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| Blogging through his rage since 1660... |
...most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...In 1657, Pepys took the decision to undertake surgery: this cannot have been an easy option, as the operation was known to be especially painful and hazardous. Nevertheless, Pepys consulted a surgeon; and, on 26 March 1658, the operation took place in a bedroom at the house of Pepys's cousin, Jane Turner.Pepys' stone was successfully removed and he resolved to hold a celebration on every anniversary of the operation, which he did for several years. However, there were long-term effects from the operation: the incision on his bladder broke open again late in his life, and the procedure may have left him sterile – though there is no direct evidence for this, as he was childless before the operation. (No kids?! Betty has some 'splainin' to do...)
He sounds like an interesting character and his diary details matters both public and personal. I feel bad for his wife though. Even with the unusual and out-moded words used it is not difficult to see that poor Elizabeth had the dubious pleasure of catching him in flagrante delicto with her companion. (Fink.)
The title of Off With the Old Love comes, as far as I can tell, from a Scottish folk song:
It is good to be merry and wise,
It is good to be honest and true,
it is best to be off with the old love
before you are on with the new.
Esmeralda:
Leslie drives Esmeralda home for the weekend - they go through the New Forest...then he has to brake hard because of the ponies who roam freely. Wow, this is all very interesting. I never would have guessed this sort of set-up existed:...the breed has been purebred since 1930.
Before then, as part of ongoing efforts to improve the New Forest pony, animals of other breeds were introduced to the Forest.
The earliest written record of horses in the New Forest dates back to 1016 when rights of common pasture were granted to the people living in what was a royal hunting ground.
The cattle and ponies living on the New Forest are not completely feral, but are owned by commoners(local people with common grazing rights) , who pay a fee each year for each animal turned out. The animals are looked after by their owners and by the Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the New Forest – the Verderers are a statutory body with ancient roots that shares the management of the forest with the Forestry Commission. Around 80% of the animals depastured on the New Forest are owned by just 10% of the commoning families.
And look at that. They've defined 'commoners' to me in a way I've never thought of before.
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteWith a good laugh over the Pepys remark and the likelihood of it be true.
As someone who has done way too much family history/genealogical research I have to say that I see that kind of remark all the time. Supporting evidence is usually down around nil. My own great-grandmother's maiden name is Downing. Family Lore says she's a descendant of the Downing for whom Downing Street (in London) is named. Probability of that being true-somewhere around zero-but it makes a good story!
I suspect Our Betty's Mrs Pepys' connection falls into the same category.
It is good to be merry and wise,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to be honest and true,
it is best to be off with the old love
before you are on with the new.
Every woman who finds her husband doing what Mrs. Pepys found Samuel doing, would agree with this ditty. At a Band Festival while listening to Betty Megan on her bassoon, I heard from another band-mom about her marriage of 29.5 years dissolving when her dirt bag found a new love in Norway on facebook.
Betty Ross and Betty Henry and I were quite the curiosity this weekend. We never fail to get the sidelong looks when they're revealed to be my current and ex-husbands. As Betty Henry is fond of quoting, someone once told him, "I've heard of amicable divorces, but this is ridiculous."
ReplyDeleteBut really that's because he and I had the sort of "old-fashioned" basis for marriage: respect & friendship that Sir Paul Wyatt (tomorrow's Betty) promotes. After the marriage ends, the respect & friendship continue.
And no floozies were involved...