Trip Report and Visit to Ridge

Yesterday we returned from two weeks in England. We went to attend the wedding of a good friend's daughter at Bath. The wedding took place in a church that had Saxon origins and was of largely medieval construction ( Norman, Early English and Decorated Gothic in style, for you architecture aficionados ). It was in a beautiful village. The wedding reception was in the Roman baths (ca. 300 AD but only uncovered in the nineteenth century) and the Georgian Pump Room. This was a once in lifetime opportunity to enjoy these facilities at an exclusive party.

Bath has many other interesting sights including other Georgian social gathering spots and a truly beautiful and huge late medieval Abbey. Throughout this trip, I was continually reminded of the amazing amount that was accomplished by manual labor with relatively small populations. The number of huge cathedrals, large churches, and other structures made of stone, usually intricately and beautifully decorated, puts our current architecture and civil buildings to shame, particularly when you consider the technology and resources we could bring to bear if we weren't so tied up in amassing personal piles of junk.

We then went to the Cotswold countryside, walking through wonderful villages perfectly sited on green hillsides and in pleasant valleys. Verdant fields, well fed cattle and sheep, and lovely mature forests were everywhere you looked. The stone buildings blended in with their locations perfectly. Several villages had streams serving as their main street. The weather was very good, only one day of real rain and a few showers at other times.

We also visited some larger towns and a couple of cathedrals. The food was fine and we will not discuss the beverages on this blog. Driving on the left is always a thrill, especially on roads that we would call bike paths here.

You can see from the above that we had a very good trip.

Now that I am rejuvenated I can get back to work on the barn and house, but even more taxingly, I can come visit Ridge. I will be there on Thursday October 6. I'll try to be in 506 when its not being used and I'll try to post my whereabouts near the 506 door at other times.

Right now, both my old and new email addresses are working. The new one is robertcherd@gmail.com.