Today I was cycling in the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire borders, and visited the church in Ashwell. Services are taking place again now and it was good to hear music drifting across the churchyard as I wandered around.
As usual I was looking for the quiet corners and I found it with this upturned wheelbarrow on a compost heap. It reminded me that there is a cycle of life continuing in this place.
The church at Ashwell has added poignancy in this day and age. It contains some graffiti on one of the walls inside. I was not able to view it today but, from Wikipedia, the text says:
“MCT Expente miseranda ferox, violenta Superest plebs pessima testis, MCCCL”
which translates as:
“1350 Miserable, wild, distracted 1350
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin,_Ashwell#Ashwell_Graffiti
The dregs of the mob alone survive to witness”
1350 was in the period when the Black Death swept across Europe. It is a reminder that beneath the seemingly tranquil countryside something darker lurks.
