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Jack & Jill (Wellington) Multi-Cache

Hidden : 9/7/2009
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Time for a nursery rhyme and an easy find for those not averse
to a little hill climb to obtain great views of the Kapiti Coast.





There are several variants of Jack and Jill (many of them parodies), all sharing the same first rhyme:
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
The second verse of the rhyme is less commonly performed:
Up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper;
And went to bed to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.
There is also an alternative to the third line of this second verse:
Then up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper;
To Old Dame Dob who patched his nob
With vinegar and brown paper.
The third verse:
Jill came in and she did grin
To see his paper plaster;
Mother vexed did whip her next
For causing Jack's disaster.
And a fourth:
Now Jack did laugh and Jill did cry
But her tears did soon abate;
Then Jill did say that they should play
At see-saw across the gate.

While the true origins of the rhyme are unknown, there are several theories.
The earliest publication of the lyrics was in the 1760s in John Newbery's Mother Goose's Melody. As a result, Jack and Jill are considered part of the canon of "Mother Goose" characters. As is common with nursery rhyme exegesis, complicated metaphors are often said to exist within the lyrics of Jack and Jill.
Although these theories of meaning appear to make perfect sense, it does not follow that they are in fact the original meaning of the song. This is corroborated by the fact that the Newbery publication predates some of the common origin stories. These include: " In Norse mythology, Hjúki and Bil, a brother and sister (respectively) who, according to the 13th century Prose book Gylfaginning written by Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, were taken up from the earth by the moon (personified as the god Mani ) as they were fetching water from the well called Byrgyr, bearing on their shoulders the cask called Saegr and the pole called Simul.

Many tales and figures from the Prose Edda date much earlier, recorded from Skaldic poetry that was transmitted orally, much of which related to stories rooted in the Germanic Paganism of the Germanic peoples.

The village of Kilmersdon in Somerset has a long tradition of association with the nursery rhyme and the hill featured in the rhyme is said to be one near this village. It has been suggested that the surname Gilson originated in this area and could have been derived from 'son of Jill'. Jack is the 15th or 16th century Cardinal Wolsley and Gill is Bishop Tarbes who attempted to arrange the marriage of Mary Tudor to the French king. Their failure to negotiate this peace with France led to tax raises and thus the Jack and Jill protest song.

In the 17th century, King Charles tried to reform the taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament, so subsequently ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/2 pint) be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament's veto. Hence "Jack fell down and broke his crown" (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it) "and Jill came tumbling after". The reference to "Jill", (actually a "gill", or 1/4 pint) is an indication that the gill dropped in volume as a consequence.

A variant of this is that liquids (specifically alcoholic beverages) were watered down, hence, "fetch a pail of water."

Jack and Jill signify the 18th century Louis XVI of France, who was deposed and beheaded (lost his crown), and his Queen, Marie Antoinette (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics were made more palatable for the nursery by giving it a happy ending.

Jack and Jill were forms of currency referring to dollars and cents, respectively. The rising value of Jacks and Jill caused them to "go up a hill" until a plague caused a lack of water, causing a drop in the values of this currency (falling down and breaking his crown).


The published co-ordinates take you to the first waypoint which is the entrance to a reserve carpark.
From the first waypoint, use the offset described below to locate the final and the cache.
You will need to sign the log there. It is not too far away.
Offset:
At the entrance to the carpark:
Take a Bearing: 137°, walk,run, hop or skip 90-100 metres depending on whether you zig or zag.


When you get there and have caught your breath take a bearing of 320 degrees and go to the corner to locate the GZ which is a camoed screw top small container. Please leave protected by the vegetation.

*** PLEASE BE CAREFUL EXTRACTING & REPLACING THE CACHE - YOU ARE VERY VISIBLE. ***

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Uvag 1 N3QP qbrfa'g ebpx Uvag 2 Pbeare ng tebhaq yriry

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)