COTSWOLDS INFO

                                                 Absolutely Charming

I can’t imagine anyone not being enthralled with the Cotswolds with its quaint villages, charming thatched-roof homes, lovely gardens and the picturesque bridges over all the rivers running though towns. I found several neat and different things to learn about and photograph. Here are some of them.

Avon is a Celtic word meaning river. Stratford is a Saxon word: strat means soft road and forde means over a river, in this case the River Avon, not the Avon River. Over time the final e has been dropped from Stratford. Richard I (King Richard the Lion Hearted) granted Stratford-upon-Avon a charter in 1196. A charter was necessary to become a market town.

Upon boarding a canal boat we learned all of the locks are manual, no mechanized ones, and are operated by the same winch—(or whatever the tool is)—which is given to you when you rent the boat. We found out soon enough that it is rather strenuous work to open and close the locks, but one soon gets the hang of it.

Mr. Wedgwood helped finance the canal system built in the 1700s---too much of his merchandise was being broken via horse and wagon.

In town we boarded a manual winch ferry to cross the river, as we needed to be on the other side of the river. On this small ferry the fellow stood up and turned a wheel which moved a chain that propelled us the short distance across the river. This mechanism was new to me.

Windows in the 1700s were only open wooden framed spaces in the walls and tended to be few in number. Being open left the home exposed in bad weather. When it rained a cloth, smeared with fat from cooking, covered the wooden frame placing it over the window opening. Perhaps this was the original storm window?

A yeoman farmer is one who owns his farm vs. a tenant farmer who rents his plot of land.

All bus and truck drivers in England, by law, are required to stop for a 45-minute rest every 4-½ hours. They are limited to driving only 9 hours a day.

China clay is quarried, but only a small amount of it is sent to the china/porcelain industry. It is the paper industry that has a big demand for it, as it is the substance that makes paper shiny for all those slick colored ads.

Built in 1246  Hailes Abbey ruins, , once housed 20 monks and 10 lay brothers. Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and brother to Henry III, was caught in a storm at sea in 1242. He vowed that if he survived the storm, he would build a religious house. Hailes Abbey was the fulfillment of that promise. The first cloister was built of wood, but replaced with stone at the end of the 15^th century. The abbey was destroyed, like nearly all others, during Henry VIII reign. All churches were catholic until that time. Henry just ravished England with his destruction of the churches.

BERRY STORIES

                                          Sweet Surprises

        It is amazing what jogs your memory and even more amazing what the memories are that are remembered.

I just finished eating a bowl of fresh blueberries with cereal. Note the order of blueberries and cereal! Looking at the carton of big lush blueberries, I noted they came from Canada. A sudden flashback had me back on a trip to Nova Scotia eleven years ago.  The particular city is a haze, but the amused expression on the waitress’s face as she watched  me savor a large cereal bowl full of nothing but fresh blueberries with a bit of milk is as clear as if it were yesterday. I could not resist returning to the buffet table for more savory berries, but limited myself to a half bowlful. Leaving the dining room I smiled at the waitress and muttered a thank you to which she replied, "I’m glad you enjoyed your berries.".

           

 And how one memory leads to another! Another trip, and a couple of years later. I was walking the streets in St. Andrews, Scotland and stopped in one of my favorite haunts—a foreign grocery store. Before long I spied a box of fresh raspberries. It’s a tossup which of these two berries is my favorite.

I bought the berries and headed down the street concentrating on eating one berry after another.

Even unwashed, they tasted wonderful.  By the time I reached the corner, I was holding an empty box! Fortunately there was a trash can on the corner. I deposited the empty box, contemplated going back to the store to buy another but continued down the street looking in the golf shops instead. Not being a golfer you can imagine which activity was the most fun!

    

  In both Kinsale, Ireland and somewhere in the Cotswolds while hiking we came upon blackberries growing next to the path. Both times the berries were big, ripe, and juicy. Do I have to tell you that the hiking slowed considerably as I managed to pick and consume probably close to a cup of berries. And as I write this I just remembered another instance in Ireland of finding berries as we walked down a narrow lane to a castle. I do remember that those berries were ripe but not as big as the rainfall in the area was less. However, I still enjoyed the berries.

THE COTSWOLDS, ENGLAND

   Minack Theater   

         In the early 1920s a young girl named Rowena Cade had a vision of a theater by the bay to be built into the granite cliffside. She set out to accomplish just that. With the help of a couple men she did create and build a perfectly gorgeous theater in the most spectacular setting. The theater seats 750 and is truly magnificent. The acoustics are nearly perfect.

We watched part of a rehearsal for an upcoming play, and seated halfway in the theater we could hear everything word---without the use of any microphones. The summer theater season runs 17 weeks and puts on mostly Shakespearean plays.

            Ms. Cade never married. This was her life’s work. Fortunately she lived until 1983 so she could enjoy the fruits of her labors.  There were interruptions, like WW II and hardships along the way, but her dogged determination produced a positively lovely theater. Flowers were growing everywhere in the theater in the form of rock gardens. The ocean many many feet below made a wonderful backdrop for the theater.

            What a wonderful lasting legacy. The scenery and surroundings are superb!

 Unusual Wall Covering

          In one English castle I visited the walls in the ‘king' room were covered with the most magnificent Chinese wall paper. It actually consisted of many oblong canvas panels about 40 X 24", floor to ceiling.

A docent told us, “No two full-length panels are the same. The design depicts all seasons, except winter, with trees, flowers, and birds. About two feet from the floor on each panel you’ll see a different decorative vase/jar. The birds are done in pairs, but no two pair are the same.

            “In days of old, wallpaper was precious, and when one moved they took their wallpaper with them, therefore the ‘paper’ is not glued to the walls.”

 It appeared to be stretched canvas, and the designs matched perfectly at the seams. All I could think of was what a job it would be to move and reassemble all those panels—like a Chinese puzzle!

CEILING BOSSES

FASCINATING OBJECTS

            When I travel I’m a pretty unusual tourist. In fact I don’t think of myself as a tourist but as a visitor to another place. I’m often off the beaten track and am always looking for something different and unusual. While others are photographing the popular tourist attractions I’m looking at manhole covers or unique trashcans, or something else that is different. I could probably do a whole article on any of the previous mentioned if I went through my scrapbooks and pulled the pictures.

            OK, so now to today’s topic. What in the world is a ceiling boss and where would I find one?   I spotted my first ceiling boss in a church foyer ceiling in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds, England. I was intrigued, and had to ask what the handsome wooden designs I was looking at were.

            I was told, “A boss is an ornament, often of carved wood, but can be plaster, that overlays the joints of wood or plaster beams on decorative ceilings. They are quite common in Gothic architecture.”

            Of course I had seen them in the many Gothic churches I’d been in. I just thought they were part of the architecture and never gave them a second thought.

After finding the ones in the Cotswolds, I looked for them and found many more, but, except for the gothic churches, I have never seen them anywhere else. I’ve never noticed them in our old Victorian or antebellum homes, but I also admit I’ve not specifically looked for them either.

            I wanted to buy one so I started looking for them everywhere I went. They are not easy to find. I finally found one in a church gift shop, and a second one in another gift shop. They hang on my hall wall with my collection of photos and paintings of famous churches I’ve visited. The bosses often provoke questions and I have great fun explaining about them.

GOOD TO KNOW

                              MORE ODDITIES AND ENDS

Stadle Stones
In the English Cotswolds I ran across a mushroom shaped stone under the barns, more or less as support. I learned the mushroom–shaped stones are called stadle stones, not saddle. They provided air circulation/ conditioning for the barn and also kept out the water as well as any varmints that might want to get in the barn. I have never seen stadle stones elsewhere.

Vodka
In Russia, we learned the five rules for drinking vodka. 1.Vodka should be chilled but never have ice put in it. 2.It should always be drunk from small shot-type glasses with food---a little vodka, then a little food to prevent a headache. 3.Vodka should never be mixed with anything bubbly and avoid bubbly drinks after drinking vodka. Vodka is sometimes mixed with fruit liqueurs. 4.Do not switch alcoholic drinks when drinking vodka. 5. One should always drink with friends.
In Mandrogy, Russia we visited a vodka museum where 2600 different vodkas were displayed. I didn’t drink a lot of vodka in Russia, but when I did I actually drank it straight!

Danish Farms
It is said there are twice as many pigs in Denmark as there are people. Danish ham is a big export item. Danish farms are built U shaped and include the main house and barns that surround a central court. Quite different from our farms.

Smorrebrod
A Danish smorrebrod, no resemblance to our smorgasbord, is an open face sandwich with any combination of thinly sliced items, usually vegetables, you want. They are made to order, usually in a bakery or specialty shop. The only limitation is one’s own imagination.

Children’s Split Pants
It was in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China that we first saw a child with split pants. As mothers held their small ones, little bare cheeks peeked through split pants. As we traveled, it became a familiar sight. As much as I would have liked to snap a good picture, I felt it was just too invasive to ask permission to take a photo of a child’s rear end!