Tuesday 7 June 2016

Fishtoft...

The ‘debate’ about Europe continues, though it’s really more of a slanging match. MPs seemed locked into the adversarial mindset of party politics, so Europe is either “very good” or “very bad”. It would be good to hear nuanced arguments instead of ever more apocalyptic visions of what will happen if the vote goes one way or the other. Maybe it’s true that we get the politicians we deserve…

This obelisk at Fishtoft, near Boston, commemorates the Scrooby Congregation, a group of English Separatist Protestants. In an attempt to escape religious persecution, they chartered a Dutch ship, in 1607, to transport them to Holland. Unfortunately, the captain betrayed them to the local authorities. They were arrested and imprisoned in the cells at Boston for about a month. After their release they managed to reach Amsterdam. In 1620 they set sail for the New World via Southampton and Plymouth… in the Mayflower…

A short walk from the memorial is this house, which looks out onto the tidal River Haven. It used to be a pub, the Jolly Sailor. There must have been a lot of traffic by boat for a pub to have survived in such an isolated spot...











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