"SEIZE THE DAY" Organised by Mike Smith Many of our long term members [That means the Oldies. Ed] will remember that every year we ran a year-long event called Carpe Diem in which members visited numerous pre-arranged locations around the country and the one who visited most won the Carpe Diem trophy. The idea is that you visit a series of landmarks and accrue points for each one visited, with differing points allocated depending how far each landmark is from a central location. For 2021, the central location is the PEMC building at Nottingham University on Triumph Way in Nottingham (right). PEMC stands for Power, Electronics, Machines and Control, of course. This is what you do: take a photo of your bike as close as possible to the landmark - most are at kerbside with a few just 20 yards or so away, but still visible from the road - then you post your photos on the PEMC Facebook members' page. We’re using Facebook as it’s the most efficient platform for the transmission of multiple photos; the alternative would be for you to send photo prints or email them, and that could be very cumbersome. Apologies if you’re not on Facebook, but perhaps if you fancy taking part someone could help you access it for this event. Mike Smith will monitor Facebook and keep a tally. Listed on the following few pages are the 44 landmarks to whet your appectite. Anyone that visits 30 or more will win a bottle of bubbly and the member who visits the most will win the Carpe Diem Trophy. In the event of a tie, then a draw will be carried out to determine the winner. Bubbly and Trophy will be presented at the Xmas party on 4th December 2021. The start date for this event is January 1st 2021 with the end date being 30th November 2021. The list of the landmarks, a brief description of each, their longitude and latitude, plus a .gpx file for your satnav will be emailed to you shortly by the Chairman. Note: Due to likely Covid restrictions, the landmarks are all in England as it was felt it could be difficult if you had to cross borders if we were still under different national Covid restrictions. The 44 landmarks are on the following pages. CD01 ARTHUR’S STONE Arthur’s Stone, a Neolithic chambered tomb, is over 5,000 years old. Today only the large stones of the inner chamber remain, though these were once covered by a long earthen mound. The chamber is formed of nine upright stones, with an enormous capstone, estimated to weigh more than 25 tons. Like many prehistoric monuments in western England and Wales, this tomb has been linked to King Arthur since before the 13th century. According to legend, it was here that Arthur slew a giant who left the impression of his elbows on one of the stones as he fell. CD02 ASKHAM PINFOLD Pinfolds were originally built to hold animals which had been found straying from their owner's land or grazing on the common without common rights. The animals were driven into the pinfold and kept there at the expense of the owner until a fine was paid. The person in charge of the pinfold was the 'pinder', giving rise to the surname Pinder. CD03 BATTLE MEMORIAL The Battle of Blore Heath, one of the first battles in the War of the Roses, was fought on 23 September 1459 (St Tecla's day). The stone is at the site of the camp. At least 2,000 Lancastrians were killed with the Yorkists losing nearly 1,000. Local legend says that Hempmill Brook flowed with blood for 3 days after the battle. Legend also has it that Margaret of Anjou (consort of King Henry VI) watched the battle from the spire of the church in nearby Mucklestone, before fleeing. CD04 BESSIE SHEPPARD’S STONE Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth (Bessie) Sheppard failed to return home in July1817, after looking for work in the nearby town of Mansfield. She had been beaten to death with a hedge stake by Charles Rotherham who had been drinking in the nearby Hutt public house. After the seemingly random murder, Rotherham relieved Bessie of her only saleable possessions, a pair of shoes and an umbrella, and disposed of her body in a ditch. He returned to the Hutt, where he failed to sell his stolen goods, before continuing south towards Nottingham. He attempted to sell them again at another pub on the way, before finally succeeding in offloading the incriminating umbrella and shoes ina third pub in Redhill. After a manhunt on an unprecedented scale, Rotherham was finally apprehended loitering on a canal bridge in Loughborough, Leicestershire, and sent back to Nottingham, where his subsequent trial and public execution by hanging drew large crowds. CD05 BIRDOSWALD FORT Guarding the crossing of Hadrian’s Wall over the River Irthing, Birdoswald Roman Fort was initially a turf and timber construction. It was rebuilt in stone and remained garrisoned until the end of Roman Britain in the Fifth Century. CD06 BIRTH OF RADAR MEMORIAL On 26th February 1935, in the field opposite, Robert Watson Watt and Arnold Wilkins showed for the first time in Britain that aircraft could be detected by bouncing radio waves off them. By 1939 there were 20 stations tracking aircraft at distances up to more than 100 miles. Later known as Radar, it was this invention more than any other that saved the RAF from defeat in the 1940 Battle of Britain CD07 BRILL MILL The most dominant feature of Brill is the 17th-century post mill built around 1680 and is one of the few remaining post-mills in the country - certainly one of the best preserved. A post mill rotates on a central post so that the entire building can be turned to face the wind. The name "Brill" is an odd mix of the Celtic "Bre", meaning "hill", and the Saxon "hyll", meaning "hill" also. So the name Brill can be literally translated as "hill-hill". CD08 BUCKET OF BLOOD According to local folklore, the Bucket of Blood got its name when the landlord went to the on-site well to get water but found there to be just blood. Further investigation discovered the badly mutilated corpse of a local smuggler at the bottom of the well. An alternative theory is that the well on the grounds would provide red water due to run off from local tin mining. CD09 BURROW MUMP Burrow Mump is a hill overlooking Southlake Moor in the village of Burrowbridge in Somerset. It is a scheduled monument, with the ruined church on top of the hill a Grade II listed building .The hill stands at a strategic location overlooking the point where the River Tone and the old course of the River Cary join the River Parrett. Although there is some evidence of Roman visitation, the first fortification of the site was the construction of a Norman motte. It has been called King Alfred's Fort, however there is no proof of use by Alfred the Great. A medieval church was built on the hill in the 15th century. The current ruined church on top of the hill was built in 1793. CD10 CANADIAN MEMORIAL The memorial recalls World War ll Canadian forces present in the New Forest before the D-Day invasion of June 6th, 1944. A plaque with inscription reads: ‘On this site a cross was erected to the glory of God on 14th April 1944, by men of the 3rd Canadian Division RCASC’ - the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. On D-Day, RCASC soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Division and 2nd Armoured Brigade landed on Juno Beach, suffering fourteen fatal casualties on that day and many more in the weeks and months that followed. CD11 CAT & FIDDLE The Cat and Fiddle Inn is the second-highest public house in England. The inn gives its name to the Cat and Fiddle road, a stretch of the A537 linking Macclesfield to the west with Buxton to the east, which features many sharp corners. And is notorious for the high number of motorcycling accidents; an AA survey in 2003 named it the most dangerous stretch of road in the United Kingdom. The pub was built in 1813 and closed in December 2015. CD12 DUNSOP BRIDGE The village is at the confluence of the River Dunsop and the River Hodder. The bridge from which the village takes its name consists of two simple arches which span the river. It is often cited as the geographic centre of Great Britain, although the exact point is at Whitendale hanging stones 4 1⁄2 miles north of the village. On 8 august 1967, Dunsop valley entered the UK weather records with the highest 90-min total rainfall at 117 mm - so you may need your waterproofs. CD13 DUTCH COTTAGE Canvey Island was drained and embanked by the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden in the 17th century. Numerous Dutch workers and their families settled here and they built rather unusual octagonal cottages of which two still survive. This cottage was built in 1618 and is now run by the Benfleet and District Historical Society as the Dutch Cottage Museum. CD14 FOSTER BECK MILL Built in 1887, which is late for a water powered mill, it produced linen until the 1960. The wheel is apparently one of the largest of its kind in the country. It was installed in 1904 and is a 30-horse power high-breast wheel, 35 feet by 5 feet.