Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Alton Memories



ALPHABE
 
ALTON MEMORIES

War having ended, my Father decided
That, since he could not be a Preacher,
He'd find a Church School, a small village school,
Where he could become the Head Teacher.
My Mother, from Kent, was not at all pleased,
But, really, she hadn't much say ,
And so we all moved, to our new village home,
Knowing that was the place we would stay.
My Mother was never entirely at ease;
She yearned all her days to see Kent,
Though the village we'd come to was charming, indeed,
And she learned to be almost content.
As for me, I was rather an unthinking soul;
I accepted that this was my fate.
I grew up as a village girl, living the life
And eventually finding it great.
For Alton was beautiful in its own way,
A Peak District sort of a place.
'Peak Practice' was shot in a nearby location
And Alton had that sort of grace.
I lived there for six years until I left home
So these scenes were a background for me.
And here are some shots of the place that I loved.
It's delightful.
I know you'll agree.
*

The village in the valley.




Alton Castle hung over the Churnet Valley.


The Churnet River flowed past our house.


This was the 1000 year old church where my Father was a Lay Preacher.


This was the pulpit from which my Father preached frequently.



Toot Hill (always called Tootle Rock) which I loved to climb.


The pub over the road.


The historic lock-up called The Round House.




The bridge adjacent to our house; I loved to inch my way along the parapet!



Lovely walks, even in Winter.



A recent newspaper photograph of a car accident in Alton. In the background, to the left, can be seen our little house, with the Castle above it.
*

30 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous captures of such a lovely place!! And lovely words as always! Have a great week, Brenda!

Sylvia

Willa said...

My gosh....what a beautiful place. You are so lucky to have a priviledge to live in a wonderful place like that. I've never seen a castle in my life yet.

Rune Eide said...

I have no problems with agreeing with you - iy looked delightful indeed.

Tania said...

Looks like a wonderful place! And the picture are just great!:-) Tootle Rock looks like a nice place to some bouldering;-)
Have a great evening!

Tumblewords: said...

Absolutely wonderful. I can feel your mother's 'almost' content and I'm happy I didn't see you 'inching' the parapet. Whew.

Jim said...

A bit of nostalgia for you.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Kim, USA said...

I love this place..wish I could see these in person. Thanks for sharing!

ABC Wednesday:Autograph

Darlene said...

Alton is a charming village. You were fortunate to live in such a wonderful place.

I love castles and have visited many, but never Alton's.

Rose said...

What a lovely place to grow up! I can just imagine how fun it would be to have a castle nearby--the stuff of fairy tales! I hope you and your friend have a wonderful time getting re-acquainted.

PS the Pratsie said...

Alton is indeed beautiful :)

photowannabe said...

Alton looks like a movie set. Its beautiful. Thank you for taking us on the tour of your childhood home.

Roger Owen Green said...

I'm curious why he "couldn't" be a preacher. Interesting story.

FYI- I'm part of the ABC Wednesday Team this season.

Lux Oz Stays Gals said...

Oh that is too gorgeous...looks like a place out of a fairy tale.

JTG (Misalyn) said...

Beautiful place..looks like magical..a fairytale....love reading your nostalgic marvelling.

lv2scpbk said...

Lovely photos.

I'm now part of ABC Wednesday Team.

Jenn Jilks said...

Thanks for taking us down memory lane.
It is important to look back!

Beverley Baird said...

What a beautiful place!
Hope your visit goes wonderfully well!

annies home said...

I have a great friend who grew up in England and now lives in the states she has shared many great memories of your blessed country when she was a little girl but also of war sirens etc... must have been a life of adventure

jay said...

What a beautiful place your father moved you all to! I understand your mother's reluctance, because the same thing happened to mine - she was uprooted from her beloved Norfolk and never did move back. She learned to be content, too.

That winter walk is gorgeous!

kml said...

What a magical looking place - especially for a small girl! Hope you enjoy your visit!

Rhode Island DUI lawyer said...

This is beautiful! This post had so much heart in it.

Unknown said...

This is wonderful. I missed it the first time around. Glad you put in up again.

Terra said...

I think it looks like a lovely place to live and your words were heartwarming!

La said...

Alton is beautiful! Thank you for sharing this wonderful place. La

Teresa said...

Beautiful! I love the personal nature of this poem.

Terra said...

I am pretty sure I wrote a comment here already, but I was having computer trouble and some of what I did wasn't working, so if I am duplicate commenter I am so sorry.

I thought this looked like a very lovely place to live and your words, equally as lovely. Heartfelt. Warm.

Great A Post.

Susan Anderson said...

This entire post is delightful...and the poem, too.

Thanks!

=)

Jenny said...

Castles and lovely rhymes and beautiful scenery.

A charming stop, indeed, on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday.

This couplet really stuck with me:

Though the village we'd come to was charming, indeed,
And she learned to be almost content.

'Almost Content'. Wow. That is going to stay in my mind.

Thank you for linking this wonderful post.

A

Pblacksaw said...

wonderful words and perfect photos.. Grand JOB!
Patsy

mub said...

This looks like such an idyllic place to spend some time growing up in!