Squeal Pig ...

Malc White sends the following intriguing piece of intelligence: "Just a quick note to report that the Cheeserollers pub in Shurdington is now selling a cider called Squealy Pig. Now I don't know if Squeal Pig as used by Mr Parry (and referring to Woodpecker Cider if I remember correctly[may well have been: or otherwise GL cider? Ed.]) is an original or whether it's a local term for cider but it struck me as a coincidence that a pub which was used by diggers occasionally is selling a cider described so eloquently by one of them."

Strange indeed, and best illustrated by a photo of JP clasping a glass, most probably of Squeal(y) Pig, at the 2009 reunion picnic, courtesy of Terry Courtney. Also in view, Dr Phillpotts & Andrew Powell.

Some unseemly revelation ...

In the murk of winter C-H-M reminds his readers of what a beautiful day the reunion took place on last year. Courtesy of Jane Dineen, a snap of Messrs Courtney, Parry, Phillpotts and Powell (right elbow) plainly enjoying whatever startling morsel the Chronicler is fishing up from the depths ...

December 2009

A few stray shafts of late afternoon sunshine warm the Severn Vale just over two weeks ago when C-H-M paused on his way home from his Christmas travels. Cookery school back at full throttle: some recipes may follow soon ...

Iron Age Wall

A further section of the public information board reads as follows: "Iron Age Wall. You are looking out over the south eastern sector of the Iron Age Wall. It was originally built about 700BC to defend the Long House Village and made from stone dug out from the ditch in front of it which itself served a defensive purpose. The wall was deliberately burned along with the village. About 500BC, on the establishment of the Round House Village, it was rebuilt and enlarged with new stonework to make a defence 5 or 6 metres high. Like its predecessor, this had a walkway along the top defended by a palisade with another ledge lower down. The purpose of the ledge is not clear; it may have been structural. The stone for rebuilding was gained by widening the old ditch and opening new quarry pits in the interior."

Given that the board is now located within the entrance to the fort since the platform was destroyed, you're not looking out over anything any more: you're looking at the north end of the south rampart section but I don't suppose either the grockles or Gloucestershire County Council care about such minor inaccuracies.

North western panorama

(Click on image to enlarge)

Panorama from last Sunday across the whole of the Severn Vale from the western tip of the hill. In the far distance you can just about make out Hay Bluff, I think, as well as the hills nearer in the Vale. Fabulous light and clouds. C-H-M wishes his readers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Not sure how we're all going to achieve the prosperous part of that wish in the current climate but the usual combination of perspiration and inspiration will doubtless apply.

Cattle and hornbeam

Top photo: proof that Belted Galloway also come in dun and white as well as black and white; bottom photo shows the hornbeam that grows on the top of the hill taken looking south towards Barrow Wake and Birdlip. Any readers who are taken with the Belted Galloway breed can acquire their own from the members' pages of the Belted Galloway Society. They thrive on poor pasture.

Just beautiful ...

More views from Crickley yesterday afternoon, together with a couple of shots of the Belted Galloway cattle which are currently adorning the slopes on the approach road. There is clear evidence everywhere on the top of the hill that they have recently been carrying out the duties imposed on them there by the Cotswold wardens: keeping the grass down and preventing the spread of scrubland.

The Long Mound 27 December 2009

C-H-M's Volvo turned up the Hill of its own accord this afternoon on the way back from a splendid Christmas with friends in Herefordshire. This is the beautiful light and clouds looking along the Long Mound out towards Wales at about a quarter to three this afternoon. It was bitterly cold and windy on top of the Hill but nothing affects the pleasure that view always brings ...

No new road at the Air Balloon?

C-H-M notices a bit of a brouhaha about the A417 at the Air Balloon reported here in 'This is Gloucestershire' Some of the comments are reassuringly parochial ...

Update: the pressure group chaired by Mike Cuttell gives up in frustration at the behaviour of the Minister of Transport and the Highways Agency ...

Message from she to whom we are all devoted ...

Lydia writes: "Formerly stored at Nottingham, the boxes have now at last been cleared to move to the National Trust Regional Office at Sherborne Glos (Between Cheltenham and Stow) next Wednesday 18 November. Any volunteers to help unpack the wagon on Wednesday Morning?

If so please send me a message through Facebook or savagely@dsl.http://www.facebook.com/l/8d446:pipex.com."

Roundhouse Village Entranceway - Shurely shome mishtake?

"You are looking out over the remains of the Entranceway to the Round House Village that was built about 500BC. This was protected by a bastion on either side, and the observation platform where you are now standing was built on the site of the southern bastion. Between the bastions was a set of gates with a walkway above them. These in turn were protected by a defensive hookwork wall (the remains of which may be seen to your right) that was entered through an outer gate. A visitor could be kept between the two sets of gates and questioned before entering the village."

All of which is all very well, except for the fact that none of the above makes much sense now that the information board, which C-H-M snapped at Easter this year, is no longer mounted on top of the rampart on the observation platform, now destroyed, but instead on the lefthand side of the entrance through the rampart. I suspect there may be some confused grockles ...

Update: Dr Ferris observes: "In the reconstruction drawing I think the Iron Age defenders of Crickley should be depicted occupied in fending off that massive butterfly. It could really do some damage otherwise."

A reader writes ...

Andrew Powell says: "the sketch of Phil (the first to be drawn) was done after a lunch-time site tour, and the curious structure he is pondering is not my attempt to draw a roundhouse but some actual group of features that we had stopped to puzzle over. Given Corky's recollection that the sketches were probably done in 1980, maybe someone knows what this was. The car port I believe was the long mound, rather than the rampart - was there a line of large stones near it?

Keep up the excellent work - the blog is my first stop in the morning before getting down to work. [Thank you! Ed] One point - there does seem to be a dearth of images from the early years - apart from the odd shot by Boden and myself. There must be more out there. [I'm sure there are - all contributions gratefully received, please. Ed]

PS now published for your delectation, the intriguingly entitled 'Kentish Sites and Sites of Kent: a miscellany of four archaeological excavations' 2009 by Andrews, Egging Dinwiddy, Ellis, Hutcheson, Phillpotts, Powell and Schuster." And where can we find this volume, please, Andrew? C-H-M did a quick search on Google and nowt helpful emerged?

Caption competition

Crickley Hill Man is delighted to announce that a Mr T. W. Courtney, of Bishopston in Bristol, wins the October caption competition with this entry kindly enclosed with a photo of John and Ros which he took at the 2009 reunion ...

An attentive audience

Terry Courtney has not succumbed to the digital age but kindly posted me some of his photos of the reunion in July. Here is a fine shot of everyone listening to Phil's site talk on the progress of the post-excavation work, under some very splendid clouds.

Arwel rides out ...

For those Crickley blog readers who might miss Arwel Barrett on Facebook: magnificent! Now why did Arwel never turn up at Crickley on a horse? Next year at the reunion, England expects that every man ...

Update from JAB himself: "Unfortunately CHM is wrong. One year I did bring my horse to Crickley. She lived in the field opposite the camp for a week or so. I am guessing that it was either '89 or '90. I'd need to do a bit of research to pin it down any more precisely. As an aside that horse was the dam of the coloured one in this picture." I just wish I'd been there to meet her.

Same shot sixteen years apart

These two pictures were taken standing on the same spot with an interval of nearly sixteen years: the top photo was taken by Lara Unger, in August 1993, and the bottom one by C-H-M, in April 2009, standing just to the south of the viewing platform (demolished by 2009), looking south, down the Iron Age rampart, with Barrow Wake on the horizon. Interesting to see the effect of the maintenance by the Cotswold wardens: the erosion of path on the top of the rampart appears to have been arrested and the rampart looks better for the absence of bushes. Lara definitely has more interesting light and finer clouds.

Demolition job

Another pairing of two of Mike Sims's summer 2004 photos of Ullenwood as the demolition took place. It looks as though there's been an explosion in the right-hand block. Wreckage everywhere.

If you've been feeling poorly recently ...

The irregularity of C-H-M's blog postings in recent days has been caused in part by my being a bit under the weather, though I'm on the road to recovery. A friend recently sent me the above charming child portrait suggesting that it might have a bearing on recent medical events ...

It looked ominous for a while ...

For a short time it looked as though it was going to rain upon the picnic in July: given how sunny the rest of the photos are this shot which was taken at the beginning of the afternoon looks rather ominous. But the Gods were kind to us and no 'Weather Miracles' were needed.

Speaking of which, Dr Ferris's new book Hate and War: the Column of Marcus Aurelius has hit the bookshops.

I'm just reading the chapter about the Miracle of the Thunderbolt and the Miracle of the Rains. The Rain God in Scene XVI bears a certain resemblance to a Crickley digger, but to find out which, you'll have to buy the book.

Happy Birthday!

This week marked the blog's first birthday. C-H-M would like to thank the many Crickley people who have been kind enough to make their photos available and have sent me many of the pieces published on the blog. Please keep them coming!

During its first year more than 17,000 pages have been viewed by more than 1,600 people in just over 7,000 visits. Readers have had a peek from 58 countries around the world. 75.92% of visits, not surprisingly, come from the UK, 13.38% from the US, 2.77% from Cyprus, 2.26% from Canada, 1.59% from Italy, and 1.16% from the Netherlands: Brazil, Germany, Australia and France make up 0.99% between them, and the remaining 48 countries 1.93% between them.

My thanks again to all.