A field trip to Flax Bourton

The advent of the Corona Man each Friday, with all his lovely bottles of lovely fizzy pop, was one of the highlights of the week when I was a kid. These days, in his new incarnation, he's not so welcome. And given he seems to have his feet firmly under the table, it might seem counter-intuitive to set out on a field trip for a gig in May that might not happen, but the IsamBards are intrepid, and always travel in hope. (Plus, performances can always be rescheduled for happier, healthier times if necessary.)

It was in this mindset that we drove to Flax Bourton yesterday for a meeting with my old school chum, Adrienne. I'd been to the fascinating Church of St Michael's and All Angels a few years earlier, but for my fellow 'Bards, this was their first visit. 

I enjoyed watching their delight as they discovered the Saxon carvings, and couldn't resist re-photographing them myself.  

St Michael slaying that poor old dragon

An early byrd getting the wyrms

A fox - or wolf - and a fern

And in fact I spotted a few things I'd missed first time round.

No, not the lead-lined Norman font ...

... rather, the cork from a bottle of port plugging it ... 

... and the clutter Ade rues, but which every church has behind the scenes. 

 The typically Saxon proportions of the nave

Pameli appreciating the Saxon doorway

Other things I missed during my previous visit were the 15th century carved hares on the exterior of one of the chancel windows, and which are now badly eroded ...

... and this scratch sundial to the side of the porch. 

In the churchyard there's mistletoe ... 

... the base of the preaching cross ...

... and a discarded skull and antlers ...

... while in the lane nearby, a clematis montana was in full blossom, a sight I always associate with my son's birth in May. But then a lot of things are topsy-turvy this spring.