Spring Blog - Druids, Robin’s Nests, Tigers and then there was Wine

Saturday morning was looking promising, weather-wise, and we were inclined to take ourselves off for a pie and a pint at the Square and Compass, Worth Matravers, near Swanage. As in all plans, this was changed, and we decided to go to Wimborne St Giles, stopping at a ruin of Knowlton Church. I have driven past this ruin many times, not knowing it was an old church. I delivered Dried Fruit and Nuts to the local pub in Wimborne St Giles.

Quite a gem. Compared to the great stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury, the late Neolithic earthworks at Knowlton in Dorset are modest in size and have gone relatively unnoticed.

Nevertheless, these earthworks date back 4,000 years, marking what the 20th-century artist Heywood Sumner called ‘the strange changes and chances that have happened during the lapse of the years’. The ruins and the earthworks have a sense of mystery. Jacquetta Hawkes, archaeologist, wrote that ‘there lingers in the air some flavour of the sinister and macabre’.

Covered in vegetation until the 1960s, the church has a reputation for being haunted. The Shell Guide to Dorset recorded the suggestion that the henge ditch ‘is inside the rampart … to prevent the egress of the spirits confined within’. Indeed, archaeologists have recently revived the idea of henges as ‘ghost traps’. We did go to a small clump of trees adorned with messages, ribbons and icons, left there by the druids and pagan worshipers. Well, that is a story a man and his dog told us; he walks his dog there most days, and we were inclined to believe him.

We found it a very tranquil place, hidden in the Dorset countryside and largely ignored by those driving by. 

Wimborne St Giles Church

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Giles,_Wimborne_St_Giles

As you are probably aware, I really like visiting old churches, and England has many. 

Loading a reluctant Jenson into the car, he quite fancied the smells and mystery of the place, and we set off to Wimborne St Giles, a mere 5 miles down a very narrow English country lane.

Origins

This is a church with a long history. The first records of this church were when they appointed the first rector of Wimborne St Giles in 1291. I did find a tombstone dating back to 9th August 863, but it is very old, and maybe there is a 1 missing from the year.

This medieval parish church was rebuilt in the 1620s by the 1st Baronet of Wimborne St Giles. He died in 1628 and was buried in a spectacular tomb in the church, it is still there. From the photo I took, he seemed to be quite a short, thin man.

The church was remodelled twice in the 19th century, first by the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury in 1852 and more substantially by the wife of the 8th Earl in 1887.

On 30 September 1908, during soldering work on the lead roof, the church caught fire. The fire spread quickly, and by the time it was extinguished, only the walls remained standing; the church was a smoking ruin. 

The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury engaged Sir Ninian Comper, a pupil of Bodley, to restore and rebuild the church. Comper rebuilt the church from 1908 to 1910, utilising the surviving 18th-century walls and thus keeping its external appearance similar to what it was before the fire. Whilst this work was going on, they found a robin’s nest in one of the newly constructed arcades. Seems, even in years gone by, people respected nature, and it was decided to preserve this nest in a bottle and place it in the wall. We did not see but it is nice to know it is still there.

Bells

While walking around the church grounds, the bells started ringing. The peal of the bells seemed a fitting end to our visit, but did intrigue me enough for me to do a little research, and I found the following; 

The earliest record of bells at Wimborne St Giles is in a 1552 inventory, where three bells are recorded. 

In 1732, they acquired another 3; by now there were 6 bells, and by 1910 there were 7. It seems they bought another bell from a church that had burnt down. Just a little trivia, in case someone asks you one day. ’How many bells are there at Wimborne St Giles Church?’ You can confidently answer 7.

We seem to barrel into 2026 without taking a breath. Where did January go? I suspect in a blur of work and rain?

Change

There will always be things we cannot change, even when there is the will and the belief. That's not saying we shouldn’t try.

Change chooses its own seeds and selects its own soil. Our task is not to trample green shoots underfoot. 

In our lives, there was so much that was altered. There were endings, and there were beginnings, there was uncertainty, and there was confidence, there was rage, and yes, there was love. So we march together into all the things we did not know, hoping and also fearing that things would never be the same.

Lunar New Year - Year of the Horse

Susan is the Tiger - Enthusiastic, courageous, ambitious, leadership, confidence, charismatic. Her associated element is WATER: Sympathetic, perfectionist, coordinator

I am the Rabbit - Trustworthy, empathic, modest, diplomatic, sincere, sociable, caretakers, sensitive. My associated element is METAL: Determined, persistent, manager

Wine

Wine, not enough wine. I see Tesco are selling flagons of wine, an interesting prospect, but for now I will stick to the bottle version. I did notice this Colloquialism: In Australia, a ”Flagon” is referred to as a “goon" Well, you learn new things every day. Knowing some people, even a ‘goon’ is not enough.

On the subject of wine. Happy Birthday, Michael, hope you enjoy a good bottle of wine. I would suggest something from the Perth region of Australia, a Margaret River wine. House of Cards, Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Gets good reviews, and this is what one Australian wrote. (It is in Australian, so use your Google Translate for English)

“Wow, this really zips across the palate. It has crunchy fresh acidity with vibrant, zingy passionfruit and a citrus tang, finishing with a fine, lingering line. This is a savvy, but not a big, blousy one. It’s got flavour, intensity, and a linear structure. To me, this is how sauvignon blanc should be made in Margaret River. A cracking good wine.”

More Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Russell, entrepreneur and conservationist. Hope this next year brings you as much happiness as you can handle. 

Happy Birthday, Daniel. I hope your studies go well and work pays well.

Happy Birthday, Mika, hope you have a good year taking those life-saving monochrome photographs.

Happy Birthday, William Harold Smith, you would have been 97 this year. Rest in peace, you are still missed.

Supplements and other myths

Robert is championing a new supplement - ‘Geeks’ 

What attracted me to Geeks was what it actually is; you can make up your own mind, but I do find the ingredients intriguing. Not sure why one would want to consume anything listed below!

Hydrolysed collagen peptides are made from breaking down natural collagen protein—sourced from bovine (cow), marine (fish), porcine (pig), or chicken skin, bones, and cartilage—via an enzyme or water-based process called hydrolysis. They consist of smaller, broken-down amino acid chains, primarily glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, allowing for faster absorption. 

Key Components and Sources of Hydrolysed Collagen: 

• Animal Sources: Primary sources include bovine hide (cow), porcine skin (pig), fish skin/scales (marine), and chicken cartilage.

Our English Weather

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

(By William Wordsworth)

Winter rain has been unrelenting, but nature seems to be adapting and the daffodils are all blooming. Another splash of colour comes from the camellia outside my office window, defying all the cold, wind and rain, it is like a Christmas tree with red lights. 

In our olive tree pot, well, the olive tree we rescued from Michael, there are hyacinth poking their heads out. All is not lost, spring is coming. (Insert images of camellia and hyacinth)

Finally I have breaking News.

Gary Joseph Smith, Lord of the Middle Smiths has bought a new car. Yep, a BMW, as Claudia says, we do love our badges. We wish him many, happy miles and smile. BMW describe the car as a family sedan with driving experience. 

 The new BMW 1 series also comes with an enhanced digital eco-system that seamlessly merges your life into the driving experience. Add to this a boost in interior space, and you have a car that is open to amazing possibilities.