Green Man

SEE HIM LARGER.

It's Eostara, the Spring equinox - day and night lengths are equal and from now until June 21st the days will become longer and longer - bliss! Even more blissful when we put the clocks forward. These three months are my favourite part of the year.
The Green Man is symbolic of winter giving way to spring, so I decided that today was the most appropriate day to blip this one from the ancient woodland just a few hundred yards from where my work pal D lived until recently. That woodland is at Caister St. Edmunds, on the outskirts of Norwich, which happens to have been the base and stronghold of the equally ancient Iceni tribe. The most famous Iceni of all, of course, was the formidable Boudicca who's husband, on his death, left the kingdom jointly to their daughters and the Roman empire. Having been publicly flogged, and forced to watch her daughters abused by Roman soldiers, Boudicca then mustered a substantial army of her own from neighbouring tribes, leading them into battle, and the Romans were trounced as far south as London. It couldn't last of course, and eventual defeat was inevitable once Roman reinforcements were utilised. It's believed that rather than be seized by the Romans, she poisoned herself. Boudicca was one amazing lady. The nearby (no longer in existence) Arminghall henge, the site where I attended a Yule celebration last December 22nd, was aligned to the winter solstice (the outlines of the inner and outer circles still very much discernible) - when walking the boundary of the henge it struck me that Boudicca herself would very likely have used that henge for the same celebration in her day - we could easily be walking in her footsteps - an awesome thought .....