“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”― Franklin D. Roosevelt
I belong to a local history walking group. This weekend we had a stroll through my home city of Bristol to discover Victorian Clifton. Medieval Bristol was a small city close to the river and like most cities it outgrew its walls.
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago” Warren Buffet
I love walking through the woods and trying to identify the trees. Last week I went on an organised tree walk to our local park, Oldbury Court and we were able to discover the evolution of the landscape through the trees.
First a confession I am not a pink person. I don’t do girly. When we moved into this house I was dismayed to find that the previous owner had left us a very pink bedroom. The curtains were dusky pink, the carpet was pale pink and the wall paper had large pink carnations. It had to go. Continue reading “Roses aren’t always red #sundaystillspink”
Season one of Bridgerton is an eight episode series which premiered on Netflix on Christmas day 2020. Although it has been described as historical fantasy not fact it is great fun. Producer Shonda Rhimes imagined an alternative regency period where Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III was of mixed race rather than of German descent and much of the aristocracy was also biracial. Continue reading “Discovering Regency Bath and Bridgerton locations”
The Welsh government has partially lifted lockdown measures. They were a little behind England but it does mean that we can once again cross the Severn Bridge and enjoy visiting the Welsh mountains and small towns. I noticed a local coach firm was advertising a Welsh mystery day tour and quickly booked two tickets. When the coach firm arranged their new program they had no idea what visitors would be allowed to do so decided to start with a few mystery tours. Continue reading “A Welsh mystery coach tour”
You can no longer use the West door to enter Bath Abbey except on special occasions. At first glance it seems to be a standard issue cathedral door. It was carved from a single piece of wood and given to the abbey in 1617. Continue reading “The West door of Bath Abbey and Anne Bolyen”
In England we are slowly emerging from lockdown. If all goes to plan, after three dry months, we will be able to buy a drink in a beer garden from next Monday and from May 17th pubs will be able to serve customers indoors again, The pub is a British institution and although I am not a great drinker I have missed being able to chat with friends over a glass of wine or two. This week our walking group went for a walk around central Bristol to learn more about the history of some of the historic pubs and make plans. Continue reading “Historic Pubs of Central Bristol”
In England we are allowed to travel again so on Easter Monday Bill and I visited the small town of Warminster in Wiltshire. The army has a large presence nearby and much of Salisbury Plain is used as a firing range. It derives its name from the minster church of St. Denys which was built in Saxon times in a loop of the River Were.
It is St. Patrick’s day on March 17th, a time to celebrate all things Irish. I have visited southern Ireland several times over the last fifty years and seen enormous changes. I first visited Dublin about 50 years ago with a school friend. It was during the troubles and we felt uncomfortable speaking with English accents.
Continue reading “A virtual walk around the ring of Kerry in Southern Ireland”
