Tag: Dorset
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My Friend Tim
[Left to right: Jo, Anna, Tim at the White Lion Inn on our last night in Dorset] It was August of 1984. I was about to begin a year in Dorset, England, when I first met Tim Ovenden. He was destined to be my house-mate in Wimborne Minster (actually a burb of Wimborne, Colehill). He…
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In The Land of Pooh, The Badger, King Arthur and Beyond: The Excursionist XIII Finale
magic (n) A mysterious quality of enchantment. England is a land of mystery, magic and myth. It is a land of legends of kings and villains of all sorts. Consider this quote: As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, and can recapture nothing but a dim sense of…
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The Enigma of Knowlton Church: The Excursionist VII
[Knowlton Church…front facade] In the middle of Cranborne Chase, a hilly and breezy open region in north Dorset, is the shell of a Norman church. Nothing special really. These churches are found in many villages and hamlets of Dorset. What is unusual is that it is built-in the middle of a Neolithic ritual henge (a…
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The First Real Ramble: The Excursionist IV
[I’ll sneak this post in while many of you will still be reeling from Michael Cohen’s testimony in Congress.] Well, we took our first real walk through the fields of Dorset today. It was time. It was overdue. And it was one of the main reasons we’re here…to walk and to avoid the snow. I’ve…
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Looking For A Proper Lane To Ramble Along: The Excursionist IV
[Me rambling in Dorset. Deep in thought.] Finding places to ramble (walk) in England is something even a guy like me can do. That is unless I’m going to wear my clean hiking boots. Who wants to track mud into our host’s home? And, it is the mud season here. I haven’t seen any snow…
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North Dorset Once Again-The Excurinist III
[A London Pub. Nothing to do with this post.] We’re with our friends in North Dorset…once again. I met Tim when he was a rookie teacher when I was an exchange teacher in the mid-1980’s. Now he’s nearing retiring. His wife, Jo, is a major player in the local school, psychologist, and tutor. We love…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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I Never Met An English Country Church I Didn’t Like
[St. John the Baptist, Buckthorn Weston, Dorset] It’s been said by many travelers that if one wants to know what’s happening in any small English village, just go to the pub and listen for an hour. I think the same is true, to a degree, of social life provided by the Church in these towns…
patrickjegan 