When Leenie asked if I'd like to participate in Weekword I had a moment of panic. How was I going to interpret transportation in a way that might be interesting or different.
Strangely shank's mare came to mind. That set off a search for the exact meaning......It’s Scottish, dating from the eighteenth century. There was a verb, to shank or to shank it, meaning to go on foot. This is from standard English shank for the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, which comes from Old English sceanca, the leg bone. This verb developed into shank’s naig or shank’s naigie (where the second words are local forms of nag, a horse) and later into shank’s mare. It was a wry joke: I haven’t got a horse of my own for the journey, so I’ll use Shank’s mare to get there, meaning I’ll go on my own two feet. This supposed link with a person called Shank explains why the first word is often capitalised.
Picture, I had to have a picture so I trolled the Internet looking for a leg or walking photo and came up empty. Next idea was to check my holiday photos, surely with all the walking we do while touring there must be something usable. In the process I found pictures of our hot air balloon ride in France in 2006.
So I was transported back to a morning where a slow and scenic form of transportation saw us watching the sun rise over rolling hills, fields and towns in Burgundy.
Link here to Side Trips and links to other participants
2 comments:
Shank's mare is a great mode of transportation. I was not familiar with the term but love it and its history. I take Shanks mare to work quite often. The balloon photo is a beauty. One of the things I have on my list is a long ride in a hot air balloon. Burgundy France balloon ride would a most excellent adventure.
Love the photo :)
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