Wednesday 10 March - My Daily Walk

I try to walk every morning and today I took my camera along to show you some of the sites. I was never one to walk in the city, unless I had a destination; but here I enjoy walking on earth instead of concrete and listening to the birds instead of car horns. It is about a 3 mile circuit that I walk and with it being spring there are always little changes each day.

The weather for the most part has been 'brilliant'. Sunny skies and the temperature steadily climbing to double digits.

This the lane facing west just outside the driveway.

The Rectory, vacant at the moment and is up for sale.

Now I am walking south.

Some cottages to the left. The thatched roofs look quaint, but according to a local villager they last about 20 years and cost £15,000 to £20,000 to replace!!

This is a bit of concrete, but it is a good place to stamp the mud off your boots before going on.

A very busy railway bridge.

Back to the laneway and a bit of mud.

RAF Alconbury

Self-explanatory

One of the fishing ponds. Anglers will pitch a tent and spend all night or all day to catch a small fish. No keeper, all are catch and release. Here, I believe, fishing is about the journey, albeit stationary, and not the destination, i.e a fish

 

 Heading home now.

 The first lane but facing east now, towards the village.

 

 And home sweet home.

Tuesday 09 March - Peterborough

Tuesday was spent mainly recovering from playing badminton, a game I have not played in 20 years; if memory serves me Wednesday may be a little worse. Tuesday afternoon Jeff, Alexander and myself were off to Peterborough again for dinner at Pizza Express (delicious thin crust pizza, similar to Atomica in Kingston) and another football match.
Unfortunately the outing did not get off to a good start as we had an accident in Peterborough. Jeff was slowing to make a right hand turn, with the proper signal on when some (BLEEP!) decided to pass Jeff on the right side.It was a glancing blow that caved in Jeff's door.
Even the (bleep) couldn't explain why the (bleep) tried to pass on the right even after see the (bleeping) signal and the (bleeping) brake lights. Alexander and I thought the (bleep) was probably using his (bleeping) cell phone.

Fortunately, the car was drivable and no one was seriously injured; Jeff complained about a sore back and a pinched nerve in his left arm, while Alexander said he was suffering from whiplash and a chipped tooth(?). Not to be left out I complained about an ingrown toenail on my right foot, the one nearest the accident.

We limped and dragged ourselves to Pizza Express. It always amazes me what curative powers alcohol has; Jeff's back pain eased, and feeling came back into his left hand. My ingrown toenail stopped bothering me and while Alexander did not consume any alcohol (honest Mom), the fumes eased his neck pain and the chip in his tooth disappeared.

After a great meal we made out way to the football stadium. I did not bring my camera as we stood in the stands in the same spot as we did on Saturday. I forgot to mention the NOISE you experience standing in the stands. Some young gentlemen brought a couple of drums which they proceeded to beat on the entire game. The hometown crowd spent most of the time singing clubs songs, the words to which are still a mystery to me. Even when Alexander was singing at the top of his lungs, I still couldn't make out the words.

It was a good match, although they seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time playing down the sidelines, which inevitably resulted in a lot of time spent throwing the ball into play. Posh won 1-nil, so all in all the evening was a success, except for the (bleeping) accident.

Monday 08 March - St Ives

After a brisk walk in the morning (it was still cold, English cold!) Louise, her friend Sue and myself headed of to St. Ives, the one in Cambridgeshire, about 7 miles south-east of Abbots Ripton; they to look for a dress and hat for Louise (pictures to follow) and I to have a bit of a walkabout.

 One of the main attractions in St Ives is the "Chapel of St Ledger, also known as the Chapel on the Bridge, was built during the construction of the stone river bridge in the early 15th Century. We know from records that the chapel altar was consecrated in 1426. What actually went on in the chapel is a matter of conjecture but we know at the time of the Dissolution the last Prior of St Ives was allowed to live out his days in the building.
The chapel remained as crown property until 1570 when it was bought by Hugh Counsell and Robert Pistor and converted into a dwelling house. It was badly damaged in the Great Fire of St Ives in 1689 but was rebuilt with two additional floors in 1736. It was to remain in use as a house until the early part of the 20th Century.
By 1930 the original building had been further damaged by constant alterations and the addition of more windows. Luckily this was the beginning of the age when we realized the value of our heritage and all the additions of 1736 and later were stripped away. The stonework was renovated and the old roof, much repaired, was returned to its original position. The stone parapets are not original but part of the 1930 rebuild but now we have the chapel back largely as it was when built nearly 600 years ago."

Scenes form the Chapel Bridge over the River Great Ouse

On my walkabout I picked up some groceries and then went looking for the ladies. I had felt a little strange peeking in the windows of the many Ladies shops in St Ives, but since I was wearing a cap with a Canadian Flag and Canada in big letters I thought the locals would just put it down to colonial idiosyncrasies.
I didn't find the ladies but I did have a good tour of the village. One store I did come across was a Spirits Merchant that boasted 400 brands of scotch. As I stood in front of the display of single malts all I could think of was, not enough money and only one liver. Ah well.

I decided to pop into a pub for a pint and wait for Louise and Sue to return to the car. I was just getting comfortable in a window seat ready to enjoy my pint and watch the world go by when I spotted the ladies heading for the car. So much for relaxing, a few gulps and I was off.

I cooked my favourite curried chicken dish for supper. It seemed to be enjoyed by all, except that there was just barley enough to go around. Thank goodness for salad. I have to get use to cooking for five instead of one, actually six because Maeghan and Alexander are teenagers and seem always to be hungry.


After supper we were off to the village hall for the weekly session of badminton. Last year I was unable to play because of a sore right elbow. This year was different and I thoroughly enjoyed myself even if I had to put up with comments about my chicken legs (I was a tad chubbier last year.) I forgot to bring my camera so I will take some pics next Monday night.

After a small libation at home it was off to bed.

Saturday 06 March

Friday was a day to get settled in and to catch my breath. Nothing much had changed in the last year, except I had my own bedroom; which meant there was a guest room and I would not be relegated to the garage when company visited (just kidding - about the relegation to the garage, not the bedroom.)
Speaking of relegation and promotion, these two words play a big part in English Football, which I keep referring to as soccer, for which I am constantly being corrected. What confuses me is the TV program on Saturday mornings called Soccer AM which deals with all the football matches that have gone on the previous week.
To return to relegation and promotion, football clubs in England are divided into leagues in a pyramid setup. The top of the pyramid is the Premier League, and at the end of a season the top team in that league are champions of England. The bottom three teams in the league are relegated to the next league down, the Championship League. Within that league, the top two teams are promoted to the Premier League, and the next four teams enter a playoff and the winner of the playoff is also promoted. And so it goes for the league below the Championship, Football League One, and then Football League Two, and then Conference National, then Conference North and Conference South, and so and so on.

Saturday afternoon, after a brisk walk in the country side (just me, the other two were layabouts with one watching Soccer AM and the other playing XBox), Jeff, Alexander and myself drove into Peterborough to watch the Peterborough United Football Club, affectionately know as the POSH (for reasons I have yet to discover) play Coventry.

Have you ever wondered why seated areas in sports arenas are called 'stands'? I think it is because we stood to watch the match - no seats. There are seats in the 'stands' to our left and right, but the one on the opposite end of the field is again without seats. Our area was for Posh supports while the other end was reserved for fans of the visiting team - keeps us separated so we don't get carried away and bop someone.

The three lads.

This was the second string goalie and his task was to be a target during warm-up.

It was pretty windy and we fans were hoping the flag bearer might get swept away.

And play gets underway.

Unfortunately our team lost 1-nil, but it was still a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Except that it was cold, so very cold, a very damp English type of cold, the kind that just sucks the warmth out of you.

That evening we met Sue and Mark Custerson, a wonderful couple that I met on my last trip, for dinner at Spiceland, an Indian Buffet near Sawtry (like that's going to help you picture it where it is). A very sensible restaurant that let you bring your favourite dinner beverage and no corkage fee.
I was rolled out to the car, driven home, had an evening single malt libation, almost fell asleep in my chair and was told by all four members of the family to "GO TO BED, DON!!"
I'm home.

Thursday 04 March - Stonehenge

After a more reasonable breakfast of yogurt, berries, banana and a cup of tea we set off for a presentation at the Royal Artillery School. I learned the day before not to ask for cream for your coffee. I was brought what had to be at least 35% butter fat. Louise said this was normal in a country that uses 2% milk in coffee, and since I can't drink coffee with just milk, I will stick to tea.

The presentation, unfortunately, had nothing to do with artillery; it was a presentation to Louise and the Ladies by a representative of HIVE, the UK equivalent of the Canadian Military Family Resource Centre. It was interesting to sit in on the discussion and see how our respective countries support the families of the Canadian Forces Personnel that are deployed out of country.

After the meeting broke up and goodbyes were said Louise and I headed off to Stonehenge. On the way we passed Old Sarum , the original site of the cathedral. If you click on the link there is a brief description and history of the site.
When I saw Stonehenge my first thought was it`s smaller than I imagined and the second thought was how perfectly situated it was within the surrounding countryside. I did not realize it is not the only `henge`, rather it is one of many, the earlier ones being made of wood. Stonehenge is also surrounded by hundreds of burial mounds and other prehistoric sites. I would urge you to visit the link.

With it being such an open site it was very windy and cold, English, damp cold. Too cold to linger so we headed off to home. It was a very pleasant three hour drive to Abbots Ripton and it was wonderful to see Jeff, Maeghan and Alexander; but it was also sad because J.J. wasn't`t there at the window waiting for us. He had died the previous Wednesday of cancer.

Wednesday 03 March

One photo I forgot to include with yesterday's post was of the "Bumping Stone.
I quote; " The new chorister is seated on the stone shelf in the south choir aisle with the Bishop's Chorister and the Vestry Monitor standing each side of him with their hands on his head. They proceed to, fairly gently, bump his head against the stone wall behind him seven time saying, "we bump you a chorister of Salisbury Cathedral according to ancient custom." As you can see there is a large indentation worn over time.


Amesbury
I started the day with a typical English breakfast, which included English bacon (I have been craving this since my return to Canada last year) and beans, something which I may suggest that Morrison`s add to their menu. (in Kingston Ontario the priest(s) and servers usually meet for breakfast between services on Sunday).
Louise and her staff had meetings for most of the morning so I set off on a brisk (the weather here is much the same as I left in Kingston - no shorts for now) walk to High Street in Amesbury, a village 7 miles north of Salisbury.



I met the ladies for lunch followed by some 'team building' in Salisbury. Some opted for a tour of the Cathedral. Since Louise and I had done the tour the day before we decided to tour the town.

Now I am always the first to acknowledge, affirm, honour and take joy in the many differences between the sexes so I was not surprised that as soon as we exited the parking garage the ladies made a bee line for the first store. This happened to be a book store and to be fair they wanted to order some books on the highway code in the UK that would eventually be handed out to the spouses of Canadians serving in the UK.
Slowly, store by store we made our way to the Cathedral.

 

Under the patronage of Prince Charles £6,000,000 was raised and renovations began in 1966 with a completion date of 2015 on the exterior work.  

This sculpture sits in the cathedral close, erected in 2004. It is entitled Lunar Disc and is carved from a piece of two billion year old onyx

The Ladies; Diane, Stacy, Yvonne, Louise and Ilektra.

 After shopping and touring we had a cup of tea in the Cathedral Tearoom.

The view from the Tearoom.

 The end of a successful day in Salisbury.

I Have Returned!

Doug picked me up at my apartment building around 10:00 am on Monday and we had a pleasant drive to the airport in Ottawa with a stop for lunch in Johnstown. I must thank and commend Doug for taking me to the airport. His estimated arrival time was 1:00 pm and we arrived at 1:01. I checked in and then the waiting started.
We had a rapid and uneventful flight to Toronto where more waiting occurred. It must have taken them 45 minutes to get everybody on board and prepared for takeoff. Another fairly comfortable flight with the exception of a woman in the seat in front of me. She must have showered in perfume!!! I would have liked to ask for a seat change but the flight was full so I had to try to breath through mouth and ignore the stench. I had thought of washing her down with some bottled water, but thought I would probably cause the plane to be returned to Toronto.
We arrived on time and had a rapid trip through customs and I was pleased to find that my bags were on the carousel waiting for me. As we trundled into the arrivals area I saw Weezy (Louise) waiting by the rail. She looked right past me with an air on anticipation about her, waiting I am sure for a rather full-faced Don to show up. Slender-faced Don finally caught her attention and we had a wonderful reunion. It was good to be back.



Not to waste time we stowed the bags in the car and set of for Salisbury. If you wish to see pictures of the exterior of the cathedral you can click on this link; Salisbury Cathedral

The photo I chose to begin the tour was of the Chicken Cross, or more formally, the Poultry Cross situated on High Street. It dates to 1335 and is the onle one remaining of four crosses built, the others being the Cheese Cross, the Linen Cross and the Bernewell Cross. All built to give shelter to traders.




Of the few cathedrals that I seen in the UK this one seems to be the most austere. I have no working knowledge of cathedral architecture, but I suspect that this is one of the earliest, just judging from the lack of colour.










For bring such an ancient church it has a very modern baptismal font. Installed in 2008 at the 'back' of the cathedral it is large enough to allow total imersion of the young child. In fact, if the candidate could swim, her or she could do a few laps.






Louise, my lovely tour guide and friend.










This is the world's oldest working clock, dating from 1386; it has no face and only strikes the hours.











This is the tomb of William Longespée, half brother to King John and one of the advisers for the formulation of the Magna Carta.
Longespée, who died in 1226 was present at the laying of the foundation of the cathedral and was the first person to be buried in the cathedral.
I found this tomb interesting because it is made entirely of wood.




The High Altar, again very simple, which I find appealing.










The 106 original choir, or quire stalls date from 1236, the earliest complete set in England. They are intricately carved in wood and decorated for each canon and vicar.








This tomb struck me as being out of place in such simple surroundings. It is the tomb of Edward Seymour and Lady Catherine Grey - sister to Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine before her execution in 1554, at the age of 17.









The Amnesty International Candle is found under the Prisoners of Conscience window designed and by Gabriel Loire and dedicated to prisioners of conscience throughout the world. There is a candle perpetually burning within the representative barbed wire.









I have no idea who theses gentlemen are; they just stood out because of the colour of there robes was in bright contrast to the surrounding stone.







Pictures I could not take or wished I had;
The Spire crossing, the central point of the Cathedral - The weight of the tower and spire, some 6500 tons, has visibly bent the supporting columns. By placing your head against one of the columns one can see the bend. There is a system of plumb bobs and brass pins set in place to monitor the bending of the columns.

I was very surprised and pleased that I was able to see the best preserved of four remaing copies of the Magna Carta. Unfortunately, for preservation purposes no photographs were allowed. I ca only surmise thsat the light from camera flashes would have some detrimental effect on the Magna Carta. It was housed in a very strong steel and glass case in the Chapter House. The Chapter House itself was very beautiful and and I regret not being able to take some pictures.

After our tour of the cathedral Louise and I checked into the hotel, had some lunch and I had a much needed rest.

Louise is the Director of the MFRC (Military Family Resource Centre) in the UK and has a staff of four military spouses. I met these delightful and interesting ladies over dinner at the Haunch of Venison in Salisbury. Aside from the wonderful food, this restaurant`s other claim to fame is to be haunted by two spirits; the Grey Lady, who is searching for her child, and the Demented Whist Player who is searching for his hand which he lost when caught cheating in a game of whist. The mummified hand is on display in the restaurant.

Bed was a welcomed sight after such a full day.