Paw Prints of History
Published: Fri, 03/01/13
I said it would happen. Since yesterday afternoon there has been a
patch of fresh concrete outside of our kitchen door. How it got
there is a long story but basically the gas company is renewing the
old iron pipes and replacing them with modern plastic ones. The
road to Yeovil was closed for weeks while it had huge great holes
dug in it. Then, two days ago, our gas went off and when Venetia
went and asked when it was coming back on again. At that point we
discovered that the contractors didn't know we were here.
Judging by the number of delivery drivers who fail to find us that
is a reasonable excuse. Anyway, they replaced our pipe too and for
most of its length they were able to just slide the new plastic one
inside the old steel one. But they needed to dig up the last few
feet so that they could put a new connection through the kitchen
wall, hence the patch of concrete where the path was repaired. The
job was finished around mid afternoon and I predicted that some
local cat would want to come and leave his or her paw prints for
posterity, it is a sort of custom that some feline has to notice
that there is new and still soft concrete and come and walk over
it. Venetia told me that this was not necessarily the case and
that my fascination with cats sometimes borders on the fanciful if
not the bizarre. But this morning I am vindicated and I attach
picture to prove it. Okay, it was most likely that one of our
local cats takes that same route on his rounds every night and the
prints are his rear paws where he jumped down from the back step.
But, intentional or not, that cat has left his prints for posterity
and they will likely still be clearly visible many years after he
has gone to that great cat basket in the sky.
Yesterday I wrote about the BBC programme on the history of Martial
Arts in the UK. The programme beautifully told the stories of
people who contributed in various ways to the popularity of Martial
arts in this country. Perhaps the most intriguing one is
Barton-Wright and the print he left in the form of a reference in
the Sherlock Holmes stories to Bartitsu, even though the author,
Arthur Connan-Doyle didn't even spell it correctly. For most
of a century Barton-Wright and Bartitsu were largely forgotten, yet
there has been a lot of interest in this system recently, partly
because of the films made by Guy Richie and featuring Robert Downey
Jr as a particularly macho Holmes (who is of course a master of
Bartitsu, or as Connan-Doyle spelt it, Baritsu).
Your chance to create your own little bit of history is to get to
the Summer Camp this year and meet Ivar, find out more about his
experience and train with him. Ivar does have a remarkable story
to tell, both about his family and about his experiences in Japan.
I don't know how many more times Ivar will be willing to teach
at the summer camp but I wouldn't miss this chance.
www.stavcamp.org