Take these beautiful, higgledy-piggledy buildings..
Over the last decade, or so, I have watched as this range of old buildings have slipped from charming decay into down-right dangerous. I have often been surprised to see that they have weathered the fierce gales and torrential rains of a storm.
Despite their charming appearance, these old buildings were the slaughterhouse and butchery for this end of the village. Old Oscar has shown me inside - the hooks, pulleys, etc. It made me feel ill and very glad that I am vegetarian.
They are now deemed to be very unsafe and are being carefully demolished. The village road runs directly behind them, so we don't want any accidents with falling masonry, tiles, and the like.
I spend half an hour down there every day, as I keep old Benedict the horse company, check on his water, feed him, and so on. His paddocks are just across the yard, his view of the road will soon improve.
He doesn't have any field companions and old Oscar is finding it more difficult to get around these days, so Benedict gets very lonely, to say the least.
So, while I have been spending so much time down there I got thinking about the bricks, tiles, etc from this demolition job. As you can see, they are being carefully stacked on pallets, ready to go to the reclamation yard. This set me thinking.
Way back in the 1970's there was a rather spooky BBC play called 'The Stone Tape'. (A note for my family, there is a copy on one of the dressing-room shelves.) The programme put forth the idea that ghosts could be energy which has been absorbed, at times of high tension, into inanimate materials, like stone. It is possible that this energy, or recording, can be subsequently released, hence the visuals, the sounds, etc. of ghosts.
So, I fell to wondering about these bricks.. any energy they have stored would be truly nightmarish.
Max has plans to build a large porch onto Parsonage Cottage, these bricks are the same colour, shape and size as those used to build our home, all those years back when it was the Stables and Cow Shed for the big Farmhouse.
Our home is a place of peace, I never feel the need to put a light on during my midnight ramblings, well, not until I go into the Boot Room, for there always seems to be a pesky slug somewhere or other in there, no matter what we do. I think that much of that wonderfully peaceful atmosphere comes from the century and a half when the animals were housed in here.
No way am I going to risk adding old slaughterhouse bricks into that happy home, after all, if The Stone Tape theory is even partly correct, surely the same thing could happen with bricks?
We'll use new bricks for the porch, just in case. ;-)
Your reference to Stone Tapes sounded familiar so I googled it and found there's lots of information online. I don't really buy into the premise but I would also hesitate to use those butcher's bricks. Who wants that kind of bad juju? I hate to think of the sad life Benedict would have without your daily visits. Give him greetings from me!
ReplyDeleteHello Ms Sparrow, I really need to get out more. Standing talking to an old horse and pondering on old bricks...! Rest assured, Benedict will be given your greetings and an extra carrot or two, he chomp them down and then try to frisk my pockets for more. Now that he gets a long daily visit and lots of attention, he has become much more playful and communicative. He was simply lonely and in need of some tlc.
DeleteI always feel so guilty when I pass by Benedict. I also feel awkward going into Oscars front yard... but I will make more of an effort! Love the story of the Stone Tapes, i'd steer clear!
ReplyDeleteHello Dom, I know what you mean, it does feel wrong, especially now that the demolition men are down there working! I grit my teeth and go in past them and when Benedict gives a little whinny to greet me, I know that the effort was worth it. At the moment he is doing okay, so don't worry.
DeleteThat is a spooky thought about the bricks. for our roof raising I had thought about buying all the bricks and leaving them all over the garden for the winter etc to take the edge off of their new-ness. we have saved all of the cotswold stone from the hideous fire place which we will use as a patio. Waste not want not.
ReplyDeleteHello Sol, Just like you, I prefer the slightly worn and weathered look. It will be interesting to see how your over-wintered bricks turn out. We bought reclaimed bricks when we wanted to build a large chimney on the end wall, they came from a demolished cottage about 30 miles away. They are wonky and uneven, with thumb prints and dog paw marks on some of them. Max and Miles swore a few times as they were building with them, but they look wonderfully settled.
DeleteNo odd disturbances to report, thank goodness!