2,000 Years in One Day

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One of the coolest women I have ever known is called Jane Barnard. The mother of my friend Joe, she is one of the woman I aspire to be as I grow older. She raised four sons, one of whom was killed in a tragic accident. She has lived all over the world and she worked at Joe’s company until she was well into her 80’s. One night, years ago, I was in Dallas visiting Joe (he and I used to work together). After a day at the office, we all went out for drinks. I was debating what to order and Jane looked at me askance.

In her beautiful, genteel southern accent, she announced that if I was not yet drinking martinis, she was going to introduce me to them. So - my first martini arrived and it was love at first sight. After sipping it, Joe asked if we were going to stay or go on to dinner. I said I didn’t mind, but Jane stepped in. We were staying for another. “Why?” I asked. “Christine,” she said in her beautiful voice. “Martinis are like a woman’s breasts. One is not enough and three is too many.” I have never forgotten that and have repeated it often over the past years.

This morning, that sage woman’s words came rushing back at me. I managed to open one eye and was shocked to discover that it was already 8.00. You see, after that fabulous dinner, I sat in the bar and had the third martini. Hmmmm. Gingerly pulling myself out of bed, I got into the shower and down to breakfast. There is nothing like a full English to bring one back to life, so I indulged in the fat and the calories and was feeling much more myself at the end of the meal.

In spite of the fact that I am out of London, I spent an hour doing emails and calls, so it was 11.00 before I managed to get out of the hotel. That is very late for me, so I was feeling a bit stressed that I was not going to be able to do everything that I wanted to do. OCD time I realised so, I took a deep breath, reminded myself that Chester has been here for damn near 2,000 years and that if I didn’t see everything, I could always come back. Much better - breathe!

The first must do in Chester is to walk around the walls. Chester was founded in 75AD by the 20th Legion from Rome. It was a very strategic position in that it was well placed on the River Dee and it is only a stone’s throw from the Welch border. The Romans (as they did) built an earth wall around the area they wanted to protect. A town grew up around the outside of the walls. Once they realised they were going to hang out here for a while, they fortified the wall with stone, incorporating what was now a town. Around 900, the Romans were long gone and the Saxons and Vikings were fighting for control. The Saxons built up from the original Roman walls and managed to hold on to the position. Then, a couple of hundred years later, along comes William the Conqueror. He decides that this is a pretty good position, so builds a castle and fortifies the walls even more. The town carries on for centuries.

In 1645, the English Civil War is in full swing. Charles I watches from a tower on the wall as his army is defeated at Rowton Moor. He escapes into the town, but then leaves. Not very nice of him as the Parliamentarians are convinced he is still inside the walls. They lay siege, bombarding the town with cannon and finally starving them out. In the 18th Century, the town fathers decided that these walls were actually a great place for a promenade, so they built one along the tops of them. It has been there ever since and, this morning, I joined the likes of Daniel Defoe, Boswell and Mark Twain and walked all the way around them. Fantastic. The sense of history is palpable and I was, as always, humbled by the past.

I started at the Watergate (yes, it made me smile as well) and walked past the castle. At the end of the 18th Century, the castle was turned into a prison. My favourite story? One night, a man was being escorted to the prison by two guards. He managed to convince them to stop at the pub for a pint. They bought; he escaped out the back way. What a guy!

I then got to the Roman gardens and amphitheatre. God, I love things like this. I’m standing in the same space that a Roman did 2,000 years ago. Amazing! It is not all that large, but one gets a real sense of what it must have been like. There is even a temple to Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance. Turns out that the gladiators used to worship her because they believed she kept them alive. You’ve got to love a woman like that!

As luck would have it, I was right next to the tourist information bureau. I had already found out that the open top buses only run on weekends, so had not been that keen to get there. However, there is a guy called Peter who does his own bit. He has refurbished a London Omnibus and does his own tours. The next one was leaving in five minutes. What’s a girl to do? I jumped on.

It was a really wonderful ride around the town with lots of titbits of information, most of which I am incorporating into this narrative. The first thing Peter asks is who is from where. I was the only Yank; there was one Ozzie, lots of Brits on their school holidays. So, we were regaled with stories that made all of us laugh and made the time fly by.

After the tour, I was ready for a break, so I had a cup of tea at the café attached to the bureau. The English are so right - there is nothing more restorative than a good cuppa.

I finished my walk around the walls, ducking into some of the old bookshops. I was very proud of myself and I walked out of all of them empty handed. Coming down off the walls, I decided that lunch was in order. I found a place called BarLounge. Not a very imaginative name, but great food. I had split pea soup and Stilton rarebit. Talk about comfort food on a cold day! I spent my lunch failing miserably at the crossword again. I’m sometimes not sure why I put myself through this daily torture, but am convinced that someday I will do one and have an enormous sense of gratification. The best part of this restaurant? The toilets. Each had its own name. I, of course, used the Martini Lounge.

After lunch, I wandered down to the Chester Historical Society - huge snooze. I left in a hurry and, after a bit of a search, found the Deva Roman Experience. Deva (pronounced Dewa) was the Celtic word for the Dee, so this is what the Romans named their fort. It started off badly, but rapidly picked up. It is built over on-going excavations and one can see exactly how they work. My goodness, but it was fascinating. I stood for the longest time looking at them. One can quite clearly see the Post Medieval Period on top of the Medieval Period on top of the Saxon Period on top of the Roman Period. It turns out that as cities evolve, they grow up. The Roman period is now nearly three metres below where I was standing. I was, quite simply, awestruck.

But - and this was just so cool - they had a tiny museum of things that they have found. Most were what you would expect, but they had one case of tiles they have found with imprints on them. One showed the hand of the man who made it; one was a dog’s paw print; one was from a sandal. Not unlike our wet cement of today, tiles took a while to dry and people were able to mar them. Imagine! The next time you see wet cement, put a mark in it. 2,000 years from now, it might be in a museum!

I then wandered over to the cathedral - the other must do in Chester. I couldn’t get in because - you’re never going to believe this - they were filming an episode of “Antiques Roadshow”. So, instead of going into the church, I sat outside and watched these ridiculous people carry out their junk. Made me smile.

By this time, I was properly cold and tired. I made my way back to the hotel. I couldn’t be bothered to change for dinner, so I sat in the bar, had a sandwich and watched the world go by. An improvement over the excess of last night!

Two more random thoughts about this town. First, Thursday is obviously a big night out. Every time I left the bar to smoke, I saw a gaggle of young women walking by. Dressed in the most ridiculous outfits and talking hell for leather into their mobiles, they were ready for anything. Was I ever that young? I must have been, but I don’t remember it. Second, there has been a guy playing the guitar on the next corner all day. Literally - he was playing when I left this morning, was playing every time I passed him all day and is still playing as I write this, eleven hours later. Hope he’s making his rent!

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Photos

The Backs
These are old buildings, built in the Tudor style. They were the first time in history that shops were built over two stories.

Roodee Racetrack
The first racetrack in Britain, it is built on land that used to be under water. It is unusual in that it all curve and no straighaway. It is also unusual in that the horses run the wrong way round.

View From the Walls
Across the Dee. The church is one to St. Mary.

The Wall
A view of what most of the walk along the walls looked like.

Roman Gardens
A lovely oasis in the middle of town.

Roman Gardens
This is what is left from the heating system used to heat the public baths.

Roman Gardens
The lighter bricks are where the wall was repaired after they were breached by cannon fire during the Civil War.

Roman Amphitheatre
A sense of what it was like, back when Nemisis was taking care of her boys.

The Bus
Isn't this the cutest thing?

Eastgate
This clock was put up in celebration of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. It is simply stunning.

Eastgate
This is view back over the town from under the clock. That's my hotel on the left. I like to think the American flag in in my honour.

The Tower of Charles I
This is where he stood to watch his army being defeated.

Deva Roman Experience
This shows how deep the dig has gone. For a sense of perspective, that chart is taller than I.

Deva Roman Experience
The sandal print in the wet tile. I think this is just amazing.

Deva Roman Experience
The paw print.