What I love about England

Without even closing my eyes I can enjoy all over again the wonderful things we saw in England. Our trip by train to York right after we landed at Gatwick was lovely. The green fields marked off by hedge rows or lines of trees made the countryside look like a patchwork quilt. Some of the fields were bright yellow with the blooms of rape seed flowers. Evan told us the seeds are pressed for rape seed oil, a very healthful product.  As a part the crop rotation, this plant helps restore the richness of the soil. I tried to take pictures from the train, but they are all rather blurred. I do have the pictures in my memory.

I loved walking around in York. I loved the ancient buildings, many of them still in use. Right in town are the ruins of St Mary's Priory. It was a huge complex of buildings, but now only some walls and beautiful arches remain. I guess York was a one time a very wealthy city, so the priory reflected that. One can imagine the beautiful singing of the nuns echoing in those hallowed halls.

London! The city of Shakespeare, Milton, Lord Byron, and the Beatles! Those who changed the way we think about writing and music. I love to walk around the streets of London! Eva likes to jog. Being 69 years old, soon-to-be 70, this grandma had a hard time keeping up. The uneven surfaces of the sidewalks made me fearful of falling and being out of shape--especially in the matter of climbing down steps into the tube and up out of the tube slowed me down. There is Eva, 8 feet directly in front of me single-mindedly pursuing our destination. She looks over her shoulder now and then to make sure she has not lost me entirely. When we were traveling with our suitcases, she would take my suitcase (I would carry her big pillow) and nearly run up the steps. I was impressed with that!
After a day or two in London, we realized we wanted to see different things, so we went our separate ways, but usually had dinner together.

I love that the great museums are free with just a suggested donation. I loved it that we were only a couple of blocks away from Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. We were close to two tube stations and could get to any place in London in just a few minutes. We were close to all the good stuff!

This is the library where Evan did some of his work on his doctorate.

Saint Mayr's Priory, York

Evan explains the original
layout of the priory.

Saving the best till last.

Tonight is our last night in London. I went to the Globe to see Much Ado About Nothing. It was hilarious! Dancing and music excellent acting and those wonderful words of Shakespeare. It was laugh out funny when Benedict was hiding and listening to his friends talk about how Beatrice loved him. So funny. How he leaped about. It nearly made me cry when the false accusation was brought against Hero. I guess she had to marry Claudio in the end--it was a comedy. Excellent theater!

Monday night at the pub with the boys.

I have not kept up with the blog because I no longer trust it. It does not always work right and it has lost at least one of the blogs I spent an hour writing. We will try once again.

On Monday evening we went to the pub around the corner, the Sherlock Holmes. At six o'clock in the evening it was a crowded, noisy place. No free tables. Eva was in front of me and two gentlemen invited us to share the two empty spots at their table. She agreed so we sat down and ordered our meat pies. One guy, in his late thirties was from Colorado. The other guy, probably in his mid forties was from Australia, but lives in the islands. He was good looking, looked like a man of the world, but he had the annoying habit of winking at me when he thought he had said something clever. He offered to buy us a pint---first time that has ever happened to me! Eva did not take him up on his offer because of her meds. Do they have half pints? Yes! So I had a half pint of Speckled Hen ale. It was pretty good.

We exchanged the usual information: Where are you from? What are doing in London? The older man was the boss, and the younger one was marketing director for a firm that does international litigation. They were not attorneys, but they ran the business that supported their work. Interesting fellows. One of them asked Eva if she was religious. Thus began a most interesting conversation.

Neither of them were involved in a church; neither felt the need for any relationship with God.  The younger one grew up in a Baptist church and he thought he was OK. He was good to his wife and kids. Surely that was enough. The Boss said he had gone to church more than any of us--but I'm older---I've had more time...I went to a Catholic boys' school and we went to church three times a day all my time in school. That was enough. His hope of heaven? He was going to have last rites and that would fix everything. And if you don't have time? He was willing to take that chance.

Eva asked them some theological/philosophical questions. The Boss did not believe in absolutes. More discussion. The boss had not slept in more than 24 hours and was starting to droop. As they were leaving they said they had never had a pub conversation like that one. It was a friendly discussion. I wonder if they thought much about the conversation later.

Leaving York

Sunday morning we had breakfast (I ate blood pudding and baked beans with my eggs), packed up, checked out, and set off to meet Evan. The plan was to leave our bags at his flat then go to the service at the Minster. He gave Eva the hand drawn map because she has a better sense do direction than I do. Well, we missed a turn somewhere, got lost, and  as we were standing there wondering what to do next, Eva said "You have no idea where you are, do you?" No! You had the map! You were in charge! I'd been following Evan around for two days and we never went the same way twice so we could see more of the city. I have absolutely NO idea where we are! So we called Evan and he came and rescued us. But by that time we had to go straight to the Minster, dragging our bags behind us.
We put them behind a welcome center and went to our seat. When we went back after the service we found that the cathedral police had taken them to a secure area. Might have been bombs in there. Well, just don't do it again! Not likely! We're leaving town now! So we said goodby to Evan, took a taxi to the station took the first train out.

I loved being in York. It was fun spending time with Evan and walking around that ancient city. He would casually tell us about this building or that and over the centuries who built this part of the building or that. You could see layers of different building materials as you looked up the surface of the tower. Under what building you can find Roman roads.

I will remember narrow cobbled streets, winds strong enough almost to knock you down,  ancient walls and buildings, the amazing York Minster. Just before it rains a cold wind rises and then the rain comes.

One correction: the street called Shambles was used as a model for Dagon Alley in the Harry Potter movie, but it was not filmed there. The street does look a great deal like the one in the movie. Oh, the pub where we had our first lunch was, I think Shrinking Insanity. No, that does not sound right, either. Something about it was insane, though. Maybe it was those meat pies that were filled with potted meat that looked and tasted like Spam with a little less salt. For Evan's sake I tried to like it, but it was impossible. That white stuff around the edges that kinda looked like glue put me off me old feed bag.

Day two

The weather prediction for the day was rather bleak-- a chill wind lots of rain. The sunny morning fooled us into believing that we would have a wonderful day for walking about the town. After breakfast at the hotel we started out to walk the wall that goes part way around the city. At one time this was a Roman wall, but it has been neglected and rebuilt several times over the centuries. It is a great place to see vistas of the city, most frequently we saw the towers of the Minster hovering over the city like the hand of God, so large and grand are it's proportions.

Just as we climbed up to the top of the wall walkway it started to rain. Not a hard rain and as we had umbrellas we were ok. Our destination was the Railway Museum. It contained rail cars that once were used by the queen and the royal family. This is a museum the natives like to visit; it is less a tourist destination. The interiors were plush and richly furnished. There were multiple signs warning people not to climb up on the trains--that was because of all the children. So many kids!
Made me miss my grand children.

Will post more later.

Error! Error!

Yesterday my lovely layout for my blog went away and what we have is this ugly, utilitarian page on which to record my England adventures. It's hardly inviting to the eye, nor does it inspire good writing. I don't know how to fix it and I don't have the time to figure it out. We have to pack up and take the train right after worship at the Minster this morning. One thing I've learned writing a blog is that you don't ask a friend if they have read your blog. Most of the time they have not and they are embarrassed and you feel bad about asking. Just write because you love writing and enjoy that part of the creative experience.

Evensong at the Minster

We went to Evensong at York Minster yesterday at 5:PM. The whole experience was amazing! The first part of the Minster was built in the 11 hundreds. Over the centuries other sections were added and the final effect is majestic, with towers and spires all pointed upward, to our creator. The tall stained glass windows are glorious. It truly is an edifice glorifying to God. No ordinary music or service would do here. The music was performed by a choir of men and boys, some of the boys seemed to be too young to know how to sing that wonderful music but they did and it was marvelous! I especially loved the last beautiful note which would ring for  a few seconds after the music stopped. The classic liturgy, which included confession of sin, pardon, the Lord's Prayer and Scripture readings fit perfectly with that wonderful place of worship.

In spite of all the wonder and awe inspiring music and ancient liturgy, Eva and I both had a hard time staying awake near the end of the service.  Giving in to sleep when you  have had so little in the last 24 hours is impossible to resist, but falling over sideways in the seat has a way jerking you awake real fast.

Day one

Day one seemed like two days--actually I think it was two days. We flew out of Tampa Thursday at six fifteen PM and arrived in York at noon on the next day. Somewhere along the line we lost five hours. We had a wonderful time exploring York with Evan. By the time I took a shower and lay my body down I felt like I could sleep forever. Well, I didn't sleep quite that long. I woke up at 5:30 AM.

The trip was long. Two very unhappy toddlers made it seem longer, and the plane bouncing unexpedly  interrupted the little sleep I managed find. I was so excited about being in London I didn't care. We found baggage claim and reclaimed our bags then walked through customs which amounted to walking through a room with rows of tables, but no people to do any checking. That was easy! Next we took a trolley to the South terminal where we found the trains to take us to London to St Pancras station. From there we walked around the corner to King's Cross train station where we obtained tickets to York, a two hour train ride. The countryside was beautiful! Evan was waiting for us st the station. It was wonderful to see him again!

We had lunch at a funky little place called The Trembling Mushroom...no that's not it. I forget the name--it' trembling something. We had to go up very steep, narrow steps to the little pub and ordered two platters of meats and cheese and other tasty treats. The building had timbered walls and plaster. Evan said it was built in the 13 hundreds-- or was it in 12 hundred? I really should take notes. It's amazing to be in a building so ancient, and still in use. I guess it's a hopping place in the evenings.

I'll post more pictures when I get home. I'm having technical difficulties transferring photos from my camera to Facebook. I'm posting only from my phone. When I do you will see narrow cobbled streets with ancient buildings. For Harry Potter fans I saw the street that was used as the inspiration for Dagon Alley, the place where the students from Hogwarts went to buy their school supplies. I think they did some of the filming there. Also in this town of York is the place where they filmed the dining room scenes at Hogwarts.

Evan took us around  to see several libraries where he did research for his dissertation for his doctorate. Hummm... Dr Evan McWilliams has a nice ring to it. The libraries were small but rich in information about the history of the church and its architecture. He plans to finish up by the end of summer, then who knows where he will go from there? It's been great to spend time with him. He's a young man on the brink of opening the door to the next phase of his life. I can't believe he' twenty eight.

Pre trip tune up

A few weeks ago my lower back starting hurting. I did stretching exercises. I rested my back. I iced it. Finally, I broke down and called the chiropractor. Dr. Steve Sligh has been manipulating peoples' bones most of his adult life. He's wonderful! He has healing hands. I still have to be careful, especially when I'm bending over. It is with great distress that I look way down on the floor and contemplate how far down I must bend when I have dropped something. Getting down on the floor to wipe up a spill is a major commitment of time. While I'm down there I sometimes do my on-the-floor stretching exercises. No trip to the floor should be wasted doing only one thing.  Returning to a standing position is a major effort. I feel like todders look when they are rising to a standing position: first you plant you hands firmly on the floor, next you point your buttox toward the sky, knees to the floor,  push with your hands, straighten your legs and then stand there for a few minutes till you get your balance. I have no intention of dropping anything while in London.

Other preparations are under way and must be completed before we leave on Thursday. I must do the weekly laundry, iron enough shirts for Allen to carry him over till next week. I must thoroughly water my plants on the patio. Usually when I'm gone at least one plant dies. Poor plants! I must finish packing in those bags where you suck out all the air with a vacuum cleaner so you can pack more. I don't think I'll have a vacuum cleaner in my hotel room in London. I guess I'll just have to suck out the air with lip suction. (I wonder if that how they do liposuction?) So a little more time; a little more work and I'll be ready to fly away.

Ah, be still, my heart!

Yesterday I was able to secure tickets to a performance of Mozart' s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall. Also on the program is the ever popular Clarinet Concerto, and the lovely Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I love this music! And the Hall is in some sort of "A" class in the matter of acoustics. It is one of the most beautiful performance places in the world. This will be my first time there. I can't wait! 

Our itinerary is rather loosely put together. Upon arriving in England we will travel to York and spend a few days there before taking the train South to London where we will stay the rest of the week. When I ask Eva about what is at the top of her "must see" list she mentions the grave yard where William Blake is buried. She loves Blake's poetry and art. I think theologian John Owen is also buried there. So on our first full day in London we will go in search of the graves of famous men. Sounds like a great start to our week in London!

Sticker shock!

I went to the bank today to pick up the British pounds I ordered a few days ago and the cool, shocking truth nearly knocked me over! If I say  $1.70 in American money will buy you one British pound, that does not sound so bad. Not being much of a mathematician I was not prepared for the small envelope they gave be back for the big stack of American dollars I gave them. If we really are the most powerful nation in the world, our currency does not seem to have the punch it should have.

I guess I'll just have to look up at the Tower of London, Westminster Abby, up at palaces, and art galleries, and especially the British Museum and not look down to see the $$$ bleeding from my purse. Anyway, I have been warned. Here's a quote from Luxe City Guide for London: "On a budget? Don't come to London. In London on a budget? Start crying. This city is one huge cash removal zone--either put up or shut up." Nice, eh?

On the up-side, most of the museums and art galleries are free. Walking in those ancient streets is also free.  Walking around Kensington Gardens is free. For all the rest, I'm willing to step up to the plate and plunk down my fresh supply of pounds for all those historic and amazing things to see. I want to see the Crown Jewels, the Globe Theater, Oxford and much, much more. I have been saving my $$$$ just for this purpose and now is time to spend without whining. I plan to enjoy myself immensely.

Five day and counting.

I had almost forgotten about this blog. I'm preparing for a trip to England and I thought about starting a blog to make a record of the events of the trip. So I guess I'll just continue with this one.

I guess the title still works. I'll be traveling with Eva Armes and she is sorta an adopted granddaughter. I won't be her Nanny, but I could be her Granny...except I don't like being called Granny, maybe Grandmother, or as my sister, Kay wanted to be called, Grand-MaMa. oh how elegant!

One week from today we will be flying out of Tampa to Gatwick, then to York, and then back to London for the rest of the time. Eva's trip is a gift from her grandparents on the completion of her college degree at USF. I've been reading Rick Steves to make sure I'm thoroughly prepared. I'm really excited about seeing London again. Hoping to have tea with the queen this time.