Friday, September 14, 2007

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie

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And the remedy lay in running away to the heart of England for a few days......


To sleep, perchance to dream....
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..not much perchance though. Ye olde world mattress did not fit ye olde world bed! This was probably the wonkiest pub in England but they did serve up possibly the best Glamorgan (leek) sausage I have ever tasted.


This was in Evesham, home of the 14thC Almonry (below) , where the Benedictine monks
distributed alms to the poor, and in later years where bread-stealing criminals cooled there heels in the stocks (which are still there, be warned louts with skateboards) ......
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Also the very beautiful Evesham Abbey that began life in 702AD after Eof, the swineherd, had a vision obviously other than the pigs in his care (clever Eof).
Evesham was also the place, in 1265, where Simon de Montfort (Norman cad) had his ass wopped by the forces of Henry III.
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All the world's a stage...
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This is the childhood home of William Shakespeare in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. I imagine that Mr Shakespeare would never have envisioned his house overrun by tourists nor that I would be accosted by Babs and Barb, two labelled American ladies, who thought I was nearly as cute as the Bard's birthplace (23rd April 1564).

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The Elizabethan buildings in Stratford are beautifully preserved. This is The Garrick Inn, one of the oldest pubs in the area. Shakespeare once lived opposite and Starbucks was very handily just up the road.
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The play's the thing
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The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, in Stratford, was the first theatre to be built in honour of His Wordiness in 1879. Most of it (except this bit) was destroyed by fire in 1926. Judging by the amount of building work going on they are still trying to put it right.

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Let every eye negotiate for itself
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My eye negotiated the map and found our next sleeping place, Bourton-on-the-Water, to be the fairest village in all the land (nice pub too). We were a little worried as Bourton lies between Upper and Lower Slaughter (I didn't ask).
We stayed in a guest house and were probably the youngest people there by about fifty years.
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Eye of newt and toe of frog
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Glastonbury Tor. The windy tower that lends itself to Arthurian legend, ladies in lakes, solstice shenanigans and earthy pagan rituals. No self respecting witch could pass the Somerset Levels and not call in to the spiritual home of all things mistyk. Glastonbury town is saturated with shops dedicated to the Gods, Goddess's' and a very tasty cake called Torsy Moorsy.

Did I shop?
Need you ask?

Home again. Thanks for the emails and no, I ain't dead. I just needed a break.

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21 comments:

Marie said...

Hope the break did you good. Nice pics - especially the last one.

Roberta said...

Glastonbury Tor looks wonderful! I'm very glad you are back. A day without Madam Minx is a day without sunshine. :)

John said...

I shouldn't complain, since I'm AWOL much of the time lately, but we missed you. Glad you're back.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the virtual holiday, Minxie - and you saved the best for last, the shot of Glastonbury Tor is evocative beyond description. Hmmmmm... I shall add to the list of places that must be visited.

Unknown said...

It was restorative, Marie, and I hope yours was too. I shall pop round for coffee in a mo to have a gawp at yer photos.

That's very silly, Roberta, but thank you - I'm glad to back.

You can complain, John, everyone else did. I shall post notice that I will be AWOBL in The Times next time!

NO SNEAKING OFF - NAUGHTY MINX.

Unknown said...

The Tor is a a long way up, Vanilli - I gave myself a good talking to and stayed in the pub. The gardens are nice, and the Abbey, and the nice
little shop with all the nice shoes.

Debi said...

Oooh, hello. Did you go? Whoops - missed the opportunity to party on your blog ...

... or squat your house.

Damn!

Unknown said...

Shoes, did you say shoes...

Jan said...

Yes,"breaks" sometimes "mend" us very successfully, dont they?

Unknown said...

Shame on you, Debi. Twas open blog season and you missed it.

Oh Vanilla, shoes and shoes and more lovely little shoes. I am bit shocked that I failed to purchase one or three - choices, choices.

Didn't realise I was so broken until I got away, Jan. I feel very mended now.

Unknown said...

Sounds and looks bloody marvellous, minx. I see you met my Merikan cousin while you were away!

Glastonbury Tor - wow! Did it really look like that from where you were? You lucky minx, you!

Jon M said...

Looks like you had a great time. That Stratford place is a bit much ado about nothing though eh? :-)

Taffiny said...

Yes the pictures are lovely, and I am so glad you had a good time, but do tell us more about the cake.

Hoodie said...

Breathtaking! Hooray for your holiday.

On your new header - They say that if you tend to gain weight in your lower region instead of your belly that you are at lower risk for heart disease.

Apparently I've got a very healthy heart. Cheers to all the fat-bottom girls! I think that fairy is delightful.

Unknown said...

The bloody tourists were everywhere, Cailleach! And no, I cannot claim the pic of the Tor. Having been there before, a number of times, I regretfully neglected it.

I liked Stratford, Jon. I especially liked the 'shop' barges down by the canal.

Taffiny, if you like fruit and nut cake with added cheese then Torsy Moorsy is for you.

Nice to know my heart is not going to explode then, Hoodie! Actually, speaking of bottoms.....

Unknown said...

Apparently I am doomed to never leave a comment on your blog again. I keep trying to be witty and Shakespearean and saying welcome back but blogger keeps eating my comments. I really don't think the fact that the cat is asleep on the right side of the keyboard can be affecting my ability to leave comments.

Unknown said...

It is a little known fact that in moments of imminent disturbance cats give off a pheromone that is harmful to the 'publish your comment' button.
I have also found that jam on the keyboard has the same effect.

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

Absolutely wonderful photos.. enjoyed the commentary very much along the way, and so glad you had a good time and that you are home safe and writing again.

YAY!


Scarlett & V.

L.M.Noonan said...

So glad you're not dead, me ouja board is broken

Laume said...

Love the photos of the buildings in Stratford. We meant to visit there when we were in the UK but it was a Bank Holiday. Being Americans, we didn't know about Bank Holidays, so we made reservations for a place that we thought was near Stratford-upon-Avon but was not. Instead, we had sent ourselves to Coventry. Oh yes we did. It was okay though, we had a great time there. And that's a great photo of the Tor. Is it your photo!? I wish I'd had more time to shop in Glastonbury. But the Well and the Tor where priorities.

dinner jacket said...

I would like to have some picture on that buildings.