Tuesday 14 July 2009

CROOK UPDATE!

This story relates to a post written below, about a shepherd's crook which came into my possession, and which I feel I must return to from where it came.

Carved in sheep horn, the crook says 'W.J.Brown' on one side of the handle, and 'Langleeford' on the other. I wrote a letter to W.J. Brown in Langleeford, a very remote place in Northumbria,  to ensure we could make contact and show him a photograph of the crook.

This evening I received a telephone call from a Mr. Walter Brown of Langleeford, son of W. J. Brown who died in 1978.  Walter has lived at Langleeford all his life and has no idea how his father's crook came to be in Cumbria, where I discovered it.

Walter remembers his father carving the crook, and his mother is now 91 years old and will remember it too. Walter said he'd had a busy day working with lambs and clipping, and my letter took a while to digest.

I will be visiting Walter and his mother sometime soon, to give the crook back. 
Walter said he thought I would like Langleeford because it was a very beautiful place. 

DAME VIVIENNE WESTWOOD WITH JONATHAN ROSS