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Withywindle Arena
''The Peninsula' is an area of land near to Sarehole Mill. For those that
have been to the weekend celebrating Tolkien and his works, it is the area used by
the Archers. It is an enclosed, flat area of grassland flanked on one side by a
willow-lined stream and on the other side by a high grassy bank. Now landscaped to
form a tiered seating performance arena, it will consist of horizontal grass seating with
chamomile plants being grown up the vertical 'backs' of the seating. Members of
Shire Productions, Rangers, NVQ students and a local school have contributed towards
the work and Viv Wilkes, Chairman of Shire Productions and keen gardner, has several
hundred chamomile plants for transplating into the space. It is hoped the
Arena will be ready next year for outdoor performances, concerts, lectures, picnics
or whatever catches the imagination.
Withy is an Old English word for willow and
windle is a word that comes from winding about. Hence the name which seems to work
on several levels.The name Withywindle is used by Tolkien in his poem about Tom Bombadil
that states:
'He lived up under
the hill, where the Withywindle
ran from
a grassy well down into the dingle.'
Those who know Sarehole will also know
of the nearby Dingles through which the willow-lined River Cole runs. Our
Dingle is upriver though but that is a minor detail! For those who might want to
know, the word dingle means a wooded valley. It is interesting to think of Tolkien
and his brother Hilary exploring this area along the River Cole as children, perhaps after
being chased away from the Mill by 'The White Ogre'.
Before

Starting out
Work
Day
Potting on plants Ready
for planting
As at 5th August Grass
seed through
Starting the planting out of chamomile
as at 30th September
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