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April 24, 2025
Sublime Rambling
By Vicki L. George
The Bandera Prophet
English Epistle #12
Feb. 17, 1998
The Two Bridges Hotel was built in the 1700s and sits beside the Dart River. The grounds are large enough that they keep a few animals around. There’s a llama and a small flock of ducks, a gaggle of geese and a huge tomcat.
Geese are among the most intelligent of birds and I dearly love them. So, of course, I sat with them awhile and we “conversed.” It turns out they were hanging out by the front door waiting for their nightly treat of scones, left over from tea time. However, the geese didn’t tell me this — their caretaker did.
The cat graciously consented to be my “lap robe” as we sat in front of the fireplace later that evening. We sat with a couple from London and chatted while Hubby and the other gentleman tried to get, and keep, the fire going. The Londoner hit on the idea of simply blowing on the kindling to start it. It flared up so high and so quickly we all jumped and he kind of sheepishly admitted that all that rum was good for something.
Again, we had boiler heat which is turned off during the night. But this is a little higher priced establishment and they offered us the loan of a fan heater (space heater) and we accepted.
Because of the weather, we returned to Penzance the next day and the following Sunday, we went in search of the Men-an-Tol.
The Men-an-Tol are prehistoric stones which are usually found near to, or in sight of, stone circles. They are supposed to be almost 6,000 years old and are located at sites of exceptional earth energy (back to the Ley lines). They don’t appear to have any astronomical significance, but are supposed to have magical powers. Each one is round and flat with a round hole in the center and set on edge (think, doughnut). There are always upright stones on each side, shaped like small obelisks, several feet away so that one can peer through the hole from either side and see one of the upright stones. The round stone is usually three to five feet tall and the hole is just big enough for an average sized adult to crawl through.
The powers attributed to them are in the areas of healing and fertility. The locals told me that if you have an illness, or a condition, that you want cured, you need to go through the Men-an-Tol three times to be cured. A married couple who wants children should crawl through the Men-an-Tol, as well. I picked up a booklet on the subject that says a couple should hold hands through the stone on New Years’ Day to seal their engagement and to ensure children in the marriage and an abundance of crops and cattle. Babies were passed through the stone naked three times to ensure good health during their lifetimes. Of course, if they still get sick they were passed through the stone three more times.
There is a Men-an-Tol nearby and we found it easily enough. This one is between three-and-a-half to four feet tall. I had to lay on the ground on my stomach to get the photo I wanted. Then I wanted to crawl through it. While I was studying the situation, it occurred to me that my broad beam was perhaps as large as that hole. I had a mental image of getting stuck and was trying to assess the risk of that actually happening when along came a whole herd of Homo sapiens, every one of them armed with a camera. No way was I going to get stuck in that hole with all those witnesses recording it for posterity! And Hubby was standing by with our camera poised, the traitor! So I chickened out.
We did see a couple send their small child through it and we witnessed a young couple taking turns going through themselves.
Circles were evidently very big with our stone age ancestors. So, why did it take them so long to invent the wheel?
Geese are among the most intelligent of birds and I dearly love them. So, of course, I sat with them awhile and we “conversed.” It turns out they were hanging out by the front door waiting for their nightly treat of scones, left over from tea time. However, the geese didn’t tell me this — their caretaker did.
The cat graciously consented to be my “lap robe” as we sat in front of the fireplace later that evening. We sat with a couple from London and chatted while Hubby and the other gentleman tried to get, and keep, the fire going. The Londoner hit on the idea of simply blowing on the kindling to start it. It flared up so high and so quickly we all jumped and he kind of sheepishly admitted that all that rum was good for something.
Again, we had boiler heat which is turned off during the night. But this is a little higher priced establishment and they offered us the loan of a fan heater (space heater) and we accepted.
Because of the weather, we returned to Penzance the next day and the following Sunday, we went in search of the Men-an-Tol.
The Men-an-Tol are prehistoric stones which are usually found near to, or in sight of, stone circles. They are supposed to be almost 6,000 years old and are located at sites of exceptional earth energy (back to the Ley lines). They don’t appear to have any astronomical significance, but are supposed to have magical powers. Each one is round and flat with a round hole in the center and set on edge (think, doughnut). There are always upright stones on each side, shaped like small obelisks, several feet away so that one can peer through the hole from either side and see one of the upright stones. The round stone is usually three to five feet tall and the hole is just big enough for an average sized adult to crawl through.
The powers attributed to them are in the areas of healing and fertility. The locals told me that if you have an illness, or a condition, that you want cured, you need to go through the Men-an-Tol three times to be cured. A married couple who wants children should crawl through the Men-an-Tol, as well. I picked up a booklet on the subject that says a couple should hold hands through the stone on New Years’ Day to seal their engagement and to ensure children in the marriage and an abundance of crops and cattle. Babies were passed through the stone naked three times to ensure good health during their lifetimes. Of course, if they still get sick they were passed through the stone three more times.
There is a Men-an-Tol nearby and we found it easily enough. This one is between three-and-a-half to four feet tall. I had to lay on the ground on my stomach to get the photo I wanted. Then I wanted to crawl through it. While I was studying the situation, it occurred to me that my broad beam was perhaps as large as that hole. I had a mental image of getting stuck and was trying to assess the risk of that actually happening when along came a whole herd of Homo sapiens, every one of them armed with a camera. No way was I going to get stuck in that hole with all those witnesses recording it for posterity! And Hubby was standing by with our camera poised, the traitor! So I chickened out.
We did see a couple send their small child through it and we witnessed a young couple taking turns going through themselves.
Circles were evidently very big with our stone age ancestors. So, why did it take them so long to invent the wheel?