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Authors: Roderick Leyland
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Reedmace.
Early records tell of pastures of buttercups, and fields of hemp dotted with meadow saffron. The flowers of the meadow saffron ( Colchicum autumnale) resemble a crocus but instead of three stamens have six. The plant yields the poisonous drug colchicine—a yellow alkaloid—which is used to treat gout. Colchicum is named after Kolchis in Asia Minor, famous in Greek mythology for drugs and sorcery. The king's daughter, Medea, helps Jason obtain the golden fleece then flees with him. Later Medea kills her two children by Jason, and his new bride, Creusa, with the gift of a poisoned garment which burns her to death.
Culinary saffron is not produced from the meadow saffron but from Crocus sativus.
An atomic power station dominates the shoreline at Dungeness and rows of pylons are visible for miles around. Dungeness also has two lighthouses: one in use, the other no longer used, but open to visitors. Each year as fresh shingle is deposited the sea recedes about seven feet, so over time replacement lighthouses have had to be built closer to the water's new edge.
Romance surrounds the history of smuggling in Romney Marsh, which benefits from shallow beaches and a closeness to France. The many large churches were used for storage. (William Cobbett notes that some village churches are far too large for their small populations.)
In 1927 the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway, with a gauge of 18 inches, was opened. It still operates today.
The region is well documented by writers who have lived on, or been inspired by, it. From the Rev Richard Harris Barham in 'The Ingoldsby Legends', through H. G. Wells ('The War in the Air'), the poetry of Ford Madox Ford, E. Nesbit (who spent holidays here and is buried at St Mary-in-the-Marsh), to Russell Thorndike and his Dr Syn novels, and to Rudyard Kipling.
Once you set foot in the area you notice a transformation in the environment and in yourself. You feel as if you have stepped into a kingdom where time has moved more slowly than elsewhere. And the sense of solitude is remarkable; which possibly explains its power to attract and inspire writers and artists. But at one time people avoided Romney Marsh believing it to be an unhealthfull place occupied by witches.
"Beware if you stray on to Rumn-ea Marshe for fear of divers witches..." warns Yelired in the Saxon Rockland Chronicle.
Iklyd the corn-dealer in Norse legend also counsels against entering the region which is "full of noxious evils" and where teams of horsemen have been sucked under its waters.
10
'Doc, I'm in love.'
He gave me one of his oblique looks. 'How's Belinda?'
'She's fine,' I said, 'but it's not her.'
'Who's it this time, Charlie?'
'It's the Fierychick, doc: she's poisoned me. Ffion's passed me a posy of poison, dealt me a dose of digitalis, teased me with tincture of toxin and made my heart race. She's slipped some venom under my skin and I can't forget her. What can I do?'
'I think it's about time you saw another specialist,' he said.
'Doc, she's cast a spell on me.'
'These are fantasies, Charlie. You're losing touch with reality, again. I know just the guy you should see.'
'He won't give me tests, will he, doc? None of those silly word associations. "What's the first thing that comes into your mind, Mr Smith?" I don't want to speak to any specialists. I want to speak to you. I trust you, doc. Anyway, I'm worried.'
'Why?'
'I went looking for her.'
'Who?'
'Ffion'
'Looking for her...?'
'Went to Romney Marsh.'
'Is that where she lives?'
'No. She lives here, in town. But after our second meeting, when she said she had to chill out, to Romney Marsh she went.
Well, I went too, but nobody had heard of her. And I gave them a really good description: five-eight, five-ten, long ginger hair, the colour of saffron. Sometimes wears it up, sometimes down. Freckly complexion. Wears a lot of purple and violet.'
'So, what did you do there, Charlie?'
'Looked around: studied the
Early records tell of pastures of buttercups, and fields of hemp dotted with meadow saffron. The flowers of the meadow saffron ( Colchicum autumnale) resemble a crocus but instead of three stamens have six. The plant yields the poisonous drug colchicine—a yellow alkaloid—which is used to treat gout. Colchicum is named after Kolchis in Asia Minor, famous in Greek mythology for drugs and sorcery. The king's daughter, Medea, helps Jason obtain the golden fleece then flees with him. Later Medea kills her two children by Jason, and his new bride, Creusa, with the gift of a poisoned garment which burns her to death.
Culinary saffron is not produced from the meadow saffron but from Crocus sativus.
An atomic power station dominates the shoreline at Dungeness and rows of pylons are visible for miles around. Dungeness also has two lighthouses: one in use, the other no longer used, but open to visitors. Each year as fresh shingle is deposited the sea recedes about seven feet, so over time replacement lighthouses have had to be built closer to the water's new edge.
Romance surrounds the history of smuggling in Romney Marsh, which benefits from shallow beaches and a closeness to France. The many large churches were used for storage. (William Cobbett notes that some village churches are far too large for their small populations.)
In 1927 the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway, with a gauge of 18 inches, was opened. It still operates today.
The region is well documented by writers who have lived on, or been inspired by, it. From the Rev Richard Harris Barham in 'The Ingoldsby Legends', through H. G. Wells ('The War in the Air'), the poetry of Ford Madox Ford, E. Nesbit (who spent holidays here and is buried at St Mary-in-the-Marsh), to Russell Thorndike and his Dr Syn novels, and to Rudyard Kipling.
Once you set foot in the area you notice a transformation in the environment and in yourself. You feel as if you have stepped into a kingdom where time has moved more slowly than elsewhere. And the sense of solitude is remarkable; which possibly explains its power to attract and inspire writers and artists. But at one time people avoided Romney Marsh believing it to be an unhealthfull place occupied by witches.
"Beware if you stray on to Rumn-ea Marshe for fear of divers witches..." warns Yelired in the Saxon Rockland Chronicle.
Iklyd the corn-dealer in Norse legend also counsels against entering the region which is "full of noxious evils" and where teams of horsemen have been sucked under its waters.
10
'Doc, I'm in love.'
He gave me one of his oblique looks. 'How's Belinda?'
'She's fine,' I said, 'but it's not her.'
'Who's it this time, Charlie?'
'It's the Fierychick, doc: she's poisoned me. Ffion's passed me a posy of poison, dealt me a dose of digitalis, teased me with tincture of toxin and made my heart race. She's slipped some venom under my skin and I can't forget her. What can I do?'
'I think it's about time you saw another specialist,' he said.
'Doc, she's cast a spell on me.'
'These are fantasies, Charlie. You're losing touch with reality, again. I know just the guy you should see.'
'He won't give me tests, will he, doc? None of those silly word associations. "What's the first thing that comes into your mind, Mr Smith?" I don't want to speak to any specialists. I want to speak to you. I trust you, doc. Anyway, I'm worried.'
'Why?'
'I went looking for her.'
'Who?'
'Ffion'
'Looking for her...?'
'Went to Romney Marsh.'
'Is that where she lives?'
'No. She lives here, in town. But after our second meeting, when she said she had to chill out, to Romney Marsh she went.
Well, I went too, but nobody had heard of her. And I gave them a really good description: five-eight, five-ten, long ginger hair, the colour of saffron. Sometimes wears it up, sometimes down. Freckly complexion. Wears a lot of purple and violet.'
'So, what did you do there, Charlie?'
'Looked around: studied the
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