Day Eleven Saturday 15 May

Horsington is tucked away in a corner of the Somerset Levels. We spent a pleasant evening and comfortable night at the inn. I went walking to explore the village early in the morning enjoying the chorus of birdsong and a distant cuckooing. 

I could see the parish church but could find no way of getting to it until I found a public footpath sign pointing to St Johns church in a lane going out of the village. The path lead me through private gardens and through a pasture and beside a paddock where a couple of horses were grazing.

The odd thing about the church clock is that it faces  away from the village. After walking around the outside of the church I followed the lane from the gate back towards the village street. There is the remains of a market cross halfway down the lane with an explanatory plaque. 

 

There is no sign in the village street showing how to get to the church.

It is a long time since I have seen a hedge neatly cut and laid like this:

An American style mail box at the gate of a wisteria covered cottage looks incongruous:

We set out on the road again fortified with a hearty full English breakfast. We had an easy drive; the clouds thinned and the sun shone. Then we on our way  to explore Muchelney Abbey. 

Apse of the original Anglo-Saxon abbey church.

Sorry about the drunken angle.

 For several centuries after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII the abbot's lodging served as a farmhouse. One range of the small cloister remains.

 Fireplace in the abbot's great chamber

I explored the parish church which contains much of the decorative mediæval tile that survives from the abbey.

 Detail of mediæval tile by the font

We were on our way again through deepest Devon and red soil under the pasture in this shot. 

We stopped for a quick lunch in Honiton. Then on we went skirting Exeter and finally crossing the Tamar at Saltash with a grand view of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's over engineered railway bridge carrying the main line on to Penzance.

The final roads into Seaton, Seythin in Cornish, were narrow and curvaceous and we arrived safely at St Martins. Here's the view towards Rame Head from the balcony:

Day Ten Friday 14 May

Travel day to Horsington, Wincanton via Old Sarum and Stonehenge. This is the most driving I've done in England for a very long time. Set off from Silver End and joined the A120 to the M25; then M3 and the A303 to Andover for lunch. I drove through the countryside in a roundabout way after heading off to Newbury instead of Amesbury and ended up at Old Sarum instead of Stonehenge . . .

 After exploring the earthworks, castle ruins and the outline of the original cathedral of Old Sarum we did drive up the road see the henge.

After walking all round Stonehenge we got going west on the A303/A30 to Wincanton and thence to the Half Moon Inn at Horsington where we retired for the night after washing down dinner with Morland's Old Speckled Hen.

Ascension Day Thursday 13 May

When I was at primary school Ascension day was a holiday. There were four of us, including the priest,  celebrating the Eucharist at All Saints, Feering this morning. Meanwhile Clare and Robin were, appropriately, floating in a hot air balloon over the Essex countryside.

Aubrey Moody was the long time incumbent of All Saints who owned Constable's altarpiece The Ascension painted in 1822. The original is now at Dedham but an excellent copy can be seen at Feering

The morning was bright and still but the clouds are beginning to thicken.

Ringing at Fordham this evening with a goodly band of familiar faces so all eight were rung. Special thanks to Roger, Rosemary, Chris, David, Ray and Philip. 

Day Eight Wednesday 12 May

I made this a busy day. We got going about eleven this morning and the first stop was Colchester. Wonder of wonders, I find a parking space in Priory Street car park - the special deal was £2 for three hours. The first thing was a snack with a large cup of black coffee for me; then the un-touristy visit to a music store and a book shop.

The Castle Museum is showing part one of a special exhibit about mediaeval life which included this book of plainchant notation:

As I mentioned from my visit last year one follows a chronological telling of the history of the area with models, reproduction exhibits to touch, and examples of clothing to wear. I didn't get the toga quite right:

The flowers in Upper Castle Park still looked good and on the Bowls Club house the new thatch I saw being applied last year is already weathered.

And I managed to get a picture of the friendly magpie:

One for sorrow, two for joy . . . .

But he wasn't obliging enough to stay still for any length of time.

We wuz 'ere

The river Colne is tidal as far up river as Colchester Hythe and Marriages Flour Mill, seeing that the tide was low I knew we could get across the Strood to Mersea Island safely without being held up. Went to Cudgrove Country Park at East  Mersea so Chris and Steve could get their first glimpse of the North Sea beyond the Blackwater/Colne estuary.

Brightlingsea across the Colne

Yet another view of Bradwell power station across the Blackwater

And here is a reminder of the danger England was in seventy years ago:

and the rest of Day Seven Tuesday 11 May

 was mostly spent on the M25 and A12 fetching Chris and Steve from Heathrow. We had dinner at The White Hart, Coggeshall ; now I'm off to bed. Goodnight.

The morning of Day Seven Tuesday 11 May

Each morning I waken to the song of the dawn chorus made especially noticeable by the relative quiet after the sun rises. Birds I saw or heard and could recognise included magpies, tits, finches, a partridge and skylarks.

After writing in the journal and uploading pictures to Flickr I walked around the fields. Children were arriving at the local primary school ready for the day's lessons in their maroon school uniforms.

I took a picture of the oak tree from a different angle.

Forty or so years ago the elms of England were attacked by insects and few elms survived. Now the great oaks of England seem to be succumbing to an arboreal disease.

I bought a couple of newspapers, The Daily Telegraph and The Times, to read what those papers can tell us about the moves to resolve the hung parliament.

The cowslips are all but over but apple blossom is bright  as ever.

Day Six Monday 10 May

Stisted where I rang this evening. Ringing behind to call changes and Grandsire doubles on a Tenor of 9cwt 1qtr 20lbs or 1056lbs. Then rang a touch of plain bob doubles inside on the fifth.

Rest of the day was spent planning places to visit after I collect Chris and Steve from the airport tomorrow. I will spend much of tomorrow driving to and from Heathrow.

Afternoon and evening of Day Five Sunday 9 May.

After a traditional lunch of roast lamb at The Western Arms I drove to Colchester to meet Ruth and Kim at the War Memorial in front of the main gate to Castle Park just as we did last year. Although the weather was cloudy it didn't rain. We chatted about the state of ringing at Mildenhall, Lakenheath, Isleham and Fordham on the Norfolk-Suffolk border and other towers where we've rung.

I stopped at All Saints, Feering on the way back to Silver End to ring for, and attend, Evensong my favourite office. So at last I've rung a bell and made some noise.

The morning of Day Five Sunday 9 May

Kathy and I went to a traditional Eucharist at  St Mary's Parish church, Kelvedon. This is the church where I was chorister, sacristan and bellringer; I sometimes wound the clock and raised the flag of St George on Feast days.

High altar minus candles

The east window of the Lady Chapel, designed by Burne-Jones, depicts the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with  thee." 

The Annunciation.

The organ, housed in what was originally a memorial chapel on the north side of the chancel, was re-built in 1968-9.

The organ was originally on the south side of the chancel in what is now the chapel of Our Lady where The Blessed Sacrament is reserved. The image of The Virgin and Child was found in a local house I believe; as with anything published on the web I could be wrong.

The nave looking west from the chancel. The font cover cover commerates a past incumbant's mother and the candlesticks a faithful chorister, sidesman and verger.

Day Four Saturday 8 May

Celebration and memorial for the fallen on the 65th anniversary of V.E. Day at The Cenotaph on Whitehall in the City of Westminster.

Kathy, William and I took Johnny out to a restaurant of his choosing to celebrate his 59th birthday. Tajine, falafel and other wonderfully herbed dishes with various flat breads at The Moorish Lounge in Woodbridge.

Night driving in the rain. No snapshots today.

Day Three Friday 7 May

Clare treated us to lunch at The Ship, Heybridge Basin today

The sunshine on the face of that picture belies the fact that it was cloudy. We sat outside in the cool (cold?) gentle breeze blowing up the Blackwater estruary from the North Sea with the occasional raindrop. The Ship is across the lock from the lock-keeper's cottage.

No boats were going to use the lock as the tide was out.

After lunch we walked along the sea-wall up-river towards Maldon passing this small ship which has been moored here for quite a while.

Defender out of Lowestoft.

 The walk was much more pleasant when the course of the path turned our backs to the wind. Plenty of birds to watch: black headed gulls, brent geese and we heard a cuckoo. Maldon from across the river with St Mary's tower and spike swaithed in scaffolding.

and more mud

We turned inland to rejoin the path along the Chelmer Cut, the canal which ends at Heybridge Basin.

After we got back to the car I drove through Goldhanger, Tollshunt D'Arcy  where I turned off to visit Tollesbury briefly and William and I reminisced  about Osborne Busses. I took a couple more pictures:

Lightship with Mersea island on the horizon 

and a view of Bradwell nuclear power station

We continued towards Colchester passing Salcott-cum-Virley before turning off towards Aberton and across the resevoir to Layer de la Hay and returning on the Maldon (B1022) road past Colchester Zoo and turned to Copford and Marks Tey where we joined the A120 towards Braintree but I turned off on the lane on which I used to bicycle to and from the brick works and on my post round through Langley Green, Sky Green and Feering on to Kelvedon, Church Hill, Hollow road and back to Silver End for a cup of tea and to catch up here.

Day Two Thursday 6 May

After the funeral service and commital at the Colchester Crematoruim yesterday I walked around Silver End  with Kathy and one of my most long lasting friends, Johnny; you might know him as Steve; or even Tiger from Burnham-on-Crouch days.

I'm catching up a little. Bear with me. I have the tendency to recognize places by the pubs (e.g. Hemel Hempstead = The Leather Bottle). Silver End's remaining pub is the Western Arms. The Western family lived at Felix Hall, Kelvedon. There is a large brass memorial plaque to members of the Western family on the north wall of the sanctuary at St Mary's parish church, Kelvedon.

The horses, along withy a couple of ponies, are still grazing near the old gravel pit resevoir

In lieu of pictures of the hill I'm going to post a few pictures of this oak tree as it comes into leaf

Crop rotation: this field of rape seed was a field of winter wheat last year. And lots of people use footpaths and exercise their dogs daily here

In Memorium

Anthea Porter neé Richardson

16 June 1940

23 April 2010

Requiescat in Pace

Day one Wednesday 5 May

That's an original title isn't it?

Ash cloud? What ash cloud? More flights cancelled today. We flew over Northern Ireland before the airspace was closed again.

Cloudy and damp.

Brief overview

Of the itinerary:

Week 1: Essex, Silver End, Colchester

Week 2: Cornwall, Lands End, Seaton

Week 3: Lake District, Cumbria (formerlly Westmoreland and Cumberland),Ambleside 

Week 4: Essex.

What's afoot?

No, nothing is ever . . . Kathy is planning another visit in May this year. Rather than start yet another blog I modified the blog title and header in preparation.

Is anything ever . .

    .    finished? I keep coming back to rewrite a sentence here and correct a spelling mistake there and insert missing apostrophes. I did have the intention of writing a fuller account of my visit meanwhile you can see some more pictures I took whilst in England at Flickr; see Seeking Episteme for links.