BUT FIRST, THE STORY OF SEAN AND THE SHEEP-KNAPPERS
Sean the Sheep |
There was just something about
that goofy little face. The instant I adopted Sean the Sheep in Wales, he
became the rock star of our tour group—loved, admired and even coveted by a
sinister few….
“Did Sean sleep well last
night?” I was frequently asked as we
boarded the bus each day.
“What did Sean think of York
(or the Abbey, or the Museum, or Yorkshire pudding)?” asks others
anxious for his opinion.
Then there was Chuck who was
more interested in Sean’s private life, “Well, have you fixed
Sean up with any ewes yet?”
It must have been his pure animal magnetism that
infected 22 mature adults with a sort of sheep mania. They each became doggedly
determined to find a “Sean” of their own. Every gift shop between Wales and
York was fallen upon by our frenzied group searching for Sean look a-likes, but
there were none to be had. Did I buy the
only googly-eyed doorstop in England? In resignation, Paula finally decided on
a stuffed lamb while Brenda, the least maniacal of the group, bought a sheep shaped cookie and promptly ate it.
Brenda--she's only a carnivore with cookies! |
And then Sean began to
disappear. If Larry couldn’t have a Sean
of his own, mine, it seems, was fair game.
He recruited his older brother Steve to join him in a highly organized
sheep snatching syndicate. They became
the diabolical duo: Larry would do the snatching while Steve would slip ransom
notes into my purse when I wasn’t looking, demanding….what, I wasn’t really
sure.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN(S)
(Son of) SEAN THE SHEEP IS BEING HELD. DO
NOT BE ALARMED. HE IS HAPPY BEING GIVEN GRASS & BEER TO KEEP HIM HAPPY. SINCE
IT WOULD BE VERY UPSETTING TO SEAN, THIS NOTE IS BEING SENT TO YOU TO EFFECT
HIS RELEASE! THIS IS NOT A JOKE. WE WILL CONTACT YOU LATER
HAVE A GOOD DAY
THE SHEEP KIDNAPPERS
But, it was the second note
that was particularly alarming:
RANSOM NOTE
(PART II)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
DEAR MS. CONCERN
WE THE KIDNAPPERS OF SEAN THE
SHEEP R GETTING TIRED & IMPATIENT OF WAITING FOR THE REPLY TO OUR OFFER TO
RELEASE (him). IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM
YOU BEFORE MIDNIGHT-A FORTNITE-HE WILL BECOME X-MAS BABY LAMB CHOPS FOR PURIM
DINNER-TO BE EATEN UP WITH HAGGIS-THE TRADITIONAL PURIM DINNER. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.
SINCERELY YOURS,
X0X0X0XX0
YOUR FRIENDLY SHEEPNAPPERS
Thankfully Sean was never served up with haggis (a traditional Scottish dish made with organ meat--not very tasty or Jewish for that matter)! He was always
returned by these loveable brothers shortly after being “knapped” and no worse for wear except for the
wet, sloppy kisses planted on his nose by Larry. But, Sean didn’t seem to mind.
The loveable Sheep Knappers, Steve (L) and Larry (R) with Sean the First. (Sean's in the middle.) Thanks, Guys for the wonderful memories! |
LANERCOST PRIORY
I was a little sad when we
drove out of Shap and the Lake District early the next morning knowing that we were
on the last leg of our grand gallop around England. We would be on the road most of the day
headed for Edinburgh, our final destination, but we would make a few stops
prior to that along the way. The first
was the ruins of the Lanercost Priory in Cumbria. The Priory, or religious residence, was built
in 1169 as an Augustine monastery and is an English Heritage Site. We only
stayed long enough at the Priory to take some pictures and then drove on down
the road a few miles to see the big attraction of the day, Hadrian’s Wall.
One of the doors in Lanercost Priory. |
HADRIAN’S WALL
Nowhere in England do you find
more evidence of Roman occupation than the remains of Hadrian’s Wall. During
our jaunt across England, I was always impressed with how many ruins and relics
of Roman life there were. I really
shouldn’t have been surprised because after all, the Romans ruled the country
for 400 years. There would have naturally been a lot of pots, pans and columns
left behind. But, it was Hadrian’s Wall that captured the full legacy of Roman
rule over Britain for me. Once I touched the weathered stone wall and saw how
it snaked across the miles of fields, I finally understood the scope of Roman
dominance.
How and why had the massive
wall been built? The Romans had claimed
land as far up as Aberdeen, Scotland but had to fight constant battles for it
with the ferocious Picts that lived there. They were an ancient people who had
called that land their home for thousands of years and they weren’t going to
give it up easily. When Emperor Hadrian
came to the throne in 117AD he decided that the empire needed securing not expanding
and ordered an 80 mile fortified wall built across what we know now as northern
England.
The wall measured 10’ wide and
15’ tall was 80 miles long with a rampart along the top. At every mile marker, a small fort was built
consisting of a kitchen and barracks and between the forts, were two
observation towers. Along with the
smaller forts, 17 larger ones were also incorporated into the wall equipped
with gates. For 400 years it stood as a formidable barrier between the warring
Picts from the north and disgruntled Britons from the south. Much of the
stonework has been pillaged over the centuries but enough is left for us easily
impressed tourists to take a picture in front of so we were happy!
Some of what's left of the 80 miles of Hadrian's Wall. |
Sean sitting on Hadrian's Wall looking nostalgically over the valley below. |
GRETNA GREEN
Gretna Green is the Las Vegas
of Scotland. It lies right on the border between England and Scotland and is the
place to go for a “quickie” marriage, no questions asked. 5,000 people are married there every year
including one out of six Scottish couples. And, it’s all because in 1754 a law was passed
in England and Wales stating that if a parent objected to a child under 18 getting
married, they could prevent it. However,
the law did not affect Scotland. Back then, boys 14 and girls 12 could get
married with or without consent. Not only that, Scottish law allowed that
practically anybody had the authority to conduct the ceremony! All the couple
had to do was declare their intention of marrying before two witnesses, then
grab the first person that came along to do the deed, and voila! Here comes the
bride! There were a couple of famous blacksmith shops doubling as wedding
chapels that did bang up business for centuries.
We stopped just long enough to
take some pictures of Sean with a very obliging Scottish bag piper and buy some
souvenirs. Then it was back on the road to our final destination, Edinburgh.
Next time: Edinburgh