Thatch Roofs

Thatch roofs are still fairly common in England---there are more thatch roofs in the UK than in any other part of Europe. Thatch roofs are more frequently seen in some communities than in others. In Martock there are only a few (the photo above was taken in Martock), but it is just a short drive to a village where there are many thatch roofs. Even new construction has thatch.

Thatch is the most common roofing material in the world because of the availability of materials. It can be made of many different kinds of plant material. In England it is traditionally made with wheat straw. That straw is now produced by specialized growers, because the most common wheat of today has shorter straw than the older varieties. (The use of imported water reed is common in Eastern England.)

The wheat straw is fastened together in bundles with a diameter of about 2 feet. Then it is laid on the roof, secured to the roof beams, and pegged in place with wooden rods. Layers are built on top of layers, and then a finishing layer is put on to secure the ridge line.


This is the underside of a thatch roof. It is on a gazebo, so there is no ceiling below the roof.



If a roof is built by experts, it will last 45-50 years. The ridge line may have to be replaced sooner, but even that lasts 15 years. Thatch roofs are repaired by just adding a new layer. ( Sometimes in the really ancient buildings, the lower levels of thatch are 600 years old!) The labor intensive work of making a good thatch roof and the need for skilled experts make it an expensive roof today.

Thatch roofs do endure wind and rain, but I am not sure that they would make it through Texas thunderstorms! (One day several months ago, it was raining and I could hear two or three rumbles of thunder in the far off distance (no lightning). The next day people in Martock were talking about the bad thunderstorm!)
There is enough pitch to the roofs that rain runs off before it penetrates the lower levels of the roof. Especially in England they do not catch fire any more frequently than other roofs, because they are generally wet! However, if they do catch fire, mostly from chimneys, the fire does much more damage and is hard to put out. That makes insurance high. Many people put a fire retarding layer underneath the thatch. (In London, new thatch roofs have been against the law since the Norman days of the 12th century--and that was before the Great Fire of London. The old ones had to have a layer of plaster in the rafters. The Globe Theater has a thatch roof, but it is built over a regular-type roof!)

Another problem with the thatch roofs is birds. Wire netting is used to prevent damage from them.

Just a Cute Kid Story

On my walk yesterday, I was passing by a church where children from a preschool class were leaving with their mothers . A little boy about 4 years old was upset, and his mother was trying to console him. She was saying, "Well, love, it will be much better than the donkey that you were last year."
Evidently the parts for the Christmas play had been announced! I wish you could have heard it in the English accent!
(The word "love" is very commonly used to children and to adults. It is amusing to hear the grocery store check-out ladies saying, "How are you today, love?" to Ron! ...... But then, they do it to me, too.)

"Remember, Remember, the 5th of November"

There is a very well-known poem in the U.K. that goes like this:
"Remember, remember
The 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
We see no reason why
Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

November 5th is a very special day, Guy Fawkes Day, in the U.K. Sometimes it is also called Bonfire Day or Bonfire Night. It is an annual celebration that began in 1605, when a plot was foiled that involved blowing up the English Parliament and King James I.
At that time, the Roman Catholics felt that the government was treating them unfairly, and they had hoped that, when James I became king, he would change some of the unfair laws, but instead, he instituted even more laws against the Catholics. The Catholics had to practice their religion in secret, and they were fined if they did not attend a Protestant church on Sundays or on holidays.
In retaliation, a number of Roman Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, decided to blow up Parliament on the opening day of the 1605 session, which would be presided over by James I. The conspirators put barrels of gunpowder in the basement of the Parliament building and left Guy Fawkes there to watch over it and light the fuse at the right time. However, on the morning of Nov. 5th, Fawkes was discovered and arrested.
In celebration of his survival, King James ordered that people in England should have a great bonfire on that night.
(Beginning the next year, and continuing even today, on the day of the first session of Parliament, soldiers search the basement of the Parliament building with candle laterns.)

Today Guy Fawkes Day is widely celebrated with fireworks and bonfires. It is common to throw effigies of Guy Fawkes on the bonfires. People through the years would refer to the effigies as "Guys", thus the beginnings of our present word, "guy".

We have seen fireworks for about a week. When driving through the countryside, we have seen fireworks all around. There is no regulation about setting off fireworks in the towns (a city like London may be different), so many of our neighbors have shot fireworks in their yards. There are even fireworks businesses within the larger city of Bristol. I guess the fire hazard is not great because everything is generally wet here!
Last night we could see a bonfire from our bedroom window, and we could see really good fireworks. The following are two photos that we took from our bedroom window.




There are even traditional foods eaten during this time----bonfire toffee, toffee apples, and baked potatoes cooked in the bonfire. I had been seeing the apples in the grocery stores lately, but I didn't know about the tradition until this week.

Our housekeepers seemed really surprised that I had never heard of Guy Fawkes Day before!

Evidently, since the English do not have a 4th of July, this is their time for fireworks!

Local Bake Sale

Saturday a local church was having a bake/craft sale, so I went there, as it is a church that I normally pass on my walks. It looked more like a social hour for the local church members than a real sale----there was not much for sale! (I would not have stopped if it had been a garage sale at home!)
I did buy two homemade desserts. The first one is a fruit cake. The lady who made it told me that it is one that English people like to have with their 4:00 p.m. tea. It has mostly dates and raisins inside, and I think it is good. It tastes much like the ones my mom makes at Christmas.


The second was my favorite----little mincemeat pies. The lady told me that these are traditional at Christmas (just like home!). I guess the English have to get an early start on Christmas mincemeat pies since they don't have Thanksgiving! The grocery stores have been selling "Christmas Mincemeat Pies" for about a month now--the ones I have seen have all been small(like the ones in my photo) and sold in boxes of six pies. I had to try the grocery store ones a few weeks ago, but these homemade ones are much better!

Have you gotten your "flu jab" this year?

When I was in Yeovil the other day, I saw this sign in front of a drug store, so I went in and got my yearly "flu jab". The price wasn't too bad (about $20 U.S.). Maybe "jab" makes more sense than "shot" does!

"Good night, sleep tight."

Have you ever thought about the origin of the phrase "sleep tight"?
We heard one theory of the origin while we were visiting Buckland Abbey.

The National Trust volunteer that was working in one of the bedrooms of Buckland Abbey was telling us about the bed in that room. She said that it was made of three mattresses, with the top mattress being a feather one. The bed frame was made of wood, and ropes were used across the bottom to hold the mattresses. The ropes were tied to the frame, and with use, the ropes would gradually get loose and have to be retied. So the phrase "sleep tight" was used to wish the occupants a good sleep with the ropes staying tight.

When I googled "sleep tight" I found out that it was probably just a story, but a well-circulated one (in the U.S., too). I think it makes a very good story, so I want to believe it!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas

Several have asked about Halloween celebration here. It was about the same as at home as far as costumes, parties, and trick-or-treating. However, I did not see many decorations. We do live in a very small community with a high percentage of elderly people, though, so it might be different in the larger cities. Also, in Martock, there are very tiny, if any, front yards and almost no one has a front porch. I did see lots of pumpkins in the stores, most of which had signs advertising "locally grown pumpkins".
We had only two children come to our door last night, so I guess Ron and I get to eat the left-over candy! Our time change was last Saturday night, so it was dark enough by 5:00 to turn on our outside light!
Yesterday morning BBC News had a story about how much higher the crime and vandalism statistics are on Halloween night than any other night----that is kind of like home, too....

Thanksgiving, of course, is not celebrated here, so it is not a holiday at all. No turkey, dressing, etc.............and no day off work for Ron! (Maybe I will take the day off!)

Christmas must be as big a holiday as at home. The stores have lots of Christmas merchandise already, but I have not seen any of the stores decorated with lights, etc. yet. I am curious to see if people decorate the outside of their houses. I have heard "Santa Claus" mentioned a couple of times, but people here say "Father Christmas" instead.