Yasmin, thank you for this. It reminds me of the ancient English (Anglo-Saxon) tradition behind Rogation Sunday: "beating the bounds." People would go out to the boundaries of their individual land or their parish and check (literally "beat" with a birch or willow rod) each of the boundary markers--could be a tree, a rock, a brook, a post. (Important in an era before maps, GPS, modern surveys.) The children, especially, were instructed in the practice, so they would be able, in future, to identify the boundaries and to continue their connection to the community's shared land. The markers--and the practice--gave people a strong sense of identity with their place, and with who they were, in place, in the world. As a community, we've lost that connection, sadly--but we can reclaim it as individuals. Your writing suggests how we might do that. Thank you.
Not seen those milestones with the nobbles on top before, a most enjoyable wander. Congratulations on your milestone, Yasmin. I also like that you've included your photo at the end.
Congratulations on our milestone moment - off to the next one now...
The length of your newsletters feels about right to me...
Random thought... When I saw the marker in your photo, I wondered, would it be cool to have markers show up in our life that reveal how far we need to travel to reach the next milestone - or is the mystery of traveling in the dark more interesting?
Congratulations on the milestone, and I really enjoyed listening as well as reading; I love discovering people's voices and listen to a lot of podcasts.
I'm new on here, so no milestones yet, except I took the plunge and decided to start sharing my thoughts and feelings on a new platform. It's wonderful writing a new chapter in mid-life, after divorce, menopause, kids leaving the nest, etc, etc.
I came here craving real, so long reads or short reads are all welcome, the key for me is authenticity.
Congratulations on the milestone, Yasmin! Very much looking forward to receiving your content fortnightly, I always feel like I learn so much from you.
On the post length, my personal opinion is always that length doesn’t matter too much - I’ve read short poems on here, and I’ve read 10,000 word essays. If it’s good I’ll read it, so I’ll be hoovering up your longer pieces if that’s what you decide to do. Sometimes that can result in a feeling of pressure to post long pieces all the time but as a reader I’m always happy to receive a mix, so whatever works for the form and the topic.
P.S. You have a lovely reading voice! And glad to hear you recovered from your cancer surgery - my father underwent something similar a few years back too.
Thanks for your comment, Sue, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I don’t know of any other way markers like the obelisk but it seems that they’re all very different. Quite interesting really. I bet there are some around your part of the country.
Your comment regarding my photo noted. It was a last minute decision. :-)
Yasmin, thank you for this. It reminds me of the ancient English (Anglo-Saxon) tradition behind Rogation Sunday: "beating the bounds." People would go out to the boundaries of their individual land or their parish and check (literally "beat" with a birch or willow rod) each of the boundary markers--could be a tree, a rock, a brook, a post. (Important in an era before maps, GPS, modern surveys.) The children, especially, were instructed in the practice, so they would be able, in future, to identify the boundaries and to continue their connection to the community's shared land. The markers--and the practice--gave people a strong sense of identity with their place, and with who they were, in place, in the world. As a community, we've lost that connection, sadly--but we can reclaim it as individuals. Your writing suggests how we might do that. Thank you.
Not seen those milestones with the nobbles on top before, a most enjoyable wander. Congratulations on your milestone, Yasmin. I also like that you've included your photo at the end.
Congratulations on our milestone moment - off to the next one now...
The length of your newsletters feels about right to me...
Random thought... When I saw the marker in your photo, I wondered, would it be cool to have markers show up in our life that reveal how far we need to travel to reach the next milestone - or is the mystery of traveling in the dark more interesting?
Congrats, Yasmin! ❤️😍
Congratulations on the milestone, and I really enjoyed listening as well as reading; I love discovering people's voices and listen to a lot of podcasts.
I'm new on here, so no milestones yet, except I took the plunge and decided to start sharing my thoughts and feelings on a new platform. It's wonderful writing a new chapter in mid-life, after divorce, menopause, kids leaving the nest, etc, etc.
I came here craving real, so long reads or short reads are all welcome, the key for me is authenticity.
Congratulations on the milestone, Yasmin! Very much looking forward to receiving your content fortnightly, I always feel like I learn so much from you.
On the post length, my personal opinion is always that length doesn’t matter too much - I’ve read short poems on here, and I’ve read 10,000 word essays. If it’s good I’ll read it, so I’ll be hoovering up your longer pieces if that’s what you decide to do. Sometimes that can result in a feeling of pressure to post long pieces all the time but as a reader I’m always happy to receive a mix, so whatever works for the form and the topic.
P.S. You have a lovely reading voice! And glad to hear you recovered from your cancer surgery - my father underwent something similar a few years back too.
Thanks for your comment, Sue, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I don’t know of any other way markers like the obelisk but it seems that they’re all very different. Quite interesting really. I bet there are some around your part of the country.
Your comment regarding my photo noted. It was a last minute decision. :-)