"Fresh" Forest of Dean.

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
 
Carol:
> Oh, yes: William II, aka William Rufus, so-called for his ruddy
> complexion, IIRC. I was thinking that he died from eating "a surfeit
> of eels" (food poisoning after eating his favorite dish) but I guess
> that was his younger brother, Henry I. 

Geoff:
Twas indeed. December 1135 while visiting his family in Normandy.

Carol:
> Maybe Rufus Scrimgeour was
> named after William Rufus (the original Red King?).

Geoff:
I've had that thought myself in the past, though nothing to do with 
alchemical connections with which I don't agree - but that's for 
another post at some point.

Geoff (earlier): 
> > The Forest of Dean is a quite sparsely populated area, unusually for
> English areas lying on the West (Welsh) side of the River Severn
> between Gloucester on to the east and the Welsh toen of Monmouth on
> its west. <snip> Then there are Royal Forests on the edge of London
> such as Epping and Waltham in the North-east. But, if you investigate,
> you will find that tere was a list as long as your arm of places so
> designated.
 
Carol:
> Wasn't poaching in the royal forests a crime punishable by death? 

Geoff:
Doing anything in the royal forests was very risky if you weren't on t
he staff" so to speak.

Carol:
> To return to the Forest of Dean, I found this lovely shot online:
> 
> http://www.cinderfordbrassband.co.uk/Royal%20Forest%20Of%20Dean.jpg
> 
> I can picture the silver doe there, only in winter with snow on the
> ground and bare branches. It would have been darker, too, IIRC.

Geoff:
One of the best known spots is Symonds Yat which is high above the 
Wye Valley, on the north-west edge of the Forest of Dean and a few 
miles north of Tintern Abbey.

I've only ever visited once when there was about 3" of snow on the 
ground and the views down the valley were stunningly beautiful.