Foan Hill to Balm of Rakasiri

Leaving the Robin Hood pub Russ Ralph and I set off not knowing exactly which way to go and choose to go up Foan Hill. I'm not sure of the origin of this word 'foan' it might be an old name for a moor or a bog, well that's what just one reference on the internet told me. I also found a map showing the distribution of the word foan as a surname which seems to be mainly in the south and south west of the UK. Maybe the hill is named after someone. The first thing that crossed my mind was 'fawn' a young deer and the 1911 census tells us that at that time there were in Swannington four houses with a Fone Hill address and one with a Fawn Hill address. The Swannington History Society believes all these houses were on the same road and it is not known when the spelling standardised as Foan Hill. The spellings in the census could just be due to the way the forms were filled in by individual householders.

Walking up the hill we come to the Incline Kennels named after the Swannington Incline, part of Stephenson's Swannington Railway, one of the earliest railways in the Midlands and used to transport coal from the local mines to Leicester.

From behind the fence unseen dogs bark at us.

Russ and I both agree that we are not big fans of dogs but that some are okay and make you think maybe having a dog like that wouldn't be so bad.

Later, still intrigued by the name Foan Hill I search it on Google and it somehow takes me to a page in 'THE DRUGGIST'S RECEIPT BOOK' and to Balm of Rakasiri which was 'Oil of Rosemary dissolved in common gin'. It was made by the Jordan brothers in Canon Street Road, London, who marketed it throughout most of the 1800's as a cure for nervous diseases but actually without saying so openly as a cure for venereal diseases. They were outed as quacks but were still trading through till the 1860s. Oil of Rosemary in gin sounds quite interesting and maybe worth trying not for its 'restorative' properties but for its beverage qualities if it has any.

Any point on a vague walk can lead us to new discoveries, emotions and stories true, half-true and false. Welcome them all.

Paul Conneally

Swannington

Leicestershire

May 2017

Wax and Wane

wisteria

the wax and wane

of my heart

Paul Conneally

May 2017

No Person In Dirty Clothes - a sad tale of broken promises and stilted vision in North West Leicestershire

'No Person In Dirty Clothes'

After the forced closing of Coalville's Snibston Discovery Museum, Leicestershire County Council now announce that they will not be opening a smaller mining museum in its place onsite.

Snibston was a shining cultural jewel in the heart of the East Midlands, centred around the former Snibston colliery site. Despite huge public and national opposition Leicestershire Couny Council recently closed the museum citing financial reasons but declared that it would be opening a new smaller mining museum, in and around the former colliery buildings and headstock which is a listed national monument.

The council has now gone back on its word announcing on the 11th of January 2016 that it would now not be opening a new museum at Snibston, one that celebrates the proud mining history and heritage of North West Leicestershire, again citing financial concerns.

Plans are currently in progress to disperse the many thousands of artefacts and displays that made up the celebrated Snibston Discovery Museum. These include huge steam trains, beam engines and one of the best fashion collections in the UK. Leicester City Council are looking to take back some of the engines and other artefacts that were passed to Snibston by them for display. Leicester City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, is keen to find ways to upgrade the already excellent Abbey Pumping Station museum and house steam engines and other gems from the industrial revolution and beyond in the heart of Leicester. 

Despite similar financial cuts handed down from central government to Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council has been and continues to invest in cultural and heritage projects including the acclaimed King Richard III Visitor Centre. This approach is already bringing a payback in terms of increasing visitors to Leicester City and the money that they bring with them and spend in local businesses.

Snibston was beginning to gain a reputation, through its Transform Snibston project, for bringing fine art and heritage together as well as being the destination for many school, college and university trips for educational purposes. 

It appears that some elected members of the Tory led Leicestershire County Council do not share the Labour led Leicester City Council vision of preserving and promoting local culture and heritage preferring instead to see a one off financial hit in the selling off of public land and facilities to property developers and building companies.

Paul Conneally
Snibston, Coalville
January 2016