Herstmonceux News……On A Lighter Note….
by Bernie Bell - 10:16 on 19 December 2024
Herstmonceux News……
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=607007975181638&set=a.260799236469182
I don’t know what to make of this – I’ll try to take a wide view. My first repose was….”Good – it’s still being used and the place and its contents will be looked after”. Then I thought…..”But what about all those people whose dedicated, voluntary, work has kept it going so that it’s still ‘useable’? Will they be swept aside and replaced by the employees of the University?”
I’m afraid it looks, to me, like this is the plan ….to kept the place going, but with a different emphasis on how it’s used and managed. This fits with Mr Pascall being brought in to assess the situation.
I don’t want to be a harbinger of doom but – in so many aspects of British Society today – that’s what matters - profit – who can pay and who and what pays most.
I’ll wait and see. Looks to me like Herstmonceux will still function, but in a very different way. I’ll keep checking in on developments but – what can I do?
On A Lighter Note….
One thing leading to another….
Jo Bourne is making an Advent Calendar of Christmas windows - she changes the decorations in a window in her house each day to tell a Christmas story, and posts them on her Facebook page.
I’ve been sharing them to my Facebook, and the window for the 18th of December got me remembering Gonks as the small, round stuffed toys of the 1970’s….
https://uk.pinterest.com/jaynehighfield/gonks/
Jo’s Gonks don’t look like that, so I Googled, and the AI Overview tells me that there’s more to Gonks than being rotund toys…
“The origins of gonks are rooted in Nordic and Scandinavian mythology, and the earliest written references to them date back to the 1600s. However, some enthusiasts believe that gonks may have originated from the mythical "trows" of Orkney and Shetland folklore. Trows were nocturnal creatures that were said to enter homes while the inhabitants were sleeping.
Gonks are often depicted as short, with a round nose and a pulled-down hat. They are said to be a mix of gnomes and hobgoblins, and are believed to bring joy and mischievous magic to households. Some say that if families treat gonks well, they will protect the family and bring good luck. In Nordic countries, it's customary to leave a bowl of porridge out for the gonks on the winter solstice.
Gonks also became popular in the UK in the 1960s as novelty toys created by English inventor Robert Benson. These toys were small, spherical, and furry, and featured googly eyes. They became a cultural phenomenon and were owned by celebrities like Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers.
Today, gonks are a popular Christmas decoration, often placed on Christmas trees or around the house.”
These are more like Jo’s Gonks – and I like the connection with Orkney’s Trowies.
Kirbuster Museum has a Trowie garden, guarded by a Tree-Trowie…
https://theorkneynews.scot/2017/08/07/bernie-bell-having-a-yarn-in-kirbuster/
And here’s my own ‘Gonk’ – Freya-The-Doorstop, made for me by a kind neighbour….
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