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Published: August 6th 2007
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England is a strange kind of home-coming. We were looking forward to reaching the British Isles for the relative ease of travelling in a country whose primary language is English and the cultural divide is easily navigable. So much of our national heritage (and my husband's personal heritage) is derived from the Mother Country that it has been fascinating for me (Dee) to actually see it at last. However, there have been a few surprises.
Northern England seemed to be overflowing with floral prints, wall papered rooms, and bone china. I mean, I expected it, but it was still a surprise when it arrived in such unapologetic abundance. Nice, but slightly creepy. The first B&B we arrived at served us a huge pot of tea on a tray in the lounge. I had flash-backs to our early years of marriage and visiting Richard's family. There was a large stack of board games sitting on the bookcase in the corner and shortbread on a little plate by the tea. Looking through the glass doors into the garden I could see roses and neat hedges. Suddenly, Richard's family didn't seem so original - here was a whole nation of them. The tea
tasted particularly good, and oddly, I felt as if I had just arrived home in a country I had never seen before.
The British people seem proud to promote themselves as modern rivals to the French in the gourmet stakes at the moment. The TV is full of programmes on gourmet cuisine. We didn't see much evidence of this in Northern England. In Scotland, we tried Chinese food in a desperate attempt to find something affordable AND tasty. They served us fried rice smothered in gravox. It was edible - just - but we were keen to move south in the hope that the food would improve. Even Richard was getting nervous about the prospect of three weeks of eating in England. Fortunately, things improved fairly rapidly as we approached York and we've discovered a few gems, but mostly stick to plain sandwiches now so we don't get disappointed.
The landscape here is beautiful. All rolling green hills and loads of sheep. There are rabbits and squirrels everywhere. I've been on a hedgehog search which the locals appear to find amusing. There have been quite a few dead on the road but finding a live one has proved
Squirrel
found under an old oak tree extremely difficult. I've also tried to find a badger but the wildlife parks are only interested in tigers or kangaroos or eagles. Most people seem to think that hedgehogs and badgers are far too boring for anyone to actually pay money to see. After two weeks of hunting, I finally tracked down a wildlife rescue centre and begged to see a native British animal. The attendant there finally relented and then proudly showed me the only hedgehog he deemed worthy of exhibition - an albino hedgehog which had no eyes - so technically, I have now seen a hedgehog.
It's also interesting to see the difference between the Australian country and the English 'countryside'. England is safe. There are no bindis and hardly any rocks. The grass feels like soft carpet under foot. No spiders, no snakes, no cliffs (or none that I can see anyway). The wildflowers look like they were grown there deliberately by a representative from 'This England' magazine. Everywhere there is so much grass that it seems as if no animal ever need go hungry - in fact the fields look more like lawns than 'paddocks'. You drive into quaint villages filled with century old
houses. The narrow streets wind through a few streets filled with shops and then suddenly, the fields appear again and you are back in the country. You can live in the country and be five minutes from the supermarket or your favourite pub or cappuccino haunt.
In Stratford we've had a chance to slow down a little. We stayed here for eight nights; four of which were in a small farmhouse surrounded by bleating sheep and the occasional bunny. Warwick Castle is only ten minutes away by car and is the most impressive castle in England - not just for the architecture but also for the entertainment provided. We saw a long-bow archery display there as well as a demonstration of the largest medieval siege weapon in England - the trebuchet. Apparently the attackers would assemble the weapon on site from an early Ikea style flat-pack. They used blind men walking in the wheels to wind the counter-balance because the sight of the floor moving as you walk makes you sick. England is definitely the place to live if you are a history buff. Apart from going to the pub, the only other form of entertainment around seems to
Chains of Torture
Men who had remained stoic when sentenced to death broke down and wept when measured for their chains. They were left hanging to rot in the dungeon at Warwick. be going to an old house, palace or historical museum. We seem to visit at least three small museums each day without even looking for them. Every night we promise that we will not visit any more cathedrals, churches, old houses or museums and every day we break our promise before lunch.
Of course, I can't forget the theatre in Stratford. We managed to see a production of Ionesco's Macbett, a parody of Shakespeare's famous play, and it was absolutely brilliant. Richard was pleased because the actor who played the title role was the son of an ex-Dr Who (David Troughton). Dr Who must be a bit of a theme for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the moment because another ex-Dr Who (Sylvester McCoy) was playing Lear's fool in the theatre across the road. Most of the Shakespeare tickets were sold out and tickets cost the equivalent of $70 Aussie dollars each, so unfortunately we will have to wait for London for more theatrical pleasure. By the way, speaking of 'ex' minor celebrities, on our first night in Stratford we went to the laundromat to catch up on our domestic duties and got chatting with a friendly guy who
Trebuchet in action
Can you see the wheels where the blind men walked like mice in a cage? was also taking care of business. It turned out that he was the 'former mayor' of Stratford and a great source of free tourist information!
Tomorrow we leave for London. We have pre-paid for a package which includes an incredible amount for only six days. This would have been fantastic if this were much earlier in our trip, but now, our feet ache as soon as they touch the floor in the morning and we are groaning at the thought of walking for hours on end each day. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but we are tired just thinking about it. Hopefully, the magnificence of the city will rejuvenate us and we will bounce around like spring lambs in the sunshine.
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Lyn
non-member comment
No need for me to go now!
I have really enjoyed Northern England and it was really cheap. I didn't even have to eat the really bad food. I too am exhausted but not for the same reasons as you. Reports, exam writing etc etc etc. Look forward to enjoying the rest of your trip.