We are departing the UK mid-September so we thought it time
for a catch-up of some recent local trips. This may be our last post from the UK
but don’t despair – there will be plenty from our next two destinations of
Italy and India to look forward to!
Gifford's Circus
We both use Olympus camera equipment and shortly after
arriving here we joined up with the local Olympus community. We’ve joined them
for some great events, some of which have appeared here as posts in the past. This
time we were lucky enough to get tickets to their annual Gifford's Circus event –
a private showing of several acts for us photographers followed by portrait sessions
under the direction of professional photographers with their lighting
equipment.
While the acts were fun they are hard to photograph due to
the dim light and constant movement. The portrait sessions were great fun even
though you only got about a minute each in front of each model.
Somerset
A last trip down to my birthplace, Wells and Cheddar. Though
I am slightly biased, Wells is on my very short list of ideal large towns/small
cities that I’d be happy to live in in this country, if the economics, family,
and weather situation all aligned. Right up there with Totnes in Devon and
Marlborough in Wiltshire. So we headed away for a glorious sunny summer weekend
with my sister Gail and b-in-law Janos. The highlight, of course, being a walk
around Wells. Lots of beautiful old buildings and a good market with plenty of
interesting stalls and food. And a last visit to one of the best
cathedrals in Britain too: not only has it an amazing carved façade, but
plenty of effigies, interesting side rooms, and a medieval clock. And this was
the first time we managed to get access to the old library full of ancient
manuscripts with many of the books chained to their shelves!
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| The Library with chained books |
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| The 18th C was rife with graffiti |
For us no trip to Somerset is complete without a stop at St.
Andrew’s church in Cheddar (where my dad is buried) and a stroll through Glastonbury
which has some amazing abbey ruins and other old buildings, the spectacular Tor,
and numerous hippies and shops selling crystals and hippy clothes. To finish
off we were in for another 'treat' – and we should have guessed given we were
returning home on a sunny mid-August holiday weekend – a “stop” on the A303
where we could contemplate Stonehenge for a while, and many less interesting fields
while the traffic jam snaked along.
Horse and Carriages
Since our car died we’ve had to consider walking as a means of transport. We
hadn’t put it into practice until we took a stroll down through our local paths
to our closest village of Stanford Dingley. Britain is perfect for walking with
numerous public walkways throughout the countryside. The usual difficulty is
that they typically start at the side of small roads where you cannot park, so
are only practical for locals who can walk to them. And long trousers are
required due to the number of nettles, not to mention “wellies” as they are
muddy for 11 months of the year.
There is an annual event around this neighbourhood where
horses and carriages, with the passengers dressed in period costume, ride
around the local villages. We met them at a local farm where they were stopping
for drinks - and providing free rehydration for us spectators too! There were
about 16 carriages in all, several of them with uniformed “staff “ who would
hop off to lead the horses when necessary. Very picturesque and a good
opportunity to meet with the locals.
On the way home we dropped in to “The Bull” where we heard
there was a Hotchkiss car meeting. It was there! An obscure French make from
1910, though not the entire national collection as we met a couple of old boys,
one who had just sold his as they are very expensive to keep on the road, the
other had his in the garage undergoing maintenance. There were a couple of more
recent, i.e. 1920’s, vehicles there too. Had a great chat with a local chap who flew the Concorde for 18 years.
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| A 1910 Hotchkiss lady |
