Category: Uncategorized
-
Of Time and Distance: A Departing
[Corfe Castle] Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I sat on unmowed grass leaning against a stone wall. I was on the grounds of Corfe Castle in south Dorset. The mason who built my backrest had fitted the stones into their places over 1,000 years ago. There was still a strong sun in the west and…
-
Lancelot, The Spotless Starling And The Blogger
[Spotless Starling. Source: Google search.] I’m perched on a chimney near the Ashfield House B&B with my friend, Tristram. We’re Spotless Starlings. You can find us on page 303 of Collins Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe. You might not find us in Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of America, but we’re in…
-
Yesterday Afternoon And An Afternoon Thirty-Three Years Ago
[The tomb of Joseph and Caroline Damer] Thirty-three years ago I parked a VW Polo in a small space a short distance from the village of Milton Abbas. I was an exchange teacher at a school in Dorset, England. A teacher friend told me that I must visit an Abbey near Milton Abbas. I was…
-
A Walk Through Lichfield Cathedral
[Lichfield Cathedral] Some people have life-lists of the birds they have seen. Some people have collections of autographs of rock stars or artists. A fair number of people pay a ton of money for signed baseballs; signed by Ted Williams, Goose Gossage or Ron Guidry. That’s great. Many of these things can be framed and…
-
Life Between The Slabs
If you don’t find stone walls particularly interesting, then Yorkshire isn’t for you. If miles of intricate stone work that curves, rises up and over hills and down dales isn’t your thing, then book a holiday in Montana. I don’t recall seeing any stone walls there. But here in Yorkshire, the art of stonewalling is…
-
Her Husband Is Poorly: A First Walk In Yorkshire
[Grassington, Yorkshire.] We’re staying in Grassington, Yorkshire. I saw somewhere it was called the “Swiss Alps of England”. I can get the sense of that. No snow-capped peaks and Matterhorns, but the Dales are pure and English and brimming with grand vistas. There are enough walking paths to satisfy the Swiss Alpine Club, the Sierra…
-
I Caught The Eye Of The Groom In The Brussels City Hall.
[Only a part of the Grand Place.] Unaware Americans. Yes, that’s who we were when we arrived in Brussels. Yes, that’s how I felt when we arrived here. Mapless. I need to know the urban geography of any place I am in. But, I had no idea about this city. Changing the B&B we left…
-
An American In Brussels
Trust me. I can say a few words about how this grey-haired man is exhausted from what is only the early days of his European Tour. I was there, every minute…waiting for the train in Bruges and sitting in the hot humid air of Brussels Midi station wondering whether he should jump into a taxi…
-
A Rare Journey
[Windermere, England. Photo credit is mine] On May 22, my wife and I will board an American Airlines flight to Paris. This is not something new. Every few years, we travel to Europe (mostly Paris) and end up with friends in Dorset, England. Nothing so very earthshaking about this. But, there is something different about…
patrickjegan 