Rembrandt Declares Insolvency

Jul 26 Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn declares he is insolvent after living beyond his means and spending too much on artwork and rare items. Leads to the most experimental and exuberantly creative period of his career.

Miles Sindercombe tried to assassinate Oliver Cromwell

On a walk not far from the River Severn yesterday, a great day out with my good friend Robin, we looked in on this ancient church and happened upon the tombstone above. The people standing around this tombstone when it was installed would have had Oliver Cromwell at the head of Government and in the same year Rembrandt went bust as he was spending too much on paints. How incredible. Amazing history beneath our feet. What a brilliant day out we had and from here we were heading to see if the buttercups in the nearby meadow were at their best. In the event they were not quite the brilliant display of 2 years ago, but good enough for Robin to spring into song ( see my last post )

The river bank trees looked at their best and we had a flypast of black headed gulls, taking a break on their way to Worcester, they changed their mind after we had stopped for a planned cup of tea on the river bank and we saw them heading back to Gloucester. In the event I’d left the thermos of tea back at the ranch but we survived.

Moving on down the river we heard a cuckoo, stood still to see if we could hear it again, but it too must have changed its mind and there was no further sound of it. Eventually we came to the riverside pub, this place chooses when and if to open and in recent years has been closed when we have passed, this time we were double lucky, open and offering food. Beer and food consumed, spicy chicken wings for me as I was watched by the pub chickens nearby in their coop. Was I eating their sister?

And then back up the hill, past the buttercup meadow that rolls up the hill and home to the lonely tea thermos, on a day in the year when 367 years ago Cromwell ruled despite Miles Siddercombe’s best efforts, Rembrandt went bust and the River Severn washed past everything just at it did today.