Bomere Pool

Bomere Pool is situated in the English county of Shropshire about 4.7 miles (7.5 km) south of Shrewsbury between Condover and Bayston Hill.  The pool has several legends attached to it and presented here is a version of a tale that tells how a monster fish acquired the sword of Wild Eadric, an Anglo-Saxon war leader who had fought against the Norman Conquest of Britain.

The Fish and the Sword

The story tells how the squire of Condover was out with his friends in a boat on Bomere   Pool enjoying a day of fishing.  One of them hooked an enormous fish and it took the help of all of the party to pull it into the boat.  The squire and his friends were astounded by the sheer size of the fish and a heated discussion arose concerning the girth of the monster.  A wager was then placed betting that the fish was bigger around the waist than the squire.  In a bid to compare the diameter of the fish to himself the squire took off his belt and with a lot of squeezing managed to fasten it around the girth of the fish.

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On the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores there are two lakes known as the Lagoon of the Seven Cities, or Lagoa das Sete Cidades,  in Portuguese.  They are an important source of fresh water and the largest body of water on the islands.

Princess Antilia

A local legend tells that there was once a bad-tempered King whose wife had died and had been left to bring up his daughter named Antilia alone.  The King had greatly loved her mother and he doted upon his daughter.  When his wife had died he had almost exclusively taken on the care and upbringing of his daughter aided only by an elderly nurse.  He loved his daughter dearly and she was the source of all his pleasure and the pride and joy of his life and he wanted to keep her all for himself and kept her separate from other children and people.  Sadly, he would not let her speak or play with anyone else but him, or her nurse, who thought it a shame she could not mix and play with other children her own age.

Nevertheless, years passed by as years will do and the young princess grew into a beautiful young woman.  As a beautiful young woman, Antilia attracted the attention of many handsome young men, as beautiful young women will do.  Her father was jealous of their interest towards his daughter and seeking to keep her solely for himself banned her entirely from leaving the limits of his castle and grounds.  Antilia was disappointed with this ban because she was at an age when she wanted to be out and about exploring the world and making friends with young men and women of her own age.

Every day after his dinner at midday the King would fall asleep and spend rest of the afternoon snoring until evening came and it was time for tea. Every now and then, with the help of her old nurse, Antilia would escape the confines of the castle and its grounds and go and explore the towns and villages that surrounded the castle.  She loved these times of escape and each one seemed like an exciting adventure to her.

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