Preparedness for when

mardatha

My ancestry is half southern Irish from Galway and half highland Scot from the Black Isle Nuatha - along with a stray Englishman and a Spanish lady lol. The border history is very very grim, bit like the wild west.

[Deleted User]

We've got all of the New Forest down here, unfortunately the roads in and out are so poor compared to the amount of traffic and holidaymakers around for the whole year we very seldom go!!! Lyndhurst is a real bottle neck and if there's a problem anywhere the roads gridlock very quickly. We have another lovely wood actually called 100 acre wood, part of the Old Forest of Bere in the Meon Valley which is easier to get to and much less populous. Then there's the river and all the walks there lovely jubbly!!!

Blue_Doggy

You musn't be far from me, Mrs LW. Hundred Acres is where I walk my dogs from time to time.

I love trees, every wood has it's own personality, not entirely dependent on the types of tree living there. Some woods are friendly, welcoming places, some are indifferent to humans, and some are creepy (sometimes because of the sort of people they attract, sometimes because they are just very "woody"), and a very few are quite hostile to humans and one wants to get out as quickly as possible.

Cities, on the other hand, and great numbers of people, terrify me - even on the TV.

[Deleted User]

Hi there BLUE DOGGY yes were south Hants down near the Solent in one of the coastal villages so not too far at all, 100 Acre Wood is a lovely place isn't it? I love those ponds almost at the end of the loop and all the dragonflys they attract at certain times of year, but whatever season it's a nice place. Only down side is how it waterlogs on some of the lower paths and then it's impassable but that's not often is it?

nuatha

Karmacat wrote: »

"Sellswords"!!! Brilliant word, thanks nuatha, never heard that. I don't have any border folk in my history, back to the 1850s on all counts, and the 1750s on a few counts, so, no, much more erm boring than that

Its a word that's coming back into use off the rise in interest in fantasy fiction. Though sold-sword would be a better description - after the union of the crowns James VI & I needed to deal with the border problem, so of the families he exiled to Ulster some he forced to send some their menfolk abroad to fight in other country's wars (for which he took a large cut). It certainly quieted the borders down.

One of the most interesting stories is of a supercargo (trader who travelled with the ship) from the early 19th century who's said to have bought the land on which Wall Street now stands in New York. The story was strong enough that in the late 19th century, the family hired lawyers to investigate the claim! Not proved, sadly for me

Not proved is very different from unfounded - there's nothing so potentially profitable in my family history.

fuddle wrote: »

Durham isn't a kick in the backside off Northumberland but I wonder if it was far enough to be a little more civilised. There are still vast lands of scrubland (amongst the pit heaps) but nothing as vast as the northumberland borders.

The Debatable Lands stretched down to Carlisle in the West, and run along the Roman Wall for much of its length, but Morpeth was rarely affected by problems in the East. Durham (and a couple of bits of Northumberland) were under the protection of the Prince Bishops, who at that time had reasonable sized forces.

A lot of the riding families moved, certainly more than a few ended up in Durham's pits (and two ended up landing on the moon). There's a list of the families names here I'm sure there'll be a few that are familiar to you.

ivyleaf

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

We've got all of the New Forest down here, unfortunately the roads in and out are so poor compared to the amount of traffic and holidaymakers around for the whole year we very seldom go!!! Lyndhurst is a real bottle neck and if there's a problem anywhere the roads gridlock very quickly. We have another lovely wood actually called 100 acre wood, part of the Old Forest of Bere in the Meon Valley which is easier to get to and much less populous. Then there's the river and all the walks there lovely jubbly!!!

Years ago we were on holiday in Devon and went from Brixham to Paignton by bus, along the country roads, which were very crowded as it was summer. At one bus stop a lady briefly got on to ask the driver how often the buses ran.

"We-e-e-l-l," he drawled, "the timetable says every twenty minutes."

As the lady got off, saying "Every twenty minutes - thank you," he added "And thass a pack o' lies!" :rotfl::rotfl:

ETA nuatha I recognise some of those names from "Young Lochinvar", which we read at school.

I recently found out that in the 1911 census most of the people with my maiden name were in Durham. My ancestors a bit further back than that were in Newcastle, but two of them, father and son with identical names, went to two different ports in America. Later, one of them came back, but we don't know which!

Blue_Doggy

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Hi there BLUE DOGGY yes were south Hants down near the Solent in one of the coastal villages so not too far at all, 100 Acre Wood is a lovely place isn't it? I love those ponds almost at the end of the loop and all the dragonflys they attract at certain times of year, but whatever season it's a nice place. Only down side is how it waterlogs on some of the lower paths and then it's impassable but that's not often is it?

Very beautiful woods, and lovely dragonflies. We're so lucky to have them so near. The Hairy-Feet don't mind waterlogging, a previous HF (now late) loved to roll in it :eek: ... there's nothing like clayey mud in spaniel fur and on the back seat (covered of course so the washing machine can get some too)... :rotfl:

Karmacat

nuatha wrote: »

Its a word that's coming back into use off the rise in interest in fantasy fiction. Though sold-sword would be a better description - after the union of the crowns James VI & I needed to deal with the border problem, so of the families he exiled to Ulster some he forced to send some their menfolk abroad to fight in other country's wars (for which he took a large cut). It certainly quieted the borders down.

Thats true - lots of Celtic stuff, like Katherine Kerr, not just swords and sandals, but very detailed and realistic.

Not proved is very different from unfounded - there's nothing so potentially profitable in my family history.

Its so interesting, isn't it - roads not taken.

The Debatable Lands stretched down to Carlisle in the West, and run along the Roman Wall for much of its length, but Morpeth was rarely affected by problems in the East. Durham (and a couple of bits of Northumberland) were under the protection of the Prince Bishops, who at that time had reasonable sized forces.

A lot of the riding families moved, certainly more than a few ended up in Durham's pits (and two ended up landing on the moon). There's a list of the families names here I'm sure there'll be a few that are familiar to you.

Ooh ... Armstrong, yes ... who else? James Irwin (Apollo 15)? Mae Jemison (STS 47, I thought she'd done more than one)? There are two Johnsons! Story Musgrove (lots of shuttle missions), two Scotts (but David was in Gemini 8 *and* Apollo 15!), they had a James Taylor (no flights) ...

See what you made me do :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I can't let a space reference go And also, "The Debatable Lands" - that's such a beautiful phrase, I really, really love that.

Bit of a diversion I know, sorry folks!

GreyQueen

Hey, nuatha, isn't there some old time statute which bans persons surnamed Armstrong from being in Carlisle after sundown? Back to the border reiver times, because the Armstrongs were so troublesome?

One side of my maternal line are Scots (the other are west country folk via Lunnon). The MacBarstewards were a scrappy lot, by all accounts, and not adverse to stealing cattle, either. When they ran out of scraps in Scotland, they went to France, Italy and the nordic countries as mercenaries. Words like warlike and feuding are featured strongly in the clan history, as I expect would be the case for most clans. As a strappling redheaded lass I blended in nicely in Scotlandshire as a student, so long as I kept my English trap shut, naturally. Still a lot of redheads on that side of the family - and one's a former car thief, which I suppose is cattle for the modern era, innit? :rotfl:

I suspect family history would reveal a lot of interest, if record keeping were better. We're all of us descended from people who were tough enough to survive and breed, after all.

Been to the allotment for a couple of hours. Gorgeous evening after a rainy day, have edged the path with the spade, will shake the earth out on a dry day in the next week or so. Found a slug when I had a very sharp spade to hand, which was convenient.

Cold Steel - they don't like it up 'em.

fuddle

I've always been interested in the connection between Durham and Northumbria but namely Cuthbert and Venerable Bede. I am very ashamed to say that although I was born and bread in the Land of the Prince Bishops I am only tonight questioning who these Prince Bishops are!

I recognise a family name or two from that list and raised an eyebrow and a nod My own mother in law's family name means sheep rustler and I know they do trickle from Scotland and down as far south as Durham even to this day.