulating for the Sussexes. They don't understand how being so common is so likeable, which makes the security fleet they surround themselves with look so tone-deaf and outrageously narcissistic.

[fatehbaz]

In one of the oldest poems in English literature, [...] The Seafarer not only provides us with one of our first ornithological references in the English language, but also [...] written description of birds evoking place, being associated with a distinct landscape. This poem is not alone, however, in suggesting to us how birds could inspire a feeling for place more than 1,000 years ago. [...] Hidden in the names of towns and villages are the ghostly traces of birds conjuring powerful identities for people in the landscapes and settlements of early medieval England. [...]

Among this rich repository of names [in Britain], birds rank in their many hundreds as vitalising elements and markers of medieval places – more than any other class of wild animal [...]. Among the cranes and crows, eagles and pigeons and geese (to mention some of the more commonly named birds), there are also less expected species. Who would imagine the mulch-and-mud snipe secretly probing the worm house as place markers in Snitterfield (Warwickshire), or fairy-flitting titmice roving through trees as the spirits of Masongill (Yorkshire), or yellowhammers like fireside embers in the winter hedgerows in Amberley (Sussex)? [...] What was it about birds that so caught people’s place-imaginations?

---

One avian order that demonstrates birds’ place-shaping potential especially well is the owls. [...] [T]he tiny village of Ulcombe [is] nestled in a gentle fold of the North Downs. Its name is listed in the Domesday Book (1086 CE), and it means ‘the owl’s valley’. [...] [O]ur word for this order of birds descends from one of just two Old English words for all owls: ule, pronounced ‘oooo-l’ (the other is uf, of which there are very few records.) Ule is a very ancient [...] utterance. [...] The onomatopoeic potency of ule implies not only how owls themselves materialised and existed as sound [...], but that this also affected how people experienced the places in which they heard these sounds. On some level, those places named after owls (Ulgham, Outchester, Oldberrow, Ullenhall, Ullenwood) were identified as soundscapes as much as landscapes [...].

---

Other ‘sound birds’ appearing in place names besides owls, however, suggest [...] bioacoustics as [...] distinguishing properties of a place’s atmosphere. Take bitterns, for instance, those specialists of reed-bed living, who have perfected invisibility [...]. We know bitterns best by the eerie, sonorous booming of male bitterns that ‘bombleth in the myre’, as Geoffrey Chaucer describes it in ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’. In names like Purleigh (pūr + lēah = ‘bittern clearing’), then, we are confronted again by places defined according to a particular, evocative sound. Even in the 18th century, when the draining of much of the old Fens surrounding the Ouse Washes was already well underway, Daniel Defoe is drawn to ‘the uncouth Music of the Bittern … so loud that it is heard two or three Miles Distance’ [...].

---

Like the tawny owl, of course, [the cuckoo] has a very distinctive song. Its famous call (immortalised in the medieval song ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’) is equally matched by the bird’s reputation as a herald of summer. Species such as cuckoos and swallows are only present for part of the year in Britain, meaning they were mostly absent from those places that came to bear their names. How was it, then, that they still came to imbue locations such as Swallowcliffe or Yaxley (the Old English for cuckoo is geac, pronounced ‘yay-ack’) with such defining and enduring resonance? These summer birds bring a place to life, as it were. [...] Cuckoos, like so many British birds that are threatened or extinct, would have been much more abundant in the Middle Ages. Yaxley, on the edge of surviving cuckoo strongholds in the former Fens, would have thronged to their calls. Now these places, and many like them where the birds of their names are absent, are solemnly displaced, the names creaking in the wind like dilapidated pub signs [...]. We can sense that displacement in the sprawl of modern suburban environments too, which [...] assign bird nomenclatures to roads and residential spaces (Sandpiper Drive, Nightingale Way, Lark Rise, Goldcrest Mews…) where the species named are nowhere to be seen [...].

[B]ird place names [...] alert us [...] [to] the rich forms and possibilities of ecological dwelling, which shaped how people perceived and responded to the local worlds around them. [...] We need these spirits of place.

---

All text above by: Michael J. Warren. “Home and the birdsong.” Aeon. 12 December 2022. Essay edited by Sam Haselby. [In this post, bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.] Essay published by Aeon at: [aeon.co/essays/british-place-names-resonate-with-the-song-of-missing-birds]

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales’ Year in Review: May

May 3rd - William, Catherine and their children joined the King, Queen and others at Westminster Abbey for a rehearsal of the Coronation May 4th - The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at Acton Main Line Station and travelled on the Elizabeth Line to Tottenham Court Road Station. They then visited the Dog and Duck pub and undertook a walkabout, where Catherine met @harry-sussex May 5th - The Prince and Princess of Wales joined the King, and other members of the Royal Family, at a luncheon at Buckingham Palace for Realm Governor-Generals and Prime Ministers. The King and the Prince and Princess of Wales then performed a walkabout on The Mall. Finally, the King held a reception at Buckingham Palace for visiting Heads of State and Overseas Guests at which the Prince and Princess of Wales, and others, were present May 6th - The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla took place at Westminster Abbey May 7th - The Prince and Princess of Wales this afternoon attended the Coronation Big Lunch on the Long Walk. That evening, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, joined the King and Queen and other members of the royal family at the BBC Concert at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Coronation of The King and Queen. Afterwards, the Prince and Princess of Wales held a reception for the concert performers at Windsor Castle May 8th - The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis took part in the Big Help Out at 3rd Upton Scouts Hall. Catherine is the joint President of the Scout Association. Official photos from the coronation were released by Buckingham Palace May 9th - The Prince of Wales, on behalf of The King, and The Princess of Wales hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Coronation of The King and Queen May 11th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, received Professor Eamon McCrory (Board Member, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Advisory Group) at Windsor Castle. Later, she held a meeting with Mrs. Alice Webb (Trustee of the Royal Foundation) May 13th - The Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance playing the piano at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest May 16th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, visited the Kelly Holmes Trust to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and participated in the Trust's Social and Emotional Mental Health Programme at Percy Community Centre May 17th - Catherine made a private visit to Family Action (one of her patronages) to learn about the impact the cost of living crisis is having on families May 18th - The Princess of Wales, Patron of the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families, visited the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families to mark Mental Health Awareness Week May 20th - Kensington Palace released a photograph of the Princess of Wales beekeeping to celebrate National Beekeeping Day May 22nd - The Princess of Wales attended a Children's Picnic at the Chelsea Flower Show May 25th - The Princess of Wales, Patron, visited the Foundling Museum. Afterwards, she attended a workshop with Kinship at St. Pancras Community Centre May 31st - William and Catherine were seen arriving in Jordan

[master-john-uk]

I arrived at my Dorset farm farm just after 9pm this evening. Farmer Frank's wife, Peggy had a lovely beef casserole ready for me on arrival. Frank and I then went for a chat (and a little drink) at the nearby Brace of Pheasants. Members of my family from both Sussex and Shropshire will be staying at this delightful pub/restaurant tomorrow evening after attending my Last Night of the Proms/Harvest Moon party at the farm on Saturday.

It will be the first time I have seen my Shropshire cousins for over two years!

[clumsybearstudio]

Knucker vs Princess

Scene from our indie game Hugry Horrors

Wishlist on Steam

Knucker Facts

The Knucker is a legendary water dragon from English folklore, particularly associated with Sussex. This creature is said to dwell in deep, water-filled holes known as “Knuckerholes,” the most famous of which is located near the town of Lyminster.

Key Facts:

1. Origin: The term “Knucker” comes from the Old English word “nicor,” which means water monster. These creatures were often believed to inhabit watery areas like rivers, ponds, or wells.

2. Appearance: Descriptions of the Knucker vary, but it is typically depicted as a large, serpent-like dragon. Some stories describe it with a long body, sharp claws, and huge wings, though it may also be portrayed without wings in some versions.

3. Behavior: Knuckers are notorious for terrorizing local villagers by stealing livestock, destroying crops, and sometimes even demanding sacrifices of young maidens (classic dragon behavior, of course). They were often portrayed as both cunning and dangerous.

4. Legend of Lyminster: One of the most famous tales involving the Knucker is from the town of Lyminster. According to legend, the dragon terrorized the town until a local hero, Jim Puttock (or sometimes a knight), defeated the creature by offering it a poisoned pie. After eating the pie, the Knucker supposedly died, saving the town from its wrath.

5. Knuckerholes: These mysterious, deep, water-filled holes are still a source of curiosity. The best-known Knuckerhole is in Lyminster, but others are said to exist across Sussex. These areas were often regarded as dangerous and mysterious places.

6. Cultural Impact: Although the Knucker is not as widely known as other mythological creatures like the Wyvern or the Lindworm, it remains an integral part of Sussex folklore. Various local tales, art, and even pub names (such as “The Six Bells” in Lyminster) keep the legend alive.

[theiconicmeghanmarkle]

Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, FLOTUS Jill Biden, Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, Iman, Latvian President Rinkevics are all scheduled to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024, starting September 23.

[the-empress-7]

William inherited a billion £ Duchy, so obviously Harry is butt hurt about it.

A real Duchy is acres and acres of land, I doubt Harold Sussex owns even a pub in Sussex county. So it's a virtual Duchy, it exists only in cyberspace, right? So avant-garde 🙄

Harry is possibly the only blood prince and king's son to behave as an oily fake aristo, made up property and all.

Meanwhile, William is planning to leverage his actual real world Duchy to the benefit of his homelessness mitigation initiative...

Harry owns a $14 million mansion which has a $10 million mortgage on it.

[cd1984]

I had a free Saturday and a nearby town with pubs I hadn't been to. I therefore got the train to Tunbridge Wells for a few cheeky ticks. The hope is that I'll also be able to end up at the Nelson on the way home.

Pub 115 - Grove Tavern

First pub of the day and it was a classic. Not the best beer selection (although my Seafarers Ale was excellent) but a very traditional and convivial atmosphere. I really enjoyed spending some time here which is the main point of a pub isn't it.

Pub 116 - Sussex Arms

Next up was the Sussex Arms down by the Pantiles. This is a great pub with a wide beer selection. My Vocation Coffee Stout was lovely and the overall atmosphere was superb. This is definitely up there with the best pubs I've been to.

Pub 117 - George

An incredible pub with a built in brewery. The food looked incredible and I was very tempted by the baguettes. Anyway, on the important stuff, the beer selection was great with a lot of great looking ales. My pint was fantastic.

Pub 118 - Royal Oak

This venue loses a couple of points for being card only but generally an amazing place for a beer. They had a dark beer on draft which was new to me, that's always good to see.

Pub 119 - Nelson Arms

OMG, what a pub. I've been here before but pt hadn't appreciated how amazing it is. Easily one of the best pubs in the South East. I only planned to have one beer here but ended up with two absolutely stunning pints. An incredible pub, and its was great to see it really busy!!

[124daisies]

The Marina Fountain, St Leonards-on-Sea

[lya-dustin]

So Osferth gets 7 estates in Sussex in Alfred’s will.

These are

Beckley: near the southern coast and Kent which was the center of Christianity in the UK

Rotherfield: east Sussex a royal hunting estaste owned by Alfred known for its oak forests and being the source of the river Rother

Ditchling: rumored to have been the first capital of the Saxon Kingdom. the Roman Greensand Road that connects to London passes by it, loacted in East Susesx. Also has Wings Palace, the saxon manor Anne of Cleves lived in after her divorce and was supposedly built by Alfred of Wessex

Sutton: i couldn't really find anything save that it is home to a very specific species of cricket

Lyminster: another royal hunting estaste of Alfred’s. Home to 11th century church, St. Mary of Magdalene known for its six bells(which their oldest pub is named after) and burial place to St. Cuthflaed of Lyminster(whom the saxon kings are related to) also has a knuckerhole where a knight slayed a water dragon and his tomb is a slab on the church called the Slayer's Slab. Near the coast as well

Angerming: has the remains of a roman villa and a bathhouse meaning it was occupied by a wealthy roman citizen. Also has all these ways its called: Angemeringatun, Angmerengatum, Angemaeringum, Angemeringe, Aingmarying, Angmarrying, Angemare and Ameringe. (This village has as many name variations as Osferth) near the coast as well

Felpham: by the coast in the same district as Angerming and except that it was partially given to Edward’s third wife, nothing else is there about it.

Edit 10/4/23: he was also given 100 pounds of silver, which made him perhaps the richest non royal ealdorman then.