Blogs from Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

May 1, 2012 – Salisbury This morning we said a sad farewell to Susan and her family – a big thank you to Susan, Eric and Stephen for their incredible generosity, and the time that you all gave us during our visit. It has been a memorable occasion, to find long-lost relatives. And a blessing to have the opportunity to meet you all. Family is so precious! We headed across the bottom end of England, and decided to aim for Salisbury. Stonehenge is situated just outside of Salisbury, and the region is littered in historic sites and things to do and see. We decided to wait until we got to Salisbury before looking for accomodation – it's about leaving it up to the Universe and finding what we find! We reached Salisbury at about lunchtime, and ... read more

Off tomorrow, to Folkstone then early ferry on Thursday. Hope Horace' passport is all in order! The plan is to travel through France for the next few days ending up with some friends near Cahors in the Midi Pyrenes where they have a house. Our route is very flexible but we hope to cross East from Cahors along the coast of southern France then into northern Italy for a week or two and on to Slovenia and Croatia. The north to Austria, Germany and Belgium. Plans could change if we find somewhere nice to stay for while then we'll not move on until we want to.... read more

Last Sunday I took a train to London and got up early Monday morning for a day tour to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge needs no explanation, but Bath, in case anyone doesn't know, is a city in the southwest of England known for the Roman baths built on the site of a hot spring. Back in Roman times, its name was "Aqueous Sulis," which is Latin for "the waters of Sulis" referring to the Goddess deemed responsible for the springs. Later, the Brits took over and called it "Bath." I'd love to be around when someone from Bath meets someone from Wall and they have the "so where are you from?" exchange. Oh Britain. I found this day tour through Groupon, which many of you know offers mediocre deals on a variety of things and - ... read more

Will I need a reverse polarity tester? Do I have to have a breathalyser kit in France? How much is vignette for Slovenia? Will the dog get attacked by procession caterpillars in Southern France? In 1969 I hitch hiked from Calais to the Hague via the west coast of France, I remember sitting at the side of the road rolling a ciggie waiting for a lift with not a care in the world. I had a rucksac, a hand full of french francs and a sleeping bag. On two occasions on that trip I was picked up by the police for sleeping in a public area, they put me in a cell left the door open wished me "bon nuit" and gave me a coffee in the morning and sent me on my way. If the ... read more

Six thousand years ago, Neolithic man started ripping big lumps of rock up and arranging them in a nice circular pattern. Nobody knows why they did this for sure, although I suspect that the reason was much the same as why we are trekking around the country looking at them: they wanted to see something impressive, and they wanted something to do. Perhaps the people of the late stone age left these for us to find as examples of the oldest waste of time known to man, the ‘team building’ weekend, or lifetime, as was probably the case with Stonehenge, which appeared to take around 1,500 years to complete before it was abandoned as a pointless and futile project, much like ‘The Public’ building in West Bromwich, if we are looking for a modern equivalent. It ... read more

Today's mission was to check out one of Britain's most famous world heritage site, if not the most famous. It's one of those monuments that marks the beginning of architecture. It's impressive for a bunch of stones in the ground. Can you guess what it is? That's right; The Stonehenge! I headed to Salisbury by train from Bath. It was only a one hour journey. Once I got there, I got to my hostel and stored my luggage, then headed to the bus station to embark on the Stonehenge tour. And so there I was, being taken nine miles to the north, to one of the oldest man-made monuments known to man. It's not a site to spend a great deal of time at, but worth visiting for what it is, and getting a few pictures ... read more

Scott and I enjoyed a sensational weekend at Whatley Manor, a very kind wedding gift from Scott's manager. We took the train from Paddington and jumped in to 'Craig's Cabs' for the 30min journey from Kemble to Malmesbury. The cabbie took us to and from the Manor and was fanastic. Telling us this and that about the area and rather a lot of detail about 'The Christmas Carol' - he was a collector of memorabilia. We drove past Charlie's country gaff and heard a few stories about Princess Anne, plus a visit by the Queen that happened recently. We were in the heart of Royal country and felt like it entering the Manor via a tree lined long drive-way, with automatic opening doors as we approached. I believe we arrived in the oldest beat-up car even ... read more

On Monday the 10th we went to a play called the Pitman Painters in the Duchess Theatre. We sat in what is called the stalls and that's the ground floor that is eye level with the stage. I've found that I like the seats that are on the first balcony because you don't have to look around other people's heads if you're short. I also like the feeling of being able to look down on the stage and seeing it from above. This play is by the same guy that did Billy Eliot so of course I was expecting great things. It was about a group of miners in the 1930's that wanted to take some art appreciation courses. They eventually become good artists themselves and have a couple gallery showings in which they become popular ... read more

Our holiday in Japan was brilliant, but Mitsu and I had little time to ourselves, so we thought we needed one. Nothing like a day off to get over your weeks off... Country pub by car, or by train? The former precludes a lunch time pint, so train it was. Bradford-on-Avon is only 15 minutes by little train on the Portsmouth/Southampton line, and follows the Kennet and Avon Canal (sometimes being only a few metres away), so it's a both short and picturesque trip. A potted history of the town, in a very small pot, goes as follows. Known for its Broad Ford, Bradford developed in the Saxon period as a centre for the British wool industry. This continued through the Industrial Revolution, and into the 19th century. Timber then made a brief appearance as the ... read more