Over the last few weeks, the weather in England is just amazing. I drove once to work and thought about the last time it was raining (so when the wipers were last used). Sun, sun, heat, heat and sun again. So you have to use it. I am not a big admirer of lying on the beach and spreading creams so that the sun will not burn me. Even if the heat is pouring from the sky, I prefer to pack my backpack and move somewhere in the woods. It's good that they have a park in England called the Peak District.
Such views can also be seen. This is the National Park stretching between Sheffield and Manchester, Huddersfield and Derby (I stretched a bit, but these are bigger cities on the map). And here we have the freedom to choose maps and areas. What do you like! Higher mountains, hills, lowlands and silent rivulets, meadows, fields and pastures.
I am not joking, sometimes you go through the middle of such a pasture. You can choose between bike paths, hiking climbers, lazy walks in the woods or lounging by the rivers and enjoying the views. You choose what you like?!
We've already been with my boyfriend a few times on shorter trips, and once we only managed to get out for 30 minutes, because it was bringing in clouds and we were soaked to the dry thread. We left with Youlgrave. A bit of a grove and a murmuring rivulet, hills and a few pastures with cows. All the grass burned from the great sun, but luckily we had a rivulet for quite a bit of the road, where you could dip your feet, rest, eat a little bit. And let`s go! Along the way, we met a lot of people who went out for a walk, and also groups of young people wandering around with camping equipment. We came to the end of the rill and here the real stairs started (real stairs like at home, but of different sizes). Unfortunately, but my camera in my cell refused to obey and I do not have a picture to prove to you, but take my word for it that after climbing, we went to the clearing and we could not move our legs. But everything good ends sometime and you have to get up and move further through the pastures to our town.
Finally, I found interesting, well-read historical books about the war of two roses in the 15th century England. I must say that I am terribly tempted by these intrigues at royal courts, poisons, public executions, battles and fights for the throne, but also beautiful princesses, lavish lunches and balls, well, not one girl wanted to be a princess. Oh sorry, after reading these books, I'd rather be an ordinary wife of the innkeeper. I was looking for something about the war of roses, and at the same time it would not be too boring a historical book. And what you ask for it you have. Like dinner on a plate in a restaurant. Let's start with the esteemed writer Philippe Gregory, a historian who in England was hailed as "the queen of English historical fiction". You can not say that she only writes fictions because there are many historical facts in her books. Anyway, at the end of every book, she writes what is not a historical truth but only her thoughts on how the story could have happened, give the authors of the books from which she drew historical knowledge. After all, not everything is known in history, because the queen did not write down in her diary that she poisoned her sister-in-law, killed her best friend's sons - we can only guess. A series of five books. You could say that they are written like diaries that they wrote in those times, ladies from good homes and these are the main women from the war of the two roses or war cousins who, pushed with their own ambitions, play significant roles in the kingdom (after all, every mother wants to see her son on the throne of England). You can not choose only one book, eg. for the Queen of England, but you have to read all five because then you have to watch everything. And so the queen only writes about her good sides, about her colorful life, balls, dinners and battles her husband Edward IV chooses for. But before we read about her royal life, we must first read where she came from on the English throne and in England in general. And the first book I recommend "The lady of the Rivers" and this is the story of the life of Jacquetta of Luxemburg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville. The eldest daughter of Piotr I of Luxembourger and Margaret de Baux. At the beginning of the book, we meet Jacquetta, who which establishes a relationship with Joanne d`Arc in her uncle's prison and is the world of its burning at the stake, which makes her think that her "gift" is not welcome in Christian Europe. At the age of 17, she married John, Prince Bedford (he was the brother of King Henry V), who died after two years of childless marriage and here in the book there is another legend. Apparently, the Luxembourg dynasty derives from the legendary river goddess Meluzyna, who was the grandmother of Siegfried and the first count of Luxemburg, and her first husband wants to find a philosopher's stone and change metal into gold, so he goes to astrologers and they inform him that he will be lucky if he takes Jacquetta as a wife, but she must be a virgin, because then her "visions" will be cleaner. During this marriage, Jacquetta falls in love with Richard Woodville's squire and Chamberlain. She knows that after a year mourning for her husband, the King of England will show her a new husband and marry Richard for love and thus lose her lands and titles given to her by her husband, she was also forbidden to stay outside the court and was assigned a one-year annuity of 1,000 pounds. This changed when the wife and queen of England became Margaret , whose brother was Jacquetta's brother-in-law and under the pressure of Queen Henry, recognized her marriage, reinstated Richard and appointed Baron Rivers , and two years later, the Knight of the Garter. The book shows how much the queen relied on Jacobin and always asked her advice and and even asks her for divination, Jacquetta was always devoted to the queen and of course you can not overlook how much she loved her husband, and every his return from Caleis(which at that time belonged to England) was crowned with the birth of another child (and there were 14). Jacquetta is not happy to use his divination skills, because she knows what it threatens, but she sees the future and can not believe that this is how the fate of Queen and her daughter Elizabeth are to go. But read about it in this book.
Monday, 9 July 2018
Well, I did a vacation in writing. And I have no excuse for it. I did not have anything interesting to write or I was just lazy(in most of the time). Well because what to write here when life stands in place or it seems so because all the time works between work and home, home and work. Although sometimes something in the background scrolls like a book read, watched a movie, another finished piece of knitting or crochet etc. Or another move and change address? Oh yeah! Again?! I have already counted that I changed my place of residence every year (that is, 10). But, only a few months and I'm going home. For now, I can enjoy the beautiful weather
(it's probably so special for me to let this year pass well) and go home. I already have enough of this life on suitcases, it's time to go back to Poland. Almost everyone tells me that I will definitely come back, but it is true that I prefer to"pat poor" in my own home than to earn well abroad and live in a house where you have to adapt to the rules there. You say you can buy a house, but I will not work like a machine for X-years to sell this house in my old age and return to a country where my parents will no longer be. I want to be very close to them and no money will change that. After all, I always say that as many people in the world think so much and everyone would say something different here.
