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  • Keswick – The Wainwright

    We thought that we’d start our hunt for food in the Wainwright, a CAMRA award winning pub.

    There were seven of us….. Although the pub was pretty full anyway, although the atmosphere was friendly. There were plenty of dogs in the pub, one of which decided to lick Steve.

    Rather a nice stout, although it’s nitro, although served colder than I’d like. Although I think it’s meant to be served at that temperature, it seemed to lose some depth of taste.

    How lovely. There were also numerous real ales, I think seven, although it was hard to get to the bar area to see them.

  • Dereham – St Withburga’s Well

    This well was originally the burial place of St. Withburga, but it is said that in 974 monks from Ely took her body to be buried at Ely Cathedral. When the locals discovered that someone had pinched the saint they had happily buried in their graveyard they were rather displeased and decided to go and have a fight with the Ely monks. The fight didn’t go very well as the Dereham men got into boggy ground in Ely, so they came home. When they arrived home they found that the burial site was now full of water, and they liked this water and so it became a pilgrimage site, although it’s behind iron railings to stop people from falling into it. The water still flows today, and it remains a site that pilgrims come to visit.

    St. Withburga, or Wihtburh, died in 743 and she founded a religious house in Dereham. She was also part of the family who ran the local area and her body still remains in Ely Cathedral, although relics relating to her were mostly destroyed during the Reformation.

    The inscription on the stone reads “the ruins of a tomb which contained the remains of Wethburga, youngest daughter of Annas, King of the East Angles who died AD 654”.

    The EDP from 1896 mentions that the site of the well was once a baptistery where locals were baptised, but this was changed in 1752 when it was converted into a bath. Then in 1793, a brick bath house was built over the top and apparently one local decided to have a bath in the water every single week. He apparently lived “to a good old age”, so it didn’t do him any harm.

    The well is located just in front of St. Nicholas Church in Dereham.

  • Norfolk Broads – Ranworth Church (St. Helen’s)

    St. Helen’s is sometimes known as the ‘Cathedral of the Broads’, so it seemed apt to visit it whilst we were on the Hike Norfolk annual boating day trip on the water. The earliest part of the current building dates to the late thirteenth century, with substantial parts being added in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

    The pulpit is a little understated compared to other parts of the church. At the end of the nineteenth century, the entire church was in desperate need of repair and it also needed a new roof. It was closed for four years and finally re-opened in 1903 with a new nave roof and the addition of some new windows.

    The EDP noted at the time that “a difficulty often encountered in remote and sparsely populated parishes is the possession of a spacious and costly church of which Ranworth is such an instance. The most casual observer must at once perceive that the condition into which this beautiful church has fallen is more the result of neglect than wilful spoilation”. Incidentally, I rather like the word ‘spoilation’, it was a word commonly used in the Victorian period and is rarely used today.

    The church has a rather beautiful rood screen still in place, and although some is missing, it’s one of the best in Norfolk.

    The font is made of Purbeck marble and is relatively plain in its design.

    The churchyard is well kept and the church has constructed a rather delightful and unobtrusive cafe in the corner. Unfortunately, the cafe was unexpectedly shut during our visit, but the menu looked very reasonably priced.

    The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the church on 25 November 1976. A date rather near to the day that I was born….

    The church organ, which dates from the late nineteenth century.

    The Ranworth Antiphoner, which is perhaps one of the most exceptional liturgical books on display in any English church. Indeed, it’s so amazing that it’s surprising that it remains in the church, although rather wonderful that it does. The case in which it is now displayed was constructed by the inmates of Norwich Prison, and it is apparently very secure.

    It dates from the fifteenth century and was commissioned for the church, although it went missing after the Reformation. Fortunately, it came up for auction in 1912 and was acquired once again for the church. The church opens the case on a regular basis to change the page which is displayed.

    I’m surprised that the church allows unsupervised visits to the top of the tower. But, it’s a great thing for a church to do, and it offers excellent views over the local area. There are around 90 steps and you just have to hope that not too many people are coming down as you go up (or the other way round) as there isn’t exactly much space. On the way up to the top, which involves two ladders right near the top (I was very brave) it’s possible to see the church bells.

    And the underside of the bells….

    Views from the church tower, definitely worth the climb.

    The weather-vane on top of the church.

  • Norfolk Broads – Facilities on the Water

    Helpful facilities for those working on the Norfolk Broads…..

  • Chambery Walk

    Just photos on this post, this was a walk from Chambery railway station to the north-west of the city. It’s about three miles and was surprisingly pleasant, as the areas either side of the river are quite industrial. The river, with its impressively clear water, is La Leysse which is an Alpine river which crosses the region before ending up in Lake Bourget.

    Next time I visit the region though there are proper mountain walks to be completed!

  • Annemasse – Annemasse Railway Station to Bellegarde

    I didn’t get long to spend in Annemasse as I was getting a train to Chambery but first I had to get a train to Bellegarde. The station exterior above looked modern and well presented. The railway station was first opened in 1880 when the line was introduced to run from Paris to the Mediterranean.

    In March 1944 the allies dropped aid parcels in the area, with many of them landing near to the railway station. Today most of the rail routes are regional, there’s also a TGV service running through the station from Paris to Thonon-les-Bains.

    A memorial to those who had died in the wars.

    The ticket wasn’t unreasonable priced. I also much prefer the French tickets to those issued in the UK, they’re larger and have far more useful information on them. The cramming in information onto the smaller UK tickets usually means that it’s not as clear as it could be.

    A map at the station of the local rail routes.

    The train.

    The view from the train, which varied and was often interesting.

  • Annemasse

    I didn’t have very long in Annemasse during my visit, since I had a train to catch to Annecy. There seemed to be a lot of people going to work in Geneva from Annemasse, but the cost of living is much lower in France as opposed to Switzerland.

    A healthy local snack…..

    Église Saint-Joseph (St. Joseph’s Church) was constructed between 1941 and 1946, with the structure being made of reinforced concrete. The proposed bell tower wasn’t though ever built, so the church technically remains unfinished.

    Annemasse market, which takes place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

    I have to confess, I never did work out exactly what this was….

  • Flights – London Heathrow T5 to Geneva (British Airways)

    I took this flight from London Heathrow T5 (as can be seen above) to Geneva in March 2016 in an A319. It’s memorable to me only because I remember the rather impressive views of the mountains near to Geneva, the rest of the experience has now become lost to the mists of time….

    My flight was in Club Europe and although BA have now changed how they band their flights, this was in the old Band 2 sector. That meant that a pretty decent salad was served, in this case a prawn salad with the obligatory BA seeded roll.

    I’m told that this isn’t the best champagne, but I have no clue about such things, it tasted fine to me. Again, since I took this flight, BA have changed which champagne they provide in the cabin though.

    The photos above are of the mountain views that I had, which the pilot said were in the Mont Blanc region. Whether or not it is actually Mont Blanc I have no idea, so I’ll have to visit it one day to find out. It looks a bit hilly though to me, rather higher than Beeston Bump in Sheringham….

  • Ely – Ely Cathedral

    I had a little time spare in Ely and so I decided I should spent all of that in the city’s beautiful Cathedral. Work started on the current building in the late eleventh century, although there was a church here before that date.

    The Cathedral fell into a state of disrepair in the sixteenth century and there was talk during the Commonwealth period of entirely demolishing it. The Cathedral was repaired in the late seventeenth century and there were substantial repairs which took place in the mid nineteenth century.

    It’s possible to just enter at the end of the nave and take a look at the interior for free, but it’s not possible to go any further without paying. I was aware though that visitors are able to pay and get free entry for the rest of the year, which is what I decided to do.

    I do rather feel though that the Cathedral has gone just a little beyond what is reasonable with its attempts to upsell to visitors. It was plainly visible during the short time I was at the counter that visitors were uncomfortable with it, and if Greggs tried that on me I’d be e-mailing them…

    So visitors currently ask for a ticket, and are then upsold to a tower tour, are then upsold to the stained glass museum and then upsold to a luxury package which includes a hot drink in the cafe. There’s then an upsell to a basic guidebook and then a more advanced guidebook, with visitors being given nothing for free such as a basic leaflet.

    When visitors leave the Cathedral they’re also forced to go through the shop and there are some rather unnecessary displays aimed at children. I wonder whether the management should be told they’re not running Alton Towers and I did half expect to find a Starbucks half way down the nave, but they have managed to draw the line there. Although I’d consider accepting a Greggs in the nave if they felt it would be financially advantageous…

    The Cathedral’s charging policy has ensured that the building was quiet inside, and the number of visitors on a warm summer’s day seemed rather low to me.

    A view back towards the entrance. I need to go back to using my proper camera either the Cathedral is leaning or my phone was tilted slightly…

    In 1322 some enthusiastic civil engineers were busying themselves constructing a new Lady Chapel and it’s thought that this work caused the central Cathedral tower to collapse. This was far from ideal and the engineers thought they’d better stop and deal with the minor problem that the building had a large hole in it and the choirs were badly damaged.

    So, some philosophers and architects got together to design a replacement structure and this is call the Octagon, or Lantern, Tower. It’s beautiful and is now one of the building’s architectural highlights. The decision not to replace the tower was partly for structural reasons, but it has also given it an individual character.

    The window of the Lady Chapel, which was sadly seriously damaged during the Reformation when a large number of sculptures were destroyed. Work on the Lady Chapel had started in 1321, was suspended when the civil engineers caused the collapse of the central tower, but the work was eventually finished in 1349.

    One of the hundreds of vandalised sculptures from the Reformation.

    The other end of the Lady Chapel, which was used as a parish church for some centuries following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its reconnection with the Cathedral is relatively recent, from 1938.

    The choir stalls.

    The transept has some considerable height to it.

    And the other side.

    The beautiful painted roof of the nave and although the paintwork dates from the nineteenth century Victorian restoration, the wood under it dates from the fourteenth century.

    A sculpture designed by David Wynne which aims to portray the moment that Mary Magdalene recognised Jesus.

    This is the tomb of Bishop Thomas Goodrich, the Bishop of Ely from 1534 until 1544. He was granted the role by Thomas Cranmer and had previously been a Royal Chaplain. He decided he liked the Reformation and in 1541 he ordered the destruction of the sculptures in the Lady Chapel, the smashing of much of the stained glass windows and the removal of shrines. He later became the Lord High Chancellor and when the Monarch once again went Catholic he decided that he would shift his most sincerely held religious views again…..

    An interesting little memorial.

    The Cathedral’s time capsule placed there to mark the Millennium.

    The rather grand entrance to Bishop Alcock’s Chantry Chapel, work on which was started in 1488. The Bishop founded Jesus College at Cambridge University and there were initially plans for the chapel to be larger.

    I liked this because of the animal (I have no idea what it is) that was looking at me…. It’s the tomb and canopy of the Tiptoft Family and probably dates to the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

    The Cathedral’s pulpit and when I was there someone came to offer prayers from it every hour. I thought that was a nice touch, nothing too excessive, but just a reminder that the building is a working and active religious institution.

    The tomb of Henry Caesar, who was the Dean of Ely between 1614 and 1636. Money which he left to fund scholarships to Jesus College at Cambridge University and to offer extra pay to Minor Canons and Lay Clerks was borrowed by King Charles I and never repaid.

    The rather colourful tomb of Robert Steward, a close relation of Oliver Cromwell, which dates to the late sixteenth century.

    I have read books by Charles Merivale, but I didn’t realise that he was also the Dean of the Cathedral. He was one of the people responsible for planning the first Oxford versus Cambridge boat race, which first took place in 1829 and Merivale rowed for the Cambridge University team.

    The bell from St. Nicholas Church in Feltwell which fell in 1898 and which was given to the Cathedral in 1976. The bell was originally cast in the fifteenth century.

    One of the Cathedral aisles.

    I thought that this was interesting, it’s the original floor tiling which led from the North Choir Aisle to the Lady Chapel. The tiling dates to the early fourteenth century and was intended to form the design of a mosaic.

    My visit wasn’t as long as I’d like, but since I go back for free for another twelve months, I shall be back, and will go on a tower tour when the weather is favourable.

  • Flights – Los Angeles to London Heathrow T5 (British Airways)

    After I’d spent a very enjoyable five weeks in the United States, it was time to return to London Heathrow, this time using British Airways. I had got to LAX nice and early, ensuring that I had sufficient time to go to KFC.

    It was an evening flight and the boarding process seemed particularly efficient, although it transpired that there was a reason for this….

    I had selected an aisle seat and I took my seat next to another gentleman (I say another as if I’m a gentleman….) ready for the red-eye flight. A crew member came up to tell me that the cabin had less than 15% occupancy, so he suggested that I take an entire row of seats to myself.

    This was the row of seats that I selected for myself, which was rather nice. Unfortunately the new iteration of BA seats means that the arm rests don’t fully lift up, so I wasn’t able to make up a Club World bed arrangement. The quiet cabin certainly made the journey a lot more comfortable and the crew member told me that the other cabins were equally light of passengers.

    Liam would have been pleased with the in-flight entertainment option of Alan Partridge…..

    The pre-meal snack of pretzels, which I have become rather fond of over my years on BA. They were removed for a while, but they’re now back! The white wine was perfectly acceptable as well.

    I’ve always thought that BA meals in economy are of a good quality, although they’re rarely well presented. This is a chicken tikka, along with a salad, roll and crackers. There was also a Lily O’Brien dessert, which I always appreciate.

    This was the second meal, which was some form of fruit dumped in a bowl (I would have preferred crisps) and a burrito, which was served hot.

    Overall, this was a really enjoyable flight because of the amount of space that I had in the cabin. It was like being in premium economy and the number of passengers also meant that there were never queues for the washrooms and it was easy to get additional drinks from the crew.

    I asked the crew member why the flight was so low on passengers and whether this was usual for the time of year (I flew in early February 2018). He said that he said it was rare to be that quiet, and he thought that the real reason might have been Norwegian Airlines and their cost-cutting. I’m surprised that this would have had a sufficient effect, but anything which forces down prices is good to me.

    The cabin was unusually clean when I boarded, something BA are sometimes rather hopeless at. The crew were all pleasant and helpful, and this was perhaps my best trans-atlantic flight in economy that I’ve had with BA. Whether or not I can be lucky enough to get such an empty cabin in future is perhaps rather less likely….