UK Summer Itinerary

Week  One -  May 27- June 2.

London. Canterbury. Deal. The Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of Ocean Liners.Train to Salisbury. My cosy cabin. Bell Ringing demonstration. Party time for a cousin's 18th.

Week Two - June 3-9

Evensong in Salisbury Cathedral.  Practise, practise, practise. Bus trip to Bournemouth                         and the Russell-Cotes' House. Working in the Library. David Hall's piano recital in aid of the ailing organ. Bus trip to Bath and the Holburne Museum with Dutch masterpieces from National Trust houses. First rehearsal of the Rossini's Italian Girl in Algiers Overture and the Petit Messe Solonelle. Baroque trio sonatas with friends.

Week Three  - June 10-16   

Evensong in the Cathedral. A very special service in commemoration of the ending of WW1. Excursion to the Isle of Wight by train, bus and super fast ferry. Rehearsal with the Millstream Orchestra. Walks around Salisbury where John Constable painted. Second rehearsal for the Rossini. Lunch with Meryl in a pub in Fordingbridge listening to Nia on the radio, singing and being interviewed for a whole hour! My concert with the Millstream after lunch at St.Mary's, also in Fordingbridge. 

Week Four  - June 17-23 

Morning service at the Cathedral. Fete in the afternoon at the Bishop's residence. Bus trip to Devizes, north of  Salisbury.  Practise, practise, practise. Visit to beautiful Arundells House, a couple of houses beyond my cabin. In watching Downton Abbey on my return to the US, I recognized Arundells as the home of the Dowager Duchess (Maggie Smith)! More aristocrats, the visit of Prince Charles and Camilla to Salisbury. The BIG day - rehearsal in the afternoon and the concert in the Cathedral in the evening. 

Week Five - June 24-30 

Last walk around Salisbury with Louise, packing up and one last Evensong. Meryl and I drive to Wales to visit Cousin Stuart. 2 night visit with Meryl's friends in Cardiff. Train and ferry to Dublin, Ireland. Meet up with family for 4 days. Visit to Guinness Factory. Game of Throne Bus Tour to Northern Ireland. Bus trip to Belfast to the Titanic exhibit.

Week Six - July 1-7

Family to the US. I took a Hop On-Hop Off bus all around Dublin. Flight to Doncaster-Sheffield to my Dad's family. Visit to Chatsworth House. Family get-togethers. School sports day for young cousin. Drive to Beverly, good market town. Drive to York with Clare and Noreen for dinner with Randy and Lynn, my next hosts. Superb York Early Music Festival concert by the Rose Concert (Alison Crum) and Gallicantus. 2+ hours drive to R and L's home. 

Week Seven - July 8-15

6 days of wonderful peace and quiet. Lots of walks. Visit to the Weardale Museum and High House Chapel where John Wesley preached. Bus to explore Hexham. To Durham, twin town to Durham NC, to explore and go to evensong in the Cathedral. Next day to York for more viol playing and a superb concert in York Minster by The Sixteen. Lunch in a traditional pub. Watch Prom #1. Last hike on the burn and the moor, then party time! Visit neighbor's nontraditional home newly built but looks several centuries old. Last drive over the moors to  Penrith. Train to Leominster to visit college friend Janet, who lives in Presteigne on the border of  Wales and England. Watched Prom#3.

Week Eight - July 16 - 21

Beautiful countryside for walking. Shopping at Knighton, a town not far away. Interesting information there on the Offa Dyke. Walked a section of it near Presteigne. Visit Ludlow, medieval castle, lunch in the courtyard. Movie " The Bookshop". Release in the US on Aug. 24th. Train to Reading, home of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Now very upmarket with the Oracle shopping Centre. Commemorative walk to Oscar Wilde along the canal in front of Reading Goal. Continue on to London for Louise's 70th birthday. 

Week 9 - July 22 and 23rd. 
Party time! Great friends, food, wine and weather! Monday 23 - 6am taxi to Heathrow. Reality kicked right in, but what memories!

My 1st week of an 8-week adventure to England! May 27- June 2, 2018

May 27/28, 2018 - On my way!

Thanks to Jennifer’s generous gift of frequent flier miles, I started my adventure to the UK on May 27th for 2 months. It was a dash to the London flight after several late holdups in Raleigh and then at JFK. However, with a marathon run through the airport, I made it and had a very comfortable overnight flight. I was surprised to be the first, and for a while, the only Brit to go through immigration, whilst the rest of the world was in a long queue. Oh happy was I! 

I took the bus to Gatwick where it was easier for Louise to pick me up, as she lives in South London. 

She had arranged a lunch in her new extension for us and her Chinese-Cambodian friend, Lang. The extension is more like a conservatory. Looking out onto her typical English garden on a glorious day was so relaxing but they would not allow me to fall asleep until 11pm. A good idea, as this was the first time I did not have any signs of jet lag going west to east. Got straight into the time change which was helpful as we were busy for the next couple of days.

Sunset over the Atlantic

Louise and Lang  made dinner - salmon with veggies from Louise's garden. Yum!

May 29

A visit to the Lord Mayor of Canterbury. 
Louise (Dr. Bacon in the museum world) is an expert on brass instruments, especially 12th,13th century etc. She had been given a grant to check up on 10 horns that belonged to the Cinque Ports of Kent. Today was the day to check up on Canterbury’s horn. Although there was some rain we made it down to Canterbury and eventually found the Tower House which originally was a private house, then bequeathed to the county as a residence for the Lord Mayor. Ellie, you should have had a house like this when Mayor of Carrboro!

We had a generous hour and a half for Louise to measure and check up on the horn, explaining about conservation and condition. I took several videos which she was pleased to have. She will now take up the 12th, maybe 13th century horn which is blown for all of the town’s special events, to a special lab that can scan the metal.

Louise measuring possibly the 12th, 13th or14th c horn.

The shield of Canterbury

The Mayor of Canterbury in his regalia with Louise and Cinque Port Horn

After a quick walk through the streets surrounding the cathedral, it became very obvious we had been caught in the half term break as there were solid blocks of students and families, so we decided to go on to Deal, a small town where my mother and stepfather moved to after spending some time in Cornwall. They were nearer then to Dartington College of Arts in Devon where I was a student for 2 years, but when I went on to the Guildhall School of Music they moved closer to London.
We went down to the beachfront and although there had been quite a lot of flooding from the storm, we found a little cafe near the seafront that was open. We had deliciously fresh fish with chips and peas, de rigueur for any fish lover!

First fish and chips of the trip. 

My mother and stepfather lived in 2 houses when they moved to Deal. I had not been back since I graduated from the Guildhall and left for the Haifa Symphony in Israel, but wanted to see if I could remember the two houses we lived in. We looked around the area, testing my photographic memory of 50 + years ago.  Below is the little cottage we had for the summer near the beach when waiting to move into the big house.  

The little cottage near the beach where I practised  the first movement of the Elgar Cello concerto in the back garden that summer.  

The big house on the London Road. 

We continued on testing my photographic memory, it still worked, finding the big house on the London Road. Although I found the row of houses, there was some confusion with the colour of our house. I remembered the houses were all cream, but now saw ours had been painted green! It had three stories, plus an attic (my room and bath) Below that were two bedrooms and a bath, the living room took up the whole of the second level, and the dining room, kitchen and front parlour were on the first floor. I don’t remember much about the basement. It hadn’t been renovated. Now it looks like a kitchen area. There was a narrow garden in the back, I remember Gordon had a deck added from the living room with steps down to the garden. If only we had kept the house! It would buy me a sweet little cottage now!

We made our way back to Bromley through leafy lanes onto the M2. After a few miles though, traffic stopped. For 2+ hours. Multiple accidents, helicopter, emergency vehicles. It didn’t help to have the floods on the motorway. Thankfully we were safe and got back home.

May 30 - 
Visiting the exhibition "Ocean Liners" at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
We set off on the train to go into London, catching up on various errands before going to the museum. A favourite of mine for exhibitions, I have always been blown away by them. Our big event for the day was going to the exhibition of Ocean Liners. Both Louise and I had travelled to and from England to South Africa on these ships. It brought back such memories for me, not so many for Louise as she was younger and didn't remember much. What an amazing era when those ships from the 1900s to the beginning of WW2, were at the height of luxury in fashion, designs, craftsmanship in wood, stained glass, metal, china - the list goes on. The three and a half hour walk through the rooms was fascinating and went by very quickly. A wonderful prelude to our stay on the Queen Mary. More later about that!

Lovely posters of the liners and uniform. 

An example of a state room.

Of course, we had to have tea to revive our brains after the strenuous afternoon. The carrot cake was almost up to Judy’s standard! 

Gorgeous surroundings at the V&A.with a fine pianist playing dreamy music. The only true way to have afternoon tea. 

May 31. 

A busy day. The train down to Salisbury was a delight. So many shades of green from fields, trees and hedges. My host met me at the station, and my hostess was anxious to make sure I was happy with it all. Little did she know how thrilled I was with the little cabin.

Waiting at Waterloo to catch the train to Salisbury.




Salisbury Cathedral within the Close. I am across from the furthest field on the right. 

The North gate to the Cathedral Close from the High Street.

The cabin in the early evening. So peaceful with the doves cooing.

The view from sitting at my computer. The main house is at the other end.

A painting of the Harnham gate at the other end of the Close where I waited for my ride to orchestra rehearsal. 

There was a rehearsal that evening for the smaller orchestra, but my symphony cellist wasn't able to come with her spare cello until the next day. However, lots of calling around by other musicians got lucky and I was able to go!  A flute player in the orchestra picked me up to get to rehearsal and off we went. It was not far from where I lived in 2014-15.

June 1. 

A kind cellist friend from the symphony brought me her second cello for the duration of my stay, so now I am all set. It’s a good quality student instrument with a sweet tone and easy to play. My first rehearsal will be next Friday. No rehearsal tonight as it is half-term for school children which lasts a week and parents tend to take the children away for a break. The concert is on June 23, in the Cathedral

I’ve been walking around Salisbury a lot, getting in my daily 10,000 steps in (sometimes more)! My activity app tells me my average daily steps in England are between 8,000 and 13,000, so I am definitely getting more exercise than the 1,450-7,800 I get in Chapel Hill.  It’s so lovely to walk through the parks along the rivers, there are several small ones around the area, and the weather has been glorious. I try to write my blog daily, but it’s a bit difficult sitting at the computer, seeing and hearing the birds chattering away. I spent most of today walking around, seeing what was new and what had changed. The only obvious changes due to the poisoning episode were the blocked off areas around a section of the river that runs through Salisbury, the Italian restaurant  and the one pub the couple visited. Sadly it's one of Salisbury's favourites, and now is totally blocked off, with grass growing everywhere and looking really run down.   All of those areas are guarded by police, but they interact with the public who make it easier for them during the long hours. Thank goodness the police officer who was a first responder and nearly died from the poisoning, survived, and is back home now. I think the atmosphere in Salisbury would be much more dismal if he had died. The Russian father and daughter are in a safe house, but don't know where in the country. It's so unbelievable in this quiet, peaceful town. Of course, Salisbury has been very much affected by this. Shops, especially small ones are having to close down as they don't have the revenue to pay the rent. Fortunately though with summer coming on, there are more tourists, mostly school at this time who come in to town, as well as other visitors.

On the way back to my cabin, I passed the local church that is older than the Cathedral! and saw they were having a Flower and Arts Festival. Because of the poisoning episode, the annual Salisbury International Festival was cancelled, but the church was making up a bit for that. I got just in time to see a Bell Ringing demonstration, and climbed up some very steep steps to the room in the Bell tower where the ringers do their thing.It was fascinating, and  I was amazed at how the ringers have to memorize the patterns of the peels. I did not take up the opportunity to try them out, I think I'm too short! 

I feel so fortunate that I am here again, it  seems only a few months ago that I left. So many things just fell into place which made it possible for me to be here. I'm truly blessed. It's lovely meeting up with friends again, and being in the Cathedral Close is only a 5 minute walk into the main area of town. The cabin is perfect for me with everything I need, and so quiet, except for the chattering between the birds.

The bell ropes of St. Thomas's Church have hung up away from the floor when not in use. 

The peels for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. 

Proud ringers who complete long peels.

June 2
Only 2 days before, the family had arrived back from Memphis, and my cousin Meryl made a superhuman effort to get everything ready for an amazing party. She's always been one for giving great parties, and this was no exception. Her best friend Wendy, with brother and sister-in-law, came from Wales and stopped in Salisbury to pick me up for the 2pm party.  I had met Wendy several times so it was good to have the time in the car to catch up. The party was in the back garden of Meryl and Simon's house which was full of flowers and plants. I couldn't believe how high the hedges surrounding the garden had grown, making it a very private location. The tables were decorated with flowers, and pink and dark cowboy hats for everyone. The piece de résistance, was the Dolly Partin tribute singer who put on an amazing show. She looked  identical to Dolly and sounded just like her.  She invited Nia to join her in a duet, and it was a terrific.. Nia is on her way to stardom herself, with many performances under her belt, both here in the UK and in the US. She came 4th in a Florida top list of young country singers/songwriters.  There was plenty of Pimms, made by a great bartender, and lots of other libations. The food was American - country-fried chicken, corn etc. All delicious. After the musical entertainment came the delicious 3 layer birthday cake.

By 8pm I was tired out with all the excitement and fun, so while the going was good, Meryl took me to catch the Salisbury bus, I  knew I couldn't hold out for the late-night. Her parties go on for ever. Another great day!

Nia and Dolly having a blast!

My 2nd Week. June 3-9.

June 3.

I went to Evensong at the Cathedral, but as the Cathedral choir was on half-term break, an invited  choir, the Peterborough Chamber Choir, sang the beautiful service. Unfortunately the cathedral organ had suddenly given up the ghost, so the portatif organ was brought in to serve. The Cathedral Choir Master, David Halls,  gave the Prelude and Postlude on the piano. Even before the disaster, an appeal for funds to restore the organ had begun, and now it's needed even more.  

The Saxophone band supporting the exhausted runners.

June 4

I am working on the rest of my itinerary, lots of details that need to be arranged. Thank goodness for the iPhone which works better than the computer. Major issues with the Microsoft upgrade, but library staff are phenomenal. Broadband in this area is not as strong as in other places but is fine in the Library, so I go there during the day when I update my blog.  In the cottage, Wifi seems to do better in the evenings. 

I started work on the Rossini Petit Messe Solonelle. The edition is an old Italian one, difficult to read, and somewhat challenging. The Italians only put the key signature on the first line of music, and as sometimes they have 4 and 5 accidentals, it's hard to remember page after page.  The overture is also by Rossini, “The Italian Girl in Algiers”. I’m so looking forward to this concert, especially as it is in the Cathedral.

The sweet cello waiting patiently!

Here are a couple of examples of the score. Hard to read in places, and to remember the key signature!

Note the key signature is only written on the first stave.

June 5^th – Happy 93rd birthday to my dear sister-in-law Betty! Love the photos with her girls.
Today I took my free bus pass and went to Bournemouth on the South Coast. A good friend from Dartington came from there, and I remember visiting her at her parents’ home. My photographic memory of the location of the house let me down, but I did recognize a few places, mostly the gardens by the seafront. Bournemouth has 7 miles of sandy beach, rugged coastline, glorious rolling hills and lush forest. Some of the most stunning scenery in the country.  I walked along the gardens and came upon the Russell-Cotes House, the last Victorian-era house built in 1901, the year Queen Victoria died. It was a happy home for a devoted couple and a present to his wife from her husband. I spent a fascinating two hours in the house and art galleries, finishing up with tea and a cream scone, of course. Will restrict myself to one a week! Then I strolled to the bus stop and returned to Salisbury. It’s so good to have the long daylight evenings to see the beautiful countryside from the bus.

Gorgeous rhododendron bushes all through the seafront gardens.

The Russell-Cote House, the last one built in the Victorian era.

And of course, there's the afternoon tea of scones, jam, and cream. 

This is the Lily Langtry loo. She was a famous Edwardian actress and very much under the protection of one male royal.
The Victorians knew how to design loos. 

                                                                 www.russellcotes.com

June 6 

Was spent mostly in the Library.  Frustrated with computer problems, I was able to spend some time with a librarian assistant. I had upgraded  Microsoft in the US and found there are so many problems.  I still can't use Skype or Outlook. According to the UK Librarian, she said they all were having massive problems with Microsoft. All I wanted was to be able to sync my photos from my iPhone so I could add them to my blog.
However, everything changed when I got back to the cabin. My landlady who volunteers as a guide in the Cathedral came running over to tell me the Cathedral Choirmaster, David Halls, was giving a piano recital of Bach's works at 7:30pm that night as a fundraiser for the organ. It seems that the organist who was coming from Cambridge to give the recital, backed out as there was no organ for him to play, so David stepped in together with another pianist. Between them, they played the French Suites # 5 BWV  816, #1 BWV 812, Toccata BWV 912 and Italian Concerto BWV 97. David was also the conductor of the Salisbury Symphony when I was here before. A fabulous musician, he played his Bach pieces exquisitely with such clarity and articulation.  So the evening ended on a high, and Microsoft was banished to the bowels of the earth. 

June 7

 Another bus trip, this time early to Bath in Somerset, about 2 hours and 40 minutes from Salisbury. The bus meandered through the narrow lanes to reach small villages. The most endearing view was seeing lambs cozily lying in a field of high grass, and in another field, a flock of shorn sheep.

Shorn sheep.

Not far from Bath at Westbury is one of the chalk horses carved into a hillside in 1778, and can be seen for miles. There are eight White horses, perhaps more, around the county of Wiltshire dating back over 250 years.

I knew I didn’t have time to spend in Bath as the last bus back to Salisbury was at 3pm, so I opted to visit the Holburne Museum, originally a hotel which overlooked the Pleasure Gardens, where the upper crust met to promenade.  The collection of fine and decorative arts of Sir William Holburne is housed in this building, and I was glad to visit the special  exhibition of Dutch masterpieces from National Trust Houses.  There are several galleries in the Museum, one with lots of silver objects in the original Ballroom together with a number of Gainsborough paintings, he is one of my favourite painters. I was fascinated by it all and was rather late walking into the city center not far away. However, by the time I found the Jane Austin Centre, there wasn’t time for me to get on a tour of the small museum. For anyone thinking of going, there are timed tours which you have to book ahead.  My other choice was the Sally Lunn Museum and Eating house. For those who are not familiar with Sally Lunn Bath Buns, it’s a good place to learn all about it. The bun is made with a yeast dough including cream and eggs, similar to the sweet brioche breads of France. Also called a teacake, it is usually served warm, sliced with butter to the ladies who take afternoon tea.  It was first recorded in 1780 in Bath, where afternoon tea was imperative in getting a foothold into society.

Alas, I couldn’t have my afternoon tea at either place in the time left, so instead, I bought a delicious brie and cranberry panini, eating it on a bench waiting for the bus and watching the world go by. Another lovely journey back to Salisbury, and a short walk to my log cabin! My Health app is telling me my daily average is between  8-13,000 steps, beats my Chapel Hill record between 2-5,000steps!

www.holburne.org

June 8

Excitement day!  My first rehearsal with the Salisbury Symphony! The orchestra has already had a rehearsal before I arrived, and I will be doing some serious practicing over the next few days. It was great to see the players I knew and had remembered me. I feel so at home, it seems just a few weeks since I was living here.

Finally, I figured out the photo problem and won. Microsoft wanted me to use their Photo app, but I  wanted to keep my Photo Gallery, which now I can sync with my iPhone. So then I could start on the blog, which is why it took me a while to get it up and running! A piece of cake now,  but I know there are other issues with formatting etc that I need to tidy up. Please be patient!

June 9 

Another musical highlight –  a whole day of playing baroque trio sonatas with 2 violinists and harpsichordist, all fine players with whom I played while I was living in Salisbury, interrupted only by a delicious lunch prepared by the wife of the harpsichordist. All baroque instruments played at low pitch.  I was lent a beautiful baroque cello and bow. Life is not much better than friends, music and good food!

Sunday, 29 July 2018

My 3rd week - June 10-16

June 10. Week 3.

Today’s Evensong was very special. It was to commemorate the Centenary of the end of World War One. The actual date of 100 years is in November, but it was decided to have this commemoration in Salisbury Cathedral earlier, as there will be so many events later in the years. On the green in front of the Cathedral, tents were up giving visitors an insight into the horrors of the so-called “The war to end all wars” which of course it wasn’t, and so many millions died during it. The worst war ever.  Both my grandfather in WW1 and father in WW2 were involved in those wars. I was very moved by it all and to be able to be at the commemoration.  Earlier that afternoon I went on the green to see the exhibits of the SSAFA - the organization that provides welfare for armed forces and their families, as well as veterans. The history tent was a mine of information , with many photos of the soldiers and locations. It gave me an insight into what my father’s family went through, firstly with my grandparents and then with my father, their only son. It was harrowing. There was also a mock-up of a trench on the battlefield showing how WW1 soldiers lived together, including a grisly medical tent. Children and young people these days simply cannot know what their families went through 100 years ago.

On a happier note was the sight of a 100 year old Bristol Scout airplane. It turned out grandsons of a WW1 pilot found artifacts he had collected and they decided to rebuild the plane their grandfather had used during the war. I was fascinated and one of the group including the grandsons, was happy to tell the story of the rebuild. I have a DVD of the rebuilding of the aircraft if anyone wants to watch it.

Before the service started, there was a march through the town of various organizations, together with a band and flag bearers, ending up at the cathedral being greeted by the Mayor of Salisbury and other dignitaries.

Getting ready to march into the Cathedral for the service.
The service was very moving, playing and singing all the hymns I had known since childhood - Nimrod really did me in. There wasn’t a dry eye throughout, even from the upright soldiers.

Afterwards of course there was a cup of tea for all (actually there was coffee as well) making me feel much better, enough to go to the Mayor and ask if I could take his photo with the regalia. I think by showing him my photos of the Mayor of Canterbury, he could not refuse and was very gracious.

The Lord Mayor of Salisbury

The badge of Salisbury

This is part of an exhibit of hearts made by the community shown in the library.

                                                So ended a very emotional day for Salisbury.

Here is the URL from the Salisbury Journal. Better than I can describe it.

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/16282541.WATCH__First_World_War_history_comes_to_life_in_Salisbury/

There is an area on the hills of Wiltshire where designs of badges from regiments all over the Commonwealth have been dug into the chalky earth.

The 100-year-old plane flown by the grandfather during WW1, restored by his grandson who now owns it and flies it at special events. I bought the DVD of how this plane was rebuilt by the grandson and is a fascinating video together with WW1 photos and films.  

June 11.

Another excursion out of Salisbury. This time to the Isle of Wight, across from Southampton. My landlady advised me to go by train as it only takes 29 minutes, - going by bus to Southampton takes longer and is somewhat comparable to the Long Island Expressway with the addition of branching off to narrow-streeted villages. Brits complain about their trains, but shouldn't, they don't realise how fortunate they are to have such excellent public transportation.  One of the things I enjoy when travelling, is meeting other travellers, and I did so on the train, a lovely couple from Melbourne, Australia. We had a good conversation  sharing our travel plans, they were staying on the mainland.  I had never been to the Isle of Wight, but no hassles at all. From the train to the bus to the super fast ferry, no worries. As a child, I had landed from and departed to South Africa from Southampton, but of course, I don't remember the town. We never went into the town from the docks, just got on and off the train from London onto the Union Castle ships (large at that time, small by the huge cruisers that are there now.) It was a gorgeous day, and thrilling to go fast across to the island, probably about 20 minutes or less and landing in the town of Cowes. Yes, that's the town that has the sailing races in August. Anyone who is anyone in the sailing world is there for that event. Other than that, it's a small quiet town with the usual pubs on the waterfront, eateries and upscale shops. I walked around and got information from the tourist office tucked away in a card shop. Since I was there only for the day, I decided to spend most of it at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's personal home. (This year is my Victorian project, not planned, just happened). I got instructions on how to get there, but ignored the one about taking a bus, being it only a 15-minute walk. So I walked, but it was more than 15 mins uphill. It was definitely worth it though. Osborne House was designed by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert for them as a family house, not as a palace. After Queen Victoria died (her husband died years before, she was a widow for 40 years) none of her children wanted the property, which is somewhat baffling as it was an idyllic place for the children growing up. They even had their own Swiss Cottage for learning how to cook, plant vegetable and flower gardens and have lessons. Her son Edward V11, gave the house to the nation but kept some of the effects. The rest (and it's a lot) is still owned by the Royal Collection and is on loan to the house, so the furnishings are the originals, as when the family lived there.  I can't imagine where they could put anything else in the house, so much Victorian stuff! It's hard to describe. Here's one exquisite chandelier I loved.

Queen Victoria's desk

I added a lot of steps going around for a few hours, even forgetting to have lunch. Eventually, I went outside and caught the minibus to the children's Swiss Cottage. It would have been a nice walk through meadows and beyond to the beach, but the bus looked better. On the way out I stopped and had a sandwich, and walked to the bus stop. There were two sisters waiting for the bus, who had also been visiting Osborne House, and we chattered about our experiences of the visit. When the bus arrived and took us down the hill! we decided to walk around the town and have a drink in a pub on the waterfront, where my ferry was. The sisters were staying on the island and had to take another bus to Newport in the middle of the island. My first shandy (beer and lemonade UK/Sprite US).
Then back on the Superfast ferry (there are slower ferries that take cars).

The super-speedy ferry

Less than an hour to get back to my cabin. It had been a great day, and although I walked a lot, 17,000 steps, I was quite comfortable but glad to relax on the bed.

The next 3 days I stayed in Salisbury, mainly practising and working on the blog. It's a slow process some of the time, especially with the photos. There's always plenty of places to go walking.
On Thursday, Alison the flute player picked me up for rehearsal with the Millstream Orchestra. We have a good program for Saturday's performance, with a lot of variety so it's fun to play.
On the 15th, since I hadn't been walking much I found in the Salisbury guidebook a walk that I had not done. It started near my cabin at the bottom of the Close going the Harnham Gate (Harnham was originally a village, but now is part of Salisbury). Walking past the St.Nicholas Hospital circa 1215, now a group of almshouses, I continued over the bridge of the Avon River. Passing the Rose and Crown pub, 14th century, is a row of thatched houses, built with "cob" (a building material of a mixture of subsoil, straw, and sometimes lime).

The Rose and Crown

Going along a busy road for a short while led me into a recreation ground, all grass. By the river, John Constable painted many of his views of the Cathedral. It's not so easy nowadays to see the Cathedral as the tree growth has obscured some of these views. Continuing on by the river, I turned a corner and knew exactly where I was, one of my favorite walks from when I was there in 2014/5, but coming from the town. The Old Mill is on a site that had mills from the 12th c. From the Mill, the path meanders through the Harnham Water Meadows and into the Queen Elizabeth Park.

The Old Mill

I want this cottage 

After that good walk, I was ready for the second rehearsal with the symphony. I am glad to learn this mass by Rossini and look forward to the rehearsal with the choir on Saturday. We're getting a lot of publicity!

June 16

Meryl and I had a lunch date in Fordingbridge where the Millstream orchestra was performing later in the afternoon. Great excitement for us both as Nia was playing her songs on the radio and we could see it live. The poor waitresses were trying hard to get our orders, but we were stuck close to our phones. We did eventually have a good lunch. Here is the URL of the full hour.

 https://www.facebook.com/visualradioarts/videos/2050885778457280/

On to the next musical event in our family with me playing in the orchestra at St. Mary's the local church which was hosting a  Festival of Music and Arts. It was beautifully decorated with flower arrangements, exhibits of photographs, paintings, lace making and many more.

Our Irish conductor, great to work with.