Brass Neck
Writing Challenge 2024
Posted by Chris Sissons on Jun 12, 2024
Writing Challenge ยป Chris Sissons
I’ve walked along the top side of Sheffield’s City Hall many times but it is only recently someone pointed out the three doors. How could I miss them? The City Hall was built in the 1930s and at some point, a decision was made to remember three people with varied connections with the City.
Three doors close together. The two on the outside are taller than the one in the middle. There is a Coat of Arms above each door. The door on the left is that of Queen Elizabeth the First and on the right of Mary Queen of Scots—the door in the middle bears the Arms of Lord Talbot.
At the time, Lord Talbot was a wealthy man and owner of Sheffield Castle and Manor Lodge. Queen Elizabeth required him to be host to Mary when she was captured. He was ruined. She was his guest for 17 years and he had to pay to accommodate her and her entourage, which was huge.
This tragedy is one of Sheffield’s great claims to fame. In the end, Elizabeth concluded that Mary was someone with whom she could not put up. Mary was taken down south somewhere and she was beheaded (Sheffield traditionally outsources its beheadings).
(I was reading the other day that her executioner made a right mess of her beheading. It took three blows of the axe and should take only one. You’ll be relieved to hear, he didn’t lose his job and carried on for another 16 years nothing daunted. So, that’s alright then.)
Necks are a point of vulnerability. They separate the head from the rest of the body and allow the head independent movement. All the important passageways pass down the neck: air, food, blood and nervous system. In storytelling, the neck is the target of soldiers and assassins, murderers and executioners.
We talk of someone like Mary Queen of Scots, who causes trouble and courts an extreme response as having a brass neck as if it is possible to protect the neck. But normally we go about our lives without worrying about our necks, so long as we have a warm scarf in winter!
This is Day 16 of Writing Challenge 2024. People all over the world take part in the WC. We write something every weekday for 4 weeks based on a prompt This year, I'll be sharing 21 articles based loosely on prompts about parts of the body. Do we fully appreciate the role things and stuff play in our lives? Each part of the body has certain things and stuff associated with it. (Probably!) I've no idea where this will go but hope you enjoy the journey. The introductory post was Things and Stuff. The last post was Nothing Licks Like ... and the next is A Fantastic Voyage.
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