Our England Trip, 2018

I know, I know.  That was a long tome ago, but in my defense, I did do the post of the BIG birthday meet-up with fellow Shutterchancers (SCers) on our last full day, 3 September, at Croome Court.  As you may recall, the timing of that trip related to granddaughter Hailey's due date, 4 September, the day we flew back.  Lucky for us, she didn't make her arrival till the 12th.

Anyway, it's time to finally show what ELSE we did that trip, starting with Astrid's 64th birthday the day we arrived, 24 August.  What follows is the Facebook account of those days, often by both of us:

Once again, Lisl and Michael were our gracious hosts in Bath for the week.

Lisl had commissioned a magical unicorn cake for a surprise birthday party, 

joined by Chris and Jackie.  Talk about a sugar blast!

That sugar blast was Friday.

On Saturday we joined Lisl and Gaye for a pre-walk in Kilmersdon for their walking group

the following month.  Planning ahead, in other words.  And we were the lucky ones to tag along.

Guess what Kilmersdon is known for?

It's supposedly the "home" of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme!

The next day was a stay-at-home day, rest-up Sunday,

 when Lisl treated us to tagliatelle, garlic bread and a hard cider.

[Astrid's collage]

Monday we visited 3 churches, 2 of which were open,

including this All Saints Church in Alton Priors from ca.1000.

We had actually visited it a couple years earlier but loved seeing it again.

The second church we visited was the St. Bartholomew Church in Corsham, mid-12th century.

Local folklore says Flemish weavers from Belgium had fled here from Catholic persecution.

I have seldom experienced the sense of misericordia as I did while there,

something I'll never forget.

On Tuesday the 28th, we met up for a walk in Bristol with other SCers, 8 of us altogether.

First line of business was an "elevensie" with scones, clotted cream and jam.

It's one of the things I most love about England, believe it or not!

This was our 3rd Bristol walk led by Lisl, this time through St. Anne's Wood and Nightingale Valley.

We called it our mini-meet-up (before the big-birthday one for Chris on September 3rd).

Here we all are, up close and personal!

The usual suspects are (l to r): Lisl, Astrid, 

Chad, Norma (Chad's wife) and Ginnie, Chris,

Bill and Alan.

On the way home from Bristol to bath, Astrid sat on top of the double-decker bus.

[Astrid's collage]

Have I ever told you how much Astrid and I love English pubs!

While Lisl stayed home on Wednesday to prepare a Hen's Lunch (!) for the next day, 

Astrid's Big-Bro-Chris took us to Sherborne to see the Abbey.

But first, we ate lunch in a pub, where I struck up a delightful conversation with this couple.

I fell in love with the gent...and his Oxford shoes!  More English you cannot get!

This was the Abbey we had come to see, with history back to AD 658.

While walking back-n-forth to the car, Astrid snapped these images in the market town.

[Astrid's collage]

Thursday was Lisl's Hen Lunch...a chance for us to meet some of her friends.

OMG!  Talk about a FEAST.  Definitely not a lunch.

Jane was the one who won the prize from the garden but for what, I don't remember!

On Friday Lisl picked up her elderly friend, Hugh Soar, 

to join us for a lunch in an Avon Valley Railway car. 

Hugh is a world-renown author of books and articles on archery, particularly related to the long bow.

At age 92, he is still sharp as a tack and continues to publish, even in American archery journals.

After taking Hugh back home, Lisl took us for a nice walk around Winsley.

Just what the doctor ordered after too many days of eating up a storm.

This is what Astrid saw.

[Astrid's collage]

On Saturday, Lisl and Chris took us for a parish walk around Wellow, 5 miles south of Bath.

Over hill, over dale!  We ate our picnic lunch at a long-barrow burial site over 5,500 years old!

Can I ever get my head around a place that old???

What I didn't mention is that while in Wellow, before starting our walk,

we first stopped to see the St. Julian's parish church from 1372.

The center image is at 1200 mm from where we sat at the long-barrow for lunch.

See why we have grown to love England...and our friends!

[Astrid's collage]

We rested on Sunday before our BIG meet-up on Monday.

And rest we did!

During those rest times, I saw Astrid knit for the first time!

She had already made the pink sweater card for when Hailey was born later.

Now she was knitting booties for her.

[You already know that she also knits fishermen sweaters!]

And lest you forget, that Monday, 3 September, was the BIG MEET-UP with 27 of us.

These are friends most of us have known for over 10 years.

Do you know of any other photoblog that has that kind of community?

Last but not least, here are 7 of the 80+ super-sized Minerva Owl Sculptures in Bath,

seen while driving from here to there throughout the week.

A charity auction of the owls on 17 October raised £140,000.

How fun and wonderful is that...all of it, from beginning to end!

See why I had to get it recorded here before too much more time flew off the calendar.