Avington, Berkshire

Despite the silence from "The Time is Now" we have actually been fonting, as we call it, and discovering new delights. However, winter days and lack of light and heat have reduced the opportunities over the first months of the year. So with the return of spring and the arrival of summer, we can get out and about again to find new carvings.

As a special treat we went all the way to the Berkshire border yesterday, bathed in glorious sunshine the whole way. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The reason for this quest - "double beakheads" in the hamlet of Avington, near Hungerford. After driving through the lovely Marlborough, and skirting the equally attractive Hungerford, we turned off the road down to Avington. It soon became one of those adventures where nothing seems straightforward. It was a leafy avenue down to four houses and a gate marked "private", with further buildings beyond. But no sign of a church. After parking up and refuelling, and a bit of investigation on google, we realised the church was just a stone's throw away. And with everyone possibly indoors watching the royal wedding, it was the perfect time to wander down and hope no one interrupted.

Sure enough there was a pedestrian gate too and then a handy "to the church" sign, and there was the church itself, so with renewed enthusiasm, we set off past some hot sheep and lambs and through the long grass to the church. A cuckoo accompanied us from a nearby tree.

It looked like the sort of place no one ever goes and I confess I was fully prepared for the door to be bolted and our endeavours to be in vain. But thank god (not literally) the door was open and we stepped in to see a really unusual and marvellously carved font. There were many panels all round it with figures carved in detail. One looked like a Roman soldier (just my interpretation), one was whispering to another, and all had clothes with a ribbed pattern, some had fabulous fingers and hands, and some feet that hung down below their robes like those of other figures we have seen.

The church was plain and simple but with a large almost square chancel arch. Only when we got closer to it did we see that the detail carved above was none other than a large collection of beakheads! Inside a church! This is unique in our travels. And stepping through archway, turning back round to our amazement we found a second archway of beakheads on the other side! These were different in nature to the first arch. The first one were most unusual in that they had dragon-like faces, with the large noses and wrinkled snout. They also had big tongues sticking out. The ones on the second side were more bird like, but they all had noses too - the small nostrils that you might draw on a bird's beak. 

As if that wasn't enough, there were the remnants of more arches that would have perhaps formed a vaulted roof cross, with beakheads on! Imagine.

At the back of the church in the corners were an amusing cow-like face, and a grinning Cheshire cat like face.

Enough excitement for any fonting enthusiasts.

On the way back it was also heartening to find none other than a delicious vegan swedish glace ice cream in the freezer of a local shop. It was a tiny shop in a small village! So the spread of veganism is growing ever faster. It tasted just as good as any ice cream and you would not know the difference.