Thursday, August 09, 2007

The Middleton Mystery Stones - Wonderful day - 72F

When Reg and Mike were walking through the dale yesterday they discovered these mysterious stones and Reg has been kind enough to forward me not only photographs of them, but also a written 'key' to them. The stones appear on the left and the key on the right.

I hope I can edit this page so that its contents make sense. The 'key' is my 'screen print' of Reg's carefully laid out e-mail and in order to read the writing you are just gonna' have to left-click it to get an enlargement.

How exciting ! At the moment none of us know what they are all about and I think some serious 'googling' is in the offing plus a return trip. If anyone - archaeologist or local historian feels able to comment then please do. Although old-ish they don't seem to have great age. But I could be completely wrong. It has been known.

I love the one which enjoins 'Dip your Ghosts' and feel that I would be willing to comply if I knew how to do it. And all this while I was faffing-about with babbling brooks and pretty cottages !

Another lovely day weather-wise and after dropping Y at the tram I did a little shopping and then went to Mansfield to meet Bungus at The Widow Frost for lunch. They reported that the smoking ban had led to an initial fall off in alcohol sales but that now, catering sales have increased as more people are visiting to eat in the clean-air environment. So, in Mansfield Wetherspoons at least, the Government are entitled to say 'We told you so." There are new statues in Mansfield - reputedly 12 - and the one which I had a reasonable look at was most impressive. Bungus had a wander with his camera, and pictures will follow.

I collected my spare laptop power-lead from Megatech so using the laptop on mains power elsewhere than in the Office will not now be a problem. I also discussed with Anita the position with regard to having a custom-built computer, if I feel that putting one together myself would be too difficult or time consuming. People on WUforums have offered help and I have suggested an article in the magazine. We shall see.

Y is happy-tired following her Burton Joyce grannying day, and we are intending to visit the Harley Gallery in North Notts tomorrow. Their website looks impressive - and I couldn't do a whole blog page without a live-link could I?

The quote is Woody Allen again I'm afraid :-

"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying."

I'm off to bed before I go to sleep typing. Good night everyone.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The mystery stones certainly do not appear antique but are intriguing.
I would not presume to make a judgment, even after having a further look at the evidence provided, but my initial diagnoois is that they may be a part of some elaborate hoax which has failed to attract as much attention as the Piltdown Man or the Fairy Photos.
I shall study them further and follow the investigation with interest.
I do not think my bird book or mushroom book will help much..

Although I do not dispute the Wetherspoons’ assessment of the smoking ban, my absolutely subjective view was that there were far fewer customers in there today than there used to be. Service at the bar and the table certainly seemed appreciably quicker and easier than on previous visits.
I did not go into the other Wetherspoons on Mansfield Market Place but noticed that there were a dozen or so smokers at the tables outside. It has been a fine day of course.
I am also aware of a fairly large Nottinghamshire pub that I am told has suffered a considerable loss of custom.
We must wait and see how many establishments close down. Will it have as much effect as the drink-driving laws? I am not pleading for a return to drunk driving when I say that, as I understand, there has been a steady loss over the years, particularly country pubs, since those laws were introduced. And most of the houses that remain have changed considerably. I fear the English Pub is doomed.

The new sculptures in Mansfield number two (not 12), with, I believe, another one scheduled.
I was much more impressed with them than I expected to be and certainly think they add something positive to the street scene.

Anonymous said...

Hi Graham, Bungus, Reg at al. If you haven't already found it check out sitesofmeaning.org.uk for a full explanation - choose 04 sheep dip to see pics of the stones in pristine condition.

Guess I'd better get back to work now! May see you at EPS in October (on holiday in Sept).

Rob