Sunday, 1 December 2024

horsemouth is up (wait let him go and get some more coffee).

'walked to hay and took the 11.30 train to hereford...' - kilvert's diary, 1st december 1870.

this is (of course) no longer possible. one would have to take the bus. 

on the train he gets into a conversation with 'a lady in the carriage who had lately come from warsaw'.

at worcester he is guided to his aunt's house on college green by a girl with a baby. in the library of the house he finds his parents. he goes upstairs to visit the body of his aunt;

'the dead woman 80 years old lay in her coffin, a lead coffin fitted into an outer one of dark oak and lined with white satin. the coffin lid with its brass breastplate leaned upright in a corner of the room. the face that lay still, frozen down into silence, in the coffin was a very remarkable one. it was a distinguished face with aristocratic features. a firm mouth, fine highly formed nose delicately and sharply cut. there was a slight frown and concentration of the brows. it was the face of a person of considerable ability, stern, sever and perhaps a little contemptuous...' 

it may be surmised that the lead and oak coffin will be heavy (so will it prove).

after a walk around town with his father francis kilvert goes off to spend the night at the star inn.

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'horsemouth is up. he's wearing a jumper. he has finished his coffee (boo-hoo). grey day outside' - horsemouth's blog, date unknown.

horsemouth is up (wait let him go and get some more coffee). there he's turned the page so all the calendars show december. we are into the darkest month of the year.  soon enough the fake solstice festival that will not be named (and a visit from his brother's family). 

yesterday horsemouth got the bus up to the forge and then walked back (about 4 miles including the walk to the bus stop).  later there were two zoom beers with howard. it looks like howard's letter will be arriving (horsemouth has paid the fine to release it from letter jail). before that howard was up the big empty pub writing and reading again. 

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