What a Week - Part 3

My sweetie had never been to Salisbury Cathedral, so we decided to go the Salisbury for lunch. Our route took us through Blandford Forum, a town I stayed in back in 1988. Blandford has been a market town since Anglo-Saxon times (Forum means 'market'). Much of it burned down in 1731, so most of the architecture is of one period, Georgian. This makes Blandford unique as an English town, as most are a mix of architectural styles. I was too busy seeing if I recognised anything to take pictures as we drove through, unfortunately.

As we drove into Salisbury, the spire of the cathedral towered over the town like a beacon. When I was there in 1988, the restoration work had only been going on for two years and the spire was covered in scaffolding. How wonderful to see it now, the stunning masonry glistening when the weak sun hit it!

We got there early enough that we were able to get parking on site. Dogs aren't allowed in the cathedral, so I sent my sweetie in on his own while Aleksandra and I explored. As usual, she was the hit of the town and when I asked the parking attendants if they knew of any dog friendly pubs, they gave her a treat and thought about it.

"I'd try the New Inn. Turn right on the first street past the gate," said one.

"I'm sorry I can't pet her," said the other, wearing a formal black suit with a lovely grey brocade waistcoat. "We have a funeral today and I can't get fur on my suit."

"Has this beauty had a cookie," asked a third as he walked over.

As we chatted, they told me that the restoration had been halted on the north side of the cathedral, as the Chapter House was a more pressing concern. The scaffolding remains on the north side, but no work is being done for lack of funds. The work is slated to be finished by 2018. Over 100 years to construct the cathedral in the first place, and 32 years to restore it. I found my copy of "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet the other day. The cathedral website actually has an entire section dedicated to this book. Guess what's next on my reading list.

Aleks and I wandered around the pedestrian shopping area for a while and then went back to meet my sweetie. He was awestruck. "I just heard the Magna Carta read ... in old English!" he exclaimed. There are four existing originals, one of which is kept at Salisbury Cathedral. The woman who`d read it told my sweetie that at one point there was talk of selling the cathedral`s copy to the Americans. She wasn`t in charge of it at the time, but the woman who was was so upset that she decided to safeguard it. Every night after work, she would roll up the cathedral`s copy and insert it into the frame of her bicycle. At home, she would hide it under her bed, then return it to the cathedral, where she could stand guard over it all day, the next morning.

The New Inn doesn`t allow dogs to stay in the pub, but they have a beer garden out back, where Aleksandra was very welcome. She was a little fractious while we were there, barking at every poor bloke who came outside for a cigarette. Finally, we had to get stern with her. She humphed. Looked at us quite reproachfully, then settled with a resigned attitude. After lunch, we wandered back onto the cathedral grounds toward the car. Truly, the cathedral is a commanding presence in this town, and rightfully so. It is, without a doubt, amazingly beautiful. We will be going back for a proper holiday, so we can both go in and explore it.

We wanted to get to Faringdon before the piano store closed (we`d forgotten to give the balance owing to the lads who`d delivered the piano, you see) so we had to drag ourselves away from Salisbury and get back on the road fairly quickly after lunch. Faringdon is on the edge of the Cotswolds, about 18 miles from Oxford and two miles from the River Thames. Once again, the changing scenery charmed and captured us. It seems like each county has its own character, and each is as beautiful as the last. We got to Faringdon about 4:30, parked in the market square and quickly went up the road to the store. Claire, who owns it, greeted us with a warm smile, like old friends. My sweetie played Chicago boogie on a Bechstein grand while Aleksandra reclined on the floor by the door and I settled our business.

That night was spent at The Bell Inn, a 16th century coaching inn, right on the market square. In fact, the cow market stalls were almost right outside the door, in front of the next building. Mel and Eddie (husband and wife) have only had it for seven months, but it is a labour of love for them and it shows. There is a large pub, side room with darts, and a proper restaurant, above all of which which are rooms that have been there for over 300 years. Our room, with oak beams and lovely plaster work, was beautifully put together, and overlooked the square. The glass in the massive windows was so old that it rippled in places where the sand had begun settling, while the floors, well, undulate with age. Honestly, it`s quite a walk to the room; one I wouldn`t want to do drunk!

We had dinner in the pub that night, where once again, Aleks, lying in front of the fire, charmed everyone who walked over her. There was a special function in the restaurant, but somehow, Eddie and Mel looked after everything between them, including two very nice dinners for us and drinks for everyone in the pub (which filled very quickly). The room rang with laughter and chatter, and every person who came in made us feel utterly welcome. Especially when they found out we were from Canada. That does seem to be the norm here, by the way. When people find out we are Canadian, they warm up to us. We have been called darling, deary, lovey, sweetheart and my dear by people all over this country now. Although, I  must say, they are flummoxed when they find out we`ve moved here. Want to know why, when they are all wanting to move to Canada!

We planned to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon for lunch the next day and when I mentioned this to a fellow dog walker the next morning, he strongly advised we go through a town called Burford. My sweetie was thrilled at the idea, so we piled into the car and set off. Burford is in the Cotswolds and is the quintessential Cotswolds town. It was granted its charter as a market town some 900 years ago and from what I gather, is little changed today. Being Saturday, and very warm and sunny, it was rustling with people. Traffic was a little daunting, to the point that in order to park, we had to drive right out of town, make a U-turn at the next roundabout and come back in! I was completely taken with it.

From Burford, we headed to Stratford. Again, being Saturday, Stratford was amass with people and cars. There`s no long term parking in the downtown core. We know. We drove around for over half an hour looking. By then, we both badly needed food and Aleks really had to go, so we bit the bullet, parked in one of the many half hour limit spots on the street and resigned ourselves to getting a parking ticket. It is beautiful. Tudor architecture all over the place. I saw one building as we were driving through that was completely warped, rather like an over filled balloon. Really, the edges of the building curved out at the centre, with the foundation and roof still in their original (what I imagine was the original) positions! One day, I`ll get a photo of it.

Lunch was at the Rose and Crown and, as usual, the food was marvellous. We sat in the beer garden, so Aleksandra could join us, and they very kindly brought her a small bowl of water. On our way back to the car, we passed the entry to the Tudor Museum, which advertises that Shakespeare walked the cobbles in the lane way leading to their door. I don`t know if he really did, but I`d like to think so. We`re going back to Stratford for a few days at some point to really explore. And see theatre, of course. It`s only an hour from home and well worth it. That day, however, we were ready to come home, so we went back to the car, collected our ticket off the windscreen and resolved to return. Not on a Saturday.

We realised as we drove along the M69 that we were going right by Coventry. Both of us had been moved by what we`d read of the bombing of Coventry during the war and wanted to go to the cathedral there to ... I  guess, pay our respects. Coventry didn`t want us, unfortunately. We never got out of a three block area at the north end, by Ikea and a big shopping complex. Honestly, one way streets and buses only streets blocked us. It`s like a bloody fortress! Poor Sat Nav Nelly was completely flummoxed by it, as she kept trying to get us to go down streets that had been turned into bus only lanes, or pedestrian ways. Finally, my sweetie and I looked at each other and determined to get the hell out of there and find the highway again. Our friends here all cringed when they heard we`d gone there. Apparently, it`s not a great place to visit. We won`t be going back for a while. Need to gird our loins for that one!

And so, we came home to our little house, all of us happy to be here. We had a very restful (I know it was whirlwind) and relaxing few days. Bonded with each other and our new country, and got lots of ideas for other trips. We`ve been advised not to go near the south during July and August, so we may visit the north then.

By the way, this trip was 522 miles (haven`t a clue how many kilometres that is) over three days. The Merc did it on 52 litres of diesel. That`s about 16km to the litre, I think. Pretty good, I`d say!

I awoke very early this morning. Here`s the thing. We love it here. The people have been so warm and welcoming. It`s beautiful in indescribable ways. But I miss you all terribly. Don`t have time to think about it much, but it woke me up this morning. I miss being able to get in the car and drive north to my family. I  miss being able to just call and make dinner plans. I miss my kittens. I miss being able to call easily. We have a good plan and all, but the time difference is a hurdle for which I have yet to find an easy solution. I`m working on that. Mostly, I miss knowing that you aren`t far away. That I can see you easily. That I can be there if you need me. But one thing hasn`t changed, and that`s how I feel about each of you. That is constant. My sweetie and my pup are here. That`s a comfort, and that`s what makes this home.

 Love.