Alfreton's answer to Starbucks

Actually, I am very grateful that there even is free wi-fi in this town. But Starbuck's it ain't. I'd better not be too derogatory as I will have to come back here...

I know I really am turning into an old fart because everything has changed in the five years since I was last here. For instance, the above picture was taken, sometime mid-last century, at Alfreton Lido an outdoor swimming pool where I learned to swim. Outdoor and swimming pool ought not to go together here - we often used to turn blue. Even in the summer. Anyway it is gone. A Health Center stands in it's place. Lots of other places have gone by the way too. The citizens of Alfreton now worship at the shrine of Tesco. It's where the Police Station and the Drill Hall used to be. I wouldn't deny anybody the right to a good selection of groceries at a reasonable price, but it's monstrous. It was shopping Hell in there on Sunday morning.

I used the rainy day yesterday to scan old family photos. Here for your amusement are some of me as a kid.

ay up me duck!

For those who didn't go to school with me - that's Derbyshire dialect for "hello".
I have to go off in search of free w-fi as my laptop can't connect to my mother's pc. The idea of wi-fi inAlfreton is quite strange, but then I am sleeping in what was my brother's bedroom which is also pretty strange. My old bedroom is now the computer/craft room. I guess it was to be expected - I did move out over 30 years ago!

The Fayrest Quene

A few of you know that I play descant and tenor recorder. One of you has played with me in the school orchestra and informally. I haven't played in ages, but I really love recorder music. Tonight, quite unexpectedly, I heard the most beautiful recorder music in Exeter College chapel. It was part of Charivari Agreable's "Early Music by Candlelight" Summer Festival - The Fayrest Quene, The life and times of Queen Elizabeth I revealed through the sonnets of William Shakespeare. Just three musicians and two hours of listening pleasure. They're on I-tunes - look them up. You won't be disappointed.

The morning found us in the Botanic Garden. What a wonderful way to kill time while the Scout changed the bed linens and flicked a duster around the hobbit house. It's main purpose is to grow specimens for the University's Botany department, so although it's full of all kinds of plant life, it's not as pretty as some Botanical Gardens are. Still, the Lily house was fun, with this young man wading around cleaning the giant lily pads up.

And this is labelled in the Botanic Garden brochure as being J.R.R. Tolkien's favorite tree. Looks somewhat Ent-like, don't you think?

Of course, there was the ubiquitous herbaceous border - and quite spectacular too. The color combinations were very exciting. I intend to go back with my watercolors and capture some of this.
I had more fun withe macro feature on my new camera too. The plants are arranged by taxonomy and this was in the carrot family bed.

Granny Rose has left to continue her Tour of the South. Tomorrow, I am catching a train to Wolverhampton to meet my brother, and he is driving me to Derbyshire to our parent's home. I'll be there for a week. It's very different to Oxford - you'll see...

Garden, Party

Several people have commented on Colin's underwear, which appeared in a previous post. I was more coy today when a couple of college gardeners came to trim back the bushes that were obscuring the bathroom window and also blocking the drain. I kept my drawers inside, out of view, when I hung the laundry out to dry. It looks all shipshape and Bristol fashion out there now, and it's much lighter in the bathroom too.
Later in the afternoon we attended a wine and cheese party to celebrate July 4th. I know, it's not until tomorrow, but July 4th here is just another day as Britain lost the War of Independence. As there are no classes on Fridays, lots of people take the opportunity to travel to other places. So we got into the mood a little early, and the faculty and families enjoyed a very convivial couple of hours at Carol's apartments. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a garden, just a view of her neighbor's so it wasn't a garden party. It appears that the hobbit house has everything - not only a garden but possibly the only double bed too.

Compline

When I was in 7th grade, or thereabouts, we learned about Medieval England. My history teacher Mr Freeman, made us learn all about life in a monastery. He brought it all to life by making us act it out there in his classroom. And so I was able to recite all the names for the services that were held every three hours during the monk's day. I also knew all the names for the pieces of a suit of armor, but that's another history lesson.

Compline was the last service of the monastery's day, emphasizing spiritual peace. It was the custom to begin the "Great Silence" after Compline, observing silence throughout the night until the morning service the next day.

Tonight, I went with Granny Rose to Compline at Worcester College chapel. The Chapel is mid-18th century, very ornate, and quite small. There were two vergers who conducted the service and three other people besides Rose and myself. The service was chanted by the two young men who managed to fill the chapel with their voices.

My dream canal side garden

After critically surveying a good number of canal side gardens, I have decided that my canal side garden would have both a summer house and a dock, pots of plants, wicker or possibly cast iron furniture, maybe a hammock, shady trees, lanterns, and of course, a boat.

new toy

My trusty but rather old digital camera died on me the other day, and there's too much of the adventure left to rely only on the camera phone. Besides, I'm not fully au fait with it (see earlier post). So, it was time to purchase a new camera. And today it was time to take it out for a test run. I needed to be out of the hobbit house for an hour or so while Robert, the Scout, came and emptied the bins and did his stuff, so, accompanied by Granny Rose, I took a walk along the canal.


The weather today was exceptional for England - I was able to wear a sleeveless top even. It was high summer. I tested the macro setting on some English hedgerow flowers: harebells, borage, deadly nightshade, burdock, stinging nettles, forgetmenots, vetch, blackberry, buttercups and wild roses. Kenneth Grahame of "Wind in the Willows " fame went to school and is buried in Oxford and there is that kind of feel to the canal side vegetation.