Friday, May 25

Synchronicity Starts With Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Statue of the Ancient Mariner at Watchet

It was the first full day of our break in Somerset and the morning was dark, dismal and raining. Never ones to let the weather get the better of us we headed to the nearby small coastal town of Watchet. As we walked in the drizzle by the harbour we came across a statue of the Ancient Mariner. This was in respect of the poem of the same by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

I said to Karin that my mum liked reading Coleridge, especially the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. I thought no more about this but when I got back to our car I realised that a trashy paperback I was reading was also by someone named Coleridge: Nicholas Coleridge.

The Much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge

The afternoon brightened up and we walked along the shore line past many beaches full of pebbles. That's where I took the above photo.

Pebbles on the beach at Somerset

In the evening, when we got back to our accommodation, I was looking at some leaflets the owner had left for us. And one of these was regarding the 'Coleridge Way'. This is about 'Following In The Footsteps of the Romantic Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 -1834'. So that was why there was a statue of the Ancient Mariner in Watchet.

It seems that Coleridge lived in this area at a place called Nether Stowey and the Coleridge Way goes right past where we were staying at Roadwater. We were literally on the Coleridge Way. I didn't know any of this until I read the leaflet while sitting in the corner seat below.

Inglenook Fireplace at Roadwater Somerset

Next to the chair was a small corner table, which can't be seen in the photo. On this table, left by the owner, was a book called Bambi and Me. As I mentioned in my post Memories Of Bambi this animal has sentimental links for me to my mum.

Bambi and Me

So, putting the synchronicity all together: we see a statue of the Ancient Mariner at Watchet in recognition of one of my mother's favourite poets Samuel Coleridge. I just happen to be reading a book by Coleridge. On returning back to where we were staying I find out there's a 'Coleridge Way' passing yards from where I was sitting - and next to me was a book about Bambi, which links me again back to my mother.

Chance happenings? I don't think so. There's more to it than that, but I'll leave readers to draw their own conclusions.

And changing the subject completely, while in Watchet we came across this tiny lock up jail used prior to the 1800s.

Tiny jail in Watchet Somerset used prior to 1800s

The court was held at the nearby Bell Inn and anyone causing a public nuisance, or considered likely to abscond while waiting trial, was held temporarily in this tiny lock-up jail. Be careful in Watchet as this court still technically exists - and you wouldn't want end up locked in this jail with no facilities! The building adjoined to it is now a small museum.

Other Somerset Posts:
The Clapper Bridge Where The Devil Sunbathes
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head
Dunster And A Reminder Of Carefree Days
The Lucky Lessons Learnt In Somerset

Photos: © Mike Perry

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7 comments:

  1. Re:
    " when I got back to our car I realized that a trashy paperback I was reading was also by someone named Coleridge: Nicholas Coleridge."

    Well according to Wikipedia -
    "He is the great-great-great-great-great nephew of the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge..."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Coleridge

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had not heard of Johnny Kingdom and (this) Bambi,but I went looking on You Tube and found this great clip;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24fao-yo0hk

    What I found interesting was at the 2:00 mark you see Bambi in the pen/prison with the camera facing towards Johnny's house (?) and there is a green triangular section of the house similar in shape to Watchet lock-up.Johnny's house also looks like a face with the two windows as eyes,the triangular wedge as a nose and the white door/window a mouth,watching John and Bambi play.
    This might be a sign to rent/buy Bambi
    (the movie you saw with your mother)
    and Watchet,again.-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Also Mike,when I did a Google search for
    "Bambi and Me",I came across this book by
    Michel (Mike?) Tremblay -

    http://www.amazon.com/Bambi-Me-Michel-Tremblay/dp/0889223807

    Here's the interesting blurb from the Amazon page;

    "Bambi and Me consists of 12 autobiographical pieces about how movies shaped the young life of Michel Tremblay, one of their biggest fans. Among others, he talks about Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Orphée and the Night Visitors and about how each led to his discovery of his emerging emotional sensibilities as a child and an adolescent. In the piece that gives the book its title, he writes: “Did you cry as much as I did at the death of Bambi’s mother? Personally, I’ve never got over it.”

    Bursting with wit, charm, and the profound resonance of youthful self-discovery, Bambi and Me provides Tremblay’s many fans with a clear sense of the origins of the talent which has made Michel Tremblay one of the most important and fascinating playwrights and novelists of the 20th century."

    I haven't read it,but I think I would like to,since movies played a big part in my education,probably more than school did,in many ways.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Darren, Thank you so much for all of that: Nicholas Coleridge; the Bambi vid and Watchet house; "Did you cry as much as I did at the death of Bambi’s mother?" - I certainly did watching it as a child with my mother...

      You've enlarged my whole synchro experience - thanks again,

      Delete
  4. Love the sequence of synchrosecrets here! Is ther something in the name that holds a message? Cole...ridge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cole ridge - will give it some thought - thanks.

      Delete
  5. Seeing the book above by Johnny Kingdom reminded me of the last book I read called "Shoeless Joe",which was about a son meeting,or reconciling with his father
    (who had long since died).
    His father's name in the book was Johnny Kinsella,which is pretty close to Johnny Kingdom when you have
    "Johnny Kin" as the shared letters of the names.
    Maybe you should give "Shoeless Joe" a read?
    Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete