Fleam Dyke

Fleam Dyke was a favourite place to go for picnics when I was a child, and here is a photo of us, when I was about six or seven,leaning against my aunty on the right, and my sister sitting by my mum just left of centre would have been four or five. My dad is on the left of the picture, and to complete the family outing are my dad’s close friends and brothers in law, and my other aunty, and my two cousins;  one would have been five or six, and her little brother sitting on his mum’s knee would have been two or three.

I don’t know what picnic food we would have had, sandwiches certainly, cake most definitely, and maybe buns or biscuits. We would have had a flask of tea for the adults, and squash for us children. We are sitting on rugs, and there are bags and tin boxes, and we would have had proper plates and cups. I guess we would have brought balls and maybe a cricket set to play with, and we would have come in cars. At the time of the photo, it shows my mum and her two sisters and brother and the four children. later my uncle married and had two more children, my cousins had another brother and sister… I wonder if we went on any more picnics with the whole lot of us?

I never knew until today what Fleam Dyke was; it’s just a name and a place from my childhood, and I guess i thought the Dyke must be a canal… but no. Fleam Dyke is an ancient earthwork… it looks a fascinating place, and I have come across an amazing WordPress  blog which can tell you much more about it than I can.

Please do follow this link, it’s fascinating:

http://frrfd.org.uk/archaeology-and-history/fleam-dyke/