April 30
What are we doing in the UK? We are trying to find our English legs (the ones with webbed feet) as we were not at all ready to be here...the plan was for a year from now. So, we had some challenges and had to make a hard choice. We really should be meeting Donna and Gary (niece and nephew) in Assisi, Italy, in a few days. As we traveled we began to hear stories around the Schengen treaty, members of the EU who also belong to an open border policy between them. The outer member countries have to police their outer borders for anyone coming in illegally. We ran into a couple whose American parents were doing the same thing as we are and they were lectured about not following the rules and fined 450 euros and told that they could be deported. This past week the Spanish government announced that they would be bringing back their patrolled borders between France and Spain....so we went to the consulate in Valencia to check on all these rumors. They advised us....”You can keep going as you are and maybe you won't get caught...it is possible, or you can stay legal and go to a non-schengen participating country and come back to the EU countries after 3 months...for another 90 days. Any country has the right to refuse you entry, to deport or fine you...it just depends on the officer who is processing you. Also, your car insurance will not be valid if you are here longer than 90 days.” The decision to leave Gary and Donna in the lurch...with a planned vacation around us...was very difficult. And we had just told Matt and Heather (niece and nephew) that we would stay in their Amsterdam apartment for the month of June while they keep another opportunity in another Dutch town. But we had to leave quickly with only 3 days to get out of the EU...we were on our 87th day. We made tracks across Spain and France and caught the ferry, 99 pounds, from Calais to Dover's white cliffs. It may sound to you that we did not do our homework before coming but we spent hours and hours on it and came to the conclusion that the rules were not being enforced. So hear we are. We spent the day going though our notes on the UK...so far England, Scotland and Wales. Before we left Washington, we stored all of these in an accordion file according to country. So we have notes from everyone or magazine articles to sift through and record on a map. Tonight we feel like we are ready to go...and wish that Donna and Gary could be with us here.
On April 28th, in the afternoon, we decided to head west along the lower coast, an area that I had never seen before. First stop Rye. I am so excited to again be wandering though these beautiful little towns. All kept so sweetly. Good shops full of interesting things. Bakeries We spent time talking with a wine store owner and he was going to go on line and see what is up with Rolling Bay Winery on Bainbridge Island. Saw some really good art in the town gallery, much like the Gallery on Bainbridge Island. Quality artists. It was very inspiring. The urge to buy is always squelched by having no room in the van for one more thing. We picked up some sausage rolls...a favorite of mine from my Canadian youth. Ah yes, this is Jolly Old England! It is raining hard...and wind. And David is driving on the left hand side of the road for the first time. We try to work together to stay alive! The next day we drove to Brighton. A fairly large city. On a pebble beach, a pier with Ferris wheel and other rides, the Gay capital...and the most fun. King George lV built the craziest summer pavilion there. All kinds of different architectural decoration. I guess he was pretty flamboyant even to the extent of marrying a catholic widow in secret! Next to it are lovely gardens and the museum and art gallery. Again, for the second day I was inspired. The upstairs galleries had an exhibit of three contemporary painters, one being Julian Bell, the grand nephew of Virginia Wolfe's sister, Vanessa Bell...member of the exciting group of artists and writers, the Bloomsbury Group. The other two artists I particularly liked and was able to purchase a small book with some samples to remember the show by. Parking for a few hours in a down town parking lot cost us 18 pounds!
Tonight we are perched high over the emerald green rolling hills of England's country pastures. We can see the ocean. Tomorrow we head for Abbotsbury...at the bottom of this hill. Then on to the Cornwall peninsula. There is a sign in this little parking place that says...BISHOP'S LIME KILN. We will explore tomorrow as night has fallen and it looks like a dark open mouth! Sheep are just over the fence and a pheasant was squawking high up in the tree branches near us.
THOUGHTS and OBSERVATIONS:
> Some towns we passed on the way here: Puddletown, Totpuddle, Affpuddle, Briantspuddle and Tincleton. Whomever names English towns is a genius.
> McDonald's has free wifi in the UK!!!
> We had only one day on the way through France to buy baguettes!
> Yellow rapeseed fields are in abundance.
> By Paris we noted plastic built huts with smoke coming out of tall metal pipes by the side of the freeway.
> I think the robins must be a different color in France and Spain...all a darkish color without red breasts. Jose's...do you know? We also saw the craziest looking bird pecking in the grass. Had some coloring of a woodpecker...red, black, white with a long thin bill like a sandpiper. He was striped black and white from the “waist” back. I think that was in Spain.
> It is not okay to be bossed but it is okay to boss!
The lime kiln was fenced off but there was the beginning of a public pathway there with a step to help you over the fence. We are in that part of the country where you can walk with the sheep in their pastures. We explored the church and old abbey in Abbotsbury. There is also a Swannery there...and we were told that these are not Royal Swans as most are in England...most belonging to the Queen! We went on to the picturesque fishing village of Bridport and did our laundry. The Launderettes always prove to be fun, if nothing else we meet wonderful people. This time we chatted with two bee keeper ladies. There was a gathering in the area and they were in charge of washing all the bee keepers work clothing! You really could not have guessed at that one. They were such fun and the time went by so quickly. Everyone asked if they could help me fold the duvet cover and sheets. I thought that was way beyond the call of duty... especially bee keeper's duty. So that job done, we walked the harbour and sat at a table to have cod and chips. And there was vinegar on the table for my chips! That also being a pleasant memory from my Canadian youth. Lots of salt and vinegar. It is May first today. Each day I put a sticky note with the date up on the dashboard. It is so easy to lose time. Today’s read....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLEN!and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY VANYA and DAVE!We stayed that night on a noisy road on the top of a town called Lyme Regis...which would be quite a skate board ride down and into the sea. Very steep.
May 5
Our car has not been starting right up the past few mornings so we picked the largest close town (Exeter) and headed for a VW dealer and a tune-up. In fact we are sleeping outside their fence tonight as we have to be out of the car at 8:30 for the mechanic to start the morning engine. What a glorious sunny day we had playing in the Dartmoor National Park in Devon. Rick Steve says it is probably the most wild place left in England. Well there are no bears or wildcats. There are lovely small villages, pastures and moors. I always wanted to walk in the moors. In childhood books it sounded so scary and romantic...hills of grass, heather and broom. In the dark and mists on the moors the hounds would howl and a women would scream. But I saw a different moor today. The animals can move where they please. Oh, it is sooooo green here....like the Pacific NW it has that damp air...and a “bit” of rain! The sheep nibble at the grass and keep everything so tidy. We walked up a steep hill (a tor) leading to some rocks piled in such a way that it seemed to be a medieval fortress. Straight up and up the moor! And at the top, a boy was flying his kite. A trail biker made his way up a less steep grade, two older men were packing up their rock climbing gear...and as I sat on a stone waiting for David to take photos, I looked out and saw wild horses. No kidding, the horses can go anywhere they please and it was thrilling to watch them race across the moor together. It was so joyful. There were about 40 of them. The view all around was spectacular. We made our way back down to our van and another VW camper van had joined us. Here we got to talk to Pete and his dog Monty. What a fun chat we had. Lots of comparing stories and laughter. Pete told us about a conversation he had with a non-camper.... appalled because there was no shower in the van. Pete's reply, “You shouldn't shower everyday, it is not good for your skin!” I asked him where in England he was from. “Middle England.” I wanted to ask him if it was underground or a magic secret place, maybe where the hobbits are...Middle England. It was hard to say goodbye to him as we had no choice but to drive back here to the car dealer. So many wonderful people on this earth. We will spend more time in Dartmoor before we leave this area. There are so many medieval ruins, standing stones etc. The trails to them are marked and mapped. One could spend years here searching for it all.
THOUGHT and OBSERVATIONS:
> Some more towns along the way... Kitwhistle, Blackdown, Hawkchurch, Penny Plot, Drummerstone Cross, Offwell, Birdsmoorgate, Daisymount, and the street we are on is Bad Homburg Way.
> A sign. WARNING, HIGH KERB
>The receptionist told David that the Queen was visiting this town, Exeter, today. David said...In that case I'd better comb my hair!
> David told the mechanic....I just don't want the car to break down 500 miles from nowhere. Answer: Well that is not likely to happen in England.
>Quite often there is a sign as we are driving that reads...ON-COMING VEHICLES DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.
> Let's describe the English... things are cared for, tidy, a sense of well-being and fair play. Keeping the old alive. Traditional. Everything is a little worn: buildings, clothing,etc., warn to a beautiful state. Hair a bit askew. Proper. Magical. Lightness of being, quirky, outdoorsy. They love their old churches. We will probably keep adding to this list.
May 5
So on Thursday, we spent the day at the car dealers while they did a tune-up and checked the electricity in the camper end of the car. (We think we fried wires or something early on by plugging 110 volts into 220 volts with an adapter.) They could not help us with the electricity so gave us the name of a company that could about 20 minutes down the road. So Friday we consulted with them. They seem to know their stuff and at first told us that they couldn't see us for 3 weeks, but that soon changed, I think because we are travelers. So Tuesday we have an appointment. It is a blessing in disguise...it has stopped our forward motion and landed us in the lovely town of Bovey Tracey with lots to do. We are parked in a quiet parking lot next to the river flowing fast (lots of rain) through town. Yesterday we walked the main street and the local park. Also we went to the local barber and had our hairs cut. That was fun and very cheap. $15 for both of us, mine a bit more expensive as he was trying to make it more “like a ladies hair cut”. And he did a great job...along with a fun chat. He himself had a thin little orange beard-line from mouth to chin. His wife cuts his hair, almost shaved. He rides his motorcycle to work everyday, about 25 minutes from a beach town. These roads are best for motorcycles and Smart Cars.
Last evening we decided to go for another stroll in the opposite direction. From the parking lot over a bridge in the trees into another parking lot and we found the Devon Guild of Craftsmen.... opening of a large exhibit. Wow! There was not a bad piece of art in there. Luscious! Fun bright colored pottery, jewelry with a different twist, prints...so well done. It went on and on and so did we with some white wine in our hands. We chose a small wooden flat piece with humor about it.... simply portraying an elderly English woman. We have begun to choose art that we can Velcro up on the van walls. It is out of the way, doesn't take any needed space and provides us with reminders of where we have been...and just generally adds a warm and happy atmosphere. As we paid for it we talked with a potter saleslady. She said that it takes 6 months for the artists to get admitted and accepted and then they are in for life. The artists actually pay to be part of it as the guild makes sure that their work gets shown often in a few venues. It was a treat to stumble into this.
This morning, David cooked up pancakes and eggs...very fresh eggs. Easy to find here. Then we went to the Saturday morning market, small but good offerings. We picked up more eggs, sausage rolls with prunes and apricots baked into the mix (haven't tried them yet). And a beef pastie. Oh, and a Scottish egg...hard boiled egg with meat around it with pastry crumbs around all that and deep fried. That will be a new taste for David. Also we bought fair trade granola and coffee. That done we walked a block to watch the Morris Dancers. What great fun that is. I was told that you can find these dancers around Seattle (and I am sure Vancouver). There were 3 sets of dancers...all from different local areas and dressed in their own particular costumes. Some pretty mild but all with bells just below the knees. The black-face, black-costumes were the splashiest! Black pants for the men, with the bell garters...and black tights or sexy patterned black nylons (with runs in them) and boots on the ladies....with garters and colored streamers. The coats were supposed to resemble tatters and they did but with a wonderful flair. Mostly black ribbons of fabric with other colors mixed in subtly. And the hats....the men in top hats with feathers and ribbons and the women either in the same or others lavishly decorated. The musicians wore the same fare and played drums and other percussion instruments along with little squeeze-box accordions and violins. All the dancers used sticks as part of the dance and the musical percussion beat. (We had seen similar in the Basque area youth dances.) Of course we asked how this started and it has been going on for at least a thousand years. And of course the Basques would have similar, all being linked as Celts at one time. And there is the addition of the Moors in Spain that also added a flavor of their own dance to the mix. Two stories I heard from the black-faced group. 1) They were from the border of England and Wales. Poor miners (black faces) would do this entertaining as a way to beg for money 2) Cromwell banned the Morris Dancing because of the begging...so the dancers started blackening their faces so they would not be recognized. The dancing group that sort of took us under their wing... broke a stick while dancing (they are brutal with them!) so I got the end of that stick with the name and date printed on it (It will go up on our art walls). Also we had our pictures taken, me with a crazy dance hat and David with the white handkerchiefs (Hanky Pankies) they wear and wave. This tradition starts off the summer every year on May Day where the groups climb a tor and dance at sunrise. Yes, it is “thin” here. The magic is here. Mysterious and exciting.
We are back home in the van at this time and can hear the dancing music flair up intermittently all over town. Maybe a little later we will go to have a Devon “Cream Tea”. A pot of tea and a couple of scones served with jam and clotted cream, just like we do at the Westminster church teas.
THOUGHTS and OBSERVATIONS:
> We went to a phone store to buy an English sim /chip for it. The salesgirl remarked in our conversation that she heard that Americans thought the English had bad teeth and small refrigerators. She hoped that she did not fall into that category!
> The barber said that he thought that Americans were more positive than the English...not afraid to do things out of the box...not afraid to try something new. ??
> When something happens in your plans and you are forced to let go of them, such good things can happen in their place.
> The English faces are very different than American faces....and Canadian faces fall somewhere in between.
May 6
To the Methodist church next door this morning. Lovely church, small and welcoming. Nearly filled to the brim. Rev. Kevin was really very good. Low key and easy to catch the message. We enjoyed communion also. Knelt at the rail at front to receive it. There is something about kneeling that brings another dimension to it. More serious. A deeper experience I think. The hymns were all familiar tunes but different but good words. After of course, we went to coffee and chatted with folks. One couple was almost ready to leave for Vancouver to begin a “caravan” trek with others from the UK. They will end up in Lake Louise etc. We found ourselves sitting at the only table that had not been put away...talking with Kevin about the Methodist church. Such a nice experience. I wanted David to experience a Sunday dinner of Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, vegetables and of course and lots of gravy. I went to ask one of the women where she suggest we go and before we knew it we were on our way in their car to The Rock, an inn they go to every Sunday after church as their guests. Christine and Bob Hough. Not How that rhymes with cow, not Hue that rhymes with Due....but Huff that rhymes with Tough....well that was sort of how Bob explained it! We couldn't have spent a nicer day with nicer people. Both had lost their spouses and independently decided to do something they always wanted and met while learning to fly. So both are pilots and very interesting people with a wonderful sense of humor. Dinner was everything I remember my mother making us in Canada. We had sherry, then wine, then dessert and coffee. So Christine asked us what we were going to do the rest of the afternoon. “Go for another walk on the moors.” So we all went for a walk to see some stones that a person had written/carved the Ten Commandments on. He lived in a tent while he did this and his motive was to get into Heaven. The moor is soft and spongy to walk on (where it is not muddy) and Christine took her heeled church shoes off and walked in bare feet. I think this lady is generally a trooper. She certainly could be my friend forever. And David and Bob talked and discussed something while we walked. And then we were invited home to tea. What a view they have, the large back English garden with a couple of green houses and three other out-buildings/garden sheds...a small swimming pool and beautiful plantings...and in the mid ground forest and a hill of green pasture where horses were grazing. In the distance a small town. It really was hard to say goodbye. Maybe we will come through this way again. And maybe they will visit us in Washington state. They travel a lot so it could happen. We have spent the evening snacking, talking, playing cards and now David is reading as I type. Tomorrow we will do some of the things that Christine and Bob told us about.
May 11th
We did all those things that Christine and Bob suggested.
1) Buckfast Abbey...It was founded about 1000 years ago. Can't quite get that sorted in my mind. 1000 years? It was closed after 500 years by Henry Vlll and then in the late 1800s monks returned and rebuilt it. It is quite a little village with lovely gardens and sculptures in many places. The monks are dedicated to leading a life of prayer, worship work and hospitality. They make crafts themselves (wood products, honey, breads, fudge etc.)which are sold to help with expenses. There is a Methodist chapel in the middle of the area. I don't understand how it got there. Requires more research which I will probably not do. The abbey is known for the wine it produces. It is a tonic wine that has medicinal properties....doesn't all wine? Anyway, we thought we'd pass on purchasing the wine.
2) The House of Marbles...Well, it seemed like a silly place to go but locals kept saying we would enjoy it. And we did! It started as a pottery and still has the huge kilns on display and some of the things it made. Lovely old plates/dishes with those sweet nostalgic designs. It also manufactured games which were fun to see the progression over the years. We have moved away from sweetness and innocents in that category also! It is now a glass making studio and makes many objects besides marbles...vases, glass figurines, wine glasses etc. and we could watch the glass-blower work from a balcony above. But the most fun of all was watching the several marble mazes....all made by one man. Do you know what I mean by “marble mazes”? Structures built with metal wire, in this case, that provide paths for marbles to find their way to the bottom. One of them was huge, covering a large staircase wall. So many different actions going on that you wanted to follow each one. So that was the House of Marbles!
3) A very large store built like a castle but with lots of cheap stuff inside. We went to find Velcro and did....and back out again quickly. It was sort of too American to be appreciated by us!
The next day, May 9th, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTwe took a wonderful steam train ride from Paignton station to Kingswear then on a foot ferry over the river Dart to Dartmouth. David is a nut when it comes to trains. As a young boy he would stand at a station and watch each train, keeping track of all the numbers. He became friends with the engineers and would go with them to oil the parts. He really didn't know how deeply it had impacted him until this ride. He was a kid again only this time he had a camera. He says the engines are so beautiful compared to the American steam engines. Handsomely made. It was pretty exciting to see the steam puff and rise around the engine when it started. And then it pulled out so quietly. Our seats were the old high backed with faded upholstery. I think there were about six cars. So we puff puffed to our destination which was only about 45 minutes of dreaming of another time. We arrived at a fishing port. Kingswear on one steep sided hill and Dartmouth on the other. Lots and lots of boats in this river harbour. Houses lining the streets from bottom to top, all different colours...mostly pastels, some red, blue, green. The day was so typical of a port like this...at least it seemed to me. Misty and rainy. I wondered if my father had ever made it into this port during his seafaring career. Merchant Marines and Canadian Navy. I did learn that many of the D Day Landing boats left from this harbour. The rain kept us from exploring. Instead we enjoyed fish and chips in a cozy little cafe on the water front and had a long conversation with our waitress who, with her husband and two other couples, goes to Canada or the States every year.
In our rides through the countryside we find ourselves in some awesome places for a picnic lunch. Let me tell you about one. We were perched high above hedged fields of sheep, horses, or planted in another shade of green in strips between the brown, others just open green fields others brown and furrowed ready for seed. These fields are topped by a deciduous forest and dip down to a stream, bushes and trees and some houses and out-buildings nestled in snugly...then up again more fields rise, separated by lines of trees. From that stream and hollow below another field rises to us and it is filled with sleepy sheep taking naps with their new lambs. Quails and pheasants happily make their way among all this. Doves fly from tree to house top. A 12th Century stone church with tower cuts into one sloped field. We are awed by it all. Sometimes this beauty is almost too much to take in. We heat up soup with fresh chicken, mushrooms and onions and add bread and cheese and enjoy this while breezes blow clouds across the sky, making moving shadows to tempt David into catching another photo. Beside us a huge chestnut tree in bloom adds to this scene. Dogs bark. Some trucks and cars wind through the roads up hill, down dale. It is the stuff of fairy tales, hobbits and rabbit warren communities. Pink, white and yellow wild flowers grow out of the lower part of hedges. Country stone or brick homes with “cute” chimney toppers. As we left our lunch spot, along another one of those hedged (10 feet tall) roads we came around the corner to find a car coming at us...David swerved to the right instinctively...and we all laughed. Of course we don't look English with our wheel on the left side and Washington license plates!
So this is Devon.
THOUGHTS and OBSERVATIONS:
> Robins are not the same here. Can you believe that? They have a red breast but are quite tiny and not shaped the same as ours! They have a wonderful loud song but different from ours.
> Our electrical problem is fixed. The slow starting in the morning only happens when it rains. This is now the theory of the mechanic but we are having a few things replaced anyway. I believe the mechanic...it was also my diagnosis.
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