Our English Diversion

We left Nancy early December intending to have a quick look around south west England before returning to Oz for Xmas. Marg had been to Oxford previously but wanted to show Peter around “Inspector Morse’s” home ground. Peter, after watching English shows like Morse and Midsomer was keen to find out if this corner of Britain was as pretty as these shows depicted. He was concerned that the pretty thatched cottages with their well painted windows and tidy features was make believe and that reality was The European Grunge – a feature on a lot of buildings in France.

A train to Paris and this fellow met us at Gare du Nord as we boarded the Eurostar to London. Another quick train to Oxford and we made our base there for a few days.

Thomas Bodley, the gentleman above was the founder of the library system in Oxford now known as the Bodleian Library. (He may be better know to Harry Potter fans as Nearly Headless Nick – or more simply, John Cleese.)

The Bodleian library is the largest library in the world with over 12 million works, most of which are now digitised and available on line.

After a few days we hired a car and headed off into the countryside. We visited Blenheim castle where Winston Churchill grew up. We even saw the dents in the organ pipes made by him and his cousins playing cricket indoors.

We passed through Swindon the town that used to be the home of the Great Western Railway. Of course Peter had to visit the old workshops and yards. They have all gone now, a massive shopping centre has taken over the workshops leaving a small museum as an indication of the area’s illustrious past.

The Caerphilly Castle stands as a wonderful example of the machines that came out of these works.

Going south to the Salisbury Plain in search of Stonehenge we found ourselves in Avebury. This is the site of a much larger henge and lies at the centre of one of the greatest surviving concentrations of ancient monuments in Western Europe. Photos on the ground don’t do this area justice. If you can follow our Google earth link, the extent of these monuments will be clear.

We found Stonehenge a little further south and were disappointed that we could not get close. We could have purchased a tour but the weather was closing in and we pressed on.

Salisbury was our next stop and we admired the cathedral.

The christening font is a modern water feature within the church. Most dramatic.

We came across a golf course and were intrigued by these wild New Forest ponies. They seem to leave the greens alone as the grass on the fairways and the rough is easier to eat.

Peter found that this country met his expectations.

We returned to London and saw a little more of this beautiful and historic city.

A highlight, especially for Marg, was a tour of Cricket’s hallowed ground, Lords.

We visited one place, a little way off the tourist track. That's not quite right as it is in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. It is Cutler’s Hall, home of London’s Worshipful Company of Cutlers. Cutlers were the journeymen who crafted knives and swords and other weapons of war and were recognised as a guild in the 13^th century. They received a royal charter in 1416.

Within this fairly unimposing brick building we were given an unexpected insight into part of the history of Old London.

The guild whose wealth is firmly in the original square mile now primarily remains as a charitable institution. A keen eye will see elevenses on the table.

We must thank John most sincerely for this glimpse of the London of the past.

We departed London on the 21^st December heading for Sydney and our Christmas in Australia.

There will be more to tell, so we will keep in touch.