I have just visited a village where my ancestors come from. It was pretty when I saw it, but I know it wouldn't have been at all pretty in the days when it was a working village. It would have been noisy with the sound of the smithy, all the carts, the animals, the farm labourers. The only noise now is from the traffic. It would have stunk of animal shit, and would have had a muddy track instead of a made-up street.
There was no trace of my people in the churchyard. Either the gravestones haven't survived, or they were too poor to have their own graves. They were certainly well-off a couple of generations later.
I'm glad I went. I enjoyed the ride.
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