Quintessentially English: Rye and Camber Sands

We went to Rye and Camber Sands today and had a really nice day out.

RYE: a medieval small town in ‘1066 country‘ - 1066 country referring to the fact that the Battle of Hastings took place in that area in 1066. It was THE most important battle in English history and its after-effects changed the course of English history significantly:

This [Norman] conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe through the introduction of a Norman aristocracy, thereby lessening Scandinavian influence. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered a sophisticated governmental system. The conquest changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for rivalry with France, which would continue intermittently until the 20th century. It has an iconic role in English national identity as the last successful military conquest of England.

For instance, in regard to language, before the Battle of Hastings (which was THE crucial battle in 1066, hence, 1066 country), Old English (Anglo-Saxon) was prevalent. This is the langauge that Beowulf is written in, which is closely related to Germanic languages (Dutch, German, Norse).

After the Battle of Hastings, however, and over time, it changed to Anglo-Norman, which is essentially an Old French dialect.

That’s why modern English is such a bastard language - neither Germanic nor Roman, with hardly any case systems (old English was fully inflected with 5 cases!), but instead loads of vocabulary and words picked up from everywhere along the way. It’s not a pure language and it doesn’t have an origin ‘of its own’ that goes back hundreds of years (like modern Icelandic, for example). It’s just a mish-mash. Maybe that’s why it’s become so successful!

You can see that my original idea of a travelogue has turned into reflections on language. I have to admit I’m not too interested in the big, important battles in history and just listing the names and dates (of men, I may add). Instead, I’m much more fascinated by the cultural implications and developments; particularly, language.

After Rye, which is quite quintessentially English, for the above reasons but also for the fact that it’s a very pretty town with a medieval core, loads of history, and quaint houses, we went to

CAMBER SANDS:

Camber Sands is 4 miles from Rye and not in Kent and in 1066 country, but in East Sussex. It’s got a very nice sandy beach with sand dunes, and was very quintessentially English for its mass of holiday makers enjoying a day at the beach. Who needs Spain etc. when you have a beach on your own country’s coast? It was brilliant.

Note: It was about 75 miles or so from London, and it took us approx. 1 hour 40 minutes each way (by car). That’s not too bad at all. Getting out of London occasionally is crucial to retaining good mental health. Rye and Camber Sands has definitely done the trick.

The only negative point, imho, is that the countryside itself in the South East is very bland and boring. Flat and dull, just like the Netherlands or maybe Northern France. I love the drama of hills and mountains, and a landscape that is wild, surprising, and rough round the edges. The South-East of England that I saw today, is none of the above. A sandy beach and a medieval pretty town are good, but it’s not enough to tug at my heartstrings.

NB: I’ve finally replaced the pics in my flickr widget with ones I took in Rye - very strange slot machines from the first half of the 20th century, which they had in a room on top of the main Rye tourist office. Definitely worth checking out. You can even buy Victorian coins and use them on the machines - some of them still work!

I’ll add the one that won’t appear in my photostream (as photostream only shows the last 3 ones uploaded) here - it’s also the most interesting one in terms of the message underneath (and sorry about the flash!):

Pic 1: ‘Have Your Mind Read by Television’

 

Pic 2: “If you fail to carry out these instructions, the reading will be a poor one”