'Oranges and Lemons' ..

... Say the Bells of St Clement's

It has been a warm and overcast day with little gusts of wind at times. I heard it reached 21c so a very pleasant day.

The Plasters arrived at 8am singing at times as they worked.

I had a wonderful day out with Flying. We had a walk around the Botanic Gardens to look at all the lovely Spring flowers.. followed by lunch. You can see in my extra shots some scenes from the gardens.

The Nursery Rhyme Oranges and lemons came to mind when I put up this shot. I Looked it up and found the history and origins of the lyrics are sinister! I have never really thought about it before.

This is what I found out:
The words and lyrics have been much loved by generations of British children. The place names relate to some of the many churches of London and the tune that accompanies the lyrics emulates the sound of the  ringing of the specific church bells. The words of the nursery rhyme are chanted by children as they play the game of 'Oranges and lemons' the end of which culminates in a child being caught between the joined arms of two others, emulating the act of chopping off their head! The reason for the last three lines of lyrics are easily explained. The 'Great Bells of Bow' were used to time the executions at Newgate prison, which for many years were done by means of beheading. The unfortunate victim would await execution on 'Death Row' and was informed by the warder, the night before the execution ' here comes the candle to light you to bed' of their imminent fate and to make their peace with God! The executions commenced when the bells started chiming at nine o'clock in the morning. When the bells stopped chiming  then the executions would be finished until the following day!

If you want to know more about it here is the link.