So Much Too Say...

I don't think it is possible to tell you all about the last 3 days. We are in Bath now where the wifi is more reasonable and I can post more. Among the sites we have seen in detail besides the Lincoln Cathedral I mentioned previously, was the Lincoln Castle which is on the opposite side of the square from the cathedral. (Sorry, no great links to that one for you.) There you see remnants of a castle begun during Norman times and later turned into a gaol (jail) for male and female prisoners and for public executions. Plus, the castle contains Lincolnshire's copy of the Magna Carta. One of four of the first copies made and sedt around the country. Appropriately it is housed in the old gaol. I was a bit confused by another copy in the cathedral that didn't get much attention from our tour guide or anyone else. Turns out that is a "facsimile on leather." Don't know how old it is, but it is not the official copy for Lincolnshire. I walked the walls of the castle and saw why the location was a militarily strategic spot. You can see for miles and miles. I've got great shots of the countryside and the cathedral from the walls and an observatory tower that one of the prison administrators built for his telescope in the 19th Century. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow when I have more time.

Also did some shopping and eating on the High Street in Lincoln which also hooks into Steep Street up toward the Castle Hill. This street earns it nickname of "Heart Attack Hill." The shopping close to the castle square was particularly good as it was all local independent shops and not chain stores. I've already seen enough McDonald's, KFC, Gap, and Starbucks. We even found one called Hillbilly's Country Store. The clothes inside didn't seem to really be hillbilly clothes by Ozark standards, but I took a picture of the shop sign any way.

We did much of one day in Lincoln in the rain, but yesterday we got wonderful weather to visit Burghley House which was built by Elizabeth I's key advisor Lord Burghley (William Cecil). The house is now in a trust, but the Cecil family is still connected to it. We saw much of the first floor rooms with all the ornateness and collections of the landed gentry from Elizabethian times into the 20th Century. The artwork was marvelous, the furnishings often lavish and the craftsmanship of the builders as magnificent as at the Lincoln Cathedral. For my overly political mind, it was all too much and a clear example that Americans have no real sense of class divisions of this sort or the kind of fuedal societies that created both structures.

That night the Burghley House hosted what is likely to be our most unique event during our stay here. We saw a Battle Prom. The Battle Proms are concerts held each summer in several places across the country. They are a mix of great music and patriotism. We saw reenactors in Napoleanic era infantry and calvary dress. There was a Spitfire buzzing the field. There was fireworks and British patriotic songs as well as more classical numbers. There were thousands of British folks waving Union Jacks and the English flag and having a great time. It got very cool as the night war on and when the fellow in the Scot Highlander outfit walked by we did discuss if he was "going traditional" under his kilt and how cold that must be. It made a long day, but a glorious one.

This morning we drove out of Lincoln for two brief stops in Stratford-on-Avon and Oxford. We had only a couple of hours at Stratford to see the Shakespeare sites, but Janet and I did make it through the small museum next to his home and saw a First Folio. The next person who sees Miss Wall should mention that part of the trip to her. She told us in high school it was something we should do. I also found my first English Christmas shop in Stratford and bought an adorable music box with teddy bears spinning around as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" plays.

The trip to Oxford was also very short. We got a speed tour of Christchurch College at Oxford where John and Charles Wesley attended. Didn't get any time to explore or shop. Only time for a hurried tour to see the banquet hall (used by the Harry Potter movie makers for a model of Hogwart's Great Hall), the cathedral (took a picture of a memorial to John Locke and more stained glass), and head a number of stories of the connection between the little girl who Lewis Carrol used for Alice in Wonderland and the college. For a lifelong lover of universities, it was a frustrating stop. Maybe another time I'll wonder about for days in Oxford.

Now we are in Bath and tomorrow the choir is off to sing in the world's oldest Methodist Church in Bristol and then "dip their toes in Wales" afterwards. Janet is going along for that while I'll stay here and explore Bath a bit on my own. On Tuesday Janet gets her Jane Austen exploration and we'll check out the Roman Baths. I'll just see what I can find beyond those things tomorrow and also blog some more. Hopefully with pictures next time.