Apropos walls. I went out on a walk yesterday morning and I’d not gone more than twenty paces when it occurred to me how many walls there are in the village. I’ve only been wandering between and by them for twenty odd years, and, of course, I’ve noticed walls before, but for some reason, I was struck by the diversity. This is unlike Neil who was once struck by Castle Bran in Romania, and I mean physically struck when some of the rendering was blown off in the arctic gale that sliced everything in two, including, it seemed, the castle walls. I digress. Here is the wall that started me thinking.
You might note the pattern cut into the plaster, the lines that bother decorate and aid water runoff, I’m guessing. That’s quite common to see on older and newer walls. At the top of this set of steps is an unplastered, retaining wall made, as they all are, entirely of local stone. As you can see, this one has spaces, and I was once told the reason for this. Yes, when the wall isn’t too close to human activity, the holes provide handy nesting places for some birds, and when the wall is close by the road, a handy place for lazy idiots to stuff in their empty crisp packets and/or beer cans, but they are actually meant for scaffolding supports. At least, that’s what a builder chap once told me, and I’ve seen them being used for that purpose. Here’s the wall in question.
Looking at that one makes me wonder how many stones there are in the village. Just about every house, wall, pavement and step is made from local stone, and there must be millions. It’s interesting to think that before they became buildings etc., these stones were part of the natural island. Everything we see around us comes from nature, even plastic (in a roundabout way), becasue as Julie Andrews sang, ‘Nothing comes from nothing.’ We don’t create cups, books, computers, desks, houses, monuments, bridges, boats, planes… from thin air, so every single item on the planet has been stolen from the planet. No wonder it’s getting angry, and heating us to boiling point, and it’s no wonder the world is fighting over what’s left. I digress again. Here’s another wall.
This one was once windows. I mean, it’s the front of a house or courtyard, and the windows or doorways have been filled in by more stones. Looking at it, it might well have been a shop back in the days when the whole village was alive with 35,000 inhabitants, and there were so many small squares, shops, and cafes right up to the top church.
Finally, if you think some of the alleys of the village are narrow, you’d be right. Take a look at this one and try not to feel stoned.
